6 Best Left Handed Guitars

One of the most common questions that I get asked is, “where do left handed guitars come from?” The answer to that question, in a nutshell, is this: left handed guitars come from people playing them. The left-handed technique has been around for hundreds of years, but the left handed guitars date back only to the 1950s.

A left-handed person plays a left handed guitar with the guitar’s headstock pointing outwards on the left side of their body. The left-handed technique involves holding the left-handed guitar upside down so that you are essentially playing right-handed, albeit flipped 180 degrees around. If you were to play a right-handed guitar left-handed, it would be similar to the technique in reverse and cause left-handers some confusion.

6 Best Left Handed Guitars

The left-handed approach can also be more complex for left-handers playing a right-handed guitar than other left-handers because the strings are typically closer together than usual. If your hand is used to that spacing, it makes quick chord changes more difficult. Lefties aren’t left out when it comes to guitars; however, here’s a shortlist of brands that produce left-handed guitars:

PRS SE Zach Myers signature

This left handed guitar from PRS is a popular and budget-friendly option. Loaded with two humbucking pickups and a tremolo bridge for easy pitch bending, the left-handed Zach Myers signature model, is one of the best left-hand guitars on the market today.

PRS provides left handed guitar models of their SE line that look and play just like their high-end counterparts (which cost thousands more), such as the PRS Custom 24. With its simple control layout and light-gauge strings, this left-handed guitar makes it easy to get your fingers around those chords, even if you’re new to playing instruments or don’t have much experience under your belt.

You also get some excellent features such as active left-handed pickups and a PRS tremolo system that make this left-handed guitar the perfect option for the lefty guitarist on a budget.

Features

• Left-handed active pickups
• 24 fret maple neck
• Tremolo bridge
• Maple top/mahogany back combination
• Three left-handed volume controls
• Two left-handed tone controls
• left-handed tuners
• Finish: Cherry sunburst

Specifications

Brand	Paul Reed Smith
Color	Green
Top Material Type	Maple
Body Material	Maple, Rosewood, Mahogany
Back Material Type	Maple Wood, Mahogany Wood
Neck Material Type	Mahogany
Fretboard Material Type	Rosewood
Guitar Pickup Configuration	H
Guitar Bridge System	Adjustable
Scale Length	24.5 Inches

PRS SE Custom 24 lefty

PRS left handed guitars are known for their high-quality craftsmanship, playability, and sound. Because PRS left-hand models are made with lefties in mind (unlike some other guitars), the company typically puts two volume controls on the lefty models to make it easier to adjust your sound without contorting your hand too much while you’re playing. The SE Custom 24 is precisely what you’d expect from a PRS guitar: nice material selection, good tonewoods, and excellent hardware. However, unlike its higher-end cousins, which can cost thousands of dollars, the left-handed model will only set you back USD 1,100.

Features

• Maple top/mahogany back combination.
• Lefty tremolo bridge for pitch bending.
• Two volume controls (1 per pickup).
• Three tone controls.
• Lefty tuners.
• Finish: Cherry sunburst.

Specifications

Brand	PRS
Color	Fire Red Burst
Top Material Type	Maple, Mahogany
Body Material	Mahogany
Back Material Type	Mahogany Wood
Neck Material Type	Maple
Fretboard Material Type	Rosewood
Guitar Pickup Configuration	H
String Material Type	Nickel
Hand Orientation	Left

Epiphone Left-Handed Les Paul Custom Pro

Epiphone Les Paul is a three-pickup left handed guitar with an ebony finish. Like the other lefty models on this list, it features active pickups which make your chords ring out even if you don’t have much experience playing instruments. With 2 volume controls and three-tone controls for both pickups, you can get some very nice sounds from this electric guitar (just like you would expect from any instrument by Gibson or Epiphone).

Features

• Three active pickups.
• Ebony finish.
• Two volume controls (1 per pickup).
• Three tone controls.
• Finish: Left-handed ebony.

Specifications

Brand	Epiphone
Color	Ebony
Top Material Type	Maple
Body Material	Wood
Back Material Type	Maple Wood, Mahogany Wood
Neck Material Type	Mahogany
Fretboard Material Type	Rosewood
Guitar Pickup Configuration	H
Hand Orientation	Right
Guitar Bridge System	Tune-O-Matic

Fender Squier Classic Vibe ’70s Stratocaster HSS Left Handed Guitar

Squier Classic Vibe 70s Strat is a left handed guitar model based on the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards’ lefty guitar to record “Satisfaction.” With vintage-style tuners, vintage-style tremolo bridge, and vintage-style pickups (although they are only single coils), this left handed guitar has an authentic feel in your hands. You’ll find it in three color options: Black, Brown Sunburst, and Olympic White. It’s also available in right-hand versions if you want to play around with different styles.

Features

• Vintage-style tuners.
• Vintage-style tremolo bridge.
• Three single coils.
• Volume and tone control for each pickup and a master volume control.
• Finish: Black or Olympic white or Brown sunburst.

Specifications

Brand	Fender
Color	Black
Top Material Type	SQ374026506
Body Material	Poplar
Back Material Type	SQ374026506
Neck Material Type	Maple
Fretboard Material Type	SQ374026506
Guitar Pickup Configuration	Combination
String Material Type	Nickel Steel
Hand Orientation	Right

Taylor 114ce-LH Grand Auditorium Acoustic-Electric 

Grand Auditorium body style is comfortable for singers as well as left handed guitar players. The 114ce LH is also designed to be a very high-end acoustic instrument which means that it might feel a little bit less forgiving than the more traditional looking left-handed guitars on this list.

Features

• Grand Auditorium body style.
• Three active pickups.
• Tone control and a two-band EQ for each pickup.
• Satin-finished mahogany neck with a slimmer profile and “split diamond” inlays on the ebony fretboard.
• Finish: Satin finish mahogany woodgrain.

Specifications

Brand	Taylor
Top Material Type	Spruce
Body Material	Sitka Spruce
Back Material Type	Walnut Wood
Neck Material Type	Sapele Wood
Fretboard Material Type	Ebony
Hand Orientation	Left
Scale Length	25.5 Inches
Number of Strings	6

Fender American Original ’60s Strat Left Handed Guitar

Fender’s American Original series was designed to provide an affordable way for left-handed players of all ages and budgets to get their hands on the USA-built Fender guitar. The pickups on this model are sand cast alnico five single coils, which sound great, but they can make the strings more microphonic if you like your overdrive sounds with lots of gains (which is something you want on a Stratocaster anyway).

Features

• Three single-coil sand cast Alnico 5 magnets.
• Five-position blade for pickup switch.
• Volume and two tone controls.
• Black plastic knobs and a three-ply mint green pickguard (with white pickup covers).
• Comes with a gig bag.
• Pickguard: mint green.
• Finish: Candy apple red, three-color sunburst, Olympic White, Seafoam green, Sonic blue.

Specifications

Brand	Fender
Color	Jazzmaster
Body Material	Poplar
Neck Material Type	Maple
Fretboard Material Type	Laurel
Guitar Pickup Configuration	S
String Material Type	Nickel Steel
Hand Orientation	Left
Guitar Bridge System	Tremolo
Number of Strings	6

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