If you are thinking about getting a new guitar or looking for a more comfortable guitar you may have asked yourself, “What Is The Most Comfortable Guitar Shape?” Guitars come in all sizes and shapes and you may find some shapes more to your liking. Let’s take a look at electric and acoustic guitars, their different shapes, and which ones may be to your liking.
What Is The Most Comfortable Guitar Shape?
So, what is the most comfortable guitar shape? If you look at different polls online you will find articles saying the Stratocaster, the Les Paul, the Gibson SG, Telecaster, Parlor acoustic, Dreadnought acoustic, and the list goes on and on. The shape of a guitar can impact the way you are able to play a guitar and different people find different shapes, sizes, contours, and weight all factors of comfort. It’s nearly impossible to find the exact most popular guitar shape but the Fender Stratocaster, The Fender Telecaster, The Gibson Les Paul, The Gibson SG, The Gibson ES 335 definitely lead the pack in shape, tone and playability. As far as acoustic guitars the auditorium, dreadnought, and jumbo shapes are the most popular. There are many variations of the guitar shapes I’ve mentioned. Remember, we are talking shape here and not necessarily brand name. It just so happens that Fender and Gibson invented some of the most popular guitar shapes. Let’s take a look at some more popular guitar shapes. Popularity can lead you to the road of most comfortable and liked.
What Are The Different Electric Guitar Shapes?
There are many different electric guitar shapes and variations upon variations that there is no way I can possibly mention them all here.
A guitar shape that I would call the most comfortable for me may not be something that you would choose as your most comfortable guitar shape and vice versa.
However, there are some basic shapes that have been popular throughout history and by popular, I mean they have a large volume of sales, and the designs are still popular today.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular shapes of electric guitars. This is by no means all the shapes available, but we got to start somewhere so let’s dive in.
Fender Stratocaster
The Stratocaster design may be the most popular electric guitar shape.
The Stratocaster design has been copied by many different manufactures through the years but with the different manufactures own twist on the design.
Stratocasters are light weight, have nice contours for comfort and styling, and they sound great.
Fender Telecaster
The Telecaster is also a hugely popular guitar shape.
The Telecaster weighs a little more than most Stratocasters but are not heavy.
Some Telecasters are made with comfort contours, and some are not.
Paul Reed Smith Custom 24
The Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 has a unique shape that comes in somewhere between a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul.
The Custom 24 has nice contours and an arched top for styling.
These are great playing guitars with excellent shape for comfort and are pretty light weight.
Gibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul may also be one of the most popular guitar shapes.
The Les Paul Guitar has a slightly smaller body than some of the other electric guitar shapes.
The Les Paul design is often copied by other guitar manufactures but they put their own styling and shape to their version.
The Gibson Les Paul is on the heavier side in the electric guitar family but are not too heavy to enjoy.
Gibson ES 335
The Gibson ES 335 has a larger body and is a Semi Hollow Body Guitar.
Semi Hollow Body meaning there is a chunk of solid wood that runs down the middle of the guitar body that the bridge and neck attach to.
The ES 335 has a beautiful arched top with F holes cut into the top of the guitar.
The top and bottom of the guitar body is hollow.
The ES 335 is a very popular design and has a double cut away that makes it easy to fret the upper portion of the guitar neck.
Paul Reed Smith Hollow Body Guitar
The Paul Reed Smith Hollow Body design is another very popular Hollow Body design.
It has an arched top with F holes cut into the top of the guitar.
This hollow body design is unique because it has a solid chunk of hardwood anchored under the bridge for maximum support.
The Piezo Hollow Body Designs are unique because you can play the electric guitar and get an acoustic sound from the Hollow Body, and you can also play the electric guitar pickups or combine both for a truly unique sound.
Ibanez Artstar Prestige Hollow Body Guitar
The Ibanez Artstar Prestige is a full Hollow Body Design with a single cutout on the neck.
The Artstar Prestige has a bigger body with thicker edges than other hollow body guitars.
The Artstar Prestige also has a beautiful archtop design with the traditional F holes cut into the top.
The Ibanez Artstar Prestige Hollow Body Guitar is more of a traditional style jazz electric guitar.
Gibson SG
The Gibson SG has a style all its own and is a very popular guitar shape.
The Gibson SG is known to be more of a lightweight guitar with great playability.
The large fanbase of the SG report that the guitar is very comfortable to play, and it sounds great.
Ibanez JS1CR Joe Satriani
The Ibanez JS1CR is another guitar shape that you can see comes from the Stratocaster design.
This guitar has a very comfortable guitar shape with nice contours and is a lightweight guitar.
Ibanez makes many beautiful guitars in different shapes, but the JA1CR Joe Satriani may be one of their most popular designs.
Fender Jazz Master
The Fender Jazz Master is a guitar that falls somewhere between a Stratocaster and a Telecaster.
The body size on The Jazz Master is larger than the Stratocaster and The Telecaster.
The Jazz Master has a very unique shape and has been very popular through the years.
Schecter Banshee
The Schecter Banshee is another guitar shape that looks to be from the Stratocaster family.
Schecter put its own spin on the Stratocaster design and came up with their own super strat.
The Banshee has nice contours and is a lightweight comfortable guitar.
Kramer Voyager
The Kramer Voyager style guitar is more of a star shaped guitar.
If you are looking for a guitar shape with lots of flair you may be interested in the Voyager.
The voyager will surely turn heads and is probably most comfortable to play standing up.
Kramer Vanguard
The Kramer Vanguard is another unique shaped guitar.
The Vanguard reminds me of a 57 Chevy tail fin.
If you are looking for a cool and unique shape you might like the Vanguard shape.
Gibson Flying V
The Gibson Flying V may be one of the most famous guitar shapes ever.
Granted it’s not for everyone but you’ve got to admit this is one cool guitar.
This V shaped guitar has been favored by many rock guitarist and is a legend in its own right.
Of course, there are other shapes of electric guitars and other brands do some of these guitars in their own version.
I just wanted to give you a good mix of different shapes of guitars in today’s market.
I think the volume of sales may be a good factor for deciding which guitar shape is most comfortable and popular.
As I mentioned earlier, I could not find concrete information as to the all-time greatest selling electric guitar.
I did find many different articles written as someone’s opinion of the all-time most popular electric guitar shapes but no factual numbers that showed the actual results.
What Are The Different Acoustic Guitar Shapes?
There are many different acoustic guitar shapes and sizes available in today’s market.
Acoustic guitars range from small Backpack style guitars, Mini, small Parlor style guitars, Auditorium style, Dreadnought, Jumbo, Gypsy Jazz, Archtop, Classical and everything in between.
Let’s take a look at some of the different acoustic guitar shapes.
Martin Backpacker Guitar
If you are looking for a light weight super portable acoustic guitar the Backpacker should be considered.
The Martin Backpacker is small enough to fit into your backpack and easy to take anywhere.
The unique shape of the backpacker may not appeal to everyone and may take a little getting used to holding the guitar.
Alverez Delta DeLight Guitar
The Alverez Delta DeLight Guitar is a mini guitar that is great for young players starting out.
The shape of the Delta Delight is the parlor guitar shape
Sometimes small hands and fingers need something just their size and the Delta DeLight fits.
Ibanez PN1 Parlor Guitar
A Parlor Guitar is a smaller guitar with a narrower hip shape.
The Parlor Guitar is bigger than a mini size guitar and yet smaller than a full-size guitar.
The Parlor Guitar gets its name from the room they used to be played in called the Parlor in the 19th century.
Martin 00-18 Acoustic Guitar
The Martin 00-18 is a classic grand concert design acoustic guitar.
The grand concert shape is comfortable to play and has great tone.
The Martin 00-18 has a spruce top and solid Mahagony back and sides for the classic martin sound.
Martin D 28 Dreadnought Guitar
The Martin D 28 Is a large Dreadnought shape guitar with large sound.
The Martin D28 gives you a great low-end response and crisp highs to balance the tone.
The D 28 has a forward-shifted bracing pattern for optimized soundboard vibration.
Taylor Grand Auditorium Guitar
The Taylor Grand Auditorium Guitar Shape has the width and depth of the large dreadnought guitar but it’s waist is more narrow.
Taylors V-Class bracing gives you greater volume and sustain than regular acoustic guitars.
The Taylor Grand Auditorium style of guitars provide a comfortable shape and great tonal balance.
Gibson Jumbo Acoustic Guitar
The Gibson SJ 200 Jumbo acoustic guitar has the Jumbo shape to help project sound and give you a great balance of tone.
One thing unique about the SJ 200 is that it has a thinner body making it more comfortable to play.
The Gibson Super Jumbo Guitars were designed to compete with the louder mandolins and banjos of the pre-amplified era of instruments.
D’Angelico Archtop Acoustic Guitar
Some of the most beautiful archtop acoustic guitars came from D’Angelico.
The D’Angelico Archtop guitar has a raised top with special bracing to help the guitar sing out over the other instruments.
The Archtop shape and styling are comfortable to play and some of the older D’Angelico archtop guitars are collector’s items and highly sought after.
Gallato Gypsy Guitar
Gallato Guitars are known builders of authentic Gypsy style guitars
The Gypsy Shape of this guitar has a wider body design an oval sound hole and a super wide bridge design.
The Gypsy Guitar shape has a sharp distinct sound that is well balanced.
Cordoba Classical Acoustic Guitar
The Cordoba Classical Acoustic Guitar is unique in that it uses inner Spanish style fan bracing instead of lateral bracing.
This allows the guitar top to flex more for better projection.
The Classical Acoustic Guitar shape is smaller than a traditional guitar shape making it more comfortable for some players.
Classical guitars also use nylon strings for a rich classical tone.
There is most definitely an acoustic guitar shape that you will find most comfortable whether you are sitting around a campfire or recording your next hit in your home recording studio.
There are many online articles stating the most popular shape and size of acoustic guitars but no factual numbers that I found to prove which acoustic guitar shape may be the most comfortable based on sales.
What Makes A Guitar Comfortable?
What makes a guitar comfortable to play?
Well, for me a comfortable guitar feels good when you hold it.
A comfortable guitar shape is not too big to wrap my strumming arm around the back of the body when I’m sitting and not so small that its awkward to hold it in my lap.
If you are standing up playing the guitar it should have a good balance between the body and the neck.
If the neck end of the guitar is heavier than the body the neck tends to dive down.
If the guitar weighs too much some people complain about the load on their shoulder.
Here is a list of some of the things that make a guitar more comfortable to play.
Shape Of The Guitar Body
The shape of a guitar can affect the degree of comfort you experience when you are playing the guitar.
Not that any guitar is especially uncomfortable but there may be certain shapes that feel better to you than others.
I can honestly say I have never picked up a guitar and thought, this guitar shape is terrible. It’s so uncomfortable I can’t even play it.
I have picked up a couple of different styles of guitar like a backpack or miniature guitar and thought this guitar is a little tricky to play just because it was a different shape than I was accustomed to.
Some folks talk about the pain they experience when they are playing different body shapes and styles, but I have never experienced significant pain or discomfort playing a certain body style or shape of guitar.
Unless you are new to guitar. Then you may have some finger pain or back pain from slouching while you are sitting or standing.
Shape Of The Guitar Neck
Guitar necks come in around 8 basic shapes and there are variances to the different guitar neck shapes.
The shape of the guitar neck will probably affect your like and dislike of a guitar more than the actual shape of the guitar body.
The way the neck feels in your hands, the length of your fingers, how big your hands are, and the length of the neck (Scale), will affect your ability to get comfortable with a guitar.
Often times when you pick up a guitar the neck is the first thing that will feel good or bad to you.
The C Shape and D Shape necks are probably the most popular style necks.
Action
The distance the string sits from the top of the frets is known as the Action.
In other words, how far you have to push a string down until it makes contact with a fret.
If the action is set too high, you have to push the string down further.
If the action is set too low, you will have string buzz and dead notes.
Most people prefer to have the action on the guitar set low but not too low.
The way the action is set on the guitar will definitely be a comfort factor.
String Gauge
Guitar string gauge refers to the thickness of the guitar strings.
Guitar strings range from 8 gauge to 14 gauge with 14’s being the thicker strings.
The lighter the string gauge the easier the strings are to push down, bend, and hammer on.
There is always a big debate as to which gauge strings sound the best.
If you are new to playing a guitar you may want to start out on a set of 9- or 10-gauge strings.
The Weight Of The Guitar
Often times the size and body shape of a guitar will affect the weight of a guitar.
Honestly, since I was just a kid, I never really cared how much a guitar weighed.
I was more concerned with how the guitar sounded.
But, for some people the weight of a guitar is an issue, and a lighter guitar may feel more comfortable.
The heavier guitars weigh in the neighborhood of 11-13lbs. That’s really not that heavy in my opinion.
The weight of a guitar comes from the type of wood used to build a guitar, the style, and amount of wood used to build a guitar.
For instance, a solid body electric guitar will weigh more than a hollow body electric guitar.
A solid body guitar will also sound different than a hollow body electric guitar.
An acoustic guitar is usually the lightest guitar out there.
All that said, the weight of a guitar will also affect the way a guitar sounds and sustains.
The Sound Of A Guitar
The way a guitar sounds will definitely affect your comfort level.
If you are trying to play a guitar and it just doesn’t have the sound you like, then you won’t be comfortable with that guitar.
When you pick up a guitar that sounds awesome, you’re probably not going to care how much the guitar weighs and if the shape of the guitar is comfortable to you.
The Way A Guitar Looks
If you have your eye on one of those sexy guitars out there, then you like the shape and color of the guitar.
The way a guitar looks is going to be a comfort factor for you.
If the shape of the guitar is comfortable, the weight is good, it sounds decent but is not visually pleasing to you then don’t waste your time.
Pick out a guitar that looks good to you, is comfortable in your hands, and has a shape that is comfortable to you.
Relevant Article: What Is The Most Versatile Guitar? Check These Guitars Out When You Get Time.
Electric Guitar Weight And Comfort
Electric guitars come in all shapes and sizes.
There are Solid Body electric guitars, Hollow Body electric guitars, and Semi Hollow Body electric guitars.
The Solid Body electric guitar is usually the heaviest depending on what type of wood the guitar is built from.
The Hollow Body electric guitar has a bigger body and not necessarily lighter than a solid body. Again, it depends on the type of wood used.
The Semi-Hollow electric guitar has a solid center, and the top and bottom chambers of the body are hollow.
These different designs were not created for just weight purposes but also for different sounds.
All three styles have a different sound.
What you want to be aware of is that the Solid Body guitar is usually heavier, then the Semi Hollow Body, and the Hollow Body is usually the lightest.
The weight of these different styles will depend on what type of wood the guitar is made from.
Acoustic Guitar Weight And Comfort
Acoustic guitars have been around centuries longer than the electric guitar.
Acoustic guitars are all built with the Hollow Body design and are much thicker (Deeper) on the sides than an electric Hollow Body guitar.
The type of wood used to build an acoustic guitar is an important choice because different woods have different tones.
The inner wood bracing inside an acoustic guitar will also affect the way the guitar sounds and helps project sound from the guitar.
Tone woods used to build acoustic guitars are generally light weight.
Because acoustic guitars are so much lighter than electric guitars, they may be more comfortable for some people to play.
Most people play acoustic guitars for the acoustic sound rather than the weight.
Acoustic guitars are bigger than electric guitars yet still weigh less.
Does My Body Size Make A Difference In Which Guitar I Should Choose?
The size of your body may make a difference in which guitar will feel the most comfortable to you.
I think the best example would be that you probably would not want to give a 7-year-old child a Jumbo Acoustic Guitar to start out with.
You would probably give the 7-year-old a mini acoustic or a scaled down electric guitar.
This is because they have shorter arms and fingers, and a smaller guitar will feel more comfortable to them.
On the flip side someone who has long arms, big hands, and long fingers will not be able to navigate a mini acoustic or scaled down electric guitar very well.
So yes, the type of physical body you have should be considered when making a guitar choice.
Are Large Guitars Comfortable For Smaller People?
Yes, some people who consider themselves on the shorter side enjoy playing a larger body acoustic or electric guitar.
It’s all about personal preference.
In fact, I’ve seen polls online where some shorter people prefer a large Semi Hollow Body design like the Gibson ES-335.
These two different polls stated that the person enjoyed the shape of the body and that the larger body shape fit them comfortable while they were standing or sitting.
I think the exception to the rule of personal preference is if you have a young child 7-12 years old and they are just getting started, you may want to use a smaller scale guitar.
Are Small Guitars Comfortable For Large People?
One guitar shape that is on the rise currently is the Parlor shaped acoustic guitar.
The parlor shaped acoustic guitar is on the smaller side of the acoustic guitar family, but a lot of people report they like the slimmer design.
I’m sure there are plenty of tall and large folks out there who prefer a smaller guitar.
It could be they prefer it because the smaller guitar is lighter, or it could be that the smaller shaped guitar just feels more comfortable to them.
At the end of the day, you need to pick a guitar that feels comfortable to you.
After all, it doesn’t really matter what others say.
What matters is that you play a guitar that you like and is comfortable to you.
What Is The Most Comfortable Guitar Shape For Sitting?
The most comfortable guitar shape for sitting is the guitar that feels most comfortable to you.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to play different guitar styles and shapes take a trip to the local music store.
Let them know you would like to try out a couple different guitar shapes while sitting down to see how they vary in comfort and fit.
Feel the neck, wrap your picking arm around the back of the guitar to see how your arms and fingers fit.
Take notice of any uncomfortable angles and see if there is another guitar shape that may be a better fit.
I can tell you if you have never played a guitar, they all take a little getting used to.
What Is The Most Comfortable Guitar Shape For Standing?
The most comfortable guitar shape for standing is the guitar shape that feels good to you.
As I stated above in which guitar shape is the most comfortable for sitting the answer is the same for standing.
I will give you a couple of pointers.
Some people say certain guitars feel heavier than others.
Probably the heaviest solid body guitars weigh in around 11Lbs. – 13Lbs.
That’s really not that much weight. I could see if you are standing for a 4-hour gig it may get a little heavy but nothing serious.
I think the more important things to look for would be how well does the guitar balance in your hands.
Is your strumming or picking arm comfortable reaching down to play the strings?
How does the neck feel in your hand?
Make sure you have a strap setup that works for your height.
Which Guitar Is Most Comfortable?
Which Guitar Is Most Comfortable? Hmm… I don’t believe there is one “Most Comfortable Guitar” and one “Least Comfortable Guitar”.
Because of personal preference in things like neck size, guitar body shape, playing style, and budget, everyone will like something different.
I don’t know about you but I’m glad we have so many options of different guitars shapes, sizes, and tons of other options available.
The guitar that is going to be the most comfortable is the guitar that sounds great to you, feels good in your hands, rest comfortably on your lap when you are sitting, balances well when you are standing, and looks good to you.
Which Guitar Has The Most Comfortable Neck?
There are many different guitar shapes and with all the different guitar shapes to choose from there are also different neck sizes.
A guitar manufacture may make a small light weight guitar body and put a fat D style or Base Ball style neck on the small light weight guitar.
A guitar manufacture may make a Jumbo Acoustic guitar and put a slim C style neck on the guitar.
So, I think the question here may be Which guitar neck is most comfortable.
I know you have heard this answer many times in this article, but it comes down to personal preference.
The C style neck is one of the thinner style necks, and the D style neck would be just a little bit thicker.
The V style neck has more angle to it and is a little deeper than the D style neck.
You also have the Base Ball Bat style neck which is a thick and robust neck.
And of course, there are variations on each of these designs.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to try out some of the different guitar necks, then take a trip to your local music store and give them a try.
Just let them know you would like to feel how some of the different necks feel so you can get an idea of what you like.
The C and D shape necks may be the most popular, but you should try some different necks to see what fits your hand and fingers best.
You should be able to easily reach around the neck and push the strings down.
The scale or length of the neck will make a difference also.
A shorter scale neck will place the frets slightly closer together than a longer scale neck.
Try out some different neck shapes and scale lengths to find what works best for you.
Don’t be afraid to ask to try different guitars.
It’s your money you are spending and if a guitar store will not help you or will not let you try different guitars then I would find a better store to spend your money with.
Is The Shape Of A Guitar Important?
The shape of a guitar is important.
If you think about shape what comes to mind?
The first thing I think about is that my eyes are drawn to certain shapes that I like.
We all have personal preference in what shapes appeal to us the most.
It turns out that the shape of a guitar will affect how comfortable the guitar feels to you.
The shape of the guitar will also affect the way a guitar sounds.
Does Guitar Shape Affect Sound?
Yes, the shape of an acoustic guitar, a semi hollow body electric guitar, and a hollow body electric guitar will be greatly affected by the shape and the bracing inside the guitar.
Solid body electric guitars are also affected by the amount of wood involved in the shape and the density of the wood.
So, lets break this down a bit.
Acoustic Guitars
Acoustic guitars are all hollow body in design. The bigger the body the more tone the top of the guitar is going to project.
The type of wood used will also affect the tone of the acoustic guitar.
In most cases, the bigger the body of the acoustic guitar the bigger the sound.
This is why different tone woods are very important as to the way an acoustic guitar will sound.
Different woods have different density and resonate differently.
The inner bracing inside an acoustic guitar will also make a huge difference in the way an acoustic guitar sounds.
Hollow Body And Semi Hollow Body Electric Guitars
A hollow body and semi hollow body electric guitar will react much like the acoustic guitar.
The big difference between the semi hollow and hollow body electric guitar is that most semi hollow body guitars have a solid wood center and the top and bottom of the guitar body is hollow.
The hollow body electric guitar is hollow just like an acoustic guitar.
A bigger body will give you a bigger sound. Well, sometimes.
You also have to consider the thickness or depth of the sides of the guitar.
With all this said, because hollow body and semi hollow body electric guitars have pickups the tone and the way the electric guitar sounds will vary depending on the style of pickup and the type of wood used as well.
Solid Body Electric Guitars
Solid body electric guitars play more on the density of the woods involved and the style of pickups the solid body electric guitar has.
If you put a pair of Gibson Les Paul pickups in a Fender Strat body the Stratocaster would not sound like a Les Paul.
On the flip side, if you put a pair of Fender Strat pickups in a Les Paul body the Les Paul will not sound like a Stratocaster.
The big reason why is because of the different woods used to build each guitar and the style of pickups.
The shape affects the sound on solid body electrics because of the overall density and mass of the woods involved with the overall guitar design.
I could probably write 10 different articles on this topic to explain this better.
I don’t have time to go more in depth on this today.
I just want you to be aware that the shape of a guitar will play a role in the way a guitar sounds.
What Other Are Saying
| Direct Quote | Source |
|---|---|
| “Regardless of your body size, the two most popular choices are the Stratocaster shape, and the Les Paul shape. You just simply can’t go wrong with either one, although some people dislike the weight of the Les Paul.” | https://guitardivision.com/comfortable-guitars-to-play/#:~:text=What%20Are%20Some%20Comfortable%20Electric,weight%20of%20the%20Les%20Paul. |
| “The most comfortable electric guitars to play while seated have Stratocaster body shapes. Parlour acoustic guitars are the most comfortable of all acoustic guitars to use while sitting down. This is due to the small size and comfortable contours of these guitar body types.” | https://stampsound.com/which-is-the-most-comfortable-guitar-to-play-sitting-down/ |
| “I’m a pretty small dude but for whatever reason 335s just fit me like a glove. The short scale on a Les Paul always felt awkward but suits me much better on a 335 body, and the body itself sits well up against my side.” | https://www.reddit.com/r/Guitar/comments/7plzgf/question_what_is_the_most_comfortable_guitar_you/ |
| “My SG is miles more comfortable than my LP. I also have several strats, a 335 and my SG. I think those 3 are close together in comfort. All weigh less than 8 lbs. The strats because of their weight and nice body contours . The SG was my choice due to neck issues that made playing my LP difficult for any long periods. The SG is easiest on my back and shoulder. Mine weighs a tad over 6 lbs and is very comfortable.” | https://www.everythingsg.com/threads/the-sg-possibly-one-of-the-most-if-not-the-most-comfortable-guitar-to-play.37185/page-4 |
| “I’d normally say strat or tele, but I played an SG recently and was surprised how comfortable it was. Have never owned one but that is likely to change. LP definitely loses those for me. I usually play my LP with a strap even when sitting as a result.” | https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/most-comfortable-electric-sitting-down.1762763/ |
| “Finding comfortable guitar necks is harder than it seems since player comfort isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. The length of your fingers, overall size of your hands, and specifics of your technique will all play a role in which guitar you find the most comfortable to play.” | https://www.songsimian.com/most-comfortable-guitar-neck-review/ |
| “My Jimmy page les paul, ive tried all the others in almost every store ive gone to, and i have to say the slim taper neck is comfort to the power of 10, and i love the way the body sinks into mine, the guitar becomes a part of me” | https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=423990 |
| “Actually I am considering selling the thicker archtops that I have and just keeping my partscasters (hardtail Strat, Tele, 12 string hardtail Jazzmaster, and my latest project which will be a true Jazzmaster spec.) and my two smaller bodied hollows – A Gibson ES-390 and an Epiphone Casino Coupe. All of those are super comfortable to play – sitting or standing. Comfort is key!” | https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guitar-amps-gizmos/67997-most-comfortable-guitar-body-type-playing-sitting-down.html |
| “The unbiased answer is that the Stratocaster is the most comfortable guitar to play. Folks, CONTOURS! That whole Strat body is one big contour! Even where your picking hand forearm rests on the body…that body section is wonderfully sculpted and contoured.” | https://www.trekkyrecords.com/what-is-the-most-comfortable-guitar-neck |
| “Most comfortable: Jazzmaster. Both standing and sitting it fits JUST RIGHT. Probably telecaster standing up second. Just hangs right, regardless of strap length. And the control panel is perfectly situated.” | https://www.tdpri.com/threads/most-and-least-comfortable-guitars.105911/ |
Final Thoughts
So, What Is The Most Comfortable Guitar Shape?
I think the choice of the most comfortable guitar shape will be up to you.
Sure, you can try out a Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul, Grand Auditorium Acoustic design, or a Backpack Miniature acoustic.
You will find all kinds of different guitars, but you must be the judge of what works best for you.
I’ve shown several different guitar shapes and designs by different manufactures to give you an idea of what’s out there.
This is by no means a complete list of guitars. There is no way I can mention them all.
I simply wanted you to take a look at the large variance of guitars available in today’s market.
If you like playing, writing, recording, and producing music then you are in the right place.
I have many articles available to you that will help you move in the right direction and provide you good information.
I hope you find this article helpful.
Feel free to leave your questions and helpful comments below.
This is a very detailed and comprehensive guide on what is the most comfortable guitar shape. I never realised there were so many options available. I can now see that if you plan on always sitting down when playing the guitar, you would choose a different shape to someone who is standing up and performing on stage
My granddaughter is very keen on learning to play the guitar, but as she is only 6, we need to look at a lightweight guitar and a shape that is suitable for a small child. This post has provided me with a good guide when it comes to choosing a shape and type for her.
There are so many different guitar shapes available. They are all comfortable in their own way.
I hope your granddaughter enjoys learning and playing the guitar.
The comfort of a guitar can be an underestimated selling point. I am a bass guitar player, but often my favorite bass guitars to pick up aren’t the more fancy ones, but the ones that are comfortable. I have a nice Rickenbacker that has a hard edge that irritates my arm (plus it’s a heavy beast), but it sure is nice to play if I can cover my arm and take breaks.
One thing I noticed about the Flying V is that it’s terrible if you want to practice with it while sitting down. Granted, that guitar is meant for strutting on stage, but it’s probably important to consider if comfort is important.
Different guitar and bass shapes and weights do play a role in our comfort level which in turn makes them more desirable to play.
The Flying V would be hard to play sitting down but it sure looks cool!
I haven’t seen all of the different shapes in electric guitars review before. I have had two valuable antique guitars that felt quite different to play. I found that my stratocaster was easy to play because of the way it hung. It had a thin flat body and the strap placement was perfect. I also had a very old Vox Teardrop guitar. It moved around too much. It sounded great, but was heavy and had an ackward shape. I still prefer the traditional “country” shape but this is primarily in an accoustic model. Thanks for this information. Comfort is in the eye of the beholder I guess.
I think comfort is in the hands of the guitar holder! Ha,
I think the smaller teardrop shape guitars would take a bit of getting used to playing and you dont see them around much any more.
Sounds like you have some pretty cool guitars.