LeftyBassist.com

Thought this might make for an interesting thread...or not.

Do you own any right handed basses that you converted?
There are the many issues, of course; the bridge, nut, control location, balance, etc.
Any particular models that worked out really well, or really badly?

For myself, I spent years pining for a single coil Precision/Telecaster bass. I've seen 1 true lefty Tele-bass for sale but at 10K...no dice. As far as I know, Fender/Squier has never made any lefty versions of their various single coil P/Tele bass re-issues. Then I saw a picture of Keith Ferguson (of the Thunderbirds) playing a converted right handed Tele and it looked pretty comfortable and well balanced for him. Around the same time Squier introduced their right handed Classic Vibe single coil P at a very reasonable price. I took the gamble and it paid off. The bass converted easily and handles quite well as a lefty, all things considered. I find the controls are not in the way, balance and body shape is acceptable. A couple of years later I scored a right handed Fender Japan "Blue floral/Paisley" single coil reissue P and it has worked out even better as a lefty than the Squier.

Would love to see pictures of these basses....

I've got this Electra bass for offer up (local sales app) for 65 bucks and paid 40 for the Gibson case, according to the owner this bass is from 72 and it's been sitting in the storage for years.
It plays really nice and i have no trouble with the knobs, very nice balance and super lightweight. The only problem is that the neck pickup is dead and the bridge pickup is very weak, i have to turn the amp louder than usual to hear it. Looking to replace pots and pickups. Any info about these basses? I've tried to look up any of these for sale but i only see different models.

I actually did this with a late '60's Eko short scale hollow body. It was beat down and not worth any kind of "vintage money" anyway so I thought I'd make it more lefty friendly. I went the full nine yards and moved the controls - had it done professionally by the guy who does all the major work on my basses. I told him not to go too crazy. (If I wanted to spend more money he would have spent the time to completely hide the old control holes.) Because of where the controls were located - right at the edge of the body - it was almost impossible to play without hitting them. It's a keeper for me now!

Here are my 2 converted-to-lefty single coil P's
Squire Classic Vibe P and the Fender CIJ Blue Floral P.
Modifications for both:
TI flats strung lefty.
Nut replaced.
Dunlop straplocks.
Switchcraft output jack.
Thumb-rest (round disk)

Love those single coil Ps!

Don't the controls dig into your arm when playing though?

Oh, man! I just love Lake Placid blue with a maple fretboard.

I rarely play back near the bridge so that may be why it's not a problem for me. YMMV...

If you ever sell that thing it better go up on these boards first

I converted a Casady to lefty. Details down near the end of this thread:

http://www.leftybassist.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4419&start=20

I have 3; but, 2 of them haven't been converted yet. Kind of on the tail end of my "To Do" list.
1. An Epiphone EA-260. It shouldn't be too hard, but to do it right, I think the top should come off. And I haven't decided if it should stay red (not my favorite color) or have it refin'd in black. But, my companion EA-250 guitar (which is a lefty), is red, too, like all the EA's are. So, we'll see..
2. A Kramer Duke. Won't be a straight conversion, since the body doesn't really lend itself to that, IMO. Besides, I have a lefty Duke Deluxe model, anyway. I have the plans for a Mosrite-ish mandolin-shaped body for it. The aluminum neck is going to require some machine work, and the pickup wiring and controls are complex and messed up. So, this one is on the bottom of the list. Can't find the drawings, anyway...
3. The one that has been converted is an Epi EA-260 guitar, that was converted to a lefty and a 12-string guitar, with the neck from an acoustic 12-string. When you think "Franken-whatever", this is it. Very obvious where the controls were originally, and they only kept and moved one volume and one tone pot. If I tuned it back up, it would play, and surprisingly well; but the neck graft is very suspect. 12 strings is a lot of tension on a neck joint like this one, so the strings are slackened, and it's basically a wall hanger. I really should have someone look at it one of these days; it actually didn't sound half bad...

Why bother converting a righty Tele P when you can have one that was built lefty from the ground up?





Our Heritage Tribute '51 and '55 models have been available in lefty (with no added charge) since 2009, and a couple of them are owned by LeftyBassist members - some as far away from Seattle as Europe and Australia (see image below)



Drop me a line if you'd like to be connected with a RGW dealer, or visit us in Hall D at the 2016 NAMM Show to check one out for yourself

all the best,

R