What are the advantages of guitar body shapes besides the classic strat?

Question:I'm talking mainly about the V's, explorer, kelly, mockingbird, etc.

Which are easier to play, etc?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I'm talking mainly about the V's, explorer, kelly, mockingbird, etc.

Which are easier to play, etc?

Playability, for fretting, is all in the neck. The body (for playability) is about the cutaway to get at the high strings and the contours for the strumming/picking forearm.

The body design itself is therefore mostly about comfort (i.e. the belly cutaway on the back of a strat) and acoustics.

The answer is largely a matter of taste and the style you're going for. i.e. rockabilly means (likely) big hollowbody, similarly jazz.

Easiest to play is likely a smaller neck with a smaller scale length, so avoid the strat and go tele or Les Paul.

i think they look
cool

actually everything is just the same. Its just the shape that's different. But the way the strings are arrange and how it works are technically the same.

In solid body guitars, it is almost strictly for looks. The only advantage to any body design in a solid body would be a cut away for the higher frets. Placement of sound pots, batteries, bottom or back feed strings, and other minor details will also affect you, but not musically. They will all sound the same, its just how ergonimic it will be.

It is certainly NOT comfort. The Strat was designed with the comfort of the player in mind. Les Pauls were designed on a miniature scale of an acoustic only with a cutaway - the arched top on an LP even imitates Gibson's higher end arch top guitars. Same with a Tele only flat top with a cutaway. Vs, Explorers & the like are for wankers that want to cover their lack of ability with some kind of "look" - Kiss is a perfect example of a barely adequate band that's all flash & little music.