Hello,
New player here with a Strat question: I am a large person with fat fingers and really like playing Strats. I had a Squire Strat but the body was way to small. My question is is there a Strat that has a larger body and a larger fretboard to accomodate my fat fingers and frame?

Thank you for any advice you may provide.

Welcome.

There are several Squier Strat models with bodies smaller than an outright, Fender branded Strat bodies so just maybe, your Squier is one of them. As to necks, the same applies here too but not a larger fretboard, rather, larger frets and a thicker neck. You'd really have to go to a well equipped Fender dealer and see if you can find one that meets your requirements.

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You dig?

One option to look into may be a baritone strat. As far as I know fender made these before, I have limited knowledge of them so i'm not one to ask about the specifics. But I recently purchased a baritone and though I am not larger framed or fat fingered it does provide quite a bit of extra fretting space for the fingers being a 27" scale.

You may want to consider forgeting about the size of your body and fingers. It doesn't matter. If you just play the instrument, it becomes the right size.

Check out a picture of Bill Monroe playing mandolin. Now there are some big hands on a small instrument. Most people think he managed to muddle thru OK.

.....also consider Johnny Hiland who has his own signature PRS. Might have a look at that and see if it suits you.

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"Another day in paradise!"

Hello JohnnyRamen,

Firstly welcome to this forum.

Well Fender Stratocaster bodies are all about
the same, some Squire's a wee bit smaller.
Now fender widest necks nut width is 1.687
which works for just about all, but should you
be convinced a wider neck is needed Warmoth
Custom Guitar Parts can give you a wider one.
Here is a link.
http://www.warmoth.com/

Cheers.

Thanks everyone for the advice. The obvious is right in front of me!! go and test drive one!! I just read that SRV had big fingers so I just have to figure a way to make it all work. Thanks again for all the warm welcomes I look forward to learning the guitar and reading from all of the pros on here.

Hi johnnyramen, welcome to the Forum.

Give or take a millimetre or two Strat bodies are pretty much the same size (excluding things like mini Squier Strats and such). Though bodies of the same size can weigh entirely differently. A Strat can be anything from seven pounds up to nine or ten - and we've even heard of significantly heavier on this Forum.

But really the body isn't so much the issue, is it? Surely it's the neck that counts. Excluding baritone guitars Strats have one of the longest scale lengths out there. So the Strat should be good for neck length, compared to Gibsons and PRSs, for example.

(For current Fender baritones, check out the Jaguar Baritone: http://www.fender.com/products//search. ... 0259300306 .)

Far as fingerboard width is concerned: well the dimensions of Strat necks are governed by the standard neck pocket size and so don't vary much. Most Strats range all the way from a 42 mm wide nut to 43 mm. Pretty normal for electric guitars.

Your last variable is the shape of the back of the neck, and here you do have some choice. Most modern Strats have a generic C-shaped neck, but there are some other variations. Vintage models have V-shaped necks, which you just have to try to find out whether they suit you. For a soft V look at the Classic '50s Strat, for a harder V check out the American Vintage '57 Strat. Others with variations on V necks include the Vintage Hotrod Strats, the Eric Clapton Strat and the Eric Johnson Strat - amongst others.

I was also just reading this current thread where people are discussing the chunkiness of the neck on the Jeff Beck Strat. Sounds like this one might be good for you:

http://www.fender.com/community/forums/ ... hp?t=26710

Some options to think about.

Good luck - C

Check out what model Poppa Chubby plays as he is a large guy and handles his ax with no problem. I will try and find out what model he uses. If I do I will post it for you. And as far as the hands go the only truth about that as I said on a similar post is a guy with huge hands would be able to make huge stretches then someone with smaller hands. Great players have different size hands-Paul Gilbert=huge hands/Danny Gatton=stubby fingers/Randy Rhoads=tiny hands=NO EXCUSES