I Have a Left-Handed Johnson

I need a new bass.  I just spent about a hundred bucks getting the one I have tuned up a few months ago.  I think I bought the damned thing (close to 10 years ago) for $120 (amp included).  It’s a total piece of crap, but it’s a Johnson, strung lefty.  I’ve always enjoyed looking people in the eye and saying “I have a left-handed Johnson” with a straight face.

Oh well, I suppose I’ll still have one, even though I can’t play it anymore.  I’m pretty sure the neck’s all bent.

So I need to get onto the interwebz to see if I can find an inexpensive (but good) left-handed bass.  Don’t ask me why I play lefty – I shoot pool lefty too (and something else, but I’m not going to say what, because c’mon, this is a family blog) – I suppose it’s because I always played air-guitar lefty.  The reason for that?  I dunno, probably because I was just mirroring the people on tv.

It seems to make sense to me, though:  my left hand is attached to my right-brain, which is the holistic side; and vice versa (sequential).  That means that I feel the beat and keep rhythm with my right-brain, while the more specific things (what notes to play and how to finger them) are done with my right hand (left-brain).  I suppose what I should be saying is that it makes a kind of sense to me.   I’m sure this isn’t necessarily an Intro-to-Psych compatible theory.

I’m not really any good on the bass, and I don’t practice nearly enough, but it’s a lot of fun and I really dig bass.  I’d love to learn how to play the double-bass (“standup”) – playing the double bass in a jazz band would be sweet.  I once saw a dude on the double-bass playing jazz with a dude on the grand piano and almost wet myself.  The steak was good at that place, too.  Why I don’t live there, I have no idea.

So yeah, it’s time for me to purchase a new bass to collect dust in the corner of my apartment and get played every once in a while.  Any suggestions?

Tagged as: bass, double-bass, j-to-the-iz-azz, jazz, left-handed Johnson