Parker Guitars NiteFly

How could this guitar be any less than a 10 on features? Between the piezo system, locking tuners, great composite neck, stainless steel frets, etc, etc... No other guitar has close to this many bells and whistles. I don't mean to gush, but it's true. The only thing I wish mine had was the active piezo preamp. Mine's passive. Also, the piezo and magnetic outputs can't be mixed through a single cable, which is a bit of a bummer, but I assume that if you put the right output jack into the guitar, or had a stereo to mono cable it would mix the signals just fine.

My guitar is the S/S/H setup. The neck is really a nice shape, like a standard Strat, but maybe a hair thinner.

Ok, this is where this guitar falls flat on its face. The pickups are terrible. The single coils are very noisy and their sound is flat and doesn't come close to a decent strat sound. The bridge humbucker is ok, but too trebly for my taste, not fat at all. The definition between the notes is also very poor. I've been comparing this to a Les Paul Special (a very different guitar, I know) to see which one I like better and the Parker's tone is kind of embarrassing next to the Gibson. If I decide to keep the guitar I am going to have to replace the pickups. I'm considering putting a full set of duncans in it with coil tapping and the works. Hopefully this will get a good tone out of this thing.

The piezo pickup is really bright, but it definitely nails the piezo sound. I'm sure if you plug it into a good acoustic amplifier you could get a perfectly good "acoustic" sound. I've never tried.

The guitar is very well made. The ends of the frets are perfectly flush with the neck, so it's nice and smooth like it was bound. The neck itself feels great and the guitar is solid. The only thing that keeps it from being a 10 in this category is that the tolerances on the pickguard are too tight in some places, so it squeaks when I use the whammy bar, and some finish has chipped off around the strap button on the bottom of the guitar.

I haven't had it for too long, but it seems solid enough. The Sperzel tuners and the bridge both are solid as rocks. The 5-way selector switch seems a little flimsy. The strap button on the upper horn is on the back of the guitar, which I hate. It makes me feel like the guitar is constantly about to fall off.

I got this guitar because I was bored of the same old Strat I'd been playing for the last 10 years. This is definitely the opposite of the traditional strat. I still can't tell whether it's a keeper or not. I'd hate to put the money and effort into changing the pickups and not improve the tone too much. Some guitars just don't have the tone, no matter what the pickups are. If it was stolen I can't say I'd buy another one. I got it for the novelty, if it was gone I'd probably move on to something else. Not that it would be as interesting as this guitar is features-wise, but something with different playability or tone. Don't get me wrong, the Nitefly a nice guitar, but it's let down in the most important area - tone! It's probably not a good sign when a company charges a premium to put decent pickups in its guitars like Parker does with the Mojo line. They might as well just admit the stock pickups are crap.

1997 Parker Nitefly NFV2 made in USA.
3 Tone burst with 2 Dimarzio OEM single coils and 1 Dimarzio OEM Humbucker and piezo.
Swamp ash body, basswood neck w/ carbon fiber fingerboard and stainless steel frets.
Sperzel locking tuners and infamous parker tremelo.
1 Volume, 1 Tone and 1 master volume for piezo. 5 way selector switch and a push/push button for mono/stereo signal.
Came with heavy duty parker gigbag.

This guitar is fantastic. By far the best playing guitar I have ever owned. even over my Parker Fly Classic.
It fits all styles I play from rock, country, jazz and fusion.
To be honest I hated the OEM dimarzio pickups. I know they were going for a vintage vibe but there was just no out put and the single coils were quite noisy. I bought a new pickguard to accomodate 3 single coils and I installed a set of Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups and they are incredibly quiet and sound phenominal. The guitar now sounds as good as it plays.
Would not trade this guitar for the world..

I purchased it used and the previous owner had put .012's on it. I being a professional tech had to set it up to fit my confort zone.
It is set up with very little relief and measures at 4 and 3/64ths.
The trem is fantastic and incredible smooth. It behave like a strat trem but with the finesse and sensitivity of a bigsby...and dives like a floyd. By far the best trem in existance.

This guitar seems to have what it takes to be a ridden hard survivor.
The body is ash and will sound better with time.
The frets are stainless steel and will never wear...say goodbye to expensive fret jobs.
The neck is insanely straight and true.
I bought a parker because I felt that the longevity of the instrument far outweighed that of a steinberger and so...here we are. I own two parkers and an emerald acoustic.

I don't particularly like the folks at parker...maybe it's because washburn bought them out. Hell, I would be wrapped a little too tight if the worst guitar manufacturer in the world owned me...anyways...
They are a might be rude to say the least and are very unhelpful.
Go figure... you make a fabulous guitar and your customer service reaks...can't have it all.

I have been playing and teaching guitar for over a decade as well as repairing and restoring instruments for roughly 8 years.
I own several Hughes and Kettner amps and a Peavey Delta Blues 210.
I have a 1996 Parker Fly Classic, an Emerald Opus X10 all graphite acoustic, a 1973 all handmade Tres Pinos classical and a Cort Curbow 4.
I use little or no effects and play with a number of bands and on various projects here in the Nashville area. I will always use my Nitefly as my number 1 axe for most projects.
If there were somethings I wish it had I would like to try some EMG's in it and just go 100% active...and I wish it were green? What can I say...the burst is nice but it ain't green. Come to think of it...I may have to fix that...wink wink!

Great features like graphite neck and sperzel tuners and dimarzio pickups. However some 1997 and 1998 nitefly's have faulty truss rods because of improper installation and the necks are ruined and need replaced by new necks that are manufactured properly. Mine had a bad truss rod that froze up and ruined the neck. I shelled out the money for a new neck and got a great neck!! After replacing the neck I had a great guitar!!

I can't say enough about the sound. The neck pickup can sound like a hollowbody Jazz guitar the middle pickup can sound like a Tele and the bridge humbucker sounds like a Les Paul. The Fishman bridge goves great acoustic tones!!

Action was great once I bought a new neck!!!!! Guitar was Very comfortable to hold with it's contours. The finish was beautiful.
I give it a 2 for action with the original neck and a 10 with the new neck so overall I'll give it a 7.

Well, like I said before once you get a new neck it's OK. But without replacing a neck with a bad truss rod, forget it!! If you're buying one used or on ebay, make sure that the truss rod is good and not frozen up. Otherwise you be shelling out the $$ for a new neck and have a lot of headaches!!

If you are buying a new one or if you have one with a new neck then you're getting a great guitar. Again if you're getting a used one make sure the neck and truss rod is ok. If it is you're in for a great guitar!!!!!

1997 Nitefly s/s/s pasive piezo USA..and one big price tag

Crap Dimarzio pups...Dimarzio are usually good so very disappointed for such an expensive guitar. Better with SD Hotrails (Bridge), DM HS3(Middle) and Razor BSP (Neck) and a bit of electronic wizardry by the local guitar tech(ME). Piezo is bollocks, to trebly needs AWARD Acoustic preamp to make it usuable and its only just usable. Sounds alot better with this setup, with Anderson type versatility. This is commom on older Parker guitar, forcing you to spend more cash on replacement pups.HAVE THEY NO SHAME..god damn it use your ears. They must have listend to their customers and started using SEYMOUR DUNCANS (the finest pickups money can buy).Razor BSP is good in all positions but relegated to the neck due to the excellent SD Hotrails. DM HS3 is quiet and simple, but kicks ass when driven hard. Of course I like a humbucker sound and this is not there at all, well say, compared to a LP CUSTOM

I dont know about any other nitefly V1s but mine is far from perfect. THe body is fine and comfortable and the finish is great. The neck, fingerboard and frets are a piece of shit. When I first brought the guitar new the action was exceptable with 9s. Well I say exceptable it is alot higher than I like it. I assumed that it could be lowered. The neck was peferctly straight and the frets were beautiful. I own a GIBSON LP and a FENDER US Strat two of the finest instruments man has ever created. THese are my main guitars but I wanted something I could use in the studio. I didnt play the nitefly for about 5-6 months and it stayed in it LEVI gigbag with no string. WHen I restrung it, it was fret buzz nitemare. The bloody neck had twisted slightly so masses of fret buzz was happen. The big chunky frets didnt help much. I left the guitar into the local tech to set up. WHen I got it back the action was the same as when I first brought it. I was raging and asked the tech what the hell he was playing at. He said that it was the lowest he could set it. He had taken the twist out but couldnt lower the action any lower. I felt cheated.

DREADFUL DREADFUL DREADFUL. You could hide a rabbit underneath the strings. Ive read other reviewers comments on the action and how low it is. NO WAY is the action low on this version of the nitefly. Expect a lot of fret buzz and cheap acoustic/classical guitar type action. Absolutely dreadful. Ive considered filing the frets so that I can lower the action. The guitar is playable but not in the same ballpark as Gibson LP, Fender Strat/Tele or even Jackson. I does look nice though.. more of a posers guitar rather than a players guitar.. if you know what I mean?

I still dont play this guitar as much as my other ones. It does have a good sound, thanks to me, and I am getting use to the higher action. I tried the Parker Fly Delux and it is a beautiful instrument. Playable, musical and stunning looks. I think if you are buying a parker, save enough to get something better than the nitefly. Its not the best guitar...Godins do a similar thing and its much better and around the same price. This guitar will not become a classic like its dominant and better older brother. Just another throw away guitar...but it would probably last forever..what a horrible thougth

quick to answer and quite friendly

Ive been playing for 19 years. I own a Gibson LP Custom, Fender Strat USA and Ovation Legend Nylon masterpieces of our time. My main amps is VOX AC30TB and LANEY AC30R. I use a quite a lot of effects/sound processing. Americans make the best electric guitars in my mind followed by the japaness. The rest of them are suspect.

Im putting the nitefly up for sale or I might trade it in for a better guitar or even the FLY DELUX with extra cash.

THis guitar is the biggest mistake of my musical life. I have learned a lot from this guitar and it has humbled me. I wont make the same mistake again. Save up until you can buy the very best, dont except crap like this, like I did

Can't complain. Five way selector, tone, main volume. It's basically the basics that I need and nothing more. The only downside is that the fret markers are not on the face of the neck, but on the top. It's got the double cutaway, and the body shape is like nothing I've ever seen before.

The sound I can get on this guitar are incredible! It sounds great even if it isn't plugged in!

This action is the best that I have ever seen on any guitar.

This baby can really take what you dish out at it. It's built to last.

No problemz whatsoever...

I have two ovation custom balladeers, one is a 12 string, and my father has a taylor. I know the price that many people pay for a guitar like this, but all i can say is that it's all worth it in the long run. Whenever I want to jam, this is always the first guitar I reach for. I think that the only two guitars that come close to the sound and quality of my Nitefly are the Fender Stratacaster and the Ovation Custom Balladeer.

Take a look at there web site..you'll get the idea.
H-S-S (duncans I think.)
Bass wood body
Maple neck
Sperzels

Better now that I took it apart and replaced the pickups with something decent..Had Duncans of some sort.Now it has "real"
duncans in it..took out the front and rear pickups and replaced them with a Hot Rails ( neck) and JB Duncan ( bridge)..now the guitar has some balls to it..the original pickups sucked ..
It was thin sounding / weak..( not any more..hehehhe.)

I paid $350 / w case for it..so I wasnt expecting much out of
it..its not a bad guitar ,neck is nice, decent fret work, body is bass wood..

It has a very Strat sound to it now...better than a real one.
( I have 6 Fenders )..

better now..like anything..its needs work to make it right.

dont know...dont care..I have a studio..and thats all it will see.

never used it..altho I asked them about a fretless version of there neck..and I got a round around on how its not possible..
but that is no big deal..I would like to see them make one..
that would be cool !

not bad for the buck..wouldnt buy another..I dont need to.

98 november, black with a maple pickguard,,, the fellow, who was nice enough at the factory said it couldnt be a parker pcikguard because they didnt make that color, but it has to be, at any rate, i am writing this review to warn you a bit about these gutiars,,, on the surface they seem fine, but may be a bit overpriced considering what you get,,, my concern is with reliability on the road etc,,,

it sounds fine,, piezos sound fine also,, dimarzio single coils, bridge pickup sounds very nice through a fender amp,,, noisy though... i hav no problem with the sound of this guitar,,, action is very nice,, at first when you play it the neck feels very good, but after a while it seems rubbery,,, an ok guitar, stays in tune very well...

when i got this guitar used it had a bad input jack, simple enough, called parker and it would cost only 6 bucks,, well, i also decided to order a new white pickguard, they said they are standard on these,, well it cost me 60 bucks for that,,, so i took it to my guitar tech, who, admittedly is not a genius but is your standard small town fender tech that can work on most guitars, set ups etc.. well, when he opened up the guitar it had the most cheesy solder job you could everh have see, even an old guy who worked in a guitar shop in california in the sixties said this guitar should never go on the road. i am sorry but it looked like a design nightmare.. vey hard to get on and off the guitar,,, controls mounted under the pickguard, you would have to see it to believe it... well, we had to call parker to figure it out as a couple of wires came loose on opneing up the guitar, after we finally got it back on and resoldered some wires the selector switch was wired backwards but it works,,, my guitar tech put the new pickguard on and found that it wouldnt fit, they had sent the wrong one,,,, well, he trimmed it just a bit to make it fit and it wouldnt fit on the OTHER side... it was his mistake, we should have sent it back,,,, all in all a miserable time with a guitar,,, they should make them more simple...

i cant say i would buy one again,,,

these guitars are made by someone who does not and has never played a guitar.. that should tell you something. i am sure their more expensive models have better quality control, i like the idea of the guitar, but , like reverend guitars, with the funny shape you either love them or hate them... both of these companies have flawed guitars. you get what you pay for. i have learned to pay more and get the best...

fair guitar but i would not buy it again,,, too many problems, kinda like a cybertwin by fender,,, with all the moving knobs, how could you possibly want to take it out of the house and play it anywhere,,, to many things could go wrong....

Mine is a version 1 (S/S/S) Nitefly made in 97. It's one of the earlier models so it's a bit different from the current Nitefly's. Maple body, polyurethane finish, bolt on basswood neck sheathed in carbon & fiber glass, 22 stainless steel frets, 3 custom Dimarzio single coils, 25.5" scale, conical neck radius, Sperzel locking tuners, Parker cast aluminum vibrato bridge, passive piezo pickups, 2 volume and 1 tone knob, 5 way switching, made in the US. Lots of cool features on the guitar. Deserves a 10.

I was very dissappointed with the stock Dimarzio single coils. The pickups definitely do NOT sound like traditional strat pups (Neither does the guitar). Instead, they were very fat sounding with a great deal of mids and sorely lacking in any dynamics. Though the bridge pickup had a bit more bite, overall they were extremely dull pickups. And to make matters worse, they're not even hum canceling! (Although they are considerably quieter than fender single coils)

The crappiness of the stock pickups is unfortunate because the natural tone of the instrument is quite interesting. Because of it's somewhat unique construction (maple body, basswood neck), the guitar sounds different from all of the guitars I have played. First of all, it's bass response is minimal at best. Even with a hot rails (a very dark pickup) it's impossible to get a heavy tone. It has plenty of mids... much more than a strat but not quite as much as a set neck mahogany. The best thing about the guitar, however, is it's singing highs. The highs are very prominent on the guitar (probably because of the maple body) but it's neither shrill nor piercing. It sounds almost like a tele the way the highs just leap off of the fret board. In addition, it has impressive sustain for a bolt-on neck. It's a cool sounding guitar once you replace those muddy, lifeless pickups.

The piezo pickup sounds okay. Nothing great. Like everyone has mentioned, it's very bright sounding. It definitely would be nice to have a tone control for it. It is, however, pretty cool to play the guitar using both the mags and the piezo at the same time. You can dial in all sorts of different sounds using both pickups. Very cool. Unlike later models, mine doesn't have an active preamp for blending both the mag and piezo signals. So I have to use a stereo cable and play through 2 different amps. But I don't really mind since everyone agrees that it sounds best with 2 amps anyway... plus I don't have to deal with batteries.

I have since turned the Nitefly into a more hot rodded guitar. I added a Duncan hot rails in the bridge, little 59 in the neck, and a Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Blues in the middle. Sounds MUCH better now. I'm especially impressed with the Virtual Vintage Blues. Infact, I'm thinking about replacing the pups with a whole set of Virtual Vintage pups.

I don't remember how the set-up was, but I'm sure it was alright. Setting up the guitar is a lot simpler with this guitar since it's very easy to adjust the bridge and the individual saddles. However, I could never really get the action as low as I would've liked it. No matter how much I tweaked the bridge and the truss rod, the E string (and sometimes the A) would buzz when the action was too low. I'm not really sure why. I think it's because of the big frets. Although I prefer 10's, I have to string the guitar up with 9's because the action would have to be even higher with 10's. Don't even THINK about going any heavier than 10's.

Finish is pretty good. From my experience, all guitars with polyurethane finishes keep looking new year after year. However, I've heard that polyurethane can be detrimental to the tone. I dunno if this is true.

I've read another review that complained about the rather cheap knobs. I kinda agree with that assessment. The frets are all prefect... except that they're kinda big. I think that's why there's so much buzz on the low E string.

Even though it may not look like it, it's a fairly durable guitar. It's not a "tank" by any means, but it's not as fragile as it looks. It's also not as light as the Flys. The weight is slightly less than an alder stratocaster.

As I mentioned earlier, polyurethane finish keeps the guitar looking nice. The hardware will probably last... cept maybe the knobs. Stainless steel frets, of course, are still flawless. Strap buttons are solid. You can definitely depend on the guitar... but I wouldn't advise gigging without a backup.

In addition, the Nitefly vibrato system is surprisingly dependable. Even though it's not a locking bridge, it stays in tune very well. One of the first things I did when I first bought the guitar was play some crazy whammy bar dives... and I was amazed when I found that the thing was still in tune. It's not a floyd rose; you can still knock it out of tune if you go too crazy on the thing. But overall, it's a great vibrato system (and a hell of a lot easier to restring).

Their reputation is not good. Personally, I haven't dealt with them much, but I've emailed them some questions a few times and they usually take over 2 weeks to respond.

Been playing about 8 years now. I don't own as much gear as a lot of other guitar players I know but I've played my share. If it were stolen or lost... I might wanna try the Ernie Ball Silhouette Special or an Axis Sport. Maybe even one of those Brian Moore guitars. I don't dislike the Nitefly, I'm just curious about other stuff.

What do I love about it? I love the guitar's singing highs. I love the fact that the stainless steel frets don't get worn out. And I love the way it sounds with both the mags and the piezo together. What do I hate? I hate that I can't set the action as low as my Gibson, my Ibanez, or even my American strat. I hate the dull stock Dimarzio pups. I hate the "swimming pool" route. My favorite feature is the vibrato system that is easy to restring, yet stays in tune remarkably well.

Did I compare with other guitars? Not really. I had my eye set on a Parker for a while. I chose the Nitefly mainly for its cool features and because I couldn't afford a Fly. I wish it had a tone knob for the piezo pickup. I wish it had the same bridge as a Parker fly (which supposedly stays in tune even better). Overall, I'm still pretty happy with the Nitefly after all these years. It's a good guitar, but I think that it could use a few improvements... especially considering the retail price for the Nitefly these days.

Update to previous entry. It really is a great guitar!!

Turned out it was the volume pot that was bad. Put in a new pot but it doesn't sound exactly the same as before. Has a little bit more midrange going on. Maybe I just have Eric Johnson syndrome. Ha!

It sound good enough to keep for now. I will probably keep it anyway because I am very hard on frets and you don't have to fight this one so much. Plus the stainless frets and graphite fingerboard are better technology. Will just have to tweak my rack a little to compensate for the extra midrange. I'm probably the only one who hears it anyway!!

Think it's about 4 yrs old. I got it used. (s/s/s) dimarzios and piezo with switch to activate magnetic, both or piezo only. Sunburst with white pickguard and tremelo bar, gig bag. Sperzels. Didn't get the stereo cord with it. When I first got it, it was supurb.

I run mono in to a Boss gx-700 and an old Ibanez ue-405 into a Trace Elliot Supertramp and a JC-120(stereo out of the Ibanez).It is noisy on middle and bridge settings, but not any more so than a Strat. After about 2 months it started sounding weak. The piezo only switch function never worked. I figured that was because I wasn't running the stereo cord. Any way I thought the piezo was active with a battery and it must need replacing. There is no battery in this guitar. I think there is a problem in the guitar jack. Currently it is working intermittently. One night the magnetic and piezo will work and other nights only the piezo will work and thats only if you push the cord into the first jack connection and not the stereo connection.I have taken that out of the body and checked the connection. It looks perfect with no wires out of place.
I bought a stereo adapter and plugged two cords into it but that doesnt work properly either. I am hoping somebody will come back on this site and give me some pointers or previous experience on how to get it back to normal. I will eventually take it back to the shop where I bought it,but that's 50 miles away and I just havn't had the time to run it yet. When it works, it works wonderfully and the blend function is perfect to add a little brightness to the overall sound.

Excellent

as above.

havnt contacted them

I have been playing a long time and it's frustrating to get what you want and have it not work to it's potential. When it works, it is damn near perfect. Great lead tone, great in the pocket with the band.

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.

I've had my Nitefly for about a year now, and all I can say is that it's been immaculate! Mine is the 2000 model, with s/s/h DiMarzio pickups and active Fishman piezo bridge. The body is swamp ash and the neck is basswood with carbon-glass fnish and composite fretboard. The finish is Dusty Black, in a very un-stratlike strat-style. The nut is a uniquely-shaped GraphTech nut, 25.5" scale and jumbo stainless steel frets, epoxy bonded to the fretboard. Mine did come with the stereo cable, although I usually use the guitar summed in mono. It also came with the obligitory wrenches and a soft case.

I've always found Parkers to be rich sounding and warm. I've used it in every kind of music, from industrial to rock to blues, and it's fit in perfectly. I've used it with a Line6 POD, as well as a BOSS GT-3 processor, and have always found that it shines in any setting. The only quibble I have is occasionally hitting the trem arm or bridge with the peizo's on, and it comes through as an audible thump, although this is a common problem with peizo bridges and not because of the Parker it self. While I prefer DiMarzio pickups if I have to go passive, I much prefer EMG's and I think they would better suit the more futuristic design of Parkers. The single coils were slightly noisy by themselves, and using the noiseless Virtual Vintage pickups may have been a better choice as well, but this is not the fault of the guitar or Parker, so I won't whack any points off for it.

Unlike many of the people here, my Nitefly was set up perfectly and I only tried one! I'd always used 10's for strings, but have gone down to 9's since I've not had any problem with string breakage, with the exception of one D'Addario, which was wound wrong. The guitar is meant for 9's and it plays perfectly with them. The paint job was perfect, with no dings or scratches and the fretwork was great, due to the bonding procedure. I've taken the guitar apart a couple times to clean it, and the routing and sheilding are very well done. Unlike many of the other posts, my nut was cut perfectly and stays in tune under the most rabid conditions, helped along by the Sperzel tuners. I have installed Dunlop straplocks and they work fine, although I recommend using the screws that came with the Parker's original strap buttons, because the longer screws will go right through the upper straphorn.

I've used my Nitefly live many times, and it's always come through without a scratch. I've even whacked with the ceiling fan on accident and it didn't dent it one bit. The only time I DID dent it was when I backed up into a hardwood table and hit the edge really hard with the corner of the table. While there was a dent, the paint did not flake off or shatter. While I'm not sure what the topcoat is, I do know they use PPG Automotive paints for the finish, which are costly and VERY good car paints. Parker also names their colors by the actual paint name, and give the contacts for PPG in case someone needs to get touchup paint. The paint was well-applied and even, but not too thick or too thin. I've tripped over my guitar, accidentally dropped it, fell down a flight of stairs with it, and exposed it to tons of fog and sweat, and it just keeps on ticking. I've never brought another guitar to a gig since I've owned the Parker. The ONLY thing I would perhaps like to see improved is the use of Schaller locking tuners instead, and perhaps a little bit more protection around the individual peizo pickup wires under the bridge. While Sperzel's are nice and reliable, the locking wheel's post is small and might be bent if it was hit while unlocked all the way. The Schallers seem a bit more, well, heaftier, although I don't think the Schallers come in the groovy brushed metal finishes.

I've only ever dealt with customer support, and that was just to get the factory setup specs, which I like to keep around. They got back to me within four days, but I'd sent them an email only two days after their website had gone up, so I'll forgive them. They were very nice and happily sent me everything I wanted to know, as well as apologiseing profusly for being late with a response. Very nice indeed! The only thing about support I have a bitch about is the warranty. I don't mind too much that it's only a year, although longer would be much nicer. But I don't like shipping instruments. I trust Parker, but I don't trust UPS to not damage it even more. But, there are actually many places that are authorised Parker repair places, a little-known fact not shown on their website. I know this because I used to work for Guitar Center and we had a list of them in the Denver area. The only thing the factory absolutly must do is fret replacement, authorised repairmen don't have the equipment for this. Overall the support is wonderful, but I have to knock points off for the warranty plan.

I'd wanted a Parker for quite a while, and was not (and have not been) disappointed by it! It is definitly a wonderful value, although I wish some of the other models were a bit cheaper. But I'd much rather have this than a PRS or Gibson or Fender any day! The design is innovative and different, but not overly weird like Rich's or some Jacksons. I can't think of anything that I hate about this guitar, and I commend Ken Parker for doing such an outstanding design job and construction. I would buy another one in a heartbeat, and actually will purchase a MIDIFly sometime in the future. Not everyone will like this guitar, but it's definitly something you need to play first, before you make your final decision. But I doubt anyone would be disappointed...

1999 (approximate) model.22 fret, S/S/H pickup configuration. Piezo pickup., Nice sunburst finish. Sperzel Tuners. Vibrato

I am using this guitar through a Marshall JTM 30 amp, extension cabinet, and a Crowther hotcake to add some zip for leads.

This guitar is capable of some excellent sounds. This guitar sounds very nice unamplified. The single coils possess good strat sounds. The humbucker is decent sounding as well, and is not too loud in comparison to the single coils.

As good as the guitar sounds while playing alone at low volumes, I found it challenging to get good sounds while gigging with the band I'm in. The guitar is somewhat thin sounding, and lacking in meatiness, and this became accentuated while playing at live volumes.

First off the guitar was supplied to me strung with 009 guage strings.
Swapping these with 10's signifigantly improved the sound. Also raising the height of the pickups helped make the sound cut better.
At this point the guitar was manifesting a very good tone on sustained notes, but was still too thin sounding for my tastes.Keep in mind that I'm looking for a hot, agressive rock sound. At this point I swapped out the stock pickups for Joe Bardens. These provided more note definition on distorted settings and had a midrange sizzle which made the guitar much more useful for playing live.

It should be noted that the piezio pickups sound great. They must be played through a full range amp(ie keyboard amp, acoustic guitar amp or P.A.)to sound authentic. The acoustic sound is very convincing. Also combining the acoustic sound with the electric sound can give a huge sound with its wide range of textures.

The action fit and finish of these guitars is amazing. The action is a little bit higher than it could be (which suits me fine). The finish is beatiful and flawless. The feel of the guitar is what sold me on it. The neck is fast and plays consistent all over. The frets are so smooth and feel 'like playing on ball bearings', great for bending.

These guitars have a marvelous aesthetic appeal. Also, get this - the non locking vibrato stays in tune.

. I once had crapped out and distorted piezo sounds which turned out to be a dead battery. I've gigged with this for 6 months and have not had nor expect to have any problems

na

At times I have found this guitar extremely inspiring. Other times I have found the sound a little lacking.

Overall however, this is an excellent instrument. It does seem to be more suited to cleaner sounds where the suble sophistication of this piece can shine.

2000 Parker Nitefly made in the USA. 22 Frets, 5-way magnetic pickup selector (S/S/H), Mangetic tone and voluem controls, piezo electric pickup, piezo volume control, stereo-mono selector with active mixing circuit, stero cable included, three way Magnetic/Piezo Selector switch. The body is swamp ash with a transparent blue finish, the Frets are hardened stainless steel, the finger board is some carbon graphite type material, neck is bolt-on, the tuners are locking Sperzel, the bridge has a tremolo bar. A gig bag was included with the guitar.

I play alot of rock, blues and I am finding my way into jazz. This guitar offers me everything I need to experiment in what ever style of music I'm interested in. Before this guitar I had a Slammer by Hammer for about 4 years. There is absolutely no comparison to that guitar. The Nitefly rivals any guitar I've played in the sound department.

I have not noticed any flaws on this guitar. The carbon-graphite finger board is very slick, and the hardend stainless steel frets will last forever. The thing that really impressed me is the guitar was in tune where ever you went on the fret board. We will see how this holds out. I won't dare mess with the factory set-up for a while.

Everything seems like it will hold together on this guitar. I read other reviews before buying this guitar and no one mentioned any problems. The support people at Parker say to stay away from string and fret protection oils because some of them contain elements that will help break down the glue that holds the finger board on. If I have any problems I will let you know.

Everytime I've emailed parker they have gotten back to me within one or two days. I have had alot of useful help from them.

I have been playing for almost 5 years now. My first and only other electric guitar was a Slammer by Hammer. I paid $220 for that guitar new...Let's just say I got what I paid for. I chose the Parker Nitefly because no one ever had anything bad to say about it and it fit me like a glove. The only problem I have with it is the whammy bar slides out of its slot. It doesn't screw in so there isn't too much holding it there. Everything else blew me away....An excellent guitar, I don't know why more people don't buy them.

pls read below about the controls etc.

Amazing looks - I loved it so much, and E X T R E M E L Y comfortable to play!!

I used it for three days - one recording session. Well, I really liked it. Very comfortable to play, great intonation, great tuners, vast array of sounds available. However, singles don't achieve Strat glassiness, though are 90% close, but they're a bit dull, and humbucker is good, very good. What I like in this guitar - is it's playability (supa dupa) and that it is capable of all the standard classic sounds.
my only gripe is that
a) I haven't tried the piezo sectionand
b) I like Teles more for SINGLE tone and Les Pauls for HUMBUCKERS
If Paul / Tele is 9, then this is 7.5-8

super

n/a

Well, this is probably the best attempt ever to create an all-about guitar, great for recording and live work. Great looks!! I loved this feature especially. it's worse then a good US Strat or Paul, but far better then Ibanezes, Kramers, Hamers, ESPs, Jacksons, even some PRSes... the latter are overpriced and poppy
uh

This is a '97 model with the H/S/S config. I bought it used, and they didn't have the Y cable, which was sort of a bummer. As usual, its got the piezo pickup, the carbon/glass neck and the sperzels (those are my favorite features at least). The bridge is one of Parker's babies, but they definately did a great job with it. The finish on mine is the sunburst, which looks great.

I can't imagine using a different guitar! My band plays electronic rock, so I'm out to get some fat rhythmic sounds. The humbucker is an great rhythm pickup (good for metal/hard rock, not much bottom end though), and the singles are great for clean sounds and leads. What I've usually done is roll back the tone knob about 3/4 of the way and play both singles for my lead tone. It gives me back a real smooth sound. Also, I mounted a GK2A on this and run a Roland GR-30 with it, and that just makes this guitar look even cooler! Well I think at least. generally, I'll blend a synth guitar sound with my regular rig to get my sound (electronic rock). Insofar, there hasn't been any problems with any styles of music I've encountered yet.

I really dig the finish. I've had to play this thing outdoors a few times and it really takes the sun well. The action was great on mine, and the intonation never gives me trouble (I've had to throw it in a trailer in the gig bag a few times). The bridge has oxidized a little, but its nothing big..in fact you can't notice it unless you really look close.

I must admit, I beat the hell out of this thing. I'd like to think that I take great care of it, and that it gets all the care it deserves, but it doesn't (hey when you're on the road, there isn't a whole lot you can do!). However, this guitar must have been made to handle this! The neck is so sturdy its unreal. I've played out with 7 other guitars prior to this, and since then, I only take this (and a jackson kelly as a backup).

Parker is awesome! Their website is really cool (http://www.parkerguitars.com). I'm a little biased because they had me in one of their ads, but hey, all the better!

I've used this guitar for about a year and half, and it totally rocks. My rig is relatively small because A. I don't feel like toting big 4x12 cabs and B. I look for a synth-like tone, which is best done DI. I run a chain of effects on the Parker side, and just the GR-30 on the GK side. My favorite part of this guitar is the bridge. You can whammy away and it just comes right back! Prior to this guitar, I've had ones with Floyd Rose bridges, which are okay, but nothing compared to the parker bridge. Not having to unlock the nut to tune is wonderful. I'd reccoment this to anyone who wants a unique looking guitar with a wide range of tones and flexibility.