Saw this on Facebook today. I haven't become a fan yet, but saw all the lefty 'works in progress' and thought there might be some interest here. Hope the URL works.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Regenerate-Guitar-Works/179449722758?ref=pymk#!/pages/Regenerate-Guitar-Works/179449722758
Evidently you have to cut and paste in your browser. This will take you to the Facebook page. There are some cool custom basses there.

Thanks, I'll check it out in the morning.

Rod is a great guy and does very high quality work. He has been very accomodating to lefties from the very start. He also offers his basses right handed. His instruments are comparable to Sadowsky and Lull (from what his customers say)and for about half the price, similiar to Valenti but with the difference that Rod builds his own bodies and necks. These are not Warmoth/ USACG parts builds.

So if you are in the market for a top-shelf, semi-custom Fender style bass with a respectable range of options get in touch With Rod.

http://regenerateguitarworks.com/

Cheers!

I've always been curious about this concept of lefty-bass, as the left-hand is doing most of the precision work on a right-handed bass anyway. :-)

Part of my curiosity is because I think I might have been a natural left-handed person until my elementary school teachers in the south beat it out of me as a sign of being possessed by the devil. So I'm curious about what aspects of a right-handed bass make it hard to play for someone who is naturally left-handed.

Perhaps this should become a new topic though.

I did find it strange the other day when I saw a photo of Paul McCartney with a right-handed bass. I was wondering if they reversed the photo for the web, on purpose or by mistake, or whether it was a brand he wanted and was willing to settle on what was available (though I'm sure he could afford to pay anyone to make a custom left-handed bass for him).

It does seem that left-handed basses are few and far between, and are usually priced much higher than right-handed basses.

I recall reading somewhere years ago that he started out playing a right-handed bass that he restrung lefty-style.

I can only answer for myself as a lefty bass player. I didn't start playing until I was 18.
I didn't feel comfortable playing right-handed because the I "felt" the rhythm in my left hand and fingers.

To me the precision work is more in the plucking, not in the fretting.

Several lefty bass players play upside down right-handed basses, and I have done so often, if you get a chance to sit in, it's what you have to be prepared to do. Naturally, I have to play more conservatively if I play "upside down" because the muscle memory wants to fretin the usual place.
I have occasionally discovered a cool new bass line playing upside down, but I'm more fluid and able to adapt on my lefty basses.

The biggest problem I have on righty basses is my hand often hits the volume knob and I wind up turning my sound off while playing.

Lefty basses ARE few and far between, which is a two edged sword; I can't just walk into any music store and but any bass off the shelf, but I save money that way.

Fender, bless their heart, makes both MIA and MIM basses in lefty for about the same price as a righty, unfortunately they don't do a lot of their special basses , like the 5string PBass, or the 50th Anniversary JBass, in lefty. (yet). Gibson, on the other hand, does not make any lefty models.

As for Sir Paul, he is probably on of the reasons some manufacturers started making lefty basses.

I'm not all that great a player, but when I started playing bass in the 1980's - living in a small town, I didn't even know there was such a thing as a left-handed guitar or bass - so I just started playing a standard bass. My favorite bass (out of over a hundred that I tried at the time) is my RD Artist active - they didn't ever make those LH. Same for my Epi 5-string.

Somehow, I never thought of the idea of flipping the strings over, and just learned to play right-handed. I also play keys, and they don't make any left-hand versions of keyboards to my knowledge. I definitely don't find the left hand parts of keyboard music easier to play than the right-hand parts.

So - either one CAN be used - at this point, I don't think I'd even want to start learning over if I got a lefty bass. Not knocking them at all - just sayin'

My first good quality was a Gibson RD Artist. Great bass, sounded wonderful but was heavy as hell. Mine was almost 14 pounds, I guess thats why '70's Fenders never seemed all that heavy to me.

I traded it for my first left handed bass a '75 Fender Precision, the finest instrument I've ever laid my hands on.

The issue of left handed basses/guitars is a very touchy one for many lefties. This is because we very often get dismissive and/or condescending attitudes and comments directed at us. The whole "You should just learn to play righthanded" and "They don't make lefthanded (insert instrument here, usually piano)" are the most common.

Some people become quite vehemenent about it as though the existace of left handed guitars/basses is personally threatening or offensive somehow. I find that attitude very odd but unfortunately it is fairly common, especially in internet forums. So if you encounter some rather defensive/aggressive responses from lefties regarding the subject that is the reason.

Is it "better" to simply learn to play right handed? No. Is it more convienient? Unquestionably. Can't a left handed person learn to play competently right handed? Absolutely and most do. But some can't and the only way I can explain why is to say that some lefties are more lefthand dominant that others and therefore cannot play to their full potential right handed. There are many examples of this and it applies to other activities than musicial instruments.

The bottom line is that it's about the music, not which direction a players headstock points.
Cheers!

I certainly hope my comment is not considered dismissive nor condescending, for that was not my intent. It is probable that I would have looked for a lefty bass if I had known that such a thing existed when I started. I think it is a good thing, in the same sense that I have passed on a couple of auto pistols which were poorly designed for left hand shooters in favor of a Ruger that works well either way. Rifles are another item that can be not only inconvenent, but potentially dangerous when held in a "lefty" position.

I get enough of it when I eat anywhere at a banquet, where I am jammed in between people who use knife and fork in the opposite manner, unless I can sit at the left end of the table. Mebbe thats why King Arthur really had a ROUND table built?

The RD Artist is a heavy beast - back in the 80's my local music dealer found me a double strap that goes over BOTH shoulders and equalizes the weight. The 5-string feels so light in comparison.

Though I write and play bass left handed, I shoot rifle and pistol right handed, and use a rightly glove for baseball. I learned each of these skills at different ages, so it's not a case of "old dog, new tricks".

In any case, I did make and attempt to learn to play right handed, but I just never felt comfortable.

Also, most bass bodies are asymetical, when played upside down the because extremely neck heavy, even if the strap button is on or near the neck joint. I had two righty Pbasses I played taht way, but now I'd prefer to have a lefty body.

As for headstock direction, it does require being in the proper place on stage to avoid hitting another guitarist.