Parker Guitars NiteFly M

Made in 2006 - bought it NOS (new old stock) from a music store online. If you're reading this you already know the specs, but I'll do it quick:

HH/P - Dimarzio special design - passive :: Piezo - active
Mahogany; natural oiled satin finish. Nice. Very nice.
Locking sperzels. Say no more.
Neck is a bit wide and medium thick. I think a bit thinner would be better, but this has the space age thing going on with the exo-skeleton carbon and gonzo-goo. Feels quite good.
Stainless steel frets, and they're done right. No need to touch these.

I've had it nearly a month at this point, and I haven't spent a lot of time with it. I was a little disappointed with the Dimarzio pups at first, as the best sound I could find was the one in the Parker video: neck pup in tapped in tandem with the piezo, split with the piezo going to a separate amp with chorus and delay. I kept at it, and wouldn't you know the Dimarzio pickups are growing on me. Once you find your way around the various combinations available to you, things start to open up and you find yourself getting lost in what this guitar can do. Rich, full, everything is here. I think a bit hotter pickups would tap better, but this guitar seems to be all about balance: balanced feel, balanced sound, balance, balance, balance. Dislikes? Price, but when you think about what you're buying, and the fact that it's made in the USA, you forget the money you spent. Picky stuff: the pickup poles are WAY off the strings at the bridge position, and this can't be rectified due to string spacing and a very tight pickup cavity routed for the triangle-eared Dimarzio thing. Two-grand guitars with "special design" pickups shouldn't have this problem. Period.

The store set it up to Parker specs, and they did a fine job. I dropped the action a smidge (down to .06+/- high and low) and was good to go. The necks on these don't move with the gonzo carbon goo thing going on. Not futzing with truss rods is a joy. Not tuning all the time is a joy. Not wiping fingerprints is a joy. This damn thing is a joy!

This one stays home. Period. I'm sure it would do fine on the Redneck Riveria, but I like it in my humble home studio just fine, thank you. My mim strats, tele and maybe a Dillion will suffice if I go-a-roving.

Haven't dealt with them yet. I'll update if I do. Warranty is one year.

I've played enough guitars to know quality, and this IS quality. You pay for it, though. But when you consider that an American strat is 1/3 less and that you're getting twice as much with the Nitefly, things don't seem so bad when the bill comes.
Sure, I'd replace it if I had the money.

I love the feel, and the sound is growing on me each time I plug it in. For a thin bodied guitar this thing is very resonate. Don't get me wrong. I love my strat and my tele, but this guitar is an entirely different animal, and it's a damn good vibe once you sink your hands in it.

Wish? Better pickups, but the stock set isn't as bad as you may think at first - give them time, they really aren't all that bad.

The features of this guitar look great on paper, so I bought it. Wish I hadn't. It's a very brittle and thin sounding guitar. I think that's because of the steel frets and the odd Parker bridge. Upon receipt, I found it needed some setup. But no matter what I do, I can't get the fret buzzing off the low E pretty much up and down the neck nor can I get the disastorous dead spots off the G string frets from about the 10 fret to the 18th fret. The DiMarzio pickups are a big diappointment. They sound shrill and it's difficult to raise and lower them on the body. The Fishman sounds okay and adds some variety, but I'd rather just use an amp or effect pedal with an acoustic simulator. These hardware features on another guitar are probably pretty good.

Brittle, thin, and shrill best sum it up. As said, the Fishman acoustic sounds okay. But the fact that it's hard to setup right and has fret buzz and dead spot issues makes it practically unplayable. The humbuckers can be split to single coil which is a feature I like on guitars. I think it sounds a little better in single coil mode than humbucker mode. The humbuckers actually sound a little buzzy, weak and artificial on some amps.

All the stories about perfect setup up out of the box sound suspicious to me. As said, mine is a big disappointment. It comes strong with 9's. I switched to 10's but still have problems with my high E (1st) string slipping off the fretboard. I have a somewhat heavy playing style, but I've never experienced the problem to this extent as on my Parker. The epoxy neck and fretboard finish are nice and feel good. I feel like the neck is too thick and it's made for very big hands. Uncomfortable. The raised and pointy "wing" at the top of the body is one of the biggest design flaws I've ever come across on a guitar. It makes it extremely uncomfortable to play this guitar sitting down and hunched a little. It's a little better standing with a strap, but I still don't like the look, location or interfence with the wing.

Nothing has broken on me, but the guitar just has this odd, fragile feel to it. I don't think it's just because it's light weight. It's hard to explain. I find the Sperzel tuners kind of fragile and inconvenient. I think I'd rather string it on normal posts and get a couple wounds. The body is easily scratched and dented. I hate the position of the tone and volume controls, they get in the way of hand dampening and hard strumming. When dampening, my pinky finger actually hits the bridge volume knob.

Some emails to Parker were replied to in a few days with very short responses. Some were ignored completely. The Parker forum seems to be run by prima donnas and the participants seem like a bunch of nerds and prima donnas. The Paker Nitefly manual is a joke. It's full of typos and even notes to themselves that they haven't taken the time to correct. Hand drawn graphics? C'mon, take some digitar photos! They never bothered to pay attention to my suggestions to improve and correct the manual.

I've played a lot of guitars and I was hoping this was the one. It obviously isn't. I expected much better from an American made guitar, with its features, and at the price I paid. But I'm going to sell it because it's a big disappointment. I'm just glad I got a good deal in the first place so maybe I won't lose too much. Parker has had big problems in the past and I see why first hand. I don't think they'll be around long term. This guitar is overpriced given its design flaws, playability/quality flaws, it's fragility and it's shrill and artificial sound. Won't make the same mistake twice. I'd rather play a Mexican Strat than this junker. Maybe I'll trade it for one.

2005
22 Frets
H/H, 3 way selector w/ coil tap
Dimarzio Custom Wound Parker Fly Humbuckers
Piezo Bridge
All Mahogany
Locking Tuners, Parker Trem, Graphite Nut
Wide, Thin Neck

Tons of sounds, always fun to play with settings. Trem is great, stays in tune very well, easy to restring. Body shape is awkward with the upper wing being pointy.

Good sounds out of it no matter what you do with it. Very full sound, never thin.
Setup through a Splawn Quick Rod/ Marshall 2x12. MXR Phase 90, Boss Chromatic Tuner, Dunlop Wah (given to me by a friend, says it was modified?, sounds good). I emailed Dimarzio to find out what the specs were on the pickups cause they cut better than the Tone Zone ones I had in other guitars, they said the Breed pickups were the closest but with more mids and presence.

Guitar was setup well from the factory but the action can be lowered to almost nothing, actually had to raise it a little. Trem was too taut so I took a spring out. Neck is so smooth with the stainless frets, almost too perfect, doesn't fight you at all to bend. Overall very playable from the factory.

Played this out about 10 times, couldn't give up my other guitars that have been with me for about 200 gigs to take this out much. Always in tune and the other guys in the band tell me how good it sounds. I don't break many strings but with the ease that you can change them on it is a plus. The only problem I have is that this guitar has more knobs and switches than my others, sometimes I had the piezo on when I didn't want. Oops.

Never had to deal with Parker but had the piezo pot replaced once when it stopped working for no reason. Place where I bought it took care of it quickly.

Playing for 8 years. Other guitars are a 2002 Hardtail Strat w/ Dimarzio's, 1999 Wolfgang stoptail, PRS Soapbar SE w/ Dimarzio's. If I had to replace this guitar I would like to get a Nitefly A that doesn't have the piezo cause I don't really use it that much and it broke on this one. I wish other companies made trems like this, I don't like double locking trems. Changing strings should not take the better part of the day for a couple guitars especially when they are changed weekly.

I bought this in 2002 from AMS. It has a carbon glass finish(?) Through out the whole guitar with Mahogany wood underneath. I don't know if they make this finish anymore but this is tough stuff. I have not gotten a ding yet and any other guitar would have. I have a Nitefly M standard Dimarzio pickups, 22 frets stainless steel, tremelo with stop screw (only will go down if set that way, great feature), graphite nut, and locking tuners. This baby stays in tune. No more locking tremelo nightmare. Three way switch with H/H and coil splitter allowing six p/u selections. Oh..piezo p/u and toggle switch for piezo/mag individual or combo.

To rate this category it is hard because the piezo's combined with the mag's is a whole new adventure. You could almost give it a 10, but I think I'll give it a 9 because the mag p/u's are sub-par. They were bright and thin. They now put Jb's and Jazz in them now but mine had some special design p/u no name by Dimarzio. So I put in a Dimarzio tone zone and Air Norton. This improved the sound dramatically and now I can give it a 10. You can pretty much play any style of music on this guitar very versatile. I'm using this with a Mesa Boogie Lonestar amp and split the piezo's to the PA. Usually guitarists come up to me and ask how I'm getting that tone it sounds so good. I also have a pedal board and I'm constantly changing various pedal's in and out.

I took a chance and ordered this thing without playing it based on a recommendation from a friend. He was right. This is the finest guitar I have ever played. The action was a little high so I set it down. I had a little trouble with one of the locking tuner's, but my friend was able to file the thread back into shape. The amazing thing about this guitar is the compound radius of the neck. At first I didn't notice it and like any other guitar there's a slight adjustment period to playing the neck. After playing this guitar for a couple months I went to play my Strat and almost could not manage the neck anymore. So I tried my Les Paul, same thing. Then I played my Parker again and really began to appreciate the compound neck. It is now the easiest guitar to play wherever I go, whatever I play. It intonates very well too. One of the best I've intonated. As for the finish with this carbon glass(?) over the whole guitar, I really like this too because I sweat on it and it clean's right up. No need for guitar polish or lemon oil. I think it would take a hammer to put a ding in this thing.

Like I said, it would take a hammer to put a ding in this finish. Everything work's fine after three to four years now. Best guitar I've ever had.

N/A

I've been playing for 35 years. I've played and owned just about everything. I'm not a tone purist since it is electric, if it were an acoustic guitar I suppose wood's and thing's would have made a difference. Anyhow, I would definately replace this if it were to be lost or stolen. Main reason I would do this is because the compound neck has me hooked and no other guitar feels right to me anymore. The only other guitar I might even consider, would be a PRS. I play some occasionally at the music store's that cost three grand or so and I still like this Parker better.
These features in combination make the guitar unique:

Carbon Glass finish all over,
stainless steel frets,
compound radius fretboard,
H/H with coil splitters,
tremelo with Parker design and stop screw,
locking tuner's,
graphite nut,
piezo p/u,
and very light weight.

Overall no other guitar matches this. This baby is a 10.

OK

Nice

Factory setup not my taste ... kinda high action

Soft wood can mark easily ... saddle pup on low E stopped working after a couple months ... probably can't get another as THEY DO NOT COMMUNICATE WITH YOU!!

No response from Parker to email sent by the store where I bought/teach at, or my email.
Just requested springs for different gauge strings, replacement saddle screws ... have not heard anything at all from them.

Great guitars, have had 2 now ....
No support at all - UR on your own.

Everything I need and more EXCEPT 24 frets- why 22 when the more expensive flys have 24? For that it gets a 9.

Competent in all areas- the stock magnetic pickups are fine as are the piezos- I find the best clean sounds are achieved by mixing the neck humbucker, either straight or split with the piezo for a rich, detailed tone. The bridge H/B is perfectly adequate for both heavy rhythm and clear leads, also good smooth leads from the neck pickup, esp. for sweeping and tapping.

Everything is pristine and feels great- only had one problem, which I'll put under the next category.

I've had this guitar about a year, I switched to guitar in my band about 6 months ago, gigged it 8-10 times since without a problem, got a couple of dents from stupid accidents but that's my fault, I'd rather have it dented than covered in paint :) The problem I've had seems bizarrely to be unique to my guitar- the ball bearings fall out of the saddles. Noone else here or anywhere on the web has reported this but it's happened twice while I've been changing strings. I don't kick it and shake it about, honest! 1st time I couldn't find the bearing and ordered a new saddle for about #13. It happened again last week, I found the bearing and glued it back to the circuit board with epoxy resin, applied using a paperclip. The bearing does not transmit charge, only vibrations so it works fine- strange but true. so, -2!

Didin't deal with parker, I think I got the saddle from sound control, who were very helpful.

I've been playing about 7 years.
Other gear:
Gordon Smith G-60
cheap Chinese 7 string
Mesa/Boogie DC5 head
Orange 4x12 slant cab (travis sig. hehe)
fender 10 watt practice amp.

If it were stolen, I would definitely buy it again for #650- but for #1150 new I might look elsewhere (eg. Ibanez RG3120 prestige)

It should be mentioned that it is a beautiful object- it's shape is quirky but in a completely natural and pleasing way.

The only things I dislike are the 22 rather than 24 fret neck, and the mysterious saddle breakages, but neither is a major annoyance. It is by far the best guitar that I have owned, and it is also distinctive and different (unlike the aforementioned nice yet ubiquitous Ibanez RG). I've grown to love this guitar, warts and all and will never sell it- so for me it's a ten.

Mine is a 2005 made in USA, a hunk of beautiful solid Mahogany. This wood sings even acoustically. The usual features for this model; carbon/glass fretboard,stainless steel frets,sperzel locking tuners, hardtail/floating/down only tremelo, mahogany body, two DiMarzio humbuckers with single-coil sound in the 2 position, piezo bridge, bolt-on neck, oiled finish, black very thin neck. Gig bag.

Some say the Parkers have too much high end due to the steel frets and Piezo, but I think it's not excessive and if you want more low use the tone controls or EQ. I love the sound of the pickups and piezo mixed. I don't have that on any of my other guitars so it was a welcomed feature. Very quite PU's, with more spark than my Les Paul. Nice full sound and with the Piezo, so many mixing possibilities! Great variety.

Set up perfect from the factory, every thing adjusted just fine for my tastes. No flaws that I have noticed.

Fragile looking and feeling guitar. Perfect for studio but I would not take it out live alone. The weight is very light for live playing however. They say the steel frets last a long time and that's a good thing.

NA

Here's the thing to watch. I would not advise buying one without playing it first. The neck is short and very thin and it takes getting used to. It's not for everyone. The body is thin as well and that thin-ness digs into my right arm when playing. It's fine for my short studio work but I would find it unbearable if I had to stand there playing this one guitar for several hours live. The sounds to me were what sold me on this model. I have other guitars for other sounds. Several Gibsons, Hamer, and Strats. The sounds are my fav feature, the wood look is a good second, the size and shape is my least fav feature. I wish it had a cut or bend in the body where ones arm drapes over when playing. If stolen I might get another, I might not. It would depend on what else is available with a Piezo at the time. There is nothing else like this Parker in guitarland and either you will probably love it or hate it. Right now I love it and there is a place for it in my collection, but on the other hand, I would probably end up hating it if it was my only guitar. I am told there is a ten month waiting period if you order one from Parker so if you see one you like, don't wait too long, you might lose it to someone else.

Year? - Dunno. 22 frets, Solid Mahogany. Di Marzio Humbuckers and Piezo bridge. Sperzel locking tuners. Carbon fiber glass covered neck and fretboard. Stainless steel frets. 3-way Humbucker selector switch, humbuckers/piezo A/B/Y switch. Humbucker volume, piezo volume and humbucker coil splitter. Stereo 1/4 in out. Whammy bar, truss rod adjuster, 2 hex keys for adjusting action/pickup height. Nice gig bag.

You can make this guitar sound like anything. I run the magnetic output through a Boss GT6 and the acoustic output through a Boss AD8. Those go to a Roland KC550 or direct to a PA. The outputs work well with these effects. The AD8 seems especially easy to overdrive (with terrible results). The Parker won't do that. I have three guitars that have magnetic/piezo combos - a Carvin AE-185 (my favorite) the Parker (a very close second) and an '94 Amer. Strat with a Fishman Powerbridge. I love 'em all - a lot, but the Parker beats the Strat - More versatile.

The is the easiest guitar to play that I have ever owned, borrowed or snuck a quick lick on. I can't remember how it came setup. It is so stinking easy to set the action on this guitar. Nothing comes remotely close, in my experiance. I've tried the action all kinds of ways just to see how I liked it. If I didn't like it, I just set it back. It takes about 2 minutes to do a proper job. 20 seconds if you're in a hurry.

The Sperzels really help this guitar stay in tune even with the most insane bending.

Fit and finish were among the best in this price range.

I have gigged the living fire out of this puppy without the slightest problem. It's been knocked off of its stand by the lead vocalist, bumped into by who knows how many patrons who were "in their cups". Carted hither and yon in everything from a minivan to the back of my pickup truck (I bought a hardcase for it very early in our life together. Don't try this with a gig bag).

As with all my guitars I replaced the strap buttons with Dunlop straplaocks immediately on purchase - so I can't comment there.

I don't gig wihout a backup if I can help it. I've never needed one with this guitar. It has, however, had to bail out both the Carvin and the Strat when they went temporarily south.

I have never had any occasion to use it. Between the manual and the included tools, I've been able to do all the very minor things that need doing to this guitar.

I've been playing for 34 years. I have a Carvin AE-185, Parker NiteFly M, '94 Amer. Strat, Ovation CS2000, Ovation 1778LX, Godin A12, and a 32-yr old Japanese Washburn dreadnought. Boss GT6 and AD8 effects. Marshall AS100D and a Roland KC550 amp.

If this were lost or stolen I would get it or another Parker as fast as I could. In contrast I am about to sell the Strat. The Strat is a lovely guitar and I like it more than a little, but with the Carvin and the Parker it's superfluous. The Carvin beats the Parker on looks (beautiful quilted maple top) and versatility (separate tone controls for the magnetics and the piezo, separate coil splitters for each humbucker, separate outputs for the magnetic and the piezo, phase switch, etc.). The Carvin is lighter (I must own the two lightest models of electric guitar made. My shoulder loves me.) The Parker is easier to play, is very versatile in its own right and has proven to be rock solid dependable.

I have owned the Parker for about 5 years and still love it.

Made in USA (i dont know wich year).
Made of Mahagony
22 frets.
Controls are:
pots :1 volume for mag pu.-s 1 tone (for the mag pu.-s) and 1 volume for the piezo;
switches: 1 3 way selector for the pu-s and 1 selector for the piezo/mag pu.-s.
HH pickup config (Custom DiMarzio) w. passive electronics and active Piezo system
Custom Parker Trem (wich is the best trem i've ever seen).
Sperzel locking Tuners.
So. This guitar has everything i need. I give it a 10.

So the sound is very great! And fits for many different things. I play many thing. From some modern Metal to Pink Floyd, manythings. Personally i don't like the DiMarzio sound, but that customs are really great. I tested it on a Mesa Quad preamp w. a MosValve and a 4x12 Celestion box. The bridge pickup can be extremley brutal if you want it! The neck pickup is good, but not too characteristic. I think its very good for Jazz. And the best part is: forget about noise.
So about the Piezos...
Its quiet good and clear on the higher strings, but esp on the low E and the A string, it doesn't sounds like an accoustic. And the piezos sound a little "plastic", but i think that can be said about most of the piezos...

So the mags are 10, the piezo are 6 wich means the overall score is: 8

I buyed it used, so i don't no.

Not too old guitar but i think this is a very reliable instrument. The fret are from stainless steel (with along most of the hardware).

Never needed (and if i would need the support, they are too distant from here :D)

Except the not-so-perfect piezos its the perfect instrument for me. Sounds great, has anything i need. What else can i say?
I certainly try to buy another if it were lost, but this is a real rarity here.
One warning to you! If you buy this baby everyone will be joking with its head, so be prepared!!! :DDD

Built Summer of 2004, USA. 22 frets, solid mahagony body, oiled finish, no paint. Very cool control layout for both the humbuckers and the piezos. I think the Dimarzios sound very good through my Fender Blues Deluxe. The neck is mahagony with carbon fiber. The Sperzel tuners work by clamping the string in place. It's simple and fast to change a string and the guitar holds a tuning really well. The string spacing is great. So many necks are set up so that the high E falls off the edge, but the Parker does not have that problem. The guitar came with a very nice hardshell case, and tools to adjust the neck and pickups.

I play a variety, classic rock, blues, pop. That's the best thing about the Parker, it's ability to cover a lot of sounds. I think the acoustic, through the right sound system, is great.

The setup and action were exactly the way I like it. I didn't change a thing. The finish and quality of all the components of the guitar was outstanding.

It feels solid and I believe it would hold up well playing out. I never go out with a single guitar, no matter what it is. I'd be a little cautious because of the oiled finish on the body, but I haven't had enough experience with this type of finish to know how tough it is.

Very friendly support. I wasn't shuffled through an automated system, and the tech who answered took care of all the questions I had.

I've been playing for over 30 years and own several other guitars, Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker, Ovation. This is definitely the best setup, easiest playing guitar I've ever had. Very unique, original design. Love the neck, love the sounds. Nice construction and finishing. All I could ask for. I'd definitely get another.

For the Frenchies :

Payee quasi neuve sur ebay 865 USD, elle me revient avec le transport et les taxes 800 ? ! Ebay c'est bien ! Elle coute pas moins de 1500 euros en boutique.
Fabriquee aux USA,
22 frettes,
2 humbuckers
1 piezo
manche visse
mecaniques a vis
vibrato
2 switchs a 3 positions: 1 controle les humbuckers l'autre le piezo pour l'avoir seul, avec les humbuckers ou desactive.
3 potards : 1 pour le volume des humbuckers, 1 pour leur tonalite et un autre pour le volume du piezo.
Je met 9 parce que j'aurai bien aime une tonalite pour le piezo mais c'est vraiment pour pinailler...

J'aime beaucoup. Ma strat deluxe + est rangee pour longtemps.
Pour l'instant je suis sur un POD mais je peux comparer avec ma strato. Le piezo sonne pas mal du tout, je suis surpris ! Pour les rythmiques ou les solos en son clair c'est du bonheur. Avec le micro grave mixe on peux arriver a les sons de Gibson demi caisse genre ES335 sans se prendre le choux. Je mettrai 10 mais le micro aigu ne me plait pas beaucoup... le son est pas assez ouvert en solo et les rythmiques tres saturees bavent un peu, cela dit il va falloir que je me penche sur les reglages du pod un peu plus. Enfin, en mode simple bobinage (potard push/pull pour les splitter...super ca !) ils sont geniaux, le son est super expressif et bien creuse, mixes avec le piezo j'arrive a des sons clairs sublimes... mieux que ma strat et de loin ! En fait je dirai que le piezo donne du coffre aux magnetiques en son clair et c'est vraiment excellent.
Le sustain est terrible, cette guitare peut presque servir a tout jouer a part le gros heavy mais bon, les micros peuvent de changer, je vais y venir... et la j'aurai la guitare de reve.
Je met 9 mais avec d'autres micros je mettrai 11.

Ben la on voit la qualite partout sur cette guitare, je ne vois pas quoi dire d'autre que magnifique, divine, exceptionnelle... tout ca.
Le manche est le meilleur que j'ai jamais eu la chance de toucher, les frettes sont PARFAITES ! Le contact avec cet instrument est merveilleux. L'action des cordes est millimetrique, un confort de jeu sans pareil. Le vibrato est a lui tout seul une oeuvre d'art (tout comme le manche, il faut le savoir, alors je radote) dive bombing ou leger vibrato, c'est tres souple et facile a maitriser et surtout jamais il ne desaccorde la guitare d'un poil !!! Etonnante cette guitare. Ma strato fait pale figure au niveau de la finition, de la tenue de l'accord ou bien de l'action par defaut des cordes.

Trop tot pour le dire mais elle me semble tout a fait indestructible ! Tous les elements de cette guitare sont de tres grande qualite.

j'ai une carte de garantie mais je ne sais pas si c'est valable pour la France. Sinon Joli site internet ou on peut s'enregistrer en donnant le numero de serie, tout ca m'a l'air bien serieux.

Je joue depuis 14 ans du blues, reggae/dub, et des trucs plus personnels ou je cherche a sortir de ce qui se fait deja tout en restant - je l'espere - musical et expressif. J'ai juste une strat sinon parce qu'elle me suffisait pour jouer ce que j'avais en tete mais maintenant je me rends compte que c'est cette guitare qu'il me faut. Elle est tellement excellente dans sa polyvalence, je l'aime quoi ! J'en ai pourtant essaye des guitares cheres mais celle la les surpasse toutes pour moi... enfin j'avais beaucoup aime la MUSIC MAN Axis (modele Van Halen) mais j'echangerai pas contre ma Parker meme si les micros pourraient meilleurs. Je verrai avec un luthier plus tard si on peux adapter des Seymour duncan, sinon je mettrai des vitual paf et je serai tres heureux comme ca.

2002 nitefly-m made in usa same config to all reviews above

i play mstly jazz and blues and some classical rock (santana) this beauty fits them EXCELENT some are saying than the dimarzzio PU are crap in my opinion they are FANTASTIC sound great an whith the piezo make a very unique sound this guitar is the best i ever play in my life and i own several guitars (yamaha,gibson,fender,epiphone you name it i have it) but i will go to send ALL my others guitars to keep ONLY THE PARKER it sound superb

i buyed this used and it was allready set-up VERY low and that is the way i like it,its in MINT condition no flaws or dents excelent bridge and PU not noisy at all i play this thru a FENDER TWIN REVERB ist soun awsome

it looks very solid i think it was build like a tank very very well done hig quiality workmanship excelent tuners i think this guitar will live forever

no deal with them yat i dont need it

ill been playing for 10 years i own 15 diferent guitars and this one is THE BEST very confortable very versatile hig quiality of workmanship beatiful sound very ligth its a wonder i choose this btwn a prs and a yamaha sg 3000 i like this parker better for the sound the tone the features and quality of workmanship and for the price is the best deal you can find honestly if you can buy one DO IT you don be desapointed its great

only parker sound like a parker
this guitar is for real man not for childs

2004 Nitefly M. You know all the features already..read on...

The sound on this guitar is truly remarkable. You have to hear to really appreciate how articulate every single note that you play sounds. I have found sounds in my Mesa-Boogie Nomad 45 that I didn't even know could be had...
Every thing is so clear, but will dirty up if you like...Bridge pickup is not as hot as a FRED or JB but fits the guitar. I play mostly my own stuff so my own sound is most important. This guitar is perfect for that.. including the Piezo makes for even more options....just a little hotter bridge and maybe a Sustainer and this guitar would be perfect. No it is perfect already ..10

The perfect combination a Mesa Boogie and a Parker Nitefly..and both made in this Country....go figure..

When I got it I lowered the action, but I have to do that with every guitar I own. No complaints about how it came. I like as little relief as possible and action as low as I can get it..Only one string was out of tune when I took it out of the box and leaving the original strings on it didn't give me that 'dirty fingers' that you get when playing other new guitars.

The guitar itself is beautiful. I mean down right gorgeous. Blows away any guitar I have ever seen, custom or not. To be a production model it makes that much more incredible. Not a flaw to be found. Frets are incredible. Any vibrato you create with your left hand is that much easier with these perfectly smooth and crowned frets.

Well, when you first pick it up, you notice that it is lighter that any guitar I have ever played. It almost feels like a toy. First impression left me worried that it would be delicate. But the first day I had it, I was holding it by its 'external monkey grip' and tripped on my daughter's cat. Reflexes drove the guitar up and into the ceiling of my basement. I freaked...the first this I did was check the headstock...only a little white paint on it..the the turning..spot on..then the electronics..everything worked perfectly. The only damage was the hole in my ceiling.. I would never think any of my guitars would take a shot like that, even if I intended to do it.. gotta live the composite neck..

Everything else on the guitar is tight and the way it should be..

I haven't dealt with them yet...

I have been playing since the late seventies and have played and owned guitars at both ends of the price range. This guitar, by far, is the finest musical instrument that I have ever played, let alone owned. I was debating between this guitar, a PRS and a Les Paul. I am glad that I chose tis one. I will admit the articulation of the sound is something that you may want to hear first hand before you buy. Not to mention how strange the neck feels at first.. it feels hollow, but once you play you can really feel the resonating of the strings. I'll admit, my San Dimas Charvel and my Wolfgang are not going anywhere, and will never be sold, but the rest of my guitars are now for sale because this guitar is in a whole different catagory. Mr. Parker and his associates blows every other guitar manufacturer away...being a Manufacturing Engineer, I know they are really doing their job there in New England. I am already saving for my Nitefly Mojo. Maybe I will make a sign out of my old guitars...

"This parking spot is reserved for 'The Man'
"Mr. Ken Parker"

Made in America, Mahogany body and neck, amazing stainless steel frets, carbon reinforced neck, piezo bridge, slitable coils, schaller tuners for super fast string changes. The bridge can be made either to float floyd rose style, down only Fender style or sort of locked (just crank the claw connected with the springs all the way down). And I just can't say enough about the weight, feather light compared to my Strat and Les Paul.

The stock pick-ups are OK, not great but useable. The great thing about this guitar is that unlike the other Fly models you can stick any after market DiMarzio that is F-spaced into it. The stock pick-ups are DiMarzio's but are modeled after the Tone Zone and the Air Norton. The bridge (tone zone) has great tone, but not enough output, the neck (air norton) has too much output and not warm and fat enough of a tone.
So I swapped them out. I put a Virtual PAF in the neck and a real Tone Zone in the bridge. Now the way a Nitefly is spaced you have to put a bridge pick-up that is F-spaced into the neck so that the strings line up to the pole pieces. You also have to route a little channel in the pick-up cavity so that the wire coming out of the pick-up isn't in the way any will allow you to lower the pick-up enough to have the action nice and low with the pick-up smacking into the strings. If you aren't very experienced in wiring get someone else to do it because when you open that cavity in the back and see wires going every where it is a little overwhelming. Anyway, the new Virtual PAF sounds so fat and warm, great clarity, decent output, great great tone. The really cool part is that even when you split the coils, the Virtual PAF sounds great! I get this really great Strat-ish tone that is fat, warm and clear with some sparkle. The Virtual PAF is a 100 times better! The Tone Zone is great, adds some really great low end and output, great for all kinds of heavy metal and rock. The really cool thing is if you split the coils and go into the middle position, you get this really neat strat/tele thing that is totally cool for some bluesy country stuff.
The piezo is OK, not great but good. You can get some really decent acoustic tones. I like it, but I know that there are better piezo systems out there with pre-amps and the whole nine yards, but considering the price that I paid and all the other things that I got on this guitar I'll be happy with what I got.

When it first arrived the action was WAY TOO HIGH!!! I mean seriously, this is a Parker! It's got the one of a kind composite neck with stainless steel frets and stuff! So I lowerd that puppy down and now it plays like butter! The thing practically plays itself! No buzzing of any sort, just clean easy playing.
The rest of the guitar is just great the wiring was all neat and clean, the bridge and nut are all perfect. The wood grain is absolutely beautiful.

Well this is really hard to say since I just got it and have it finally set up just the way I like it. But I can say this, I have owned one in the past and it held up great! But for that kind of money I always take really good care of my equipment and don't let anything happen to it. Other than that I have my reservations, there's the natural inclination to assume that a guitar that is that thin and light it has to be fragile and you have to be gentle with it. So I'll just continue babying it and make it last longer.

This is really where Parker shines! Will over at the Parker facility is just amazing. I called him so many times I swear he was able to recognize my voice and know what I needed before I had even finished introducing myself. They were great, he even gave suggestions for other pick-ups, and even told me how to wire them!
I haven't dealt with the warranty or repair since it's still brand new.

I've been playing for about 10 years have been through a plethora of gear, but have settled on a ESP EC-300 ATS (Les Paul knock-off) loaded with a Seymour Dunca JB in the bridge and a 59 in the neck. I also have a Fender Jimmie Vaughan Strat with Fender Fat 50's in the neck and middle and a Seymour Duncan Hotrails in the bridge and now my trusty Parker Nitefly M. If anything was to happen to my Parker I would immediately purchase another one with the same exact pick-up set up. I love this guitar it plays like a dream and has tone for days! So versatile (with the right pick-ups) and just a joy to play. The only thing that I don't like about it is that switching the pick-ups was a little bit of a pain. Having to route a channel in the pick-up cavity was a new experience for me. Other than that it wasn't too bad. I compare this to other Parkers because I knew I wanted one but didn't know which. I tried the Deluxe, but that was even lighter and felt like a toy and didn't sound nearly as nice, plus I spoke to Parker and they said that swapping pick-ups was far more difficult. The other major deterent for the rest of the Parker line was the price. The Mojo is over $2K, and I just can't justify shelling that out. I got out for under a $1K, with the perfect pick-ups and I couldn't be happier.

You know the basic appointments from the reviews below.
Tuners: Sperzel (my fav)
Pickups: Dimarzio and Fishman (I like them)
Body: Single piece of Mahogany
Neck: Size is somewhere between an Ibanez Wizard II and a 60's Strat.
Bridge: Aluminum & Stainless steel with ball bearings for saddles.
Accessories: Nicest gig bag ever, stereo cable, adjustment tools

I give it a 9 because it isn't as pretty as over guitars, but it has a whole lot of tone and playability no other guitar has.

I love playing jazz and blues. It is not noisy at all, dead quiet even with the coil split. My two amps I use the most are a Tech21 Trademark 60 for small gigs and jazz and a Traynor Custom Valve 80 for big gigs and blues/rock music.

This guitar really does it all. It isn't quite as rich and full as my Carvin H2 which is a hollowbody, but gets darn close. For overdriven rock-type sounds, it is wonderful and smooth. The Fishman piezo isn't as acoustic as an acoustic guitar, but does a good job.

All in all, you will be hard pressed to find a guitar with more versitility than a Parker with a Mahogany body.

Flawless... in all honesty it was flawless when I recieved it second hand. I did nothing to it and was great to play. The fingerboard feels great, the bridge is shaped very well. The only two things I don't like about the design is the smaller frets and the neck joint.

Other than that... perfection.

I play it live all the time. It does very well and I am very glad to have this guitar. Since most of my gigs are solo and I don't use a bunch of tunings, I typically only bring this one guitar. The strap buttons are oversized and very solid.

In the Jazz combo group this is my backup. I use my Carvin H2 as the main guitar for Jazz. For anything else though, the Parker would be it.

Never delt with them. Nice website though, very informative and nice sound clips and video.

I have been playing for almost a decade. I don't own a bunch of stuff, just two electrics, two acoustics and two amps. I know what I like and I am very happy with what I have.

I love how ergonomic it is. It is without a doubt the most comfortable guitar I have played in the standing position. In the beginning I was an acoustic musician and I have always wanted to have a way to capture that sound without changing instruments. The Parker NiteFly goes one step farther with the "blended" system. The feel is wonderful, the response is very nice and the hardware is top notch.

If it were lost or stolen, I would buy another. I wish the neck/body joint was a little more seamless like the non-bolt models. You really can't compare it to anything else. A Parker is a Parker and it isn't a Strat, Les Paul, PRS or any other guitar. It has it's own voice and it is lovely for $700 used.

Just a note for my review below. It took a couple of phone calls but when I spoke to customer service about not getting my rebate check they didn't just give me the # for their accts. payable dept. they personally got involved and I had the check in three days. Thanks Parker!!P.S. Still love this guitar and it is still my favorite.

Everyone here has all ready listed the particulars but the body is a gorgeous piece of stained mahogany and the neck is a fiberglss wood combination with black sperzels and dual humbuckers with pull up tone knob to split the coils. It has a 3 position swithc and a piezo/both/magnetic only pickup selector.MADE IN USA (mostly by hand)

I love the sound. It is very crisp or acoustic or thick or a wide variety of cominations. By no means a "shreder or metal" guitar and you would be much better served by an Ibanez or a Jackson if that type of music is your style but for Neil Young to Tom Petty to Clapton to Knofler and a wide aray of jazz and Rock styles this ax RULES!

Top shelf! The Store I deal with makes sure everthing is 100% BEFOR it hits the rack. They use Deadario XL 9's at the factory. Everything lines up perfectly neck and body flawless. Black hardware and pickups look real sharp

Mahogany body and Composite neck should be very durable although satin finnishes tend to be easy to hurt I've got to ding it a couple points for finish durability from past experience with other brands.

These guys are great. Although I have been wating over $ months for a rebate check I was told was maild out over a month ago. The people in Customer service were very knowledgeable and apreciative.

I'm 45 and I just started again a few years ago after giving it up for 15 years. The store was very helpful and I tried out at least a dozen diferent Parkers, Ibanez, Shcters, ESPs,Gibsons and Fenders. This guitar just spoke volumes to me. It was the most versatile and easy playing guitar I've ever had and I've had alot. From Teles to SG's to Strats. I do have a Burns Steer Deluxe the is truly unique but that's a differen animal. The Nightfly M is a world class guitar, for the money you can't but a better USA made electric guitarwith even half the versatility you get from the Nightfly.Bravo Parker!!

Great features=carbon/glass fretboard,stainless steel frets,sperzel locking tuners,a tremelo that can be a hardtail/floating/down only,beautiful mahogany body, two humbuckers with single-coil sound in the 2 position,piezo bridge,bolt-on neck.

I play mostly satriani/vai inspired stuff as well as I can and this guitar does the trick. I've heard some do not like the pickups on Parkers but I personally like the sound better than my JB's-again this is a personal preference issue (what kind of music you play, your amp,ect.).The single coil sounds very good (inner two coils of the humbuckers)but I'm not a strat-kind of guy so I'm not the person to give the best opinion on strat-like tone.The piezo bridge gives you that slightly percussive tone you hear with acoustic/electrics and is definately a excellent alternative to the clean sound of the magnetic pickups. The top of the Parker line (fly deluxe,classic) do sound better in the piezo department but they have a built-in preamp wheras the nitefly does not.

Everything was setup nicely from the factory, I just lowered the action a hair. As you probably have heard the frets are the best you can get on a guitar;all super-smooth and uniform in dimension, not to mention stainless steel so they will last a very long time. I have kept the tremelo in the down-only mode so I cannot give a opinion on the floating aspect of the tremelo (too many problems with other guitars floating trems).

I've only had this guitar two months but I play it every day, no problems as of yet. Of course with the natural satin finish on the stained mahogany body you dont have to worry about paint chipping.

Havent had to deal with customer support.

Been playing about 15yrs.My gear=2 Ibanez s-series,1 7-string Ibanez,1 Fernandes dragonfly Pro, 1 Schecter Omen 6.Amp=Vox valvetronix ad60vt. This is without a doubt my favorite guitar. For the longest time I really never considered Parkers because I thought they looked too weird, but with their reputation for quality, the features on this guitar I had to try one, I'm glad I did. If you can get past the non-traditional body shape (it grows on you) this is a excellent guitar, now I'm thinking of either getting another or a fly classic/standard.

See other reviews for feature list

Comes with one of the nicest gig bags I've ever seen.

I'm using this guitar for avante-guard jazz/rock/surf through a 1969 fender showman head, and a 2-12 cabinet with vintage fender speakers (VERY sweet sounding.)

Ah, well, the stock pickups are a bit "puffy" for my taste, though truth be told, I'm not a humbucker connoisseur, but a single-coil type 'o guy. The coil-drop tones are nice, but obviously not really like a strat or a tele, though it would do well enough for most settings.

So, the first thing I did (after playing the stock pickups for a few days) was to replace the pickups with DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Bluesbuckers. Now it sounds like I want it too, thick, but with a nice top-end. I also use flat-wound 11's, which helps bring out the high-mids.

Why parker sets these things up with 9's is beyond me. Since I use 11's I need to get the nut recut, which is a pain. Also, if you're thinking about replacing the pickups, be ready to do a LOT of work, probably by a professional. First, the pickup holes will need to be routed down to accomadate the greater depth that most humbuckers have. Second, VERY carefully write down where ALL of the wires connect. I've never seen a wiring job like this before, so for speed of use, I've completely bypassed the piezo pickup.

Now, let it be said that if you want to play the guitar as is (stock pickup) and you like 9's, then this beast is well near perfect. I LOVE niteflys, and have a nitefly SA that is my main guitar.

Hmmm, well I asked for a wiring diagram so I could make alterations easier and was told that they do not get out that information, so they get a ding for that. On the other hand, I *was* given the phone number for the factory guy who might be able to give me the info over the phone, so that's quite nice.

This rating is how it compares with my nitefly SA, which is a 9.

Mahogany body with composite neck skin. 22 Stainless steel jumbo fret on a bolt on neck with a sculpted heel-neck joint. The body looks to be a single light weight piece of wood; i.e. not a "jig saw" 2-3 piece body. Finish looks to be a hand rubbed red-brown stain with a satin finish topcoat. Added to the mix are 2 DiMarzio humbuckers and a fishman piezo setup. The humbuckers work similiar to a typical Les Paul scheme through a 3 way toggle. The tone knob activites single coil tones ala PRS McCarty. A second 3 way toggle switch activates the piezo, Blend of magnetic and piezo and magnetic only. No special cables are needed for the blens through the new "smart" jack that allows both sounds to go to a single source. A stereo cable is provided to truly split the 2 signals to seperate amps. Lots of optional and tonal colors.

Heres my beef.....I paid good money for this guitar so I'm duty bound to give you my honest impression. I don't think the "custom wound" DiMarzio pickups are bringing out the peak potential of this instrument. Example: In straight ahead humbucker mode bridge position, the tone is a bit constipated with choked highs and an artificial sounding bottom end. Some amp settings have that "wah" in the middle position sound....annoying after a while. The neck is a bit better but still "missing" a bit of complexity and character. On the other hand, the DiMarzio pickups single coil tones are more impressive but that could be due to the pickup grabbing some of the unique attack and sound of the composite fingerboard. Otherwise, the piezo is a nice touch although you do need some outboard eq to dial in its full sonic potential.

I'm not slamming this instrument in any way cause the tones ARE good....just pointing out a few things a potential buyer may want to listen for during a demo. The pickups may be perfect for others but not for me. I'll give it a 6.5 and round up to 7.

This guitar is WELL built, designed, and has perhaps the best tremelo ever offered on any instrument in the history of the guitar. Tuning stability is a 10 out of a 10; I mean this guitar HOLDS tune after massive Floyd Rose like dive bombing attacks. The necks acurate frets make scale intonation even and acurate all over the neck....another leap forward. The application of the composite neck materials is especially impressive and feels especially good under the old fingers.

Well made and should last awhile considering the materials and stainless steel frets

Been playing 16 years and currently have a quite a few high end axes and amps. There is so much to like about this instrument that experimenting with some other pickups may really put this guitar over the top. I'm pretty sure a pair of 4 conductor Duncan's will do the trick...perhaps a JB, custom EVH, or Custom in the bridge and either a Jazz or '59 in the neck. I think a Fralin 9K would work well too. Time to get out the soldering iron.....I'm giving an 8 for the untapped potential.

My Nite Fly was made in May of 2002. It's born and bred in New York City. It is a solid piece of Mahogany with clear, thin finish. It's equipped with two Dimarzio pickups that are custom made for Parker, they are humbuckers that have coil taps to do the single coil thing too. It also comes with a piezo pickup by Fishman built into the coolest tremolo built right now, it crosses the line of tone (think a vintage Fender tremolo that oozes warm but that stays in tune). It has Sperzel locking tuners which make string changes sooo easy. The neck is comfortable and cool, but it takes some getting used to because it is so flat, it almost feels concave. In fact, after playing Fender products (Standard Teles & Strats)with curvy fretboards it almost feels alien and synthetic at first, then you figure it out and nothing else will do. I couldn't ask for more features in a guitar, in fact I'm saving for a backup now.

I play in a chick fronted psychodelic pop band that rocks, we use a little sequencing and run the gamut of styles.My setup is the Parker into an Ernie Ball volume pedal,then a Dunlop Crybaby 535(in Chrome), a Digitech Whammy Mach III(Red and MIDI compatible), a MXR Phase 90 reissue(very chewy), a Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus(easily the most simple yet completely usable & affordable chorus on the planet), a Boss Purple Flanger(the only way to get the trippy Prince thang), a Boss DD-2 Digital Delay(for short stuff very Andy Summers), an Akai Headrush Delay(for long stuff very David Torn), a Boss Tremolo/Panner(the weird blue/green one they made for like thirty seconds), an Ibanez LoFi pedal,(mostly all powered by a Pearl power supply) going into a Rapco A/B switch leading to a Mesa/Boogie (for lead and dirt), and Vox AC30TB reissue in custom Creme color and packed with Bulldog 12" speakers(for super clean). With my Fenders I had lots of buzz issues, now my rig is as quiet as a church mouse. I've read the reviews already posted about the piezo sounding like breaking glass, I think they've done a pretty good job with it. It sounds very zingy but if you play it through a true acoustic amp like a Fender Acoustasonic SFX it is a very admirable second to my lead singer's Taylor, and way beyond my Seagull acoustic)The pickups, which I also read numerous complaints about, are the bomb. They do the single coil thing better than my Fenders(albeit this guitar cost more than both my Tele and Strat). With the coil tap on and the pickup selector on the middle setting you can close your eyes and hear a Curtis Mayfield/Hendrix Strat sound, crank up the wah and hit the bridge pickup and you're in Funkytown Tele style. The humbuckers are full, but very bright. They push the amp well but use the treble knob sparingly. This was a big surprise as Mahogany is known for being a very warm tone wood. It does weird Belew/Reeves Gabrels type of sounds even better than classic tones, and you can go almost immediately from one to the other.

My Parker arrived from the factory setup to play. The action was not too high, not too low just right. I've looked it over a million times and I just believe that Ken Parker knows how build a guitar, no flaws in setup or the cosmetics. The finish is very sensitive, I've had mine for less than a month and it does show signs of pick wear(then again I play too hard). The tremolo bar doesn't lock in though which can be annoying when playing live as it does work it's way out sometimes. This could be something I just haven't figured out yet, I am an idiot.

Finish and tremolo problem notwithstanding, this guitar is made to last. It is put together like a tank. The strap buttons were OK, but I replaced them with a Dimarzio Straplok strap anyway. I would never gig without a backup, but if I had to this would be the guitar I would use.

I had originally ordered a P-44, their lower priced model but they can't seem to produce them as quickly as people order them. So after 6 months of waiting their rep offered me an upgrade(God Bless Him). I received my Nite Fly within two weeks. Even when I was totally angry and tired of waiting for the P-44, Parker guitars would answer my e-mails and try to give me the answers they had. They were very very helpful, friendly and patient with a very angry, unfriendly, impatient customer to be.

I've played for 16 years and owned Fender, Gibson, and Ibanez guitars, plus tons of knockoffs. I wish I could figure out the tremolo bar thing (especially because I know it is probably my own stupidity). If I lost it for any reason stolen or otherwise I would sell a child to get another one. Other than my trem issue, I love everything about it(I even think the finish thing adds character). I looked into Fernandes guitars with the sustainer p/u, I tried BC Rich stuff, and played just about every guitar at my local Fender/Ibanez dealer. Nothing could touch all the features it has packed into it. In a perfect world the body would be deep enough to install a sustainer type p/u and my next addition to mine will be a Roland GK-2AH p/u to add a Gr-33 guitar synth to my rig. I probably won't ever switch to anything else...yes it is that good.

2001 Parker Nitefly-M "Made in USA"
-22 hardened stainless-steel frets
-carbon-fiberglass over mahogany neck
-solid mahogany body, natural violin-wax finish
-black chrome hardware including sperzel locking tuning machines
-tone knob push-pull coil splitter
-two three-way selector switches-selects magnetic pickup configurations & magnetic and/or piezo pickups
-Custom dimarzio humbuckers, fishman powerchip in bridge
-gig bag & hosa stereo cable included
-factory strung w/ 9's
-beautiful organic design, thin & light for mahogany

i play a mix of progressive/death metal (i.e. meshuggah, cynic, spiral architect, aghora) and some modern rock.
this is primarily playred through a rocktron taboo twin fed by a hughes and kettner tube factor for neutral boost.
factory setup was great, i dropped the 9's, added 10's, set the bridge to down only, lowered the action a bit, added a sperzel drop-d tuning machine and a seymore duncan jb in the bridge.
dead quiet at all settings.
extremely good fundamental sound, rich, thick, yet biting.
tone control is very responsive. fishmans can be a bit shrill alone,
but mixed in with the mag's add a depth of sound that cant be explained.
versatility is this guitars job. clean spanky split to single coils,
thick juicy leads, solid, tight, bottom heavy rythm, it can do it all with ease.
my only dislike is the fact that the stock pickups have only outer row polepieces that can be adjusted. this makes balancing the middle position difficult.

spectacular setup.
phenominal neck. perfect frets. i mean PERFECT.
beautiful grain. well machined parts.
my only gripe was that the final wax coat was not buffed well on the insides of the wings.

this guitar is not built to abuse.
it will damage cosmetically if you are not careful.
overall, the neck will last a lifetime.
the finish on the body can easily be maintained w/
supreme wax from fiddles-online.com
dependable without a doubt.
gigging w/out a backup is stupid regardless of how good your guitar is. murphy's law.

don dawson of parker guitars is the man.
support doesn't get better than this.

playing for 10+ years. i have owned such an obscene amount of gear, it's embarassing. if it were lost or stolen, i'd get a parker fly hardtail because i can afford it now. i love this guitar. no comparing parkers to others, that's apples to oranges if you asked me.
i wish it had better stock pickups.
other than that, this is the best guitar availabel for under a grand.

This guitar is a new (made in 2001, I assume) Parker Nitefly-M. The headstock says "Made in USA" so I guess that says it all. 22 hardened stainless-steel frets with a carbon-fiberglass epoxy glazing over the fretboard. The body is solid mahogany, with a natural orange-ish brown finish. The overall look, the natural wood and body shape, is quite striking. There are three sturdy black knobs, one for magnetic pickup volume, one for piezo pickup volume, and one for tone. The tone knob is also push-pull, I can't remember specifically what it does but it has something to do with the mix between piezo and magnetic pickups. There are also two three-way selector switches, the first one selects the magnetic pickup configurations, either the neck humbucker, the two inside split single coils, or the bridge humbucker. The other three-way switch selects between magnetic pickups only, magnetic and piezo pickups together, or piezo only. Very versatile in this regard. The back of the guitar has an innovative battery holder, which powers the piezo pickup. Very easy access but built very sturdy so there is no chance of failure. Guitar comes with a gig bag, which is built very sturdy for a soft bag. Also comes with a Hosa stereo cable (1/4" plug into guitar with two 1/4" outputs), so you can run the mags and the piezo thru two separate paths. The tuners are Sperzel locking tuners. Black chrome, the visual effect is very appealing. The profile of the guitar is extremely thin. Looks beautiful. There is no pickguard, and I prefer it that way, it shows off the mahogany grain, which in itself looks spectacular. Pretty light guitar, but nowhere near as light as the Parkers in the Fly series. I hear the Flys are designed to be like just the top of an acoustic guitar in the way it reverberates the notes being played.....No, the Nitefly-M is solid mahogany, so there is some weight to it, even though the profile looks very skinny. Still weighs a bit less than a Strat. Also came with a strap that is too small for me, though I'm 6'3". The bridge style is a design all of Parker's own, with a tremolo bar that you can push/pull out quite easily. The tremolo works superbly, although I have read that it can be set up easily to go in just one direction, rather than the factory set-up of 'floating'. I would personally prefer it to just go down only. Overall, a very versatile guitar that looks and plays marvelous.

I just got this guitar through Zzounds.com a mere 14 days ago. I play it through a Reverend Hellhound, which is only 10 days old. A bunch of effects pedals are on the way. I have been playing for almost 12 years, and all my gear from previous years was pawned a little over a year ago. So I'm starting over, and in style I might add. I have been extremely impressed with this guitar, both in tone and playability. One defining feature of Parker guitars is their necks. This neck can be described in one word; professional. I immediately changed the stock strings when I got this guitar to Elixir .10's. The fretwork is superb, utterly flawless. It reminds me of a well-built machine. Each fret is perfectly identical, rounded off at the edges and built to last an eternity. The sheen from the fiberglass-carbon epoxy is mesmerizing, and comforting all at once. I test drove a Fly Classic at the store before I bought this one, and the action on the Classic was the best I've ever played, hands down. The Nitefly also has superb action, but not as good as the Classic. However, I have not had any mods done to the action since I bought the guitar, so until I take it in and have a complete set-up done to the action and the tremolo, I cannot give you a definite answer on the action of the Nitefly. The fact that there are no fret markers is not a hassle at all to me, because there are markers at the top of the neck, and I guess 12 years of playing helps a little bit in that department. Although the playability of the Nitefly is unique, the neck design providing a feel and fit all it's own, I would determine that the Nitefly plays much more like a Strat than a Les Paul. It has that thin-neck feel, which provides for speed, dexterity, and crystal-clear sustain. Through the Hellhound, I am in heaven. A beautiful amp for a gorgeous guitar. I have yet to take advantage of the piezo pickup, my ideal setup would be to have a separate signal path for each pickup, maybe having the piezo going to a few acoustic pedals, an acoustic pre, and finally an acoustic amp like a Fender Acoustisonic. That way it would be a much more believable piezo, acousstic tone. Thru the Hellhound, I pretty much keep the piezo off, it just sounds a bit too bright and weak, and I can summon much, much better bright, trebly tones via the tone knob and the magnetic pickups. By the way, the tone knob on the Nitefly is extremely interactive! I makes a huge difference in tone, much more than any knob on the amp itself. Overall, the Parker sounds superb. The split-coil humbuckers are perfect, I can get the best of both worlds. But most importantly, it's an altogether different sort of beast from the Strat Plus I was playing for most of my guitar-playing years. And change is good, especially when it's Parker.

I believe I described everything about this category above, but there is one serious flaw I do need to mention. When I first got the guitar, I took off the strings to replace them with a brand new set. While they were off, I decided to polish up the guitar all nice and new. I dabbled some Gibson polish on a piece of cloth, and commenced to polish. To my dismay, the polish seems to take off some of the orangeish-brown finish of the guitar! I desparately tried to rinse off the polish with water, but there remains one section of the guitar where the finish is a bit lighter than on the rest of the guitar. I don't know if it is becuase this is brand new straight from the factory, or if it's becuase it's a natural finish that was never sealed (that's probably it), but it was a scary surprise. But as it doesn't affect the great tone of the axe, I'll live with it.

As per above, everything about the manufacture of this guitar tells me they are built to last. The neck,especially. I don't think there is a better-built neck in the industry. And the bridge, knobs, and tuners are all made out of black metal, which seems equally sturdy. But those hardened stainless-steel frets can't be beat. And mahogany is a pretty sturdy wood, so I hear, of course not as sturdy as Sitka Spruce, but it comes close. And the neck doesn't have that angled-back thing, so I don't expect the neck to go like it might on a Les Paul. But that carbon epoxy deal should cover that. So I'm pretty secure with this guitar, I believe it'll last at least as long as any Strat, and much longer than any Les Paul.

I don't have any experience with Parker guitars, except their website. Very nice website, although they haven't finished the part where you can talk to them direct. That would be a nice feature for people to get in touch with them. They should really get that part working.

Overall, I am more than pleased with my Parker. The body shape is such an innovative design, it's really not like any other body shape out there. I'm sure its destined to be a classic in its own right, next to the body styles of such traditional axes as the Strat, Tele, and LP. It definitely an original. Tonewise, Parker is also a distinctive original. It doesn't really sound "like" any other guitar out there, and that is what I love about it. One thing I noticed the first day I had it was how much the vibrating strings resonated throughout the mahogany body. I'm sure this has something to do with the great sustain the guitar possesses. Also, the neck is a definite treat. One will find great craftmanship in the unique headstock design, more evidence of one-of-a-kind originality the good people at Parker had the insight and imagination to conjure up. Kudos to all of them. This is a superb guitar, and very reasonably priced. I would recommend this guitar to anyone, but especially those musicians who are tired of the Strat-LP conundrum and all their related sub-species. The Nitefly presets a real alternative, a gorgeously crafted beauty in its own right, with tone as distinctive as its looks. When I started over with buying new musical gear, I intentionally decided not to go the same route I went before; Fender Strat Plus into Fender Vibro-King combo. Of course, my first idea was to go the Gibson-Marshall route. But even though Gibsons are good-looking guitars, they are a little unjustified in their pricing. The Nitefly I chose is a perfect alternative, and the Reverend Hellhound amp I bought to go alongside it complements it beautifully. I know I made the right choice, especially knowing that I won't sound like everybody else on the block, and most important, I made two great buys and didn't have to sacrifice an ounce of all-important TONE in the process. Thank you Parker!

FYI, I just put a set of EMG's in there...81 bridge and 60 neck. 5x better than the stock pickups. I disabled the piezo, which sucks anyway. The clarity and tone of the pickups is the best I've ever heard. Some of the best money I ever spent.

2 Di Marzio Humbuckers
Piezo Bridge
Standard Parker trem
Stero capability (piezo/piezo&humbucker)
Locking Spertzle machineheads.
Mahogany Emerald green (eegh!) body.

Great features for recording. Can cover absolutely everything, and mainly well.

Its got good sustain, the piezo is a bit on the glass shattering side but nothing that some EQ work doesnt fix.
I like it but I cant say I love it. It covers too many basses but none billiantly.
Ive fitted gauge 11 strings to mine and it just sounds too bassy on a clean amp and too trebally on a distorted channel. Annoying but I think som 10's or 9's will help it.
Id give it a 10 for people who need one guitar and the fact its so versitile. But its not that great at times really. A modern, lighter Les Paul.

The finish and action is top. Better than my Gibson or the PRS I swopped for it.
The top horn digs into when you sit down if your not careful which gets annoying.
Parker necks are the best in the world (as long as you prefer laquered backs to them ala gibson). It feels wonderful to play.

Nothings broke yet but batterys run out after 72 hours operation, I keep leaving mine turned on for long periods of time which kills it but HEY! at least you can still use the pickups. Only the Piezo dies.
It will last eternity I think. Smooth to the last. Im still not too sure about how much abuse the neck will take though. Im not too sure and I wouldnt like to have to get it fixed.

Dont know.

Excellent recording guitar. Buy if you need to cover thousands of bases but can only afford one guitar, but not in emerald green, eeergh!
A modern Les Paul.

My Nitefly is from the first series and lacks the active curcuitry to blend the mag and piezo pickups together through one amp. The body is two piece soft maple. The rest of the features are identical to the current Nitefly, as far as I know.

This is an excellent sounding guitar. The DiMarzio single coils are a bit mellower sounding than those of a typical strat. These pickups sound nice and glassy through my Fender Vibroverb Reissue. The humbucker is definately tweaked for midrange performance. I generally lean toward traditional PAF tones but I do happen to like the way this pickup is voiced. It shines with anywhere from mild overdrive to fully saturated distortion. The tone is focused, punchy, and full and the output isn't overly hot. The balance between the two single coils and the humbucker is right on. As I stated above, I own the first version of the Nitefly which doesn't have the active switch. I really don't care for the sound of the mag and piezo pickups through one amp anyway. I've achieved the best tone by using a stereo Y cable and splitting the two pickups between my Vibroverb(for magnetic sounds) and my Laney GC50A(for acoustic). The piezo pickups sound so much better through a full-range acoustic amp. There is a bounty of tones at your disposal when you use this setup. I like to mix in just a little acoustic shimmer with the magnetic tones. I've used this guitar frequently live and in the studio with great results each time.

This guitar came set up with 9's. I put a set of 10's on it and made some very minor action and intonnation adjustments. Workmanship is solid throughout. The neck is immaculate, especially the fret installation. The hardware is rock-solid. There appears to be no blemishes in the paintjob(pearl white). The pickguard is slightly bowed near the right side cutaway. Parker should have used one more screw in this area to keep it flat.

No need for a backup guitar. This is due partly to the fact that the Nitefly is such a versatile instrument and partly to the fact that its built like a tank. I've used it live on many occasions and its never let me down. The trem is by far the best I've ever used. Tuning stability is as good as a Floyd without the many hassles of a locking trem. It puts Fender-style fulcrum designs to shame! The arm tension adjuster is a nice touch too.

I've never needed it.

I've been playing guitar for over 14 years now and own or have owned at one time a large number and variety of guitars. The Nitefly is superior in every way to the two previous strats I've owned. Its also the most versatile guitar I've owned. My particular guitar is somewhat heavy for a Parker(about 8 lbs.). I've noticed that the Nightfly's weights vary somewhat and the lastest ones I've picked up seem to be a little lighter, but no big deal. The thing I like best about the guitar is the trem. I really think that there is none better out there. If I had to replace this guitar, I might look for a lighter one, but it would definately be a Nitefly.

Made in '00 Nitefly w/ 2 humbuckers, piezo, 22 frets, parker whammy bridge, mahogony body, bolt on mahogony w/ glass fibers for reinforcement, locking tuners (spertzels), one volume, one tone for Humbuckers, volume for piezo, 2 3-way switches, one for humbucking pickups, one to activate piezo and mix w/ other pickupsounds. mine is black w/ black pickguard. also
requires a 9V battery for piezo, but is easy to replace.

AMAZING. Love the combo of the bridge pu w/ the piezo. my fave sound. Just different that any other guitar i've ever played. I fell in love w/ parkers after playing a friend's Fly Classic and knew i had to get one(but couldn't afford the regular Fly's). i also was able to try a couple of nightflys and didn't like the sound of a swamp ash bodied one i tested. it was too bright for me, the mahogony body w/ humbucking pu's is perfect for me-has a darker tone. the whammy bar is amazing, easy to use, stays in tune after much abuse. also love that it can be locked or floating--nice option--i like it locked for down only, but an ingenius feature. plus the neck is a dream!

Perfect from the factory. low action, flawless.....comes w/
the bridge in "dive only mode", but can be converted to floating.
Parker does great work.....

a workhorse....

they have a great website!!!!(www.parkerguitars.com)
i emailed a few questions b/4 i bought mine and i got
a response in 2 days, which i thought was amazing.
it has a one year warranty and all is spelled out on their
web page.

I bought the nitefly when i sold my steinberger gl3t and have not been disappointed. i think they make a quality product. it feels and sounds like no other guitar i've played. simply amazing....