Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

[Diminished Triad]

Has anyone tried a Parker guitar and in particular, the Parker Fly? Mark Farner swears by them and touts both the light weight feature and that the guitars are sensitive and precise. Thanks for any infor you can share!

http://www.parkerguitars.com/products/fly/

 

[Mincer]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

I love the Fly! Look for the real deal Fly, not the import models. They are like driving a Ferrari. They disappear on your body (just over 4 lbs), and have a fast, precise sound. The older ones are expensive. I don't know what is currently going on with the brand, though. I think it is way ahead of its time. Adrian Belew gets some amazing sounds out of his.

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Parker is out of business.... 2 fellows bought all the parts and are slowly selling them on eBay.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Pretty incredible guitars. I only played one for a weekend, but it had incredible sound, both electric and acoustic, conformed to the body better than any other guitar I have experience with, and was featherweight - could play it for hours/days with no fatigue. The latter benefit is you can keep your energy higher, and dexterity / nimbleness won't degrade across a 3-4 hour gig. It was like the best-of everything in an electric guitar.

 

[aleclee]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Great guitars. The Ferrari analogy is apt in terms of the guitar's performance but also in terms of the cost to repair them if something goes wrong. Fortunately, aside from the bridge springs, I can't think of anything likely to wear out that doesn't have a currently-produced replacement.

I still have / love / enjoy my Parkers but for something that satisfies the ultra lightweight and freaky looking guitar craving, my Strandberg gets more day-to-day love.

 

[Helldogg]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

I have a 97 Fly Deluxe and love it. Very smooth glass like feel. Neck is wide and you can get some really good acoustic sounds out of it. The term is surprisingly good too. I am a Floyd Rose guy, but this one holds tune surprisingly well.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

The only guitar neck that actually relaxed my hand as I played. Amazing guitars if a bit ugly

 

[Mincer]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Parker is out of business.... 2 fellows bought all the parts and are slowly selling them on eBay.

Yeah, they are done? Man, who is gonna work on Belew's guitars? There has to be miles of wiring in there. I can't imagine his trem holding up to all of the abuse.

 

[jtees4]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

I had a '97 Parker Fly Deluxe. I got it when my back was so bad I could barely hold an SG. The Fly was 4.5 pounds and saved my butt for awhile. I thought it played and sounded amazing. I thought the trem was incredible (better than Steinberger S or T trem...I had both). I recorded some stuff with it acoustically and it was fantastic. I have owned probably 4 or 5 guitars with piezos and by far the Fly was the best. When Imy back got somewhat better I did end up selling it ONLY because the neck was so thin I would get cramps sometimes. I wish I kept it actually...at least I sold at a profit.

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Yeah, they are done?

They were sold 2 years ago, and production ceased immediately.
However, right after the NAMM show their old website was updated.
My guess - some Asian outfit bought the name and will sell crap with the Parker name on it.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Wow, that is sad. I think we are starting to see some innovation in guitar design now...the Fly was probably 15 years too early.

 

[Diminished Triad]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Wow, that is sad. I think we are starting to see some innovation in guitar design now...the Fly was probably 15 years too early.

How much of tone comes from the type and amount of wood versus the shape considering it's not about a sound hole? If that is true, I would hope many more attempts are made at reaching a higher level of comfort for the guitar player. I think much more can be done in that area. Surprised Parker Guitars closed down.....sad to see the original owner and developer out of the picture.

 

[Securb]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

I have a Ken Parker made USA Midifly. The thing is a beast. It has an HSS setup with the piezo and a hex midi pickup. I can pull any sound in the world out of that guitar. The action on the Parkers is amazing, and the ergonomics make it very comfortable to play. I can go from Jazz to Metal with the Parker. However, they seem to be a very polarizing instrument. People seem to like them or hate them; I have seen very little middle ground. The biggest complaint I have seen is the upper horn digging into someone's chest when they are playing it sitting. I have never had this problem.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Always wanted a MidiFly. But those were $$, and now they are even more. Love to see a pic of yours.

There are lots of luthiers making ergonomic guitars, but lets face it...guitarists don't want to be comfortable- they'd rather look cool. These days, I am all about ergonomics, though.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Damn now I want one

 

[MkIII Renegade]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

I remember when I first played a Fly around 1990ish and peeps in my LGS were like "this is the future", blah, blah, but we guitarists are largely traditional people. They are excellent guitars no doubt, although I suppose there is a certain realm of style I am happy staying in, and they are slightly outside of it. Steinberger has a similar story----big splash, forward thinking/modern design, etc, etc, but then guitarists stick to many of the same standards they've always loved. I don't care for the "cigar box" Steinbergers, although I love the ones with Strat bodies and will get one some day....when I get around to it....or else maybe a Kiesel Vader. The ease of playing headless guitars can itself be a problem, however, because then I feel tempted to play needlessly fast and/or complicated parts. Sometimes, I like for my guitar to fight me, just a little.... That would probably be good for John Petrucci, because when you've mastered everything and there is nothing left to prove, apparently you start writing bad prog operas.. :guilty:

But then again, one of my favorite guitars is a simple thing released in 1954 which is totally obsolete, and most of my favorite amps are 30-40+ years old and don't have digital anything, or modeling presets, so what do I know? :knockedou

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

According to Wikipedia (take it or leave it) Parker was bought in 2009 by JAM Industries/U.S. Music Corp. and they still own the company. Maybe there's a hope they'll find a competent manufacturing partner? This is the same umbrella corp. that owns Washburn, Korg, and Randall.

 

[rammer69]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

i have a majic blue deluxe

 

[Securb]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

Always wanted a MidiFly. But those were $$, and now they are even more. Love to see a pic of yours.

This might make you want to puke. The Midifly is listed as a "synth controller" in the Blue Book. Of course, synthersizers depreciate very fastly and very dramatically compared to guitars. The guitar listed as new at $3999 when I bought mine the Blue Book said the value was $800. One of the workers in the guitar chain I found it in knew it was marked wrong and was waiting for a buddy to pick it up (I was told later by another guy that worked in the store). I just happened to be there when they took it in and gave the seller $480, 60% of the list price. I knew something smelt bad and immediately bought the guitar for $800 with the case and all of the original case goodies. The plastic was still on the pickgaurd!

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Parker Guitars (Parker FLY)

This might make you want to puke. The Midifly is listed as a "synth controller" in the Blue Book. Of course, synthersizers depreciate very fastly and very dramatically compared to guitars. The guitar listed as new at $3999 when I bought mine the Blue Book said the value was $800. One of the workers in the guitar chain I found it in knew it was marked wrong and was waiting for a buddy to pick it up (I was told later by another guy that worked in the store). I just happened to be there when they took it in and gave the seller $480, 60% of the list price. I knew something smelt bad and immediately bought the guitar for $800 with the case and all of the original case goodies. The plastic was still on the pickgaurd!

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