Converting Epiphone 339 to left handed

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).
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matthew a

Converting Epiphone 339 to left handed

Post by matthew a » Fri Dec 28, 2018 8:34 am

I'm planning on picking up a cheap Epi 339 & converting to lefty. Always fancied one, and I find the 335 body too large.

Definitely saw someone had done something similar a few year back- can't seem to find it on the internet, but has anyone done anything similar before?

I'm happy to have holes in the body, just wondering if re-drilling & flipping the bridge will work ok? As much as it's a bit of fun, I don't want to ruin a decent instrument.

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jesterpunk68
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Re: Converting Epiphone 339 to left handed

Post by jesterpunk68 » Fri Dec 28, 2018 1:01 pm

From what I am finding online it seems like all you would really need to do would be replace the nut with a lefty nut and maybe flip the bridge over depending on the slots and if they are cut for the thicker strings.

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F15hface
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Re: Converting Epiphone 339 to left handed

Post by F15hface » Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:18 am

You could just get away with changing the nut for a lefty one, but there may be issues with intonation due to bridge angle. Also, the knobs and output jack will be up near your arm, but that may not be a massive issue for you.

matthew a

Re: Converting Epiphone 339 to left handed

Post by matthew a » Mon Jan 07, 2019 11:46 am

It’s the bridge angle that I’m concerned about. Just picked one up for a cheap price, so will flip the nut & see how I get on at first.

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timtam
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Re: Converting Epiphone 339 to left handed

Post by timtam » Mon Jan 07, 2019 4:47 pm

Yep the TOM is slightly angled. There are wider TOMs you can get if you need more intonation range when flipped.
With the right size posts you might also be able to adapt these to the job of changing the angle ...
https://www.goeldo.de/en/hardware/fende ... ter-bridge
More drastic, but Dan Erlewine has this clever fix if it has small posts ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYJIXdlOg-o
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matthew a

Re: Converting Epiphone 339 to left handed

Post by matthew a » Fri Jan 11, 2019 11:02 am

Those relocator posts are awesome, thanks!

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