Me too, and my dad was a lefty. He strictly wouldn't allow me to play an instrument left handed. Frankly, there are benefits to being a lefty who plays right handed. Leads are easy, rhythm not so much. Guitar is played with both hands anyway.
My brother is a lefty and a bassist. He’s always buying cheap basses & modding them, hoping for the best. He’s scored a couple of decent modders, but is usually disappointed.
I just want to thank you again for all the hard work you did on the Chibson for me. I had a chance to play it tonight and was totally happy with the changes. The dragon fire pickup sound really good and the frets feel really great. Awesome video and always very informative information.
Santiago Sánchez Santarelli yeah for the price I was extremely happy with them this will be a daily player for me for sure. Maybe one day I’ll find a actual Gibson that I must have that is actually left handed :)
Well it may be a chibson. But it is still a cool looking guitar. That guitar holds a special place in my heart. In 1989 when ozzy introduced zakk to the world. It was that cream les Paul with the circles on it. I went to see that no rest for the wicked tour four times. Twice in providence and twice in Worcester centrum. That guitar is partly responsible for my intense learning curve for guitar. It may be a chibson, but it’s a super cool look!!
As a lefty, I respect your sympathy for our plight.... I didn't get a descent lefty till I was in my 40's which definitely sucked! So hooking this guy up really gave me the warm fuzzies. Good on you bro. I know the owner REALLY appreciated your help on this. God bless you for taking care of this lefty as I know from experience the struggle we go through.
As a Brit, your solder vs sodder comments made me spit my tea out laughing. Oh, and it's a crocodile clip, not an alligator clip 😁 love your work, thank you for sharing it with us.
In Canada, where this was done, this is an alligator clip. We also have crocodile clips, but they look different (when they close, it is flat). That's the way we learned it in school.
It's no doubt wise to discuss the particulars to make sure he understands it'll never compare to the real thing, but as a viewer who can't afford top of the line gear I appreciate you helping the guy out. Well done vid, as always, entertaining as well as informative.
As a lefty... thank you!!!! I love all guitars and spend a lot of time watching CZcams videos on guitars but get depressed when I realize 95% of the guitars are ones ill never be able to play
Finally someone feels our pain. Hard to play before you buy being a lefty, unless you have the scratch to fly around the country. My nearest GC has had the same 2 lefties for going on 6 years now. That alligator clip idea is great! Can’t even count how many times I have searched the floor for that flying spring.
When your a lefty and go into Guitar Center or any music store for that matter, your option is 1 to 2 guitars at MOST on any given day. Almost always a strat or tele. Thats why lefties buy guitars without playing first, we have to buy online for even a decent selection, Im not talking about Custom stuff. You have no idea what its like.
Another thing right-handed players don't realize, most left-handed guitars at major retailers are either under $300 (inferior instruments, similar to a Chibson), or $700+. There aren’t a lot of good intermediate options for lefties, nor are there many options on the used marketplace. So to all of those delusional guitar teachers who say, "You would have been wiser to learn right-handed," of course we would if that were even an option (!).
Thanks for taking your time to work on this Chipson, it makes us realize how much work and precision actually requires a good guitar, and also makes us value more the work.
When I bought my Gibson Les Paul in 2018, I actually had enough for a new standard, but there were 2 reasons I didn't. First (and foremost) I'd been hearing a lot of bad news about the 2015 and on craftsmanship coming out of Nashville (no way I could afford a custom), and a lot of other things I needed would not have been obtainable, some pretty serious needs, too. I got lucky, and found a 2011 LP Studio in pretty good shape, for about $800 USD. No binding, matte finish, and while the grain looks pretty nice, it's no AAA or even A, I'd guess. Still, it sounds great, plays great and I feel I really got my money's worth. It was videos like this one that convinced me not to get a Chibson, and I'm really glad. I've not been into the cavity on mine, but I'll bet the wiring is done correctly. Thanks for putting videos like this up, it really helps those of us that want a good guitar, and could be confused by the shiny Chibsons into getting one that is a gamble, at best, and unplayable junk at worst.
Your work is art-work. Just amazing to see the tools you invent, the time you take and how understandable your instruction it. I have 2 really old cheapies, makes me want to work with them.
You're changing lives of all of the people you help with your outstanding craftsmanship. From the perspective of a Gibson LP owner, watching all of your repair videos are incredibly satisfying. Keep up the hard work my friend.
I'm a lefty and ended up getting a Stagg Les Paul copy. Had P90s put in it and Gotoh locking tuners, all back in 2005. It was the best scenario I could afford. The guitar plays and sounds incredible! It's tough being a lefty!
I started life as a lefty guitarist. My uncle who is a guitar virtuoso told my father when I was 8 yrs old to buy me a right handed guitar because quality lefty gear is hard to come by. Thank God he did that for me, I do feel bad for lefties. However I recently picked up a Takamine lefty at a garage sale for a steal and I’m not half bad in the other direction. Keep up the excellent work on the videos.
So many helpful tips. Using the Seymour Duncan site for wiring arrangements. Using cardboard to plot out the wiring first. Sandpaper along the back of a level for fret dressing. As a hobbiest at repairing and building, I appreciate this stuff.
you make all canadians proud . Of all the reasons to pimp this ride . Yours are admirable. Before watching , i already know you will make this guitar respectable. ....bless your canadian heart bro
I make a few guitars here in Canada too , and nothing bugs me more than having to import Canadian Maple or have to pay in US funds for Canadian Spruce.
Thank you for not working on those Counterfeits! I also love your channel, great workmanship and knowledge. I have been a repairman for over thirty years and am retired now and enjoy watching your videos.(subscribed) And by the way, the few times I was presented a Chibson for repair or mod I would let the customer know if I was to work on it I was going to permanently mark the back of the head stock with the word FAKE. Anyway thank you for great videos and for being a great repairman.
Thanks for taking care of us lefties. Chibson, Harley Benton, SX, and such are often our only options. Your statements about buying a guitar without playing it hits home, because that's usually our only option.
Ted you never disappoint! Good on you for helping out the client in his situation. As a fellow trying to figure the guitar out I feel it is important to try and connect to a musician and a style you like to help in the learning. But your right, like sneakers, guitars can have some real ethical issues.
My father in law said sorder, he was from Tronner, up the road from Hamilton. My dad said solder, he was from outback Australia (he was a frigging genius with a soldering iron, water tanks roof leaks, you name it. Dunno where the l vanished to in North America.
I used to scratch up the back of pots, then I read that good pots usually have a flux-like coating, and since I’ve stopped scratching I find the solder flows and sticks better. Just a well meaning tip.
You can also use copper alligator clips as heat sinks when you're soldering electronics. Place it between the solder point and the electronic part you want to keep cool. I plan on picking some up tomorrow before replacing the pots and bridge single coil with a hb in my Strat
Thanks for another enjoyable and informative video. Regarding “always play before you buy”, that is rarely an option for us lefties. In the nearly 50 years I’ve been playing, I’ve been in exactly one store with a selection of lefty guitars- Southpaw Guitars in Houston, Texas. Practically all mine were ordered, but thankfully they’ve all been good ones.
Dude. I've been changing pickups for decades and fight the screws and springs EVERYTIME. I can't believe I never thought to use an alligator clip to hold the spring. Brilliant.
I was a sonar technician in the advanced electronics field with 2M schooling and practical experience aboard ship. As per our instructors and my 21 year military career AS WELL working for Detroit Diesel after retiring from the Army (yep, two branches)…pronounced…”sodder” in the US. Good call and as Phil Hartman would say when playing Ed McMahon…”You Are Correct Sir” 😉🤘🤘🤘
As a lefty, I appreciate you making an effort on "our" behalf. With regards to your comment about "not understanding how someone could buy a guitar without playing it first, let me describe the scenario we typically face. As a lefty, especially if you live in a smaller town or city, if there even is a music store in your town, it very likely will have NO left handed instruments in their inventory. You go into a Guitar Center or other type "big box" music retailer in a bigger city, they'll have 2 or 300 guitars in their inventory, and typically maybe 3 lefty electrics (2 of which will be Squires or Mexican Strats, the other a bottom of the line Ibanez or Epiphone), one or 2 low end lefty acoustic guitars, and maybe one lefty bass (usually a Squire or Mexican P-bass) They can order one from Gibson or Fender or Schecter or the other manufacturers who offer a smattering of models in lefty configuration, or you can put down thousands of $$ to special order a higher end model, subject to an exorbitant "restocking fee" if you don't like how it plays and want to return it. Basically, most of the time, "playing it first" unless you want one of the lower end models previously described, simply isn't an option for left handed players, especially if you don't have access to a big box or specialty retailer. Things are better than they used to be for lefties, especially with online options. But I've been in dozens of music stores all over the country that didn't have a single left handed instrument among dozens, or in some cases hundreds of guitars.
Too bad most lefties dont have a mentor or teacher to get them to play a standard guitar from the start. I'm left handed for everything but as a lefty, the fingering for chords and lead work is so much easier because that is the dominant hand. What does the other hand do? Mostly just hold a pick. Probably too late now to switch for most lefties. I'm so glad my parents didnt say anything about left handed options when I asked for my first guitar.
I tried playing right handed when I first started. It felt wrong from the start, like I might as well be playing with my feet instead of my hands. When I "turned around" my right handed starter guitar, even though the strings were now "backwards", it immediately felt better, to me at least. I suppose many lefties are "partially ambidextrous" out the necessity of living in a "right handed world". When I played baseball as a kid, I batted right and threw left. My (thankfully) brief foray into golf I played right handed as well. I'm "right eye dominant", so maybe that has something to do with it. My dominant eye was closer to the fretboard when playing guitar left handed. Once I got an actual left handed guitar, I knew it was the right (correct) choice.
@@andychase7693 and @Bob Coss. I'm a lefty and also a psychologist (happily retired!). The reason Bob is happy to play RH and it felt wrong from the start for Andy is due to hemispherical dominance in the brain, not handedness. Contrary to popular belief, most lefties do NOT have right hemispheric dominance, they either have left dominance just like right-handed people or have 'mixed dominance'. Only a very few lefties have right dominance (like me, and probably Andy), and they are the ones who really struggle playing RH. The desciption of it 'just feeling wrong' is very common amongst right dominant people and cuts through the entire range of activities (carving a joint of meat, eating dessert, tennis, batting, kicking a ball, shooting (dominant eye), you name it. Strictly speaking no one has entire dominance in one or other side of the brain, but the more right dominance you have, the more you will struggle to play RH. Incidentally, that's why left handed sets of golf clubs abound. This phenomenon is well recognised in sports, and a sufficient number of people play golf that it has been viable for many years to mass produce LH clubs. Also, the picking hand has lots to do in both plectrum and fingerstyle playing. It controls rhythm, subtlemess of attack, and leads in co-ordinating the right and left hands so they work together in perfect synchronisation. A person with right hemispherical dominance trying to play RH will most likely find their right hand flapping around without any of these features. A left hand person with left dominance or mixed dominance won't, and may even be at an advantage in the way Bob suggests. Incidentally, Andy my left is my dominant eye: here's the test for eye dominance - www.allaboutvision.com/resources/dominant-eye-test.htm. Whew.
Robert Newell interesting stuff. I’m left handed and when I was about 7 wanted to play guitar. My parents got me an acoustic guitar strung up left handed and when Christmas rolled around and I got my hands on it I held it right handed. My parents were “no! Hold it the other way!”. Needless to say I struggled and never got into playing till I was 19 and taught myself to play from a book right handed. I play golf right handed yet when I only use one hand I’m a leftie unless it a mouse and I use my right hand and it keeps my left hand free to write with.
@@parttroll1 Hi Craig. Very interesting. Suggests that you have mixed dominance or are left dominant like most lefties. A while since I wrote this, but I think I mentioned that right brain dominance is actually the exception, rather than the rule. These are the folk that struggle with RH guitars or golf sets.
I've bought most of my guitars sight unseen, but from reputable dealers. I don't have any guitar shops near me, so I'm kind of forced to...I've never had to return one, but can fix just about anything. Usually it's just minor fretwork.
I am amazed that it sounds as good as it does. Well done. I am also glad to hear you say why would you buy without trying it. I've picked my way through all the stock in a store at any price and walked away empty handed because none felt/sounded right. Still have regrets on one that I couldn't afford at the time and it was sold by the time I could. Sales person just didn't get my disappointment. "But these are just the same" Your videos have taught me a lot more about why certain things feel right.
@@MisterFruitbowl yes, I do know. I own 2 epis, a chibson that was given to me in a trade for carpentry work, and 3 Gibson USA. And the quality of the epiphones is on par with the Gibson's, and the chibson isn't far off
@@mikeflanders1292 "why buy Jameson when I can't tell the difference from McCormick?" "My Kia has leather & a V6 so its totally a Mercedes, bro, srsly"
Thank you from lefty. There are so many cool guitars out there that I can only admire but never play. Your work is flawless and such great craftsmanship.
As a Lefty player, I really appreciate your empathy with our situation. While Left-handed options really have expanded in recent years, it's still truly just a fraction of what our right-handed friends have available to them. Of course, that can be a good thing - as far as my credit card balance is concerned. And yeah, as a lefty you just don't often have the chance to actually play a guitar before buying it. So i try to buy from places that have a reasonable return policy.
Turning the poker chip upside down and rotating the switch 180° actually has certain logic to it. The player can then read (from their perspective) the labeling the right way round. Of course anyone who has owned a guitar for more than half an hour probably doesn't really need this feature. I really like your methodical, common sense approach to this kind of offbeat stuff, and your skills on the technically difficult repairs.
I work for Gibson, in the Body Line. As soon as you took that back electronic cover off I was disgusted Lol 😂 i was like “Oh yea that thing is totally fake”
I just found your video. I’m a lefty myself and felt forced to take a chance and ordered Chinese prs cst 24 custom. Received it broken in half . Glued it back together and hung on wall. They sent me a replacement, but it has a crack along the scarf joint. 😢😂
As a lefty, I appreciate your magnanimity. However, I've chosen to buy Hagstroms or to build (assemble) my own. I really couldn't be happier. The whole Chibson thing never appealed to me. I don't try to pass my Warmoth Jazzmaster off as a Fender, but it's still a kick-ass guitar.
Thanks for the shout out to us lefties. We really don't have very many choices so we have to use whatever it is that we can get. And we know we will never get any resale value out of the instrument, but it doesn't matter because we are very unlikely to sell it anyway. We are experts in turning junk instruments into good players- including setting up the pots to work in "reverse". Us lefties don't have the luxury of being able to play 10 or more guitars before deciding on one of them. We usually have to take the one we find and work with it.
Because he's left handed and finding a lefty in a music store is close to the same task as finding bigfoot. Much less finding multiple left handed instruments to try before we buy. You normal handers take shit for granted. Nothing like parting with $2k up front to order a guitar you have no idea if you'll like how it feels. Trust me we appreciate a good luthier helping us get something we aren't perfectly happy with closer to something we can be happy with.
@@BSIII That used to happen a lot. Less so these days. I'm sure it still happens. I'm not even upset about that as the numbers are lower for lefties so by volume you have to make up the cost of production somewhere. The brands that annoy me are the one that's can't even be bothered to produce something in a lefty.
I've heard it said that lefties should stick to pursuits like scuba-diving, bobsleighing or tossing the caber, rather than try to be like a proper person. I tend to agree, and I'm glad it's illegal to have a southpaw president or prime minister, except maybe in the far east.
" I do not understanding how someone could buy a guitar without playing it first", try being left handed! Besides the LP Studio or Squire that I can play at any Guitar Center, there is almost nothing out there for lefty's. From cheaper guitars to vintage to custom guitars, it's almost impossible to find anything interesting or unique. Although I found a few great guitars locally I bought 90% of my collection (of about 25) online. I've had luthiers make me models that were impossible to find because they just never made that model in a lefty or are super rare and $$$, I still have to wait for it to be completed to see if I even like it, thats the way it is. You just have to fix what you don't like about it and then you'll have to accept what it. I am happy with all my guitars because I've spent more time on getting them right than most people, because I don't have a choice. I owned a Chibson for 2 weeks and thought it was compete garbage, from the wood to the parts to everything about it, just fake garbage. Epiphone makes great guitars nowadays that is 100000000% better than any chibsons and they are about the same price or less because you don’t have to change anything (unless you want to).
My first guitar teacher, Brad, had me leave my lefty guitar at home and had me take one of the school's guitars for class. I always thought it was just so it was easier for him to teach me with the rest of the class who all played right, but now, as an adult who can hardly even hold a lefty guitar, I like to think he prevented a lot of headache and possibly saved me from owning a knockoff Gibson I bought on Amazon.
@@nohabloemojislosiento4930 Thats a good teacher! My 1st guitar teacher said "I never had a lefty student, this should be interesting for me". My other friends that started out lefty, their teachers made them play right handed and told them it would be a pain to be a lefty. Sounds like my luck.
Who the heck hates copies? I guess guitar collectors, but as a guitar player, any guitar works as long as i can fret it, and sound comes through in tune
I don't hate copies, I hate counterfeits. I don't mind when Ibanez decided to make Fender style guitars with their own name on the headstock. I don't mind when Blueridge makes Martin style guitars with their own name on the headstock. When you are dealing with counterfeits with Gibson, Fender, PRS, and others on the headstock? That is where the problem starts. Think about it like this. Let's say you buy a counterfeit Les Paul with Gibson on the headstock. You might know that you are getting a counterfeit and it might not bother you but what happens when you decide to sell that guitar to a pawn shop or give it to a buddy? Now it is in circulation on the used market and now it can be used to deceive someone who doesn't know better. It is because of these counterfeits that one has to be so careful when buying used guitars. It doesn't matter if you think a counterfeit guitar is fine, what matters is that it is deceptive and ethically wrong.
@@startrekmike That seems like a weird reason to hate the product, if the pawn shop doesn't label it as a fake that's them being shitty, same goes for you if you give your friend the guitar without saying it's a fake.
I happened to get a Chibson LP for free a while back, the guy was so depressed about it he actually just left it by the front door of his house when I went to pick it up. He'd expected far more from the guitar than it was willing to give but what really did him in was the mahogany back, or solid body of mahogany, was formed, above the central beam, of several thinner (about 20mm each) laminations, about four of them, before the final piece that went to the edges. This is what irritated him but then a mate offered to paint it black, with a rattle can and bad masking and painting skills... and it was even more horrid! This then amounted to him just wanting rid of it and so I got it. The machine heads were missing as well as the bridge but apart from that it was complete. I scrapped off all the paint, added a bridge and threw on some grover copy MH's and gave it to a friend. My friend absolutely loved it and even had another friend with a real gibson LP aghast that it was almost as good, even better regarding the pickups which were branded Epiphone (?). He has since put Gibson style grover copies with locks on but we've still got to pot the pickups as they squeal real easy... lovely sound but some microphonics. I've picked up LP's in the past that were just logs, total plonkers, and always find it incredibly interesting when gems come from the last place you'd look.
I picked up a good tip on putting the spring loaded pup screw for pup rings, I spent over an hour without results. So I Googled it and found Phillip McKnight has a trick using a small peice of a drinking straw sliced down the side and putting screw into the straw. Did it in 10 minutes for the first one then it was easier with the next 3, but I will try your trick with an alligator clip holding down spring to thread screw into ring, thank you Utub.
Hey, it's a Walmart world we're living in. I'd venture a guess that about 80-90% of the manufactured goods that we use everyday are Chinese-made. From the coffee-maker that gets you going in the morning to the clothes on your back to the camera you're shooting the video with. My bigger rant would be the fact that "normal" people simply don't make enough money to buy quality products made under equitable circumstances. That, of course, opens a whole new can of worms debate about social-economic injustice and is probably better left to a pseudo-political troll-forum somewhere out there in internet-land. That said, I really appreciate to your vids. I live in a rather isolated part of the world and so I'm a do-it-yourselfer out of necessity. The "tips and tricks" facet of your presentations is invaluable. Cheers! P.S. I seem to have used up my daily quota of hyphens in this post so I'll stop writing...
I've bought all my guitars (except the first one) without having them in my hands first. Haven't been burned yet and setup and wiring are within my capabilities. But I don't go for cheap guitars.
As a Lefty with large hands I found bolt on lefty necks from Warmoth have been good quality and I can get 1 3/4" nut width for most Fender Necks. . Their bodies fit their necks very well. I learned the hard way you have to mirror image the wiring diagrams or the pots and switches function backwards. Lindy Fralin makes lefty orientated single coil pickups. Being lefty has pushed me to do my own setups which after a couple years learning I've gotten pretty good at for my own liking. Love your work Ted. Thanks for sharing.
Nice work --- I have bought dozens of guitars online without trying them. Mostly Korean factory 2nds and I have made 90% into pretty good guitars but I have no interest in resale value.
way to stick of up the lefties! My son is a lefty and i got into being his personal luthier because of his lack of good choices! though i too stay away from chibson!
When I was a kid, a chinese guitar was always crap - it was something produced for supermarket or catalogue chains, so a parent could buy a guitar shaped object for kids who knew no better... 50 years later that is still true, but it's also true that China produces world class instruments. It's whatever you want to pay, they will manufacture to your budget. Indonesia is also producing some world class instruments these days. I'd obviously like to buy a US made Strat or Gibson, but I either can't afford it or the QC just isn't there (especially on Gibsons - Fenders are much more consistent for me) Disclosure: my main guitars are a Highway One 2008 Strat, A Nick Johnston Signature HSS (indonesea) and for fun a Harley Benton 450 (LP type) which is really well made and enormous fun!
You mention that "QC just isn't there" in regards to Gibson and (to a lesser extent) Fender. I have a honest question. What makes you say that specifically? Is this coming from personal experience or is it coming from word of mouth (either online or off)? The reason I ask is because I have seen a lot of the general discussion around Gibson/Fender quality control over the years. So much so that I even started to find myself believing the more negative opinions without really giving it a lot of thought myself. When I realized that I was being influenced by word of mouth, I took a bit of a step back and decided to really take a look at the Fender and Gibson guitars on offer at whatever stores I could reasonably visit. Since I was doing a lot of traveling at the time, I was able to look at stores all over the Northeast, and even in cities like Chicago or San Francisco (and surrounding areas). In all those visits to stores, I very specifically looked at a assortment of American Fenders and Gibsons and in all those visits, I never really observed any significant or observable manufacturing flaw. I am sure that there might have been extremely minor imperfections here and there but in terms of the guitar itself, I never saw the "common issues" that many spoke of online. With that being said, I think I do know why those stories are so prolific (beyond people just repeating "hot takes" because they are emotionally satisfying or reaffirm certain pre-existing beliefs). Whenever I went to a Guitar Center or even some smaller shops, I saw a lot of guitars that were suffering either from outright neglect or just had been abused by people grabbing them off the wall, breaking parts, and not saying anything. I encountered a lot of Gibsons and American Fenders that were not nice to play but in all those cases, it was because of neglect on the part of the store and not on the part of manufacturing. It sucks that this kind of stuff is common but I also think people too easily shift blame to more emotionally satisfying targets (like the manufacturers themselves) instead of seriously considering why certain guitars feel bad in certain stores.
Stop believing crap you hear from idiots who are so salty about not being able to afford a Gipson or American Fender they make up crap! If you ever own one you’ll see how much better they are I assure you! Don’t fall for the lies from fools who believe a Chinese mass produced slave labor copy is the same as a guitar made by American craftsmen!
Hey, twoodfrd, at 9:15 , just like you think, it is not necessary to sand the pots. The flux in the solder takes care of the oxides. However, it doesn't hurt anything and you'll find it easier to solder to that fresh surface (especially on older pots). The other way to get the solder to wet the pot better would be to manually add flux. Nice video, as always!
Bavo. I gave this video a thumbs down for all these stupid comments. He won't work on Chibsons. Gibson was nabbed for using restricted wood. They had tons of it confiscated. They totally suck. I had one back in the day. Piece of total shit. Les Paul's log was a fence post. All this fussing and Gibson will put bridges on that you cant' intonate? After being scolded not to infringe on Gibsons styles, I think most people hate them.
Hey Todd! Fellow luthier and repair guy here. I have a few thoughts about the ethical implications of these kinds of jobs. And a few comments about my experiences with them. I've thought about this dilemma a lot, and have decided not to refuse these jobs in most cases. Reason being, is that the people who are purchasing these guitars would never purchase the real thing because of the financial limitations of doing so. It's equivalent to software piracy in my mind, in that the people doing it simply wouldn't otherwise purchase the software (software companies are starting to accept this, hence the unlimited "free trials", donation based models, paid upgrades, etc). If somebody has the money to do so, it's not worth all the hassle of going this route. Over the past year or two, I've worked on a handful of these things, and my clients reasons for purchasing them are always because they want a specific thing that is either unavailable, or prohibitively expensive. Never because they want to scam anyone or lie about their collection. In those cases, I would refuse. And If I knew somebody was trying to sell one as a real thing, I'd take action immediately. Most of the people are in cover bands that need a guitar for their stage image, but cannot afford the custom shop variants, or are otherwise simply curious about what can be done with one of them. And one client had the same dilemma as yours because of his left-handedness. That said, my experiences with these are the same. The necks are always either unflattened, or the wood was never fully seasoned, causing pretty severe warping. The binding is always done poorly. The pickups and electronics are atrocious. Fit and finish is poor, hardware is bad, etc. My solution, to those willing to make the investment, is always to pull the frets and flatten the board, so long as I know the guitar is more than a couple years old, meaning I know the wood will be relatively stabilized. 4 out of 5 clients give me the green light to do so, and the results are pretty consistently good. They generally also invest the money in good hardware and electronics. With all of that done, they get a guitar that plays and sounds marginally close to the real thing, at less than half the cost. I can't blame them, and I don't. To see the joy in handing someone back what many times is an approximation of their dream guitar (one that they would likely never have the privilege of owning otherwise), in a condition that exceeds their expectations, and for a fraction of the cost, is enough to validate these jobs for me. We could have a discussion about intellectual "property" (which I'm not fond of), the ethics of how these are produced, or the sustainability of the materials involved, but that would require us to also look at the countless other things with the same consequences that we do unflinchingly. Gibson and others included. Perhaps I could be persuaded to reconsider, given that sufficient evidence is provided to demonstrate a serious and disproportionate ethical concern relating to the production of these. But for now, I don't take much issue with working on them, and feel that it might even be an idea out of privilege to refuse them. Though I'm not sure about the last point yet. Anyway, great video! I love the stuff you're putting out! Makes me realize I'm not so alone in this frustrating and difficult world of lutherie. Thanks, Todd!
Although guitar is not one of them, there are hobbies that have been completely ruined by Chinese counterfeiters. In other hobbies long term innovators and supporters have been driven out of business due to fakes. Again guitar isn't at that point and I doubt it will be. On principle I refuse to support them for that reason. The only issue I have with that cover band/dream guitar story is that Epiphone (or other legitimate import brands) almost always have the equivalent version. Including of the guitar in the above video. What is wrong with getting that if you can't afford the Gibson custom shop? The guitar will invariably be of better quality than the Chibson and no ethical concerns.
Nice to know you tin the wires. It is correct. It is also the first thing I had to unlearn at the guitar cable factory, there just isn't time to do it correctly. In other words, if you need more than two cables buy a spool of the best cable and connectors you can afford and make custom length cables for yourself and friends.
I don't know how it would have farred, I mean the Harley benton needed less work and must be a little less expensive but a complete paint job is not that affordable
"Well it does have an L in solder.. " That settles it then, unless other words can be found where the L isn't pronounced. Could you find one if you tried? Would you?
@@jeffberg8015 I don't know if they still exist but there used to be a company that made port and they had a product called "Cockburn's Special Reserve" - it was pronounced Co-burn. Probably to avoid us sensitive types having to say that beastly name of the male appendage. Hoorah! Guess where I live. 😊
I admire your dedication and your attention to details, for sure if I would be close to your location I would have put my trust into you to maintain my guitars
i ordered a fake fender jim root tele (i have an actual jim root strat but i wanted to get into Drop B tuning and songs and didn't feel like putting a beautiful american made artist guitar through that when it wont be as played as much) it came with fake EMGs and i swapped them out to a set of seymour duncan distortion pickups i had laying around. but before i did that i took the covers off because the pickups actually sounded decent to my surprise, granted nothing i would put in a guitar but for something that came on it they were good. to my surprise they were hotrail humbuckers which was something i never seen before and they were wax potted too. its scary that these companies are getting better at what they are doing
you should just give gibson like five thousand dollars so you can sleep knowing they have alot of money. My chibson is great and it didnt cost authentic cash
Sure it is, but it problably plays and sounds like shit compared to the real thing. And LP Standards aren't that expensive these days and have good quality.Want to spend less money? Get an other brand like Harley benton. You are just a cheapskate poser.
@@UmVtCg I hate to tell you but the body is a piece of wood and so is the neck. Gibson doesn't do anything magical to their instruments to make them unique or different. The only unique thing they do is ask for too much for flawed instruments and file bankruptcy. If the scale length is accurate on the chibson and it's stays together it's as good as a gibson nowadays. Most of these guitars are mass produced with cnc machines and then the cnc'd pieces are put together by people. Upgrade the pickups and the hardware and you're good to go. Especially since it has EMGs in it. EMGs sound like EMGs whether they are in a fender, a gibson or a toaster.
Hi, great and pro job like always.....BTW, you killing me with measure like....15 thousand ...best regards from guitar and bass player at early 60-s, somewhere in Europe.🤟🎸
Thanks for that Seymour Duncan wiring tip. It's been 20 years since I last bought a bass and now I have a Squier Affinity with a neck p-bass pickup and a jazz stack at the bridge and I was thinking of redoing the wiring with better pickups and potentiometers.
I'm left handed but luckily my first guitar teacher in 1971 told me "what are you doing?"........I explained that I was left handed and that Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix were left handed! ......"You aren't Paul McCartney or Jimi Hendrix and never will be, turn that shit around!".........she was of course right and lucky for me I learned how to play right handed and didn't have to buy any left handed guitar.....
That's how I learned too, then I damaged my left index finger to the point I cant fret with it. As a lefty, it was natural to flip back. I dont see a righty being able to do that.
When I was teaching, my comment to lefties was that their best fine motor skill was in their left hand, so why not use that for fretting? I don’t understand how we righties started playing the way we did
The idea with the alligator clips on the pickup springs is priceless!! I cannot tell you how many times I went crazy messing with those springs. Almost to the point where I would put off working on the pickups because I didnt want to mess with those springs. Now I can look forward to working with them. Thanks for a great idea! In regards to buying a guitar that you haven't played, that's good advice for sure, unless you cannot find the guitar you are looking for locally. I bought a couple Les Paul's from Sweetwater and for the most part they are pretty good. You can ask them to do just about anything to your guitar and they will accommodate you. So in the rare instance you can't find what you want they usually have it or can get it. Btw I am not affiliated with them in any way.
Left handed players must buy sight unseen, unless you want n entire collection of base model Ibanez G10 and Fender Squire guitars. Oh. And every guitar will be black... hahaha! I think it’s a shame, so i totally applaud this lefty for doing a great upgrade, and making a guitar he can truly love. The last NAMM i went to, 2016, the only booths which had a decent selection of lefties was the D’Angelico company. The major builders, Dean, Ibanez, Music Man, Schecter, and the rest, basically, had 0 left handed guitars. When we buy guitars, we buy them to make them our own. We don’t care about resale. It’s gotta play good, and that’s it. Thanks for the video, and for taking care of a fellow southpaw
As a lefty I really appreciate your reason for working on this guitar. It’s really nice to see a right handed person who is aware of the struggle.
Libba Cotten would like a word
Me too, and my dad was a lefty. He strictly wouldn't allow me to play an instrument left handed.
Frankly, there are benefits to being a lefty who plays right handed. Leads are easy, rhythm not so much.
Guitar is played with both hands anyway.
Hell yeah
My brother is a lefty and a bassist. He’s always buying cheap basses & modding them, hoping for the best. He’s scored a couple of decent modders, but is usually disappointed.
👍 indeed. Ted's the 1st righty that understands I've heard speak about it..
I just want to thank you again for all the hard work you did on the Chibson for me. I had a chance to play it tonight and was totally happy with the changes. The dragon fire pickup sound really good and the frets feel really great. Awesome video and always very informative information.
Just checked out your video. They do sound good. Congrats on the new guitar, mate!
Santiago Sánchez Santarelli yeah for the price I was extremely happy with them this will be a daily player for me for sure. Maybe one day I’ll find a actual Gibson that I must have that is actually left handed :)
Well it may be a chibson. But it is still a cool looking guitar. That guitar holds a special place in my heart. In 1989 when ozzy introduced zakk to the world. It was that cream les Paul with the circles on it. I went to see that no rest for the wicked tour four times. Twice in providence and twice in Worcester centrum. That guitar is partly responsible for my intense learning curve for guitar. It may be a chibson, but it’s a super cool look!!
I hate Ghibsons but I do really feel for left handed guitarists especially if you want any signature models I hope it plays and serves you well
@@richthetrashpicker-upper5244lol covid melt down bud?
As a lefty, I respect your sympathy for our plight....
I didn't get a descent lefty till I was in my 40's which definitely sucked! So hooking this guy up really gave me the warm fuzzies. Good on you bro. I know the owner REALLY appreciated your help on this. God bless you for taking care of
this lefty as I know from experience the struggle we go through.
Yes, Right-On!
Like you, I got my first real lefty in my early 40's....man, what a difference. It feels so good to play an instrument made for me.
@Rider Biker I have a les paul studio,
An American strat, and a Taylor now so I'm good...lol
As a Brit, your solder vs sodder comments made me spit my tea out laughing. Oh, and it's a crocodile clip, not an alligator clip 😁 love your work, thank you for sharing it with us.
hear hear!
Some call it a "Roach clip"
Yep - definitely solder :)
In Canada, where this was done, this is an alligator clip. We also have crocodile clips, but they look different (when they close, it is flat). That's the way we learned it in school.
The clue in pronunciation is the L in the word!
Your content is just amazing. The single best luthier/repair videos on youtube. Thanks for your time.
I'll second that,
Who is the best?
It's no doubt wise to discuss the particulars to make sure he understands it'll never compare to the real thing, but as a viewer who can't afford top of the line gear I appreciate you helping the guy out. Well done vid, as always, entertaining as well as informative.
When he reamed the pot shaft holes I blew on my phone screen to clear the shavings... it's been a long week.
🤣 That's awesome! I understand the feeling brother!
I've done that before.
I agree. Long week. Couldn't resist the urge meself!!!
Wizzle Pretty sure I’ve done that, too 🤣
🤣
As a lefty... thank you!!!! I love all guitars and spend a lot of time watching CZcams videos on guitars but get depressed when I realize 95% of the guitars are ones ill never be able to play
I felt that man
Do like Hendrix, and get someone to flip the nut, augment the bridge for proper intonation, and play it upside down.
"Well frankly NIGEL, this is why no one wants to sit next to you at the party"
Haha man I love that.
The random comments like that are the best! 😆
Finally someone feels our pain. Hard to play before you buy being a lefty, unless you have the scratch to fly around the country. My nearest GC has had the same 2 lefties for going on 6 years now.
That alligator clip idea is great! Can’t even count how many times I have searched the floor for that flying spring.
When your a lefty and go into Guitar Center or any music store for that matter, your option is 1 to 2 guitars at MOST on any given day. Almost always a strat or tele. Thats why lefties buy guitars without playing first, we have to buy online for even a decent selection, Im not talking about Custom stuff. You have no idea what its like.
@Tubecreeper Same 😆. Well, to be honest we have one, but it's so damn overpriced that sometimes it's easier to find and one second hand.
@@mori-patte Lefties get price gouged! Its criminal in my opinion.
@@GurnBograt1986 Yeah, totally agree. I've done a leftie conversion before and got way better result for lower price for a guy.
Another thing right-handed players don't realize, most left-handed guitars at major retailers are either under $300 (inferior instruments, similar to a Chibson), or $700+. There aren’t a lot of good intermediate options for lefties, nor are there many options on the used marketplace. So to all of those delusional guitar teachers who say, "You would have been wiser to learn right-handed," of course we would if that were even an option (!).
Strats are awesome, my friend is a leftie and he plays a Strat and sounds like Malmsteen.
Thanks for taking your time to work on this Chipson, it makes us realize how much work and precision actually requires a good guitar, and also makes us value more the work.
When I bought my Gibson Les Paul in 2018, I actually had enough for a new standard, but there were 2 reasons I didn't. First (and foremost) I'd been hearing a lot of bad news about the 2015 and on craftsmanship coming out of Nashville (no way I could afford a custom), and a lot of other things I needed would not have been obtainable, some pretty serious needs, too. I got lucky, and found a 2011 LP Studio in pretty good shape, for about $800 USD. No binding, matte finish, and while the grain looks pretty nice, it's no AAA or even A, I'd guess. Still, it sounds great, plays great and I feel I really got my money's worth.
It was videos like this one that convinced me not to get a Chibson, and I'm really glad. I've not been into the cavity on mine, but I'll bet the wiring is done correctly. Thanks for putting videos like this up, it really helps those of us that want a good guitar, and could be confused by the shiny Chibsons into getting one that is a gamble, at best, and unplayable junk at worst.
Your work is art-work. Just amazing to see the tools you invent, the time you take and how understandable your instruction it. I have 2 really old cheapies, makes me want to work with them.
You're changing lives of all of the people you help with your outstanding craftsmanship. From the perspective of a Gibson LP owner, watching all of your repair videos are incredibly satisfying. Keep up the hard work my friend.
I'm a lefty and ended up getting a Stagg Les Paul copy. Had P90s put in it and Gotoh locking tuners, all back in 2005. It was the best scenario I could afford. The guitar plays and sounds incredible! It's tough being a lefty!
It must be kind of hard to hit those higher frets as a lefty on a Les Paul because there's no cut away on that round part of the body.
This is why I play right handed guitars, even though I'm left handed. At time I was learning, there were only right handed guitars around.
Jimmy had to deal with the same issues you lefties deal with today so what did he do? flip it around and restring it.
Makes sense. If it’s an unfamiliar skill to you, what does it matter? After all, you don’t get left handed pianos.
@JJDoole No left-handed saxophones either.
I started life as a lefty guitarist. My uncle who is a guitar virtuoso told my father when I was 8 yrs old to buy me a right handed guitar because quality lefty gear is hard to come by. Thank God he did that for me, I do feel bad for lefties. However I recently picked up a Takamine lefty at a garage sale for a steal and I’m not half bad in the other direction. Keep up the excellent work on the videos.
So many helpful tips. Using the Seymour Duncan site for wiring arrangements. Using cardboard to plot out the wiring first. Sandpaper along the back of a level for fret dressing. As a hobbiest at repairing and building, I appreciate this stuff.
you make all canadians proud .
Of all the reasons to pimp this ride .
Yours are admirable.
Before watching , i already know you will make this guitar respectable. ....bless your canadian heart bro
I make a few guitars here in Canada too , and nothing bugs me more than having to import Canadian Maple or have to pay in US funds for Canadian Spruce.
@@kilosierraalpha All regulations imposed by climate mafia makes it cheaper to import it from 1000 miles away
Aww man.... that's bad.
Thank you for not working on those Counterfeits! I also love your channel, great workmanship and knowledge. I have been a repairman for over thirty years and am retired now and enjoy watching your videos.(subscribed) And by the way, the few times I was presented a Chibson for repair or mod I would let the customer know if I was to work on it I was going to permanently mark the back of the head stock with the word FAKE. Anyway thank you for great videos and for being a great repairman.
Thanks for taking care of us lefties. Chibson, Harley Benton, SX, and such are often our only options. Your statements about buying a guitar without playing it hits home, because that's usually our only option.
I love these videos, look forward to you posting them. That knob trick is really good to know. Thanks!
Ted you never disappoint! Good on you for helping out the client in his situation. As a fellow trying to figure the guitar out I feel it is important to try and connect to a musician and a style you like to help in the learning. But your right, like sneakers, guitars can have some real ethical issues.
Ah, the classic solder versus sodder debate. That one never gets odd.
I prefer soldier
Not here to debate, that woudd get messy
My father in law said sorder, he was from Tronner, up the road from Hamilton. My dad said solder, he was from outback Australia (he was a frigging genius with a soldering iron, water tanks roof leaks, you name it. Dunno where the l vanished to in North America.
I used to scratch up the back of pots, then I read that good pots usually have a flux-like coating, and since I’ve stopped scratching I find the solder flows and sticks better. Just a well meaning tip.
Thanks so much for this. All your videos tell a story, which is fun, and this one is perfect for teaching us how to do a setup and basic mods.
The alligator clip tip is worth a lot to me! Thanks!
You can also use copper alligator clips as heat sinks when you're soldering electronics. Place it between the solder point and the electronic part you want to keep cool. I plan on picking some up tomorrow before replacing the pots and bridge single coil with a hb in my Strat
No doubt!
Thanks for another enjoyable and informative video. Regarding “always play before you buy”, that is rarely an option for us lefties. In the nearly 50 years I’ve been playing, I’ve been in exactly one store with a selection of lefty guitars- Southpaw Guitars in Houston, Texas. Practically all mine were ordered, but thankfully they’ve all been good ones.
Dude. I've been changing pickups for decades and fight the screws and springs EVERYTIME. I can't believe I never thought to use an alligator clip to hold the spring. Brilliant.
I was a sonar technician in the advanced electronics field with 2M schooling and practical experience aboard ship. As per our instructors and my 21 year military career AS WELL working for Detroit Diesel after retiring from the Army (yep, two branches)…pronounced…”sodder” in the US. Good call and as Phil Hartman would say when playing Ed McMahon…”You Are Correct Sir” 😉🤘🤘🤘
As a lefty, I appreciate you making an effort on "our" behalf. With regards to your comment about "not understanding how someone could buy a guitar without playing it first, let me describe the scenario we typically face. As a lefty, especially if you live in a smaller town or city, if there even is a music store in your town, it very likely will have NO left handed instruments in their inventory. You go into a Guitar Center or other type "big box" music retailer in a bigger city, they'll have 2 or 300 guitars in their inventory, and typically maybe 3 lefty electrics (2 of which will be Squires or Mexican Strats, the other a bottom of the line Ibanez or Epiphone), one or 2 low end lefty acoustic guitars, and maybe one lefty bass (usually a Squire or Mexican P-bass) They can order one from Gibson or Fender or Schecter or the other manufacturers who offer a smattering of models in lefty configuration, or you can put down thousands of $$ to special order a higher end model, subject to an exorbitant "restocking fee" if you don't like how it plays and want to return it. Basically, most of the time, "playing it first" unless you want one of the lower end models previously described, simply isn't an option for left handed players, especially if you don't have access to a big box or specialty retailer. Things are better than they used to be for lefties, especially with online options. But I've been in dozens of music stores all over the country that didn't have a single left handed instrument among dozens, or in some cases hundreds of guitars.
Too bad most lefties dont have a mentor or teacher to get them to play a standard guitar from the start. I'm left handed for everything but as a lefty, the fingering for chords and lead work is so much easier because that is the dominant hand. What does the other hand do? Mostly just hold a pick. Probably too late now to switch for most lefties. I'm so glad my parents didnt say anything about left handed options when I asked for my first guitar.
I tried playing right handed when I first started. It felt wrong from the start, like I might as well be playing with my feet instead of my hands. When I "turned around" my right handed starter guitar, even though the strings were now "backwards", it immediately felt better, to me at least. I suppose many lefties are "partially ambidextrous" out the necessity of living in a "right handed world". When I played baseball as a kid, I batted right and threw left. My (thankfully) brief foray into golf I played right handed as well. I'm "right eye dominant", so maybe that has something to do with it. My dominant eye was closer to the fretboard when playing guitar left handed. Once I got an actual left handed guitar, I knew it was the right (correct) choice.
@@andychase7693 and @Bob Coss. I'm a lefty and also a psychologist (happily retired!). The reason Bob is happy to play RH and it felt wrong from the start for Andy is due to hemispherical dominance in the brain, not handedness. Contrary to popular belief, most lefties do NOT have right hemispheric dominance, they either have left dominance just like right-handed people or have 'mixed dominance'. Only a very few lefties have right dominance (like me, and probably Andy), and they are the ones who really struggle playing RH. The desciption of it 'just feeling wrong' is very common amongst right dominant people and cuts through the entire range of activities (carving a joint of meat, eating dessert, tennis, batting, kicking a ball, shooting (dominant eye), you name it. Strictly speaking no one has entire dominance in one or other side of the brain, but the more right dominance you have, the more you will struggle to play RH. Incidentally, that's why left handed sets of golf clubs abound. This phenomenon is well recognised in sports, and a sufficient number of people play golf that it has been viable for many years to mass produce LH clubs. Also, the picking hand has lots to do in both plectrum and fingerstyle playing. It controls rhythm, subtlemess of attack, and leads in co-ordinating the right and left hands so they work together in perfect synchronisation. A person with right hemispherical dominance trying to play RH will most likely find their right hand flapping around without any of these features. A left hand person with left dominance or mixed dominance won't, and may even be at an advantage in the way Bob suggests. Incidentally, Andy my left is my dominant eye: here's the test for eye dominance - www.allaboutvision.com/resources/dominant-eye-test.htm. Whew.
Robert Newell interesting stuff. I’m left handed and when I was about 7 wanted to play guitar. My parents got me an acoustic guitar strung up left handed and when Christmas rolled around and I got my hands on it I held it right handed. My parents were “no! Hold it the other way!”. Needless to say I struggled and never got into playing till I was 19 and taught myself to play from a book right handed. I play golf right handed yet when I only use one hand I’m a leftie unless it a mouse and I use my right hand and it keeps my left hand free to write with.
@@parttroll1 Hi Craig. Very interesting. Suggests that you have mixed dominance or are left dominant like most lefties. A while since I wrote this, but I think I mentioned that right brain dominance is actually the exception, rather than the rule. These are the folk that struggle with RH guitars or golf sets.
I've bought most of my guitars sight unseen, but from reputable dealers. I don't have any guitar shops near me, so I'm kind of forced to...I've never had to return one, but can fix just about anything. Usually it's just minor fretwork.
I am amazed that it sounds as good as it does. Well done. I am also glad to hear you say why would you buy without trying it. I've picked my way through all the stock in a store at any price and walked away empty handed because none felt/sounded right. Still have regrets on one that I couldn't afford at the time and it was sold by the time I could. Sales person just didn't get my disappointment. "But these are just the same" Your videos have taught me a lot more about why certain things feel right.
It’s cool he does these videos cause he can even show these to the customer and show them everything he did to their guitar.
As a 30+ year component level electronics tech, I admire your soldering technique. Nice flow, nice shiny connections.
Dude, in all fairness, the quality is not far off from actual Gibson USA line...
zing
@@MisterFruitbowl yes, I do know. I own 2 epis, a chibson that was given to me in a trade for carpentry work, and 3 Gibson USA. And the quality of the epiphones is on par with the Gibson's, and the chibson isn't far off
Nah.. most of them are friggen terrible. Only by fluke do you get a good one.
@@heftosprod if you buy the wack 100 dollar ones, then yeah. Chinese give you quality as long as you’re able to contact them and cough it up.
@@mikeflanders1292 "why buy Jameson when I can't tell the difference from McCormick?"
"My Kia has leather & a V6 so its totally a Mercedes, bro, srsly"
Thank you from lefty. There are so many cool guitars out there that I can only admire but never play. Your work is flawless and such great craftsmanship.
Good work and illuminating info about these poisonous copies.
As a Lefty player, I really appreciate your empathy with our situation. While Left-handed options really have expanded in recent years, it's still truly just a fraction of what our right-handed friends have available to them. Of course, that can be a good thing - as far as my credit card balance is concerned. And yeah, as a lefty you just don't often have the chance to actually play a guitar before buying it. So i try to buy from places that have a reasonable return policy.
This guitar seems to meet all the Gibson standards from what has been coming out of their factory lately.
I love your videos. As always, very educational. Thanks!
Dude... I've been watching your videos...you're one of the best guitar repairman I've seen at work...and I've seen many. Congrats.
Turning the poker chip upside down and rotating the switch 180° actually has certain logic to it. The player can then read (from their perspective) the labeling the right way round. Of course anyone who has owned a guitar for more than half an hour probably doesn't really need this feature. I really like your methodical, common sense approach to this kind of offbeat stuff, and your skills on the technically difficult repairs.
Love to see people get up in arms about things that really matter, like guitar quality
As usual, I learn so much from your videos...keep up the great work!
Dude!!! I'm really impressed with your upside down thrash at the end!!! As always another awesome repair video!
You improved someone’s musical life by working on that abomination, totally worth it.
I work for Gibson, in the Body Line. As soon as you took that back electronic cover off I was disgusted Lol 😂 i was like “Oh yea that thing is totally fake”
I just found your video. I’m a lefty myself and felt forced to take a chance and ordered Chinese prs cst 24 custom. Received it broken in half . Glued it back together and hung on wall. They sent me a replacement, but it has a crack along the scarf joint. 😢😂
The alligator clip trick and the old pot heated up technique were priceless! Nice work.
The reason why they don't use the Seymour Duncan wiring colors is royalties.
As a lefty, I appreciate your magnanimity. However, I've chosen to buy Hagstroms or to build (assemble) my own. I really couldn't be happier. The whole Chibson thing never appealed to me. I don't try to pass my Warmoth Jazzmaster off as a Fender, but it's still a kick-ass guitar.
Thanks for the shout out to us lefties. We really don't have very many choices so we have to use whatever it is that we can get. And we know we will never get any resale value out of the instrument, but it doesn't matter because we are very unlikely to sell it anyway. We are experts in turning junk instruments into good players- including setting up the pots to work in "reverse".
Us lefties don't have the luxury of being able to play 10 or more guitars before deciding on one of them. We usually have to take the one we find and work with it.
Another lefty chiming in here to say thanks for supporting our plight in taking this job :). Great stuff love your channel
Because he's left handed and finding a lefty in a music store is close to the same task as finding bigfoot. Much less finding multiple left handed instruments to try before we buy. You normal handers take shit for granted. Nothing like parting with $2k up front to order a guitar you have no idea if you'll like how it feels. Trust me we appreciate a good luthier helping us get something we aren't perfectly happy with closer to something we can be happy with.
I noticed that some brands charge more money for lefties? I know ive seen that before, but am not sure how often it is.
@@BSIII That used to happen a lot. Less so these days. I'm sure it still happens. I'm not even upset about that as the numbers are lower for lefties so by volume you have to make up the cost of production somewhere. The brands that annoy me are the one that's can't even be bothered to produce something in a lefty.
I've heard it said that lefties should stick to pursuits like scuba-diving, bobsleighing or tossing the caber, rather than try to be like a proper person. I tend to agree, and I'm glad it's illegal to have a southpaw president or prime minister, except maybe in the far east.
CTS pots,switch crafts, all made in china ! I found out recently! Amazing what you learn on CZcams!
not all....they have different levels of pots and jacks
You had me 😂 on this one. Great stuff! Thank you. Absolutely love your vids 🏁
So nice of you to help someone out. I don't think I will ever have anything to do with a Chinese instrument. I would sooner build from a Solo kit.
" I do not understanding how someone could buy a guitar without playing it first", try being left handed! Besides the LP Studio or Squire that I can play at any Guitar Center, there is almost nothing out there for lefty's. From cheaper guitars to vintage to custom guitars, it's almost impossible to find anything interesting or unique. Although I found a few great guitars locally I bought 90% of my collection (of about 25) online. I've had luthiers make me models that were impossible to find because they just never made that model in a lefty or are super rare and $$$, I still have to wait for it to be completed to see if I even like it, thats the way it is. You just have to fix what you don't like about it and then you'll have to accept what it. I am happy with all my guitars because I've spent more time on getting them right than most people, because I don't have a choice. I owned a Chibson for 2 weeks and thought it was compete garbage, from the wood to the parts to everything about it, just fake garbage. Epiphone makes great guitars nowadays that is 100000000% better than any chibsons and they are about the same price or less because you don’t have to change anything (unless you want to).
I didn't know how to play when I picked my first guitar. I got one that looked pretty.
My first guitar teacher, Brad, had me leave my lefty guitar at home and had me take one of the school's guitars for class. I always thought it was just so it was easier for him to teach me with the rest of the class who all played right, but now, as an adult who can hardly even hold a lefty guitar, I like to think he prevented a lot of headache and possibly saved me from owning a knockoff Gibson I bought on Amazon.
@@nohabloemojislosiento4930 Thats a good teacher! My 1st guitar teacher said "I never had a lefty student, this should be interesting for me". My other friends that started out lefty, their teachers made them play right handed and told them it would be a pain to be a lefty. Sounds like my luck.
"Will there be some fret dressing OH YES" 😅
I was happy hearing you use the term trimpot. My old, now gone, boss invented the device and he got me into a high tech career...
Always superb craftsmanship. And fine ethics and ideas. Wonderful!!!
Who the heck hates copies? I guess guitar collectors, but as a guitar player, any guitar works as long as i can fret it, and sound comes through in tune
I don't hate copies, I hate counterfeits. I don't mind when Ibanez decided to make Fender style guitars with their own name on the headstock. I don't mind when Blueridge makes Martin style guitars with their own name on the headstock. When you are dealing with counterfeits with Gibson, Fender, PRS, and others on the headstock? That is where the problem starts. Think about it like this. Let's say you buy a counterfeit Les Paul with Gibson on the headstock. You might know that you are getting a counterfeit and it might not bother you but what happens when you decide to sell that guitar to a pawn shop or give it to a buddy? Now it is in circulation on the used market and now it can be used to deceive someone who doesn't know better. It is because of these counterfeits that one has to be so careful when buying used guitars.
It doesn't matter if you think a counterfeit guitar is fine, what matters is that it is deceptive and ethically wrong.
@@startrekmike That seems like a weird reason to hate the product, if the pawn shop doesn't label it as a fake that's them being shitty, same goes for you if you give your friend the guitar without saying it's a fake.
3:45 "These go to 11"
Bet every instrument played in your band is a bass too!
Lol, I love Spinal Tap!
There were so many awesome retro BC rich’s in spinal tap. Yeah i’m one of those weirdos that actually likes pointy boi warlocks.
I happened to get a Chibson LP for free a while back, the guy was so depressed about it he actually just left it by the front door of his house when I went to pick it up. He'd expected far more from the guitar than it was willing to give but what really did him in was the mahogany back, or solid body of mahogany, was formed, above the central beam, of several thinner (about 20mm each) laminations, about four of them, before the final piece that went to the edges. This is what irritated him but then a mate offered to paint it black, with a rattle can and bad masking and painting skills... and it was even more horrid!
This then amounted to him just wanting rid of it and so I got it. The machine heads were missing as well as the bridge but apart from that it was complete.
I scrapped off all the paint, added a bridge and threw on some grover copy MH's and gave it to a friend. My friend absolutely loved it and even had another friend with a real gibson LP aghast that it was almost as good, even better regarding the pickups which were branded Epiphone (?). He has since put Gibson style grover copies with locks on but we've still got to pot the pickups as they squeal real easy... lovely sound but some microphonics.
I've picked up LP's in the past that were just logs, total plonkers, and always find it incredibly interesting when gems come from the last place you'd look.
I picked up a good tip on putting the spring loaded pup screw for pup rings, I spent over an hour without results. So I Googled it and found Phillip McKnight has a trick using a small peice of a drinking straw sliced down the side and putting screw into the straw. Did it in 10 minutes for the first one then it was easier with the next 3, but I will try your trick with an alligator clip holding down spring to thread screw into ring, thank you Utub.
Hey, it's a Walmart world we're living in. I'd venture a guess that about 80-90% of the manufactured goods that we use everyday are Chinese-made. From the coffee-maker that gets you going in the morning to the clothes on your back to the camera you're shooting the video with. My bigger rant would be the fact that "normal" people simply don't make enough money to buy quality products made under equitable circumstances. That, of course, opens a whole new can of worms debate about social-economic injustice and is probably better left to a pseudo-political troll-forum somewhere out there in internet-land. That said, I really appreciate to your vids. I live in a rather isolated part of the world and so I'm a do-it-yourselfer out of necessity. The "tips and tricks" facet of your presentations is invaluable. Cheers! P.S. I seem to have used up my daily quota of hyphens in this post so I'll stop writing...
P.P.S. Good quality American-made hyphens don't come cheap. Dang! Used up anther one!
I lost my hyphen at the school dance last Christmas. Just as well, as this year social distancing means everyone will have to dance 2m apart.
@@Ndlanding 2 meters is a LOT of hyphens. Did it hurt?
@@megwatts1903 Sew-sew.
Normal people do make enough to buy quality products. Just not in the quantity they'd like.
We own much more stuff than the previous generations.
I've bought all my guitars (except the first one) without having them in my hands first. Haven't been burned yet and setup and wiring are within my capabilities. But I don't go for cheap guitars.
@Silver Back dude, he literally talked about how he doesn't understand people that don't try guitars before buying them.
In the end, every custom (shop) ordered guitar is like that.
Dude! You made it play and sound like a million bucks! Awesome! And Zack would be proud!
As a Lefty with large hands I found bolt on lefty necks from Warmoth have been good quality and I can get 1 3/4" nut width for most Fender Necks. . Their bodies fit their necks very well. I learned the hard way you have to mirror image the wiring diagrams or the pots and switches function backwards. Lindy Fralin makes lefty orientated single coil pickups. Being lefty has pushed me to do my own setups which after a couple years learning I've gotten pretty good at for my own liking. Love your work Ted. Thanks for sharing.
Bought a 98 Orville Les Paul Standard off eBay....it's the best guitar I own, better than a Gibson!
Those are great! I have an old ass Ibanez LP from the 70s. Got it at a pawn shop years ago, sounds amazing. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
But isn't Orville a Gibson brand? xD Take a look at Austin's video about it on the troglys guitar show
Orvilles are Gibsons...
Japanese guitars rule over USA ones !
@@TIGERGUTS idk about that. Japanese guitars are amazing but it’ll never get the same level of qc as USA made products.
Nice work --- I have bought dozens of guitars online without trying them. Mostly Korean factory 2nds and I have made 90% into pretty good guitars but I have no interest in resale value.
No Chinese shitbox has ever had so much love , your a kind soul for sorting it out as not all of us can afford the real deal .
Thanks for the alligator clip trick. I always fear breaking those thin and sometimes old pickup surrounds.
way to stick of up the lefties! My son is a lefty and i got into being his personal luthier because of his lack of good choices! though i too stay away from chibson!
Would you have made him a left hand piano if he wanted that too?
@@Ricobass0 Wow. You mad at something?
"stick of up the lefties" sound a bit porny. Just thought I'd mention it.
When I was a kid, a chinese guitar was always crap - it was something produced for supermarket or catalogue chains, so a parent could buy a guitar shaped object for kids who knew no better... 50 years later that is still true, but it's also true that China produces world class instruments. It's whatever you want to pay, they will manufacture to your budget. Indonesia is also producing some world class instruments these days. I'd obviously like to buy a US made Strat or Gibson, but I either can't afford it or the QC just isn't there (especially on Gibsons - Fenders are much more consistent for me) Disclosure: my main guitars are a Highway One 2008 Strat, A Nick Johnston Signature HSS (indonesea) and for fun a Harley Benton 450 (LP type) which is really well made and enormous fun!
You mention that "QC just isn't there" in regards to Gibson and (to a lesser extent) Fender. I have a honest question. What makes you say that specifically? Is this coming from personal experience or is it coming from word of mouth (either online or off)?
The reason I ask is because I have seen a lot of the general discussion around Gibson/Fender quality control over the years. So much so that I even started to find myself believing the more negative opinions without really giving it a lot of thought myself. When I realized that I was being influenced by word of mouth, I took a bit of a step back and decided to really take a look at the Fender and Gibson guitars on offer at whatever stores I could reasonably visit. Since I was doing a lot of traveling at the time, I was able to look at stores all over the Northeast, and even in cities like Chicago or San Francisco (and surrounding areas). In all those visits to stores, I very specifically looked at a assortment of American Fenders and Gibsons and in all those visits, I never really observed any significant or observable manufacturing flaw. I am sure that there might have been extremely minor imperfections here and there but in terms of the guitar itself, I never saw the "common issues" that many spoke of online.
With that being said, I think I do know why those stories are so prolific (beyond people just repeating "hot takes" because they are emotionally satisfying or reaffirm certain pre-existing beliefs). Whenever I went to a Guitar Center or even some smaller shops, I saw a lot of guitars that were suffering either from outright neglect or just had been abused by people grabbing them off the wall, breaking parts, and not saying anything. I encountered a lot of Gibsons and American Fenders that were not nice to play but in all those cases, it was because of neglect on the part of the store and not on the part of manufacturing. It sucks that this kind of stuff is common but I also think people too easily shift blame to more emotionally satisfying targets (like the manufacturers themselves) instead of seriously considering why certain guitars feel bad in certain stores.
Stop believing crap you hear from idiots who are so salty about not being able to afford a Gipson or American Fender they make up crap! If you ever own one you’ll see how much better they are I assure you! Don’t fall for the lies from fools who believe a Chinese mass produced slave labor copy is the same as a guitar made by American craftsmen!
Dude. Loving it from the UK. Very very good accent, Sir. Call it what you will; so long as it connects well. 👌
Hey, twoodfrd, at 9:15 , just like you think, it is not necessary to sand the pots. The flux in the solder takes care of the oxides. However, it doesn't hurt anything and you'll find it easier to solder to that fresh surface (especially on older pots). The other way to get the solder to wet the pot better would be to manually add flux. Nice video, as always!
That selector switch label would have been correct for your playing at the end of the video.
Bavo. I gave this video a thumbs down for all these stupid comments. He won't work on Chibsons. Gibson was nabbed for using restricted wood. They had tons of it confiscated. They totally suck. I had one back in the day. Piece of total shit. Les Paul's log was a fence post. All this fussing and Gibson will put bridges on that you cant' intonate? After being scolded not to infringe on Gibsons styles, I think most people hate them.
Hey Todd! Fellow luthier and repair guy here. I have a few thoughts about the ethical implications of these kinds of jobs. And a few comments about my experiences with them.
I've thought about this dilemma a lot, and have decided not to refuse these jobs in most cases. Reason being, is that the people who are purchasing these guitars would never purchase the real thing because of the financial limitations of doing so. It's equivalent to software piracy in my mind, in that the people doing it simply wouldn't otherwise purchase the software (software companies are starting to accept this, hence the unlimited "free trials", donation based models, paid upgrades, etc). If somebody has the money to do so, it's not worth all the hassle of going this route. Over the past year or two, I've worked on a handful of these things, and my clients reasons for purchasing them are always because they want a specific thing that is either unavailable, or prohibitively expensive. Never because they want to scam anyone or lie about their collection. In those cases, I would refuse. And If I knew somebody was trying to sell one as a real thing, I'd take action immediately. Most of the people are in cover bands that need a guitar for their stage image, but cannot afford the custom shop variants, or are otherwise simply curious about what can be done with one of them. And one client had the same dilemma as yours because of his left-handedness.
That said, my experiences with these are the same. The necks are always either unflattened, or the wood was never fully seasoned, causing pretty severe warping. The binding is always done poorly. The pickups and electronics are atrocious. Fit and finish is poor, hardware is bad, etc. My solution, to those willing to make the investment, is always to pull the frets and flatten the board, so long as I know the guitar is more than a couple years old, meaning I know the wood will be relatively stabilized. 4 out of 5 clients give me the green light to do so, and the results are pretty consistently good. They generally also invest the money in good hardware and electronics. With all of that done, they get a guitar that plays and sounds marginally close to the real thing, at less than half the cost. I can't blame them, and I don't. To see the joy in handing someone back what many times is an approximation of their dream guitar (one that they would likely never have the privilege of owning otherwise), in a condition that exceeds their expectations, and for a fraction of the cost, is enough to validate these jobs for me.
We could have a discussion about intellectual "property" (which I'm not fond of), the ethics of how these are produced, or the sustainability of the materials involved, but that would require us to also look at the countless other things with the same consequences that we do unflinchingly. Gibson and others included. Perhaps I could be persuaded to reconsider, given that sufficient evidence is provided to demonstrate a serious and disproportionate ethical concern relating to the production of these. But for now, I don't take much issue with working on them, and feel that it might even be an idea out of privilege to refuse them. Though I'm not sure about the last point yet.
Anyway, great video! I love the stuff you're putting out! Makes me realize I'm not so alone in this frustrating and difficult world of lutherie. Thanks, Todd!
Although guitar is not one of them, there are hobbies that have been completely ruined by Chinese counterfeiters. In other hobbies long term innovators and supporters have been driven out of business due to fakes. Again guitar isn't at that point and I doubt it will be. On principle I refuse to support them for that reason.
The only issue I have with that cover band/dream guitar story is that Epiphone (or other legitimate import brands) almost always have the equivalent version. Including of the guitar in the above video. What is wrong with getting that if you can't afford the Gibson custom shop? The guitar will invariably be of better quality than the Chibson and no ethical concerns.
"Most of the people are in cover bands that need a guitar for their stage image..."
Oh God...is that still a thing? ~cringe~
Nice to know you tin the wires. It is correct. It is also the first thing I had to unlearn at the guitar cable factory, there just isn't time to do it correctly. In other words, if you need more than two cables buy a spool of the best cable and connectors you can afford and make custom length cables for yourself and friends.
Enjoyed watching your skill at work. 👍🏼 🎸
If it was me I would have bought a Harley Benton and had it re-finished as a Zak Wylde ( they do lefties)
exactly, harley bentons are the best for this kind of job
I don't know how it would have farred, I mean the Harley benton needed less work and must be a little less expensive but a complete paint job is not that affordable
Well it does have an L in solder..
And no I'm not a bleeding hippy :)
Is there an "F" in lieutenant?
Solder is correct pronunciation. These Muricans need to be strung up and given a good whipping till they say it correctly.
Solder is correct pronunciation. These Muricans need to be strung up and given a good whipping till they say it correctly.
"Well it does have an L in solder.. " That settles it then, unless other words can be found where the L isn't pronounced. Could you find one if you tried? Would you?
@@jeffberg8015 I don't know if they still exist but there used to be a company that made port and they had a product called "Cockburn's Special Reserve" - it was pronounced Co-burn. Probably to avoid us sensitive types having to say that beastly name of the male appendage. Hoorah! Guess where I live. 😊
Eye opening video! Thanks for doing this!
I admire your dedication and your attention to details, for sure if I would be close to your location I would have put my trust into you to maintain my guitars
Just for fun break one of those Chibson pickups open.
i still got the pickups I should pop one open to see what was actully in it
@@canadianguitar-garrettont7368 I wouldn't be surprised if you find single coils inside those covers. Stranger things have happened!
mrz80 yeah I haven’t had a chance I’ll post a pic when I do
i ordered a fake fender jim root tele (i have an actual jim root strat but i wanted to get into Drop B tuning and songs and didn't feel like putting a beautiful american made artist guitar through that when it wont be as played as much) it came with fake EMGs and i swapped them out to a set of seymour duncan distortion pickups i had laying around. but before i did that i took the covers off because the pickups actually sounded decent to my surprise, granted nothing i would put in a guitar but for something that came on it they were good. to my surprise they were hotrail humbuckers which was something i never seen before and they were wax potted too. its scary that these companies are getting better at what they are doing
you should just give gibson like five thousand dollars so you can sleep knowing they have alot of money. My chibson is great and it didnt cost authentic cash
Sure it is, but it problably plays and sounds like shit compared to the real thing. And LP Standards aren't that expensive these days and have good quality.Want to spend less money? Get an other brand like Harley benton. You are just a cheapskate poser.
Gibson never made a lefty Zakk Wylde so it would be a one off Custom Shop job. The Limited Run Custom Shop stuff can run you up to $10k
@@UmVtCg I hate to tell you but the body is a piece of wood and so is the neck. Gibson doesn't do anything magical to their instruments to make them unique or different. The only unique thing they do is ask for too much for flawed instruments and file bankruptcy. If the scale length is accurate on the chibson and it's stays together it's as good as a gibson nowadays. Most of these guitars are mass produced with cnc machines and then the cnc'd pieces are put together by people. Upgrade the pickups and the hardware and you're good to go. Especially since it has EMGs in it. EMGs sound like EMGs whether they are in a fender, a gibson or a toaster.
Hi, great and pro job like always.....BTW, you killing me with measure like....15 thousand ...best regards from guitar and bass player at early 60-s, somewhere in Europe.🤟🎸
Thanks for that Seymour Duncan wiring tip. It's been 20 years since I last bought a bass and now I have a Squier Affinity with a neck p-bass pickup and a jazz stack at the bridge and I was thinking of redoing the wiring with better pickups and potentiometers.
I don't care who makes a guitar, all I care about is how it sounds
I'm left handed but luckily my first guitar teacher in 1971 told me "what are you doing?"........I explained that I was left handed and that Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix were left handed! ......"You aren't Paul McCartney or Jimi Hendrix and never will be, turn that shit around!".........she was of course right and lucky for me I learned how to play right handed and didn't have to buy any left handed guitar.....
That's how I learned too, then I damaged my left index finger to the point I cant fret with it. As a lefty, it was natural to flip back. I dont see a righty being able to do that.
When I was teaching, my comment to lefties was that their best fine motor skill was in their left hand, so why not use that for fretting? I don’t understand how we righties started playing the way we did
@@rustyhguitar1 It's easier to keep a stumming rhythm with your dominant hand is why.
WestminsterNaught ah! Thank you!
@@WestminsterNaught The fret hand is the "money hand".
Fellow lefty here. Totally appreciate your doing this work.
The idea with the alligator clips on the pickup springs is priceless!! I cannot tell you how many times I went crazy messing with those springs. Almost to the point where I would put off working on the pickups because I didnt want to mess with those springs. Now I can look forward to working with them. Thanks for a great idea! In regards to buying a guitar that you haven't played, that's good advice for sure, unless you cannot find the guitar you are looking for locally. I bought a couple Les Paul's from Sweetwater and for the most part they are pretty good. You can ask them to do just about anything to your guitar and they will accommodate you. So in the rare instance you can't find what you want they usually have it or can get it. Btw I am not affiliated with them in any way.
soLder
Chibsons. If they play nice and sound good, price is right, i do no care one bit.
Left handed players must buy sight unseen, unless you want n entire collection of base model Ibanez G10 and Fender Squire guitars.
Oh. And every guitar will be black... hahaha!
I think it’s a shame, so i totally applaud this lefty for doing a great upgrade, and making a guitar he can truly love.
The last NAMM i went to, 2016, the only booths which had a decent selection of lefties was the D’Angelico company. The major builders, Dean, Ibanez, Music Man, Schecter, and the rest, basically, had 0 left handed guitars.
When we buy guitars, we buy them to make them our own. We don’t care about resale. It’s gotta play good, and that’s it.
Thanks for the video, and for taking care of a fellow southpaw
Saved it! Lol, great job man, sounds great! Thanks for the video 🎸🎸🎸👍