How many left handed steelers out there?

Larry Edwards · Post by **Larry Edwards** » 6 Nov 2010 11:00 am

i wanna thank larry rafferty for the things he said about me and larrys doin fine on the steel . we get together every week for a few hours if we can find the time thanks again larry

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 6 Nov 2010 11:43 am

larry ,thanks for the pictures ,especially the DEKLEY..Also the great explanation that there is a builder out there who has no problem building the guitars..

Roy Glaze · Post by **Roy Glaze** » 7 Nov 2010 6:39 am

I play left handed> I have a 73 MSA D-10. I rebuilt/reversed another MSA recently but sold it. That's the black one you see in the pic.
Roy

John Ed Kelly · Post by **John Ed Kelly** » 11 Nov 2010 4:16 am

Doug says ''The oddest situation was a guy who played lefty steel with the strings reversed! ...not only was his "guitar reversed", but the thin strings were closest to him and the thick strings were out where strings 1, 2, 3 normally are.''

Hey, that's me too! It was fairly easy with the lap steel, just turn it around 180, and there you are! I have often wondered how I'd manage to operate a PSG that way.

I've been at it about nearly two years now. It's a bugger, after 40 years of clarinet, but it's good fun. I might even find the nerve to get an old style WS band going next year.

BOB DUNN LIVES.

Alan Coldiron · Post by **Alan Coldiron** » 11 Nov 2010 5:51 am

Although my main instrument is bass, which I play left handed but strung right handed, I own and play badly a left handed ShoBud Pro I.

Bill McRoberts · Post by **Bill McRoberts** » 11 Nov 2010 5:58 am

I'm a "lefty" playing "righty" and sometimes wonder if I should have went with a left hand set up.

Bill Cunningham · Post by **Bill Cunningham** » 11 Nov 2010 10:52 am

I am left handed and right eye dominant. I write with my left hand. I play instruments right handed and swing bats, clubs, and shotguns on the right side. My right fingers are much more flexible and stronger. I attribute this to 35+ years of playing steel and other instruments.

Tomi Graso · Post by **Tomi Graso** » 12 Nov 2010 3:02 am

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Tomi Graso · Post by **Tomi Graso** » 12 Nov 2010 3:17 am

Tomi Graso · Post by **Tomi Graso** » 12 Nov 2010 3:22 am

Tomi Graso · Post by **Tomi Graso** » 12 Nov 2010 3:31 am

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Tomi Graso · Post by **Tomi Graso** » 12 Nov 2010 3:35 am

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Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 12 Nov 2010 8:22 am

Tomi I was floored by that song" She broke your Heart" What a great cut,great great voice on that singer, the whole song and your playing is super..That song should be heard..

Tomi Graso · Post by **Tomi Graso** » 14 Nov 2010 3:01 pm

Definitely agree Joe bout that song "She broke your heart" , sung by Karen O'Shea.... she sings Jazz as well as other commercial music...
Definitely deserves to be heard and known around the world , i played on the whole album and there are some great cuts . It was all recorded live in the studio, that was the first take i did for that song and they decided to keep it as it was more spontaneous playing. Rather than going over and over the song - each time it looses more and more sparkle..you know what i mean Joe...
Anyway, looks like i am off the topic a bit ...I will start recording some demos of my playing - just instrumentals when i get some time, i am sure you'll like it ! Thanks for replying to my post Joe !
Regards........Tomi........steel

Reece Anderson · Post by **Reece Anderson** » 16 Nov 2010 11:00 am

Ever wonder why there's no such thing as a left handed piano ?

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 16 Nov 2010 12:51 pm

Tomi
Great picture of Martin Jenner. He used to live not far from me, and played steel guitar himself.

Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 16 Nov 2010 1:46 pm

Reece Anderson wrote:Ever wonder why there's no such thing as a left handed piano ?

Reese,

Here it is!

http://www.lefthandedpiano.com/

I think we will see a growing departure of the subjugation of lefties. The archaic bullying of the Roman Catholic Church no longer has the power it once had.

Left in Latin and Italian is SINISTRA. If you cannot make out an English word from the root I will help you, SIN, SINISTER, etc. Those who used the left hand as dominant were deemed possessed by the devil and left handedness was repressed. As we become less and less controlled by the Vatican we see a greater acceptance of left handedness.

Although, Reese makes a very good point. I like Mr Cunningham, am left handed but right eye dominant. I attribute this to taking up markmenship training at a very early age. I do almost everything except play as a rightie would because of the eye dominance.

This however, greatly affected my dart throwing abilities and perhaps was the reason we lost the 1989 California Dart championships.

There is one huge bonus. No one will ever ask to sit in on your guitar, unless Tomi Grasso is in town.

m.

Reece Anderson · Post by **Reece Anderson** » 17 Nov 2010 11:00 am

Thanks Matthew......I learn something new and different everyday. So I'll rephrase my question, has anyone ever seen TWO left handed pianos in the entire world ?

Tomi Graso · Post by **Tomi Graso** » 17 Nov 2010 1:30 pm

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Reece Anderson · Post by **Reece Anderson** » 17 Nov 2010 7:06 pm

Tomi....I again stand corrected, so I'll rephrase the question, has anyone ever seen THREE left handed pianos in the entire world ?

Tomi Graso · Post by **Tomi Graso** » 17 Nov 2010 9:37 pm

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Reece Anderson · Post by **Reece Anderson** » 18 Nov 2010 7:28 am

Tomi....Thank you for your kind "comeback".

I believe you would enjoy attending and playing at steel shows. Please consider that those who were there would enjoy hearing you because no one can play the way Tomi Graso plays, and no one else can play exactly like someone else. Just enjoy yourself, play it like you feel it, and everything else will take care of it's self.

If you enjoy staying in your own playing world, I also think thats great. We all started playing for the joy and personal rewards, NOT necessarily the awards........enjoying and sharing every step of the continuos learning journey is the ultimate achievement.

Todd Clinesmith · Post by **Todd Clinesmith** » 18 Nov 2010 8:14 am

Here is a photo of a lefty triple neck I built:

players view:

Todd

Tomi Graso · Post by **Tomi Graso** » 19 Nov 2010 3:38 am

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Matthew Prouty · Post by **Matthew Prouty** » 19 Nov 2010 8:06 am

Reese,

If you watch the video of the gentleman from the UK that had the left handed piano built he mentions that the piano cost 25,000 pounds. So why is there only one left handed piano? Perhaps it is because it is cost prohibitive? The guitar, fiddle, steel, as you well know being a luthier are fairly easy and cheap to convert to left handed. A piano on the other hand will have very few usable parts and everything must be custom made. Imagine the cost of a foundry tooling up to make only a few Plate Castings. It must be astronomical.

I think a testament to your point which should drive those perch on the fence trying to decide if they should go lefty or not are the great players past and present, such as Lloyd Green, Robby Turner and Curly Chalker to name a few.

There is a point thought that I feel that all right-handed and those lefties who have surpassed this difficult hurdle find hard to comprehend. If you listen to the video on the link I posted above you will hear Christopher Seed mention that for the first time he feels like he is playing to his strengths and his self confidence is at its peak. This coming from a man that has mastered the conventional piano as a lefty. Perhaps there is something that is beyond the comprehension of those who have not experienced it?

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