Parker Guitars Fly Deluxe

'98 Fly Deluxe with Tremolo. I have never seen such a versatile guitar. 3 positions switch: Humbucker (i'll talk about them later)/2 singles in paralell/Humbucker. Piezo (sounds great!), etc...

I drive the parker into 2 preamps: a Pevey 5150 and a Mesa/Boogie Quad Premp. Then everything goes to a Digitech rack processor and back to the 5150's poweramp.
With a not-so-expensive setup I get 7 main sounds going from the cleanest fenderish sound of the quad to the high gain of the peavey.
I play prog metal (think in Dream Theater and Symphony X).
And now comes the interesting stuff:
THESE DIMARZIO PICKUPS SUCK!!!!
Ok, I had changed before the dimarzios from my old ibanez and put new seymour duncans on it and was impressed by the sound. Then I bought the parker and thought that it would also be good to change it's dimarzios.
I began to read some comments about it (some of them here in harmony-central). It seems to be a lot of mythology about it:

-Is the parker to thin for another pickups? No, it's not so thin,if someone tells you don't believe it. You can check it your own by removing one of the dimarzios (they are fixed to the body with two of the magnetic poles: the 2nd of the left raw and the 5th of the right) They are standard size.

-Would a standard pickup fit into a Parker Fly? Well, the body of the pickup will (I have only tried it with Seymour Duncan JBs, but I believe them to be standad size, so there should be no problem with other SDs). The problem are the mounting wings, they won't let the pickup get into your parker.

-How do I change them??? It's not easy at all, but if you think you are ready, just write me and I'll tell you. Basically you'll have to open both pickups and mount the seymour duncan into the base of the dimarzio.

-Would I get some significant improvement? Ok, it will, of course, depend on what pickups you mount. I did it with 2 JBs (I might change the one in the neck for a Jazz) and there was a big difference.
With Dimarzios it sounded OK, with Seymour Duncans it sounds great.

It is harder as it seems. I would never gig without backup, but if I had to I would trust this guitar. I have heard that it's not easy to get replacements for these guitars, but i have never had to.

No Idea

I just wanna complain about the price of these babies. Mine was relatively cheap cause I bought it second hand. But if you are gonna buy it new, you might consider buying another guitar, perhaps you can buy a cheaper one. On the other side, the new ones have a few impovements that made the even better than the older.

Read other reviews for detailed specs, I just want to add a short comment for people who are considering buying a (second hand) Parker.

I've owned a 1996 Parker Fly Deluxe. These older Parkers have a stereo/mono-switch and 4 rotary knobs. Though all these controls seem impressive and very useful at first, I found I hardly used the master volume, the on-the-fly tremelo spring strenght adjust and other features. Also the battery holder was somewhat clumsy, with flat head screws.

The newer versions have fewer knobs, a simpler battery holder and a voltage doubler, to extend battery life. I myself find all these changes to be improvements (except maybe for the removal of the piezo tone control).

I myself also think the DiMarzio humbuckers sound too thin to get a real nice, full, warm overdrive sound. They're ok for clean, but also lacking some warmth and low end in that field.

The new Fly Mojo has Seymour Duncans, which in my opinion have a much better sound.

Also mind, that replacing pickups on a Parker is easier said than done, since a Parker's body is too thin to fit regular pickups into. (A price to pay for light weight, I guess...)

All Parkers are well-made instruments, assembled with much care. Mind though, that the finish on the older models (such as my 1996 Deluxe) does chip rather more easily than than on the newer models.

Also, when buying a second hand Parker, check that the output jack is in a good condition. The jack is a known weakness of older Parkers and is often loose.

Parkers are very good guitars. But remember to check for flaws mentioned above and be sure to select the model with the right type of pickup and the right kind of wood, to match your taste of sound.

If you do, they won't fail you. Ever.

You already know the features of this guitar - light weight, presence, piezos, humbuckers, etc.
Also a lot of parts that are very special and therefore EXPENSIVE to replace!! You need the parker support to replace something. Sadly there`s no support from parker.

My Parker is damaged. I believe it`s a problem with the electronics. Don`t get any help from Parker. The piezo sounds ok. The humbuckers are thin and weak. Output is only 30% of a dimarzio-humbucker. Those dimarzio pickups are horrible. The sound is so thin, fizzy and so cold, it is so bad for real playing. You can`t play any rockstyle with these dimarzio humbuckers(from 1994), because they are very microphonic. The guitar sounds like shit!

The switches and knobs are in really inconvenient places. My guitar has stress cracks all over it (the guitar was played a lot). Volume pot is damaged. A lot of string buzz because of the nut (need replacement and service).

I`ve played this guitar the last 10 years. Now the guitar is damaged (electronics?). I need a new volumepot and a new saddle. That`s all. The only problem is, that I get no support from parker. No support=no reliability=bad rating

This is where I am REALLY dissapointed. There`s no support in my country...and Parker ... after 30 email still no answer. The Fly Deluxe is really expensive in Europe (streetprice about $3000. So it`s not a chinese crap for 100 bucks. But the support is like that. Parker sucks. The accurate word here is nonexistent.I live in Germany. Perhaps parker don`t like the old Europeans. I tried to call and sent many e-mails to Parker's web site, but those guys don't exist!! No signs of living entities there. VERY IMPORTANT: if you live outside the states, DO NOT, i repeat, DO NOT buy any of parker guitars!!!
BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID!!!

I`ve been playing for 30 years. I really like my parker, really. I`m one of the first parker owners in Europe. I`ve played the fly deluxe the last 10 years. Now it`s damaged and I don`t get any help. That`s the problem. I`m a pro musician. I do a lot of gigs, studiowork, TV-shows. I play Marshall amps, VHT, Mesa, Fender, GCX switching-system, Eventide effects, Strats, Gibsons and a Parker. Parker is the only one of them you don`t get any help/support.

Wine Red Parker fly deluxe. Thin neck, 24 fret. Solid carbon fiber. Locking tuners. Dimarzio pickups. Stereo features built in. Needs a 9v battery. Hard case

VERY clean sound on my Mesa Boogie Subway rocket. My Les Paul Studio creates a lot of buzzing noise, This Fly Deluxe does not create much back ground buzzing. I suppose it's pickups are higher quality.

Very bright country style sound. And very reserved gainy sound. I wish it sounded more heavy and less airy. But that is what my Gibson is for. It might just be my amp though.

Major Down side is ergonomics. The back of the guitar is not made to rest on a human body. There are sharp edges that poke into your abdomin. The guitar is solid carbon fiber formula one race car material. Assembly is fine. I rarely have to tune this guitar for some reason.

Another bad thing is the position and sensitivity of the master volume control. When strumming the volume control is so close to the strings you usually accidently adjust or turn off the volume. It is also very light in turning action, I wish it would require more torque to turn the volume knob and was positioned away from the strumming action.

Mechanically Durable guitar. Just uncomfortable design. The paint in back has been scratched because of the button on my jeans.

23 yrs old. playing since age 15. Not that good. If I were in a band i'd just be a rythm player. I regret buying this guitar. It's so uncomfortable playing sitting down because the upper crescent that mounts the strap is always jabbing me in the sternum. This is an ergonomic nightmare. I rarely play this guitar because it cost too much compared to my Les Paul Studio at $700. And it lacks the soul of a solid wood guitar made in america. I should have bought a Strat or Ibanez.

You already know the features of this guitar - light weight, presence, piezos, humbuckers, etc.

Also lots of parts that are proprietaryu and therefore EXPENSIVE to replace!!

The sounds are great! I've heard better, but with a little tweaking I can get the sound I want. I use the neck pickup for rhythm, and dial in some piezo to cut through for leads. I make use of the piezo volume to control tone without controlling volume - requires a calibration of the piezo gain via a pot in the back of the guitar.

I bought the guitar used so I cannot say - but I can say that the intonation is reliable as a rock, and the guitar is consistently ready to play out of the case even after a week or two.

The only negative is that sometimes the high E gets caught around the pickups, but I lowered the pickups a little (which also made the sound more to my liking) and - problem solved!

Very reliable, except for a couple of details:

1) the plastic switch which locks the trem tends to rub up against my bely when I play, releasing the trem into floating position. I have to flip the guitar and reseat the switch in order to bring it back in tune. I have since solved this problem by sliding the corrugated edge of the lever past the window on the plastic guard, making it unaccessible without a screwdriver or without removing the guitar's back cover. Of course I only use the trem in 'pull down' mode.

2) The switches and knobs are in really inconvenient places...I end up changing the volume inadvertently when changing pickups, for example. I have also added a small switch to defeat the battery so I casn leave the guitar plugged in during breaks or between songs - I also have pedal steel and keyboard duties that leavethe guitar unattended for an hour at a time during a gig.

I do, however, use it without a backup because it has been so reliable over 3 years... but only when I am short on trunk room :)

This is where I am REALLY pissed.

My output jack has too much play in it and cuts out now that the drummer caught my looped cord with a stand one night. Pulled the cord loop sideways, bending the contacts inside the sealed jack unit.

I have searched all over on line to find a substitute for the jack, as Parker/Stewmac only offer what is called a 'Flex B' circuit which prices at $103.00!!!

Bottom line: to replace the jack, I have to replace the piezo switch, a potentiometer, the jack, and the wiring between these items. The assembly only is available. Isn't that ridiculous?

And, to top matters off, in order to remove the jack I need to purchase a tool to remove the bushing which holds the jack on the guitar - no hex nut here!

I will spend the money, but buyer beware! It's like a Mercedes - if ya wanna own the hardware you gotta pay extra to keep it working.

$103 (plus $26.00 to get it to my door before the next gig) is insane!

Obvioyusly this is not a warranty issue.

Feels good after 4 hour gig to play a 3 lb guitar.

Too expensive to maintain at $103 for a friggin JACK for christ's sake!

Sounds are excellent! The guitar rocks (when the plug is seated right)

Did I mention the output jack?

I think you know all the spec. mine is black with a thinner neck, is an early prodution,simple cann't ask for more from one guitar.

Ok, it is what I'm went to talk about, I trade in my 92's les paul standard for this Parker fly, I love my Paul, it sound so sweet to play alone, but every time I play with a full band ( other guitar, bass, drum, keyboard, vocal), the Les Paul just lost in the mix, of course I can turn up the treble or mid, but then it lost it's sweet sound. when I get my Parker fly, the problem gone, this guitar keep me happly about 2 years. The more I play, the more I hate it, this guitar simple get no tone! if you only play nu-metal, this is the one for you, this guy cann't even play a good metal solo, the sound is so thin, so cold, it is so bad for my blues playing.

I live in Calgary, Canada, all my other guitar must get a pro set up every one or two years, but never this Parker, I never fix or adjust anything on it, full point.

The only reason that I still keep this guitar is because it's reliability, I bring it out on every gig, it never let me down, it do break a E string once, but I can charge it on the fly, it is no folyde rose here, it always in tune, it can cut all the sound like a Telecaster.

never need them, and they get a helpfull site anyway.

I been playing for 15 years, my other guitar are Gibson es335, 2002 Gibson Les Paul standard, Gibson SG 61's, Orville Les Paul custom w/ EMGs, Fender floyd rose classic strat, James burton tele, Ernie ball Axis super sport, some acoustic, mesa nomad55 head, 4 12 mesa cab, G-major for effect, so you can see the taste of my music is all about tone! I do recommend this guitar for beginner or people don't care about tone,because it is so playable, trouble free and looks good.

Poplar body with basswood neck
Parker cast aluminum vibrato bridge with stainless steel saddles
Composite fretboard
Graphtech nut
Sperzel locking tuners
Two Custom DiMarzio humbuckers
Six-element Fishman piezo system
Master volume, mag volume, mag tone, and piezo volume/tone knobs
Three-way mag selector switch
Custom designed Fishman active circuit pre-amp
Split stereo or summed mono operation

The guitar is made in 2003 and the colour is a really nice ice-blue. It is a thru-neck guitar and it's really really light weight. The body's very thin and comfortable.
It came with a deluxe Levy's softcase, tension plate for 10s (came with 9s and I'm happy with them.), handbook and a stereo cable.

I play rock, some metal, blues and jazz. It suits me well. I'm using it with a cheap Marhsall amp and a Gt 6. The guitar's very quiet. I like it how the lower end is not muddy unlike my les paul.
The piezo is convenient when jamming since I don't use a lot of acoutsic guitar, only once in awhile.

The guitar's set up very well and it's still fine after flying with me on the plane in the overhead cabin. The neck and body are nice and smooth. There's a little paint imperfection on the neck but it's not much of an issue.
It stays in tune well and pickup selector's quiet.

I haven't played live with it yet. It feels a bit fragile because it's so light but it should last since it feels pretty solid.

I've been playing for a few years and I also own a Gibson Les Paul Gothic and Epiphone Supernova. If it were stolen/lost, I'll try and find one again (I bought the last one the shop bought in) but I don't know if I can afford another one!
I love the light weight and in particular the smoth neck of the guitar. It's the best feature of the guitar IMO. I also like the way teh volume knob is close to the strings. I have short fingers and I can't manage to use the knob when I pick on my lp.
I compared it with Carvin guitars (DC series with piezo) but I ended ip choosing Parker even though it costs almost twice of the Carvins I was looking at because it feels so good to play. I also looked into Musicman Silhoutte but the thru-neck of Parker feels better (and the guitar looks better to me.)
I wish it came with a hardcase. My lp costs just a bit more than half of this one and it came with a hardcase.

This Fly Deluxe was made in 1994 (according to the serial number). The controls are very versatile and allow many different sounds to be dialed in. I bought it used a year and a half ago.

I am playing mostly pop, jazz and fusion music and I can find all the necessary sounds there, and more. The combination of the magnetic and piezo pickups are fantastic. I am using Mesa/Boogie amps with it, and I find the guitar to be very quiet, without any noise.

The basic sound of the guitar is quite bright and allows you to cut through the mix. However, playing with the controls gives you good darker and deeper sounds as well. However, it takes time to find the best combinations and get yourself adjusted to the controls. Don't expect to find the best sounds right away. The guitar is a bit like the Mesa/Boogie amps; they have to be tweaked with patience to get to the best sounds, but the guitar is definitely worth the time and patience. The basic sound is balanced and accurate, and works very well with effected sounds without turning muddy. The guitar sounds good of course without effects, as well.

I bought the guitar used, but it was still in nearly perfect condition, almost like new despite it's age. Only scratches in the finish told that it had been played a lot.

I find the guitar very dependable.

I haven't dealt with Parker directly. The rating is because of the lack of the support in my own country.

I have been playing and doing gigs for about ten years, and I have owned several high quality guitars. The only negative thing about the guitar that I can come up with is that you have to order different springs to change the string gauge. It's not very easy to get replacements for a guitar that is rare in Europe.

As with all parker flys this was made in the US.Mine was made in 1996 though i bought it used a year ago.Th body ispoplar with a basswood neck and carbon/epoxy fingerboard.Mine is jet black with all the basic parker features:locking tuners piezo system and a vibrato bridge.

I play extreme metal.I run it into my digitech 2101 preamp which goes into a qsc poweramp then into a set of two peavey 4x12 cabinets.In comparison to my jackson rhoads (dimarzio X2n in the bridge and a dimarzio Evolution in the neck)It's obviously much more quiet.No unpleasant hums from the guitar itsself.There's no complaint about the pickups except that they don't have very high output, so unless you've got an amp with some balls you should think about changing them.The overall tone of the guitar is very good for leads.It's got a nice smooth sound.The pickups have more of a mid range which fattens the tone so your leads won't cause people bloody ears.

Well i bought it used and it was in mint condition(still is).No adjustments were madeit was perfect when i got it and it hasn't had a setup in a year and it's perfectly fine.I'm 100% pleased with this guitar.

I've used it contless times and it's absolutely reliable never once hasit given me problems.The guitar plays and functions as if it were new.You don't need a backup with this guitar.

Never needed to contact them, a ten in my book.

I've been playing for nearly 4 yrs now and out of all the high end guitars i've played this is by far the best.It's got a lightning fast neck and access to the higher frets is easy.The frets themselves are super thin and will almost never wear out like on other guitars.The body is ultra light.I'm sure when I put the better parker fly pickups in this guitar it'll be perfect in every aspect.I have no desire to purchase a guitar from another company again(except maybe a carvin 7string because parker doesn't make them:( )

What more could you ask for in a guitar?!? 24 frets, a piezo that can be mixed with the magnetic pickups, a remolo that stays in tune really well and can also be used as a fixed bridge, locking tuners and more. You can read other reviews too for features, but this pretty much sums it up.

Well, this is important to all people who own a guitar. SOUND is the key. I bought my Parker in December of '02 and I had it for a while and started to play it a little more. I loved the guitars playability, but something was wrong. THE SOUND!! GAHH, I was so pissed off. The guitar sounded like shit! The pickups were so tinny, had no balls, low end, not enough output and they plain sucked. The tone sucked from the guitar. Spending like 2 grand on this guitar, it shouldn't sound bad! The piezo sounded great, but the magnetic pickups, no. Ok, heres the deal. I got my guitar modified. Now because of the modification, this is the most amazing sounding guitar, quite possibly the best sounding guitar I've ever used in my life!!! I had a parker made in '98. All the Parkers made before some time in '99 have the older dimarzio pickups which are horrible. The newer dimarzio's arent too much better though. I didn't get new dimarzio's like all the other people. I got something else. SEYMOUR DUNCAN!! Ok, what you should do, if you love your Parker and want an amazing sound from it is contact Ed Roman (www.edroman.com). Ed Roman's shops are the only one's who have the qualifications to do this pickup modification. It costs 239 dollars. The old pickups are replaced by these special seymour duncan black back pickups which are the only pickups seymour duncan makes that I know of that can fit in the guitar correctly. These pickups also are the best pickups seymour duncan makes, they have the highest frequency response so the pickups "hear" more sounds than normal ones and have very very high clarity and an awesome tone. The bridge pickup has a great amount of output, a rich, full, creamy and fat sound and the neck pickup is warm, smooth and just so nice sounding. This pickup mod is what makes the guitar. It sounds literally 10 times better after the mod if not more. Before the mod, I give it a 5, now with it, I give it a 10. The guitar overall gets a little hum because its so thin. I play metal, classic rock, progressive, punk, hard rock, ska, and just about everything. This guitar is extremely versatile and is great for all types of music. I love everything about my guitar now.

The guitar was set up perfectly from the factory, the action was amazing, It was even in tune practically even though I bought it 4 years after it was made!! The pickups were a great height, but they sucked so I got rid of them. The guitar was flawless!! NO scratches, dents, dings, or anything. Everything was perfect rigth outta the box. Personally, I hate gague 9 strings. I use 10's on the guitar which make it a lot chunkier sounding I think, it just is better for detuning and gives more control over the guitar.

This guitar is built like a rock! I dropped it once when I was polishing the neck on my bed. The guitar was upright and slammed into my bedpost because my hand slipped so I actually pushed in into the post. I thought the guitar was done for, and this is no exaggeration, NOT ONE SCRATCH CHIP OR DENT in the guitar. I was amazed. Ive banged the guitar into a thing or two, its very study and built well. The finish is amazing and won't wear off, it retains its shine and is a real pleasant color. I would gig without a backup anyday. I've never broken a string on it, the light weight of the guitar keeps it from pulling on the strap too much and the strap pins are rock solid and the strap has never fallen off.

I called the company before. I asked a few questions and they are very dependible. The sent me all the info I requested and gave me options on my pickup problem. They were very open to advice and were nice people.

I love this guitar, its different, has an awesome design, looks great on stage and sounds awesome. I wish the seymour duncan pickups came standard, then more people would know how great Parkers are and would want to buy them. Anyone who was turned off by a Parker, you should try to find one with the pickup mod. Go to www.edroman.com to see his two store locations. There's one in Las Vegas, Nevada and the other is in New Fairfield, Connecticut. Im not a rep from either of those companys which it may seem, haha, I'm just a really satisfied customer. I consider Parker, out of everything I've played, the best. Its original which is important and it is just so much better than everything else I've played. I've played 6 grand les pauls, really old and expensive fenders, jacksons, explorers (which I personally like, even though I dislike gibson because they've gotten cheap and slacked off on the quality of their products) PRS guitars which are all machine made unless your buying a 20 thousand dollar custom shop model (PRS has also slacked off and produce products that aren;t has high quality as they were years ago). Don't think this review is to put off gibson or PRS, if I thought their guitars were great, I'd say so. A good match with this guitar, is a Mesa/Boogie. It really brings out the tone of the guitar, since its not digital, but all tube. Parker makes a great guitar, try one.