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What do you think is the most comfortable and ergonomic guitar shape? Don't think about how it sounds just the shape of the guitar/bass.

What shape get's your vote?

I tried a Double cut Gibson Lp yesterday and it feelt great to play on. Easy access to the higher frets, balanced weight, it just feelt perfect to me.

LP with tummy cutaway, SG and good ol strat.

THE GOOD OLD START .....Leo designed a beauty

strat body with the original 50's contours. some of the 60's ones can get a bit chunky.

SG for weight and double cutaway, and it just seems to sit in the right spot.

Neck-thru Ibanez double cutaway. I fits like a glove.

Fender Strat. Feels like an old shoe.

Strat shape with a better heel and flatter fretboard, and 7 strings.

Hmm... to me ergonomics imply a few things -

1. How it sits in your lap / on your body when playing sitting / standing. Personally I find Les Pauls comfortable to play either sitting or standing. I got used to the weight and weight distribution, now it just seems 'right'. SGs and other body shapes just seem a bit funny to me, thought I think the strat has to be lauded for its tummy-cut design thats comfortable as well.

2. How the neck feels - to me this usually has more to do with upper-fret access, rather than neck thickness/profile, since the latter has more to do with taste and less with design. Put bluntly, I think LPs and to a lesser extent, strats, have average upper-fret access. On the other hand, newer 'shred' designs like the Ibanez wizard neck heels and the stephen's cutaway found on the Washburn N4s render excellent upper-fret access. Unfortunately, these guitars are designed for speed and arguably not for tone, so you end up having to sacrifice one or the other. :lt;

3. Jack placement - personally I can't stand standard side-body jack inputs. They just get in the way when I play. I think the side-dish Fender inputs are a pretty good design, although I must say that the upside-down side inputs on the Ibanez Jems are an excellent idea.

So all in all, is there a single perfectly designed guitar? Probably not. Certain guitars have features that appeal to some, but I think a lot has to do with personal preference.

strat.

-Mike

SG. Fits me like a glove.

Strat.
As for input jacks, I like the way that Brian Moore does it. Recessed on the back of the top middle. The strap button is cool, too, because it's in a small cutaway on the back.

my kelly fits perfect

The Stratocaster............one of the best examples of form follows function.

DriskillTummy Cut
Unlike a PRS, the carved top doesn't dish out around the edge and dig into your arm.
The neck joint and scooped cutaway gives access to the upper frets like nothing else I've played (including neck-thru shredder axes)
The controls are just where I want 'em because they're located where I asked Joe to put 'em.
It's perfectly balanced: put it on your leg, take your hands off and it goes . . . nowhere. from : localhost/This one just feels great sitting down and playing.


Originally Posted by bungalowbillThe Stratocaster............one of the best examples of form follows function.

Funny, I always thought the same about the SG. All those pretty bevels really DO serve a purpose...besides looking cool.

explorer.anything strat-shaped feels awful IMO


Originally Posted by alecleeDriskillTummy Cut
Unlike a PRS, the carved top doesn't dish out around the edge and dig into your arm.
The neck joint and scooped cutaway gives access to the upper frets like nothing else I've played (including neck-thru shredder axes)
The controls are just where I want 'em because they're located where I asked Joe to put 'em.
It's perfectly balanced: put it on your leg, take your hands off and it goes . . . nowhere.how much are they?

Call me nuts, but a Tele always feels perfect to me. Coincidentally, in both my middle school and high school's jazz band programs, they each had a Tele as the axe of choice. I've always known Tele's to feel more comfortable than strats, even the fingerboard feels so much better.