Parker Guitars Fly Deluxe with Vibrato

UPDATE FOR 2/13/99 SUBMISSION OF PARKER FLY DELUXE REVIEW!!!!!
It has been brought to my attention that I made an error during my review for a Parker Guitar. Here are some ammendments to my review: 1) I stated that there were no coil splitters, I was wrong. When the selector switch is in the middle position the inside coils of both humbuckers are activated out-of-phase. I meant to say that I wish Parker would have included an option for splitting each humbucker SEPARATELY. It would then be possible to have a single-coil bridge sound and a single-coil neck sound. The out-of-phase option does a convincing job of emulating a Strats in-between sound though. 2) At the time I wrote the review there were no aftermarket pickups that you could buy (I stated that you couldn't change the pickups). DiMarzio have recently added a few options to their catalog. You can order pickups from them. However, I'm am not sure what they sound like. Furthermore, in the Dimarizio catalog it only lists two separate pickups for the Parker (bridge and neck). It says that there are other models available but you have to call them about it. This leads me to my next point. It is still a pain in the ass to get different pick-ups for the Parker, especially if you hate DiMarzio pick-ups. You can send your original pick-ups to Seymour Duncan if you wish for re-wiring (hassle or what?). Also, I think the stock pick-ups for the Parker are a little weird. The tone is great but they act a little strange sometimes (always picking up radio stations when other guitars don't through the same amp etc). Its hard to describe but you should check it out for yourself. 3) Finally, the person who 'enlightened' me to my 'mistakes' couldn't believe I broke strings on my Parker (he hadn't broken a string in the year and a half he owned one?!!!). I did have problems with .009 guage strings. They always (less the weekly) broke and unwound around the ball. I always use Dean Markley strings and I have never, NEVER had this problem with any of their strings, or gauges. I had the guitar checked out and there were no burrs at all (a little weird because the guitar comes stock with .009 gauge strings). I recently changed to .010 gauge Deans and haven't had any problems at all. I'm breaking strings only occasionally. I still love my guitar and my previous ratings for the categories still stand. Finally, be careful when you buy a Parker. Almost every Parker that I have seen in a music store (Mars, Guitar Center etc.) has been beat to s**t. They always seem to be heavily scratched, have a terrible action, and have had some serious abuse to the tremolo system because people don't know how to use it. I have found these problems at many different stores in different cities. I guess people are just curious to try this instrument out. Make sure everything is in working order before you buy one. ALso, if you are unhappy with the guitars on display have the store order one especially for you. Anyway, I have had tons of responses to my review, keep em coming. If you have noticed any mistakes please let me know, but please, PLEASE, PLEASE don't be a dick about it. The guy who 'enlightened' me had a serious chip on his shoulder. Thanks!!

Parker Fly Deluxe comes with 24 stainless steel frets, passive and active electronics, two volume knobs, one tone control and a knob that adjusts the tone (and volume) for the piezos. The back and sides of the body are covered in a thin layer of carbon fiber/glass expoxy. My Parker guitar is made from poplar and it comes with a vibrato system that can be locked out and have its tension adjusted. The tuners are locking sperzels and there are two Dimarzio humbucking pick-ups (specially wound for this guitar). The various combinations for the pick-ups include: bridge, neck, bridge and neck out of phase (there is a volume drop as there is when ANY pickup is out of phase), piezo, piezo and electric together and electric only. There is a switch (near the cable jack) that allows the parker to be played in stereo or mono. A cool little LED lights up on the back of the guitar and tells you if the battery is low (the guitar requires a 9V battery for the piezos). The body style is comparable to a strat (it has two cutaways) but looks very different and it is very, VERY thin and light! The neck is very thin (comparable to an Ibanez only wider and a little thinner) and its surface is covered in a very cool/hard wearing carbon covering. I had to pay a little extra to get the gig bag. The gig bag is very plush and it is made by Levy's. It is the nicest soft-case that I have ever seen. The gig bag came with a stereo cable, tools, a very nice book explaining everything you need to know about the Parker Fly and an extra spring for the vibrato (for use with heavier strings). The guitar came with .009 gauge strings and had a nice low action.

The sound of this guitar completely suits my playing style. I love heavily distorted tones with a lot of bottom end and a biting high end. I have heard people complain that the tone is thin sounding but I disagree. I use my Parker with a Peavey Ultra Plus head and the bottom end is DEVASTATING. It should be noted that the Parker Fly was not designed to sound like a strat or a Les Paul nor was it designed to replace any instruments and be the future of guitar. It was designed to add to any guitarists arsenal of sounds! The humbuckers have a beautiful warm sound (although not nearly as muddy as a LEs PAul they are still fat sounding) and there still is quite a pick of sparkle on the high notes. The sustain is unreal under heavy distortion. It is possible to get many different types of tones but it seems like metal tones are the easiest to get on this guitar (in low gain settings the tone tends to be a little rubbery and not very crisp). The clean sounds are UNREAL each note really shines through. I love the way this guitar sounds clean. If you can live with the fact that the piezos aren't going to sound like an acoustic guitar then you will be in for a treat. The piezos sound beautiful through an acoustic amp OR an electric amp. They tend to be a little too bright (all piezos are) but this can be corrected using the guitars tone knob. I would hate to say this but I really think that this guitar excels for high gain applications and clean applications. If you are looking for a classic rock type of sound it can be a little tricky to get the right tone out of this guitar. I wish that there were some coil splitters on this guitar because that would really add to its versatility. Having said that there still many, many tones that you can coax out of this beaut.

The finish on my Parker is completely flawless. The paint feels like glass (it even squeaks when you run your hand across it) and it is a beautiful 'magik blue' color. Everything was set up great from the factory and it looks as if there was a massive attention to detail. The inside cavities of the guitar are beautiful and are covered in very thick shielding paint. I have had my guitar for about a year and there is NO evidence of any wear on the stainless steel frets. Regular frets would have large grooves in them by now! The only complaint I have is that my Parker came with a faulty cable jack. It wasn't grounding properly and emitted a very loud and annoying buzzing sound when plugged in. I had to pay about a hundred dollars to ship the thing back to the factory. They replaced it for free but it would have cost me $150 to have it replaced if it wasn't under warranty!!!!!! I was pretty pissed off at having to pay the money to ship it pack but the damage could have occured at the store where I bought it from. Other than the above problem everything was well beyond standards. The quality is unreal! (I would have given this category a ten if I didn't have the above problem).

Although this guitar is very thin it appears to be very strong. The hardware would last a very, very long time. The only thing that appears to be a little weak is the rubber covered control knobs. The paint is beautiful but scratches very easily (it may appear this way because it is so damn shiny). I have heard that the paint chips easily on Parkers but I haven't had problems with this. The strap buttons are solid and I would definitely gig without a backup (even though this isn't a good idea!). The guitar is very dependable and all the hardware is super strong (the vibrato system is indestructable!). If you look after the paint then this guitar will last a VERY long time. The frets will probably outlive you!

You can't deal with Parker directly (you have to go through Korg). I had no problems dealing with them and they were very friendly and helpful. The cable jack was repaired and sent back to me in a week! I just wish that I could contact Parker directly!

I have been playing for about six years and I have played live several times. I also practise about two-four hours a day. Right now the Parker is my only guitar and I use it with a Peavey Ultra Plus stack. I think that the Parker Fly is the best designed guitar ever produced. Ken PArker thought of EVERYTHING when he designed this guitar! Every part of the guitar had to be redesigned. The vibrato system is simply the best. I love the feel of guitars equipped with Floyd Roses (they always seem to have thin necks etc.) but the Floyd Rose is a REAL pain in the ass if a string breaks or you need to change the tuning. The PArker's vibrato system is an absolute godsend. You can completely lock it out like a hardtail, make it only move one way (like a strats vibrato) or have it freefloating (like a Floyd). If you are in the floating mode and a string breaks you can flick the switch on the back of the guitar and your guitar will be back in tune! Also the vibrato is extremely smooth and can be set (internally) to change its feel (very easy to do and the instructions tell you how to do so). Detuning is a snap too, all you have to do is lock out the vibrato and there are no problems. The sounds are awesome, the neck is a perfect shape, the guitar is super light and versatile, the design is unreal (very ergonomic) and I could go on for ever about its features. The guitar also seems to stay whereever you put it when you are standing up! I would definitely buy this again if something happened to mine. Although this is the perfect guitar for me there are some downers:
1) All the parts are custom made (except the tuners) and appear to be very expensive. Also if Parker ever went out of business Parker owners would be screwed! 2) The upper horn tends to jab you in the ribs when you are sitting down. 3) My strings break where they wrap around the ball (I've never had this happen before). 4) You can't change the pick-ups because they are screwed directly into the body by their pole pieces. Fortunately you probably wouldn't want to change them because they are designed specially for this guitar. 5) Doing any modifications to the electronics would be tricky because there are NO wires connecting the pots etc. together. A braided type of cable is used instead of standard wires! 6)There are no coil splitters! 7) If you need to have the frets repaired you need to send it back to the factory (although the frets will last a very long time!). 8) The guitar needs a fresh battery to work even though the electric sounds are a passive circuit. Fortunately the batteries last a very long time and there is an LED indicator.
Having said all this negative stuff I would still give this guitar an overall rating of ten. I have always been disapointed with every guitar I've bought. They all seemed to have some real design flaws. Ken Parker has tried very hard to correct previous designs and he has suceeded! I have not become sick of this guitar and it is simply a joy to play and a marvel to look at. It is expensive but your money is better put towards this guitar (for all the research and development) than towards a guitar that has the same design as it did forty years ago. Most of the complaints I've heard basically revolve on the fact that this instrument is so untraditional. I've heard people complain that it is too light *sigh* and that it doesn't feel real enough! These complaints are made by people who are still stuck in the 60's type of equipment mentality. Ken deserves a round of applause for getting off his ass, breaking barriers down and making an instrument that is completely modern yet so usable. Bravo!

Mine is a 1995 Antique Gold finish with P/H/H. The features are pretty well described in the other reviews. It has a huge tonal palette: humbuckers 3-position including an in-between sound with the inner coils that approximates a strat tone fairly well, blended Piezo and humbuckers, and the Piezo's alone. I would have opted for a NiteFly over the Deluxe if I could have traded in on one as I think the Single coils and Piezo's would've been more to my taste. However, I could not turn this down with the trade I made. I am not a big fan of the Piezo's as I think their accoustic tone is marginal at best and at worst quacky and tinny. I give it an 8 because I don't think the Piezo system is worth paying for.

I play mostly jazz/blues music through a Fender Deluxe and a Line6 Flextone. As I said, the Piezo's are kind of quacky so I use them mainly to mix with the humbuckers or not at all. I want to reiterate what another reviewer said about the Dimarzio humbuckers: they are not fat and mellow like my Gibson Les Pauls '57's. They are very high output with a lot of midrange. I find myself backing way down on the tone knob and cutting the highs on the Fender Deluxe to get a pleasing jazzy or blues tone. My guess is that these humbuckers would be fantastic through a Marshall or in high gain settings - I don't really go there. The inner coil setting is cool but the output drops significantly when switching from a full humbucker setting so you have to be on your toes when playing live and switching. That said, I am quite pleased with the range of tones available and have a lot of FUN playing with the combinations of tones. If I wanted a Strat or a Les Paul I would have bought one right? Even though the tones on the PRS's I was comparing this with were more familiar and instantly pleasing to me, I opted for this guitar because it IS different and a hell of a lot of fun!

This is a used guitar and about three years old. The action was a little low for me but it was really easy to adjust. One of the best features of this guitar is the fact that you can really customize it and the quality of the parts and engineering is top-notch. The antique gold finish has worn well with only a few small paint flakes coming off where the neck is attached to the body (looks like the paint doesn't stick too well to whatever compound they use). The neck is absolutely a dream to play. It is easily the fastest neck I have played (over SG's, PRS',etc). The neck makes the guitar for me. I paid for the neck, carbon whatever, and jumbo frets and all despite the Piezo's. The thoughfulness, engineering, and quality parts of this guitar make it a 10!

The guitar's fretboard will likely outlast me, and I have no worries whatsoever about the durability of this space-age Carbon whatever axe. It is a real back-saver compared to playing my Les Telephone Pole, er, Les Paul...Only signs of wear are the paint flakes I mentioned and the fact that it is too pointy! I mean that it is too easy to bang-up the headstock and other protrusions. I guarantee I'm going to add my share of dingers to this guitar...Also don't like the idea of batteries in this thing.

No need for support as yet, but based on the wonderfully written manual provided with it I would guess that they really care at Parker.

If you are looking for a humbucker-equipped guitar with a range of really warm and familiar tones I think you should save your money and look elsewhere. However, the wonderfully playable neck may make you want it anyway as it did me. There is no way I would have spent the money on the quacky Piezo system if I didn't have a great trade-in to make it more affordable. Because I didn't have a huge cash outlay I am really happy to have this guitar. However, I would definitely look elsewhere for a better value (for my needs that is) if I had to buy a guitar outright. It's a lot of fun, but too expensive for my amateur playing. I might consider a NiteFly to get the wonderful neck and save about $750.

1994 (I think) Deluxe Vibrato, black, 24 frets. Pretty much the standard; 2 DiMarzio humbuckers + piezo pickups. Active electronics <Whee! major battery drain alert> People have already described the guitar so I won't repeat what has been said. Plus saying something like "double cutaways" would be pretty useless when it comes to describing the Fly's shape. Came with a sweeeet gig bag that everyone seems to want to sleep in, it's that plush. It's not perfect, but I nitpick and all my ratings are done by comparison to other guitars, so I'll give it a ten anyway. Ha.

I really couldn't think of any style of music you couldn't use this guitar for. I play a wide variety of things, including rock, jazz, and classical, and the nice thing about the Fly's acoustic tone is that.. well.. It's so charming I still haven't gotten around to buying an acoustic yet. I don't play tunes which consist solely of strummed chords, really, but I don't see why the Fly wouldn't sound good there. It's nice for a cutting sound - clear and sweet as a bell, or sharp and biting . Is it noisy? Um, well, I thought the whole point of a guitar was to make noise. But if you mean background noise, I really don't notice any when it's just the guitar plugged straight into an amp . I'd say it had a bright sweet/sharp sound rather than a super fat tone; you get a hell of a lot of variety of sounds from it. Mellow. Cutting. Fat. Mellow. Cutting. Fat. Etc.. The stereo effect is pretty neat too, but I hardly use it <this might be because I don't have two amps in the same room>. But I have tried it out and it does sound like you're playing two guitars at once. Personally I use the piezos a lot; I mix them with the humbucker tones too, but never the humbuckers without the piezos. Why would you? The mixed tone is pretty unique and adds a nice flavour to the humbuckers. My only gripe is its lack of fatness. If you want a Les Paul-like sound then I guess you won't really appreciate the Fly's lack of it. It's a more "modern"-sounding instrument. Oh and that tremolo is nice. 9 for a lovely range of sounds.

The action. Was. And is. Beautiful. It plays like a dream. The neck is a nice shape and not too thin. No problems with any of the guitar's parts, nor the finish, when I first laid hands on it.

The Fly is a _lot_ more solid that it looks, Everything feels solid <ie you don't get that feeling that switches are going to fall off if you poke them too hard>. The finish is nice and tough, BUT! NEVER _EVER_ knock your headstock against anything; a friend knocked it against a piano (yes, piano) and a sizable chip fell off the corner of the headstock's tip, revealing the layer beneath. Nothing that black nail polish and some care wouldn't fix. As far as the polish elsewhere is concerned, it's good.. just the normal few scratches, and it still looks extremely impressive. I've taken it out a lot, small gigs and so on, and it's wonderful where staying in tune is concerned. Even when you're pushing the trem down to slack and up as far as you can. Plus, as I said earlier, it's remarkably solid. People look at it and get the impression it's going to snap in two or something, but when you hold it, you realise that's just an illusion. The top horn in particular, although looking rather vulnerable, is plenty tough enough to use as a handle if you really must . Strap buttons seem solid enough to me, I've never had a problem with them. I don't use straplocks <couldn't be bothered to get a strap with locks; instead I wind masking tape around the strap so that the slit is covered and there's _no_ way the strap will slip off the buttons. Strange but it works.> The only little niggle I have is that the paint on the Sperzels does chip off; however bear in mind it took two years for the first few chips to show and they're tiny. And never forget to keep a bunch of spare batteries around. This thing eats them like there's no tomorrow. Using rechargeables and playing approx. 6 hours a day, one battery lasts only a couple of days before the tone becomes muddy and that lovely high pitched descending squeal cuts through. Being paranoid, I put a fresh battery in before I have to play in front of anyone (:. Yeah, and that gig bag is nice and tough. It does a great job of protecting the guitar from some very hard knocks indeed <but why risk it?>. Because it feels so sturdy I'll give it a 9 <point deducted for finish/paint chipping>.

I've never had any problems with it in all the time I've had it for.

I've not been playing the guitar long, but I've played the violin since I was 3, so the jump from that instrument to guitar was pretty straightforward. Suffice to say I've been playing guitar for about... two years. Considering that most people are surprised when I tell them this, I can't be that bad I guess (;. I have it insured <a very good idea, considering the value of the thing> and there's no question... if anything happened to it I'd be right out there buying a new one. The feel of the Fly is incredible. It plays beautifully; when you hit a chord you can feel it resonate. The lightness is a real plus too, I'm small and playing a bass is a pretty damned wearisome experience. But I won't go on and on - just try the instrument for yourself! Low action speaks louder than words . I was considering a Brian Moore, but this guitar just blew me away. Not to mention it's one sexy beast and certainly never fails to draw attention. Anything else I wish it had? A built in fridge, wheels, money press... Okay, I would pick this guitar over and over and over and over again. NO regrets.

this guitar is great. it is the most versatile guitar i have played yet. the acoustic and electric sounds are both amazing. what is great is that you can also mix the two sounds to your own specifications in order to get the perfect tone. the body design is great too. this guitar has so much technology built into it, but it still looks simple and not overbuilt. also, the glass/carbon fiber coating over the body and the neck makes it a lot easier to play. it has two dimarzio pickups, a piezo pickup at the bridge, 24 frets, and it is the best sounding guitar i have heard. also being able to switch between a floating bridge and locked helps a lot.

this guitar suits any of my playing great. i used to play heavy metal, and now that i am playing jazz and funk, it still has a great tone. there is never any fret buzz because of the stainless steel frets. it is able to stand alone without having to run it through a rack of effects to get a great clean tone.

when i first bought the guitar the action was a little higher than i would have liked, but this was only because you get a better sound on the acoustic setting with higher action. other than that, everything was set up great out of the box.

i have only played three gigs wtih this so far, and it has been great throughout all of them. it looks very delicate, but don't smash it against the ground, and it will be fine. the finish stays on great because there is some kind of carbon/glass fiber coating over the whole thing. this guitar's great playability also makes it great for live performances.

i never had to talk to the company, so i don't know.

when i bought this guitar, i could have bought plenty of others for the price it costs. i compared it with prs, gibson, fender, and it beat them all. if you are thinking about not buying it for the price, it is definitely worth it.

1995 Parker Fly Deluxe with Vibrato in Purple made in the USA. My guitar is a standard Parker configuration model with P/H/H pickup configuration, poplar body with Parker's ultra thin composite cover. The guitar is incredibly well balanced to hold either standing or sitting and amazingly light, about 5 pounds. It has locking Sperzel tuners which even with the Vibrato do the best job of any guitar I have owned (about 15 now) at keeping in tune. Parker doesn't have any inlay work or fancy frills just incredible tone and versatility of sound. The piezeo's give incredible acoustic sounds and the humbuckers give an incredible fat tone when you want to get a bit heavier. The cable connector supports a stereo cable so that you can sepeate the humbuckers on one channel and the piezeo on the other channel... makes a great stereo sound... like two totally different guitars playing together.
The only problem I have had with the guitar is that I wanted to get a MIDI/Hex pickup. Since the guitar isn't a strat or les paul the aftermarket for it is non-existant. You can't buy after market hex pickups or options. The second related issue is that it is such a technically tight guitar and so beautiful in overall design and package even if I could have found and after market hex pickup for it I can't imaging how you could put another whole in it or that you would want to replace what was there. If you have to change the pickups, vibrato/tremolo, and mess with every other aspect of your guitar this may not be the instrument for you.

Incredibly diverse. The piezeo gives beautiful acoustic sounds. Even without a amplifier hooked to it you can here how acoustic this is.. The humbuckers have incredible rich fat full tone. I use it mainly in a very clean jazz or acoustic sound. I mainly use the piezeo and/or the humbucker closer to the neck for the tone I like. But when I need it I can get a great classic rock sound from it. The vibrato is easily adjustable and although it isn't my style you can get enough play up or down with it to do nice diver bumper type effects with it while still poping in tune.

Nice low action. Neck is wide enough that you can use a pick or play fingerstyle, which is how I play most of the time. The guitar was emaculate when I bought it. The finish flawless. You can't buy a fly with lots of inlays and fancy frills... it is built to play. It appears from the players perspective very simple, but in reality there is a great deal of technology in this guitar. The beauty is the technology is hidden from the musician and is there to serve you but never get in your way or distract you.

I have had my fly for two years. I haven't had any trouble with it. I love it so much, I have a second on order. It is very light but it seems to be very solidly built. I have banged it around a bit and the composite finish that gives the body its rigidiy appears extremely strong. The frets are made of steel and although my guitar gets played alot, there is almost no sign that they are wearing.

I have never called or needed support. As a matter of fact I wish I could figure out how to contact them, I can't seem to find the telephone number to call them... not for support but because I would like to see if could custom order by dream guitar... another fly with a hex pickup.

I could have bought almost any guitar when I bought the fly, I wasn't worried about price and I live near NYC so I have access to every brand and model you can think of. I initially bought it because I was traveling by air alot and wanted something small and light I could carry around with me. Initially I was thinking Steinberger (until I found out how much they weigh). However, after I bought the fly I started to find it was all I wanted to play... I stopped playing my other electic guitars (some very good ones) and weirder yet I found I didn't play my acoustics much any more either. Now I am a Parker fanatic. When I was trying to get a MIDI/VG-8 setup going I started looking around for another guitar to put a hex pickup in... I looked at Brian Moore MC1 guitars, Steinberger, top of the line Fender Strat's, Les Paul's, PRS, Tom Anderson, you name it. But the feel and playability of the Fly couldn't be beat and it can hold its own with the sound of any of these. The only reason that I don't give it a 10, is that the Fly Deluxe is not cheap (although it is competitive in price with the ones I just named) and many people probably will not feel comfortable spending that much. However, trust me, if you love your guitar and plan to have it for a while... it is worth paying a little bit more for a great guitar. This is a great guitar. From a collectors perspective, only time will tell if it will hold it value and become the next PRS.