I'm a big fat bastard ...

DavidRees

as it says in the title really but nowadays my belly is so big that playing guitar, in particular acoustic guitar, on a strap forces my arm/shoulder into a difficult position and makes it challenging to play. I like many before me will of course find a way around this but it got me to thinking about famous fat guitar players and whilst the three Kings, BB, Albert and Freddie spring to mind as does Malmsteen and Hiland I am having difficulty thinking of others who have risen to this physical challenge. Any ideas? ...

Schnozz

King Fish

johnl

Yep, he was the first one that sprang to mind for me as well - absolute monster of a player and the gut doesn't seem to hold him back. 

skunkwerx

I sympathise fully. 

The real answer is to lose the belly dude (if you can).

Its no easy feat though and takes time.

tony99

is Thyngy Malmsteen fat then?

stickyfiddle

It doesn't seem to hold John Moreland back. He actually manages to make a dreadnought look small.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cniD94MqoCg

rossi

Cut the carbs  and it pours off .I lost 6.5 K in two weeks so far .It helps stamina so when your call from Eric for a sideman comes you will be ready .

Fuengi

rossi said:

Cut the carbs  and it pours off .I lost 6.5 K in two weeks so far .It helps stamina so when your call from Eric for a sideman comes you will be ready .

This.

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/126019/cutting-out-sugar/p1

18 months and still going on Keto. Resolved every minor health issue I had and lost 2.5 stone in weight and feel fantastic. Very, very easy once you get to grips with it. 

pintspiller

Get a longer strap and pretend to be Bolan

digitalscream

As a counterpoint to the "Plenty of fat players around, so you don't have a problem" approach, I've got nerve issues in my right shoulder which - although I don't have a noticeably-protruding gut - makes playing standard acoustic guitars for more than a couple of minutes all but impossible without extreme discomfort. This started off as just a mild discomfort, but over the years it's become worse and worse to the point where I can't even make it through a single song on acoustic any more, much less a whole set.

I'd suggest trying to identify the main source of any discomfort/pain and go see a doctor about it. Could be nothing, but it could also be the start of something potentially debilitating.

EricTheWeary

Tommy Tedesco. I don't think he was overweight as a young man but as he got older he said his bulk ensured the guitar was at the correct angle to optimise his playing.
Buddy Whittington. 
Lesley West ( although I think diabetes eventually forced him to slim as it had for BB King). 
I remember Kenny Cox from the bands More and Mammoth ( alongside chunky bassist John McCoy). Looked like Giant Haystacks kinda thing. 

DavidRees

thanks for all your comments y'all, in particular @digitalscream  - I have always paid particular attention to my posture to avoid any potential impingement, capsulitis etc and so never play hunched up sitting down always standing up with a strap periodically using a mirror to check my body alignment [and how cool I look 'natch] - due to see GP for annual check soon and will mention this - thanks ...

Snags

digitalscream said:

As a counterpoint to the "Plenty of fat players around, so you don't have a problem" approach, I've got nerve issues in my right shoulder which - although I don't have a noticeably-protruding gut - makes playing standard acoustic guitars for more than a couple of minutes all but impossible without extreme discomfort. This started off as just a mild discomfort, but over the years it's become worse and worse to the point where I can't even make it through a single song on acoustic any more, much less a whole set.

I'd suggest trying to identify the main source of any discomfort/pain and go see a doctor about it. Could be nothing, but it could also be the start of something potentially debilitating.

Is it definitely shoulder, or is it neck?

Genuine question, not a "I have a hammer, everything's a nail" thing - but I've had serious discomfort in my shoulder/arm for the last 6-7 weeks, and eventually decided it wasn't going to fix itself so went to the physio. She reckons it's actually most likely a neck issue, with the pain getting referred to the shoulder/forearm. As there's no obvious causal event it's looking like a combination of getting older, stress/tension, and general posture issues all compounding over time - not that I have awful posture, but I often end up sat awkwardly for long-ish periods etc. due to work.

Hoping some exercises and paying attention will sort it, as it's somewhat annoying.

ESBlonde

Having attained the age of 60 I am noticably larger than the 20 year old me that gigging all the time.

I look at photos and videos of myself playing these days and think 'my dad looks fat', and he never even played and instrument.

On a more serious note, the long term health implications are known to be quite detrimental, (Proper british understatement). Shedding a few pounds and generally eating better will likely extend your life and make it more pleaseant in the latter stages.

But you know this.

Of and a 335 looks better scale than a lester on the fat git. ;-)

digitalscream

Snags said:

digitalscream said:

As a counterpoint to the "Plenty of fat players around, so you don't have a problem" approach, I've got nerve issues in my right shoulder which - although I don't have a noticeably-protruding gut - makes playing standard acoustic guitars for more than a couple of minutes all but impossible without extreme discomfort. This started off as just a mild discomfort, but over the years it's become worse and worse to the point where I can't even make it through a single song on acoustic any more, much less a whole set.

I'd suggest trying to identify the main source of any discomfort/pain and go see a doctor about it. Could be nothing, but it could also be the start of something potentially debilitating.

Is it definitely shoulder, or is it neck?

Genuine question, not a "I have a hammer, everything's a nail" thing - but I've had serious discomfort in my shoulder/arm for the last 6-7 weeks, and eventually decided it wasn't going to fix itself so went to the physio. She reckons it's actually most likely a neck issue, with the pain getting referred to the shoulder/forearm. As there's no obvious causal event it's looking like a combination of getting older, stress/tension, and general posture issues all compounding over time - not that I have awful posture, but I often end up sat awkwardly for long-ish periods etc. due to work.

Hoping some exercises and paying attention will sort it, as it's somewhat annoying.

Definitely the shoulder - thanks to a forced dislocation working in a wool factory 23 years ago (I should've sued...). It's weird - one of the consequences is an occasional shooting pain which starts in my thumb and feels like an electric shock all up my arm, particularly when playing an electric guitar (but only when standing up). Sometimes it's so bad that the whole right side of my body spasms in sympathy - it's happened a few times on stage now, and the rest of the band think it's hilarious :P

Conversely, the pain in my shoulder stops me sitting down and playing for extended periods (>30 minutes).

It's a bit of a bugger, if I'm honest.

HAL9000

Warren Haynes and Popa Chubby aren’t exactly sylph-like.

guitarfishbay

skunkwerx said:

I sympathise fully. 

The real answer is to lose the belly dude (if you can).

Its no easy feat though and takes time.

This 100%

In same boat and slowly getting there.  It's worth it for many other health related reasons, but already I can feel it's more comfortable to play guitar than it was at my heaviest (which was 20kg+ of where I am now, which is still too damn fat)

EricTheWeary

I'd forgotten about the excellent Nicky Moore ( Samson, Uli Jon Roth) on vocals although I don't think that's Cox on guitar in the video. 

Shawn Lane was very tubby at times; didn't stop his ability to go widdly widdly wee. 

Hollywood Fats also a chunky chappy on guitar; possibly no mean feat for someone who turned out to be a heroin addict. 

proggy

Greg Lake got a bit rotund towards the end, he played a big Gibson Jumbo.

thegummy

There's a good guitar player on Instagram who's pretty big. Don't want to mention the name cause it's a bit of an insult but I'm sure a few of you must follow him too.

If you don't want to suffer through a diet you could go to a plastic surgeon for some "weight relief".

Personally I've always found acoustics to be slightly uncomfortable on the shoulder despite not having a big belly. They're just so awkward compared to electrics.

thegummy

On the diet thing - I'd advise consulting your doctor before trying anything extreme you read about online.

There are some pretty out-there ideas with hype/following on the internet but not always things that your doctor would advise.

Some even claim to be ahead of medical professionals and that doctors are wrong to advise against them but remember, if something serious happened to your health suddenly it would be the doctor and hospital you went to to save your life, not someone on the internet.