My lefty indecision

Hello all, I am left-handed and interested in learning bass. I don’t have experience when it comes to music. The only knowledge I have is piano. That knowledge is a beginner. I’m interested in learning bass, but I don’t know if I should get a left-handed bass or a right-handed bass. The market for a left-handed bass appears to be sparse. I am not sure which type of bass I should consider purchasing. Will a right-handed bass obstruct/prevent bass techniques? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

6 Likes

@SM89 Welcome to the BassBuzz forum!

When you have time, join us on the Introduce Yourself! thread.

As to playing right or left dominant, we recently started this thread with a bunch of people talking about that very thing. Lefty Playing Righty

7 Likes

As a fellow lefty, I feel your pain, lol.

1 Like

@SM89, I’ve been waffling between going one way and another.

I do agree with some experts that playing lefty, in the long run, would be beneficial – due to plucking, strumming, etc., with the dominant hand being more challenging as you progress.

However, at least in my experience, the current left-handed selection is so poor and frustrating that I will start right-handed.

So far, any left-handed instrument I want is either on backorder or preorder, severely limiting my options.

It’s leaving me in a state of settling for an instrument so I can get started, as opposed to getting something I’m looking forward to playing with and being excited about starting this journey.

I’ve read enough articles and forums, including this one, where it seems lefties can make playing right-handed work, and well in a lot of cases.

My ideal plan is to eventually add a left-handed bass (as they become available) and practice the other way while focusing on right-handed playing as my first option.

I figure this way, I’ll know early on which method will suit me best. At least that’s the plan for now, lol.

Good luck!

I’m very left-handed myself but decided to learn to play the bass right-handed. Now that I’ve been playing right-handed for a couple of months, my bass feels so awkward when I hold it as a lefty. If you decide to play as a righty, trust me, your handedness with adapt.

I have 2 cents on this. I am very left-handed.

I played right-handed 6 string guitar for about 9 years – Worked my ass off.
Got good enough to be in a band, do a few shows and record a couple of demos. Playing was always a lot of concentration and my picking/strumming hand was always a struggle. Things always looked easier for others. I quit playing.

Fast forward 30 years :slight_smile:
I got the bug to play again and wondered how would playing left-handed feel.
After the 3 months or so of … gee I am terrible things started to come together really nicely. Then I decided to try left-handed bass – and I found the instrument I was born to play.

Your story might be different but I should have done left-handed 40 years ago.

Jeff

2 Likes