Some people just don't like to conform. I.e. it's the wrong way round!

dee

I first noticed this a while ago while watching ~~Snowy White~~ Doyle Bramhall II play (Roger Waters) on Youtube. Something seemed
wrong, but it took me a while to realize what is going on. It tuns out there is a whole league of guitarists
who did not get the memo when it came to what order the strings need to be ?

The photo example is Mr Dick Dale of course. You will notice the strings being strung with the low E from the bottom up.

Turns out quite a few other guitarists do the same, including Otis Rush, Bob Geldof and Albert King.

Why do our southpaw friends do this?

Sebastian

hmmm... Snowy White doesn't play upside down...? Doyle Bramhall II who White has played with on duel guitar for Roger Waters' does, however.

i can only imagine its a simple case of someone giving young Albert King a guitar, he fancies it feels more comfortable to play it the other way round but doesnt want to change the strings out of laziness or because someone else uses that guitar too.

other than that, its totally unethical having to bend strings down, finger chords upside down, change or reverse pickups and in the case of fenders, have tuning pegs on the bottom of the headstock.

any help? ?

dee

Sebastian wrote: hmmm... Snowy White doesn't play upside down...? Doyle Bramhall II who White has played with on duel guitar for Roger Waters' does, however.

You are indeed correct. My Mistake...!

AlanRatcliffe

You'll find those guys are the southpaws who have learned to play on right-handed guitars. When they get their left-handed guitars they only know how to play them with the strings reversed.

vic

Many lefties learn to play on a RH guitar and play the chords upside down.However the controls are not at the right position (and that doesn't look too cool hey ?)....Jimi Hendrix played like that..... Then maybe later in life the get a lefty guitar (now with the controls at the right position...cool..) but do not bother to use the strings the other way around because that would mean learning new chord shapes again...

apologies...I must have missed the response above... :-[

BMU

Sebastian wrote: ...have tuning pegs on the bottom of the headstock.

I feel an obligation to point out that reverse headstocks rock. (Ok maybe not on a Fender HAHA.)

DonovanB

Lionel Richie's bass player played a right handed guitar upside down. He was amazing.
From what I understand of slapping technique he had it upside down but he never hit a note wrong

IceCreamMan

i am left handed and the above is true regarding getting a right handed guitar ,its how i basically started.

In a right handed ruled world i believe our lefty(or is that righty)wired brains compensate far more that you would suspect and we in the case of guitars i even have "mirrors" ready in my brain to read tabs arranged for rightys. Its amazing how the brain organises this.

Skywalker

Heard a bit of Jeff Healey's work a while ago but never got around to actually checking it out in depth.

He definatley was a killer guitarist with an unorthodox technique. It's also inspirational to see and hear someone play like that without being able to see what they're doing. Talk about FEEL ?

vic

Skywalker wrote: Heard a bit of Jeff Healey's work a while ago but never got around to actually checking it out in depth.

He definatley was a killer guitarist with an unorthodox technique. It's also inspirational to see and hear someone play like that without being able to see what they're doing. Talk about FEEL ?

See...one doesn't need fretboard markers ?