Parker Guitars Fly Deluxe

Standard Fly Deluxe...Blue. Piezo and Magnetic pickups.

Sound is good...sounds 'New'. I'm so damned sick of everyone looking for a Fucking Fender Reissue or some crap that was built in 1960...this is the 21st century...this guitar sounds like it.

However, this guitar is actually too light...so banging on a heavy chord will make the guitar shake/resonate some.

I'm using this with a Line 6 head and cabinet.

Sound is very sterile...which is what I was looking for...sterile clean sound to effects and pedals (build your sound here) then reinforce with amp.

Action is good..pickup selector is a tad noisy...I love the neck though....so smooth.

The Tremolo is the biggest piece of crap one could ever build. Unfortunately, mr. parker thought he knew something about this...but should have just purchased a nice tremolo/whammy setup from an established maker. This guitar WILL NOT (UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES) stay in tune with frequent, even periodic use of the tremolo. What do you expect from a piece of plastic crap mounted on a swivel and butted up against a very non-linear spring. Don't set your hand on the plastic bridge swivel or the notes will come in and out of tune as you play...which is shitty for people like me who play HEAVY with a lot of palm muting. I forgot about the tremolo all together...called the factory and ordered their hardest spring..crammed the swivel bridge up against the hard stop (which is also plastic crap) and then tightened the hell out of it. Now it is pretty still.

Good finish....light guitar is good for long gigs. Would never use any guitar without a backup...including this one.

I give this a 7 overall....I can't stand seeing plastic shit (namely the tremolo/bridge setup) on expensive guitars. I actually purchased a Godin LGX-SA recently...hoping to move this to my primary and the Fly to my secondary. The Godin has much more high end...which is good. It is much heavier though.

I bought this guitar in Jan. 2000. Dual Humbuckers, tremolo and piezo out. Master volume, magnetic volume and tone, piezo volume and tone. 2 toggles, front/both/rear pickup selecter and magnetic/blend/piezo selector. Sperzel locking tuners. The bridge is extremely versitle. Instead of conventional springs, the tremolo uses a flexible flat spring. The bridge can be locked(great for gigging because when you break a string it doesn't throw the rest of the strings out of tune) or floating with the flip of a switch. The body is very contoured and feels great to play while standing(when playing in a seated position the upper horn tends to poke you). My dealer gave my a choice of a hardshell case or a gigbag. The hardshell case was well built, but I opted for the bag(This thing is PLUSH!!) By the way it is heather gray(think silver) not the bag, the guitar.

This is a chameleon. It can do anything. I play in a cover band averaging about 3 nights a week. The music goes from modern rock, top 40, zydeco, oldies, country and jazz. This guitar can handle all of this with no problem. I play through a Fender DeVille 212 or a Peavey Delta blues 115. People seem to thinks this is a guitar designed for rock/metal, but I beg To differ. For the most part I use the neck pickup for rhythm work. It gets a very round, clean sound but not to thick(i.e. Les Paul) It cuts through the mix without being too harsh. When both pickups are activated, they are coil tapped and BOOM you get your out of phase strat sound. There are 2 problems with this: a significant decrease in volume and it sounds a bit thin. I play steal gutiar licks using artifical harmonics and I have a tough time getting the volume I need without reaching back to my amp.The bridge pickup is great. With a little compression and some chicken pickin' it sounds damn close to a Tele, but with the right distortion it screams. The piezo is wonderful. There is in internal presence control inside the cavity of the guitar. It's preset from the factory( you can change it but it sounds great to me). The guitar has one output jack but it includes a high quality stereo cable used to split the signal if you wish to do so. And It has a 90 degree plug YES!! I send the piezo out to the console via a Behringer active DI. No need to go out and buy a fancy acoustic DI box the tone controls an the guitar work just fine. It gives off a rich full acoustic sound. REMEMBER its still just a piezo, not a Tayler. With a little tweaking at the console, Its pretty damn close.

Plays great Flat fingerboard no fret markers on the fingerboard but you'll get used to that. Super lightweight( I think it weighs 4 or 5 lbs). I've had this guitar for 10 monthes I have a few chips on the lower body, near the output jack and battery compartment and only tip of the headstock. Otherwise the finish is great.As far as the overall look of the guitar... well lets just say it turns heads. The first couple monthes I had it I couldn't get off stage at break ithout someone asking me about this guitar. Chics dig it!

I've have for ten monthes and have played it over 100 gigs, so for flawless. I gig without a backup. If i ever break a string, it can be changed and brought to pitch in about a minute. Just keep plenty of 9volt batteries around. I wish it had Schaller strap locks.. oh well.

Great owner's manual.

I.ve been gigging for 14 years. 10 of those years were played with a Fender Stratocaster. My Strat feels like a log Compared to the Fly. I love this guitar. I'd buy another if we ever parted ways. I really can't compare it to any other guitars becase it can come close to them all. If you gig alot and need a versitle instrument The Parker Fly is definitly worth a look. It pretty much kicks ass.

1999 Model
Other folks have gone into plenty of details about the features.

I use a Johnson Millenium 150 2x12 combo with a 2x12 extension cab. I play heavy rock (think Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam).

The first thing I did when I got it to my rehearsal space was plug it in and call up my typical "heavy guitar" patch. I almost cried - it sounded HUGE. Of the 8 (yes 8) guitars I own NONE of them come close to sounding so huge and creamy. Very tight, full, bottom end. Not at all mushy or "smeary" - each note was articulate and even on an extreme gain setting full chords sound clear and smooth.

Switching to a clean patch, it was a wee bit thinner than I expected - but not bad by any means. I figured I would dial in a bit of the piezo pickup - WOW. The ability to mix the piezo and magnetic pickups is COOL. I got a great, full, lush clean sound that I had never gotten out of an electric guitar before. Beautiful.

The piezo alone through the amp was nothing to get excited about - decent, but not stellar. I took the manuals advice and tried running it direct into the PA in our space. Very nice, better than most true acoustic/electrics sound through a PA. I have heard better before, but not much better.

In my opinion one of the best, and most versatile, sounding guitars I have played.

Overall, the fit and finish was flawless - only one hard to detect thin spot on the back where you could see the texture of the carbon fiber through the paint.

The action was a wee high, so I lowered the bridge a hair, and it was really just perfect. Great feel, smooth as silk.

Flawless fretwork.

I LOVE the hardware - one of the most brilliant tremelo bridge designs I have seen - the ability to easily lock it donw, adjust the tension without popping off the cover and getting out a screwdriver. The way all of the screws, knobs and other misc. adjustment points all move smoothly without feeling to firm or loose or binding at all.

The hardware seems rather durable. I've only had it a short time, so reliability is tough to judge.

Some people have mentioned paint chipping issues and frets coming up. We'll see what happens - at least the fret issue seems less prevelent with newer models from what I have heard. The paint chipping may still be an issue, but I am pretty careful with my guitars so we'll see.

Aside from that, I don't see anything that is actually flimsy, or likely to break too easily. It's all very solid and precise feeling. Well engineered.

Had a quick question via email, got a reply within a few hours. Not bad at all.

No serious support, so I won't give a rating, but I liked that they actually respond to email.

Overall, a splendid peice of high-tech design and engineering. The first "new" design guitar that actually seems like an improvement over much of what has come before.

I like the looks, the sound, the feel, and the overall vibe. Techy without being at all sterile.

Worth every penny.

Black finish, 25.5" scale, poplar body, basswood neck. The carbon fiber fretboard is fantastic, and the stainless steel frets are smooth and fast. The body-to-neck joint is viewably non-existent. It weighs very little. Sperzel locking tuners, vibrato bridge with individual piezos, two Dimarzio humbuckers. The gigbag is very tough and thickly padded, but a case would have been nice. Everything is described in previos postings.

The piezo mixing is fantastic. I love this guitar's sound. It has a humbucker sound without getting muddy, though the single coil setting drops a noticable amount of volume and power. It would have been nice to have the switching set for both humbuckers as well, either series or parallel.

I have never played a neck that felt this easy to barre and move around on. I used to enjoy my Fender's playability, but the Parker is far better. The action is fantastic, and the built-in curve of the bridge matches the fingerboard curvature, so no individual height adjustments are necessary. I have not tried a heavier set of strings yet, so adjustments have not been attempted.

I think that the instrument is built solid, but the carbon/glass back may chip differently than a standard finished wood, so I am being extremely careful. The hardware feels very solid. I do not expect any problems.

N/A

This is a very innovative instrument. If you are a stickler for vintage designs and do not feel that anything new can replace the sounds of old, stay back from the Parkers. I have owned Gibsons, Fenders, Mosrites, and other old designs, but I kept wanting something different and more advanced. Most of those designs have not changed in 50 years. I wanted to move past the same old designs and try something newly engineered, and I have found the guitar for me. I would certainly get another one, but I would also be interested in finding out what other new technology is out there.

You know most of the features from previous entries. This model is the non-trem/fixed bridge unit. This model has more knobs and controls that I really care for, but they all are very functional. Came with a cheesy Gig-bag case. These things suck IMHO. So I bought a hardshell case for it.

Very wide range of tones available. I play all kinds of different music and do a lot of recording. This guitar is great when you need something a little different for tonal textures. This guitar is better for clean to medium gain tones. I have found that this guitar is not an ideal heavy metal guitar. Can tend to get muddy in the bottom-end when gained out too much. The acoustic/electric sounds are fantastic, but don't expect it to sound like a Martin. It does have a wide range of sounds that are not typicl of a traditional ax.

Action seemed a tad high from the factory. When lowered, it introduced some string buzz on the frets. But even though the action is a little bit higher than some of other fine guitars, this one plays like butter. Really. The first time you pick one of these up and play it, you will immediately notice how smooth the action is. Finish is a very nice black gloss. Noticed a couple of very minor imperfections in the finish, but you have to hold it in the light just right to notice. Overall, very good workmanship. The frets apparently are glued on the fretboard. I have heard of other people having fret delaminating problems. Mine seem to be holding up well. I have had this guitar for at least 4 years (It's hard to remember.) Had to replace the control knobs will the rubber kind (Knobease). I just like the feel of them better.

This guitar would be fine for giging. The finish seems a bit delicate though. I heard that the finish can chip rather than dent when bumped. I wouldn't really use it without a backup ax (Murphy's Law). You have to keep an eye on the battery. This thing can leave you screwed at a gig if your battery goes dead and you don't have a replacement. This true of any guitar with an active pickup system though.

Never had any problems with this guitar. Has always worked great. I e-mailed their product support about changing the pickups since they are not mounted like conventional pickups are. They e-mailed me back the next day with detailed instructions on how to remove the pickups. Seemed like very friendly, professional cutomer service. More companies should follow their example of superior service. Don't know how long the warranty is/was?

Do you really even care how long I have been playing? I own a bunch of other stuff: Fender US Strat, Carvin, Martin, Peavey bass, Taylor, Mesa Boogie Mark IV, Mesa cabs, and lots-o-recording gear. If it were stolen I would probably replace it. My tastes are constantly changing. I might look into something different like a PRS or Gibson to replace it. I love the light weight and action. This guitar gives you a different perspective when you play it. I think they ship them with real cases now days. Those gig bags are for Hondos, not a $1000 guitar!

The features of the parker deluxe, classic, and artisan guitars are all the best. No other guitar has the options that a parker fly can provide. Acustic and electric! Not only that, but you can mix between a strange tone on the electric and the acustic pickup and it souns like a different guitar. There are sooooooooo many things to do with this guitar. It also has a stereo outpu and special cable that comes with it. This way you can play acustic through one amp, and blazing distortion through the other. Not to mention the crisp active electronics. However, if you get a guitar like this, you must know what you're doing and the sound oyu want. You can't appreciate the parker deluxe or classic if you are not experienced with a band or something. If you're new, get the Night Fly.

I am a guy that would consider myself pretty manly. Because of this I narrowed my guitars down the Gibson Les Paul and the Parker Fly (two guitars with a serious case of elephantitas of the testicals). These guitars are powerful and let you expose the size of your cock. Sure the Les Paul has its moments with that classic look and a rich clean tone, but when you switch channels to the distorion on that Marshall Halfstack, the only way to go is a Parker. If you are a pro, it's nice to have one of each, otherwise, the better all purpose guitar would be a parker. Only women and fags play on a Fender, they were built too long ago and don't work well for new wave stuff. The Parker has great sharp distorted sounds, and the acustic sounds better than my friend's Guild electric/acustic, but the clean channel is blown away by the Les Paul (unles you have a Marshall 30th Anneversary edition amp).

THe way the parker is designed, the low e is always going to buzz. However, though it is anoying, it can be eased by raising the action on that side. Nevertheless, it will always buzz. You can't hear it when you're blasting the amp, but it's there. This sucks, but the action is pretty good. It has a neck like an Ibenez, but a little slimmer. Something doesn't feel right after playing a Gibson though. I've had better, but not on a guitar with tremlo system.

This is where the parker kills the Gibson. 4.5 pounds compared to 9.5, Hardware is awsome compared to hardware sucks and constantly breaks, tunners rule compared to tunners suck dick (I've replaced them three times on the Les Paul, Exoskelitan compared to paint that will chip in time. I baught it used though and it does have two cracks?!?

Don't Know, but they are Canadians, must be worth something. Gibson has a better warrenty program and covers thigs that aren't even under warrenty.

This guitar kicks ass if you can handle it. It gat balls and a great sound. Buy it for the features and if you want a short term guitar, don't get a parker fly because you will miss it. The look is a chick magnet, unless you're fat or own a station-wagon. This guitar=cool. I'm still waiting for that fly with one gibson rythem pickup though('57 classic).

24 frets, Dusty Black Finish, You Probally got the controll run down from others but here we go Master Volume, Magnetic PU Volume, Mag PU Tone, And Piezo Tone/Volume. Also a stero mono switch, a Magnetic pickup selector switch and a Magnetic/both/Piezo swich. Great locking tuners, Thin Neck-fast action, Parker Piezo Fishman Bridge.

If you are into KoRn and Coal Chamber or Techno THIS GUITAR IS YOUR BEST FRIEND EVER! But if you like grunge or classic metal (pre-load metallica or megadeth) THIS GUITAR IS YOUR FOE!!!!!!! I could not get a "heavy" Sound out of it to save my life. It all depends on your definition of heavey though, if it is verry trebbley high shred then this is very heavy. But if you are a classic metal guy like me this guitar is NANCY BOY! The Piezo is nice I mean what can you expect from a piezo if you want acoustic sounds MIC YOUR ACOUSTIC. I gave it a 4 becouse it does not even sound close to a $3000 guitar(its list price).

Ok but not worth the money! I mean if it cost $500 less I would give it a 10.

From What I heard these things either take it like a man and take it hard or the SPLIT IN HALF. REALLY!

I am a gear head I bet I have bought 5 hi end guitar in the past year, this was not a good deal at all. But if you have the money I would but it just to be diffrent..........or somthing.........

Bought in 98 for $1,500. Easy to play, comfortable.

The main reason I'm posting this is to let other Fly Deluxe owners know that the Dimarzio pickups recently (last year?) developed specifically for the Deluxe are a giant improvement. I stuck 'em in in a simple half hour operation. Much more even tone in the neck position and the volume doesn't fall out nearly as much in the middle position. A beef I have with the Fly is that you can't lower the pickups enough, but I removed the pad under the bridge pickup and it helped. I like to send a slightly less hot signal down the line as it is easier to control the level in the various stomp boxes before sending the signal to the amp. For live gigs the chain goes as follows: Guitar to MXR Dyna Comp (I use a 20 year old model with a battery replacement plate MXR used to make which plugs into a 4 input MXR power thing), Pro Co Rat (old, "vintage" style powered by the MXR thing), Menatone Red Snapper for lead boost (a GREAT low noise box for adding volume for leads and such), TC electronics chorus (rarely used these days), MXR micro amp (always on at it's lowest setting, this little thing puts the sparkle back into the tone after it's journey through all that wire), Amp. My main amp these days is a discontinued Marshall 60 watt EL34 tube combo model ATM60 with a Celestion 12. I use a Marshall 4 10" Celestion cabinet and bypass the 12.

The guitar was fine out of the box and even better when I read the manual regarding setting up the whammy bar spring tension.

I've played the heck out of the thing for a couple of years now and it's still Like new. Go figure.

Somebody at Korg or someplace told me about removing the pad under the pickup. Sorry I don't remember who.

I've been playing electric since 1966. I started on an Epiphone solidbody (mahogany double cutaway, nice neck) that you NEVER see anymore (sold mine in late 60's), played a 1959 or so Les Paul Special (soapbar pickups, etc.) for most of the 70s and switched to a 1975 Telecaster I bought new and had for a backup stage axe. Still have the Tele and have changed the pickups a few times as I like the Vintage style stacked humbucker Duncan makes. I use an Ibanez Strat for slide and a cheap lap steel also.

I wont go into all the features for I'm sure they've already been covered in other submissions. I'll simply comment on the ones that come to mind.
One of my favourite features is the tremolo system. It allows you set it to free-float (up and down), down only or locked. In addition, you can do this on the fly (pun unintended). Because the Sperzel tuners are doing all the work, there is no lock at the headstock. This takes away the pain of tuning and changing strings. During a practice session, my drummer was blown away because I was able to drop-D tune my guitar on the fly (there it is again) during one of his fills.
I love the ability to lock the guitar's trem. Not only does it almost insure that it stays in tune, but is great for bends and releases. Typically with my Ibanezes, if you really bend a string, it pulls the bridge a little forward and puts the rest of the strings slightly out of tune.
The light weight is a plus, but only makes up for the top horn jabbing you in the lower chest even while standing. Unfortunately that's the price you pay for its asthetic beauty.

Very versatile guitar. You can get many sounds out of this thing, especially when you include the piezo pickup. However, if you're looking to sonically immitate your favourite vintage guitars, dont waste your time. The output tends to be bright and crisp, thus probably not the guitar for everyone.
It was a tough choice for me as I listened to recordings of the Parker and my Ibanezes for days and found that my Ibanez definately had more warmth, bottom end and character. However, this defficiency is compensated by the ability to do quasi-electro-acoustic sounds. The sound from the magnetic pickups aren't bad, just different and will take time getting used to while the piezo sounds wonderful and shines brightly through almost any mix.

Beautiful finish and the action was great. The wider neck is a plus for me as I have big hands. The trem is a little higher than I would like but I suspect that it could be modified to fit. I've heard many state that it "plays like butter" but I haven't noticed such a huge difference compared with my Ibanezes.

Time will tell but I'm not too confident for a few reasons. First of all, I would hate to drop it (and I know it's going to happen at least once). From what I've heard, the body is pretty brittle and will scratch, dent and break easily. This is probably a result of the space-aged materials which composes the body. One thing great about my Ibanez collection is that they're releatively cheap, and sturdy so I could beat on them as much as I wanted without worrying about them breaking. If they did, they could be replaced or repaired. On the other hand, practically all the parts on the Parker are proprietary so repairs could be costly.
I don't like the idea of the battery. This is one of the things that initially turned me off of this guitar. Imagine, a guitar that requires a battery? Sounds more like a kid's toy than anything else. I dread the day that I run out of juice during a session and have to tell my audience: "hang on everyone, I have to change the battery in my guitar!". I'm sure if one's careful, this will be much less of a concern.
Although the durable stainless steel frets are a plus, for the price, I'm almost afraid to gig with it. At the moment, I cant afford a back up so this one will have to last. Subsequently, my friends and associates are going to be upset when I tell them I wont let them hold it unless they put down a $2000 deposit. For these reasons I'm giving it a 6 just for the potential problems. Of course if one is very protective of their axes, the risk can be minimalized.

I've never dealt with the company but I heard it's really good. Some stories involve Ken Parker himself calling the customer himself- WOW. On the negative side, they have a pretty obscure on-line presence. You'd think a guitar such as this would have a great web page but there isn't one to date. Do we go to Korg? Do we go to I-dea.com? Who knows. I hope I will never have to find the answer this question. I haven't even found a good user page. Perhaps I'll look into that myself.

I've been playing guitar for about 13 years and I seem to drift from style to style. Subsequently I require versatile guitar that is capable of many sounds. It was a tough choice giving up my Ibanezes for the Parker but the locking trem feature and the piezo won me over. The $3000 price tag is hefty, but considering it can take the place of several guitars it is almost a better way to go. I've decided to order one in "Heather Gray" which is quite beautiful.
In conclusion I would just like to say that this guitar isn't for everyone. Put simply, it an axe for innovators rather than immitators.

To be honest I'm not up on the specs. My Fly Deluxe is supposedly one of the oldest but it came with the standard setup. Other reviewers have gone into much detail and their reviews should tell you what you need to know about specs unless their guitars have been altered. The finish is black. When I bought it (used), I was impressed with the quality of the accessories. The fur-interior gig bag just kicks. The padding is awesome and the quality has stood up for the duration of this guitar's tour of duty (which is between 10-15 years now). It also came with a stereo cable and instructions. I bought this guitar because the first time I picked it up I literally couldn't put it down. It played like silk and it was a light as air. I HAD to have it and I've not for a second regretted buying it. The versatility of sound you get with the piezo and the ability to blend the piezo with the magnetics is outright incredible. I once heard someone say he stopped lugging around his whole guitar collection and took only a Parker. Once you play one of these, it's hard to imagine needed a vault of different guitars. Purists complain about the high-tech look, but I've always thought it's one of the most beautiful designs I've ever seen and people do come up to me after shows and compliment on the design. I've always wished that the piezo didn't need to function with a battery, because that is honestly the only thing I hate about this guitar; but that's not possible, so I'll just shut-up about that. The new colors that I've seen are really amazing, too (check out the Italian Plum-my dream guitar!!!)

My band calls our style "Alternative R&B", which basically is a mixture of r&b and rock. I tend to flip back and forth between playing rock distortion and clean funky stuff. I'm currently playing through a new 100W Marshall Valve amp and I'm using a Vox wah pedal and an Digitech RP-20 Valve FX unit.
There is absolutely no noise on any of the settings, and even switching is seamless. I also don't notice any "hotness" differences, though I do notice that switching into the neck position can sometimes produce some boomy undertones. The sound is fairly bright, something I've been struggling with, but haven't given up hope. I've been using .09s, which though I like the feel of them, I'm beginning to think is a mistake on the Fly. I'm going to experiment with heavier gauges to try to get a little more chunk going. The variety of sounds is endless. My favorite settings honestly have nothing to do with the music I play in my band. When I'm goofing off, I set up the mix so the piezo is almost all the way up and switch the magnetic into the neck position and balance them equally. I love this for a jazzy/bluesy tone and could play like that for hours. It's true that the piezo is an "approximation". Having played acoustic guitar for 10 years before picking up an electric, I have to honestly say the Parker comes close, but will never sound exactly the same. But I think the piezo is worth having in any case because of all the cool sounds you come up with when you can mix it. I don't usually use the stereo function pumped out of two different amps, but you can achieve some cool effects this way. I LOVE the versatility of the Parker. Wouldn't trade it. The only thing I dislike is that lately I've been struggling to get a little more warmth of it and it's been a little more difficult than with other guitars. But I'm willing to work with it for all the other features I get, so that tells you something. I'm only giving this an 8 because of the warmth factor, otherwise I think all the different sounds totally make up for it!!!

Action: awesome! Like butter. Why I bought it. It's clean, smooth and totally comfortable. I have small hands so it felt perfect for me. The frets are incredible and it ALWAYS feels good. I've never had the thing worked on and it still feels newly setup.

With my particular guitar I have had 3 minor problems: one of the frets has become a little loose on the high E string side which has caused that string to slip underneath it and get caught. I've noticed a couple other reviews that mentioned the same problem and this seems to happen because they are glued on, which makes sense. I'm going to re-glue it which is really no big deal, especially considering it's been played as long as it has. #2: One of the wires on the battery connector snapped, probably because I removed the cover long ago and have always just resorted to stuffing the battery back in and using the connector chords as a wedge to hold it in (DON"T DO THIS!). There's not a lot of room in the battery cavity for the chords so they eventually get pinched. I ended up needing to splice in a new connector which was no big deal, but makes you wonder a little during those gigs when you decide not to bring your backup, particularly since this guitar won't work at all without the battery (I don't like that and would change that aspect). #3: the finish is really not that durable. Mine has endured some intermediate chipping (which I've covered with nail polish), but you cannot even think about putting it down on something hard and if you happen to knock if over expect it to chip. I have found it to be fairly reliable, but am always a little nervous about the battery thing. At first you really need to get used to unplugging it to save battery life. Once you do the battery seems to last forever, but it does make me wonder sometimes. I've been gigging with it without a backup for 2 years with no problems, but don't know if I consider that to be the wisest choice in the world, no matter what guitar you play. As far as strap buttons go I have not found any other than good old-fashioned strap locks that are 100% non-slip. Since I don't have them I just got a really solid leather strap with tight strap holes and leave it on my guitar. I've never had any problems that way.

No warranty since I got it used, but never had any problems. I do have one anecdote that I think is kind of reassuring, though. Because of the chips in my finish, I'ver recently inquired about getting a new paint job. I called a guitar shop in Santa Monica and asked. The guy said he wasn't sure how complex the job would be on a Parker because they hadn't done one, but that he would ask Ken Parker who was going to be there next week and get back to me. I find it kind of re-assuring that the owner/creator of the company is actually around and about and people know who he is.

I've been playing for 23 years but didn't start playing electric until 5 years ago. I would definitely buy this guitar again if it were stolen. I would buy another one just to have around in a New York minute if I had the money to spare. I love that it's so versatile, light and originally designed. I don't like that it needs a battery. This is my main guitar and probably always will be. I get a lot of flack for it, particularly from rock/blues purists (most of whom don't play guitar or can't play for shit...) about it because it's not a strat, a tele, or a Les Paul. I usually tell them they can piss off because I spent $1000 for a guitar that gives me the sounds of 10 different guitars and a Tele or a Les Paul could never do that in anyone's wildest dreams. Combine that with FX and you have a palette of sound you just can't get anywhere else. If you are a player who cares about experimenting with sound this guitar is a dream.

Typical Fly Deluxe setup, gig bag included, Italian Plum (purple) finish. If you want to know about the features, find a Parker dealer and tyr one out... words don't do it justice.

I play Contemporary Christian in praise band at church and play classic rock and country for fun at home... Parker is the most versatile axe I've found. Three basic food groups, ES335 in the front bucker, Gibson les Paul in the bridge bucker and Fender Strat in the middle position with both buckers split, with careful EQ-ing you can get a Tele, the Piezos can achieve just about any acoustic sound you want if you've got a box that's versatile enough to color the sound.

The super fast neck combined with the graphite fret board and hardened stainless steel frets is the smoothest I've ever encountered. Playing is effortless. Am looking for solution to pick marks on body.

Seems like a workhorse so far... I traded everything but a cheap Les Paul copy to get this so I'm basically without a backup.

Never had to deal with them yet, but am going to run the pick mark problem by them see what they recommend.

I've been playing for over 20 years, nothing in public except for band at church so I consider myself a hobbyist. Have owned lots of guitars including a vintage Gretsch, but this totally redefined my idea of "guitar" when I picked it up. If it gets lost or stolen, you bet I'd take the insurance check and buy another one. Some day I'd love to have a flame top Classic but I'll never own anything but a Parker.

I got my Fly some time ago. It (from now she) was made in USA, in 1996. Italian plum (purple) perfect finish, 24 frets, one-piece Poplar body, Sperzel locking tuning machines, two DiMarzio , Fishman active-piezo bridge pickup, two 3-way switches, separate Volume and Tone controls, Body style? PARKER FLY STYLE!!! gig bag, manual, allen tools and special Y stereo cable included, is the best lady ever! want something else? She is as perfect as Lara Croft.

I play kind of pop-electronic-weird-something-rock kind of music, so she is the perfect match to my stratocaster. I'm using her with a digitech sgs-2112 and rocktron velocity 120 stereo power amp. No noise on any setting. She has a rich bright sound, so, if you are looking for a dark sound or you want your guitar behind your music, look for another guitar...
What kind of sounds can the guitar make? hard question... almost any sound can get out of this beauty, even a pretty decent strat sound... but here is where i disagree with everybody: Why buying a guitar to get "other guitar" sounds? If you want a Les Paul sound, buy a les Paul, If you want a strat sound, then BUY a stratocaster!!!! If you want a Parker Fly sound, then BUY A PARKER. She sounds just like a parker guitar! just a great sound. I'm in love yet!

she is most comfortable electric guitar I've ever played. Perfect action! She came perfectly adjusted from the factory, (the manual even says the brand and gauge of the strings used). I've read a lot about poor finish quality, but mine is just perfect

She (as all ladies) looks fragile, but she is not! she has this "ultra-thin exoskeleton" (can't remember where i read this!) , of course, smashing her against your amp or stage is not recommended. She seems to be made to last forever, of course, I've not had her forever yet, so, can't say... very dependable, but NEVER, NEVER, NEVER go to ANY gig without ANY backup (and I mean ANY: guitars, fx, rack, amp, roadie, etc!!!). you never know what could happen there.

I've never had to deal with them... little experience so far...

I've been playin for over 10 years now, and she is the best guitar i've ever played and had! If she were stolen, I probably could kill myself, because I can't afford another one, and she has become a critical part of my sound.... sound, that's the word that perfectly describes her: GREAT SOUND... She is a must have guitar, but as I always say: test first... She is not a guitar for everyone: if she has the sound, action, finish, look, feeling you're looking for, then buy one, if not, look for another guitar

See other reviews for major features of this guitar. I bought my guitar with the Hiscox Liteflite case which is a super-tough and lightweight case. My Fly is a mettalic-white finish which looks silver if you turn it in the light. Very beautiful finish!!! Combined with the black hardware and fretboard, this guitar looks great on stage. My particular Fly came with the vibrato, though I think that they sell a hard-tail version. The stereo/mono switch on the bottom is a nice touch. This is something that my Nitefly didn't have.

The pickups sound great on this guitar. The Dimarzio pickups seem mainly tailored to rock, but I think that jazz and blues sounds are possible if you tweak the amp controls. The bridge position sings for days. Lots of sustain. The body of this guitar is super-resonant. The neck pickup is fat and chunky. The middle pickup position is semi-strat-like for that "in-between" sound. The acoustic sound is decent, though it won't fool anyone. The acoustic sound makes this a very versatile guitar. You can combine the acoustic and electric sounds for some very full and innovative sounds. You'll be playing with this guitar for days. The sound is very inspiring and I found myself coming up with all sorts of new music right off the bat.

I special ordered this guitar because the store didn't have the color that I wanted. When it arrived from the factory, I immediately took delivery of it, and took it home. I was just so hypnotized by the beauty of this guitar, that I didn't pick it up and check it out in the store. When I got it home, I quicky realized that something was wrong. The paint on the back of the neck behind the second and third frets had not been buffed from the factory!! There was this horrible rough spot that went all the way around the back of the neck, and was about an inch thick! I began to play the guitar, thinking that I could live with this flaw. It didn't take long to realize that this wasn't the only flaw. As I began to play, I realized that all my notes were fretting out on the D and G strings above the 12th fret, but below the 18th fret. Close inspection revealed that the fret was not completely seated. Ugh! The only thing positive I can say is that the action and set-up from the factory was good and the action was very smooth.

Two days after buying this guitar, the Piezo pre-amp completely quit working. No problem, probably just a dead battery. WRONG! The piezo was dead. Nothing, notta, no dice. It died. I was furious. I have it back from the factory now, and it seems to be working ok, but honestly I don't trust it and wouldn't take it to a gig without taking my Godin LGX as a back... Well, maybe I'll take the Fly as a backup to the Godin LGX.

After the Piezo pre-amp blew out, I contacted Korg USA. They gave me a work order number and told me to ship it back to Parker. They told me that they would expidite the repair since I had just bought the guitar. Therefore, I boxed the guitar up and spent $100 sending it via FedEX overnight delivery. Then, I waited... and waited... and waited.... About three weeks later, I called Parker to see what was going on. They said that they would look into it and call me back. The next day, I got a phone call from KEN PARKER! No Joke! I talked to Ken for about 25 minutes. He's a great guy. He said that he would fix the guitar right up and get it right out to me. YEAH! Well.... I waited... and waited... and waited... Nothing ever showed up. I called Korg USA two weeks later, and they said that it didn't show to be completed. Right about now I'm about to lose my temper! I asked them to send me a new guitar. (This is ridiculous. You buy a new guitar for $1700, the thing is a lemon, and they take several weeks to fix it.) They said that they'd call the factory and see what was going on. I called the factory, too, and they said that they'd look into it and call me back. The next day I got a phone call from Parker that said that the guitar was shipped out yesterday. A few days later it actually arrived. The Piezo worked, the neck had been refinished, the guitar had a good set-up on it, and the notes didn't fret out at the 18th fret... much. It doesn't look like they replaced the fret. It looks like they just adjusted the set-up or something. The D and G strings still seem to be hitting something. When you pluck a note on any of the other strings, it sustains for days. Notes above the 12th fret on the D and G strings only sustain for a second or two. Not that big of a deal... but it's not right, and other Parker Flys don't seem to have this problem. I can live with it. Still, I'm highly reluctant to send it back because I doubt I'll see it again... for a long time. What this boils down to is, I bought a new guitar, it was a lemon, I sent it back for repair, they fixed two problems and only partially repaired the third problem. This is on a BRAND NEW $1700 GUITAR!

This guitar is a lot of fun to play and sounds good. Aside from the problems that I have, I really like it. If it was stolen or lost, I would definitely replace it. If you're looking at this guitar, check out the Godin LGX or LGXT, also. It's a cheaper guitar, has more features, and is a hell of a lot more realiable. I know because I own an LGX, also. The Fly is a very innovative guitar in it's design. It's pretty comfortable to play once you get used to how to hold it so the upper horn doesn't jab you in the sternum. My favorite feature of this guitar is the action, and the smoothness of the tremelo. I also like the piezo pickup. The switching and controls on this guitar are a little odd and the magnetic pickp selector is poorly placed. You tend to turn the tone knob when you go to switch pickups. Overall, if you're looking for an innovative guitar that sounds good, plays great, and has lots of features, this may be the guitar for you. I think I'd buy it again, even though I had a lot of problems with it. That's saying a LOT!

Made in the USA, 24 frets (!) non-tremolo version, with all the kickass features all the other submissions describe.... Basswood neck and poplar body, carbon-fiber-and-glass-composite fretboard, and mine is a gorgeous steely metallic dark gray... more controls than you could imagine, reigning over a pair if Dimarzio buckers and fishman piezo bridge guys.... sperzel locking tuners are the only things on this guitar that AREN'T custom-designed for the Fly. Came with a deluxe furry-interiored gigbag, but my salesman forgot the cable and wrenches and other nifty shit that's supposed to be included. Still have to harass him about that.
The only thing i truly wish for is a seven-string version. I'm going to ask Parker about that.

good GOD this thing is unbelievable! I run this thing thru a couple distortions, chorus, and delay for the most part... all pedal effects, i haven't found a digital multiboard that i like enough yet.... She's really bright and the piezo sounds are crisp and shimmery, although if you want a dark sound just hit the neck humbucker and roll down the tone, round fat city!!! My style is all original darkwave/industrial/ethereal, we've got a female singer who has a very round, full voice, and this is the only guitar i've owned that really complements her well enough, and the last gig we played had the opening band saying "what the hell kind of guitar IS that anyway, man?" after a song which i played thru just the piezos. Sounded just like the acoustic I recorded the studio version with. Cool. It's NOT a guitar for everybody, i doubt my dad would like it, for example, cause he's a gibson freak. The scale and fretboard are designed for flying, a little wider and flatter, with a superthin neck shape reminiscent of jackson and ibanez shred-o-matics. But this guitar is so much more....
I like the sounds that you can get from the guitar, but it's more suited to high HIGH gain settings, just because it's so damn CRISP and CLEAR, where a Les Paul (sorry Gibson) is just too muddy for me.
It does, however, lack something in the way of naturality... high tech guitar of the future, yes, but it doesn't just fall into your hand like an ancient strat does. That's just the wider fretboard at work, or maybe my smaller hands need to adjust a bit. But all kidding aside, I play better now that every note I fret is consistent and clear! I love the neck, myself, but it might take some players a bit of getting used to...

I haven't had to tune it since I bought it a month ago. that's insane. Couple of very minr edge dings from handling, could've been the factory or the store, but i didn't care. I got a big discount on it, i wasn't complaining.

it seems fragile, but i take very good care of my baby. my singer was moving it once and dropped it, i'll admit i picked it up and ran outside screaming and checking for any flaws in the sunlight... it was okay, no harm done, but i DO worry that its finish may get dinged easily. I use it for gigging, without a backup, however i do make sure that it never leaves my sight. and when it's at home, it's either put away until I play, or i rest it in the comfort of the passenger seat that i have in my room, from an old VW bug. the old vinyl is nice and soft and doesn't scratch the finish.

never have dealt with them and i can't remember how long the warranty is. But i've heard ken parker is the MAN.

I've been playing for only 7 years but i've played it all. Kramer Focus something-or-other, Jackson PS4, Ibanez Iceman, Gibson Les Paul, Epiphone Flying V, Dean ML, Peavey, BC Rich Warlock, Yamaha, an old Silvertone, Aria Pro flying v, the list goes on..... But this guitar is so very different from anything i've ever picked up! it's nice to have a unique voice in the musical world, i'm just trying to find a good amp to finish shaping my sound. I'm no big-shot-rock-star, but i'm not trying to stay in the realm of "oh, that guy". This guitar is a very fluid vehicle for the sounds i like to hear and make, whether I'm just sitting at home playing some old Rush or Purple, or i'm with my band creating hauntingly dark reverb-drenched harmonies or chunky rhythms. I'd buy another provided I had the cash, no doubt, and i'm going to BEG somebody out there in parker land to make a seven-string. Thanks Ken for building this beauty.

Read the other submissions. I would like to add that the vibrato is the coolest I've ever used (and it does NOT go out of tune). You can adjust the tension with a wheel that goes through the guitar to get either a loose or very tight feel. There's also a stop in the back of the guitar which can be engaged to keep the vibrato from pulling back into the body. So essentially you could release the block, set the tension very loose and have a Floyd Rose type vibrato, or go to the opposite end of the spectrum--block it and tighten it all the way. With this setup the bar won't work and now you have a non-vibrato guitar. This is great for double stops.

It is a little bright but that's what amp controls are for. I wish I could get a Strat neck position sound out of it. Also the volume does change dramatically from position 3 to 2 on the selector. But when you consider all the different tones you can get by combining the piezos, these problems are offset.

The action is perfect. I wish there was more balance between the pickup levels. As mentioned in other submissions, the paint is fragile and will chip if you even look at it funny. I personally don't care, but that's why I always get white guitars- you can never see the blems and scratches. Because the poplar body is so soft, it is very easy to pit and dent this guitar.

God, I love this guitar, but it's been pissing me off lately. Let me mention I own 2 of these. Within a year, the nut fell off one of them. About the same time, the first fret on one guitar and the first and second frets on the second guitar began to peel up on the high E string side. The E string would get stuck underneath, and my notes would fret out at those locations. These frets are glued on, and I don't know if I have some evil acid sweat or something, but it happened on both guitars. I talked to Ken Parker and he said he'd never encountered these problems before. He was very courteous and is currently fixing the first axe (for free!). I think they need some stronger glue. Also, it's about impossible to install straplocks on these guitars, as the top strap button goes in from BEHIND the guitar, and the screw is so short there's no room for straplocks.

You know that strap button problem I was talking about? Well one night that button fell out and the guitar droppped to the floor. Believe me, these guys are fragile, and a whole chunk came out. I sent it back to get fixed. It was taking them a long time, so I called to get an update. They were having trouble fixing the guitar SO THEY SENT ME A BRAND NEW ONE! Incredible.

Even though I've had some major problems, I'd buy it again. In fact I did. One night at a gig, a PA cabinet fell on my Parker, snapping it in two. When I got the insurance money, I went right out and got another Fly. Let's just get some stronger fret glue, Ken.

This is a 1994 non-trem model. It is a copper orange color, very unique. I like it very much. The individual that owned this before me has told me that this is a one of a kind; the factory did it as a one off to test a new color. This guitar has a Basswood neck, poplar body and has the Parker composite carbon fiber.
Controls are as follows: (Electric Magnetic) Volume, pickup selector switch, tone (Piezo): Volume, tone Overall Volume and electric/combo electric & piezo/piezo selector switch.
(H/H) Humbuckers by Dimarzio.
Fixed Bridge, stainless steel frets, Sperzel locking tuners, Graphite nut, fishman tranducer piezo pickup in bridge.
Came with manuals, stereo Y-cord and Levy's gig bag

I play all original rock in a female-led band and do studio work and side projects often. My equipment list will be in the Overall section below.
The piezo is better sounding than my Ovation Elite that this guitar replaced. Very happy with this sound for live work or for specific studio applications. No feedback at any level on the Piezos.
This guitar is bright sounding as compared to my PRS's on the electric side. The Dimarzio's are OEM specific for this guitar and once I adjusted amp settings, very workable tones were there. It will not replace any of my other guitars, ie. PRS, for electric sounds, but it has its own vibe and sound. Cuts through live very well. It excells at high gain applications, but if you roll off the volume a bit, it sounds good with a clean amplified tone.

Aquired from previous owner, so factory setup unknown. Very easy to setup! Neck truss rod is easy to access, no plate to loosen. Bridge height ala three holes in back. Had tools from previous owner, done with set up in under 10 minutes including intonation.
Previous owner has small chip on neck and someone did a very poor job of installing a shim under nut. Sloppy glue job that I will correct in due time. Does not seem to affect playability or tuning stability.
Action is great, frets are like brand new. This thing will not go out of tune. For a live guitar it is ideal. Very light, like 5 lbs.. This does not seem important at first, but I am used to lugging PRS's all night. Neck profile is very thin, took some getting used to, but highly playable.
Controls all have a rubber exterior, I could not stand them. Everytime I would do a big strum, I ended up turning the volume down on accident. Replaced with black chrome knobs, looks better and works far better.

Although feather light, it is tough as hell. Knocked around for a few months now as I write this, held up nicely. Finish shows no where, but does seem inclined to chip if instrument is dropped. Solution - don't drop it. Strap buttons work fine, I depend on this guitar for 99% of my live work now. I always take my PRS CE-22 as a backup.

Called Korg to order new nut, very helpful once you get through their voice mail maze.

I have been playing for 14 years. My gear/influences are as follows: Guitar Related Stuff
Guitars: 1991 PRS Custom 24, 1995 PRS Custom 22, 1997 PRS CE-22, 1997 Tom Anderson Drop Top, 1995 Peterson Custom Shop Signature, 1982 Guild S-25, 1994 Parker Fly Deluxe, 1996 Taylor 810S.
Amps: Rivera Rake 55 (with NOS Mullard 12AX7/ECC83 in preamp and Svetlana EL-34's in power amp), Rivera Knucklehead (GE NOS 12AX7 in preamp and Svetlana EL-34's in power amp)
Speaker Cabs: Rivera Rake 2x12 (Celestion G12T-85 wired in series 16 ohms), Rivera Q-Cab 2x12 (EVM-12L's wired in series 16 ohm), 1980's Carvin 4x12 (reloaded and rewired with Celestion Vintage 30's wired in series 16 ohms), Peterson Custom Shop 2x12 with Naylor Special Design 50's (wired in series 16 ohms).
Effects: Fulltone Clyde Wah, Fulltone Deja Vibe, Fulltone Supa Trem, Ayan Signal Conditioner. (All mounted on a custom Fulltone pedal board powered by Fulltone Black Box Jr. power supply and travels in a Custom Fulltone Road Case)
Misc: Mesa Boogie V-Twin Pedal, Furman PL-8 Plus, Tascam 424mkII, Pro Co 10 gauge 2ft speaker cable with Switchcraft plugs, D'Addario 10's (Phosphor Bronze 13's on Acoustics), D'Andrea .73mm Delrex Formula Picks (the Yellow ones), Boss AD-5 Acoustic Preamp, Monster Cable Rock Cords, Spectraflex Fatso Flex Guitar Cords. PA Stuff: Mackie 1604VLZ, Mackie FR-1400i Power Amp, Fender Artist 115-ELC Speakers, EV Monitors, SKB Rack Cases.
Music Related Stuff
Band Name: Marilyn Mack Group
Favorite Music: Guitar rock/pop/funk/jazz.
Favorite Musicians: Brian May, Jeff Beck, Alex Lifeson, Tim Pierce, Seal, BB King, Edward Van Halen, Wes Montgomery, James Brown, Miles Davis, etc.
Favorite Music to Play: Guitar rock/pop/funk/jazz.

The Fly is a great live instrument and I have had use of it in recording situations as a piezo sound. If something happens to this guitar, I would have to replace it because it is so useful to me live.
I love the fact that it is so light, the stainless steel frets are bullet proof, the sounds are all good to excellent, it plays well, stays in tune like nothing else, easy to set-up/maintain, travels well, and is dependable.
I hated the rubber control knobs, replaced them. When playing this instrument sitting down, the upper horn sticks me in the ribs. Standing up is very ergonomic though.
Overall this is a fine instrument that would have never appealed to me because it looks so goofy. In 1993 or 1994 I went to a clinic by Reeves Gabriels (of Bowie fame) on the Parker Fly. I was impressed, but the cost and the look put me off. Once I had seriously played a few in some stores, because this trade became available, I was very impressed. I am very happy I did the trade now. It is hard to describe the sound of a PA putting out a clean Piezo guitar sound while I wah away with my Rivera and Fulltone Clyde. HUGE!
For live work, there is no better guitar.

Ill keep it simple since they are other entries before me. Guitar does it all, Metal, to jazz, to acousitc to strat sounds. Its a perfect 10.

God, its just too good. A little tip for you acoustic players, try acoustic strings, the heavier gauge and alloy wrap really makes the guitar come alive. I use flatwound 11's on this guitar and usually play jazz on it, its a very warm balanced sound. It can rock with the best of em.

It came set up well, the action was great. Two nibbles, one the finish while it may be strong isnt that durable, i bumped the back once very lightly and a small chuck came out of the finish, i quicly filled it with some putty and nail polished over it, youll never know it was there......Second, it came with a spur on the E string, i got this taken care of when i bought it, but it shouldnt have never left the factory with this on it.

I'd take it out without a backup, id just make sure i had a fresh battery in there on a regular basis. Sucks when that thing dies.

Never had to deal with them.

I love this guitar. For some strange reason the strings last me 3 times as long on this guitar then they do on my other instruments. Hey no complaints from me, the things plays great, feels great. It's the guiatr of the future.

The Parker Fly Is an extremely light an resonant guitar that combines polar(body),basswood(neck),and carbon fiber(neck and body). its innovative features include stainless steel frets and a combo magnetic (two Dimarzio humbuckers)and peizo(Fishman bridge mounted) pickup system for both acoustic and electric sounds.it sports sperzel locking tuners, carbon fiber fretboard, and stainless steel surface mounted frets.The body shape is very futuristic, ultra slim an sleek with a dash of Star Trek vibe. It came with a nice Levys gig bag and a nice stereo cable. I opted for a non-tremelo model with a Beautifull Majik Blue finish

I play professionaly in a wide variety of musical settings and the Fly seems to cover all the bases well. I use different rigs ranging from vintage fender amps and pedal effects to rack components such as harmonizers, jammans and Guitar synths. This is a bright sounding instrument with tremendous presence and volume (active cicuitry). At first I found it a little to bright and loud and I had never been a big fan of Dimarzio pickups, but after a while I was able to dial it in to my satisfaction. I use it in mono usually with a little peizo dialed in to add sheen to the Humbucking p.u. My only complaint here is that the middle position (both hummers split) is a little weak compared to the neck or bridge only positions.This guitar however can do a number of sound really well. I can go from a skinny funk tone to a raging lead tone to a smokey octave jazz tone to a jangly faux acoustic tone with just a few minor adjustments. It has a sonically rich pallete. I have had this instrument for almost 4 years and I play it constantly and guess what? it shows virtualy no fret wear. none, nada, zip. All hail stainless steel frets. Also , because the Fly is so lightwieght I can wear it for hours without shoulder fatigue ( a claim my late model American Strat Plus cannot make). Dislikes...very few other than the afor mentioned pickup gripe. Ok the finish has not held up as well as I would have hoped, it shows signs of pitting under the clear coat in the form little gray primer dots but this is a minor complaint. And I did'nt get a tremelo model because I did'nt like the rubbing sound it made when the peizos were engaged. But I've tried the new nightfly and its tremelo does'nt seem to have that problem.I wish it did the Strat thang a little better, but I may spring for the 3 single coil Nightfly. My Strat has been gathering dust as of late. And I am so sold on the Parker neck and fret concept that it looks like another one is in my future.

I already covered this but let me say again...Sainless Steel Frets Rule..Sure you will go through strings a little faster,perhaps, but that is a small price to pay. The guitar was set up well from the factory however I noticed a slight gap under the nut under the E and B strings that translateted sonically (a slight buzz that I first thought was a sloppy nut slot) I checked a number of other Parkers and found the same problem due,I beleive to the way the peghead face slops slightly under the afore mentioned strings. I remedied the problem with a little mixture of apoxy and graphite powder and re-seated the nut. I just wish I had'nt had to pay for it (the repair).The electronics are flawless,smooth,and powerfull; no complaints there. I mentioned the finish problem in the last segment however I must say that my use of acrylic finger nails and percussive tapping would give any finish a hard time.

Did I mention the Frets?? The finish despite my gripes has a very durable outer coat. the neck seems very stable despite the fact that I bend it for tremelo effects. The components seem very high quality. I gig alot and demand a great deal and my Fly delivers.

Parker is owned by Korg, but they do provide a customer support number in the manual, so running the corporate automated phone gauntlet is not such a taxing proposition. However, It would be nice to be able to speak to someone at the parker factory directy. I am a little concerned tha when it needs frets, I'll have to send it to the factory because the frets are glued on, much harder than traditional frets an cannot be milled in the normal way...But at the rate they are wearing, I'll probably be in a rst home before I need work on them.

I'll give it a 10, It is just an amazing instrument,and i want a second one. Some people (vintage snobs and Blues nazis in particular) don't seem to care for its futuristic look and feel,( i've heard some people complain about it being too light weight,jeez!) and because its active some find its brightness and power a little overwhelming,but I've grown to love these characteristics. This is a state of the art instrument that also happens to have a lot of soul.

Made in the USA (as are all Parkers) in 1996. The construction is a set neck solidbody, though it feels more like a neck through due to the very sculpted heel. The neck is made of basswood and reinforced with a thin layer of carbon fiber / glass composite that gives it strength. The body is poplar, a wood similar to ash and used on neck-through Jacksons and some Mexican Fenders. This combination makes for an extremely resonant guitar and very lightweight, weighing in at less than 5 pounds! My Fly is finished in a black metallic, which has little flecks of sparkle - a very beautiful finish.
The neck on this guitar is very similar to Ibanez's Wizard Neck, only skinnier! For those not familiar with the Wizard, it is very wide and flat, with a relatively flat fingerboard radius. There are 24 frets, made of stainless steel. Parker says that the frets won't need replacing, as they are so hard that wear is negligible. Additionally, the frets are glued onto the fingerboard vs. tapped into grooves. The fretwork, in my opinion is excellent. Due to the nature of the construction, upper fret access is practically unrestricted. There are no inlays on the fingerboard, although there are fairly large side markers. The scale length of the fingerboard is 25.5", similar to Fender and most Ibanezes, and an important factor in the tone of the guitar. The tuners, the only non-custom built parts for this guitar, are locking Sperzels. These make restringing easy and help in tuning stability.
The bridge, custom built for this guitar in conjunction with Fishman, is a tremelo type that pivots on two points. It is roughly similar to a Fender trem, in concept if not visually. The action is relatively light, though not as light as the Ibanez Edge. However, there is no way to adjust the action of the trem because there is only one spring. The spring is different from traditional strat trem springs in that it looks like a really wide "m" shape. The guitar comes supplied with springs for .009 and .010 gauge strings. There is a stopper on the back of the guitar that will let you have the bridge set up as floating or stopped to go down only. A plate covers the entire back of the guitar, which is annoying because it needs to be removed to change the stopping point. A better design would have been a clear back cover. A wheel on the bottom portion of the guitar adjusts the stopping point of the trem. Overall, it is difficult to make this guitar go out of tune with properly stretched strings.
The magnetic pickups are custom built for Parker by DiMarzio. The neck humbucker has a medium output and has a great "woman tone", for lack of a better description. The bridge humbucker is fairly hot and there is a noticable change in volume in switching pickups. The middle position of the three position switch gives you one coil of each pickup out of phase.
There is also a piezo pickup built into the bridge. As I mentioned previously, the piezo is made by Fishman and is similar to the Fishman Powerbridge. Output is matched with the magnetics via an active circuit for the piezos only. Battery life is not that great, and you have to remember to unplug your guitar to conserve battery life. The location of the jack forces you to unplug if you set this guitar down without a stand. Battery access is pretty convenient, as Parker has made a compartment with screws that you can use a dime to unscrew.
Now for the controls. There are four knobs. The first is a master volume. Next are magnetic volume and tone controls. The last control is a stacked piezo volume and tone. There are two three way toggles - the magnetic that I mentioned above and a magnetic/both/piezo switch. There is also a button next to the output jack which allows you to switch between stereo and mono mode. Stereo will split the mags and piezos if you use a stereo cord, mono will combine them for mono cords. The one problem with this setup is that since the mag/piezo toggle is at the bottom of the guitar, you can't qui

I play a WIDE range of music, from new metal to swing to blues to acid jazz, funk, country, rockabilly, punk, ska and alternative pop.
This guitar is really versatile. The 25.5" scale covers a lot of sonic ground and is much more versatile than a 24 3/4" or 25" scale, IMHO.
I currently play it through my Marshall JCM2000, Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and Pro Jr., and my ADA MP-1 rack, and it sounds excellent through all of them, although it really shines for high gain playing. The guitar can get pretty heavy without losing definition, which is something I like. I've been able to cop pretty convincing Satch and Dimebag tones. I would really like a coil splitter to get single coil sounds too, but I suppose I can have mine modified. For a dual humbucker guitar I can get just about every sound I need.
I plug the piezos into either my band's P.A. or my Peavey Keyboard amp and it sounds great! It sounds at least as good as an Ovation or Takamine with piezos. We play pop alternative stuff, and the added shimmer of an acoustic sound is an integral part of our sound.
Great sounds, but a coil splitter would've been nice. Hence a 9 for sound.

Overall construction is on a par with PRS and Anderson. Nuff said!

I've had it for two years and have used it extensively without problems. It's solid and dependable, despite it's light weight. I gig without a backup.

Haven't contacted Parker and I forget what the warranty is.

I've been playing for close to 17 years and have gone through over 15 guitars. I've owned a '72 Fender Strat, Korean Strat, SRV Strat, Chandler parts Strat, '72 Custom Tele, '60 Tele Reissue, Teisco, Gibson Les Paul Custom, Gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman, Paul Reed Smith Custom, Ernie Ball EVH, San Dimas Charvel, San Dimas Jackson, Ibanez RG550, Ibanez S540LTD, and Jay Turser.
My favorite things about the Fly Deluxe are numerous. First is the fast neck. Second is the incredibly light weight. Third is the piezos. I could NOT survive without this guitar. If it were stolen I'd buy a new one IMMEDIATELY.
If I add a coil splitter, this will be the ULTIMATE guitar. Even depsite this (and it is a matter of preference), this is the best guitar I have ever played in my life.

A very cool concept-composite reinforced for sustain, lightness, locking tuners, straight string pull, humbuckers, coil splitting, piezoelectric bridge. I bought it to be the one guitar I needed for a gig accompanying a musical with all kinds of music.

A disappointment, I'm afraid. It's very flexible, lots of sounds, cool piezoelectric that amplifies as well as many AE hollowbodies BUT the humbuckers have an annoying thin, high overtone. Part of the problem is that they come with DiMarzios with ceramic magnets. I sent the pickups to Seymour Duncan for rewinding ($150 including shipping for the 2), and it improved the sound a lot, but it's still not as full as a Les Paul. It's not bad, I just think it's tough to get a full sound out of less than an inch of wood. If you play metal/all distorted/processed music, you love it, it gives great signal for that. It's just straight thru the tubes it has problems.

Flawless, perfect, bullet proof. The guitar I'd most like to have to defend myself when the gunfire breaks out. The action is the smoothest I have ever played-better than Fender, Gibson, PRS, Jackson, whatever. The frets are very smooth, so vibrato is easy and bends are quiet.

Never had a problem, can't imagine how you could. (Oh yeah, check the battery!).

No idea, never needed them.

Except for the sound, it's perfect. I'm not sure what can be done about that.