Parker Guitars P-38

Sunburst ash body (pool-routed under scratchplate). Single, single, humbucker. Rosewood fingerboard. Acoustic bridge. Stereo option (electric and peizo can be into one amp with a regular cable or can be sent to different amps/P.A. with supplied stereo cable). 9v battery for acoustic pickup but magnetic pickups go through the same switch so if the battery goes ALL pickups stop working. One mark off for that.

The acoustic peizo bridge sounds good, especially int a desk with an EQ. The parker designed pickups I wasn't as impressed with so I replaced them with Kent Armstrongs (vintage strat and PAF) which were a great improvement. I play thru a Fender Hotrod Deluxe with a celestion V30 and different than stock preamp tubes and I usually use a new U.S. series tele. I'm in a band that plays abit of everything and this combination does the trick with no effects usually (a little chorus sometimes). I'm afraid to say that even with the new pickups the Parker doesn't compare to the tele, at least not to my ears. It's either because I've recently become a tele freak or else it's the pool route that's affecting the sound (it goes right through to the vibrato springs).

It is pretty well made but it has that massed produced quality like Mexican Fenders have (scratchplate not fitted quite perfectly, etc...) Finish was excellent. Fretwork is good but the nut was way too high. Why do manufacturers do that? F barre chords should be as easy as with a capo. I had to shim the neck too. After adjustment the action is great but I find the frets abit high personally. It makes my fingers sore alot faster than playing a Fender guitar. Just a personal thing.

Woodwork and electonics seems put together well. Seems reliable. Don't like the magnetic pickups being wired in with the battery-run peizo.

No idea.

I can see lots of people really liking this, especially if they put their guitars through lots of effects. It's comfortable (standing up) and light and sounds OK and has a usable accoustic sound. However, after 3 decades playing I've become fussy and it isn't what I want so I'm trading it for another Tele. I put this review in to let people know that, as nice as it is, it may not be as perfect a guitar as they expect...or maybe it will be? Anyway, my advice is to try one before you buy and make up your own mind.

All been outlined above, but briefly:

s-s-h pickups
piezo bridge with smart switching jack socket
graphite nut

- mine now also has straplocks and an internal GK2 and will soon be gaining a Sustainiac Stealth.

Very bright sounding compared to my Ibanez RG570, but great for the tinkly and jangly sounds. The humbucker seems a little wimpy, especially for full, chuggy distorted tones, but is very useable the rest ofthe time. The piezo bridge sounds pretty good with a full range amp but not so great with a normal guitar amp (as you'd expect). Generally very low noise and a very good range of tones. Only problem is that humbucker.

Action was abysmal at the shop - this seems to be normal in the UK. Every P-38 I've tried has needed a complete setup, including a fret dress. It shouldn't be like this on a guitar that retails for #600; my Ibanez was perfect out of the carton.

Other than that the guitar is very well made and beautifully finished, though the trem arm needed cleaning and polishing.

Stays in tune perfectly with the bridge floated. I replaced the strap buttons straight away, but there didn't seem to be any problem with them. I just prefer straplocks.

The major problem on this front is that the trem arm isn't held in at all, and keeps falling off. Just a bad design.

I'd gig without a backup, except that it doesn't have the full range of tones I'd like, so it gets played half and half with my Ibanez.

The website is pretty helpful, but I've not dealt with the company direct. The UK distributor wanted #85 for a scratchplate, which is just stupid.

I've been playing for about 9 years now, and also have an Ibanez RG570. The Ibanez seems a little better for harder sounds and the Parker wins out for clean and tinkly; they're both great to play and look good too.

If I lost the Parker I'd certainly consider another one, but maybe the P40 for the 2 humbuckers. With a guitar like a P-38 in the shop, it amazes me that anyone would buy any Strat. It does everything a Strat does and looks, plays and sounds better.

It'd be nice if Parker did a Fly with 13-pin piezos.

It has 22 jumbo frets...active 9v battery(which makes it have some balls)wilkinson tremolo and s/s/h piezo stock parker pickups. made in the usa. Translusent red which makes it look beautiful. non locking tuners. The bridge is a little shitty...it actually unwinds my strings when i dive bomb the tremolo sometimes!!! The acoustic pickups in the tremolo crackel when i use them and one has a lower volume than the others. i think the bridge...5 way switch...and the volume knob(which makes noisey noises when turned) gave this a 7.

It really fits my music style. I play mostly metallica...judas priest...and heavy type music. I changed the humbucker though to a duncan invader(great humbucker)but i will talk about before i got it the duncan.I use a marshall vs265 2x12 combo...kick ass amp...and a boss metal zone. It is noisy only on the acoustic pickup setting but other than that...perfect. It has a heavy clear bassy sound. It can go from shake the house up and down distortion. also to crystal clear acoustic...if ur bridge is better than mine that is. When i first got it the acoustics where very nice!! I really like the sounds of this guitar and i am proud of owning it. The acoustic thing is the only reason for a 9.

Set up absolutly perfect from factory. The action of the strings is a little high but dont bother me much. The pickups where directly under the strings which is best for good output. It didnt have any flaws at all. The finish is really nice but can have sweat for a drink. make sure you wipe off ur sweat when usin it. Other than that...i say this guitar really makes it look like it is 300 dollars more.

I really think this guitar is realiable if usein it for a gig but the thing i said about the strings unwinding really makes is lose some points. Imagin losin your string in the middle of a heavy song on stage in front of 50 people!!! That would suck!! Always bring a backup anyways. But aside the strings...it can have a good beating to it before you notice a diffence in performence.

never dealted with them...

i have been playing for 3 years and this is my fav. guitar. If it were stolen...i would probebly go for a gibson and not buy another one...even though i would be pissed off if it was stolen. I say it compares to fender phat srats. i wish it would of had locking something!! If you are thinking of getting this guitar...you should. it is great for the price.

I'm writing this review for people who don't want to read novels while they are convulsing in anticipation to venture to the guitar store and buy this guitar. Feature-wise, this beats out any standard guitar. The electronics are superb for a Korean guitar. It has a S-S-H configuration, and they are surprisingly good pickups for a guitar whose 600 dollar price tag obviously went towards other features. The piezo active (needs a 9V battery) pickup system is flat out mind blowing! I was supposed to buy an acoustic guitar on that fatefull day but this thing does the job and then some. Beware, though, the acoustic pickups are very high output, so back the volume on your guitar off when switching to them live. The only other out-of-the-ordinary thing that came with this guitar was a "smart-cable" that plugs into your guitar and will send the acoustic part to one amp and the electric part to another amp. One male splits to two males to go to separate amps.

For a long time I was a naive metallica fan, but i'm now writing music with a drumming prodigy, and together, when recording on my roland VS studio, we make a whole band. Our second song, which is a clean instrumental with a distorted intervention and solo, was done almost completely on my parker. It's great to run the acoustic mixed with a little bit of the two single coils combined through a ton of chorus and out of a scooped clean channel. The acoustic pickups are very sensitive and sound very much like a miked acoustic guitar. This guitar is not necessarily made for every style of music, but with some practice, you can do everything from acoustic instrumentals to overdriven chording to darker, heavier riffing (assuming the rest of your setup is appropriate for this music too).

On my three current guitars, I have been lucky to receive models with good factory setups. The action is just fine, but i usually keep my guitar a half step down or more to ease the tension on the strings. You don't have to do much with the pickups to make them sound fine; just raise the humbucker if you desire and play away. The finish is a very deep cherry stain and there are no cosmetic flaws. My only wish is that this would have come with a graphite nut or something of that sort, I'm not used to plastic nuts (my other 2 guitars have locking nuts and floyd roses). But, i can't say that is a flaw, just personal preference.

This guitar does not break strings (as my satriani is notorious for doing when it's least appropriate), the hardware is nice and stiff. The tuners are fairly tight too, so they hold a tune for a decent amount of time. I would definitely have a backup, but that's just because every guitar is subject to some unforseen error. Unfortunately, we use a ton of different tunings from song to song, so i'll probably have each guitar there, but no backups (since they are all tuned differently).

My current setup (i'll make this quick) is a Jackson DR3 w/ EMG's, Ibanez JS-100, and Parker P-38 through a Boss MT2, SD-1, CE-5, GE-7, Dunlop 95Q, then a Boss NS-2, out of my pedal board into a Mesa Nomad 100 half stack. I use this guitar just as much as my Jackson and my Satriani is now becoming a backup guitar. I love how versatile this guitar is, but remember to give yourself time to change from one setting and pickup configuration to another (it can take a little time to flip 2 switches and step on 3 buttons/pedals to switch from clean to dirty or vice versa). The one thing I wish parker would have done on this model is either have backed off to a solid bridge or upgraded to a floyd rose. The Wilkinson is virtually pointless, and i never use it because the bar falls out and the guitar eventually detunes. However, I am thankful the the tremolo is very stiff, because I was able to tune it down to low B without changing anything other than the strings (9's to 10's). No spring tension adjustment or anything. Overall this guitar is a very solid purchase and I have had no regrets other than once again evading my dream of owning a les paul.

Check features in the other reviews. One thing that i will repeat is that of the two P-38s in the store one of them had what sounded like shorts in the electronics. The guys at Guitar Center said it was the piezo since that is what usually goes out on the P-38. The one with the shorts was the display model. This is a 2001 guitar. Made in Korea.

This guitar has a very versatile sound profile. Strat like, LP like, and acoustic like. It does all three reasonably well. I especially like to finger pick with just the piezos. I usually listen through earphones when i fingerpick. I use a Blues Jr. Combo amp for the magnetics.

The guitar was set up well with the exception of cheap strings which were corroded and improperly installed. I think one could expect to change strings on any new guitar anyway. A new set of 9's did wonders. The fit and finish were flawless. A beautiful guitar. The body is black with black pickuops, black knobs, black head stock and no inlays on the rosewood fingerboard. It is not flashy but sublimely attractive. The maple neck contrasts nicely with the black ash body.

I don't play live so i can't comment on that. This guitar has a very solid feel and the components are good quality. The finish is flawless. I have the black one. I actually liked the tobacco sunburst model better but it was the floor model and had shorts in the piezo. I've always preferred black guitars and the sunburst was the first guitar in that color that i liked.

I haven't dealt with the company. The staff at Guitar Center was helpful.

The best thing i like about this guitar is the way it fits me and the way the neck feels in my hand. The second best thing is the versatility of the tonal modes. It is also very light and that is a big plus in my opinion. It is a small guitar and i am a small guy. I knew when i picked it up that this was the guitar for me. I actually went in to check out a Schecter C-1 Elite but was consumed by guitar lust the moment i picked up the P-38 and plugged it in. I'm sure you understand.

This is just add on to my review earlier. It is still a great guitar and plays wonderfully. Just note that the instruction manuel is wrong. The battery powers not only the piezio pickup, but also the magnetic pick ups. This is just to let everyone know this so you don't look stupid and bring it back a couple of days after you buy it b/c the pickups don't work.

Made in Korea (but you would never know!). Has S/S/H custom Dimarzio pickups , Wilkinson tremolo with Fishman piezo pickup, 3 volume/tone knob, and 1 Fishman Smartswitch switch. I got the translucent red finish (I never thought I would own a red guitar but the finish on this, with the pearloid pickguard, was absolutely beautiful). As far as the other specs, see the other reviews or go to www.parkerguitars.com.

Fabulous! This is actually my first guitar with a true humbucker (I'm pretty much a strat guy) and I was impressed with it. Even the single coils stand out. The single-coil in-between sound are excellent (you can get the American Standard strat sound) and they're pretty quiet, especially recording on the computer (also, see my Johnson J-Station review).

The Wilkson tremolo with piezo pickups are an added bonus. I've never been a Floyd Rose type, but you can do dive-bombs on that thing. You can get a pretty decent acoustic sound with the piezo pickup it you get an outboard processor (I use an LR-Baggs acoustic processor because I got it for my X-Bridge-equipped Strat). You should only expect an ovation-type acoustic sound from these pickup because you'll be dissapoint other-wise, but I wouldn't count this against it. It has the smart-switching for the input to detect and split the output if you have a stereo plug (I would recommend it this way if you are gigging).

It is an EXTREMELY comfortable guitar to play. It is considerably lighter than my strat but it does not affect sound. I haven't played the regular Flys but I heard they're even lighter. If you are accustomed to Strats, the neck will take getting used to because the P-38 has a wider, thinner neck. But if you keep playing it, you'll find it is easier to bend notes and do vibrato. I use .10 - .46 strings so I restrung it anyway so I have no opinion about the factory set-up for string action. One thing is that I tried two different P-38's at different store and they sounded like they had shorts in them (noisy output). Definitely try one out before you buy. Parker seems very detailed with guitars so quality assurance is probably higher than most other manufacturers.

My only beef with the placement of the top strap button (facing you instead of on the top horn like a Strat). Certain strap will come off while playing. I changed it with a Dimarzio locking strap (but the screws that came with it didn't work).

I haven't gig with this guitar but I think it will withstand live playing (and get you some notices with the wierd shape). The craftsmanship seems flawless so it'll last me a lifetime. The only thing is that it doesn't stay in tune with aggressive tremolo use but then again it does not have a locking nut (and I haven't spent time oiling the points of contact).

Haven't dealt with them. Their website has downloadable manuals.

The P-38 is an awesome guitar. At $599, you probably can't build a better guitar from part at a cheaper price. If you figure in the cost of a Wilkinson tremolo with piezo (~$200), Fishman smartswitch (~$80), pearloid pickguard (~$40), Dimarzio S/S/H pickups (~$150), the P-38 is a fantastic value. I would definitely buy this guitar again if it were lost or stolen. I would even buy an extra one. When I saw Parker guitars, I was turned off by their shape, but I got used to it. The P-38 translucent finish are excellent (especially with the pearloid pickguard). I LOVE this guitar (my strat is now fighting for attention, heh). Because of this guitar, I have a deeper appreciation for the humbucker (but I am still a single-coil strat guy).

The P-38 I bought is a 2001 model. 22 frets, 2 Piece ash body.
It has the single coil-single coil-humbucker configuration, but I plan to replace the neck single with a a hot rail or similar. But that is because I like hums better than singles. It also has a Wilkinson/fisherman tremlo with built in fisherman piezio pickup. It has the usual parker body style. The neck is pretty thin, witch I love and the frets are the perfect size in my opinion, but for the exact specifications go www.parkerguitars.com. All of the p-38 are the same, except some w/o the piezio. It has what they call smart switching. This means that if a normal guitar cable is plugged in it goes to mono, but if the stero cable provided is plugged in it will spilt the piezo and the magnetic pickups to different out puts. Kind of a cool feature, though it is a little hard keep track of one cord, not to mention 2. Esp. the way I play. I plug the piezio straight into the amp and the other into the tuner and distotion pedal. Though if I had another amp I would plug into 2 different amps. The fingerboard is rosewood. It has some very neat controls. It has a fiveway selector switch to control the magnetic pickups and one volume and one tone. The switching is unique in that when mixing the middle single and bridge hum it split the coils on the hum(but has hum canceling). It also has one volume control for the piezio(wish it had a tone also). This guitar also has a 3 way selector. This lets you choose b/n the magnetic pickups, the piezio or mix both. It came with a tremlo bar, 2 allen wrenchs(all you need to make any brigde adjustments), and bar to adjust the truss rod(witch is easily accessible where the neck ends and body begins. It also came with an extra tremlo spring.

This guitar can produce the most beatiful melodic sounds and some of the ugliest sounds known to man, and everything between. The only problem I have is that with the piezio distorts when played heavily, but I have been told and read that this is more of an amp problem than a guitar problem. It did not do this when I was trying it out. So I believe what I am told. The sound very full, also bright. You get this by mixing the magnetic pickups with the piezio. My favorite setting is the neck pickup and the piezio mixed. The singles have almost no hum.

The action was great. The pickups were very well adjusted. Nothing seems to make noise. It has a 2 piece body, but it was match so well it was hard to tell where they met. You can see some glue residue(nothing big, just more like dust) around the frets, but it seems to be going away. I got it in translucent red, which is beautiful. All of the colors were so cool and good looking I had a hard time making a choice. The only problem I have with the finish is a medium scratch in the paint around the upper cutaway. This seems to be from where the holder it was hanging on the wall by scratched it. I will be getting somemore finish shortly to repair it, but I also paid 50 bucks less for the gig bag because of it.

All of the hardware seems to be very durable. It is all top notch and seems to with hold. From the ding at the upper horn I can see that the finish is very, very thick. I don't think it will scratch easily. The strap buttons are fairly large, witch is nice, but I would not gig with any guitar without straplocks, I jump around too much. I haven't had this thing long but it is very high quality for the price. The only thing is the 9v battery that powers the piezio. I will gig with a backup just becuase I have one and I would like to not have to wait to change a string, but I don't think it will go out. I will post if I have any problems.

I think 1 year warrenty. Other than that haven't dealt with the company.

Anyone who plays any style should play this guitar. I have played a couple paul reed's and like the way this plays better. But if you are looking for a big fat neck like a Les Paul this is not the guitar for you. But that is what I was looking at, along with a couple others, and I picked this up and could not put it down. It plays like a dream. Though this is my first major guitar purchace, I think I will only buy parker in the future. This guitar is cutting edge and I hope that this is the direction everyone moves. Also, this guitar is an eye catcher. Play one at a gig and I bet everyone will be atarring at it and asking about it.

All this has been said. Mine came with all the accessories and Gig bag.

Unbelievable Versatility for the low price. Just about any sound you could want.

Action, finish, intonation were right on the money when I bought it, though someone had put a crap set of strings on it. D'Addarios are my choice for all my guitars.

I've already bought a set of Sperzels, only because I hate stringing guitars and love the locking tuners. Everything else is fine and seems well made.

I've E-mailed Parker numerous times and have always gotten helpful responses, though they sometimes take a while.

I also own a Parker Delux vibrato, and a passive Nitefly. I also
had a Delux (Mahagony) model, but the Bassist in my band bugged me constantly untill I sold it to him (haha) He has thanked me every day since. I just happened to see this Sunburst P-38 sitting in Sam Ash, and when the salesman said it was used and only $400, I immediately bought it without even hooking it up to an amp. Stupid?? I think not. I just have a deep respect and adoration for Ken Parker and total faith that he would never market a guitar that wasn't something very special (You have to own one to understand) All my Parkers play beautifully and are a joy to gig with. I have yet to gig with one without being complimented on the way it sounds, and the P-38 is no exception. I play through a Line-6 Flextone w/extention cabinet, with the acoustic routed to the PA through a Boss CH-1 & Hum eliminator (A must have with the stereo cable!!!) We play modern/Classic Rock, Fuel, Creed, Ozzy, AC/DC plus alot of female stuff like Benatar, Crow, Heart, etc. I obviously need alot of sonic diversity and a good vibrato setup and Acoustic ability. After years (20) of playing Strat's, LP's, Ovation and Ibenez guitars with all their shortcomings (Like weight, total loss of tune when a string breaks, difficulty playing the upper frets, difficulty restringing, etc) I have finally found what I consider to be the perfect guitars for ME. The P-38 is obviously not the guitar that the Delux is, but it's 1/4 the price. It's hard to imagine finding a better value than this (try pricing the trick Fishman/Wilkinson bridge, jack and preamp setup the P-38 has for your Strat!) My Parkers have made me a better player, and I have mixed feelings letting the "Cat out of the bag" so to speak. I kind of hope no one else around here buys one and discovers the joy of playing a guitar designed with playability, versatility, comfort and tone in mind instead of the same old boring Strat/LP/Ibanez guitars & their clones.

22 jumbo nickle silver frets
non locking tuners (they hold very well)
very fast thin satin finished neck
Swamp ash body
maple neck with a nice rosewood fingerboard
Fishman custom wilkinson bridge
S/S/H parker custom wound alcino pickups
transparent red finish (comes in tobacco sunburst, black, trans red, and blue)
5 way selector
3 pay selector for piezo/ piezo+magnetic/ magnetic

The P-38 offers quality stuff at a low cost...Check out the well finished top with nice ash grain. You don't usually find wilkinsons on other guitars at this price. The custom alnico's are hot too, though they hum a lot, they make up for it with sweet balanced sounds. The piezo elements (6 seperate ones) give a really sweet acoustic like tone without the feedback. - I got some feedback when i gigged...but I guess I was too close to my amp then.

I play pop/rock, ccm and the guitar really sings. My friend used it for metal and it works too.

I'm currently using my parker with a Yamaha DG series 80Watt amp which drives a 4X12 cabinet. Effects lineup: Tube king, flanger, vox wah. Simple setup but fills up all I need.

The sounds are bright and clean but they get noisey when on the 1st, 3rd switches on the 5 way switch. The humming of the pickups are very noticable...Might change them to hum-cancelling pickups.

The neck pickup gives a full sound which does not emphasize too much on the treble side but if you're looking for treble, switch to the 2nd or 3rd. The middle pickup sounds real sweet. could pass for a fender! hehe ;) The bridge pickup, play around with the tone, plug in and sound like a PRS or GIBSON! I'm serious. Well, that's what I can do. hehe

Mixing the piezo with the magnetic can give you endless types of sounds. Play around, they're really neat.

- Drawback on the piezo's, not balanced well...the B string is rather soft. Not sure why.

The factory setup was good in terms of action. I like higer action so i raised it. (to feel the strings). The guitar was NOT well intonated though, had to do that myself.
Pickup height was perfect as far as i was concerned, with the original factory setup.
FOr my guitar the top was perfectly bookmatched. I looked at 3 others before choosing mine because the rest werent bookmatched well. THe bridge was well routed and setup, apart from intonation.

As for finish flaws, I have nothing to say. Everything fine except for the plastic mother-of-toilet-seat pickguard cover which i screwed up trying to remove...(the pastic protection) DIfficult to remove that stupid clear thing. got stuck under my knobs....

This guitar would definitely last a long time. Hardware, finish, strapbuttons and i'd definitely gig w/o a backup on this baby!

Never had any experience.

I've been playing guitar for 5 years now. I own a fender stratocaster, parker nitefly and an Ibanez JEM series guitar. I chose my P38 because it had the SSH configuration i had wanted, it was a PARKER, heck if it was made in korea, the workmanship is as good as one made in the USA. It's parkers ONLY FULL WOOD and NO glass/carbon guitar available and it's solid. Compare it with other top end solid wood guitars and make the choice.