Parker Guitars Fly Deluxe Single 2

this is a custom-made single-2 for me...it even has my name on the headstock (no joke, but like an alcohol-induced tattoo, i do regret it. kinda). beyond what i mentioned here it is a deluxe with all the usualy fly specs. it has a color-changing paint like an ernie ball john petrucci, but this blows the EB away. theres more depth and the color changes are more pronounced. the entire guitar is covered with the paint, including back and neck. its simply gorgeous. the body is not poplar like other "fly deluxe" models. its made from alder (remember, custom shop). i was trying to have a unique guitar that could still attain the strat vibe with some knob-tweaking. the neck is basswood, becasue at the time this was built, they had not yet experimented with other neck woods, and they talked me out of a maple neck. the pickups are far from stock as well. the humbucker is an dimarzio evolution, which in this guitar has enough balls to cut through a wall. the singles are dimarzio hs-2's. for those who arent familiar with them, they are stacked humbuckers and can be split to single coils if wired to do so. the guys at parker are awesome so they built in a switch in the back to let me choose single or humbucking mode. the trem cavity is also carved out a tad more so the whammy bar can be raised even more than stock. vai and satch bends are a breeze.

the sound is like no other parker...i would know, i have two others- a deluxe and a classic. i play so many different styles i can barely keep track of them and this guitar allows me to cover what i play. as far as the strat-like tones, i think i missed the mark because of my pickup choices. it quacks in the 2nd and 4th positions, but its a bit less stratish than others might believe. but thats ok, like i mentioned before i wanted somethign unique. these guitars arent designed to be the end all machine to sound like lps and strats, though they can get close. strats have bolt on necks, pickguard mounted electronics, etc. i can still achieve wonderful tones with it, so if i want to sound exactly like a strat, ill play one. im giving it a nine only because the evolution is designed for one thing...rocking. i cant fake the country lead thing because its so hot itll usually drive a clean sounding amp with any sort of heavy pick attack. but once again, if you wanna sound like a strat or tele...

they set this up beautifully. one unique thing about the set up is that the neck pickup looks to have three mounting screws (bass side, middle, treble side) the one on the reble side is for looks only. the body is too thin to mount there so they drilled a hole in the middle of the p/u bracket to anchor it. its a little tricky to adjust height, but its only on this guitar that i know of so no one else would have to worry about this. another neat feature is the pickup cavities themselves. usually, p/u's are mounted by way of pole pieces in parker flys. these pick ups wouldnt allow that so they had to be mounted traditionally, which meant that the guys at parker had to write a new program for the CNC router to cut out bigger holes just for my guitar! how freakin cool is that? intonation adjustments are difficult, but unless you are doing somethign crazy with your fly, you wont need to change it. one thing i should mention for anyone who plays with 10 gauge strings or more. the guitar comes with a different bridge spring for 10's, which is fine. but the nut slots are cut out to accomodate for 9's, usually no more. since i play 10's i had to have the slots widened by a local luthier. this is my only gripe about the guitar.

duh. its a parker. its designed so well i cant adequately describe it. but i can liken it to a car...imagine german fine engineering, japanese reliablity, and american solidarity. the frets are amazing. this guitar hasnt been played nearly as much as my oldest fly (which ive had for over 8 years) but the frets are identical on both guitars-they look brand new. it feels like a delicate machine, but if i drop it, itll be ok. and probably stay in tune. no matter what you hear, no matter what anyone says...these guitars are bullit proof (the carbon fiber might actually be, lol) i have been very careful with this one because of the paint job, but i have had my deluxe fly for over 8 years now and believe me, its one tough guitar. i have used them all live, and all three recieve a good beating and simply ask for more. dont get me wrong, i dont abuse them, but to me guitars are tools for expression, so i demand a lot from them. in this category, i wish i could rate this guitar a 20 or more. im not afraid of anything breaking on this guitar. i just dont wanna scratch the paint :)

customer support is beyond belief. i called the company once after they had closed the office just to ask a stupid question. drew, the ceo of the company answered and was very helpful in answering my dumbass question. i have also been lucky enough to take a factory tour and meet everyone there. warrenty is one full year, but the only thing you might have to worry abotu is the electronics concerning the piezo pickups and the stereo jack. i had the jack replaced on my 8 year old fly and granted, i paid for the part, but it was reasonable.

i have been playing for 9 years or so...and i must say, out of every guitar i have tried, nothing comes close to a parker. other guitars do sound good, and might be tempting, but i truly believe the best part about playing a parker is that it is effortless. this doesnt fight you like a strat. its ergonomic design is light years beyond les pauls. i have tried custom-built-for-rockstars PRS's which sound cool, but dont play as easy as mine. the sound quiality is unique but i love it. there is so much clarity and depth to it you have to hear it in your hands through an amp you like to really appreciate it. they are going up in price new, so if you find a used one for a good price, dont be afraid...get it before someone else does!

I have been a guitarist, bouzouki player, composer, arranger (from small bands to big classical orchestras) and singer. My styles range from Middle Eastern music, Latin rock and jazz...this is not a CV! But to say with all my experience and knowledge (a Master of Music from the University of London) the Parker guitar handles every genre of music that I myself have been personally involved with. From live to the studio it is the best tool a guitar player can have. I will go as far a sto say that one day all guitars will be fashioned to the specs of a parker. I myself own a deluxe single-2...it is an extraordinary instrument!! Well done Ken, well done; surely a man that deserves a space in the history books.

UNBELIEVIABLE.

A DREAM

Tough enough for the HULK to play!

What can I say, Parker is the Stradivarius of the guitar.

This is a Custom Shop only guitar, with Parker indicating only a handful actually exist. If you get one of these, keep it ... it is one of the rarest model guitars around. Having said that: Standard deluxe features, except H-S-S configuration, and 5 way selector switch like a strat. Great axe ... at 4 lbs this baby takes on any strat tones you can throw at it, quacks and all ....

Unbelievably like a real strat, except so much more. With the piezo pickup you have a whole other world to explore. But I really like the 2nd and 4rth positions of the switch to get the split sounds. With full humbucker I can get a tremendous crunch tone, with great sustain. Go figure ... 4lbs .... sustains better than my American Deluxe Strat ...

The best. Period. These are marvels of manufacturing, and the tight specs on the neck and frets make these a dream to play. The nut and locking tuners allow my to whammy this thing ala Hendrix, and it stays in tunes every time. The body of the guitar is ergonomically shaped for my slightly pot-bellied body, and the whole guitar just hangs on you like it is part of your body.

Don't know ... never had a problem. and never knew anyone who had a problem. But the carbon/glass/epoxy coating gives the guitar a sturdiness that makes the guitar as stable as any axe out there. Ask all those Les Paul fans who have had their headstocks break off if all that weight equals stability!

They answer every Email ...

Played for over 30 years, and just cannot take the heavy guitars hanging off my back anymore. So it was a joy to discover this light guitar sounded like a super strat and played like a dream. Thank you, Parker!

Fly Single 2 has all features of Parker Deluxe, Piezo pickups,

poplar body, basewood neck, carbon& glass fiber fingerboard,

stainless steel frets and so on.

But the single-2 has 2single picups and 1 humberker, different from

2humberkers of ordinary Deluxe.

And it's look? Do i have to comment on it?

Its single pickups are based on the Dimarzio's Virtual Vintage

series. They are focused on re-issue of the Fenfer vintage

pickups. Imagine the sound of massive vibration of the Fly plus

Fender vintage pickups. That's what its sound like.

The humberker picup, which is based on Dimarzio Tone Zone,

seems okay-ish.

And i think i dont have to mention the quality sound of the

piezo pickups.

Extreme damn good playability.

Damn good finish.

Body-mounted pickups means long sustain and dynamic reaction.

No problems at all, since i bought it 4 years ago.

I had asked several questions to them and

They replied sincerely.

It's perfect.

This is similar to the Parker Deluxe models most are already familiar with, except that it has s/s/h+piezo pickup configuration. It shares all the well known features of Parker's high end guitars.

I play blues thru a Mesa Blue Angel and a Marshall DSL-100 in a stereo set up.
The single coil pickups used alone produce the standard hum as expected.
The guitar sings in your hands, producing a classic Strat sound that is almost beyond belief.The range of sounds available certainly meets or exceeds that of the best Strat I ever played or owned, and the added piezo lends a totally new dimension.

Superbly set up at the factory. I raised the strings slightly to suit my playing, and changed to 10's from the factory supplied 9's.
Finish, adjustment, and everything else was as consistly perfect on this new guitar as on the two Fly Classics I own.

I see no reason that this guitar should not be as durable as any other Parker, or any other brand I know of. My Classics have emerged from several years of regular gigging in blues bars none the worse for wear. In fact, I would have to say that they have held up and performed exceptionally well. I always have a backup, as I tend to break string #1 regularly on whatever guitar I use.

I have never needed repairs or service, but when I have called Parker for any reason, I have always received courteous, helpful responses. Rumour is that Ken Parker is quite a nice guy, but I've never spoken with him.
It is unfortunate that more dealers aren't readily available, but I guess this is not a guitar that masses are going to be buying and using.

I've been playing for 38 years, and have played and owned most everything there is. As above, I own, besides this new guitar, two Parker Fly Classics, plus a '77 Martin D-35, the Blue Angel and Marshall, a reissue Super Reverb, and a '65 Pro Reverb.
My experience with Parkers has been so favorable that I felt little hesitation in purchasing this new one, and if it were stolen or lost, would buy another.
I am not wild about the knob/switch locations on this guitar, nor do I care for the intonation adjustment method required. But the technological and aesthetic advances offered by the higher end Parkers makes these complaints seem trifle.
There is little to compare this guitar to, as it is superior, in my opinion, to everything else I know of. Whereas my Classics are perfected analogues of Les Pauls and what they once occasionally were, this Deluxe Single 2 is a perfected analogue of Strats, and what they very occasionally were.
For those interested in the present and future of electric guitars, I would highly recommend this model to your attention. For those still facinated by that which was achieved about the time I wa being born, stick to your Pauls and Strats.