Guitars, Bars, and Being Lefty

My trusty sidekick, Yami (an APX-6L)

Being a left-handed guitarist is, there is no other way to say it, a bitch. Most manufacturers that even make left-handed models do so once a year. To do so means that they have to flip the whole factory's tooling around, so they usually do it right at the beginning, or right at the end, of the production run. However many they make at that time is how many they've made for the year and when they're gone, they're gone. And usually they're gone at a 15% mark-up on average.

I've been really pleased with Yami in particular and Yamahas in general. They do good lefty stuff with no fall-off in quality, and a lot less mark-up in price than other companies. In addition, I'm really tough on guitars, I play a very percussive style with sharp picks and in a variety of climate environments. Let's not even talk about travel.

Strings? I always use Dean Markley Bronze, and heavy ones too, 13-58. They give me that bassy thump that's a big part of my sound and keep their bright period longer. I do however, keep them tuned a half-step down from standard for the life of the neck. Even when I play a lot of DADGAD, I'm actually playing C#AbC#F#AbC#.

Generally I combine a live and EA sound. I run the output of the piezo through a Tubeworks tube preamp DI box (sadly discontinued) after an Alesis Nanoverb Chorus for warmth and effect. Also, I usually stick a Shure SM-57 by the soundhole to give me a nice mix of bright and dark.

©2005