I'm curious: Left-handed pedal steel guitars?

[Joel Terry]

We've all heard about "left-handed hammers," an absurd entity that, like the unicorn, simply doesn't exist.

But what about left-handed pedal steel guitars? Is there such a beast? Have there been any notable steel guitarists who are left-handed and have ordered a steel guitar built with the pickups to the left and the tuners to the right? Players who pick left-handed and use the slide in their right hand?

These might seem like stupid questions, prima facie, but if indeed there are left-handed "Spanish" guitars, to me, it stands to reason that there would be left-handed lap steels and pedal steels--especially left-handed pedal steel guitars, because a left-handed player couldn't simply pull a "Jimi" and turn the pedal steel around; the knee levers might not be an issue, but the pedals would certainly be pointing in the opposite direction.

For those of you in the know (Alvin?)--am I a moron for asking?

Thanks,
Joel

 

[PennyCentury]

Pedalmaster manufactures left-handed pedal steel guitars, for one.

http://www.pedalmastersteelguitar.com/

 

[Rick Towne]

I have seen them from time to time but never played. I have several lefty lap steels; one stock lefty, the others converted.

 

[voodoostation]

And I do have a left handed hammer. It won't hit a nail worth a darn in my right hand...

 

[Papa Joe]

Steels built for lefthand players are few and far between but do exist..There are a lot of left handed players out there that have learned to play a regular right hand guitar.That's the route I would go if I were left handed.

 

[J. Hayes]

Two of the best pedal steel player.........

in history were left handed, the late Curley Chalker jazz player extraordinaire and session ace Lloyd Green but both played right handed. I've never encountered a world class or nationally famous player who played left handed.........

However, in the area I live (Southeast Virginia) we had a local boy (Daryl Morris) who played guitar, fiddle, and pedal steel and played 'em all left handed. Daryl played a ShoBud Maverick (student model) for many years which he'd converted into a "lefty". He just turned the body around and modified and moved the linkage underneath and only used the three floor pedals. He played that guitar for the longest time and built up quite a local reputation with it. I remember going to see him one night and the singer did Garth Brooks' "Shameless" and ol' Daryl nailed it just like the record. He played it with just reverb and a little compression with an old MXR DynaComp. He moved to Tennessee a few years ago but before he moved he'd bought either a Mullen or Carter single neck with more pedals and about four or five knee levers and was really puttin' out some good stuff. If you see him around anywhere, take a listen he's a good 'un.

Also, years ago the first pedal steel I ever had was a Harlin MultiKord six stringer with four pedals. It tuned up on the right end of the instrument as the pedals pulled straight down so the changer was on the left end. When I got my first Fender 400, I sold the MK to a left handed lapsteel and lead player named "Lefty" Mayo. Lefty just moved the pickup and fingerboard around and played the thing as a left handed instrument. He left the pedals on the left end and used his volume control with his right foot.....JH in Va.

 

[Dave Hopping]

My old steel teacher,Dick Meis, had a left-handed doubleneck in his studio.IIRC it was a Sho-Bud.So yes,they do exist,but they're much less common than left-handed six-strings.Makes me think about other instruments that don't often come left-handed.Anyone ever seen a left-handed piano?

 

[geardaddy]

i have a lefty 10 string single-neck that i bought on ebay for $800...for various reasons, i've been unable to touch it since very shortly after i got it (3 years or so)...

but she's up and running (more or less) as of today!

which, incidentally, is why i'm dredging up this old thread - i did a TDPRI "pedal steel" search, and here we are...

i've yet to join the steelguitarforum, but i think i'll do it tomorrow, because it looks like an amazing resource...

anyway, here's my guitar - for all i know, it's not even an MSA - the MSA decals look a little suspect, like they could've been slapped on there by anybody...i don't know - you think maybe i've been scarred by reading about all those fake telecaster craigslist/ebay listings in the forum upstairs?)\

i honestly don't know the first thing about 'em, but this one makes sound, the levers and pedals work, and it's a lefty, so i'm pretty darn happy right now...just tuning it and hitting a pedal was such a thrill! i love my tele, but i can see this thing taking up all my time for the foreseeable future!

oh, and advice/ID info is certainly welcome, and very much appreciated...

sweetheart of the rodeo, here i come!

serial #S11981

 

[blue metalflake]

The only steel player I ever worked with was left handed & had converted an MSA himself. This guy had access to precision machine tools via his job, and also was an incredibly skilled craftsman. The guitar was a work of art.

 

[hank82]

@ geardady

i have a lefty 10 string single-neck that i bought on ebay for $800...for various reasons, i've been unable to touch it since very shortly after i got it (3 years or so)...

but she's up and running (more or less) as of today!

which, incidentally, is why i'm dredging up this old thread - i did a TDPRI "pedal steel" search, and here we are...

i've yet to join the steelguitarforum, but i think i'll do it tomorrow, because it looks like an amazing resource...

anyway, here's my guitar - for all i know, it's not even an MSA - the MSA decals look a little suspect, like they could've been slapped on there by anybody...i don't know - you think maybe i've been scarred by reading about all those fake telecaster craigslist/ebay listings in the forum upstairs?)\

i honestly don't know the first thing about 'em, but this one makes sound, the levers and pedals work, and it's a lefty, so i'm pretty darn happy right now...just tuning it and hitting a pedal was such a thrill! i love my tele, but i can see this thing taking up all my time for the foreseeable future!

oh, and advice/ID info is certainly welcome, and very much appreciated...

sweetheart of the rodeo, here i come!

serial #S11981

DID YOU GET MY EMAIL I SENT YOU?? Hank82