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Beyond the obvious changes that would be necessary to convert a right-hand acoustic guitar to a left-hand model (such as new nut, pick guard, bridge, pin holes, properly compensated saddle slot, etc), is there anything in a typical bracing pattern that would cause any issues acoustically? Or would the bracing not really be an issue?

TIA,
Ken

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

Shouldn't be a problem....

The tone bars would be reversed.

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David Radlin
http://www.facebook.com/radlin.guitars

Have you seen Frank's photo essay?
http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musician/Guitar/Setup/LeftConv/leftconv.html

Adding fretboard position markers on the other side is another thing to do.

In the discussions that I have seen before the general consensus was that the reversed bracing pattern is not going to affect sound much - and you can't do anything about it anyway.

Jose Oribe says he quit making differnet bracing for lefthand guitars because there is much lower resale value for lefthanded guitars. He also notes that the sound isn't much different.

I hear many left handed musicians string a right handed guitar backward because they can't find left handed guitars easily. So I guess there's nothing wrong with that. Fender even makes a reverse strat (a left handed strat that has been strung right handed, or vice versa) because Jimi Hendrix used to string a right handed strat in reverse.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Thanks for all of the input, fellows! It confirmed what I was already thinking about the switch-over.

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC