Lefty mandolin converted to right?

[Rschultz]

Hi,

I'm a guitar player and have never played a mandolin before, but would like to learn. A friend of mine has a left-handed Kentucky KM-200 he said he'd let me borrow and convert to right handed. I have a reasonable understanding of guitar setup and repair, I've done a lot of it on my own guitars. It seems to me that I could buy a pre slotted Graphtech TUSQ (right handed) nut to replace the left handed nut. And also a right handed saddle, right? You can't just turn the saddle around I don't think. Am I thinking about this right?

Thanks!

[MikeEdgerton]

The nut and the saddle have to be right handed. You are correct you can't just turn the saddle around. It will also be missing the dots on the top of the neck along the fretboard as they will now be on the bottom. Beyond that it should be no issue. I'm not sure I'd buy a pre slotted nut myself but whatever works.

[Folkmusician.com]

You may be fine with the pre-slotted nut, maybe not. Nuts should really be individually cut to the instrument. That way you can get the spacing right. Same for the bridge saddle.

Also, just to be sure.. is the current saddle actually a lefty version? I didn't know Kentucky ever made a left handed KM-200

[HoGo]

Make sure the new saddle has the same hole spacing as original. They may be all over the place...

[MikeEdgerton]

By the way, we have received questions for years about converting mandolins from Righty to Lefty. This has to be the first that I can recall about going from Lefty to Righty.

[Roger Moss]

Can't you just lift the ssddle off the bridge and turn it around? That way the bridge is still fitted to the top but the slots are reversed.

[bennyb]

There are some symmetrical saddles out there, so that they have the same compensation when reversed, but (I think) most aren't. On most mandolins, the E strings should be closest to the nut, and the A string the farthest from. Additionally, the notches will be "wrong", a fat notch for the E string, and a narrow one for the G string.

benny

[Marty Jacobson]

I've never seen a nut that could drop right into an instrument and work properly. It'd be sheer luck. If it happens, go buy some lottery tickets, quick.

[colorado_al]

I'd just fill the nut slots and recut them. Super glue and bone dust works great. Super glue and baking soda will also do. I'd also double check the existing saddle is in fact a lefty saddle. It may be a righty that just got flipped.
Contact Rob Meldrum to get his mandolin setup ebook.
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...=1#post1196418

[MikeEdgerton]

I'm assuming the OP wants to return the instrument to it's owner as a Lefty when he's done with it.

[MikeEdgerton]

There are some symmetrical saddles out there, so that they have the same compensation when reversed, but (I think) most aren't. On most mandolins, the E strings should be closest to the nut, and the A string the farthest from. Additionally, the notches will be "wrong", a fat notch for the E string, and a narrow one for the G string.

benny

If there are the intonation will be off.

[Mark Gunter]

By the way, we have received questions for years about converting mandolins from Righty to Lefty. This has to be the first that I can recall about going from Lefty to Righty.

Surely with good reason. There are fewer choices for lefties. OP could save himself some trouble by purchasing a low end mandolin to call his own, if possible, and leave the lefty alone. If he's determined to do this, IMO the best bet is get a few nut blanks and trim and slot them himself. Seems a little off to fill slots on a lefty nut and re-cut to righty; nut blanks are not that expensive. Part of this question goes to whether OP is looking to further practice his set-up/lutherie skills with a new project, or simply get a mandolin to play with.

[mandocrucian]

Why don't you keep it as a lefty and try playing it left-handed? While it won't make you a 'mandolin plicker', you can at least learn the scales/fingerings/chords of the mando neck.

So besides that, what good does it do for me?

Do you fingerpick? Do you play with pick + fingers like all those Tele/strat players (James Burton, Albert Lee, Richard Thompson, etc. etc. etc.)? If you do, you'll be amazed at how much more control you have over the right fingers after spending some time using them to fret the notes. If you never did any previous fingerpicking, it'll be so much simpler when you do. It's like putting hours practicing fingerpicking (RHed).

Then there are the neurological benefits. Forcing your brain to "mirror" the motions (well, not so much since you don't play RHed mandolin), you brain improves "mirroring" abilites - like being able to read signs looking in your rearview mirror, or a magazine in the upside-down position, without slowly "decoding" it. Improve the iring between the two hemispheres of the brain from 16 gauge wire to 10 gauge means more data can flow faster and easier between them. Once the wiring has been upgraded, it won't be just the playing ambidexterity that only uses broadband instead of dial-up. By letting your brain process faster, you are also increasing your IQ.

I may be one of the few, possibly the only, right-handed player(s) on this forum that intentionally flipped the instrument to work it from the other side (without compensating for some sort of injury or dystonia). My main motivation (at first) was to put myself back into a beginner (physcially) mode in order to teach starting players more effectively.

Niles H

[EdHanrahan]

Sorry to sound a bit brutal but...

There are so many not-horrendous mandolins at rock-bottom prices out there (not too much lower quality than the subject instrument) that I don't see much benefit in converting the lefty to righty, and then back again. Yes, you'll have to set up ANY new instrument to make it reasonably playable, but you'll have to do that anyway to your friend's instrument, and probably twice.

For the sake of the friendship, I'd just buy a cheapie and learn how to make it work, rather than learning how to make your friend's (somewhat cheapie?) work.

[G7MOF]

You may be fine with the pre-slotted nut, maybe not. Nuts should really be individually cut to the instrument. That way you can get the spacing right. Same for the bridge saddle.

Also, just to be sure.. is the current saddle actually a lefty version? I didn't know Kentucky ever made a left handed KM-200

Kentucky never made a lefty I've contacted them myself about making me one but they won't.

[JeffD]

I would think the top bracing would have to be symmetrical for this to work. Do we know if that is the case?

[mandocrucian]

On lower end mandolins, the issue of top bracing affecting the sonic output would probably be minimal. Put on a reversed slotted nut and bridge saddle and you should be OK. It's not like you are starting with Stradivarius tone! Sometimes, just flipping the RHed saddle around doesn't make much of an intonational difference, especially when you are in open/first position. And if it bugs you, or you are up above the 7th fret, put on a LHed-cut saddle.

Or you could just borrow a RHed mando from someone else you know who has a spare beater, an extra, or just isn't playing much anymore.

And realistically..... if you decide you like playing mando to continue with the instrument, you'll probably go and buy your own, according to preference in neck width and profife, etc.

as they say in Nashvegas: K-I-S-S.

NH

[MikeEdgerton]

I would think the top bracing would have to be symmetrical for this to work. Do we know if that is the case?

No, right handed mandolins are switched to left all the time and I'd defy anyone to hear the difference.

Here are a whole bunch of discussions on the subject. There are more. The relevant posts should jump out at you.

[dadsaster]

I'm a lefty that converted a right-handed Kentucky to a left. Did you left-handed friend throw out the original bridge? It might still be on the instrument and turned around.

If you have to return it, it's probably more of a pain than it's worth.