I'm a 32-year-old lefty bassist who hails from the country where Guinness is brewed and pubs and bars are aplenty. I started playing bass at the age of 14. My first bass was a small one suitable for beginners made by a British company called Encore. It was a righty, but I had the strings switched around. As I was a beginner, young and naive, I didn't realise that the nut and strap button had to be changed as well, but the bass saw me through my first practice and jam sessions.

Up till then I had never seen many lefty bassists except for Paul McCartney and one or two others. Then, in April 1991, AC/DC visited Dublin as part of the Razors Edge tour. I was 16 and it was my first concert, so I was really excited. And who were their special guests? None other than the brilliant King's X, with Doug Pinnick brandishing one of his Lefthanded Hamer 12 string basses. I was quite bowled over. It was great to see a fellow lefty bassist hammering away on a big stage in a huge arena. It would have been just as good if he'd played one of his 4 strings. That gave me a real urge to never stop playing.

I played a few other basses over the next 8 years, attended a music college and did lots of gigs. In 98 I purchased a Yamaha BB300 right before I went abroad to Raleigh, North Carolina in the states. I did quite a few shows there using my Yamaha, and got to check out many different kinds of bass guitars, including 5 strings (I'd like to get one someday). A year after I went back to Ireland, I recently received a Stingray copy by a company called Vintage. Its all passive but sounds very similar to a Stingray and feels great to play. The only modification I had to make was to change the strings as the ones on it were too light and I only like standard or heavier gauge strings. I'm also a fan of Marshall and Ampeg and I have a small Marshall amp for gigs although I'd love to get a bigger one once I have the transport. I'm playing with a few bands at the moment and have a C.D. out with one of them and I also do blues sessions in bars, where I get to play with a variety of drummers, guitarists and singers, and its a great way of developing your ear even further. A lot of the time I end up being the only Bassist as either there are no others there, or they've forgotten to bring their bass with them and can't play mine as I'm the only lefty. The down side is that I'm usually the only one who dosen't get a break from playing, but its definitely great to get recognised by that and have your skills exhibited. (Plus it dosen't hurt to have people, especially women, telling you how great it was).

Millennium 4 BXP LH

Metallic Red Fender Jazz Standard

Yamaha BB300 Lefty (red)

Vintage Stingray copy Lefty (sunburst)

Tanglewood TAB2 Lefty acoustic bass

Aria MAB09 5 string

Squire Precision Bass Special

Ampeg BA-112

Marshall B25 50 watt