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Posted by: vampire14 Jan 24 2009, 02:38 PM

a small poll. im interested what the answer is folowing a discusstion in the gear forum.

Posted by: Pavlov Jan 24 2009, 02:41 PM

I feel discriminated against that there is no "I'm righthanded but I play lefthanded." option!

That would be cool. Alas, I'm right handed and play right handed.

Posted by: Marek Rojewski Jan 24 2009, 02:42 PM

Well I am ambidextrous as far as I can tell... For example I play ping-pong with my left hand, wield sword/other weapon in my left hand, but write with my right hand and play guitar righthanded...

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Jan 24 2009, 02:46 PM

Right handed - if you are referring to picking hand

Posted by: Muris Varajic Jan 24 2009, 02:50 PM

It's all about picking.

Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Jan 24 2009, 03:01 PM

Right handed here, as far as guitar playing goes.

Posted by: Pedja Simovic Jan 24 2009, 03:04 PM

Tell that to Ronny Jordan

Posted by: vampire14 Jan 24 2009, 03:15 PM

i added the option. thogh i find it hard to bellieve any one would choose that option. i think it would be very wierd of him as i wish i was a righty when it comes to guitar playing

Posted by: TreyDeschamp Jan 24 2009, 03:33 PM

Pretty cool topic. The "righthanders" are dominating!

Posted by: Bogdan Radovic Jan 24 2009, 03:41 PM

I'm right handed and I play bass that way...

Posted by: David Wallimann Jan 24 2009, 03:58 PM

Right handed for me, interesting poll!

Posted by: Ramiro Delforte Jan 24 2009, 04:04 PM

Right handed....but you can see it on the vids

Posted by: Pavlov Jan 24 2009, 04:05 PM

I know, I was joking. That person would be very strange and interesting in that respect.

Posted by: wrk Jan 24 2009, 05:46 PM

Left handed, but play normal right hand guitars .. for a long time i thought it is an advantage, but seeing all my picking problems now i'm not so sure about this anymore

Posted by: lcsdds Jan 24 2009, 05:48 PM

Andy,
Was that hard to get used to? Did you try playing left handed guitars first? What picking problems!!

Posted by: Matt23 Jan 24 2009, 05:52 PM

Right handed.

Posted by: wrk Jan 24 2009, 06:08 PM

When i started, it really didn't crossed my mind to use left handed guitars. Later, when i saw the first left hand guitar, i honestly thought the fretting hand does way more complicated things as the picking hand will ever do, i was and maybe still am quite stupid

.. my picking problem is, i spend so much time with picking exercises, since months. I gain more and more control but not even 1 bpm to speed. 16th notes at 120 is and stays the limit, after synchronization is a question of luck.

Monte, you have a alt. picking paranoia as well i heard. You think there is healing for us ? ..

Posted by: Davidian Jan 24 2009, 06:24 PM

I'm also a lefty who plays righthanded

Posted by: Zephyr Jan 24 2009, 06:35 PM

I actually have a bad habit of using both when I play... It's working so far, though!

But I do pick with my right hand. I'm boring like that.

I know a guy who is right-handed, but plays lefty. Even weirder, he first learned how to play right handed and decided to switch over later on! Cool story behind it, though. I guess his dad was left-handed (and played guitar) and he decided to play this way in memory of him.

Posted by: Joruus Jan 24 2009, 06:38 PM

I play right handed, i do anything right handed but i write with left
That kinda makes me ambidextrous, i can also use two pc mouses in left and right hand at the same time

Posted by: vampire14 Jan 24 2009, 07:29 PM

actually the hand you write in is what defines you by standart. there another thing that i wont mention here.
in my personal experience at least i recommend using the hand you write in to pick. even if it means you can use only a small number of guitars because youre a lefty.
from my experience that the best way to get results. it is so much more precise and fast from years of writing and drawing and thats very hard to teach the other hand.
i think the best played will not be a perf right or a lefty. the optimal situation is someone who writes with his right hand and throws balls and stuff life that with his left

Posted by: Joruus Jan 24 2009, 07:54 PM

I don't think that counts in my case.. (I'm a special case ;D)
I barely write anything on paper the last 5 years, and using mouse mainly in right hand gives it a lot of precision.
Also i use my (tig) welding torch right handed 40 hours a week

I think i just write lefthanded cause they didn't care enough at first school to make me write right handed.

Posted by: enforcer Jan 24 2009, 07:58 PM

Ambidextrious, I write with left and right hand without problem, I can do nearly everything I do with my left too. But I play normal guitar, because its easy to find

Posted by: superize Jan 24 2009, 08:17 PM

Right handed

Posted by: lcsdds Jan 24 2009, 08:18 PM

I doubt it for me. I don't know what the problem is. I can pick pretty decent on 1 string but the minute I try to change strings it all goes to crap!! Probably why my legato and tapping are so much more developed. For whatever reason it is just alot easier for me. I have decided to try and develop my economy picking. I think that is the only way I will ever get any kind of speed with the pick and I think I have the potential to get some speed with it. Don't tell Muris tho!!

Posted by: ErikEklund Jan 24 2009, 08:20 PM

Right handed

Posted by: berko Jan 24 2009, 08:28 PM

If I have to eat soup I automatically grab the spoon with my left hand... even if it's on the other side of the plate Other then that I do everything with my right hand.

Posted by: audiopaal Jan 24 2009, 08:32 PM

Right handed

Posted by: Wabba Jan 24 2009, 08:47 PM

I pick with my right hand. So I'm right handed if that's what it means.

Posted by: berko Jan 24 2009, 09:03 PM

If I have to eat soup I automatically grab the spoon with my left hand... even if it's on the other side of the plate Other then that I do everything with my right hand.

Posted by: vampire14 Jan 24 2009, 09:47 PM

well as i thoght. about 10 precent are left handed and half of them play right handed.
but i think those companies are forgetting that 5 precent of guitar players is a hack of a lot of people and if there will be a left handed jem and not many other elite models for lefties to compete they can own the market

Posted by: Canis Jan 24 2009, 09:59 PM

Standard "boring" righty 'ere

Posted by: wrk Jan 25 2009, 01:16 AM

I will say nothing, but i'm afraid Muris knows already ..
I think it needs just more practice. My right wrist is not enough developed because as i'm left handed and do a lot of things mainly with my left hand. To brush my teeth for example . Further, an accident in 2004 damaged my right arm/hand and i guess this didn't really added some value to the muscles ether . But it will come together one day, i'm still positive

Your legato is indeed super high developed Monte. I can imagine that it will be hard work for you to bring your picking to a corresponding level, but it's worth it. Just force yourself to work on it. Economy picking is great, but it doesn't have the same attack as alternate picking. I often think economy picking adds just another color to legato, whereas alt picking is the complete opposite of legato sound.

Posted by: Paiva Jan 25 2009, 01:27 AM

I write with my left and play with right handed but the playing it wasn't anything forced the first time I picked a guitar it was like all my life I had been right handed.

And Yeah I "have" the same thing as the threadstarter I do everything in my right side when I kick a football it is with my right foot and so on but when I write I write with my left hand

Posted by: Col Roberts Jan 25 2009, 01:55 AM

Right-handed. I've flipped my guitar around and tried to pick with my left hand, but playing notes on just one string is extremely difficult ... just like a complete beginner!

Posted by: lcsdds Jan 25 2009, 01:59 AM

You know Andy, I know you are right. When I first started playing back in the 80's my favorite guitar players were Vai, Satch, Vito Bratta, and EVH. All prolific legato type players. The only one out of those 4 who I have even heard do anything that might be considered an alternate picked run would be Vai. I spent my early years trying to imitate these guys so as you can see the end result is that I have pretty decent tapping and legato but I couldn't pick my way out of a paper bag. Too be honest my ear has never been attracted to the alternate picked sound and I love the shapes that economy picking allows me to play but I have really never spent a ton of time on this technique either. I REALLY need to do as you and Muris say and just force myself to do it. It will be a good tool in my tool bag but I think it frustrates me to be able to play so much more fluidly with my tapping and legato and for my picking to just be a mess. I am determined to get some picking chops this year and I have actually set aside quite a bit of time in my practice routine this year to conquer Hybrid, Alternate and Economy picking. When I joined this site 5 months ago I was blown away by how amazing Muris was at EVERY technique. Wish me luck, maybe there will be some healing after all.

Posted by: wrk Jan 25 2009, 02:59 AM

I think we both started around the same time . If you remember, there were no internet around and only a few and very expensive videos available. All the songs and solos i learned back then i learned from books or by ear and i was more concentrated on the notes and not really on different technics. If it sounded similar to what i have heard, i was happy . Between the time i stopped playing and started again 2 years ago, i didn't followed a all what was going on in the guitar world. Now suddenly i can see all the different players on video, see their technic and i was blown away about the differences and how everything developed over the years.

If you are not so much attracted to the sound of alt. picking, then there is no reason to bring this to extreme levels, but a bit more so that you don't see it as a handicap anymore. I try to get away from this to put my goals too high.
Hybrid picking is btw a lot of fun. Depends which level you are trying to reach, but for me it has just started to pick notes with my ring finger from time to time, instead to skip a string with the pick and it feels really comfortable.

Posted by: Trond Vold Jan 25 2009, 06:38 AM

I'm right-handed

Posted by: JamesT Jan 25 2009, 06:50 AM

I'm left handed. I strung my brothers guitar upside down in the very first few months of playing, but when I went to buy my first guitar, the salesman talked me into a right handed one.

Posted by: vampire14 Jan 25 2009, 08:05 AM

and you think you would be better if you stuck to your left hand?

Posted by: Mandos Jan 25 2009, 08:10 AM

I'm left handed, but I'm pretty much ambidextrous.