4.56pm

3 March 2012

I was watching Ringo on Conan O'Brien the other day via YouTube. He was talking about why Conan, well, anyone really but in this case Conan, can so easily mark a Ringo tune just by hearing a few seconds of the beat and maybe a fill. Its because he's a lefty playing a kit set up for a righty. And of course he's amazing and he's Ringo.
It got me thinking... My two favorite bands of all time are the Beatles and U2. U2s drummer Larry Mullen Jr? Yup. Lefty playing a righty kit.
Does anyone know of other examples?
A square is not a square when the sides are less than four...
4.06pm

5 November 2011

2.19am

3 March 2012

5.11am

1 May 2010

8.08pm

5 November 2011

8.41pm

9 August 2011

I don't know anything about the drums - couldn't a lefty turn things around to make it a lefty set-up?
Or maybe it's cool to get a different sound by leaving it set up for a righty?
(P.S. didn't realize Ringo was lefty)
"Into the Sky with Diamonds" (the Beatles and the Race to the Moon – a history)
10.05pm

Reviewers

Moderators
1 May 2011

Paul is left handed so i presume he is a lefty; there are stories of Ringo coming back to his set and finding Paul had been playing them, no idea if that means he had moved the drumsticks & raised the seat or changed the layout.
"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
12.47pm

24 August 2012

I don't know about drums, but as a lefty myself who learned to play the guitar right-handed, I just never saw the point of me playing the instrument the other way. How is strumming with your dominant hand and fingering with your less dominant hand more advantageous? Of course, there are a lot of items that are generally southpaw-modified that I call into question -- like the can opener. Does it really make a difference which hand you turn the crank with and which you hold the clamp?
7.06pm

29 August 2012

Duke_of_Kirkaldy said
I don't know about drums, but as a lefty myself who learned to play the guitar right-handed, I just never saw the point of me playing the instrument the other way. How is strumming with your dominant hand and fingering with your less dominant hand more advantageous? Of course, there are a lot of items that are generally southpaw-modified that I call into question -- like the can opener. Does it really make a difference which hand you turn the crank with and which you hold the clamp?
simple. strumming and picking speed. It IS advantageous to use your dominant hand as the picking hand.
I too am a natural lefty who has learned to play the guitar as a righty and i can totally 'feel' that i have limited myself in this regard. I actually have an easier time playing the lead on All My Loving over John's rhythm because of the strumming speed. I actually learned how i did because i was young and didn't know any better (didn't know you could get left handed guitars and never even thought about stringing one backwards).
Now obviously some people may be in the minority and not notice a real difference, but most people would.
I'm not a drummer, but i assume the same problem exists with the hand that's hitting the high hat as opposed to the one playing the snare. Clearly Ringo didn't find it difficult to play a righty setup, but again, i'd say that many drummers would.
7.54pm

14 December 2009

I can't imagine why they would manufacture drumkits especially for right-or-left handed people. Wouldn't every drummer want to set their own kit up according to their own preference, with the snare right HERE and the ride cymbal just HERE and so forth?
One day, a tape-op got a tape on backwards, he went to play it, and it was all "Neeeradno-undowarrroom" and it was "Wow! Sounds Indian!"
-- Paul McCartney
8.13pm

25 September 2012

Von Bontee said
I can't imagine why they would manufacture drumkits especially for right-or-left handed people. Wouldn't every drummer want to set their own kit up according to their own preference, with the snare right HERE and the ride cymbal just HERE and so forth?
That's always my thought as well. I figured it was all universal and where ever you put it made it "Left Handed" or "Right Handed". Maybe Ringo played a "right handed" kit because no one at the time had their drum set oriented for left handed players? So just out of convenience he got used to playing "right handed" kits.
12.11am

19 September 2010

12.39am

25 September 2012

4.14am

24 August 2012

MKR said
simple. strumming and picking speed. It IS advantageous to use your dominant hand as the picking hand.
I too am a natural lefty who has learned to play the guitar as a righty and i can totally 'feel' that i have limited myself in this regard. I actually have an easier time playing the lead on All My Loving over John's rhythm because of the strumming speed. I actually learned how i did because i was young and didn't know any better (didn't know you could get left handed guitars and never even thought about stringing one backwards).
Now obviously some people may be in the minority and not notice a real difference, but most people would.
This reasoning still makes little sense to me, as I can pick/strum with pretty much the same speed in both hands. Maybe I'm slightly ambidextrous? Granted, I don't think I was ever destined to be a virtuoso guitarist, what with my small hands and short fingers.
BTW, I always thought that, unless it's totally symmetrical, restringing a righty guitar so a lefty can play it looked rather retarded. For one, the pick guard's purpose is completely defeated. And I could never figure out why Jimi Hendrix never went and bought an actual lefty guitar once he had more than enough funds to do so.
6.12pm

29 August 2012

Duke_of_Kirkaldy said BTW, I always thought that, unless it's totally symmetrical, restringing a righty guitar so a lefty can play it looked rather retarded. For one, the pick guard's purpose is completely defeated. And I could never figure out why Jimi Hendrix never went and bought an actual lefty guitar once he had more than enough funds to do so.
Personally everytime i see a photo or a clip of Jimi playing, i think of how cool he and his whole setup looks.
I'll tell you why people did it. It's a guess on my part, but i can't imagine i'm far off. I'm assuming money (and even availability) had a big part to do with it back in those days. Take a guy like Jimi. he was pretty poor before he got his big break via Chaz Chandler. So he probably got used to his setup because that's what he had and he couldn't exactly be picky about it.
Then there's a guy like Paul who pretty much only ever played reverse strung guitars during his beatles days. Some guitars look stranger with that setup than others (namely a telecaster), but whatever they still sounded the same. And quite honestly that's all that really mattered. I never really thought he looked 'retarded' playing those instruments.
6.54pm

14 December 2009

Yeah, left-handed guitars were pretty scarce when Hendrix was learning, and even after he made it big time. Also, Hendrix found that he liked having the Stratocaster's tone and volume control knobs right underneath his picking hand so he could manipulate them while playing, if desired.
One day, a tape-op got a tape on backwards, he went to play it, and it was all "Neeeradno-undowarrroom" and it was "Wow! Sounds Indian!"
-- Paul McCartney
3.54am

3 March 2012

MKR said
Duke_of_Kirkaldy said BTW, I always thought that, unless it's totally symmetrical, restringing a righty guitar so a lefty can play it looked rather retarded. For one, the pick guard's purpose is completely defeated. And I could never figure out why Jimi Hendrix never went and bought an actual lefty guitar once he had more than enough funds to do so.
Personally everytime i see a photo or a clip of Jimi playing, i think of how cool he and his whole setup looks.
I'll tell you why people did it. It's a guess on my part, but i can't imagine i'm far off. I'm assuming money (and even availability) had a big part to do with it back in those days. Take a guy like Jimi. he was pretty poor before he got his big break via Chaz Chandler. So he probably got used to his setup because that's what he had and he couldn't exactly be picky about it.
Then there's a guy like Paul who pretty much only ever played reverse strung guitars during his beatles days. Some guitars look stranger with that setup than others (namely a telecaster), but whatever they still sounded the same. And quite honestly that's all that really mattered. I never really thought he looked 'retarded' playing those instruments.
Let's not be Anne Coulters here... Lets lay off the word "retarded". And yes.... I understand you are quoting a previous post. Just throwing it out there. Anyway... For a thread I started, and had thought promptly died, its nice to see some discussion. As I understand it, since posting anyway, a lefty playing a right handed kit will come off the Tom to the snare in an odd fashion that gives the player away as a lefty. Who knows. Might be the whiskey talking!
A square is not a square when the sides are less than four...