Guides

Tanglewood Guitars is a British guitar brand, founded in 1990 in England by owner Dirk Kommer.  Until recently this brand was almost exclusively sold within the UK, however after winning several industry awards the company has expanded and is now distributed in over 35 countries worldwide.

Although primarily known for their fantastic and affordable acoustic guitars, Tanglewood do produce a range of beginner lefty electric guitars and basses of which 5 are currently available left handed.  Hopefully we’ll see this range expand as the company grows!

Let’s take a look at what’s on offer from this British company…

Tanglewood TSB 58 CSB LH Left Handed Guitar

BODY Solid Mahogany
TOP Flame Maple Veneer
NECK (MATERIAL) Mahogany
NECK (BUILD) Set Neck
FINGERBOARD Rosewood
PICKGUARD Cream
BINDING Cream ABS Front
NUT (WIDTH) Cream ABS (43mm)
SCALE LENGTH 630mm
MACHINE HEADS Kluson Style with Tulip Buttons
HARDWARE Nickel
FINISH Cherry Sunburst Gloss
PICKUPS 2 x Entwistle Alnico HV58

Tanglewood DBT 6 BK LH Lefty Guitar

Framus is a German guitar and amplifier brand which was founded in 1946 by Fred Wilfer.  Unfortunately, due to the rapidly changing market at the time, the company was forced into bankruptcy in 1975.  However the Framus name was revived in 1995 after being bought by German bass guitar brand Warwick.  The company now successfully produces a wide range of high-end guitars and tube amplifiers.

Framus are one of the few bigger name companies out there who are truly ‘lefty friendly’ as they produce nearly all of their guitars in a left handed format at no extra charge.  The only guitars which are not available left handed are the Vintage Series and the Earl Slick signature series.  Great work from Framus indeed!

There are far too many guitars to fit in a single article so I have broken the choices down into their ‘families’.  Descriptions will be brief as the guitars in each family each differ from one another in various ways, so be sure to check out the Framus website for detailed specs.  Besides, you just come here for the pretty pictures right? ;)

Framus Panthera Series Left Handed Guitars

The gorgeous singlecut Panthera range from Framus is available in a wide variety of different finishes, wood configurations, bridges, pickup choices, and even has a 7-string model on offer.  Check out the Framus website to obtain detailed specs for each different model.

Framus Diablo Series Lefty Guitars

The stunning Diablo range from Framus is available in a wide variety of different finishes, wood configurations, bridges, pickup choices, and even has a 7-string model on offer.  Check out the Framus website for the skinny on each different model.

G&L Guitars was founded in California, USA in 1979 by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Dale Hyat.  The company name is formed from the initials of George and Leo.  G&L instruments are similar to the classic Fenders, but with a few modern innovations which makes them highly regarded by many musicians and collectors.

As a left handed guitar player it may be difficult getting your hands on a G&L as there are only 3 lefty models on offer from this USA brand.  Also take into account that G&L are not very widely distributed so owning one of these could be a rare privilege indeed.

Let’s take a look…

G&L Legacy Left Handed Guitar

• PICKUPS 3 Fullerton-made G&L vintage style Alnico V single coil pickups
• BODY WOOD Swamp Ash
• NECK WOOD Hard Rock Maple with Rosewood fingerboard
• NECK RADIUS 9″ (228.6mm)
• NECK WIDTH AT  NUT 1 5/8″ (41.3mm)
• TUNING KEYS 18:1 ratio, sealed-back
• BRIDGE G&L Dual Fulcrum vibrato with nickel plated die-cast saddles
• CONTROLS 5 position pickup selector, volume, PTB system
• FINISH 3-Tone Sunburst with Tortoise Shell pickguard
• OTHER G&L Deluxe Gig Bag included in USA

G&L ASAT Classic Lefty Guitar

Mensinger are a custom guitar and bass company based in Poland who produce some absolutely stunning handcrafted instruments.  Every guitar they produce is available left handed and each one is fully customizable within reason at a price that will blow you away…

If you already missed it, go and check out the Left Handed Mensinger Guitars Part 1 article to see some of the more traditional models.  This article will take a look at some of the more crazy designs to emerge from the Mensinger workshop.  Ever fancied a guitar which is also a bass?  Or perhaps a model which satisfies both your 6 and 7-string needs?  Mensinger probably have you covered… ;)

Again, the Mensinger website is only available in Polish so I have tried my best to translate a few basic details about each guitar.  To learn more I would recommend contacting Adrian at Public Peace (link below) for a speedy reply.

Mensinger Beast Left Handed Guitar

The Beast is one of the latest models from Mensinger which offers the combination of both guitar and bass to unlock a variety of different sonic possibilities.  The instrument is constructed in such a way that the guitar and bass have independent electronic circuits and input jacks which gives the possibility of separating the signals into two different amps.

Mensinger Columbia Lefty Guitar