Pedal Steel for lefthanded players

Bernard Beck · From: Paris France

This friend of mine is definitely a left handed musician. Started lapsteel reversing the strings, which was easy. He was wandering about left handed pedal steel. I told him what I already read : not a good idea, cause impossible to sell when you want to upgrade. Well, he said "there's no way my brain can work right handed on a string instrument". So if anyone knows something about the subject, let me know.
Bernard

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

i'm sure there are some known or other goods psg makers that would build one fer yer buddy Bernard
WBS does
findin' used ones are very rare
of course the Fo' is the only real place to eventually find one

Matthew Prouty · From: Warsaw, Poland

Bernard,

I am a lefty and took up PSG. I had a Left Handed SD10 E9 made by Bob Simmons (A closet Left Hander himself who plays righty). There are two basic schools of thought here about being left handed and playing instruments. I, like you friend, am left handed and have my brain mapped out to play instruments left handed. I have swapped instruments in the studio with righties and tried to play both inverted and normal (rightie) and the explosive pain in my brain told me that I must accept the fact that I have mapped out my brain. While some will tell you that both hands have to do something, and others like Bob Simmons, and Lloyd Green (who is also a lefty) have made accomplished careers with the PSG playing contrary to their hand dominace, I personally would not recommend it. I think it is high time that us left handers stand up and bring down this international conspiracy against us... Thats a whole story in itself.

I found a late 1950's 8 String Left Handed Marlen that Bob also hot rodded it for me and set it up for C6th. There are guitars are out there. They are few and far between, but they can be found.

If you friend would like to contact me direct to discuss, I would be more than willing to discuss the subject with him and maybe arrange something so he could check out a left handed steel in person, if its convienent for all. If so send me an email.

I personally believe that when we froce Left Handers to submit to the right handed world we limit that persons natural ability and subject them to a life of discrimatory hardship. Left handers above all others develop a distinct natural ability to adapt and over come due to the inconsiderate workings of our world and thus triumph over hardships like no others.

The evidence is out there!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/08/AR2006080801631.html

Matt "Lefty" Prouty

Bob Grado · From: Holmdel, New Jersey

Here's a shot of my Lefty Williams D10 I had built a few years back (no extra charge). I also have a 74 lefty Emmons S10 push/ pull.

I don't think I'd have a hard time selling either one if I ever decided to do so.

[/img]

Sonny Priddy · From: Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA, R.I.P.

Lloyd Green Playing A Lefty? Not When I See Him Play. SONNY.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

When I was taking steel guitar lessons back in my youth, my instructor was left handed, as am I, but he played right handed. He said the best guitar players are left handed because the talent is in the left hand and not in the right.
If you are left handed, you are in your right mind! Rolling Eyes

Brint Hannay · From: Maryland, USA

Amen, Erv!

Sonny, Lloyd is left-handed. He plays a "normal" steel.

I'm a lefty, and I do, too. That's why I sound just like Lloyd. NOT!

Brandon Ordoyne · From: Needville,Texas USA

Go to: www.pedalmastersteelguitars.com

Roy Thomas builds a left handed Pedalmaster. Good quality guitars from a great builder and an all-around nice guy. He is in Maurice, Louisiana USA and his shop number is 337-893-8917

Brandon
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Moon in Alaska · From: Kasilof, Alaska * R.I.P.

I usually join this kind of thread, not allways welcome with what I have to say !!
When a player is starting out on steel, he has no clue which hand is the most important..which hand the "soul" is in.
I am left handed, and I believe the hardest part, and the most expressive part is the bar hand. I am really glad that I learned a few chords on standard guitar before learning to play 6 string lap steel.
My brother-in-law told me the hardest part was in my left hand, and I would do fine. Now that was 1948,
and I believe left handed players has an advantage,adding "soul" to the playing with their left hand.
Now, this is probably not what this theard was intended,but still my 2 cents worth...
Moon
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Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Moon,
I think you hit the nail on the head! Very Happy

Paddy Long · From: Christchurch, New Zealand

Well Tommy Grasso from Sydney plays a Left handed Emmons Le Grande that they custom built for him - sounds just like a "normal" one ha !!

Mike Ester · From: New Braunfels, Texas, USA

Wasn't Curly Chalker another southpaw who played a right-handed guitar?

Chuck Thompson · From: Illinois, USA

wow! i am surprised at how many lefties there are playing this cheese cutter. I too am a lefty (well sort of ambidextrous) i can do things as bad with either hand. but i learned guitar as a righty and am learning pedal steel as a righty too. as others have said, both hands are doing something. besides, who has ever seen a left handed piano? custom made or low production instruments are nearly always more expensive (williams exception). i would tend to agree with those who say "learn on a standard instrument" and dont even think of it as right or left handed, but on the other hand......, if everyone did everything the same way, how would we have anything to argue about? ;^)

Brint Hannay · From: Maryland, USA

Consarn it, Chuck, I meant to say that about the left-handed piano! Smile

James Cann · From: Phoenix, AZ

I can't remember the forumite who said it, but it was interesting to read about how many left-handers, when working with both hands, tend to lead with the right, using the left, not surprisingly, for one-handed feats.

. . . and with that, long live the sinistromanuals!

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

& a BIG Tip of the Brim to them Lefties who did it the Right Way
is that a Blessing or what ?

Bent Romnes · From: London,Ontario, Canada

Hi all lefties and special needs steelers!
Contact my buddy Ed Fulawka, he'll set you up with whatever you need.
He told me he once built a right handed pedal steel, but with the pedals/volume pedal reversed. This was for a man who had an issue with his left leg so he couldn't use it on the pedals, but it was ok for the volume pedal.

Robert Cook · From: Collierville,TN

Count me in as one of the terminal lefties who would rather fight than switch. 45 years and 15 left-handed guitars and...one Roy Thomas-built pedal steel later it's lefty or punt. I respect those who could overcome their brain's natural tendencies to pull to the left and were able to lean to the right. Unfortunately I surrendered at an early age and have been riding in the opposite ditch too long to change.

If nothing else you get a lot of people asking if you're playing the right way. I always answer, "No the left way." Once I start playing it answers their original question...no, I'm not. Many thanks to Bobbe Seymour, Roy Thomas, and many others who helped me overcome my left-handed fear of conquering the steel guitar to become comfortable with letting the steel conquer me.

Matthew Prouty · From: Warsaw, Poland

One real neat thing about playing left handed is when you sit in front of an instructor or play with some other steeler face to face, who plays right handed, it is like looking in the mirror. As they say it is trippy!

M.

Joe Harwell · From: "I've never been bad." ........ Many, LA

Is there such a thing as a left-handed piano?
(Sorry. Missed the prior piano references.)

It wasn't too bad to learn left-hand techniques on piano for me being right-handed.

And for a right-hander to learn to fret 6 string chords is kind of awkward at first, too. Now, I can't imagine trying to strum with my left hand<gr>!

I had my right arm incapacitated for 6 months and had to transfer every thing to the left side. Even writing. Wasn't pretty but was legible. And I continue to use my left side and find it still very helpful in various mechanical situations.

My daughter is left-handed so I do understand a little about the frustrations of living in a right-handed world.

In the end though, guess it's what works best for you.
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"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak & the strong; because, someday in life you will have been all of these".

b0b · From: Cloverdale, CA, USA

I think that left-handed players have a real advantage in handling the bar. Look at Lloyd Green's incredible left hand technique, for example.

Right-handed guitar players move the fingers of their left hand with speed and precision. It follows that left-handed steelers should be able to pick with their right hand.

I understand that there are degrees of "handedness", though, and that some people are more ambidextrous than others. For a musician on any instrument, the ability to control both hands well is worth developing. Drummers have courses to develop limb independence. Pianists and guitarists have books of left hand exercises to build dexterity where it doesn't come naturally.

On marimba, I often spend 15 minutes or so of a practice session just working with my left hand. If I was left-handed, I probably wouldn't need to do that.
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Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

Remember, that we are not only "left handed" but we are "left bodied". That means, us lefties are also more adept with the left leg and the left knee.
This makes it easier when playing those E9th pedals and levers. Very Happy

Jay Jessup · From: Charlottesville, VA, USA

For what it's worth one of the best golfers in the world, Phil Mickelson is right handed but he plays left handed, my girlfriend's left handed but plays golf right handed and she's better than me! (not that hard actually) This allows them to lead with their stronger arm. On fretted instruments the picking hand is important for producing tone but I would argue that in most kinds of music the fretting hand is far more important and would think it would be an advantage to be a lefty but play righty.

Bill Fuentes · From: Garland, Texas, USA

Just looking at this southpaw makes me dizzy

Dennis Schell · From: Shingletown, Shasta county, Kalifornia

Seems to me that pro baseball players who can bat both ways are pretty common. What makes them more "gifted" than someone who uses both hands, both knees and both feet to play an instrument with no frets?!?

Dennis

BTW, I have a friend who is a super talented PSGist who plays with no right foot. He uses a detachable "lever volume control". Where there's a will....
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