Parker Guitars NiteFly

This is a 1998 black,cool looking USA made guitar. Solid maple body with a encapsulated basswood neck. Piezo pickup system. My guess is a wide fat neck profile. Locking tuners. Nice hardware.

This is one good sounding guitar. The simulated acoustic sounds are awesome! Combining the sounds is a nice feature. I like the quietness.
Going through a Fender Vibroking.
Very crisp,touch sensitive sound. GREAT.

I give this a 8.While the guitar is built well, there is one defect.
The pickguard/neck fit was too tight from the factory and the guard actually split in two places from the stress. This was very obvious a defect from the factory. Unacceptable for a high quality guitar.

Seems solid. Good body mass with the maple wood. Close inspection of the wiring reveals neat, tidy work.

Concening the pickquard problem, when I contacted Parker to see if it was something they'd seen before the woman on the phone was distracted and uninterested.

Nice guitar, love it. Parker customer service REEKS of past failed companies.

Mine is a black, maple body, s/s/s nitefly from '99. The strat pickups have a good tone that seems to have been chosen for a good blend with the piezo. They are a little thicker sounding than a strat. The piezo sounds good, but I wish it had a tone control. The locking tuners are WONDERFUL. The neck is thin and the scale is long. You feel the tension in .010s, which i like. The only complaint is the jumbo frets - if you get VERY into fretting, the low E has enough room to pull out of tune on the way to the fretboard.

This IS my guitar. I play a blend of folk, pop and punk. The strat tone thick strat tone suits well. The tone can bite, but can thicken up enough to play solo (I mean guitar/vox solo - not 'take a solo in the band' solo). It outplayed my gibsons, ovations and fenders. Not too many guitars can take on those three. I sometimes think about replacing the pickups - getting something a little hotter - then i plug it in and decide not to. The body resonates with every strum - it feels almost like an acoustic against the body - much more so than any electric I have ever played.

Action was set for .009s. I have changed it up to .011s - the neck didn't like that much, so i compromised on 010s. It fights back a little, like a Trout on a line. I play a very acoustic style on it, so i like a bit of fight. Like a said above, the only prob i have is the jumbo frets. I like to get carried away and dig into cords and the low E's intonation is a little unforgiving to the rough stuff. Finish is fine. I play copper picks and it's still holding up OK.

I've had it three years, done all the work myself, changed it's setup many times, fixed the trem, dive-bombed it, dropped it, steped on it, pounded it, hit the (fragile looking) headstock on amps, doors, girlfriends, bed posts, bassists. It is still here and plays better every day. This will probably outlast me and my turtle.

Have only talked to them about the model and serial number. They were cool. Website is helpfull and interesting if you are drunk and bored.

Over the years I have owned: Gibsons, Fenders (Tele & Strats), Ovations, PRSs and many, many others. This is the only one that has stuck. I don't even play electric guitars when I go into shops now. There just isn't much point. This one stays.

This review is for the original series Nitefly without the active switching. I've owned this guitar for about 6 years.

Body: 2-piece soft maple
Neck: 22 fret basswood with black composite "shell" (25.5 inch scale)
Pickups: 2 DiMarzio single coils (replaced with Carvin AP11 single coils), DiMarzio bridge humbucker, Fishman piezo pickups
Tuners: Sperzel locking

I was never completely happy with the sound of the stock DiMarzio single coils. To my ears, they sounded a bit muddy and lifeless, especially the middle pickup. I finally replaced them with Carvin AP11's and this made a world of difference. The Carvin's are brighter and more complex sounding. They also have noticably less hum despite having slightly higher output. I am very happy with this guitar's tone now. I have always liked the tone of the DiMarzio bridge HB. Some people do not care for this pickup but I like its agressive midrange character. Its no PAF, and its clean tones can be somewhat one-dimentional. However, add some overdrive, and it has a very focused and complex tone with a distinctive midrange "bark". It is an excelent high-gain pickup aswell (kind of sounds like a wah left in the middle position). The piezo pickups sound best through a dedicated acoustic amp. Later versions of the Nitefly have a switch that blends the acoustic and magnetic pickups together through one amp. I personally do not care for that particular tone. I think that the mag and piezo PU's need to be driving seperate amps in order to really sound their best.
Rating: 6 with stock PU's, 9 with Carvin's.

A very solid, well-built guitar. Mine is heavy for a Parker (approx. 8 lbs.). The guitar's eccentric shape balances out well. The neck plays like a dream. It feels like black glass. The fretboard's dense surface transmits fret buzz acoustically, but through an amp, I do not notice it. I wish I could get the neck a bit straighter but the truss rod feels like it won't tighten any further. Still, the neck is far from bowed (I just like my necks to be very straight). The stainless steel frets are perfectly seated. This guitar is worth its price for the trem alone. The trem unit is easily the smoothest I've ever used and its stability is peerless. I really don't think there will ever be a trem unit that surpasses Parker's.

This guitar is built to withstand a nuclear blast!

If you like single coils on the mellower side, the Nitefly's stock PU's might be for you. However, if you want a brighter, livlier tone, I'd replace the neck and middle PU's. Who knows, it might just be this particular guitar (or my ears) but I am much happier with the replacement pickups. That said, the Nitefly is an incredibly versitle guitar that is built for the long-haul. I would compare it to a high-performance sports car. Its hard to believe that the standard Flys are even further refined.

Addendum to my previous posting.

I changed the pickups to EMG's...81 and 60 in the neck. Now this guitar is worthy. The clarity and enhanced tone is remarkable. I had to scrap the piezo so I could use the battery box. Now I can go from metal to jazz. Before I did this I popped a cool rail in the neck...that was a really good setup too. I could nail that sunshine clapton sound which is very hard to do. The EMG's let the string vibrate quite longer due to the decreased magnetic tension. My sustain has increased by a considerable amount.

I had to dial it out but it is perfect now. My main axe.

i got it used but super clean. had to dial it out but as a musical instrument it is top notch. there is very little that can't be done with this thing.

very versatile. you can really get every range of tone from this guitar - except death metal...but is that really tone.

the pickups suck. no balls. I am going to change them to a seymour TB3 in the bridge and put cool rails in the neck. it is way too bright. the sustain is lacking as well. it sounds really weak when doing a legato run. for funk chording it is ideal. there is no way the tone comes close to a good prs, anderson or one of MY homemade guitars.

i have actually gotten better from playing this guitar. i must admit it takes a good amount of time to get used to the neck. it is hard and clean so you must really be conscious of your technique. the finish is fantastic (10). my setup is mediocre.

It is light (++++)

i dealt with them before and they were very good

for $450 - it is a pretty high value considering what else is out there. as a luthier hobbyist, i would choose an anderson over a parker. when my new batch of guitars comes out of the shop, i'll sell it. the attention to detail is far greater as are the components. the dimarzios are weak. the parker bridge and composite stuff is very ingenious and deserve high praise.

USA made, s/s/s combination
locking tuners I think 1997 model.

I have had the most shocking experience anyone can probably ever hav with a guitar!!
Bought used, the guitar seemed to be in good shape....everything working.
I took it home and wanted to lower the action.working on the bridge adjustment screws did not heplp too much....had to reduce neck bow using the truss rod. However, the resultant action was still too high.
After a few days, a fret started to buzz badly and I noticed that it was actually COMING OFF THE FRETBOARD!!!!!!THE GLUE HAD COME LOOSE AND WITH A SMALL TUG THE FRET CAME OFF THE FRETBOARD!!! BEAT THAT!!! ON CLOSE INSPECTION I NOTED THAT MANY MORE FRETS WERE COMING LOOSE.

I DONT KNOW WHY THE HELL SOMETHING LIKE TAHT WOULD HAPPEN TO A GUITAR...SPECIALLY FROM ONE OF SUCH HIGH REPUTE!!!!! MAYBE THIS SORT OF THING HAPPENS TO PARKERS AFTER THE BECOME 4-5 YEARS OLD AND THE TRUSS ROD IS ADJUSTED....MAYBE THE GLUE DOESNT LAST LONG ENOUGH.....WE DONT KNOW ALL THESE THINGS AS THERE ARE NOT MANY 'OLD' PARKER GUITARS.

GUITAR WAS PROMPTLY RETURNED!!!!!

Very twangy sound....very bright does not handle distortion too well.....very unsuitable for a legarto style of playing as the p/ups dont have enough power.....basically not enough body for me.
Maybe ok for slower , blues, jazz styles.
THe piezo is nice but not worth it in the '97 model as the output is so low.
WOULDNT RECCOMEND IT WITHOUT A PICKUP CHANGE

Otherwise sturdy guitar...nice finish, and quality.

The action is something to worry about , does not get low enough and the lowest would be considered high on other guitars

good quality otherwise..the tone pot gave up for a few hours but started working again.....solid guitar otherwise.....

well, I have been totally disappionted with Parker for how the guitar behaved....
THough I've heard that parker makes fine guitars, I will never buy a Parker agian only because of the experience I had.
I've owned many guitars earlier from an Ibanez to Epiphones to a PRS now.....WOULD NEVER TRUST A PARKER AGAIN.

WHAT THE F*** DO YOU DO WITH A GUITAR WHERE THE FRETS START TO FALL OUT!!!!!!!!!!

I have had my black on black Nitefly for about a year now. It is made in the U.S.A. and is of extremely high quality. (Higher than my Gibson or G & L). It features one volume, two tone controls, and a 5 way (i.e. Strat) selector. It has three Dimarzio pickups. (H/S/S) It also has a Fishman piezo pickup. The all black finish is impeccable. The tremelo arm is difficult to master. The locking Sperzel tuners are masterpieces. This guitar will not go out of tune.

The Nitefly is great for blues and rock. The Dimarzios suffer a little for hardcore metal, though. Though it has a somewhat Strat sound, the sustain is more like a Les Paul. Though I play all kinds of music, I would like the bridge p/u to be a little phatter.

No flaws. Brilliant. I did, though, buy the axe used.

I've been playing for quite a while. I also own a G & L ASAT, Fender Mustang, Epiphone LP-100, Fernandes Strat w/ Velevet Hammers, Squire Stagemaster with EMGs, Kramer Pacer, and Gibson SG Goth. It this guitar were stolen, I would buy another Nitefly. If one comes up, buy it.

Same as the others. Mine has three single coils - no markings on them, but I've read that they're DiMarzios. Unlike the earliest NireFlys, there is a button that sllows blending piezo and magnetic pickups through a regular mono cable. You can also use a stereo cable into two separate amps for the best possible sound. Sperzel locking tuners, which not only help tuning stability, but make restringing much faster. Mine came with a couple of Allen wrenches and a gig bag, but I got it used, so I'm not sure what it came with originally. If the battery dies, you can still use the magnetic pickups (important for live performance). Multi-mode vibrato which I don't really use much, but it is very flexible. 5-way selector for the magnetic pickups and three way switch for piexo, magnetic, or both. I think Parkers are the best designed guitars. If it had a humbucker, I'd give it a 10. I'm tempted to give it a 10 anyway, the sound is good enough that I don't miss the humbucker much.

Wow! In particular, the combination of the piezo and magnetic pickups gives an exceptional, full sound that neither pickup by itself can match. The piezo bu itself can give a passable acoustic sound. I've tried it as an "acoustic" through a Johnson J-Station, Zoom 504, and AX100G, with good to excellent results. I liked the J-Station best for acoustic emulation. The magnetic pickups are similar to a Strat, but less noisy and fuller sounding. As usual, the 2 and 4 positions are hum canceling. I've run it through a large variety of amp simulations aw well as some real amps (Laney LC15 tube amp), Fender Amp Can, Fender Mini Twin. Like any guitar, it likes some amps better than others, but this works well with the widest variety of amps I've seen.

This is my second Parker (I have a P-38) and I've played about a dozen others. I have yet to find a flaw. One outstanding point on the NiteFly is the use of extemely long lasting stainless steel frets. The vibrato is exceptionally smooth. I far prefer it to Floyd Roses. It is a very good looking guitar (mine is sunburst).

This guitar is well suited to live playing for a lot of reasons. The locking tuners help tuning stability and make changing strings easy. The light weight makes playing it for hours easy. I think it's as reliable as anything, although I would always use a backup. If it had straplocks, I'd give it a 10.

I haven't dealt with the company, but I was able to download the manual from the Web site. Nice.

I started playing 30 years ago, but took about a 25 year break. My amps are listed above, The other guitars I play most often are a Fender Strat Plus Deluxe, Route 101 Solimar Custom, Fender American Strar (ash body), Gibson Les Paul Special SL Humbucker, and Parker P-38. I would get this again in a second if I could find one anywhere near this price. The only things I wish it had are a humbucker and straplocks, and I can live without those. Parker is one of the few compnaies trying to advance guitar technology rather than slavishgly copying 50 year old desings. They should be applauded for that, but moreso for making exceptional guitars.

2000 sunburst model. Single, single, humbucker. The other reviewers have already covered the details.

Excellent. Good for any music.

Excellent. The nut was abit high though. One of the most professionally built guitars I've ever seen.

Seems indestructable.

I tried out lots of different guitars on a trip to London last year (2000) and was blown away by the Parker Flys I tried (the expensive ones). Afew months later back in Ireland I found out about the lower budget models like the P38. So, as I hadn't seen a Parker in London that I wouldn't have bought, I decided to go for it mail order. When I called I found out about the Nightfly with the steel frets, etc...so I decided to spend abit more and go for broke (more or less literally). However, when it showed up I had an unpleasant surprise. The Nitefly and other low range Parkers have high jumbo frets. I hate high frets. My fingers hurt after an hour which shouldn't happen after playing guitar for 3 decades, and as I sometimes play 3 and 4 hour gigs (weddings) this was a problem. The other fault (design fault) I found concerned the 'ergonomic' body shape. It felt wonderful standing up but sitting down the kink in the upper horn dug into my ribs rather painfully. Has Mr. Parker never sat down with one of his guitars? Anyway, as nice as it was otherwise I had no choice but to send it back.

All have been mentionned on reviews above and under so I will save you the read. One big reservation: a gigbag is included. On guitar of that price guitar manufacturers should include a hardshell case and nothing. I could only save you the extra trip to the store to buy one. A gigbag is too fragile for a playing musician. If you take care of your instrument you know what I am talking about. An 8 because of the gigbag.

The way an instrument sounds rely on so many factors including your fingers, string gauge and picks. So one could only judge objectively by trying on by his or herself. As for style, personnal inclinations and expression that again, is left to the player alone.

I run this tool thru a Vox Wah--Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron+--Mxr Phase 100 to a Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 100W. In the effects loop a Digitech Whammy- Boss DD5 Delay. The pickups where changed in neck and bridge positions with Anderson p/u whom are richer and more powerful. This completes the equation for now. It sounds, plays and feels right. It's everything a guitar of that price should. Yet unfortunatly too many players nowadays rely solely on vintage instruments or reissues of these thus slowing down the progression of newer and different models i.e. Kleins, Parkers, Steinbergers and many more.

On my guitar everything was working perfectly. I have purchased it in a store, not by mail-order. For those of you who purchase equipment by mail, not a bad thing in it's own right, should not complain about minor or even major problems upon reception. God only know's what could happen to a box during shipment. So yes, everything was perfect.

At first, it looked fragile. The neck width, the weight and the narrow body was very much new to me. It was like holding a baby in my hands. After a while though, you get used to it and quickly realize that it's rock-solid and very reliable reminding you to take care of your stuff and in return, it will take care of you.

Never dealt with them yet.

I have been playing for nine years and have owned 4 guitars of varying quality. Upon trying a Parker I wanted a new pool of sound, unlike regular flagship guitars. I have tried Peavey Wolgangs, Gibson Classics, Studios and Customs, various Fenders, Godins all thru various tube amps. Of course, I chose Parker for personal blind reasons, all looks aside. Ten months after purchasing it, I went to the store to check out a few things. There for the first time, I realized that playing other guitars made me uncomfortable. The bodys were bigger, the necks fatter and heavier. Not that they didn't sound any good, I was just ergonamically adapted to Parkers. I believe every Parker guitar ownwer knows what I'm talking about. These guitars are just easy to play. If it got stolen I would definitely try every guitar I could but pretty sure I would buy a Parker. Maybe a Deluxe.