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lefty steel players

Posted: 6 Nov 2010 11:00 am
by Larry Edwards
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

Posted: 6 Nov 2010 11:43 am
by Joe Casey
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..

Posted: 7 Nov 2010 6:39 am
by Roy Glaze
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
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Posted: 11 Nov 2010 4:16 am
by John Ed Kelly
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.

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 5:51 am
by Alan Coldiron
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.

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 5:58 am
by Bill McRoberts
I'm a "lefty" playing "righty" and sometimes wonder if I should have went with a left hand set up.

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 10:52 am
by Bill Cunningham
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.

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 3:02 am
by Tomi Graso
Deleted !

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 3:17 am
by Tomi Graso

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 3:22 am
by Tomi Graso

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 3:31 am
by Tomi Graso
Deleted !

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 3:35 am
by Tomi Graso
Deleted

Posted: 12 Nov 2010 8:22 am
by Joe Casey
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..

Posted: 14 Nov 2010 3:01 pm
by Tomi Graso
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

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 11:00 am
by Reece Anderson
Ever wonder why there's no such thing as a left handed piano ?

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 12:51 pm
by Ken Byng
Tomi
Great picture of Martin Jenner. He used to live not far from me, and played steel guitar himself.

Not So Fast!

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 1:46 pm
by Matthew Prouty
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.

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 11:00 am
by Reece Anderson
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 ?

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 1:30 pm
by Tomi Graso
Deleted !

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 7:06 pm
by Reece Anderson
Tomi....I again stand corrected, so I'll rephrase the question, has anyone ever seen THREE left handed pianos in the entire world ?

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 9:37 pm
by Tomi Graso
Deleted !

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 7:28 am
by Reece Anderson
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.

Posted: 18 Nov 2010 8:14 am
by Todd Clinesmith
Here is a photo of a lefty triple neck I built:

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players view:

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Todd

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 3:38 am
by Tomi Graso
Deleted !

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 8:06 am
by Matthew Prouty
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?