# Ringo and his drums **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [November 25, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130 "2025-11-25T21:05:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/1 "2025-11-25T21:05:08Z")
Not long ago I read that part of Ringo’s style could be attributed to the fact that he was a lefty playing a right handed drum kit. I always thought that drum kits were set up in all sorts of different configurations. Didn’t realize there were sort of standard placements. So, did Ringo set up his kit as a right hander would because that’s what he liked? He could have set it up lefty, correct? It’s how they were set up that made his kit right handed- there’s no such thing as left handed drum kits, are there? ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/2 "2025-11-25T21:50:06Z")
His Beatles kit is [here](https://www.ringosbeatlekits.com/1960-premier-mahogany-duroplastic) and looks like you _might_ be able to switch the mount of the mid-tom to the other side, and then all the other components can be moved easily. But he is probably referring to his very first kits, which would have had inflexible racks and mounts forcing one configuration. Also, a drummer often sits in with bands and venues and doesn’t bring his own kit. A righty starts a fill with right-left and moves across the kit to the right (clockwise) producing predictable patterns. A left may start left-right and create different patterns. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/3 "2025-11-26T00:35:56Z")
Penn Jillette talked about this on his podcast once and really made me laugh. He said out of all the drummers in the world throughout history, you’d think Ringo Starr would have the means to get himself the correct kind of drum set! ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/4 "2025-11-26T00:54:56Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > He said out of all the drummers in the world throughout history, you’d think Ringo Starr would have the means to get himself the correct kind of drum set! Well, if he learned on an “incorrect set” and still managed, why change? Dick Dale\*, Albert King, and many other top left-handed guitarists played right handed guitars upside down without reversing the strings because that’s just how they learned to play. \*Dick Dale eventually played left-handed guitars, but they were strung “upside-down”. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/5 "2025-11-26T01:02:46Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Dick Dale\*, Albert King, and many other top left-handed guitarists played right handed guitars upside down without reversing the strings because that’s just how they learned to play. And of course Jimi Hendrix. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/6 "2025-11-26T01:05:27Z")
I think Jimi restrung his right-handed guitars. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/7 "2025-11-26T01:08:56Z")
I just read on Redditt, so it has to be true, that the majority of lefties flipping right handed guitars reverse the order of the strings so the fat E is on top. Jeeze, regular chords can be a bitch, I can’t imagine playing them backwards. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/8 "2025-11-26T01:57:23Z")
If they flip the strings with the low E on top, the lefties are playing the same chords as a righty, well, with their left hand. Am I missing something here? It’s if a leftie takes a right-handed guitar and flips it over and doesn’t restring to the high E is on the top that you get into weirdness. I just tried an A, C, D, E and G flipped upside down and they didn’t seem difficult. I’m sure there are some that would be harder. But, the dreaded F seemed like it would be easier upside down (along with any barred E chord shape). Maybe I’m not actually doing them correctly though… ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/9 "2025-11-26T02:13:09Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > So, did Ringo set up his kit as a right hander would because that’s what he liked? That was back when parents thought that if you were left-handed, you were retarded, So he was forced to play a right-hand kit by his grandmother. He talks about it his style a little [here](https://youtu.be/vl9188EPdLI?si=-7gxHXbC_JA4lPzy&t=198). ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/10 "2025-11-26T02:35:19Z")
Lifelong lefty guitar player here. I play a left-handed guitar with the strings strung for a lefty. I.e., I pick with my left hand, and the fat string is furthest from the ground. (‘High’ and ‘low’ can be ambiguous). A lot depends on what you want to play. - Strumming chords? Usually not too hard to just flip a right-handed guitar over. I’ve done it when sitting in with bands. - Playing lead, with a flatpick? Harder. - Fingerpicking multiple parts on acoustic like Maybelle Carter, or Merle Travis? _Much_ harder. One briliant southpaw player who did this was Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten, known for her classic instrumental “Freight Train”. Notably, she wrote a lot of her own material. She would have been seriously handicapped trying to play other fingerpickers’ songs. When you played like she did, you’re like a piano player with one finger on your right hand. When I taught guitar, I always strongly recommended that left-handed people play right-handed, on a right-handed guitar. If you flip a right-handed guitar upside down like Hendrix did, there are still inconveniences even if you re-string it: - The knobs are up under your armpit - The cutaway is on the wrong side - The bridge is slanted in the wrong direction - Etc. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/11 "2025-11-26T02:38:23Z")
> [@K364](#): > > A righty starts a fill with right-left and moves across the kit to the right (clockwise) producing predictable patterns. A left may start left-right and create different patterns. This is true among many drummers, but a good teacher will work to give you the dexterity and coordination to lead both from the right and left. A drummer like Vinnie Colaiuta has no problem leading with either hand. And Simon Phillips is full-on ambidexterous and seems to be able to play anything starting with either hand. And on a personal note, the drummer in my band who is quite accomplished is left-handed but plays a kit set up right-handed. It’s just the way he learned and he has mentioned that it allows him to sit down at any kit and play without having to adjust anything except the ride cymbal, which he needs to have on his left side. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/12 "2025-11-26T02:41:10Z")
> [@Disinfectus](#): > > And on a personal note, the drummer in my band who is quite accomplished is left-handed but plays a kit set up right-handed. It’s just the way he learned and he has mentioned that it allows him to sit down at any kit and play without having to adjust anything except the ride cymbal, which he needs to have on his left side. - So his left-handedness was merely cymbalic? ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/13 "2025-11-26T02:45:12Z")
Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/14 "2025-11-26T03:09:22Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > with my left hand, and the fat string is furthest from the ground. (‘High’ and ‘low’ can be ambiguous). I was using high and low E as in pitch. Fat E is low, thin E is high. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/15 "2025-11-26T03:58:40Z")
I’m a lefty that plays guitar and drumkit right-handed. When they introduced us to guitar in 6th grade band class, there was only one left-handed guitar. I figured I didn’t know how to play anyway so rather than fight over the left-handed guitar I may as well learn righty. As an adult, when I started playing drums, I figured it would be easier to learn righty so that I could play at any kit as @Disinfectus mentioned. Sometimes for practice I will swap my kit to lefty (swap hat/ride and snare/floor tom) to work on hand independence. I don’t know if it is genetics or adapting to the environment, but I am pretty mixed-handed. I use my left for fine-motor and right for strength. * * * > [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > If you flip a right-handed guitar upside down like Hendrix did, there are still inconveniences even if you re-string it: Steve Miller is right handed and played a left-handed strat strung for a righty to mirror Hendrix. There are some differences with a flipped strat: bridge pickup angle, whammy bar location, the length of the strings. Stevie Ray Vaughan had a guitar with the whammy on top inspired by upside-down players Albert King, Otis Rush, and Hendrix. He had to use his palm instead of his fingers, but he had the tension so tight he needed to anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/16 "2025-11-26T04:04:24Z")
I just learned that Paul’s first Hofner wasn’t a right hand model that he flipped around. He special ordered it from the factory to be a lefty. It would have probably been a lot more expensive to build if it wasn’t bisymmetrical, where they could just mount that control plate on the other side and turn the nut and bridge around. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/17 "2025-11-26T05:32:05Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > It’s if a leftie takes a right-handed guitar and flips it over and doesn’t restring to the high E is on the top that you get into weirdness. Yeah; that’s how Dick Dale and Albert King played; with the thick strings on the bottom. Likely they learned that way when they were too young to know better. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/18 "2025-11-26T12:59:33Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Steve Miller is right handed and played a left-handed strat strung for a righty to mirror Hendrix. “Mr. Miller, I knew Jimi Hendrix, and you’re no Jimi Hendrix!” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/19 "2025-11-26T14:33:14Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > > [@CaveMike](#): > > > > Steve Miller is right handed and played a left-handed strat strung for a righty to mirror Hendrix. - > > “Mr. Miller, I knew Jimi Hendrix, and you’re no Jimi Hendrix!” He was just a pale imitation. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130/20 "2025-11-26T19:40:16Z")
When I see this thread, I hear George in my head saying, _“They loom large in his Legend”_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ringo-and-his-drums/1025130.md?page=2)