Does size matter ???? (Hands and fingers!)

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MASTER VOLUME

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Hi there, I was wondering if hand and finger size affects your guitar playing ability?
I have quite small fingers and can struggle to play some stuff on my love rock as they have quite wide necks. I also have a telecaster which is easier to play, but not as much fun.
Does anyone else experience this? Also does anyone with really large hands struggle to play because of them?
I saw Steve vai play a couple of months ago at a guitar clinic and was wandering if he would as been as good if his hands weren't as big?
Your thoughts please.
Thanks
 
Yeah this affects me too. I have quite small hands, so I love slim necks. My 86 Fender US 62RI is perfect, so easy to play. I bought a LS48 Love Rock recently, but it's never going to be a regular gigging guitar for me, the neck is just too uncomfortable, as they are on most Gibson types that I've tried. Fun for playing at home, but that's as far as it goes. Luckily I prefer Strats & Teles anyway

My ST55 is too chunky for my liking too, and the gloss on the maple board is too shiny for me, so I'd love to swap it for a rosewood board model with a slim neck.

For an example of someone with big hands, look at Hendrix. With fingers as long as that, he could reach almost anything without having to stretch. No wonder the rest of us struggle!

Mike
 
Ever noticed the length of Robert Johnson's fingers? Freakish!

robjonb2.jpg

________
buy hot box
 
Robert Johnson's hands look like spiders....Hound Dog Taylor also had the same kind of hands and a SIXTH finger (extra pinky) on his left fretting hand.

I've found that there is a difference in small hands and only shorter fingers - which I have. My palms are relatively large but my fingers aren't real long - I can play a chunky neck with relative ease because it fits my palm just fine and my fingers seem to fall exactly on the strings without too much hassle. I love slim profile necks too.....kind of the best of both worlds:

CIMG0974.jpg

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OMG CAN ANYONE SAY SAUSAGES..!!! :eek:
Nah...only kidding Marcus :p
Look at the comparative size of Randy Rhodes' fingers on a fretboard sometime.
It looked as though he was playing an ironing board but he managed eh?
Look at Brian May...fingers that could span states but he only uses 3 fingers to do the amazing things he does....he doen't use his pinky.
And i'm guessing that ol' shortarse John Petrucci isn't endowed with long fingers yet he manages.
What i'm trying to say is we manage with what we've been given...unless we go down the surgery road and add a couple of cadaver fingers to your left hand...hmmm...now there's a though 8)
 
Look at Elton John's fingers - short stubby little things - I'm told he can't even span an octave on a piano. He's not my favourite keyboard player, but he seems to have made a reasonable living from playing piano.

Mike
 
Good Morning All. :D I'm another from the small finger brigade,in saying that i don't think it stops me from doing what i want to do,i think thats how we develop our own styles ....by playing around our limitations. I may not be able to play something that Steve Vai plays {big hands} but i can definately play things that others can't.I also like fattish necks so i just think its horses for courses, there is no perfect setup. If i had long fingers my style would be completely different... :p
 
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Rock on stumpy :p
 
Opposite problem to you guys...

My hands are large with big fingertips, so I sometimes have trouble clearly fingering chords on narrow fretboards. So it's fine on the Ibanez RG, not too bad on the Burny, and worst on the Strat.

Probably why the band made me the bass player...
 

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