Parker Guitars NiteFly Mojo Flame

Mahogany solid body; flame maple top; mahogany neck with carbon glass epoxy reinforcement and fingerboard; substantial neck carve; 22 stainless steel frets; Parker-designed aluminum vibrato with Fishman piezo saddles; locking Sperzel tuners; Seymour Duncan Jazz (neck) and JB (bridge) pickups with nickel covers; volume, tone with push/pull coil tap, piezo volume, 3-way toggle for magnetic pickup selection, 3-way toggle for piezo selection (piezo, magnetic, or blend); internal gain pot for piezo volume; included hard shell case; made in the USA.

My current setup consists of two Rivera amps (M60 combo and Knucklehead K100 head), Mesa speaker cabs, and a few pedals like a Boss Delay and Chorus, Dunlop wah, and a Digitech Bad Monkey OD.

This is easily the most versatile guitar I've ever had the pleasure of owning. My band plays a lot of styles; Classic Rock, Motown, 80's Pop, Metal, Country, Alternative, Oldies, you name it. The NiteFly Mojo handled everything I tossed at it, and with authority! The NiteFly surprised me a little; it's quite resonant and responds nicely to different pick attacks. Despite the light weight I felt like I was holding something substantial when I whacked a few chords. Notes sustained nicely and ring out clean and with decent articulation.

The Parker has the most articulate sound of any guitar I've ever played. Every note rings clean and true. It's hard to describe but easy to hear and feel. Whatever causes other guitars to sound out of tune - odd vibrations, poor fret work, etc. - Parker has eliminated all of it. What you hear is a very crisp, detailed sound that lets your fingers talk.

Crisp funk clean tones? Check. Clipped bluesy lead? Check. Detuned nu-metal? Check. Acoustic alternative? Check. The Fishman piezo on the Parker has an extremely robust, convincing acoustic tone. The Duncan pickups are a nice touch and sound full and 3-dimensional, even through lots of gain. At no time do I feel like I need to fight the guitar for a powerful sound. It just gives it up, big time! When I hold notes or chords they sustain and blossom into feedback so easily.

When I first unpacked the guitar I was stunned by the appearance. I can't say the same for the factory setup. The action was a little high and the strings felt pretty weak. I installed some Elixir's and gave the guitar a decent setup. I managed to get the action to less than 1/16" on both E strings, with minimal relief. The guitar plays awesome and there is zero fret buzz. Nice job, Parker!

I also inspected the guitar very carefully and noticed a few imperfections in the carbon glass fingerboard. They look like very small indentations along the edge, maybe tool marks. Anyway, they are very small and don't affect playability. But points off for shipping a guitar with marks like that.

I can't say enough good things about how easy the Parker plays. The neck truly does get slicker with sweat. I found out tonight at rehearsal just how cool that is. It is the exact opposite experience than I am used to, and I couldn't help but smile as we played song after song. The stainless steel frets made bending effortless and I found myself playing cleaner as I bonded with the neck carve and compound radius.

The vibrato bridge has a smooth feel and a comfortable design. I had new strings on tonight so there was a little stretching going on in the first few songs. But once I got that out of the way I started getting more confident, so I broke out some real vibrato tricks. I am happy to say the Parker stays in tune very well. That is very important for me because I hate being on stage tuning between every song.

Also of note is the weight, or lack thereof. We played a two hour rehearsal with no breaks, and I am feeling no pain. No shoulder cramp and no lower back pain. Even my fingers feel great!

Everything seems to be pretty sturdy. I'd never gig without a backup, but I don't expect any problems. I've read some horror stories on the Internet about frets and/or nuts coming unglued. Hopefully those were isolated experiences.

Again, I've heard some less than positive things about US Music, the company that bought Parker. Hopefully they've worked that stuff out, and I hope I never have to find out.

After almost 30 years of playing guitar, I can honestly say that I am a Parker user for life. I wish I had tried one sooner, I probably would have less back pain these days. I love the comfort, the tone, and the feel of the Parker. I even like the appearance! When I was shopping for the Parker I also tried some guitars by Brian Moore and Godin. The Parker won hands down because it is an exceptional value, sounds incredible, and is so damn comfy.

2006 model Nitefly Mojo Flame. 22 fret bolt on neck. Trans green Flame maple top. Sperzel locking tuners. Dual Seymour Duncan humbuckers with coil tap. Fishman piezo. Mahogany neck & body. Comes with hardshell case & tools.

This is a preliminary review. Ill post once I get the guitar back from Parker - see my fit & finish comments.

Action is ok. I prefer mine a little lower, but thats personal preference, cant fault Parker for personal player preferences. What I can fault Parker for is a guitar that refuses to stay in tune. This guitar absolutely will not hold tune with even minimal tremolo use. I had to retune every time I touched the tremolo. My other nitefly (an "M" model) keeps near perfect tune with even the most abusive tremolo use & thats with it set in the full floating position!

Parker sends out (From the factory) all of thier tremolo equipped guitars set to "down only" mode. The reason for this, Im sure, is that its much simpler to set up a guitar in this way than to go through the time, training & expense it takes to have someone set up for full floating.

Im guessing that the nut is not cut properly. For a guitar that lists for $2500.00 this is inexcusable.

The factory finish is an awesome looking trans green burst. On first inspection it looked just fine, but taking a closer look revealed that the guitar was not buffed correctly after the wet sanding process. I see scratches all over the place on the finish, especially where the finish is black. A little more care in the final finishing process (an extra 10-15 minutes, I know this since Ive worked in the body & paint business since 94) would have produced a stunning instrument with no visual finish flaws on the body. On a side note, the pickup bezels, which are supposed to be black, have compound residue all over them & look almost grey. Just another little detail that Parker missed.

My biggest complaint is gouges that are on the neck edge. The parker composite neck wrap edge on the low E side from the 12th fret to 22nd has (not on all frets) gouges in between the frets where it looks like someone machined the neck edge, & then tried to touch it up. Its not so much the gouges that piss me off (mistakes do happen), but the fact that the tech (Ill refer to him/her as "HACK" from here on) tried to cover his mistake up, & not very well either.

When I called Parker on the phone,the guy was pretty short & rude regarding my problem. Im losing my faith in Parker pretty quickly. You would think they would be a little more helpful after me purchasing a $2500.00 guitar Ive waited nine months for, nevermind the fact that Ive purchased five parker USA guiars & one PM-20 in under one year & four of these guitars bought new.

As stated before, all told, I currently own (including this guitar), ***FIVE*** USA Parker guitars & one PM-20 returned for multiple problems that could not be fixed. My used Parkers are perfect. Both are 03 models (pre Washburn) with the build quality one would expect from expensive guitars.

Each of my post buyout Parkers (Remember, Ken parker is out of the picture now) have had what I consider to be major quality issues.

Parker will tell you that quality is at an all time high. I dont think so. Three out of three brand new from the factory parker guitar each with quality issues does not sound like Parker is "on its game". I hate to jump on the "post buyout bandwagon", but Parker is not the same company it used to be.

I used to sit & play Parkers in guitar center & dream about owning one. Now that Im in a financial position to make that happen, I find myself with a very bad taste in my mouth from a company that seems to have lost its way.

I ordered this guitar in July of 05 & Sam Ash got it in last month. I came in to quality check the mojo before I paid it off. I refused the guitar after checking it out for nearly an hour.

At first Sam Ash wasnt going to send it back to Parker until I paid the balance in full, of course I freaked out, thinking why the hell should they have all of my money when I dont even have a guitar to show for it? I also asked Sam Ash to see if Parker would offer a discount for a "blem" guitar. I guess Parker refused. So now its being sent back to Parker (but not under warranty, remember I havent actually accepted the guitar) I can only think the correct fix for the neck issue is to replace with a neck that is not flawed. I will not accept touch ups on a guitar that Ive waited over nine months for & not cheap either.

I guess Parker would rather have me wait an untold amount of time than simply resolve the neck issue by offering a blem discount. How much does a neck cost? More than the few hundred discount I would have accepted...More than losing my business forever & the business of those infuenced by this review?

I seriously doubt Ill ever purchase a new Parker guitar again. I will however look for clean Pre 03 used examples. That really stinks because I really like the refined layout & the long overdue duncan pickup option.

Im not simply Parker bashing here, Im just at the end of my rope with them. I was really hoping this guitar would have turned out perfect. This guitar was very pivitol to me (kind of a "Deal breaker). My other new purchase Parkers were not up to par (I could buy a nice Tom Anderson with stainless frets with that kind of money & not have the issues)

I was very forgiving with my Parker single cut review. It shouldnt have gotten the high marks I gave it in all categories. Finish flaws, etc... Im not pulling punches on this mini review. If I get the guitar back from Parker & its as it should be, then Ill post another review.

This is a 2004 direct-from-the-factory Parker NiteFly Mojo Flame in a Cherry Sunburst Finish with 22 stainless steel frets, one-piece mahogany neck and body, Parker-patent fingerboard, AAA flame maple top, Seymour Duncan Jazz (neck) and JB (bridge) pickups w/ coil tap, Fishman piezo/preamp system, Parker-patent tremolo, Sperzel locking tuners, and Levy gigbag (I also ordered a hard-shell case with the guitar). Finding this many features in one guitar is rare.

This guitar has tone for days! The all-mahogany neck and body produce an amazingly full low end, and the sustain seems to carry forever. This guitar has a total of 19 tone possibilities (counting all humbucker/coil-tap combinations along with combiniations with the piezo preamp) and can cover any and all style or need. The humbuckers scream like a Les Paul; the coil-tap function makes it snarl like a Strat; the piezo produces a great electro-acoustic sound; and the combinations produce other-worldly textures and tones. Not one dead spot on the guitar at all; every note rings and sings just like the other. I can't imagine a guitar/amp combo that this wouldn't fit perfectly with. The combo of my Line6 duoVerb and this guitar provides unlimited possibilities.

This guitar arrived at my door in perfect condition. The action is low and fluid, the pickups were adjusted ready to scream, and the neck is adjusted perfectly. There literally was not one flaw with this guitar when received. Parker Guitars takes too much pride in their instruments and work to produce anything less.

The workmanship on this guitar gives you no reason to think that it will not last or endure any condition. I would only gig with a backup or another guitar to ease the need for quick tuning changes or if a string were broken during a gig. This guitar has become my main instrument.

As a Parker Guitars Artist, I have had the luxury of working directly with the company in aquiring this instrument. Tammy @ Parker was friendly and helpful in making sure that the guitar was received in time to use for upcoming performances, and David @ US Music (new corporate owners) was great to work with in making the transaction a reality and securing a model direction off of the production line. A 1-year warranty comes with all newly-purchased Parker Guitars. When I did have work done to one of my other Parkers, the company was helpful, courteous, and prompt.

Under my Parker Guitars endorsement, I now own 5 Parker Guitars. There is a reason why I choose to not play any other electric guitar available. Ken Parker's design and the workmanship of the entire Parker team produces the most perfect and reliable instruments available. With their new Mojo line, I truly believe Parker Guitars has taken that extra step that places them high and beyond every other guitar company. For audio samples of their guitars in action, visit www.JasonDavis.us