Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did it?

[Larioso]

Just had my battles with Fender controls being in the way of my playing, volume seems to suddenly be gone and similar.
Same with Jazzmaster I had, it had to go - I even removed volume and put it under pick guard.

And thought about the reversed body, with controls on top instead?

Did you do it, see it, other than Hendrix?
Was the reason Hendrix did it, wanting controls on top - no clue, but interesting idea, I think.

Best way to do it, buy a lefty and swap neck possibly, or?

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

Hendrix did it because he was lefty and right handed guitars were (and still are) much easier to find.

I fix this on my Strats by moving the volume to neck tone spot and using what was formerly the middle pickup tone control for various other things.

 

[Larioso]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

Yes, it's probably easier to modify like that. Had thoughts doing it on Jazzmaster too.

That Hendrix would settle for that righthanded are easier to find, I don't buy though. Something he prefered having controls on top is my guess, wammy too.
He could have anything customized, I mean.

My interest is not pro/con Hendrix either - just that I found Tele's that had Gibson style controls, but have not found Strats that do similar thing.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

He said himself.....in his own words during interviews........that he chose righty partially for availability - as he often went into shops and bought many guitars at the one time. Secondly he thought the quality of the RH ones was higher due to them being a regular production line. So case completely closed on that.

Having things upside down would make it harder.....not easier - for almost every player. I have an upside down trem on one strat, and its not the easiest thing to get used to.....although as I am very used to swapping between vastly different guitars it wasn't as bad as I feared. The controls sitting under your strumming arm are more likely to be hit during regular play....the selector switch especially. The VERY worst thing is the absolutely horrible upper fret access. Thats the reason why Hendrix used an octave pedal.
Of course there are plenty of players who might find the upside down working for them. The only way to find out is to try.


edit - if you're hitting the controls even on a JM - where the controls are really not awfully close - then some work on technique might be the ticket. If hard hitting SRV could do it then some targeted practice sounds like the more applicable approach. Its the 'moving Mohammed to the mountain' approach.....rather than convoluted guitar changes that most certainly is the 'moving the mountain' way

 

[Larioso]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

I stand corrected on the reason JH did that then.

If it were to make things harder for JH he probably would have changed it, but being lefty I can imagine how impractical not to be able and play whatever is around. He did start off one day as us mortals too.

I saw a YT vid he had a Flying V made for him, that had controls as true lefty though.

Even JM had volume right at bridge pup - so no difference there, I think. Right where my pinky goes - force of habit.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

I hate where the volume is on a Strat. I’m also hitting it.

What I do is remove the first tone control and put the volume in that hole. Then rewire the remaining tone control as a master tone. Added benefit is now you have a tone control for the bridge pickup.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[The JEM Ghost]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

Hendrix was NOT a lefty!! He did play the guitar like a left handed player would though, but he was actually right handed

I hate where the volume is on a Strat. I’m also hitting it.

What I do is remove the first tone control and put the volume in that hole. Then rewire the remaining tone control as a master tone. Added benefit is now you have a tone control for the bridge pickup.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I feel the same way about it, the volume knob on Fender Strats is placed to close to the picking hand, earlier Jacksons and ESP/LTD's had the same problem in my opinion.

As far as the "upside down" thing, personally, I really don't see any advantages in it, only disadvantages.
To be honest, I don't even like reversed headstocks, they feel awkward to me.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

I used to really hate where the volume pot was on a strat . . . but after improving my picking technique, and then starting to get into playing volume swells with the volume knob it's kinda something I can't live without now.

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did it?

Hendrix was NOT a lefty!! He did play the guitar like a left handed player would though, but he was actually right handed

Jimi was ambidextrous. He used his left hand to throw a ball, comb his hair, and hold cigarettes. He wrote, ate, and held a telephone with his right hand.

I’m ambidextrous. I write with my right hand, I hold a sandwich and phone with my left hand, etc. I play right handed. That’s called “mixed-right-handed.”

My dad was a lefty, but he wrote with his right hand. This is because when he was in school left handedness was frowned upon. So they made him use his right hand. I’d guess that might have been the case with Jimi.

But I wouldn’t call him a righty. I’d call him “mixed-left-handed.”


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[The JEM Ghost]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

Jimi was ambidextrous. He used his left hand to throw a ball, comb his hair, and hold cigarettes. He wrote, ate, and held a telephone with his right hand.

I’m ambidextrous. I write with my right hand, I hold a sandwich and phone with my left hand, etc. I play right handed. That’s called “mixed-right-handed.”

My dad was a lefty, but he wrote with his right hand. This is because when he was in school left handedness was frowned upon. So they made him use his right hand. I’d guess that might have been the case with Jimi.

But I wouldn’t call him a righty. I’d call him “mixed-left-handed.”

Ambidextrous?? So Hendrix was something like a frog or toad?

Just kidding though, you've put it very accurately! I've read somewhere Al, Jimi's dad, was really furious about Jimi not doing things "correctly" at younger age.
A lot of times lefties had a hard time at school too, teachers would try to correct them (sometimes pretty violently) using the "correct" hand to write for example, in some cases that may have contributed to being ambidextrous or mixed-left-handed.

 

[Jeffblue]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

For no good reason..........just an idea...........I built THIS!


Warmoth Black Korina left-hand body, Warmoth roasted Maple tele neck with Bloodwood fretboard and stainless steel frets, reverse headstock, Seymour Duncan Phat Cat and '59 Trembucker. Notice the special rout for the volume pot, placement of pickup selector switch and the 90 degree angle plug jack extension. This guitar plays and sounds excellent. it is truly different.

 

[The JEM Ghost]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

Congratz on building this one yourself man!

As mentioned before, I am not into the whole "upside down" thing at all myself, but you truly made yourself a unique guitar there!
Have fun with it!

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

My prediction is that those frets from 19 on up are not gonna see a lot of action.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

Playing a backwards guitar introduces a whole host of issues, but Jimi could have used anything. I don't have issues of a Strat's knobs or switch being in the way, though, but I grew up playing a Strat, and the technique developed so I wouldn't hit those things with my wrist or hand. I swear, though, the guitar demo video market is flooded. They are running out of things to make videos about.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

Ambidextrous?? So Hendrix was something like a frog or toad?

Just kidding though, you've put it very accurately! I've read somewhere Al, Jimi's dad, was really furious about Jimi not doing things "correctly" at younger age.
A lot of times lefties had a hard time at school too, teachers would try to correct them (sometimes pretty violently) using the "correct" hand to write for example, in some cases that may have contributed to being ambidextrous or mixed-left-handed.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

For me, a left-handed Strat would place the knobs under my forearm. Not just inconvenient, but also uncomfortable.
To make it work I think I'd have to wear the guitar way up high.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

I fix this on my Strats by moving the volume to neck tone spot and using what was formerly the middle pickup tone control for various other things.

Same. I do this on all my strats. I don't use tones except for my jazz strat. My favorite set up is just a volume and blender. Or a volume and master spin a split.

 

[GreatOz]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

Hendrix did it because he was lefty and right handed guitars were (and still are) much easier to find.

A friend of mine is left-handed and asked me if she should learn left-handed or right-handed. I told her that, despite left-handed guitars being around, she'd be MUCH better off in the long-run learning right-handed anyway. In the long run, she'll be much better off in finding guitars. Another friend of mine is left-handed, but still plays his guitar right-handed for the same reason.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

I am left handed and learned right handed. No regrets there, at all.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Reverse body Strat - how about that - Fender or other - is this why Hendrix did i

I’m right handed and bought a ‘66 left handed Strat but play it right. Within the first 30 minutes of playing a strat upside down I realized part of why Hendrix sounded like he did. I was ever slamming the switch to the neck pickup when I strummed and to avoid accidentally knocking the volume and tones under my arm, I found myself playing up towards the neck. Not being able to rest my arm on the guitar totally changed my style. I was muting strings with my left hand instead of my right and slamming the strings imprecisely during leads with my right hand. It got funky real quick.