Cad Delworth

As someone who also plays "Haslip style," and has done so for 50 years, I can give you one rock-solid reason for a lefty to learn to play with strings "upside down." Ever seen a double bass strung left-handed? Me neither! When I started playing bass, I always hankered after playing a "real" double bass. Obviously, if I'd made the strings "correct" for a lefty, it would mean reversing everything if I ever got a double bass. So, when I did get a double bass a few years later, I was off to the races straight away! I admit that for many years, I thought it "impossible" to play slap bass with upside-down strings, though I've since seen some fine examples of both lefty-strung-righty slapping techniques. I haven't been able to replicate either of those (one is "same way as rightys," slapping with thumb and popping with other fingers, which I don't have the dexterity to do; the other is to slap with fingers and pop with thumb … which I also can't manage >sigh<). The other, lamer "reason" for playing (effectively) a righty bass turned around is that it makes it easier to try out basses in shops, 90+% of which are righty basses.