Product: Parker Guitars Nitefly V2
Price Paid: USD 499 USED
Submitted
10/07/2008
at
10:41am
by
DonSimon76
Features
:
9
Made: 1997
Body: Maple
Neck: Bolt-on, Solid one piece basswood neck with carbon-glass-epoxy reinforcement
Nut: GraphTech
Passive Fishman Piezo system
Bridge: Precision-cast aluminum vibrato bridge
Bridge saddles: Stainless steel
Frets: 22, hardened stainless steel
Fretboard: Carbon ??? glass composite
Tuners: Chrome Sperzel Locking
Neck and Middle Pickups: DiMarzio Custom Wound
Bridge Pickup: Upgraded to DiMarzio Tone Zone (DP155)
Magnetic pickup selector: 5-way selector for magnetic pickups
Pickup Selector: 3-way (Piezo, Both, magnetic)
Finish: Polyurethane
Vibrato system: 3 spring; 3 mode stop screw: fixed, bend down only, or floating
Scale: 25.5"
There is sometimes confusion because the Nitefly series has had a few modifications over time. The main differences is that this one is made of maple and has a passive Piezo system. Later models have different woods and an active Piezo system.
I absolutely love the neck on this thing! You do have to adjust to playing it because bends are sooooo easy with the smooth fretboard! Anytime you change the strings, make sure you wipe down the fretboard with a soft towel because it holds onto finger goo.
I love how the guitar looks but the horn can be a little uncomfortable. On the upside of that, it has encouraged me to stop leaning over and staring at my fingers which is a good thing.
Nice feeling 5 way switch, smooth and detents nicely.
Sound
:
9
My styles are widely varied from classical to Metal. This guitar lends itself pretty well up to hard rock. Due to the composite neck it tends to be a bright sounding guitar. It does have some of the standard strat type sounds, especially sounding good in position 2 (Neck and Middle), nice and janglyish. The single coils are not overly noisy but like all single coils you don't want to play while hugging a computer monitor.
I found the stock DiMarzio bridge pickup a little weak and not to my taste so I started searching for different pickups for it. Due to the brightness of this guitar you have to choose carefully when selecting a new pickup for it. You need to find one that is lower on the treble side of the EQ or else it will be too icepicky. I opted for a DiMarzio Tone Zone with specs of Treble:5 Mid:8.5 Bass:8.5. It has worked out nicely.
The Piezo sound is very bright so you have to adjust your amp's EQ a bit but it does sound nice.
My main setup for it is with the Piezo output going to channel 2 of a 1980's Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120 with chorus engaged and the magnetic pickup output to a Visual Sound Jekyll & Hyde overdrive pedal to channel 1 of the JC-120. It just sound great with the Piezo giving the overdrive sound great definition!
IMHO, I think the guitar is great for all styles but weak on metal.
Action, Fit, & Finish
:
9
I can't comment on how the factory set up is since I bought it used but it has great action and everything was adjusted well.
The finish is good with just a hint of the grain coming through. The later models that are not maple have a more obvious grain.
No flaws that I can find.
Reliability/Durability
:
9
As far as I can tell it would withstand live playing since it seems nice and sturdy. The hardware has held up well over the last 11 years with no discoloration. The frets are still nice and super shiny. No wear in the finish, either.
If I was giging with it, I would have a backup just because I believe in always having a backup.
Customer Support
:
No Opinion
No experience with them.
Overall Rating
:
9
Been playing about 5 years but not that good. I know more about gear than skill. Other guitars I own are Gibson LP Special, Gibson Menace, G&L Tribute ASAT Special Semi-hollow, Schecter C1 Elite, and others. Other amps: B-52 AT-100, Peavey Classic 50, Madison Divinity, Kustom Defender, L6 Vetta II.
If lost or stolen I would definitly replace it due to how wide the sonic pallette is with the magnetic and piezo options.
Favorite feature: the neck, it is sweet!
I didn't really compare it to much else because there isn't really anything else that matches it in features. It is unique enough to have a permanant place in my arsenal.
I sort of wish I had a later one with the active Piezo preamp but for what I paid I am perfectly happy with this one.
