Many left-handed players learn to play right-handed, standard guitars. However, others cannot get comfortable and natural with them.
Thus, trying a left-handed instrument is the way to go to take the next step in your musical journey.
Therefore, we decided to introduce you to the best left-handed acoustic guitars and let you decide which one scores highest on your list.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks for Left Handed Acoustic Guitars
- OUR TOP PICK: Martin LX1
- RUNNER-UP: Jameson Thinline Acoustic
- BEST BUDGET OPTION: Fender PM-1
Table of Contents
What Size of Left-Handed Acoustic Guitar Do I Need?
The size of the guitar comes down to two main factors: your skill level and the size of your hands. Beginners should also aim for short scale, smaller guitars since they are easier to play and much more comfortable. Some players prefer short scale guitars because they have tiny hands, and a full-sized or a jumbo-sized guitar makes it so much more difficult.
Musicians who travel often would also prefer a shorter scale guitar since they are more compact, portable, and easy to carry around. In the end, it all comes down to how comfortable you feel, so don’t hesitate to try anything that catches your eye!
What Makes a Great Left-Handed Acoustic Guitar?
Left-handed acoustic guitars are not as varied as right-handed ones, so the options might be quite limited. Here’s what makes a great left-handed acoustic guitar:
Quality
The overall build quality is crucial to a great guitar. Features such as quality tonewood, smooth fretwork, great action, and a comfortable cutaway are definitely characteristics you should look for in your new left-handed acoustic guitar. These contribute to the value a guitar brings with it and also ensures a long life for your investment.
Playability
Another great feature is playability. Whether you are a beginner or a more experienced player, an uncomfortable instrument translates into one course of action: less and less practice. We all know practice makes perfect! The degree of playability and comfort are, therefore, important.
Design
Last but not least, you should feel proud of your new gorgeous companion. You will be more motivated to pick up your beauty for a quick jam session. A smooth finish, a vintage design, or maybe some modern features to entice you are always welcome.
Comparison of the Best Left-Handed Acoustic Guitars
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Review of the Best Left-Handed Acoustic Guitars
If you are a lefty, you now know what to consider in the best acoustic guitar. Now, let’s take a look at some of the top options.
Best Overall:
Martin LX1
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PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
This guitar has a smooth, low-neck profile that favors comfort and playability. It is the ideal instrument for anyone who wants easy access to the fretboard, spotless intonation, and low action. It is playable right out of the box and ages extremely well. The HPL also adds durability.
Why it Stands Out to Us
The Martin LX1 is a popular instrument among players who prefer well-balanced, defined tones. The guitar has excellent rich, bright, and crisp sounds with great sustain. The Sitka spruce top adds a bit of twang, making it suitable for blues and folk enthusiasts. The HPL body adds some low-mid punch and overall, has a great low-end bass response.
Who Will Use This Most
This ¾ small size is ideal for players with tiny hands or beginners. More experienced players will favor this instrument too, since it is highly portable and feather-light. The bright, crisp sounds and added low-end bass response with a bit of twang make it ideal for folk and blues.
Bottom Line
Overall, the Martin LX1 is your best option, even if you are on a tight budget. The company is famous for its high-quality, durable, and outstanding instruments, and the LX1 is no exception to this rule. If you’ve never tried Martin guitars, this is the best chance for you to discover Martin’s unique features.
Runner-up:
Jameson Thinline Acoustic
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PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
This full-scale, acoustic-electric guitar is comfortable and easy to use if you have large hands. To some people, it might seem a bit heavy and bulky, but the volume projection makes up for this small flaw. It is extremely affordable and the workmanship is a real winner!
Why it Stands Out to Us
The Jameson Thinline Acoustic is our favorite in terms of affordability, craftsmanship, and versatility. With the maple neck, nato back and sides, and rosewood fingerboard, this guitar is an artful instrument. What is more, it is a real bargain and includes freebies: a set of guitar picks and gig bag.
Who Will Use This Most
With clear, rich tones, this Jameson is a sure hit among both beginners and more experienced players. You will definitely enjoy the high trebles, solid presence of bass frequencies, and the mid-range punch. The slim, thin body makes it easy to play and comfortable, although the full size might deter players with small hands.
Bottom Line
The Jameson Blue Thinline is a great quality acoustic-electric guitar that offers bountiful features. It is compact and easy to play, and is a sure option for beginners. However, it does score a bit on the heavy side, but still not enough to keep you away from this masterpiece!
Best for the Money:
Fender PM-1
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PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
This Fender PM-1 is a lightweight, comfortable guitar with excellent, bold, and punchy tones. For this affordable price, it is a wonder that it is all made of mahogany, a tonewood that has outstanding tonal properties. You get all the features and tones you’d expect from a high-end dreadnought!
Why It Stands Out To Us
The Fender PM-1 is an acoustic guitar with astonishing sound properties. The solid mahogany body and neck and rosewood fretboard contribute plenty to the rich, robust, and vintage sounds. It has a great tone sustain and the tuning machines allow for fine-tuning.
Who Would Use This Most
This is an ideal instrument for all acoustic lovers. If the vintage, earthy, woody tones appeal to you, this all-mahogany guitar has all it takes to impress you and your audience. You will get full, bold tones that will open a whole new universe of musical opportunities for you!
Bottom Line
Like every time, Fender never ceases to offer us the best at an affordable price range. With this model, they managed to score high on every feature – including the tasteful sounds, great design, and playability. If you want a real treat for yourself, this is your opportunity to get it!
Best Left-Handed Acoustic Guitar for Beginners:
Fender CC-60SCE
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PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
It is impossible not to be impressed by this entry-level guitar at such an affordable price. The solid spruce top and mahogany back and sides are great choices that add fullness to your sounds. Also, the electronics score quite high on quality, versatility, and ease of use.
Why it Stands Out to Us
Our top recommendation for beginners is the Fender CC-60SCE. It comes with an intuitive, simple, yet gorgeous design and includes all the basic features you need: a rosewood bridge with mahogany back and sides, great electronics with a chrome diecast tuner, and a black pickguard. It delivers strong, bright, dynamic sounds with ease.
Who Will Use This Most
This concert-sized guitar is ideal for beginners. The single-cutaway improves access to the upper register. It is versatile, responding extremely well to any playing style and music genre. Whether you are a finger-picker, drummer, or a quick flat-picker, this guitar can handle it all and then some!
Bottom Line
The Fender CC-60SCE is the ideal beginner guitar, starting from the design with a single-cutaway in concert size, right to ease of playing and the tonal range. No matter your music style, the Fender CC-60SCE will definitely be a perfect match, offering you full-bodied tones with perfect definition.
Best Yamaha Left-Handed Acoustic Guitar:
Yamaha L-Series LL16
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PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
This guitar is the perfect example of solid Yamaha quality at an unbeatable price. All tones are well-defined and rounded, with a touch of warmth. The highs sound clean and clear, without excessive brightness. It is perfect and can be played right out of the box!
Why It Stands Out To Us
Our favorite Yamaha left-handed guitar is the LL16, one of the few guitars that features an all-wood construction at an impressively low price range. It provides a great tone and maintains comfort and ease of play for a long time. If you are eager to try out a Yamaha model, this is where you should start.
Who Would Use This Most
This dreadnought acoustic-electric guitar is the perfect instrument for your transition from entry-level to intermediate. It has a beautiful, eye-catching design, comes with a gig bag, and has a comfortable neck profile. The Yamaha LL16 is the perfect instrument to accompany you to your first live performances.
Bottom Line
Overall, Yamaha’s best shot at making a functional, high-quality, and affordable left-handed guitar is a true success. They are well-known for their expertise with beginner-friendly instruments, but this time they upped their game with the LL16. This is the perfect intermediate-level guitar.
Best Left-Handed 12-String Acoustic Guitar:
D'Angelico Premier Fulton Left-Handed Grand 12-String Acoustic-Electric Guitar
PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
D’Angelico guitars are far too underrated. The premiere line is amazing and has high-quality sound abilities with comfortable action. Plus, the cutaway makes playing a breeze. If you really want to be taken aback by this great guitar, make sure you plug it in – that’s where it really shines!
Why It Stands Out To Us
D’Angelico’s lefty 12-string acoustic-electric guitar is a high-quality instrument, now in a smaller frame with 16” wide steel strings. It provides you with grace, comfort, and playability. Also, the tonal balance is absolutely stunning. It has crystal-clear highs, robust bass, and overall glistening performance.
Who Would Use This Most
If you want excellent acoustic performance, D’Angelico’s 12-String is a real winner. No matter the playing style, music genre, or size of the player's hands, the thin C-shaped neck makes this instrument the ideal guitar for a stress-free and pain-free experience every time you pick it up.
Bottom Line
Overall, this product is our favorite 12-string acoustic guitar. It is balanced, yet versatile, with a comfortable and convenient design that improves playability. It is ideal for any 12-string lover out there. With a quick change of stock strings, this beauty can perform flawlessly, even for the pickiest audience.
Best 3/4 Left-Handed Acoustic Guitar:
Stagg SW201
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PROS
CONS
What Recent Buyers Report
This guitar is a good buy with high value for the money. The action is perfect and it comes with good, solid, clean sounds. The guitar can be reasonably played right out of the box. However, you should consider using the included tool to adjust the neck and even consider a string replacement.
Why It Stands Out To Us
Stagg’s SW201 is a great, beginner-friendly instrument, with intricate aesthetics and a careful finish. It comes with a unique tone signature and is highly affordable. Overall, it sounds great, has crystal-clear sounds, and is quite versatile. The SW201 also comes in four color variations to satisfy all your needs.
Who Would Use This Most
This guitar is a perfectly-shaped guitar for beginners, children, or people with small hands. It has a playable, comfortable design, is lightweight, and is an ideal instrument for travelers. Highly portable, this affordable guitar can satisfy a wide range of needs and budgets.
Bottom Line
Overall, the Stagg SW201 is a quality lefty. It offers great sounds, a decent amount of versatility and flexibility, and increased convenience and comfort. The delicate aesthetics top off the rest of its great features. For a quality, affordable, small-sized guitar, Stagg is the way to go!
What Do I Need to Know Before Buying?
Here are some top factors worth considering before making your purchase:
Short Scale Versus Long Scale
When purchasing your instrument, most recommendations are to go for a short scale if you are a beginner. However, this might not be the case with everyone. For instance, if you have quite large hands, you will struggle to play the small guitar.
You’d find a full-size or even jumbo one more convenient. The best thing to do is to experiment a bit with your friends' guitars. If that's not possible, choose a full-size guitar if you’re not sure that a short scale is good for you.
Price Trade-Offs
While some instruments are labeled as high-quality, a high-end instrument will also come with a higher price tag. However, if you are at the beginning of your journey, the price/quality trade-offs should not be of major concern to you. An affordable model from our list will definitely provide you with all the features you need.
Playability
Most models have cutaways and neck profiles that favor comfort and playability. Despite this, most beginners will still find it difficult to adjust, at least until you get your calluses. Practice makes perfect, and the longer you play, the more comfortable you will feel with your instrument.
Conclusion
All in all, we have walked you through the best left-handed acoustic guitars you can find, artfully combining affordability and high quality. Considering that they all have ups and downs, the choice remains truly all yours. We are confident that at least some of our models have all the qualities to be your next companion in your journey.
People Also Ask
Have a look at our FAQ section, which tackles some of the most popular questions surrounding left-handed guitars. Let’s solve the mysteries together!
What is the Difference Between a Left and Right-Handed Guitar?
There are several differences between these two. First, whether you are left-handed or right-handed, the neck should go on your left side. This means that the lefty guitar body is inverted, with the cutaway right under the high E string. Secondly, the strings on a lefty guitar are upside down. Finally, the tuners of the lefty guitar are on the other side of the headstock.
Are Left-Handed Guitars More Expensive?
Left-handed guitars are more expensive than their right-handed counterparts because they are less frequently bought. However, the price mostly depends on the brand you choose. Some brands are more expensive than others, which remains true for both right and left-handed guitars.
How Do You Know if a Guitar is Left-Handed?
The lefty guitar has an inverted body, but the neck is still located to the player’s left side. The strings are upside down for easier action. However, if you look for them online, sellers clearly note lefties as being lefties. With a physical guitar, though, all you need to do is pick it up and see which way it goes.
Is it Harder to Learn to Play a Left-Handed Guitar?
It is not harder than learning guitar skills while right-handed. Now, should you learn on a right-handed guitar first and then wish to switch to lefty, you might run into some trouble. The chord diagrams are mirror-inverted for lefties, and there are also guitar-specific differences, which can make the transition harder. However, there are many left-handed players who still play with right-handed guitars.
