The BS of Guitar Companies

[DorsetBlue]

Was in there yesterday, Fender gone and nothing particularly jumped out (right or left).

[Annoying Twit]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1397667274' post='2426292']
[i][size=4][font=arial]And sorry righties, despite many requests, we have not and never will make a right handed Gaskell guitar. That's just plain wrong![/font][/size][/i]
[url="http://www.gaskellguitars.com/aboutus.html"]http://www.gaskellgu...om/aboutus.html[/url]

Discrimination or chips on shoulders?
[/quote]

I think it's reasonable for a company to establish its own identity, and choosing to build only left handed models is a way for a company to distinguish itself from too many otherwise similar competitors. With the internet, it also seems to be a feasible way of supplying the left handed market, as from posts further up in this thread it appears that this is uneconomic for local musical instrument shops.

Given the mentions of discrimination in this thread, I'm not happy with the way that women are depicted in the photographs of Gaskell's instruments. I'd be happier if the women in the pictures were shown in a way that suggests that they can play the instruments they are ... decorating.

BTW: I had a look at the Jazz and P basses supplied by a very well known and very large internet retailer. I was surprised to see no photos of left handed models at all. Maybe the lefties were there, but not obvious. I was expecting that such a large distributor of many makes and models would have a good selection of L/H instruments.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Annoying Twit

[Silvia Bluejay]

Women and guitars. That's another can of worms waiting to be opened, but this isn't the correct place. With the concept of the role of women in music there are so many facets that can be observed, what with the idea of empowerment through seduction vs. sexual exploitation etc., that any controversy about left-handed discrimination would pale in comparison.

Edited April 25, 2014 by bluejay

[lemmywinks]

I don't like the whole empowerment thing, it's always sounded like an excuse to sell something on the back of a pair of boobs. Besides my bass already has one massive tit on the back of it to start with.

[Silvia Bluejay]

And as far as I'm concerned, when I was a young metalhead I didn't at all mind seeing ads with gorgeous, long-haired, (scantily) leather-clad men wielding pointy guitars or basses. Hetfield, Hammett, Mustaine, Bello, Sheehan, Vai, and so on, were all good looking in their heyday. The only difference was that we knew they could play those instruments. Edited April 25, 2014 by bluejay

[neepheid]

[quote]No matter where you are in the world, you can get a Gaskell guitar. Don't support guitar companies that disrespect you by not making left handed guitars. Buy, own and play Gaskell guitars. Designed by a lefty, for lefties only.[/quote]

Hmm, you mean designed mostly by Gibson or Jackson, flipped round by a lefty, for lefties only. The BS of lefty guitar companies indeed.

[glefty]

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1397755294' post='2427154']

To be honest, this has long mystefied me. I mean, when you think about it logically, it does follow that one's most sensitive and for want of a better word 'dexterous' hand should be the one doing the fretting. So why is this not the case for 99.9% of us? How do we end up doing the comparitively ploddy plucking stuff with the same hand we write with, and doing the intricate notey stuff with our weaker limb? Why is it that it feels so natural to be doing it, effectively, arse about face?
[/quote]
I'm a righty who plays lefty for those exact reasons! As a kid maybe I was influenced by my fave Beatle, Paul, but I first picked up a righty guitar at a mate's place, tried it righty which felt unco, flipped it and it immediately felt natural, albeit with the strings upside down. When I got my first guitar, a righty acoustic, I had it restrung lefty & away I went! My first electric was a full on lefty SG by Navarro, a budget Ibanez which I still have 41 years later & my first bass was a righty SG cheapie flipped & restrung lefty, now 40 years old. After that, I refused to buy a righty flipper and have been steadfast on that to this day. I can play a righty strung guitar or bass but not as well as lefty strung of course but am hopeless at it righty style. I am however naturally or self taught lefty in some other things but am a natural righty & have always wondered this too & have made the comparison to a piano layout umpteen times, as in left hand doing comping/rhythm & right hand playing melody. I don't buy into the 'strong hand plucking' theory as that hand usually has a bow or plectrum in it so what a waste of that dominant hand dexterity. Re: the OP's thinking, I feel his frustration as I couldn't get my hands on or afford a coveted 5 string bass, headless, aco-electric upright, thin line tele or nylon thin line cutaway for many years & I pity kids starting out lefty who won't have those more exotic options but it certainly is 10000 times better now than what I had available in the 70s & 80s. I admire your passion Mccarp & can see your point but from what I've read in this thread from various posters I can't see it happening anytime soon.

Edited June 18, 2014 by glefty

[leftyyorky]

I'd like to tell a little story. In 1976 I, an 18 year old apprentice fitter wanted a Rickenbacker 4001 in Jetglo. Carlsboro sound centre in Sheffield contacted Summerfield the importers and reserved 1 of 2 lefties that were coming to the UK in the next shipment for me to try and maybe purchase.
I was gearing myself up to obtaining this wonderful instrument and putting myself into considerable debt due to the £520 (in 1976!) price tag. When I went to try the bass I was gutted to see that it had a right handed neck complete with upside down headstock and position markers. Basically I thought it looked terrible , which is a shame because it sounded awesome!I dont know when Ric started making lefty necks (which incidentally is only a matter of reversing position markers and fitting lefty headstock "wings") but I purchased a 2000 4003 last year and that still has the upside down position markers. The reason for telling this story is that it has taken from well before 1976 to beyond 2000 to finally make a 4003 bass that looks truly left handed. In 2002 Ric decided to make the C64 and C64s models which continued until 2011, and guess what? They are right handed basses with LEFT HANDED necks just so that people can look like a mirror image of a certain bass player from Liverpool who only played a Rickenbacker because they gave it to him!
The point I'm making is left handers got a bad deal from Ric for years and yet they were quite willing to inconvenience themselves to build a righty bass that looks like an old lefty one.
By the way, the lefty basses still have right handed audio taper pots in them wired anticlockwise which basically makes them an all on or all off switch, and hence as much use as a chocolate fireguard, so mr Hall hasnt fully redeemed himself yet!
Rant over😐😐😐

[leftyyorky]

By the way, I bought an Ibanez lefty Ric copy and it still cost me £180 back then for a copy!!!