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Post subject: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Thu Mar 21, 2019 11:55 pm
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Hi all my first post.
After all the searching and researching Lefty strat options re: pots, knobs and wiring options I wrote to Fender to ask them why lefty guitars are fitted with right hand pots and knobs and here is my request and what Fender had to say:


Hi,
Hope you can help me. I have a 2005 American Series LH Strat and it has right hand pots. I have lefty pots to swap them over but cant seem to find any specific diagram for doing that as all the LH strat diagrams have righty pots not reverse tapers. I hope Fender can realise that on the same mod righty guitar the pots turn clockwise not only that but the travel on lefties are very limited basically work like an on/off switch. Also the knobs are numbered back the front. Surely Fender being the big company that it is could install reverse tapers in their lefty range and put some correct knobs that go from 1-10 not 10-1 as they do.
I also have a 335 that has lefty log pots and knobs and the difference is much smoother increases in volume . So my question is with lefty tapers what is the wiring sequence to get them to increase volume clockwise. Hope you can help me cause I love the strat but Righties dont totally get what lefties endure trying to get their guitars working the way they should.

Reply from Fender:

When wiring lefty pots with reverse tapers, just wire them the exact opposite of the righty diagrams. I have attached a picture. When I look at the pot from the bottom with pins facing me, the pins are in order from left to right, 1,2,3. On right-handed guitars that have the volume increase as the pot is turned clockwise, the pots are typically wired with the signal in 1, out 2, and gound 3. So on lefty pots, if you want the volume to increase as you rotate the pot counter-clockwise, the signal goes in 3, out 2, ground 1. I understand your desire to have reverse taper pots and reversed knobs on your lefty guitars, I believe that we do not offer this on our lefty models simply because we have such little demand for lefty guitars so it would not make sense for us to order, manage, and stock these parts. We make very few left-handed guitars compared to right-handed guitars. I hope this answers your questions. As a right-handed player and guitar tech, my brain starts spinning when trying to set-up and wire lefty guitars. Let me know if you need more clarification or have any further questions. Have a great day, and thank you for supporting Fender.

Doug James

Consumer Relations Representative
Direct Sales

Fender Musical Instruments Corp.

Well Jimmy would be turning in his grave, Lefties unite, write to Fender and demand equality, surely they can afford to do this for 12% of their market.


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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:20 am
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:lol:

Even my Samick has "lefthanded" pots.....


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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 5:01 am
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I guess being a 'righty' myself, I've never really put any thought into the lefty guitar and how it's wired. I had absolutely no idea that Fender installs right handed pots in a left handed guitar. So why the price increase on "lefty" guitars? Because the pickup's are reversed?
I'm on your side 59leftystrat...that annoys me, and I don't even have a dog in the fight. Knobs turning clockwise, and going from 10 to 1 as the volume and/or tone increases is not something my OCD brain would allow me to accept.
Good luck with your Lobby...but I'm afraid if you DO convince Fender to install left handed pots---the price will most likely go up even more. In my more than half a century on this planet, I've observed that Corporations do NOT foot the entire bill to appease the minority of it's consumers (and Fender's rep pretty much already said that). Sad but true I'm afraid.


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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 5:19 am
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Why would the pots be reverse-taper and wired reversed (on a production model)? Do production left handed guitars not operate in the same direction: Clockwise toward 10 and anti-clockwise toward zero?
In addition to reversed pots and wiring, you'd also need reverse-numbered knobs.
But I can see how rolling the volume on/off would be uncomfortable for a left-handed player with conventional controls.

As far as cost, it's simply production scale. Like left-handed scissors, they don't make/sell a lot. It is an entirely separate set of parts to inventory for the major parts... bodies, necks, pickguards, and tremolo bridges.

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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 7:13 am
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Sorry, but I'm not seeing it. I don't consider it any more difficult to turn my guitar down than turn it up.

I assume Left Handed people don't have watches that run counterclockwise so convention suggests stuff turns clockwise to turn it up. You don't have left handed guitar amplifiers with the knobs going the other way so why would you on a guitar?

I do, none the less, accept that this is April 1st.

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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 12:18 am
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John Sims wrote:
I do, none the less, accept that this is April 1st.

The OP's post pre dates April 1st by quite a bit.

As far as pots are concerned they can be connected to work in reverse.
They're only a wiper on a contact after all.

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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 1:13 am
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Yep if they are left audio taper just mirror image the fender diagram.
You'll be stuck with the knobs maybe... :D


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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2019 1:18 am
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Change out the knobs for Telecaster ones and the problem goes away :D

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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2019 5:09 am
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CB91710 wrote:
Do production left handed guitars not operate in the same direction: Clockwise toward 10 and anti-clockwise toward zero?


No, my Player strat goes from 10 (no sound) to 1 (full volume). Fender didnt take the trouble to get OR the knobs, OR the pots right.


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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2019 6:11 pm
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Yeah that's an option.
I do see places like sweetwater advertising left hand aged white knobs. Funny thing is the generic pic shows the middle as lefty and the other two righty :D


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Post subject: Re: Fender options for Lefties
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:36 pm
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Why do some people insist on being left-handed, when they could easily do things the “right” way? :lol:

Just joking of course.

I notice that lots of other manufacturers make proper lefty guitars, including lefty knobs and pots. I recently bought a lefty Epiphone Les Paul, and it has the lefty pots, and even the knobs are numbered lefty. All of the lefty Fenders that I saw had righty pots and knobs. :shock:

If you think it is easy for a left-handed player to use righty pots and knobs, just try playing a proper lefty guitar sometime. It’s not easy when everything seems “backwards”. :oops:

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