Parker Guitars Fly Classic

My USA made Fly is now 2 years old. You can read all of the features and technical specs in the other reviews. Suffice it to say that some of the features are revolutionary when compared to other brands. The magnetic/piezo pups, the thin body, the neck that varies a little from head to body but is extra comfortable are all great innovations. A 9 because although the features are tremendous, the master volume knob was in the way at first and I would unintentionaly lower the volume. I got used to it and quite playing so sloppy. :>)
I have a friend who recently started making basses (for about a year now, an incredible player), he was playing a very nice neck through bass he designed. After about a minute of looking over the Fly, he was utterly amazed at the detail and little things that make the Fly so nice. The way the neck is formed, the head stock appears to be on an angle going down away from the neck but the strings go straight to the headstock, access to the rod in the neck, weight and shape, etc.

Everybody puts a 10 here it seems no matter what they are reviewing. Truth be known people buy a guitar because they like the way it sounds. How a $200 Squire, a $600 Yamaha and a $3200 PRS or Parker or Gibson Les Paul can all rate a "10" in sound is beyond me other than that it is a personal thing and who buys a guitar they do not like.
The sounds this guitar can create are incredible! A PRS, Gibson or name your company cannot match the sound and sound options of the Fly. The abiltiy to combine the electric guitar sound with an "acoustic" yields a vast array of sounds. This guitar can cover a wide variety of sounds. Since buying it almost a year and a half ago, I have seen them in use in everything from rock to country to classical.
I split the signal of my Fly. The magnetics go into a Digitech 2120 Artist, a dunlop crybaby, a BBE Sonic Maximiser 482 (highly recommend)and a Fender Pro 185 (yeah, I know a 185, solid state, am looking for an addition that will have better tone at lower volume levels, the 185 is a monster when it comes to volume).
The Piezo/acoustic sound goes into a DOD Acoustec, the BBE and an Acoustasonic. I compared the sound of the Acoustic w/ the acoustisonic with some $1000+ acoustics. The Fly held it's own when being sent through an amp. No it won't be mistaken for a high dollar Martin, Taylor or custom acoustic. If that's the sound you want go get one! Just for fun, I sometimes run the piezo's into the DOD set at an octave lower and plug into a bass amp. Great fun!!! Hearing the bass run along w/ the guitar, lick for lick is fun. Blasting some serious metal/grunge w/ the bass filling up the bottom end. Let the good times roll. More variety than time or space allows.

(See above about all those who use tens, sorry but I must) I tried everything I could get my hands on in the $1500-$3500 range. I was ready to get a great playing guitar. I tried PRS, Gibson, Fender, all the big names and others. Nothing I played could compare with the feel and playing ability of the Fly. The main thing I was looking for was playability. I was willing to make some minor trade offs in tone but didn't have too!!! I didn't want to put it down in the store but the wife or family (depending on which one at the time, I spent over 2 years comparing guitars [and saving money]).
I had the action lowered at the store only because I wanted it extra low. Everything else was/is perfect.

Haven't had it for 10 years so an 8. It still looks and plays like new. No problems in over a year. Watch out for the battery and always have a spare handy. One other tricky thing, I went to put in a super long life battery but it was too big to fit into the battery compartment. One of the screws for the back plate comes real close to the battery inside the compartment. Everything on it has lasted for the last year and a half with out a hitch. The battery lasts for a long time (except when I accidentally leave the cord plugged in). I have used it on gigs w/ a back up. I have never had to use the back up and don't suspect I will but you never what crazy things can happen.

Haven't had to use them so that's a plus. Did see an email by a guy who helped with their painting and was able to get the specific colors and types of paint used for my guitar!!!

I have been playing for about 13 years. I have one other electric guitar, acoutsic, a bass and amp. I play all kinds of music and find the Fly fits into country, blues, rock/metal, jazz, rockabilly and much more. I usually change song styles multiple times in a set and the Fly sounds great in them all (have played "sets" on many occasions for 3 hours or more straight, no breaks, glad the Fly is so light, what a back saver). My next electric guitar will be another Fly. Hopefully they will come out with a Classic in a SSH.
If stolen or lost, I would visit the isurance man on my way to buy another. So famed is the guitar, I am known and the Parker Fly owner in my town. I love everything about the guitar. Some complain of the "horn" but my gut is big enough that it isn't a problem.
I give the overall a 9 because I am sure there is a better guitar out there somewhere (I don't know where for the money). If I had 10 grand for another guitar, I would take the Fly into the custom builder and have them copy just about everything (bet that would be illegal wouldn't it, infringing on too many patent rights). Maybe a slight change in pup configuration and selectability of the magnetics but that is all. I know they are already making the SSH in some models of the Fly.

Have a great day and may your fingers fly fast and accurate and slow and passionate!

If you don't know the features check another review - no sense in being redundant. THE BIG FEATURE - THE WHAMMY BAR!! I am a heavy trem user (especially on chords) and own at least one of every trem out there (I think) the Parker tremelo unit is one of if not the best. I like a drop/pull action with NO SLACK and the only other unit that works for me is the Steinberger trans trem (the original pre-Gibson machined one not that piece of crap die cast pot metal one). Have to leave room for something better so no 10 but a solid 9 and thats for the tremelo.

Excellent sound, plenty of drive. I don't know what some of the other reviewers are talking about with regard to low output. The Dimarzio pickups on this guitar have a ton of output. I don't use the piezo pickup much but it does some cool things if you want to haul a second amp or run into a p.a.. I like the way these guitars sound! Don't believe in 10's (yet) so it (again) gets a 9.

I have three of these guitars and they all have great fit and finish. I find the action somewhat variable. Ken set my first one up for me and I find it tolerable - I have seen Fly's with better action than mine but I am not that hung up on low action. I hate, let me repeat HATE the back of the upper bout of these guitars (and I told Ken Parker this personally) - it is fine when you are playing with a strap, but sitting down it nails me in the sternum and is extremely uncomfortable. I am a gracious sort so another 9 - no wait, I changed my mind, that damn sharp point on the back pisses me off -1 for that.

Very reliable, very durable - get's a little funny if you change string guages but that can be worked out. I think the stainless frets are a teriffic idea and I can't figure out why someone hasn't used them before this. I never play without backups on everything, but have used the Parker all night on a couple of occasions. The instrument seems fragile because of it's mass but I think with reasonable care it will last as long as any other guitar and need less maintenance.

I have delt with Ken on several occasions, he is a good guy and he has bestowed on me his "most patient customer award". I am suprised they have maintained the quality of this instrument given the volume they are now selling. My first one (one of the first made) had a strange resonance in the neck from the truss rod. Ken had the guitar 6 months (hence the "award") but it was fixed. The repair was at a time when he was trying to make the transition to production and I think the turnaround would now be much better.

The trem and tone sell the instrument for me. I rate it a solid 9 (haven't seen a 10 and must leave room for something better) - but compared to what I have seen to date it would rate a 10.

Lightweight Mahogany body with Carbon Fiber layer on the back of body and neck, seamless joining of neck and body, making for an extremely lightweight, extremely durable and SOLID guitar. 24 frets, Carbon fiber Fingerboard. By far the fastest guitar I have ever played. Hard shell case included. The bridge is a Floyd Rose type locking trem system with 6 Fishman Piezo's built in. Combination of Active and passive pickups (DiMarzio's), fully switchable via 2 toggle switches and. Locking Sprezel tuners (A huge plus, especislly if you do a lot of bending of strings or a lot of vibrato. Selector switch on back for fixed or floating bridge. Stereo outputs, stereo cable included. Can also select Mono output if you cannot run stereo setup by pressing a button on the underside of the guitar.

I play a lot of metal and rock and when the active pickups are engaged and your amp is fully driven, you can get some ungodly tone out of this thing. I have talked to a lot of Parker players and most don't use them for metal, but like I said above, the neck is VERY fast and that suits metal very well. Whats nice about it's sound is that the piezos let every string ring true. I've had many guitars that seemed as though the response wasn't even across the board, meaning that, lets say your d string always sounded way hotter than the g string. Not so on the Parker. It delivers full sounding tone from the open low e to the 24th fret on the high e. With a good Hi gain amplifier (I play a VHT 50CL into a Soldano 4x12), this thing crushes on dirty channels and delivers crisp clean tone when run clean. I do a lot of channel switching mid song, between clean and dirty tones and the Parker always sounds great. You can always pick out each note you are playing, and it definitely lets you know when you screw up. Some sloppier guitars are a little more forgiving. IMy skills have increased dramatically since purchasing this guitar. I think that is due to a few reasons - first off, it's so light and quick that it doesn't tire you out to practice for a long time, second, it sounds so good when you get something right you just want to keep doing it, third, when you screw up, you know it. I Played it through a Boss GT3 for a year, and it handles all sorts of effects very well, always producing clear notes and tones. I you don't like the way the Piezos sound, it's fully adjustable (You have to take of the back panel and do each ne individually, but it can be done). Best sounding guitar I've ever owned.

The one I purchased had been at the shop I go to for about a year before I bought it. Thusly, I think that with kids and beginners hacking on it, it needed a set up when I got it. There was one mark on the upper bout in the finish, but it is only noticable to the player and virtually unnoticeably even to me, so I thought no bog deal. Everything else was wonderful. It's action was slightly higher than other Parkers I've played, butit is so easy to adjust the action that I had it set up the exact way I wanted it 3 hours after getting it (Replaced strings with heavier gauge, replaced spring with heavier gauge, adjusted piezos). The knobs are a little lower class looking, and do feel alittle loose. I wish Parker would put some hard resin knobs on their guitars. They cankeep them plain and black, but I think that it would benefit from a more tactile feel.

I've owned mine for about a year now and have gigged with it many times. It has never totally failed me (occasional string change). Once the battery almost died on me (tone and volume drop off dramatically and fairly quickly) midsong. I was smartenough to have anothr on-handand replaced it prior to the next song. It is definitely gigworthy. The finish isn't marked or scuffed, which is a true testament to its quality, because my playing style is very aggressive. The hardware seems qulaity enough, althogh I have had some problems with the piezos. I would never gig without a backup.

Okay - here's the one big deal Ive had so far. As I said above, I have had some problems with the pickups. Two of the saddles went bad and I got no sound whatsoever out of the Piezos on my g and b strings. They resonated the other strings slightly, so if set to just piezos, you could kind of faintly hear an awful little sound, which was the plucking of the string. I contacted Jesse at Parker,and he was very helpful in telling me what to do. This just happened a week ago or so, and Jesse said it would take a week or two to get the guitar back, and that they would probably end up replacing the entire bridge saddle. He also said they would setit up for me.
All in all, he's been very helpful. Although I haven't gotten it back yet, and so cant' comment on the quality of work done, I am sure I will be satisfied. They are insuring it on the way back, so all seems well.

I have been playing for about 10 years now and owned a wide wide range of guitars. This is by far - BY FAR - the most quality I've ever seen in an instrument. The attention to detail is amazing and the build quality is unmatched. If it were stolen, I'd probably spend a few days crying and then go out and drop another $1500 on a new one. I love it. Oh yeha - and I'd hunt down the bastard who took it, rip his heart and soul out and asked him if he liked it.
My favorite feature has got to be the neck. It is so slick and fast and comfortable - like I said, my playing has improved exponentially as a result of it.

I highly recommend playing a Parker before buying any other high end type of guitar. I have found that with creative use of gain and pickup selection, you can accurately prodcue the tones found in many other high end guitars. The most versatile guitar on the market.

Mahagony body, basswood neck, 24 stainless steel frets, Neck/Bridge Dimarzio Humbuckers, Piezo in bridge, (2) 3-way toggles, one for electric neck/split/bridge config, the other for elect/both/piezo. Button located on body to select active/passive setup. Finish is a fabulous Emerald Green. Coolest color (IMO) Quiet, active and versatile trem for floating, down only and standard bridge settings. Flawless Sperzel tuners. Keeps in tune well. Wide Fat kind of neck with the best action in any production guitar bar none. Hard shell case. All packaged weighing in @ some 5.5 LBS. I know of no other guitar with more quality features.

I traded up from a Parker Deluxe to this model. I agree with earlier postings that the Mahagony wood has a somewhat darker and (IMO) a better overall sound with TONS of sustain. Nothing wrong with the Deluxe, just really noted and enjoyed the sustaining capabilities from this guitar. I play through a Johnson JM150 and I (and my band)couldn't be happier with my sound. I also have a Peavey Wolfgang and an EB/MM EVH in my guitar arsenal and grab this first mostly due to it's variety. I really like the option to patch the piezo into the PA using the included Y cable. What a wall of sound this creates. I absolutely love the stainless fret action. Mine being a '98 has the gold "Fly" script and fret markings. I understand Parker went back to the color white. (perhaps for player neck references in low light conditions) I personally think the gold selection is a cooler option. I suppose if I had to, I'd gripe about the volume and tone dials. I would agree with an earlier posting that they seem kind of "icky" and a tad over-sensitive to touch for such a high quality and otherwise well designed guitar.

I got this from a dealer and if this is the factory setup, Ken Parker and team deserve huge kudos for the specs delivered. The action, feel, sustain and balance are superb. Pickups were seated well and very responsive. I've found no flaws whatsoever in this guitar. Silent trem and toggle selectors with quality glistening from this guitar.

I wouldn't hesitate to gig with this guitar. I seems fragile mostly due to it's lightness. Again, in twenty years time, I believe I'd be concerned with perhaps the volume and tone dials and pots. I treat all my instruments with care, so I can't imagine this guitar failing without so sort of abuse. Factory strap buttons work well. Without any doubt this guitar can be depended upon. Just keep some batteries on hand just in case. I score it a 9 only because there are sturdier guitars out there, but factoring it's versatality, one must make their best choice using their own preferences.

I have used Parkers website for questions. Prompt and curtious replies were always received. Haven't had to envoke any warranttee issues and can't imagine I will need to any time soon.

By now I'm sure you think I'm a Parker poster child. (Maybe I am) But I highly encourage if your reading this to get your hands on one, run it through your favorite amp and watch your playing style change (for the better). This is an all together different breed of guitar. Parker guitars I found to be the most lively, comfortable excluding the upper horn to some),tonal, responsive and versatile instrument on the market today. If it were lost (shame on me) If it were stolen, the thief would rue the day s/he took my parker. It would immediately be replaced somehow. I love the flexabilty, lightness, trem design, elect/piezo, and fantastic color of this guitar. I hate nothing. My favorite feature(s) are: it's weight and stainless steel frets. As I mentioned, I traded up from a Deluxe for this model. I haven't tried an Artist (yet), but have tried the nitefly's and Godins and became very focused on the model. I'm very happy with this guitar. Let me close by stating I don't claim to know everything about all guitars. I've really tried to be fair in rating each of these catagories. I just can't justify rating this as anything less than a fantastic value. Parkers create their own unique sound to which myself and my band appreciates.

I have a new Parker Fly Classic Teal, 24 frets, 1 volume 2 tone controls for the humbuckers, 1 volume 1 tone for the Fishman Piezo pickup and 2 switches, 1 a three way selector for the humbuckers and the other one a mode selector for the guitar (to switch between acoustic, electric or acoustic/electric mixed), i been around the guitar world for some time now and i would definitely consider the parker fly as 1 of the 5 best guitars ever made, you can use it for anything, an acoustic song, rock, pop, blues, jazz, metal, anything you can get any sound you want from this baby.

Sound??? Divine...

All its body, action fit and finish are perfect for anyone, up to now i dont know anyone uncapable of handling a parker or capable of making it sound bad or unclean.

For its 5 pounds youll be amazed of the strength this guitar has and its paint and finish durability are just perfect.

Excellent! A few months ago i accidentally scratched with the cable tip the bottom of the guitar, so i sent a mail to parker asking them for help, thy answered in less than 48 hours with many solutions for my problems, some cheaper than the others.

I have many instruments and many guitars, ive owned over 10-15 guitars and played more than 200 different models owned by friends and on stores, but i have to say...THIS IS AN INVESTMENT YOU WANT TO MAKE IF YOURE SERIOUS ABOUT GUITARS...if it was stolen i would find the robber, get a kidney, sell it and buy 5 Flys, heheh just kidding, but i would definitely be depressed for a while and start saving for another fly.

24 hardened stainless steel frets on a composite fret board, neck thru-body. has two custum dimarzio pickups (humbuckers) and a peizio pickup. custum trem' which locks for a fixed brige feel or can be unlocked and loosened for a floating trem' . spirtzel locking tuners. mohogany wood. CONTROLS ARE: magnetic volume and tone, piezio volume and tone, 3 way magnetic pickup switch, 3 way piezio/magnetic selector switch, stereo/mono switch. this thing is amazing!!!!!!

i play anything from rock to country. the versitility on this guitar is amazing. when you have the 3way pickup switch in the middle position... you get a single coil of each of the two magnetic pickups... giving you a totally different color of tone than the other two humbucker positions. the piezio is great sounding and i am blown away by the tone you can get by combining the piezio with the magnetics for both distortion and clean channel playing. there are so many variations of tone that you can get ... it is awesome! when playing distorted leads.. you can blend a little of the piezio pickup in there with the magnetics and it adds a rich "singing" quality to the tone. The sustain is amazing on this guitar. it just sings and sings and sings for a looooong time. i am using a "line 6" amp and i love it... also on the piezio pickup, i am using a "sansamp accoustic DI" to make the piezio a little more convincinly accoustic sounding.... the sansamp adds a lot to getting the accoustic sound more believable. this guitar has character and really has a "musical", expressive tone.

the action on this guitar is the best i have ever felt BAR NONE. nothing else even comes close... and i have played a lot of guitars. i use "10's" on my guitars and it feels light enough to be "9's". i am thinking that a fella could easily get away with using "11's" without punishing his fingers. who knows, i may try it... everything on the guitar came in great shape... everything adjusted and set really good.

if i had to use just one guitar.... this would be it.... attention to detail is obvious and also functionability was obviously well thought out. i will carry extra batteries in my case though for the active piezio pickup. everything on it seems built to last. Yet i can only give it a "9" because i have yet to take it on tour or anything really demanding like that.

have not had to use support yet.... in my opinion ... that's a automatic "10".....

i have been playing for 8 years. i would definitely replace this guitar with another parker if this one were lost or stolen. i do wish they had put a roller-nut on it... i am thinking about having one installed. i also wish that they had made the midi-fly in a "upper" parker instead of the nite-fly model. here is what really blows me away about this guitar...... it allows you to be WAY more expressive with your playing... other guitars feel like a TOOL that you use to express yourself, this guitar is like a extension of you... you can be WAY more expressive on this instrument. i really discovered this after i brought it home and spent a few days playing it... i realised that i did not need to fight with the guitar to get expression out of it... the guitar responds to subtle nuances in your playing WAY more than other guitars. like the guitar responds to your emotions.. i am convinced that this trait in this guitar will bring new levels of expression in my playing. before purchasing my parker guitar, i read through a lot of the reviews here.... i saw so many 10's .... if you are wondering if people are just being overly optomistic... just go play a parker for yourself... the first thing that you will notice is that it feels like you are playing to "hard" on it.... once you adjust ... you will then be amazed at the way this thing plays... just try one... this is the future of guitar, no doubt!

Features:
late 1998 model purchased in early 1999 for $1530;
American made; 24 frets; solid body; mahogany; transparent blue finish over stained mahogany grain; thin/slim body style;
non-locking tremolo with three options - fixed bridge, floating but only bend-down, free floating;
locking Sperzel tuning pegs;
graphite exoskeleton on body, fibreglass-graphite composite neck, large (jumbo?) frets, not-very-slim neck;
controls include - master volume, magnetic pickup volume, magnetic pickup tone, piezo pickup volume, piezo pickup tone, magnetic pickup selector switch, magnetic/piezo/both switch;
pickup configuration: neck humbucker, bridge humbucker, inside coil combination, piezo trandsucer;
magnetic pickups: DiMarzzio;
piezo pickups: Fishman;
active electronics running on a 9 volt battery;
molded Hiscox hard-shell case, required tools, special stereo cable;

I play mostly 80's rock, with some progressive rock/jazz thrown in. I tend to go for either a crystal-clear shimmering clean sound or completely driven distortion - I don't do much of the in-between stuff. I do a lot of recording, so I play my guitar through a BOSS SE70 effects processor (which I use for distortion as well as for effects) into either a clean amp (I often use a small tube Fender Champ for practice) or a digital recording device/PA system/transparent audio system. I do not drive guitar amps in the conventional way.
Unprocessed, the Fly Classic has a rich tone - somewhat bright, yet a little more warm than that of the Fly Deluxe, however, due to a different wood (mahogany for the Classic). However, the tone is *not* the bell-like tone associated with many graphite-based guitars like Steinbergers. Instead, the sound is more conventional, which is a good thing because the aforementioned bell-like tones can be very cold and clinical.
You can get a lot of tonal variety by selecting either humbucker, the in-between combination, the piezo-pickups, or even a combination of the magnetic and piezo pickups. Further, you can use the stereo cable to send the mag. and piezo outputs to different amps/processors and get a very substantial wall of clean sound.
The guitar is quiet, but with one problem - on high gain, when you roll down the volume from full to zero, you hear an audible hiss when you get very close to zero. So, if you like using your volume control to do swells, you might have a problem. This is a fault with the design of the active circuitry (as I was told by Korg) and there is nothing you can do about it.
Regarding the mag. pickups (humbuckers), they have great tone, sustain and harmonics. They have been designed by DiMarzzio especially for Parker and have been screwed directly into the body for better response. I think this helps. One small complaint - the pickup output is not very high, especially with the neck humbucker. I would have liked slightly hotter pickups.
As far as the piezo pickup is concerned, it sounds like a regular piezo pickup. You are probably not going to fool anyone into believing that you're playing an acoustic - unless you're recording a heavily effected track in a dense mix. The value to the piezo is not in exactly reproducing the sound of the acoustic guitar, rather it is in creating a slightly different kind of sound.
The guitar has tremendous sustain. I haven't seen such sustani in any other guitar. I read somewhere (perhaps in Harmony Central) that the sustain will change the way you play guitar. This is probably true. You can feel the ring and the sustain even when playing the guitar unplugged.

I'd give full marks for the beuatiful transparent blue finish over the stained mahogany. The graphite exoskeleton is painted a certain shade of blue which isn't exactly the blue of the wood, but this is all on the rear side of the guitar body and neck and hence cannot be seen.
In all respects, the workmanship is outstanding.
The factory set-up was good. However, I was *slightly* disappointed as I had probably set my expectations too high. In particular, I was hoping for a yet-lower action. When I did lower the action, I got some fret-buzz. I have happily settled on a very low action (which is simply heaven to play) with the sacrifice of allowing some slight fret buzz which is thankfully not picked up by the pickups.
I have some small complaints about the volume/tone controls. They are made of plastic. While this is done to reduce weight, they do look a little icky, especially on a guitar this classy and expensive. The controls are also (I feel) a little on the looser side and can get moved around in the course of normal playing, if you're not careful.

I think this guitar is tough and will withstand live playing. The company definitely makes a big pitch about its frets being of stainless steel as opposed to some nickel alloy.
I think I would go ahead and use the guitar without a backup - especially given that I can immediately put the guitar into a fixed-bridge mode if a string breaks in the middle of a song and hence not have to go out of tune. String changing is remarkably easy and quick, too.
However, it just *looks* delicate - this is probably because the finish is so fine. The strap buttons are solid - though the left strap button is located on the back of the horn (as opposed to being on the tip of the horn) - and this makes it difficult to use certain kinds of straps with the Parker.

I have dealt with the company, but only to ask certain questions (e.g. how to use the Sperzel tuners, what kind of locking strap could I use with the guitar etc.). My experience has been very good.
I think the warranty is for a year, but I am not sure. Hence, I will not rate the guitar in this category.

The guitar is a great value.
It offers a wide range of sounds, both magentic and piezo. More importantly, these are great sounds (I wouldn't find a wide range of bad sounds very useful at all.) Further it lets you mix these in mono/stereo, which works great for my recording work.
The guitar plays like a dream, the neck is fast and easy with great intonation (see my above comments on the action, however). I don't think minor temperature changes have any effect on the neck at all. This means that truss rod changes are not required frequently.
The tremolo is very good - it is much simpler than the Floyd Rose on my Ibanez, yet works a great deal better. It stays in tune despite a lot of whammying around. (Owners of Steinbergers might report yet better whammy bar performance with their TransTrems, but that's about it.) String changing and intonation adjustment can be done in fixed-bridge mode, which is a wonderful change from spending hours on my Floyd-Rose.
I also play an Ibanez 450 S with DiMarzzio pickups. It is a great guitar with very good sound and playability, but is simply not in the same class as the Parker (it is also costs only half as much).
Bottom line: the guitar is exceptional, but expensive. It all depends on what you want. If you want customization (e.g. your choice of finish, abalone inlays etc.) you could easily buy a very nice Carvin for that money. If you want the ultimate in whammy-bar ability and don't mind a colder sound, a Steinberger with a TransTrem is probably better for you. And so on. However, the Parker Fly Classic offers its own unmatchable mix of quality, options and price. Finally, you might want to try Parker Niteflys which seem to give you more bang-for-the-buck than their upmarket cousins.

The Fly classic is the same a the delux, but with a mahogany body and a transparent finish. This guitar has far too many features to list, and I'm sure you've already read about them from other reviews. Let it just suffice to say this is is a very well thought out instrument. The only thing you could add to this guitar is MIDI control.

I have been playing a Strat w/ EMG's for the last six years and obviously the sounds are very different. The Parker is much brighter and crisp in the high end. All of my effects patches had to be tweaked a bit, but this would be so for any different instrument. Overall, I like the range of sounds availiable from this guitar. LOTS of variety, and when mixing electric and piezo tones you can get very lush clean tones that I love to use when I play live. In fact I've even had people come up to me after a show and comment on how rich the chorus sounded that I was using. I attribute this to the chorused electric signal I mixed with a dry piezo tone. Very cool. I think the problem most people have is trying to compare it's sound to another guitar's. You can't. This guitar is a Parker, not a strat or a paul. If you want a strat - buy one. But if you like what you hear from the Parker, I highly recomend it - easily the most versital guitar I've ever played.

Action : perfect, wonderfully low, no buzz, great intonation
Finish : virtually flawless. The finish on my guitar is the "Emerald Green" It's a very deep green and it's shows off the mahogany top very well. One of the best looking Fly's I've seen.

I have been playing with this guitar steadily for five months now. I take the guitar to practice at least once a week and play a show at least every other week. Not once have I had a problem with it. I ususally don't even have to tune it when I arrive. Thanks to the Locking Sperzal's this guitar stays in tune wonderfully. (and string changing is a snap!) The hardware on the guitar is all top notch and the stap buttons are decent, though not designed for a strap lock system because the horn is too thin. I did, however find a way around this by using the stock screws to mount the locks in place. This has worked very well and has perserved the beauty of my guitar. My only doubt is in the finish. Any guitar that is consitantly used for gigging will inevitably show signs of wear, perhaps it's just that this guitar is soooo light it just FEELS more delicate. I worry every time I take it out, but that's just because I take very good care of my instruments. Being that I've not had a single problem in this area, I'd give it a 10.

Never had to deal with them (knock on wood). Though I have heard good things about Ken Parker and his customer service.

I work in a large music store. I have access to literally hundreds of guitars and I could afford any one of them I wished. This is by far the most versitile guitar I've ever played. It is also the best playing guitar as far as action and feel. The body, although awkward at first, really becomes like an extention of your body and is very easy to play. I noticed today when I picked up my strat for the first time in months that it felt clunky and awkward it made me realize how well this guitar is balanced and designed. I love the light weight (5.5lbs) for live playing - no backache after a long gig here! The electric/acoustic tones make this THE ultimate live guitar. If something happened to this guitar I would definatly replace it. The only thing I wish this guitar had was MIDI control. I have considered selling it for this reason in order to buy the new model comming out that does have it. But, besides that, this is a very fine instrument. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Made in 1998 in the U.S.A. 24 frets, solid mohogany body, two volume controls (one for piezo one for humbuckers), two tone controls, balance control. Pickup configuration is H/H/Piezo. Humbuckers are made by Seymor Duncan. Active pickup system. Body is Mohogany neck is composite. Finish is a beautiful translucent burgandy color. George Jetson strat. stlye. Tuners are locking sperzels. Parker only floating/locking bridge system (by the way best I've used and I have Floyd Rose, Wilkinson, and Fender). Came with excellent manual all tools necessary for adjustment and very nice hard shell case.

I've been playing for 28 years and have played almost everything though every pedal and amp you could imagine. I can truely say that this is the best sounding guitar that I have ever played, it stands on its own in this category. If you are a professional or weekend warrior you gotta try one, it's produces the best tone I've heard. It is very suitable to all styles of guitar playing.
One thing that really stands out on this guitar is its sustain. It's so long that it actaully begins to change your playing style.

At this point you're probably thinking that I work for Parker, I don't. This is the easiest to play guitar that I have ever owned. I have never found a guitar could play and feel so good.

Seems very rugged to me.

I didn't need to contact them so I can't say.

I've been playing for a very long time and truely rate this as the best guitar that I have ever played. It's is very inspirational!!!

Well, if you're looking into a fly, chances are you've read the other reviews already, but here's a run-down of features anyway.
DiMarzio Dual Humbuckers Fishman Piezo Acoustic System Active Pickup Blending/Switching Mahogany Body (5.5 lb weight) Switchable Bridge w/ flat spring Sperzel Locking Tuners Others I've forgotten
For features this thing can kill almost any other guitar out there with the possible exception of a Godin or some custom-made double-necked-four-pickup-phase-switchable-with-native-distortion-chorus-trem-with-a-cherry-on-top-guitar that cost you six Hawaiian islands worth of cash. The parker has features in spades, and quality that nearly matches on every one.

The guitar pulls off a bright sound on every level. It has a more Les Paul sound than its cousin the Fly Deluxe, which is a little more like a strat, but for the most part it's transparent. I was very disapointed playing it through tried and true amps (like a Fender w/ chorus and trem, a Marshall JCM, and a Line6 AX2) but I'm just lucky I hauled along my old Kustom Vintage bass amp. It's my magic cheap amp and it's a dream with every instrument I own except my bass. To my great surprise, it did the trick adding body to those lows and fattening up the distortion. It's still a little bright but I can get a sweet Brit-Pop sound out of it. My only complaint is that the bridge pickup is weeker than anything you've used. The strat sound isn't very authentic, but why would I buy a guitar to sound like a strat when it costs twice as much. For the acoustics a clean amp works best but you can get them dirty with a little crunch from a pedal. You aren't going to make the pickups sound acoustic without a PA or a keyboard amp (they work quite well actually) so don't bother. And finally, you're going to have a tough time getting out of that industrial-metal Rammstein rut, but once you do it'll be worth it.

The guitar was set up perfectly from the factory. Love the steel frets, every note sounds more reliably. The finish is a dream. You can truly feel this thing vibrate like a living thing in your hands before you plug it in. I LOVE THE FRETBOARD. I would buy this guitar for the neck, which is second to a PRS Dragon III if anything. It's fat and thin and looks awkward, but WOW. You simply have to wrap your arms around it to beleive it. All is not perfect however. There is some buzz, but you can raise the action. I have killer sound right now though, so I ain't touchin' it. The most fatal flaw is the tiny body to which I attribute the too bright sound. It's good stuff though

I am scared to death of dropping this guitar. I have heard of people dropping them once and having them come out unscathed, but I've also heard tales of chipped finish, sizeable lost chunks of wood, and of a couple that were snapped in half. I always bring my strat with me to gigs because I fear something will happen to the Fly. Once you get it safely out of the case and around your neck it is one of the most solid guitars I have played on. Just bring a battery. I have also heard that some of the flat springs for 10's can snap and shoot from the guitar, but it hasn't happened to me.

I've never dealt with Parker, so I couldn't tell you, but I hear from a lot of people that "Ken Parker is THE MAN." In every case I've heard of, the guitar was fixed and returned in perfect condition or replaced with a completely new guitar. Good stuff.

I'll only say it once more. It's not a strat, it's not a tele, it's not a LP, and it's not that custom beast. Of course it wasn't meant to be. It was meant to be something new. I tried EVERYTHING. When I'm putting out this kind of money, I get obsessive. The strat's and pauls are too generic for me, the sweet PRS would require me to sell organs on the black market, and everybody I know has some form of an Ibanez. The Fly was a breath of fresh air, it's like a little thing that you can horde for yourself and carve out your own niche with. It's not meant to be those other guitars, and it doesn't have to be.