ShortScale.org

hey,

New to these forums, recommended by a guy from the SDUGF, dunno if he's a member on here or not but he has a cool squier short scale thing...

anyways, I have been playing for 8 years, I LOVE nirvana and the sound short scale guitars give out, so recently i have been looking for one. Since I adore cobain and all sorts of stuff, I really want a mustang or a Jaguar, but mainly a Jaguar.

The problem i have is there are not many budget options out there... its a bit annoying but hey, that's what you get for being a lefty!!!

I found a great website which sells lefty Fender japan mustangs for £899 which is pretty good.... the jaguars are nearly £1200 though

I contacted a Luthier who specialises in Left handed work and I asked him for a quote on a custom made jaguar he said it would be way more than £1200....

The other routes I have is looking at more obscure brands, getting a Body and neck made for me and me finish it off or buy a righty and flip it over.

The main problem i have is, I like to try a guitar out first, see if i get on with it and if it is the right choice for me, and (I know I aint got the money anyways right now...) if I go and buy an MIJ fender Mustang and i don't like it, it will be a waste..... so i need somewhere near to Leicester (UK that is...) which has a lefty jaguar or mustang so i can see if it suits me.... the only problem is internet wise I am not getting much luck.

What are your experiances and what would you guess suggest or think of?

cheers,

LH'S

we have a few shortscale lefty players around here, and they will no doubt feel your pain when it comes to the fewer, more expensive options there are for guitars. sorry about this situation, but welcome to the board. you will certainly find a sympathetic ear around this community! =]

Left_Hand_'Stang wrote:hey,

New to these forums, recommended by a guy from the SDUGF, dunno if he's a member on here or not but he has a cool squier short scale thing...

anyways, I have been playing for 8 years, I LOVE nirvana and the sound short scale guitars give out, so recently i have been looking for one. Since I adore cobain and all sorts of stuff, I really want a mustang or a Jaguar, but mainly a Jaguar.

The problem i have is there are not many budget options out there... its a bit annoying but hey, that's what you get for being a lefty!!!

I found a great website which sells lefty Fender japan mustangs for £899 which is pretty good.... the jaguars are nearly £1200 though

I contacted a Luthier who specialises in Left handed work and I asked him for a quote on a custom made jaguar he said it would be way more than £1200....

The other routes I have is looking at more obscure brands, getting a Body and neck made for me and me finish it off or buy a righty and flip it over.

The main problem i have is, I like to try a guitar out first, see if i get on with it and if it is the right choice for me, and (I know I aint got the money anyways right now...) if I go and buy an MIJ fender Mustang and i don't like it, it will be a waste..... so i need somewhere near to Leicester (UK that is...) which has a lefty jaguar or mustang so i can see if it suits me.... the only problem is internet wise I am not getting much luck.

What are your experiances and what would you guess suggest or think of?

cheers,

LH'S

Welcome!

I was in exactly the same situation as you (and used to live in leicester) being left handed and into SS guitars.

Unfortunately when it comes to affordable guitars fender deemed the 'freaks' worthy of strats and teles. I searched high and low for a "cheaper" (japanese) lefty jag to no avail. I think there are some out there but unfortunately their owners know what they're worth because they've been through the same thing.

In the end I got a righty one (my local guitar shop had a few going for less £'s than usual), drilled a hole behind the neck for the strap-lock and strung it lefty. It's by no means an ideal solution, and takes a bit of getting used to but as long as you have it at the right strap height so as to not knock the knobs as you're playing its pretty good, and unique looking.

I would say DEFINITELY have a go on a jag before you get one online on a whim or something. They aren't the most versatile guitars when they have their stock pickups etc in (relative to a strat or tele) and most definitely aren't for everyone, that said, they are (IMO) the best looking guitars ever made.


If you were going to bite the bullet and drop a grand or so on getting a LH shortscale, go for the new Kurt Cobain artist series Jaguar. From the sounds of it its everything you'd want, plus they're making a bunch left handed.


As for somewhere to have a go on one, I assume sound control is gone from the city centre? They used to stock a few, failing that, you could try some of the shops in nottingham, or failing that get the train down to London and hit up Denmark street. It would be worth the cost of a ticket to make sure you know what you're buying.

also, if you're more into the jag/jazzmaster 'look', I've been keeping an eye on these on the off chance they start making left handed:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hodson-JazzCa ... 945wt_1226

or, keep an eye on this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Left-Handed-C ... 35b63f1767

Build one. You're in the UK so you have it easier than we do in the us. Watch eBay and whatnot for Japanese stuff.

Otherwise, build one bit by bit. I'm also lefty and aside from my MIJ Jag I lucked into 11 years ago, I cannot find lefty shortscales. Find a Supersonic and flip it over, that is my fav guitar right now. I'm also finally finishing my bronco after 7 years of planning. That's my advice.

Yes it's a pain. Huge pain.
Other than the japanese guitars, you now have another option - the Cobain sig Jag. We've got a big thread on it - and it comes in under a grand.
And not a Jag, but the Ibanez ORM1-L is a really nice budget shortscale, I have one and was surprised by how good it was. Not as nice as my Jag though...

Thanks guys!

Louis, glad to be talking to a fellow Leicester man! Sound control departed the streets many moons ago, they up and went about what?nearly 3 years ago now. it got named reverb lasted a year then poof. gone. we have MusicJunkie but they nowhere near have a good selection. lol

also I will keep an eye on that jazzcat thingy you linked, I like the look of those by all means, seem really nice!

Pens, I am contemplating this, it is just that the custom build market is quite... let's say interesting... because of the left handed aspect. I keep getting quotes from Luthiers and it will end up costing more than the Sig jag's RRP!!! so if I build, It will be body blank> someone with table saw> someone who can rout and contour etc. will probably end up just as good but cheaper as well, of course I would employ a local luthier to doall the critical things, but for shaping and such, yeah.

the fender Sig Jag will be cool and I would love one, but the chance of me having £990ish lying in the bank within the next six months being slim, most likely means I will miss out of the Lefty one. I believe it is Limited???

It is an awesome guitar, and being a Nirvana fan its quite damn awesome, lol

-insert learn to play guitar the correct way comment here-

portugalwillie wrote:-insert learn to play guitar the correct way comment here-

i'm contemplating trying to. but it feels 10 times more comfortable playing left handed to me.

if I was a lefty the first 24" guitar I would be hands down is the ibanez orm1. I have played 2 of them in shops anthe necks are perfect re creatuons of how a fender short scale neck feels. you can tell it just feels "right" rhe second you pick it up

You can always get one of these as a starting point. Can customize all you want. $79 us.




link, I have the right handed sst57 24" and I play it all the time (it is a conversion neck, same as in duo sonic or jagmaster).

^^^ i love those^^^

I must try that Ibanez.... it looks nice too! in theory i could mod it to absolute Fuck to make it awesome....

Actually I just remembered, I have a Butchered Teisco Spectrum 2 in the cupboard in bits... that's short scale... i think,although it is a little far gone to be repaired...

They don't make that Ibanez in left handed in the US. I already tried to find one because they are awesome looking.

Pens wrote:They don't make that Ibanez in left handed in the US. I already tried to find one because they are awesome looking.

I'll let you know when I sell mine Pens

Thom wrote:

Pens wrote:They don't make that Ibanez in left handed in the US. I already tried to find one because they are awesome looking.

I'll let you know when I sell mine Pens

DIBS! Also on your JS if you ever decide to sell that as well.

Welcome to the boards, from a fellow East Midlander

cur wrote:You can always get one of these as a starting point. Can customize all you want. $79 us.




link, I have the right handed sst57 24" and I play it all the time (it is a conversion neck, same as in duo sonic or jagmaster).

I went looking for a non-pink version of this, holy fuck am I reading that right, this shit has an A width neck???

http://www.rondomusic.com/rst34lhbk.html