Parker guitars (Fly)

[Ian B]

I caught a band Saturday night, just a three piece and the guitarist was using a Parker Fly. F#cking hell I'd heard about these guitars but this was the first time I'd see/heard one being played, the variation in sound, with precious few fx, he managed to get was jaw dropping It helped that he was a good player but jeez, what a stunning sounding instrument.....I want one! Now!!!! Anybody want to buy a kidney?

[Kingston]

Yeah, quite the feature set on some of the models. And they look pretty good.

It's like the first quitar you will need a manual for.

I've never been a big fan of the general touch and feel of these though. The neck is way too thin and there was something odd about the feel of the guitar on the models I've tried. Couldn't really play with a thumb style with them either (the thin neck).

Oh now I remember: they're way too light weight! I shall be jumping a backwards somersault on stage with a Fly one day.

I can imagine some modern jazzer or session musician would love these. And the Flys are well suited for speed tricks.

I'd rather stick to the more traditional designs. (Come to think of it, I'd rather have a blue Flying Finn)

[DevonB]

Same here, beefy neck, or no go here pretty much. Not to mention, just another instrument that's just too high priced for my taste when my other cheaper guitars work just as well. But that's what KVR is all about though isn't it? We just all have different 'thresholds' for what we an tollerate.

Devon

[Hink]

they're made about ten miles from me. Nice guitars but big bux. Two different friends worked there, both hated it...they are very "hush-hush" about everything...

[Lunch Money]

Dunno about business practices, but the guitars are amazing. Manual? That's odd... all they are is coil-tapped pickups with an additional piezo pickup. That's nothing new or revolutionary, although I suppose a quick look at a diagram of which mini-toggle is for splitting and which is for the piezo could be helpful.

The neck... well, it's not beefy. I have to admit, I also prefer beefy necks.

The weight... This is obviously a case of to each their own, because I for one would much rather not have a sore back and shoulders by the end of the night. Give me lightweight. In fact, one of my favourite guitars is the Steinberger GL-series (the one with not much of a body and--as standard for the company--no headstock). If you want a guitar that needs a manual, get one equipped with the TransTrem.

As for the price... well, most guitars are too expensive for me, but at least there's a lot of justification for a higher price here, unlike Gibson's Les Paul prices or even the prices that American Standard Strats have gotten to now. I'd pay a little bit extra to get the neck stability of the Fly.

It never ceases to amaze me the dual nature of guitarists. At once usually the 'wild' musicians of the band and a group of highly dedicated and creative people; but at the same time they're some of the most conservative people you'll meet in terms of their views of the instrument itself.

Greg

[Hink]

I don't buy names myself, When you can get quality bodies and necks why pay for the name? I can build as nice a guitar but spend the difference on better electronics and next will be a Transperformace http://www.selftuning.com/index1.html system, they are coming out with a lite version. It's got 8 saved tunings, auto tune and computerized bridge. It's not on their page but I've been in touch with the owner and they will be taking orders in the fall. $1000.00 installed into the guitar of your choice. That includes a complete paint job. My half brother had one of the original Les Pauls they did, like Jimmy Pages, the paint was amazing. Mine will be a tobaco sunburst Strat, with H-s-H (emgs) and an ultra thin scalloped neck...that will cost me about $2000.00 to build, but it's all guitar and performance...no name.

[Robert Randolph]

Eh, Im a thin neck (tele) kinda guy and I cant stand parkers. Dont like the sound at all, It's one of those guitars you HAVE to toss some fx on to make it sound cool.... really really bare sound imho. Their body shapes leave something to be desired as well.


I like my telecasters anyways. A lot.

[Lunch Money]

Telecasters rule. My main guitar isn't a tele exactly, but it's a Pacifica 302S, which is their telecaster-style guitar.

I disagree about the tone, which isn't a surprise considering how subjective tone is. The Fly Mojo uses a Duncan Jazz in the neck, and JB in the bridge, which is a classic combination of monster tone. Of course, pickups aren't 'everything', but when they're married to a mahogany body and neck, that's a combination that screams "tone".

I can't help but feel that the perception of them as 'sterile' is due to the sleek styling and contemporary design. There's probably a psychosematic association going on-- if it LOOKS that soulless, then its tone must have no soul. This kind of thing will persist even when playing the danged thing live and in person. The mind and perception are very fickle things, indeed.

Greg

[Lunch Money]

Robert, I found one for ya:



Come on...

Admit it...

You love it!

(OK, OK, I think Parker's great, but this thing is an aberration)

[Robert Randolph]

If it doesnt twang like a tele or growl madly like a high-end schecter, it has no tone

-R bert

Telecasters rule. My main guitar isn't a tele exactly, but it's a Pacifica 302S, which is their telecaster-style guitar.

I disagree about the tone, which isn't a surprise considering how subjective tone is. The Fly Mojo uses a Duncan Jazz in the neck, and JB in the bridge, which is a classic combination of monster tone. Of course, pickups aren't 'everything', but when they're married to a mahogany body and neck, that's a combination that screams "tone".

I can't help but feel that the perception of them as 'sterile' is due to the sleek styling and contemporary design. There's probably a psychosematic association going on-- if it LOOKS that soulless, then its tone must have no soul. This kind of thing will persist even when playing the danged thing live and in person. The mind and perception are very fickle things, indeed.

Greg

[Sascha Franck]

I hate the look of those Parkers.
And I agree with what has been said before: The neck is too thin (especially for a fat-fingered guy like me).
Sound is very flexible though, it's just that most often I don't need that much flexibility.

And then, I thing any modern guitar without a locking nut trem should come with some 4:2 headstock (E-G string on top, B and high E on bottom). Why? Easy! As the G string is the one with the lowest tension anyways, it should be the longest one. The same is true the other way round for the high E. On strats for example it usually has too muich tension when bending strings (of course all the string length thing above the headstock only applies when doing bendings).
That's why I like the string action of the non-locking-nut Musicmans and that's also why I "trimmed" the headstock of an older guitar of mine (boy, did it look awful, but it performed just great, unfortunately it was stolen).
Still can't decide to let this modification being done on my Anderson...

[Lunch Money]

Hmm...

My physics and math aren't what they used to be, but that logic doesn't stack up for me. Having a different scale definitely affects the amount of tension you need to put on a string to get it in tune, but I'm confident that the length of the string beyond the headstock has no bearing whatsoever.

Other than the feel of the guitar, aesthetics ARE more important than some people think. Again, it comes down to the mentality. If I want to play country certain styles of blues, it HAS to be my tele over my LG. Why? Who know. So if the aesthetics of the Parker guitars do nothing for you, then it WILL affect your playing, for sure, even if they HAD the 'right' neck.

Greg

[Robert Randolph]

Hmm...

My physics and math aren't what they used to be, but that logic doesn't stack up for me. Having a different scale definitely affects the amount of tension you need to put on a string to get it in tune, but I'm confident that the length of the string beyond the headstock has no bearing whatsoever.

Other than the feel of the guitar, aesthetics ARE more important than some people think. Again, it comes down to the mentality. If I want to play country certain styles of blues, it HAS to be my tele over my LG. Why? Who know. So if the aesthetics of the Parker guitars do nothing for you, then it WILL affect your playing, for sure, even if they HAD the 'right' neck.

Greg

Does a HUGE amount for you. Play a standard strat, then play a standard strat with a reverse headstock (hard to find...). It impacts the sustain, resonance, tuning ability of the strings ... Makes it sound very different. Better... eh.. all g-strings sound gross anyways unless you're using buzz feiten.

[donkey tugger]

Eurgh, it's a widdlers guitar!

[Assi]

Another thing to consider when buying a Parker is that the frets are made of stainless steel instead of traditional nickel. I think, the sound rather harsh and steril compared to nickel freds. While this may be a matter of taste they are furthermore only glued to the board! They can fall of! Sounds stupid but ut can happen.