Parker Guitars P-38

There are plenty of other reviews for this guitar, so I'll try to skip the redundant info and focus on what stands out to me.

Pros:
- Awesome neck profile. Reminds me of the older PRS wide-flat neck. Best playing guitar I own (out of 8 others, although my Hamer would be a close second.)
- Excellent hardware as related to the instrument price. Fishman/Wilkinson bridge, Grover tuners, Dimarzio pickups.
- Mother-of-toilet seat pickup cover. My wife thinks it's sexy. Gotta love it.
- Very distinct shape. I've found that people either love it or hate it. I love it. You can tell it's a Parker from 100 feet away.
- Fairly low price point. More expensive than the entry level guitars, but cheaper than most Fenders or Gibsons. Helps mortals like me join the Parker club.

Cons:
- No Sperzel tuners. The Grovers work great, but I'm a dedicated Sperzel man.
- Didn't come with a case as part of the base price.
- No easy way to track battery life, so you risk going dead in a live situation.

The pros on this guitar far outweigh the cons. For the money, the cons can hardly be held against it.

To help you understand my point of view, I need to give a little explanation on my background...

I've been playing semi-pro for about 13 years now. I'm a self-admitted gearhead; I've owned roughly 20 guitars in this time period, and still have 8 of them. I've had everything from budget axes up to high end custom models (though more from the budget end since I got married 8 years ago!) When purchasing a guitar, I try to listen to the tone of the guitar. Hardware can be upgraded, setups can be adjusted, but if the piece of wood sucks wind, there's not much you can do. In my experience, you can't base this on price (although generally the more an instrument costs, the better the wood and the more likely it is to sound good - no guarantees though.) Whatever instrument you buy, at whatever price range, you need to close your eyes and listen. My first Hamer was a beautiful piece of art, played wonderfully and cost me an arm and a leg. Unfortunately, after I had it for a few months I discovered that the tone would make Roy Rogers punch a nun. Too bad, because Hamer makes some great paddles, but that wasn't one of 'em.

My main and best sounding axe is a cheap Chinese made Strat copy that somehow sounds like the Holy Grail. God must have smiled on the tree that produced the piece of wood. I had to replace most of the hardware and completely rewire it, but that guitar is magical. I installed a Mike Christian piezo pickup in it to give me semi-acoustic sounds, so I'm going to use this guitar as a reference to the Parker.

Also for reference: I use .011 strings. For amps, I either play through a Line 6 Pod, or a Sovtek Mig60 head through a custom 4x12 cabinet.

When I went shopping I played all of the P-38s (and P-40s) in the store, and bought the best sounding one. Too bad it was the red one as I wanted a blue one, but such is the price of tone. I'm sure Stevie's Strat wasn't the prettiest axe in the store either.

The humbucker sounds good - the output is not overly powerful, but not as wimpy as my old Kramer. The sound is similar to my Les Paul in the bridge position, but with more top end.

The single coils are decent. It's got the 60 cycle hum when not running in positions 2 or 4, but that's why you play single coils. I found the single coil sounds to be somewhat strat-like, but not quite as "quacky" (quacky is good when talking Strats.) There was quite a volume difference between the single coils and the humbucker, but I resolved most of this by adjusting the pickup heights.

The piezo-acoustic bridge sounds OK. Obviously, it's not my Taylor, but it's a lot more convenient than switching guitars and it allows you to approximate acoustic tones mid-song. As compared to the Mike Christian in my Strat, I don't think the tones are quite as detailed and realistic. However, the Fishman pickup allows you to run the piezo output through a mono cable for use in one-amp situations, which is a lot more convenient than the Mike Christian which forces you to always use two amps. When I've asked friends to compare the two sounds, the average person thinks they sound the same so the difference between them is probably neglegible.

The Parker doesn't seem to excel at any one particular type of tone, but approximates them all fairly well. Many of my other guitars sound better at the tone they were designed to produce, but that's the only general sound they can make. With the Parker, I can get close to all of the different tones without having to haul a load of guitars with me. Interestingly enough, this is the same reason I use a Line 6 Pod.

Overall, the Parker's sound is more mid-range oriented vs. my Strat. When playing by myself, I prefer my Strat. However, in a band situation I've found the Parker cuts through a lot better and holds it's own position in the sonic spectrum rather than trying to fill up all the frequencies. If you want to be heard in a multi-guitar situation, this is a good one to play.

Of course, you can get some ve

First, here's my rant: ignore the factory set up. Whatever guitar you end up buying, do yourself a favor and learn to tweak your guitar and set it up yourself. Maybe you don't have to learn how to do fretwork and wiring, but you should know how to adjust the truss rod, set up action, pickup heights, etc. Unless you sit with the guitar tech as he/she does the setup and tweaks everything exactly to your liking, it will only be by chance that the axe is adjusted perfectly to your tastes. It'll save you money in the long run and you can make little tweaks as the guitar ages and settles without having to return to the shop.

The first thing I did was replace the .009 strings with .011s. Then I set it up for the heavier string gauge. After I did this, the Parker became a simply amazing player. String height is low, with little buzzing. The neck is not Ibanez-thin but not as thick as my Strat, and is a tad wider.

Fit and finish are top-notch. There are no noticable flaws that I can see. The quality is really quite impressive for a Korean made, budget instrument. When I bought it, I traded in a '92 Les Paul Standard. It is unfortunate, but there was an extreme difference in quality between the Parker and Gibson, with the scales being tipped towards the Parker. Especially noticable in the fretwork, the Parker's fretboard is darn-near perfect while the Gibson was a disaster. My Gibson had glue drippings, poor sanding, and uneven frets since new, which is very disturbing considering the difference in the base price of the two guitars. Hopefully Gibson has improved their product in recent years, but unfortunately my experience with the two Les Pauls I've owned have tarnished my previous loyalty to their brand.

From what I've gathered, there were some quality issues Parker had to resolve on the early production runs of the P-38. In my opinion, it looks like they have gotten the kinks worked out. My P-38 is as good quality-wise as any guitar I've owned. Might want to keep this in mind if buying a used P-38 or one that's been hanging on the wall for a long time, though.

The only thing I found annoying was how difficult it was to get the protective plastic off of the pickguard. I almost had to remove hardware to get it all. So I'll ding the rating a bit because no guitar is perfect.

I play live about every other weekend. I never use a backup guitar no matter what axe I bring, as I don't like hauling gear if I don't have to. I have played the Parker live 5 or 6 times now, and have found it to be dependable. The hardware is good quality, and the finish appears thick, so I am of the opinion that it will stand up to many years of playing.

Admittedly, I am very easy on my equipment. I don't tend to beat my stuff up, so usually I'll notice fret wear on my guitars before I notice any other blemishes.

As other reviews have mentioned, the strap button on the upper horn is in a different spot. I haven't had any trouble with the strap coming off, but it's something to keep in mind.

The vibrato arm does tend to fall out of the hole it sits in. I haven't figured out a way to secure it in place. I don't use the vibrato much anyway, so it's purely a vanity thing to have it hanging there. Someone who relies on the trem heavily may want to be aware of this as it would stink to reach for the arm and not find it there. It's embarassing enough having it fall out mid-set and not noticing until you step on it. Oops.

After I had the guitar about 3 months, the volume knob did come loose. Two minutes and a deep well hex socket fixed it.

Haven't had to deal with them, which is a good thing.

I purchased this guitar about 9 months ago. I traded a '92 Les Paul Standard (minus the road case) even up for the new P-38 with a soft case. Seeing as the Paul needed a complete refretting and some other work, I felt like I got a good deal. Especially since the street price on the P-38 and case was pretty close to what I paid for the new Les Paul 9 years ago (right before the whole vintage craze got going and they were just about giving Les Pauls away.)

When I first saw a Parker Fly on the cover of Guitar Player in '92, I fell in love with the shape and had lusted for one ever since. Unfortunately, the price of the USA made models was keeping most guitarists (myself included) from ever being able to own a Parker. When the P-38 came out, I was excited but skeptical. I liked the idea of having a chance at being able to afford a Parker, but I was leary at the thought of a reputable manufacturer releasing a "budget" line that doesn't cut it in terms of quality (i.e. Fender's Squier or the Hamer Slammer series.) I'm certainly not against playing cheap instruments (my mutant Strat is proof), but if I'm going to shell out good money to get a particular name on the headstock, the quality had better be there.

Thankfully the P-38 lives up to the Parker namesake. While it doesn't have all the fancy features of it's older brothers (carved body, stainless steel frets, carbon fiber skin, etc.) it does provide a lot of bang for the buck. No it's not perfect, but I've yet to find an axe that is.

If you need a guitar to cover a variety of musical styles and you dig the distinct Parker shape, it would be well worth your time to investigate the P-38 model.

I'm not sure on the year-built on this guitar, but I bought it brand new. It is black with a pearloid pickguard. The pickups are Parker made single, single, humbucker, and a fishman piezo. The neck is a little more round than I am used to, and it has 22 rather sharp frets. I don't think mine are jumbo, like everyone else says theirs is. Non locking tuners.

I play heavy music to jazz to blues. I am a huge fan of John Petrucci, so my Ibanez has his old pickup configuration. In comparison, the parker does sound like a strat, so I get a totally new set of sounds with it. My signal is such; from my guitar to a whammy, Bad Horsey, either a Peavy Rockmaster (4 tubes, screaming tone)or a ADA MP-1, a ART FXR Elite (actually a studio rack, but I only use 1 or 2 delay effects that are perfect for me, a DBX 166 (both the Peavy and ADA can be noisy) into a Mesa Boogie 50/50 stereo
amp, out to a old Carvin 4x12 loaded with old 25w Celestions. I use custom made coaxle cables, Jazz III picks.
The Pickups sounded great when I first plugged it in. The humbucker is a monster, and I can get pretty good sound out of both the singles.
The piezo is amazing sounding, and will add a new touch of brilliance to my playing.

The action is a bit high, but I'll take it to Mike Lull in Bellevue, WA, and he and his shop will do their usual incredible job. The pickups were adjusted funny, but a couple of seconds and a small philips fixed that. I did notice that the paint on the back has a weird "wavyness" about it, and I hope it is not something that is going to haunt me later. The friction fit hole for the trem arm looks like it was quickly placed, then trimed with a dull boxcutter.

I tend to be a very aggressive player, and am a rather large guy, so my '80 Gibson Explorer and Ibanez RG 570 fit me well. I also tend to sweat under those pesky microwave-like lights they put in at venues, so I hope the metal holds out. I do hate where the upper horn strap is placed, and it hangs a tad funny.

N/A

I have been playing for 15 years and have played everything from Hohner to Gibson. I went into GC looking for the Ibanez Premier version of this guitar, but it was sold. I miss the ultra flat neck, but I can learn. I love the fact that the plug is stereo, and the piezo pickup is really the only reason I even looked at this guitar. Yeah, sure, I'd love to have the weightless parker fly, but this does pretty much the same thing, so all is good. I will be adding locking tuners, and i may change the position of the upper horn strap peg.
All in all, this will be a great addition to my collection, and I will use it a ton at church; Playing for Jesus Christ is the other reason I wanted a guitar with a piezo. I can plug into my amp AND the PA for lighter songs.

So you want to put Piezos on your Strat and a Humbucker in the Bridge position, Well save your money and buy this baby. IT has 22 Jumbo frets, two Single-Coils and one Humbucker, A Wilkinson/Fishman Piezo Vibrato Tailpiece, a Smart-Switch for discerning between mono and stereo signals(giving you the choice of playing mono or through two amplifiers,eg: regular guitar amp & an acoustic amp or a P>A> system), Lightweight, easy controls( you don't have to be an M>I>T> grad to play it. A lot of bang for the buck. The only thing missing is a Humbucker in the neck position w/coil splitr/tap.

IT is my "DO ALL" axe, since I can cover any style in a pinch and it can hold its own Tone & Outputwise in any live situation I may encounter. I have been playing since 1964 and I mostly work in classic and early Rock'n Roll and R&B, Light Jazz, Funk, and a little Salsa music. It's just about as noisy as a Strat or Tele, so I use it live on stage except in venues that have hum problems such as lighting, etc. In which case I go with my '77 ash Strat w/ Vintage-Noiseless pickups. I do a substantial amount of recording session work' but I've yet to get to use my P-38 that way. IT is my most versatile stage axe, and if it's not my #1 on any show, it is surely my backup instrument.

I recieved the guitar in perfect playing shape, it came with .009-.042's and it felt so good that after I tried changing to .010's (which I prefer on my Strat), I settled on a hybrid mix of .010,.012,.016,.026,.036,.046 for a fuller sound. I've had this guitar for over 1 year and the only two problems I'm having are that the G string Piezo is losing volume at times and I cannot find a fix for it, and the Tremolo arm bushing has worn out causing my Tremolo arm to go limp in its hole as if it needs Viagra. I love the weight and feel of this axe so much that with the playability and tone I get from it, I can live with the above mentioned flaws.

I know this guitar can take it because one night I was performing on stage with my Oldies band and during one of our choreographed moves, my left knee buckled and gave out, causing me to fall backwards on stage and also causing the P-38 to become airborne and crash on the wooden stage. When my sax player finished his solo he helped me up and I picked up my P-38 and finished not only that song, but the rest of the set and another set that evening.

Warranty is one year, so now that my piezo is acting up and my tremolo bar is slipping out, I guess I'm out of luck. Otherwise I haven't needed them before.

I'VE BEEN PLAYING SINCE 1964. I OWN A '77 STRAT W/VINTAGE NOISELESS PICKUPS, AN IBANEZ 6/12 DOUBLENECK (1974), AN IBANEZ ARTIST (70's), A JACKSON FUSION STD. PRO, AND AN ARIA ELECORD MODEL #P-90 (acoustic roundhole arch top), AN EPIPHONE SHERATON II, AND AN EPIPHONE CHET ATKINS CEC (nylon string electric).THE P-38 CAN BACKUP ANY OF THESE INSTRUMENTS EXCEPT THE 12 STRING. IF THIS AXE WAS STOLEN AND I WAS NOT PROSECUTED FOR MURDERING THE PERP(s), I WOULD BUY THE P-38 OR AP-44. ITR CAN DO EVERYTHING I NEED IT TO DO ON STAGE WITHOUT BREAKING MY BACK.

this is an update on my previous review (made a few months ago) by me, cosmo mcturk.

since then, the bridge humbucker has broken.
i was really starting to like it too.
apparently, according to my guitar tech in town, a korean pickup of similar standard would cost #20 ($30)... which incase you didn't realise, isn't alot.
so i am changing it for an EMG 89... which will give me some single/humbucking changing action (baby)

i'd like to see the difference.
time shall tell.

This is a Korean made guitar with the Parker name on it. My guitar was made in 2001. It has non-locking tuners, 09-42 strings, Fishman Piezo pickup in the bridge for an acoustic guitar sound, a humbucker by the bridge for the Les Paul sound and two single coils for the Stat sound. There is a volume, tone control, and 5 way selector switch for the three magnetic pickups and a volume control for the piezo. There is also a three way switch to choose between the piezo, the magnetics or both. The piezo uses active electronics and the magnetics use passive electronics. The body is ash, the neck is 22 frets and made of maple with a rosewood fretboard. It has a Wilkinson bridge with a whammy bar and the output jack is stereo. The piezos on one channel and the magnetics on the other channel.

I have only owned this guitar for a few days, but I have an observation I wish to share with anyone interested in buying a Parker guitar. The output from this guitar can either be summed to mono (by using a mono guitar chord) or it can be split to stereo (Piezo on one side and the magnetics on the other). My point is that the sound of this guitar is terrible in mono, but it is unbelievable in stereo. I run the piezo signal clean through either the PA or a second amplifier. I run the magnetic pickups through my processor then into a Marshall 50 watt and the results are a wall of sound that cannot be duplicated by any other guitar on the market. The piezos are in direct contact with the guitar strings and the magnetics require the sound to jump a small air gap (between the strings and the pickups). This makes the two signals a small bit out of phase and really fattens up the sound. It sounds like we have added another guitar player to the band. If we play larger gigs I will use two Marshalls instead of one Marshall and the PA. If you are considering a Parker then try it out in stereo and prepare to have your mind blown. I dislike the mono sound but I still give it a 10 because this guitar will never again be used in mono.

I bought this guitar used on eBay for $450 but it is about as perfect as a new guitar can be. The bottom E string had a small buzz so I took off a point for that. That problem was easily solved. The neck on this guitar is better than any neck I have had my hands on in 37 years of playing.

Since I have only had the guitar a few days I can't comment on reliablity or durability, but to quote another review here, the finish looks like it would take a hammer and chisle to do damage to it.

I have been emailing Parker with questions and they have been fairly good about providing answers. I must say the P-38 is the bottom of the line Parker. I actually prefer the P-38 over any of the more expensive Parkers. I tried out several Flys and several NiteFlys and the P-38 does everything they do but at about 1//3 to 1/4th of the price of the more expensive models. I could have afforded to buy the more expensive models but could not find a reason why I should, so I got the P-38 and I am thrilled to death with this instrument.

I have a bad back and this guitar is extremely light weight. I can play it for hours and my shoulder doesn't feel like it is going to fall off. The neck is very silky and smooth and very easy to play. Especially chords in the first position, like C and F. The stereo output is orgasmic and it does an incredible job of sounding just like a real acoustic guitar. I can play the intro to Hotel California and sound like an acoustic then punch a button on my processer and shred on the solo.

This Parker's low end guitar retailing for $599. It's made in Korea and I purchased mine in May of 2001. It has three pick ups set up like a strat and a piezo under the saddle. Has decent tuners, big fat frets and a decent bridge that is easy to adjust. The truss rod is adjustable although the location of the truss rod nut is a little awkward to adjust. It has a tremolo bar that friction fits into the bridge.

The sound is pretty decent. The five position switch controls the 3 pickups and gives you a range of full to thin electric sound. The piezo is also adds a nice touch. There's even a 3 position toggle switch that allows you to choose either magnetic pick ups or piezo or a combination of both. I would say for $599 I would expect a little better sounding guitar, but all in all its not bad.

I found that the P38 suffers from bad quality control. I tried several in the store and each had a drastically different set up. I picked the one I thought was set up the closest and then tweaked it when I got home. Although the bridge is easy to adjust, getting the action adjust was a little tricky. It required a slight adjustment to the truss rod and a lot of adjustments to the bridge. Once dialed in, it plays pretty good. I especially like the fat frets. Unfortunately, if you don't know how to set up a guitar, chances are the P38 you bring home from the store will not play very well. The finish on the guitar is very thin and in some spos, you can see bare wood. There are also rough spots - areas of the body and neck where you can see "grind" marks as if they only roughly finish the guitar before spraying. I found many of the P38s that I tried in the store had pits and marks under the paint. I tried to pick the one that had the least amount of flaws.

After owning the guitar for 3 months, I noticed a very small crack in the back of the neck, located at about the 2nd fret. Af first I thought it was a pore in the wood, but it began to grow. after 6 months the crack grew to about a 1/2 inch. I decided to take it back to the store and exchange it before the 1 year warranty was up. The store gladly replaced the guitar, even after 6 months. The replacement guitar was only in my possession for about an hour, when I discovered the piezo under the G string was not working. I took it back to the store and found the pick up was defective. So, I received another replacement which now was my 3rd P38. Well, I guess 3 times is not a charm for me. After having the guitar for about 3 weeks, I noticed that the piezo under the low E was distorting a lot. It became progressively worse. I took it back to the store and finally exchanged the P38 for an American Stratocaster. I ended up paying about $200 more, but the sound and quality are 500% better. I suspect the American made Parkers are pretty nice, but I wouldn't touch the imports with a ten foot pole. In my opinion, they are pretty bad. In fact, I'd go out on a limb and say that Fender's Strat Squire is a better quality guitar at 1/3rd the price.

With all the trouble I had with my P38, I never had to deal with Parker. The store from which I purchased the guitar handled all the problems and way beyond my expectations. I felt pretty fortunate that the store was so willing to take back the guitar, even though I had purchased it 6 months before.

I have been play acoustic guitar for 25 years. I also play a little jazz on a arch top. I wanted to buy a relatively cheap solid body to play some rock and ended up with the Parker because it sounded good, had the piezo pick up which gave it a bit of an acoustic sound and had an interesting look. I was surprised that after spending $600 on the P38, the quality was worse than $200 student models. I ended up spending $800 for an American Strat which is more than I wanted to spend, but I'll own and enjoy the guitar forever so I guess it's money well spent. As for the P38, I would recommend not buying this guitar. I hate to say it but it's a real piece of junk.

It's new but it might have been made in 2000. Made in Korea. S/S/H pickups with Fishman piezo Wilkinson vibrato bridge. I got the Sunburst model. It comes with tools, stereo cable, and a manual.

I play jam band stuff with a mix of everything else, and so far it suits my needs pretty good. I have only been playing for 1 year and love playing. A good versatile sound helps you out especially with the stuff I play. The pickups are good for stock and the piezo system is supposedly good but I dont have an acoustic amp. I like using the mixed mag/piezo sound.

My headstock had a small paint flaw where the black paint must of rubbed off or something. It bothered me at first, but in the end, who really cares? There were two scratches on the back, but probably due to regular handling. The finish is great, looks very nice and makes you want to play.(Helluva lot better than my Squier :) Anyways, the guitar was well set up and played good.

I don't play any gigs yet, but I am pretty sure it will stand up to some abuse and the hardware wouldn't fail, but a spare battery is a good idea.

I didn't get the vibrato bar, tools and accesories and we eventually went to Guitar Center to get them. The guy said he called Parker and had them sent to my house but they haven't arrived. It might of been the guy at GC's fault so I do not know. - 1 year warranty

I would definitely buy another P-38 if it was stolen or lost, which would really suck because I would be playin my Squier for a long time. :) I played some other guitars in my price range, inc. the new PRS Santana SE. The SE is a nice guitar but for a few more bucks you get a guitar thats more versatile with better playability . Played Epiphones, Gibsons, Ibanez, and Fender but the P-38 beat them all.

all of the above...
22 jumbo ass frets, great sounding pickups, amazing acoustics. only bad thing i can say is that the strap is likely to let your axe fall on your feet while jamming.

wilkinson tremolo is actually pretty good, i've never liked floyd rose trems anyway

i play in an alternative-like band, kinda like primus mixed up with tool and all sort of metal and no so heavy influences, you can check out my band's web site at: www.bajotres.com, you can download some mp3s there. this is my main axe now, and has incredible tone, especially the acoustics sounds, it sounds more real than the lead singer's Washburn electro-acoustic.
i play it throug a roland JC-120 amp and a floor effects unit Boss ME-30, and i'm really happy with the tone i get from the humbucker with the tnoe knob rolled back almost halfway. also, the clean tone with the combined single coils kicks so much ass!!

i bought this guitar through the internet, so the action and factory set-up was not quite perfect, lucky me, it took so little effort to correct it, thanks to parker thruss-rod system. i also replaced the poor factory strings with D'Addario's XL 10s and this did wonders to both electric and, most notable, acoustic tones. also, you gotta love the transparent blue finish with the perloid pickguard (mmm...i actually wanted the red one, but couldn't wait till they were available)

i've played like 5 or 6 shows with this axe, but it sure is one hell of a guitar, it's built like a freakin rock! -and all of those gigs i've played without a backup guitar

no need to talk to the parker guys... yet

it would be nice to have the manual tell the users that the magnetic pickups also depend on the 9V battery, scared the sh*t outta me! also a EQ for the acoustics would come in handy in situations where you're playing through cheap PA systems

I play country and jazz gigs, and I use this guitar for both. Between this guitar and a Zoom 505II with a volume pedal, I am quite simply ready for anything the leader might call without a lot of muss and fuss. I actually play through a bass rig (a Peavey MarkIII to an SWR Workingman's 110) to get the widest tonal response from my set up.
The Parker has the feel of a Hagstrom and the sound of just about anything you want unless you are EXTREMELY picky. The ability to blend the acoustic/magnetic sound is partiularly helpful on jazz gigs.

I have replaced the strap buttons for Straplocks, and moved the upper bout button to the edge of the horn, as opposed to behind it.
Not only do I use this intrument without a backup, that was the reason I sought it out.

Most of what can be said has been covered in the previous reviews, so I won't belabor those points.
I've been playing various styles for well over thirty years, and have owned this guitar for about eight months. My intent is to do the most with the least, particularly when one gigs in clubs and wants a quick load in/load out. Therefore, I try to get as much done with one instrument as possible.
If I had my druthers, I'd have opted for coil splitting on the lead pickup, and a hardtail (since I don't use the trem).
However, dollar for dollar this is the best guitar purchase I have ever made. Not only would I replace it if it were lost, I am considering buying another one.

made 2001. korean made.
22 jumbo ass frets.
good hard finish, but a little too shiney (you might blind someone).
volume, tone, 5 way selector, piezo volume, 3 way piezo / magnetic switch.
s/s/h with piezo in bridge. parker and fishamn pu's. active circuit.
maple neck with rosewood frets, i presume the body is ash.
trans finish, very nice.
double cutaway, the styling is very nice. takes infulence from tele's, strats... very thin and light with some nice angles in there.
wilkinson bridge.
non-locking tuners.
very nice very thin neck (i love this... my deciding factor).
gig bag, tools, and a stereo lead all included in price.

infact, what doesn't this have?
it's very versatile.
it's pretty much got everything without heavy customising

oohh, baby!
*drewl*
i'm loving this.
i play some rock, gentle noise making, dabble in metal from time to time, pretty much everything.
it suits all of these - insanely so.
i have a korg ax1000g multi-effects (on sale) and a peavey bandit 112 (also on sale).
they're on sale because they're sh*t.
i love this guitar - it's the only thing that makes me want to pick it up.
it's silent as silent can be on the humbucker, two singles and the piezo, but there's an audible hum on the single coils, hence, i don't use them much, but they are still amazing.
the neck is damn rich and the bridge and piezo are bright, but not too bright.
the piezo itself can vary from really bright plucking at the bride, and full, rich sound if you pluck at the 12 fret... infact i don't think i've heard anything quite so rich in my life.

*drewl*
so creamy.
it's like 4 kinds of rich creamery butter melting in your hands... except it doesn't leave the greasy feeling. i salivate at the thought of picking up my guitar every time.
the nut could do with being a bit lower, but it doesn't bother me much, so i haven't done anything about it, from fear of losing some of the creamy goodness (excuse the inuendos).
all is good and creamy with my baby.

although it's thin, i'd throw it around if i didn't care about the finish.
i doubt it's going to split, it's some pretty good feeling wood.
the finish is damn thick, and you're not really going to chip it without a hammer and chisel.
i'd depend on it with my life.
i have a backup crappy strat, but i wouldn't even bother using it.
my baby will never fail on me!!!
only one thing, i was pulling and tugging on the bottom strap button, because the straplock wouldn't fit on, becuase my strap is a fat mutha, and the screw came a bit loose. it's not fallen out yet, but i've found myself having to get a screwdriver sometimes just to make sure this never happens.
this only happened becuase i was applying excessive force, remember!

i sent them an email ages ago, about some stuff which i can't remember now.
pretty trivial i think, but no reply.

i've been playing on and off for 3 years, but i got really serious about christmas last year.
i bought the guitar in the summer while on holiday, and shipped it back to england for 2/3 the price in my local shop.
the design really is a love it or loathe it situation.
it's like marmite.
personally, i hate marmite, but love this guitar.
(hmmm, wonder if i could make a survey to see if there's some sort of correlation between marmite haters and parker lovers... the possibilites are endless)
i own a multi fx and a pevey bandit 112.
i don't really like either of them, and i am selling them both.
if you read my other reviews, i've given them like an average of 4/10.
the moment i picked up the guitar i thought, this is it, i have to buy this, now where could i get #400 from? hey mum, dad...?
it's an early christmas / birthday present, and a damn good one!!!!!
i seriously love this.
this IS my guitar.
i'll have it forever, and will never ever sell it.
if it were lost or stolen, i'd seriously be distraught. i'd definitely try to claim insurance / try to save up for another, if not a bigger, better model, like the nitefly
mr. parker is obviously some sort of god of guitars. he sees my needs, and fulfills them.
my favourite bit on the guitar has to be the frets and neck. they were just made for me!!! i narrowed down my perfect guitar - it has to have a matt finish neck and frets, and it has to sound good.
i compared this with other guitars like ibanez's, gibsons, godins, you name it.
i was originally going to get a gibson SG, but i really don't like the neck - it's got that varnish and it's the size of a small elephant.
i wish it just came with a free roland gk-2a and other bits and bobs.
but then mr. parker would have to delve into the deepest depths of my mind, rather than just my simple desires - which is just worrying
it's very light and thin. i like this, but i'd still want a tele, just for the the plain bulk slab of wood. i'd do it up like jonny greenwood's and put gizmos and gadgets in it, but that story is for another day.

mmm, beer *drewl*

cosmo.