LeftyBassist.com

This is my first post, so hello to everyone. Good to find a site such as this that caters to the oft-neglected left handers.

I'm gearing up to buy my first left-handed bass and thought a P-bass would be a good idea, as it's a tried-and-tested design and I prefer its sound to that of the Jazz. I don't have the disposable income to splash out on a Fender, so decided to go for the cheaper brand.
Only, it seems Squier aren't making them at the moment. I suppose the reason for this is that Jazzes generally outsell Precisions and so it wouldn't be worth their while profit-wise to manufacture them?

Welcome to the board.

My advice is search the for sale section here and post for an affordable lefty P-bass in the wanted section.

What's your budget?

I know you said you don't like jazz basses, but what about a P/J setup? I see Squier basses of that kind on eBay every now and then. Cheap too. As a matter of fact, wasn't there one for sale here on the board recently?

What's your budget?
There are plenty p or p/j copies on eBay at every single possible price and quality point.

Mine was for sale but just got sold. It was my first bass. There is one for sale here. Also one for sale at Bill's Music House in Maryland. It's not on their website, but I saw it recently in store for about the same price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fender-squier-L ... 2c6b26211b

I thought it was a very good bass for the money, especially after I upgraded the pick up. My instructor also liked it quite a bit, it seemed to get a lot of tonal flavors, especially with string changes. The front pickup sounded like a straight up P, and I ran my bass that way 90 percent of the time. I would add in the jazz pickup here and there for a bit more bite.

I liked the tones I got out of it with both DR Hi-Beams and TI Flats, which are very, very different strings. Good luck in your search!

Thanks for highlighting that velalv, but it looks like that seller doesn't post to anywhere outside of the US.

I certainly don't dislike Jazz basses, far from it - I think they're some of the most good-looking basses there are, I just prefer the deeper sound of the Precision. I've no doubt that the P/J setup is the most versatile, but the simplicity of the original P-bass design is another thing that appeals to me. Call me fussy, but aesthetics also matter quite a lot to me.

My budget is around £300, so I'm looking for something cheap, but not dirt cheap. If the worst comes to the worst, I might just settle for a VM 70s Jazz, as I've heard so many good things about them.

Have you checked on bass chat? I remember seeing a couple of P-like basses not long ago...

Finding a single-pickup (non P/J) Squier P-Bass can be a challenge because they stop making those in the '90s. I think your best bet is to buy from Japan. Some Japanese stores are not allowed to ship Fender Japan instruments to the US, but I'm not sure if that applies to the UK also. Worth finding out. If they can indeed ship to you, you can find a brand-new Fender Japan P-Bass for around 400 pounds. Or try to find a used one for less. And as I understand, Japanese stores can ship used Fender Japan all over the world, so the restriction doesn't apply to used instruments.

Here is one of the biggest stores:
http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/eng/

If you don't see any lefty Ps, e-mail them - they can find them for you, new or used. They are famous for good customer service.

I know there are others stores, and I know there is a lefty-only store in Japan, but can't remember the name.

I bought velalv's Squier and finally had a chance to play it yesterday, very happy. It's been a while since I've played a Fender style J/P and the action seems lower than I remember, which I kinda of like actually.

Thanks for the heads-up about Bass Chat belinmad, didn't know there was such an active UK-based bass site.


Ah yes, they have all sorts of strict laws regarding import and export of wood over there, don't they? Though I wonder why used instruments are exempt? I lived in Tokyo for a number of years and looking around all the guitar shops in Ochanomizu was always a pleasure. Don't recall ever seeing any lefty instruments there, though that didn't surprise me, as even to this day children in Eastern Asian countries are forced to use their right hand as their dominant hand, regardless of what it is naturally.
I've wanted a Japanese-made Fender for a while actually, so that may well be a good avenue to follow. Many thanks!

It's not about the wood restrictions, it's about the licensing agreement between Fender USA and Fender Japan.