lefty conversion

[arc sol]

i asked Sir Arie how much would it take to get a regular acoustic guitar converted into a lefty.

he said get a budget of 2K for he's going to cover the bridge slot and make a new one.

i said wow. ><

~*~*~*

basically that's how our conversation thru SMS went. i didn't add that i think i'd have to proveriably rob that proverbial bank to send my prospective acoustic baby to the hospital for a lefty conversion.

being a not-so guitar noob who now knows when and where to get the opinion of his betters (the only lefty conversion i knew when i was a complete noob was flip-the-strings-you're-done), what steps/processes should be done to convert a regular acoustic guitar into a lefty? can it be done in "installment" (e.g. in stages) or should it be done in one operation? is there a cheaper version/way of doing things?

so far these are the things i know:
1)change the nut - to make sure the strings fit
2)reverse the saddle - so as to set the correct string action on the saddle end
3)get the pickguard off and either a)put it on the other side or 2)just let it stay off

now. what would be the effects to the sound if i were to opt not to get a new bridge slot done?

thanks for the advice people. now i better prepare to rob that bank. hehe. ><

p.s. other than Sir Arie, do you know anyone in the Manila area that can service my prospective baby's needs? please point the way...

[radimere]

Since you mentioned a pickguard I'm assuming you have a flat-top steel-string guitar, which probably has an angled saddle. If the saddle is indeed angled (which it should be for this type of guitar), just flipping the strings would give you intonation problems. So the slot would in fact need to be filled and a new slot recut.

Since this would envolve router work and prime filler would, I would say 2k is a good figure. Not to be a snob or anything, but if your guitar is below 10k, I would see why that's not a good bargain.

[arc sol]

^ *nod nod* no offense taken. in fact, the wisdom is noted.

i still need to ask the question for i'd be using it as baseline tho: so PhP2K *is* a good figure for that kind of work? this would be the first time i'd be requiring a luthier's skills and only my 2nd guitar to boot. and yeah, the prospective baby ain't that expensive. i'm not going up on any stage in any case so i just need a guitar that sounds RIGHT.

but still. yeah, 2k is a tad too steep for my budget now, hence the question if the conversion can be done in stages (e.g. nut+pickguard+saddle first, saddle slot later or something like that). methinks it won't hurt as much. or so i hope.

and the question still stands: how bad does a flipped saddle (i.e. rotated around the z-axis so as to get the e string on the low side of the saddle where it belongs) on a wrongly-oriented (i.e. right-handed) slot affect the overall intonation/sound of the guitar? i tell you, i'm still quite the noob on those things. hehe.

daghang salamat po!