Parker Guitars Fly Mojo

I'm reviewing a brand new 2008 Fly mojo Custom shop, in beatiful pearl white colour. The features are the same as the stock Fly mojos: Seymour duncan Jazz and JB humbuckers (splittable), Parker famous Piezo and vibrato, stereo Preamp, mahogany body and neck, carbon fretboard, Sperzel tuners, Graphtech nut, stainless steel frets, very low weight (2.2 kg). Volume, tone, and piezo volume. it's supplied with its hardshell case, various accessories including a V cable to use the magnetic and piezo pickups together in stereo.
It's really a 10: anything you could ask for... really nothing more that comes to my mind

Ok, here is the point. I know that a lot of amateur players just don't have the "hear" and/or have cheap equipment so they can't actually get a good sound.
Let's start from facts: this guitar is a top of the line instrument, costs a lot, and therefore gives a lot. It just can't sound bad if you have a high-end amplifier and FX processors too. I have 2 Vox AC30s (a CC2 and a CC2X, used together in stereo), a Boss GT-10, and other pedals that do some weird noise :-p
Let's start from the Seymour duncans: they can be used in 6 possible configurations. They are neck, bridge humbucker, or both together in parallel, plus the same with coil split enabled. The bridge JB is what you expect: rock. This guitar has A LOT (even more than a Les Paul.... don't ask me why, it sounds absurd if you think about its weight, but trust me, it has!) of sustain, so the sound of the bridge p/u is very full and thick. Every single note can be perfectly distinguished. Same for the neck Jazz humbucker: obviously more mellow / violin like, very soft if u play with fingers for example. Pure butter. Both, mmm sounds like Santana a bit, I don't use it much.
If coil-split is engaged, you have quite Strat-like sounds, very glassy at neck, piercing at bridge, at... hmmm almost acoustic in the middle. Keep in mind that this guitar has its own voice, many reviews underline this point. It's an original sound, not an imitation of something else. At any configuration, it's very noiseless, no hum at all. Great electronics.
Piezo now: I use it thru the GT-10 (some delay, reverb and stereo chorus) to the PA mixer (DON'T use it thru amps unless you're looking for some particular FX!). With the right finishing touch, it really gives a pleasing acoustic tone. It's not really like a true acoustic guitar, it's something, again, on its own... if u blend, still thru a PA, the mag and the piezo, you can get some strange sounds, almost harp/violin like. Outstanding.
I won't give 10 here because this is a quite modern sounding guitar. If you're looking for the old vintage, I mean "closed" and weak sounding, 50s 60s like, go elsewhere. This guitar is not conceived for playing music of decades ago: it's just too sustaining and defined for it... I mean, too little dirtness and to much definition of the sound. Get a 60s Strat or Gibson for this.

The guitar was perfectly set-up from factory (since its price....). I just mad some minor adjustments for my personal preference. The manual is very detailed and it's very easy to set it up! Great job.
The vibrato is really a masterpiece: it stays in tune even with heavy use, even something I wouldn't do while playing... le'ts say that after 5 complete up and downs the guitar went out of 5 cents, something that is almost inaudible. Excellent... and string chaing is as easy as a Tune-o-matic bridge.
The paint finish is flawless, no dings here. The pots are smooth and will stay in position when set.

hehhe technology pays a price: this baby really seems delicate. You have to treat it really really well, you have to take care of it a lot. Keep a watchful eye on it and i'm sure it will last, it's made of great quality.
Leave it around and I'm sure that its sophisticated electronics will start to have trouble.
I repeat: you have to treat it with EXTREME care, and it will last forever, otherwise you may have problems.
I always clean it with a cloth after playing and I always put it back in its hardcase with protective "bubbles" plastic....

I haven't dealt with them yet, and I hope I never will....

I've been playing for more than 15 years, 4 of which at a professional level.
I've never played a guitar like this: it really blows out everything I tried, including high-end Ibanez. Never heard such sustain and definition, and tuning stability, and easy of setting up. Fenders? bah noisy and won't stay in tune.... Gibson? too heavy and no vibrato!
If it were stolen... I'd probably cry a lot and then buy another one on the Fly (pun intended!), should I afford it.
I know it's expensive, but if you want the best, this is the price to pay. Enjoy.

This guitar sounds good when it works, but I have two of them and neither of them work.

The manufacturing and quality control is very poor for a $2,500 guitatr. This was not the case with older Parkers. I have two Mojos and both have issues with shorts in the pick-up selector switches, the Piezo pick-up has quit working twice in one of them. For $2,500, these items should work and if not Parker should fix them no questions asked.

I will not take either of mine to a gig. Another problem witht the design from the old Fly is that you can't control the volume of both pick-ups, so when you need to roll off the volume at the end of a song or to tune, the Piezo pick-up is still active, so you either have to turn two volume knobs to mute the guitar or mute the magnetic pick-ups and switch the pick-up selector switch to magnetic only. With mine, the noise between these switches is too loud to use live. That coupled with the repair problems and lack of support from Parker gives this category a 1. I would rate the original Fly much higher.

Warranty is one year and any subsequent repairs by Parker are strictly 90 days, no matter what. I think they definitely have a lemon with the Fly Mojo, but instead of taking care of it, they are increasing revenues by charging for multiple repairs for the same recurrent problems with the guitars. They will make no exceptions. I have 4 Parkers but I am going to sell mine on Ebay.

I have been playing for 29 years, and have owned all types of gear. I am usually more of Strat player than a Les Paul. I wish that someone had told the real deal on sites like this before I got this guitar, or the two of them. I bought two so when I gig I have a back-up, but neither of them works well enough to play out. Terrible customer service on top of a bad product that is super expensive is unexceptable. If there are enough Mojo customers like me, i will consider leading a lemon law class action against Parker and American Music.

In my opinion, Parker guitars (I currently have three and play them exclusively for live gigs) are the swiss army knofe of guitars: huge variations in tone are available. Loaded with features like no other instrument.

One stupid facet of this guitar (there's always something): the little slide switch that existed on earlier Fly guitars is gone, replaced by a slot in the plastic back cover. Instead of sliding a switch to go from "home" (locked or downtrem-only) position to the "float" (bridge floats) position, you have to insert a metal rod into the back of the guitar in order to move the mechanism formerly controlled by the switch. While some folks might have complained of accidentally moving the little switch with a belt buckle on a live gig, it would have been better to redesign the original switch, perhaps slightly recessing it into the plastic cover. Eliminating it completely destroys the live utility of the guitar in some ways. This change was a dumb, dumb design move, for two reasons:

First, the manual correctly instructs you to tune with the guitar in "home" position (tunes accurately and swiftly). If you play in "float" position, do they honestly think you're going to pull out this 5-inch long steel rod in order to move the mechanism on a live gig?!

Second, the higher-end Parkers are the only guitars (other than Steinberger) that allow you to break a string and still play with the other 5 strings IN TUNE. Placing the guitar in "home" position keeps the unbroken 5 strings in perfect tune! What an advantage! What a feat of engineering and design! And how easy it is to erase that advantage by requiring the use of a 5-inch steel rod to move the guitar from "float" to "home" position--on a live gig, in mid-song?!

I resolved this in a Rube Goldberg kind of way: I found a small self-threading screw that was just a TINY bit bigger than the plastic hole into which you insert the steel rod to move the mechanism...and I screwed it into the mechanism's hole until the head of the screw was JUST above the slot level in the back of the pickguard. The small, domed screw head--half submerged into the slot in the plastic back cover, with just enough above it to allow me to flip the switch--now takes the place of the old switch.

Oh, and I colored the chrome screwhead black with a Sharpie! :-) You can hardly see it at all against the black back cover. And no, it doesn't get accidentally moved.

So, problem solved. But a pity to have to do that at all.

My new Fly Mojo sounds meatier than my Fly Deluxe Single Two (DS2), with a thicker midrange and more warmth. In single-coil mode, the aguitar's fairly snappy, although less so than the DS2 (which is a pre- US Music guitar and has single coils in the neck and mid), which is expected. All in all, I get enough single-coil snap and enough humbucker punch to make me happy, here. Huge sonic variatioons are available. The piezo sounds warmer than the ones in my earlier Parkers, by the way. The only sound not in this guitar: the 'in between the middle and bridge' stratlike "quack". It does do good straight single-coil stratlike sounds and a pretty good telecaster imitation if the tweo singles are combined.
I cover rock, pop, country, and acoustic stuff on it, all in the context of one gig. Very nice...and perfect for the cover band thing.

I use .10s, and the guitar cones with .09s, so I had to change out the flat spring (the .10 spring comes with the guitar). It's a touchy thing to get the guitar set up, but once you do, it holds very, very well--although not as quite well as my pre-US Music Fly Deluxe Single 2.

Action is terrific; easy to play, and the neck's a dream, as with every Parker I've played. It was very difficult for my guitar tech to get the Mojo playing right and staying in tune, and he's very accomplished and has worked on many Parker guitars (he's a dealer). Once he got it in the groove, however, it seems to be staying there.

My Deluxe Single 2 is the ONLY guitar I've ever taken to a gig solo--that is, with no backup guitar. I've done that a few times. I haven't had the Mojo long enough to be sure about that, so I go out with the Mojo and either the DS2 or my P-36 as backup. The Mojo's tuning stability is very good, but not quite as good as the DS2s. When changing strings, it takes a little longer to settle down. Once it does, though, it's solid.

The one time I really had an issue (see discussion above regarding the switch vs the 5-inch rod used for mechanism adjustment), I had to be VERY persistent and aggressive in order to get a call back from someone who had any clue about the product. The "customer service" person I got initially was a joke; barely acquainted with the product! I did manage a call back from Parker (2 folks called on the line, a tech and a marketing guy), and they were very good, and understood the issue immediately, even asking for a pic of my admittedly Rube Goldberg resolution to the issue!

I've played for 35 or 40 years, I guess. I have a number of very nice guitars: PRS, Suhr, etc., and 3 Parkers: Deluxe Single 2, P-36, Fly Mojo. The Parkers are, bar none, the best live gig guitars I've ever played. Effortless action, great intonation, even sound across the fretboards, light weight, and a million sounds. The perfect cover gig guitar (it's fun doing Heart's "Crazy on You", complete with convincing acoustic tone, then slamming into the electric part, all on one guitar)!

I will say, though, that when I've recorded (session work for others), I do not use the Parkers. There, I use a tool specifically designed for the particular job. The Parker is wonderful, but it will not yield the sweet sound of the neck pickup on my Suhr, isn't as thick as my PRS Swamp Ash, and doesn't sound like my Taylor into a Neumann mic!

That being said, the Parker does those things admirably well for live gig service. Nothing else goes out on a gig with me any more, ever.

You know the features, but this review is a tale of two Mojos. One is a 2003 in natural mahogany and the other is a 2006 in Dusty Black. One pre-buyout, one post-buyout.

There are a few construction differences worth noting. The 03 is flatter and altogether slimmer and more svelte, with a few small hardware design differences. The 06 feels meatier and has more angular edges and higher string height with a fatter neck. The differences are very tangible when they are played back-to-back, but both are supremely comfortable and ergonomic. The weights of each are almost dead-even.

Both sound like Parkers, and that is a very good thing. That being said, they are remarkably different from one another.

The 03 hits like a sledgehammer, with a very thick and focused midrange. The attack is fast and solid, the tone is dense and it sustains forever. It???s aggressive but still mighty sweet on the neck pickup and responds to picking dynamics very well. The midrange is even apparent in the piezo signal, where I have to dial back the mids to get the tone balanced. Split, it still does an incredible job of pluck and quack for a dual humbucker guitar. Remarkable, actually. The best lead guitar I have ever played.

The 06 is very different. It resonates like crazy and has far less midrange than the 03. It has an almost bouncy or poppy attack. You can hear this clearly both acoustically and amplified. It is more polite-sounding, and a little more responsive to dynamics changes. The clean and piezo sounds are slightly scooped and very rich. It lacks the midrange froth of the 03 but sounds more delicate. It sounds almost like a semi-hollow. Definitely the second best lead guitar I have ever played!

I wouldn???t kick either one out of bed for eating crackers, that is certain. No complaints with either.

Let???s heat things up with a little honesty here. Parkers are NOT the guitars they once were, plain and simple. Parker, their reps, their endorsers, and their dealers will jump to point out that quality is at an all time high. They should, because clearly they have something that needs defending. Quality has dropped significantly since the move to Illinois. At this point, five pre-USMC and five post-USMC Parkers have passed through my hands (not planned that way, that is just how it turned out). All five pre-USMC Parkers have been microscopically perfect in build quality. Four of five post-USMC Parkers have had one or more flaws serious enough to warrant their ejection. The fifth, which is my 06 Mojo described herein, is an amazing guitar but still suffers from finish flaws, fret-glue slop and a bridge that is not quite centered in the route (resulting in unequal spacing of the E-strings from the edge of the board). Fortunately, these are minor and do not affect the serviceability of the guitar nor drive me crazy (your mileage may vary). Like a Nitefly Mojo reviewer wrote, I also don???t want to jump on the post-buyout bandwagon???but that ain???t what they used to be, Jack. If looking for a used Mojo, I would recommend trying to find one from July 03 ??? April 04. Those are the great examples of Parker???s work. If you buy new, for gods sake do not buy online. It???s a crap shoot ??? get one in your hands before buying.

Pro-performace level hardware and construction with a great deal of low and no-maintenance items. People have complained about the battery wires while taking off the back cover. Just wire it up with a mini-connector - problem solved. Overall, no worries whatsoever.

Unfortunately for Parker/USMC, I only have one experience with CS and it sucked horribly. I got someone on the phone I refer to as Mr Apathy. I was asking a few questions, placed a parts order, and the entire time the guy made it very clear that he simply did not give a shit about my concerns or questions whatsoever. Even when placing the parts order, he had the personality of a wet napkin. USMC later heard about my experience and contacted me to apologize and offer personalized CS, which was classy. Placing the original yahoo I dealt with in CS to begin with ??? not so classy. Thumbs down.

In the humble opinion of a seasoned guitarist who gigs with national acts and records on a regular basis, there is no finer guitar than a great Fly, bar none. Not only are they truly brilliant and innovative instruments due to their construction, they also sound like a million bucks. You can see and feel the love that went into their design. Pick one up and you will have to have one. I can???t say enough about the virtues of great Fly. Having said that, watch carefully the examples coming from USMC. They are still great guitars, but some element is missing and you can feel it as soon as you pick it up. It is almost like the mojo infused by a truly passionate builder is gone from the new ones. Hard to explain. But they are great nonetheless, so go get your hands on one.

Features out the wazoo! In fact, the technology in this guitar is so different it involves a learning period just to figure out the temolo, etc.

I play a lot of typical rock, blues, christian worship music, and a tiny bit of country. I use a Vox valvetronix -- can't remember the number -- it's the big one with 2 12" speakers. I own a half dozen other really nice sounding guitars and have been playing for 40 years.

Now the verdict. This thing sounds pretty poor to me. It is shrill, thin and lacks a musical tone/vibe. It sounded compressed with no headroom and just really not good at all. I was disappointed.

I tried it on clean settings, mild overdrive, high gain, everything. Nothing sounded very 'likable'.

Just to calibrate my tastes for those of you readers who wonder how everyone could love this guitar (see reviews below) except for me:

Favorite guitars:
- Gibson CS336 ( a coustom shop smaller version of the 335)
- Fender Deluxe Ash Telecaster
- PRS McCarty
- Epiphone '56 Les Paul Goldtop reissue

SO you see, I DO like a lot of different guitars. Just not this one.

Back in the box it went after a few days, to Musician's Friend for a refund.

Flawless. I didn't really like the neck feel or the stainless frets. But the quality is top notch. 10 for quality, 9 for not liking the neck feel.

Overall: Too much technology chasing too little 'vibe'. Sounds like not enough wood/mass to give a good tone. If it doesn't sound good to me, then what else matters?

2005 Parker Fly Mojo in Natural Mahogany finish, made in the USA. Standard Parker Fly Mojo deal: 24 stainless steel frets on a carbon-glass epoxy fretboard. Solid mahogany body and neck with carbon-glass epoxy coating on back. Dual Seymour Duncan humbuckers and Fishman piezo. Locking Sperzel tuners. 25.5 scale. Includes hardshell case, stereo cord, commonly included tools (truss adjusting tool, allen wrenches, etc).

I play all over the musical map, but tend to stay around Jazz, Blues, and Funk. As such, this guitar fits me beautifully. I use it with various Fender amps, and it is fantastic. It tends to have a rich, full sound, which works well for Jazz and Blues, and has just enough brightness to grant a wonderful Funk tone. No noise using any of the switches/pots, and no feedback. Tonally, the guitar is very versatile, but would do best in Jazz, Blues, or Hard Rock territory.

Came set up perfectly (the shop I bought it from went over it after receiving it). The only flaw was a little whitish residue on the plastic parts of the guitar, but that scrapes off without damaging or marking any part of the guitar. Still, it is a bit of an annoyance to receive your guitar and see what looks like small white scuff marks on parts of the guitar. The finish is beautiful.

The guitar seems very durable, and would easily withstand live playing (although this is going under the assumption that the guitarist wouldn't spend this much money on a guitar and then proceed to be extremely careless with it on a gig). The hardware seems very durable. I can't spot any part of the guitar that, when I see it, makes me think "Oh $%^&, I better keep my eye on that, it looks like it'll give way under some stress" or anything. I, personally, wouldn't use it on a gig, simply because I don't use my more expensive guitars on gigs. However, I'm confident that it would be able to withstand a gig, and I have faith that it wouldn't fail during a gig.

They (Parker) received the order and quoted a 6 month delivery date for my guitar, and it took 9 months. However, considering the backlog they were facing, it is entirely understandable, and I don't hold it against them in the least, and doing so wouldn't be very intelligent, since the "6 month delivery date" was a mere estimate, which is merely an informed approximation. The sales rep for Parker was very kind and helpful. After I talked to the clerk at the shop, he talked to the Parker rep and the rep alerted him that it would be a while until the particular Parker Fly Mojo I wanted would be available, and told him that if I was interested, he had some other new Parker Fly Mojos with him to check out (less expensive Mojos, actually. The Natural Mahogany finish is one of the more expensive finishes for the Fly Mojo, and it's the one I desired). I declined, but nonetheless was impressed with his commitment to assuring my satisfaction.

I've been playing for about 5-6 years now, and I own other Parker guitars, strats, and a les paul. This guitar is my favorite of them all. If it were stolen, I'd be heartbroken, but would attempt to replace it with a duplicate. It is the most comfortable guitar I've ever played. More than any other guitar I own, even ones I am more familiar with, this guitar feels like "home" when I play it, meaning playing it feels the most natural and effortless.

i think most of us know what parkers offer feature wise. lets get to the real questions. how does it feel and sound?

I own a les paul custom and a jaguar HH. This guitar is a strange sort of middle ground between every guitar I?ve played. If I had to pick a style of music right off the bat that this guitar is perfect for, it would be jazz. The tone is warm but with extreme clarity. A les paul's fault and strength is its muddiness. A jaguar's strength is its cutting quality, but its fault seems to be a lack of bottom end.

Pick ups - Bridge: the tone from the bridge is actually smoother and more aurally pleasing to me than my LP or jag. It?s extremely smooth. It does of course have plenty of bite for riffing with alot of distortion and it will cut through a mix with little to no EQing. I would prefer playing the lead tone of this guitar over my LP or jag in almost all cases. My guitars can at times sound too abrasive, too limited and brand specific when on the bridge pickup. This guitar is a tonal chameleon. If you are married to your brand, move along.

Neck Pickup: this has a tone I can only compare to an SG. More clarity than an LP but far more warmth than most guitars I?ve come in contact with. Articulate, mellow, and beautiful really. The only complaint I could find with this position was that it lacks what I bought the LP custom for in the first place: thick, atmospheric, melancholy tonality. This is also where this review will become useless to many as well, as we all go for something different in our instruments. This guitar will be considered by many LP fans as articulate to a fault, a guitar without identity or personality. This will be their loss as that is the biggest strength of this instrument. If your house is on fire and you need to escape with the one guitar that covers the most basses and ground, I guarantee this would be your pick. You would miss the quirks and intricacies of your other instruments but you would be confident that you wouldn?t NEED them.

Coil tapping: I didn't honestly explore too heavily in this area, but it truly does completely turn this guitar upside down. It becomes much more strat like. It takes a bit of a dip in gain, but then again what coil-tapped instrument doesn?t?

Piezo: this is really phenomenal. It brings an entirely new dimension to the electric guitar. Now don't expect to be playing a full sounding martin with the flick of a switch. It?s not going to happen, and not to be overly positive but why should it? Most terrain in guitar has been covered to death. It?s time for new approaches. My main interest was in overlaying sounds. Mixing the electric with piezo and layering new atmospheres in that juxtapose the crisp clarity of the piezo and the warm atmosphere of the neck pickup at varying degrees of volume. The piezo is in itself equatable to a thin acoustic (think a steel string without the baritone fullness of an acoustic.) at the same time it really is quite convincing. Enough so that I would definitely forgo bringing an acoustic onstage and switch midsong. Couple this with the fact that you can route the signal via the stereo jack, to two different amps and through that two effects loops and you begin to see the potential.

This is the point of contention for most guitarists picking up this instrument: the feel of a parker. It?s a truly different guitar. The first time I picked up a nitefly I hated it. Its feel is that of its sound, at times flawless to a fault. If you are a ten gauge metal riffing zack wylde sort you aren?t going to like it. The neck is honestly the antithesis of a LP. The neck is wide, and long (well by my shorter scale playing standards 24 3/8ths and 24) and this means two things, wider spacing of strings and frets. But when you really play and get used to it it becomes apparent that this can be a good thing. The mojo neck (which feels better than the nitefly I played) is forgiving, and extremely dynamic. Notes ring out even with a great dynamic range. Octave bends on the G and B are effortless. The gauge string that comes with the mojo is truly perfect for the guitar. It never really seems to go out of tune even with the whammy in full effect.

The only complaint I had with the factory setup (and this was from just one of 4 different models I tried in santa monica?s Truetone Music) the pickup selector was dirty or not soldered corrently or something as it was a tad crackly. Only on that one model though (and I would be the color I wanted to purchase.)

N/A (will own and gig with soon.)

N/A

mMost of what I would like to say has been said. This is by far the most versatile guitar I?ve every played. There are so many ways of approaching this instrument tonally that I can actually see it IMPEADING writing sometimes. That?s pretty fantastic really. As mentioned before, if you are married to your guitar brand, you will miss it upon a trade in. this is a jack-of-all-trades, master of well, some. It effectively destroys any gripe I had with parker previously. The deluxe sounded plastic and waaaaay too bright for my tastes. The nitefly was uncomfortable and far too strat-y. I always wanted to like parker guitars, but never had a reason to. The mojo is a reason.

This guitar has every feature a professional musician could ask for and is extremely reliable.

The best thing of this guitar is the variety of sounds and styles that can be achieved. No need for switching guitars!

MY guitar was fine but I did adjust the action a bit lower. Now it is good, my only complaint is the painted and laquered back of the neck. I prefer a neck with a tung oil or satin finish on the back of the neck. I realize that this is being a little picky but for a guitar of a substantial price it should be included. When I am playing live and my hands start to sweat it sticks a little,making fast leads a little more challenging.

So far so good.I am touring musician and am not afraid that this guitar won't perform, however, as a good rule you should always carry a backup.

This is where parker fails miserably! My guitar was one of the first parker mojos and was made before the manuel was printed. I called to get a manuel after the fact but unfortunately ken parker had sold the company once again after aquireing it back! The new owners not only moved their entire operation from mass to illinois but fired the original parker people! I found out from the pompous ass I spoke with on the phone. I asked for a manuel for my guitar and they acted like I was a bother, finally they said they would send one and never did! This is ridiculous!I paid 2,499.00 and they can't send me a manuel! I wanted one incase I later decided to sell but they did not care! The new owners are pompous assholes who do not appreciate your business! Buy used and do yourself a favor!!!!!

I am a professional musician and have toured and opened up with many famous acts. i will not bore you with all of my equipment but less say I've tried many a things.

Ken Parker, you've done it! You've made a great guitar, an almost perfect guitar (see below as to why it falls short of perfect). Each and every modification that was implimented in this guitar are really evolutionary. The simplified control set-up is a much more intuitative design. The toggle switches are longer, and have a longer throw, so it's easier to get the right toggle switch settings in the heat of battle. The pots/knobs are meatier and have more friction. They're not easily reset by just brushing past them (although volume pot swells are hampered just a bit). The spring tension wheel is only accessible from the back of the guitar, so as to protect it from accidental re-adjustment. The battery access port is sweet, albeit it's a bit on the flimsy side (especially it's wiring. more on that later). I wish that the bridge step-stop still had the thumb tab so that it could be applied on the fly (no pun intended) in the event of string breakage. I see the reasoning behind having to use a special tool to apply it, as I would from time to time accidently apply the step-stop on my older Fly Classic by friction against my body. The Duncan pups and push/pull pup splitter are the piece de resistance. The Parker Fly Mojo vibrato bridge (all Parker Fly vibrato bridges, for that matter) is a Godsend in and of itself. The nearly straight string pull through the bridge and over the bridge saddles has enabled me to actually drop down a gauge in the strings that I use (from .011s to .010s). Guitars that I've used in the past utilized vibrato bridges that brought the strings up through the bottom of the bridge (through the back of the guitar) and over the bridge saddle pieces at a 90-degree angle. This sharp of a break angle over the bridge saddle pieces leaves the strings much more prone to breakage. I'm using lighter gauge strings with my Fly Mojo (and before with my Fly Classic) with far far less string breakage than my other guitars. Once the turn around time at the custom shop is a bit shorter (at this time, 6 mos. to a year), I plan an ordering one with an exotic wood top.

This guitar sounds great! The refinements made to this, as well as Parker's other newer style Fly guitars are dead on point. I have a '96' Parker Fly Classic which gave me a thick jazz tone (a bit on the tubby side though) in the neck position, a skanky funk rhythmn tone (annoying to some; I could work with it, and actually kinda' liked it) in the middle position, and a hot rodded rock/lead tone (the bridge pup is good for NOTHING else) in the bridge position. The Parker Fly Mojo sounds much better all the way around. The Seymour Duncan Jazz pup in the neck position yeilds a nice warm jazzy tone without being too bottom heavy. The Duncan JB in the bridge gives a nice driving rock/lead tone, but has enough butt n' balls to yeild some nice clean n' in between tones as well. Add to these great pups the ability to split each pup and the tones are in abundance. As for the piezo system in the Mojo, Parker did well to get rid of the tone control. I never really used it on my Classic, and am one to not have a bunch of goo gaws that I don't need cluttering up the real-estate that is the control section of my guitar. The piezo system in the Parker Fly guitars has always been a highlight of these guitars, IMHO, and this newest version is the most refined yet.

Parker Fly guitars have always been, IMHO, the hot lick with regard to action, finish, and feel (right from the factory, no less). The tones, or lack there of, and the over complicated control scheme were always their only drawbacks (I probably never would've bought my Fly Classic, but I practically stole it for what I paid for it). The Mojo that I have is natural mahogany, and it's a stunner. The finish on the back of the guitar (rootbeer, which just so happens to be the color of my Fly Classic) is also flawless, and it's a great neutral kinda' color that looks really nice against the natural mahogany. As for my experience, there ain't no better playing, nicer feeling guitar on this planet. Add to that the fact that the guitar only weighs 5lbs.! Running through airports (Murphy's Law: the distance from security check in to your gate will increase in direct proportion to the amount/weight of the gear that you're carrying) with the axe slung back ain't ever been this sweet. I gave a 9 rating here because I had a bit of trouble with the strings (the G string especially) getting hung up in the nut. In Parker's defense, I switched from .009s to .010 gauge strings. I had the folks at Parker to file the nut for the particular strings that I use (see below for info as to why they had my guitar in the first place to do the above modification), and that's no longer an issue.

Before I got my Parker Fly guitars, I would travel with at least two guitars (mostly in case of string breakage). Once I got my Parker Fly guitars (first the Fly Classic, then the Fly Mojo), I no longer felt the need to carry two axes (see the "features" section for the whys of not needing to carry a spare). Uh, that is UNTIL...

My guitar get's played EVERY single day of the week. I do anywhere from 4 to 8 or more gigs per week, plus rehearsals, recording sessions, some actual practice, etc., so it's constantly in service. Anyway, I'm setting up for a gig this one night, and I notice that the output has worked it's way loose, just a bit. I remove the rear control cavity cover to tighten the output jack retainer nut, and all hell breaks loose...literally! As I ever so slightly twisted the output jack into positon so that I could tighten the retainer nut, three solder joints break away! The gauge of the wire in the control circuit of my Mojo was ridiculously small, which yeilded small and fragile solder connections. Since I was only carrying the one guitar on this particular occassion, I was ass out on the gig. I immediately contacted the folks at US Music Corp./Parker Guitars, and shipped them the guitar the very next day. The details of this action are to follow in the "customer suupport" section. The guitar was repaired according to my suggested specifications, and I can again travel with only the one guitar (but I'm ever mindful of the dreaded loose output jack scenerio).

I contacted US Music Corp./Parker Guitars (see above for the whys), and was dealt with very courteously. I was informed that the turn-around time for repairs (of this and/or of any nature is a question that I didn't ask) is 4 weeks. I shipped the guitar to US Music Corp. on 02/22/05, they received it on 02/25/05. I enclosed a note with the guitar stating that I would like to have the angel hair wiring replaced with a more substantiao gauge, and that I needed the nut filed for .010 gauged strings (DR "Tite-Fit" .010s to be exact). 03/16/05 I received a call from US Music Corp. whereupon I was quoted a price of $18 for the repair (very reasonable, although it should not have been needed), plus $35 for a factory set-up. I didn't ask for (nor fealt the need for) a set-up, as my guitar played perfectly. I didn't argue the point, because the guitar may have needed some adjustment after the nut was filed, just maybe (note: we're two weeks into this deal before the guitar is even looked at). My credit card was charged that same day for the cost of the repairs/mods. 03/29/05 I arrive home to find my recently repaired Fly Mojo waiting for me on my door step. True to their word, a 4 week turn-around on the repair (wink). I unbox the guitar and flip it over to remove the control cavity cover for a quick inspection of the work, and find that all but one of the control cavity cover screws is missing! (Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong, will). A quick call to US Music Corp./Parker Guitars, an apology and an explanation from them of the oversight, and the missing screws are on their way. 04/05/05 I received the replacement screws. I gave a 7 rating for this category because I don't think that US Music Corp./Parker Guitars was very attentive or communicative to me. I called a couple of times (1 week intervals from the day that they received my guitar for repair) for repair status updates, and no one could give any specific info. At one point, I was given a mild scare when the person that I spoke to stated that he couldn't find my guitar in their system (even after receiving the guitar, they don't enter it into their system until it is actually looked at. that's how I know that it was two weeks before my guitar was even looked at). The only communication that was initiated by US Music Corp. was when they needed to give me the repair costs, and to find out how they were going to be paid. I never even got a call stating that the work was complete, and that the guitar was on it's way! They paid the return shipping cost, so a 7 rating is fair. Draw your own conclusions from this one.

As you can tell, the comparisons that I made with this guitar are with older Parker Fly guitars (my Fly Classic to be exact). That's mainly because no other guitar can really compare, on any level. It wouldn't even be fair to compare this axe to anything 2 or more times as expensive. It's a wrap! The Parkers have it!

2005 USA (revised model)24 frets, Natural Mahogany gloss,Dual humbuckers with coil tap, Seymore Duncan Pickups Jazz and JB, Piezo saddle pickups in Bridge, Parker Vibrato Bridge, Sperzel locking tuners, neck thru design in carbon glass, and nice hard shell case. Everything you could ask for from the factory I will add strap locks and that will be it!

You have to be patient with this guitar at first. Figure out the pick up and piezo controls before you expect a perfect sound. There is a small sound guide that comes with the guitar that is a good place to start. Once you get it figured out LOOK OUT this thing sounds amazing!!! I cant believe how good the clean tones are and how many of options of clean tone that you can get: single coil with or with out piezo, neck HB with our with out piezo, dual single coil, etc... Lots of options, I spent the whole first day with this thing just in the clean tones!! This guitar is very full for how thin it is!! The distortion has a good kick nice bass and plenty of versitility there also. This is hands down the most versitle guitar I have ever played!!

I got the guitar from a shop that shipped it out. They told me the setup every guitar they sell, so I can't judge factory setup. The setup that they supposedly did was not that great( alittle to much fret buzz for my taste.) Everything else was great no finish flaws anywhere looks perfect the natural is awsome looking. All the harware is nice and snug.

It feels SOOOO durable even thou it is so light you can just feel quality and durability. The finish seems very durable and I think it will prevent excessive pick marks. I will upgrade to strap locks just to be safe (this thing is expensive and I dont trust stock strap buttons)

I have called them twice they where very helpfull. I am currently waiting for one of their tec's to call me back because there online manual stinks. The shop I got it from never mailed me an owners manual. Parker said they would mail me one out at no cost (even though it was the dealers mistake)The warrenty is only 1 year, I am a bit disappointed in that so No 10!

This is an un believable guitar. It sounds like all my guitars combined. I think with the piezo's combined with the coil tap you can really get that Strat sound it Sparkles! With distortion it sounds great the JB in the bridge is a hot pickup. When Parker say's "nothing plays like a Parker" they mean it! I cant explain how great the neck feels!! Some people have mentioned the top horn rubs your chest when playing sitting down. I dont think that this is that big of a deal but it might bother some, it does not prevent me from giving this guitar the 10 that it deserves!

Feel free to email me with any questions!