For lefties that want to learn how to play guitar, picking from the best left handed guitars for beginners can be a daunting task.
There are so many different brands and models to choose from.
The market is saturated with right-handed guitars which makes it very difficult for lefties to find quality instruments that fit their needs.
When it comes to guitars, there are a lot of options out there for left handed guitarists.
The challenge is finding the best one that suits your style and budget. When you’re just getting started, it can be difficult to know what features are important in a guitar.
We’ve researched the best left handed acoustic guitars on the market in order to make your decision easier, based on your budget and playing style.
Left handed guitars for beginners
The best left handed guitars for beginners are often hard to find because they were traditionally manufactured in small quantities.
Lefties also have a tougher time finding the right guitar accessories, such as strings and tuners.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the most popular left handed guitars on the market today that will make your search easier.
Our guide will help you get started by providing useful information about left handed guitars including our picks for best overall, best budget, best under $500, best under $800, and more!
You’ll also discover some helpful information regarding buying an instrument as a beginner along with links to our top
recommendations for beginners who want a great sounding guitar at a variety of price ranges.
Best Overall
When you think of left-handed guitar players, Kurt Cobain will come to mind for most. It’s only fitting that our best overall is his signature model.
Fender Kurt Cobain 3 Tone Sunburst
The Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar is a replica of the heavily modified guitar that was Cobain’s main instrument. The medium jumbo frets help you hit all those tricky notes.
The exclusive Fender Kurt Cobain book includes 240 pages of never before seen photos and commentary.
This Jaguar is equipped with a DiMarzio hum bucking DP103 PAF 36th Anniversary neck pickup and DP100 Super Distortion bridge pickup to deliver legendary tone.
A modern “c” shaped neck and 24″ scale length for easy chord changes give this guitar an incredibly comfortable feel, and smooth playability.
This also includes a black textured vinyl hard-shell case.
Pros
Pros:
- Replica of Kurt Cobain’s Jaguar.
- Comfortable neck.
- Comes with a hard case and book.
- Versatile sound.
- DiMarzio humbuckers for the neck pickup.
- DP100 super distortion bridge pickup.
Cons
Cons:
- Not quite 100% of Cobain’s specs.
Best Budget
Our best budget pick is another Fender model. This time it’s the Telecaster by Squire.
If you like to check our review on the Strat model for the Squire then head over here: Squire Affinity Star Review.
Squier by Fender Affinity Telecaster Left Handed Electric Guitar
Want a Strat without shelling out over three grand? Grab a Squier Affinity Series Telecaster!
What’s more awesome is that it features the most famous of all Tele finishes atop an alder body joined with bolt-on maple neck and easy-to-play maple fretboard.
The Squier Affinity Telecaster Beginner Electric Guitar is the best of both worlds.
The two single-coil pickups offer a wide variety of tones, with on-board controls to switch between them easily.
For beginners, it’s easier than ever to find your sound! 3 easy-to-use pickup selections let you go from fat telecaster tone to surf twang with just one knob twist.
The maple neck is more comfortable than most guitars in this price range and the die cast tuners will stay in tune longer.
Pros
Pros:
- Budget friendly.
- Alder body with bolt on maple neck.
- 2 single-coils.
- Fret ends are flush with the edge of the neck.
- Easy to play.
- Telecaster “twang” is present.
Cons
Cons:
- Pickup heights aren’t adjustable.
Best Under $800
Schecter PT Electric Guitar
The Schecter PT Electric Guitar is a heavy duty, powerhouse electric guitar.
The PT series of electric guitars from Schecter have a powerful sound and earth-shattering bottom end that is perfect for the metal guitarist.
With dual humbucking pickups and sleek, aggressive looks, this guitar provides an unmatched level of versatility to its players.
Has black hardware and Ernie Ball Regular Slinky strings, it’s easy to see why these are so popular among rockers everywhere!
Pros
Pros:
- Great value!
- Easy playability.
- Sleek and lightweight.
- Versatile for rhythm playing.
- Thin neck.
- Fast fret playing.
Cons
Cons:
- Tone knob has low resolution.
- Frets made need to be smoothed.
Best Left Handed Bass Guitar
Here’s our pick for the best left handed bass guitar.
Squier by Fender Classic Vibe 70’s Left-Handed Jazz Bass
The Squier by Fender Classic Vibe ’70s Jazz Bass offers players the ultimate vibe of 1970’s era basses, with modern features and a contemporary feel.
Inspired from the legendary extended-range models made famous in that decade, this Squier continues to deliver clear tone, smooth control and fast action found on those original instruments. This transcendent style is now available for left-handed players who want an instrument without any compromises enforced by mirroring designs.
Featuring big vintage sound in small packages at a great price point!
Set neck, tone-full body. An authentic Fender classic: Made of basswood and sporting a fast slim taper neck in an iconic maple fingerboard on a vintage-tinted satin finish that will wear to reveal natural wood grain with the passage of time.
The Squier by Fender Classic Vibe 70s Jazz Bass is based on the original U.S.-made jazz bass designed in the early ‘70’s for professional players and features two David Eden alnico pickups specially designed to sound like their legendary forerunner.
Pros
Pros:
- Designed by Fender
- Modeled after the class 70’s Jazz bass models.
- Affordable price.
- Easy to play.
- Clean sounding pickups.
- Great for beginners.
Cons
Cons:
- Frets are a little sharp.
Best Acoustic
Here is our best pick for the best left handed acoustic guitar for beginners.
Yamaha FG820 Left-Handed Solid Top Acoustic Guitar
Does it get any better than Yamaha? Some say no.
The FG820, Left-Handed Solid Top Acoustic Guitar gives you amazing quality and tone in a left-handed acoustic guitar for a very affordable price.
This classic folk style acoustic guitar’s features include: solid sitka spruce top, mahogany back & sides, rosewood fingerboard and bridge with diecast tuners.
A handy adjustable truss rod helps combat the strings warping over time while this lightweight instrument makes it easy to carry from gig to gig.
The Yamaha FG-820 presents a high performance acoustic guitar with all the “deluxe features” at an affordable price.
Adjustable Truss Rod, Tri-o-matic bridge saddle for better sound transfer from top to the bottom, and die cast tuning heads for ease of tuning stability with strings that are easy on your fingers plus decades more life than friction tuners.
This left handed dreadnought body style acoustic electric guitar comes in a sanaphone lacquer or natural finish is perfect for any level performer who wants versatility in their playability!
Pros
Pros:
- Great value.
- Solid spruce top.
- Mahogany back and sides.
- Easy to play.
- Beautiful and clean tone.
- Classic Dreadnought style.
Cons
Cons:
- Truss rod may need to be adjusted.
Best Acoustic-Electric
Here’s our pick for the best acoustic-electric for those lefties out there!
Fender Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar, Left Handed – Bundle
The Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar is perfect for beginners.
It’s a single cutaway body which means easy upper fret access as well as being very lightweight!
The Fishman classic design pickup/preamp makes it an acoustic guitar that can easily be plugged into the PA systems.
Both the top and back of this guitar are made from spruce while the sides were made with mahogany which offers balance between tones.
This product comes with many accessories to help you get started including a hard case, cable, tuner, instructional DVD and polishing cloth.
Bright, happy sound, especially in the upper registers this guitar is very versatile in sound while being easy on the wallet.
Pros
Pros:
- Acoustic-Eclectic Guitar.
- Solid sprung top.
- Easy to navigate neck.
- Rolled fingerboard edges.
- Fishman pickup/preamp.
- Comes with string, tuner, strings, pick, and polishing cloth.
Cons
Cons:
- Truss rod may need to be adjusted.
FAQ’s/Buyers Guide
Here are some frequently asked questions about guitars for the left-handed beginners.
Do left handers need a special guitar?
No, a left hander just needs a guitar set up for someone who plays that way.
A left handed guitar is just an instrument that is designed for the player to play with their right hand on the neck and their left hand on the fretboard.
Yes most guitars are made for right handers, but as you have seen there are several options for left handers.
If you’re a lefty and want to start playing guitar, it’s important to find the best left handed guitar for beginners so that you can get started on your musical journey and learn how to play without any issues.
Is it hard for a left handed person to play guitar?
One of the most popular and commonly asked questions about guitars is if they are difficult for left handed people to play.
Learning to play the guitar left-handed can be an intimidating, but exciting experience. Like all guitar players, you will need a string hand for barre chords and intricate riffs/solos throughout your journey.
Whichever hand you will learn with will also bind you to that hand guitar.
Whether you’re a new guitar player or an old pro, it’s important to have a good instrument that will last long enough to be worth your investment.
Can you restring a right hand guitar for left handed playing?
Left handed guitars are a rarity. In fact, they are about 5% as common as right-handed guitars.
The reason for this is because most guitarists play on the left side of their body and it makes sense that they should use the same hand to fret the strings.
But some players have preferences for how they want to hold the guitar or what type of tuning feels best for them, so sometimes people will restring a right hand guitar for left handed playing.
We wouldn’t say that’s ideal as the high strings will slide around due to the width of the nut slots.
The low string will have trouble fitting so the slows will need to be widened or a new nut will be needed.
Why Don’t Guitar Manufacturers Make More Left-Handed Models?
The selection of left-handed guitars is small and most models are overpriced.
Left handed guitars can cost more than twice as much as their right hand counterparts, which makes it difficult for many people to own one.
This also means that a lot of potential customers have been turned off by this phenomenon, especially since there are so few options available in the first place.
What’s more is that even when you find a good deal on a lefty guitar, they tend to be poorly made compared to their right-handed equivalents because they’re usually mass produced overseas with inferior materials and craftsmanship.
We believe that all musicians deserve access to high quality instruments at an affordable price without having to settle for less just because they happen to be southpaws!
That’s why we made this list for you!
Does Paul McCartney play a left handed guitar?
Yes, Paul is left-handed and almost always plays a right handed guitar. However, there are numerous photos of him using a left handed guitar in the wrong way – it has been stated by his contemporaries that he was perfectly competent playing with these guitars as well.
Who are some of the most famous left handed guitar players?
Left handed guitars are not as common as right handed guitars, but there are many well-known lefties who have made a name for themselves in the music world.
Some of the most famous left handed guitarists include Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Albert King, Kurt Cobain, and Tony Iommi.
Left handed guitars are a niche market within the guitar community.
Many people don’t even realize left handed guitars exist, and they’re often difficult to find in stores due to this demand.
Left handers typically have an easier time playing right-handed instruments because of their natural dominance in the opposite hand.
Some players that were born left handed but play right handed are: Davie Bowie, Billy Corgan, Mark Knopfler, Elvis Costello, Joe Perry, Noel Gallagher, and Gary Moore.
Conclusion
In conclusion, There are many left-handed people out there who want to learn guitar.
The majority of guitars are manufactured with right-handers in mind, which can make it difficult for lefties to find instruments that suit them well.
We hope that this post gave you the opportunity to look at some of the best left-handed guitars for beginners that we have found.
Left handed guitars are not as common as right handed guitars. It is important for lefties to find a good guitar that they can play with ease and comfort.
It will take time to find the perfect instrument, but it’s worth it!
Thank you for taking the time to read this article on the best left handed guitars for beginners. Remember to enjoy the process to always HAVE FUN!!!!
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