John Engel has just published the definitive guide to... left-hand gutarists. In two volumes of about 450 pages "Uncommon Sound" profiles everyone from Hendrix to Cobain, McCartney to George Johnson, Otis Rush to Robin & Ali Campbell. You get the feeling there has been an invasion of lefties in showbiz. There are also photos of some mouth-watering axes.

Why amn't I in there? Oh right, I don't play guitar and I'm right-handed.

If all this sounds like a blurb, well it is kind of as he asked me to write the blurb (for free). Check out his site http://www.uncommon-sound.com/

Any other lefties out there? Come on, don't be shy.

I worked with a left handed guitarist who played right handed for a while, lots of left handed hammer-ons were used, it was interesting.

450 pages about left handed guitarists.ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

One of the revelations of the book (for me) was the fact that lots of lefties picked up a guitar and played it the way they found it (upside down, basically). Others, re-string. But there are also right-hand players whose first guitars were for lefties and ended up playing like that!

You musicians are a weird bunch.