Can you restring a right handed guitar upside down and play it left handed? The answer is of course ‘yes’, but the question ought to be ‘should I string a right handed guitar upside down?’.
In my opinion you should only be considering this if it is the only available choice to you, i.e you have limited cash but do have access to a right handed guitar.
And even then I’d suggest selling the guitar if possible and using the funds for a bona fide lefty. The reason I don’t recommend this is due to the plethora of issues that can arise as a result. I’ve detailed just a few of these below…
Can You Restring A Guitar Left Handed?
You can restring a right handed guitar upside down in order to play it left handed. But if you can, it is recommended to source a proper left handed guitar in order to avoid having to modify the guitar to address several issues that will likely arise:
1. The Nut Is Back to Front
Straight off the bat you will need to sort out the guitar’s nut (the thin strip of slotted material holding the strings in place just before the headstock).
The nut is designed to snugly accommodate each string, so if the guitar is restrung upside down the strings will be placed in the incorrect slots. You will find that the thicker strings probably won’t fit into the channels at all, and the higher, thinner strings will rattle around in their new slots, causing all sorts of issues.
To remedy this you will need to either flip around your current nut, or preferably buy a new left handed nut, such as this one.
This is also a job which you would most likely want carried out by a professional guitar tech. I have listed some of the prices for jobs like this at the end of this article.
2. Intonation Will Be Affected
The second potential issue you will need to look at is the bridge, as the intonation will now need adjusted. A properly intonated guitar will be perfectly in tune along the entire length of the fretboard.
This will be difficult on an upside-down guitar as the angle of the bridge will be reversed.
With guitars such as Fender Strats, it is for the most part as easy as readjusting the intonation screws. This is due to the fact that Fender style bridges sit straight across the guitar’s body, and so when flipped over the inherent intonation points don’t change at all.
However, guitars such as Gibsons may have bridges which are slanted at an angle, which makes correctly restringing upside down a more troublesome task. When flipped upside down the intonation points will change to such a degree that they might be impossible to fine tune correctly.
The same idea will apply to acoustic guitars as the saddle is also generally set at an angle. If you decide to make the switch on an acoustic, a left handed compensated saddle such as this one is what you’ll need.
In addition, an acoustic saddle generally changes in height from one side to the other. The bass side is usually higher so that the thicker strings do not buzz against the frets.
3. Hardware In Awkward Positions
This is a drawback that is related to electric guitars more so than acoustic guitars.
Consider where the hardware on a right handed electric guitar will be located when you hold it upside down. The volume/tone knobs will be underneath your forearm, as will the pickup selector switch. This will lead to issues such as accidentally moving knobs whilst playing.
If it has one, your guitar’s tremolo bar will be on the opposite side as well. You’ll need to adapt your playing style so as not to accidentally hit the bar and change pitch. Or just not use the bar at all…
Likewise your front strap peg will be on the wrong side and will need to be moved if you want to use it with a strap.
Depending on where the input jack is situated you are also likely to have your guitar lead trying to stab your armpit.
The pots on an upside-down guitar will also operate in the opposite direction to what is considered ‘normal’. Not a big deal, but you can fix this with some very simple rewiring. Either that, or you can actually buy special left handed pots such as this one.
If the guitar is an electro-acoustic the EQ/tuner controls would also be hard to read/reach.
4. You Might DAMAGE The Guitar!
Acoustic guitars are braced internally to accommodate the thicker low strings on one side and the thinner high strings on the other, so if you mess with the string order you will eventually warp the guitar.
The inner bracing is also designed to optimize the guitar’s tone, so flipping the string order will also adversely affect tone.
5. Resale Value Will Be Lower
Also keep in mind that if you mess with the layout of a guitar you are likely to adversely affect its resale value.
For example as mentioned above, if you move the strap peg you will be left with a gaping hole where it used to be. Finding another lefty who is happy to play with a crippled guitar is going to be tricky, and selling to a righty will involve reverting the guitar back to its original state ($$$).
The Tip of the Iceberg
These issues are the main points to consider when thinking about restringing a right handed guitar left handed, but they really are just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on but I feel I should have made my point already.
It is just not worth the hassle and added expense of going to the effort of re-jigging a right handed guitar for left handed playing.
Left handed guitars are generally no more expensive than right handed guitars these days, so it makes no sense to switch around a righty unless it is just a quick fix or your only available option.
Perhaps 20 or 30 years ago it would have been the norm for a southpaw to restring their dad’s old guitar, but there is no reason to suffer in the age of internet shopping!
If it’s your first guitar and the only instrument you have access to is a right handed axe, then by all means go ahead and restring it, but keep in mind it will never be perfect.
You don’t absolutely have to change the nut, bridge etc just to try out guitar for a few weeks. Hopefully it will be good enough to give you a decent introduction to guitar and then you can feel confident in buying your first left handed model later on down the line.
TLDR : Don’t restring a guitar left handed. If you can – Buy A Left Handed Guitar!
Check out our 8-part Newbie Guide for a list of some excellent left handed guitar options that won’t break the bank!
How Much Does It Cost To Convert A Guitar To Left Handed?
But what if your only option is to convert a right-handed guitar for left-handed play? After reading over all of the potential issues above, I’d guess you are probably now wondering how much a professional would charge you for the conversion.
To answer this question, I contacted several well known guitar stores and took an average of the quotes I received back.
To convert a right handed electric guitar for left handed play will cost between roughly $80 and $130. At the lower end this would just involve making you a new nut, and at the higher range would also include a guitar setup and intonation check.
An acoustic guitar will be slightly more expensive to convert as more work is required. The costs here came back at between $160 and $200 for a left handed conversion. This would include a new nut as well as a new saddle.
Whether or not this expense is worth it will depend on the value of your guitar!
