Fender Factory Tours

[Seshmeister]

1959ish






2012

[ELVIS]

I think the world has turned into one big gift shop...

[cadaverdog]

Seeing Kurt Cobain and his guitar made me wonder if Fender made left handed guitars. I couldn't see the head stock on his guitar but it looked like a right handed guitar considering the knobs would have been on top while he was playing it left handed. They make left handed Strats and Telecasters and have since at least the mid fifties. Why did Hendrix have to restring his strat upside down? The only explanation I found on line was he like the knobs on top. No mention of why Cobain used a restrung right handed guitar at all that I could find.

[FORD]

They may have made left handed guitars since the 50s, but they were probably harder to find, and therefore probably more expensive. The cheap guitar that Al Hendrix first bought for Jimi obviously wasn't a lefty, so Jimi taught himself to play "upside down" on a right handed guitar. So even when he could afford to buy a guitar more compatible with his body, why bother when he's used to playing right handed guitars his own way. Same thing with Kurt, for that matter. I doubt he could have found a left handed guitar anywhere in Aberdoom when he first started playing. Or even here in Olympia when the band moved here. I think I remember seeing a left-handed guitar in a pawn shop downtown once. It wasn't there very long. For all I know, Kurt probably bought it.

One would imagine though that famous "lefties" like Jimi, Kurt, and Paul McCartney have brought more attention to left handed guitars than would have happened otherwise.

[cadaverdog]

They may have made left handed guitars since the 50s, but they were probably harder to find, and therefore probably more expensive. The cheap guitar that Al Hendrix first bought for Jimi obviously wasn't a lefty, so Jimi taught himself to play "upside down" on a right handed guitar. So even when he could afford to buy a guitar more compatible with his body, why bother when he's used to playing right handed guitars his own way. Same thing with Kurt, for that matter. I doubt he could have found a left handed guitar anywhere in Aberdoom when he first started playing. Or even here in Olympia when the band moved here. I think I remember seeing a left-handed guitar in a pawn shop downtown once. It wasn't there very long. For all I know, Kurt probably bought it.

One would imagine though that famous "lefties" like Jimi, Kurt, and Paul McCartney have brought more attention to left handed guitars than would have happened otherwise.

I had always assumed they didn't make left handed Fender guitars. That's why I looked it up to see if they started making them after Hendrix became popular. I've seen a few left handed guitars in pawn shops here but this is LA not Seattle or Olympia. I'm guessing more wannabe rock stars come here and try to make it big and end up pawning their guitars for a bus ticket home or to fill their empty bellies.

[ELVIS]

What do you pawn to fill your empty belly ??

[cadaverdog]

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