Parker Guitars PM-20

Made in Indonesia. I think in '08. 22 frets, solid bubinga cap on solid mahogany body, 3 way pick up selector, 2 volume (each push/pull to split the coils on the pickups), 2 tones. 2 humbuckers (Parker Stingers), clear finish, black hardware, Grover 18:1 tuners, tune-o-matic style bridge, through body bridge, awesome cutaway. ebony fretboard(!) with 10-13" compound radius (!!!), 25.5" scale length (the way a guitar should be!), includes super nice gig bag (you probably will never buy a case for this guitar and I don't miss the weight. Sort of a modern take on the Les Paul. Very well designed. The strings through the body make it resonant and put max tension at the bridge to make notes pop more. Strings run straight all the way to tuners without a bend (even after the nut like on a Gibson)...this also helps your tone and tuning stability.

I play at church and use a number of modern and classic sounds. This guitar is versatile and has some great tones in each pickup with different settings of the volume, tone and coil splits. I feel a lot of guitarists don't make good enough use of their guitar's controls. This guitar has a well-voiced set of controls.
Live, I often play through a Tech 21 Trademark60 (with the XLR straight to the board), but I also have a Mesa Mark IV, Fender Blues DeVille and a JCM800 2x12 combo. Sounds great through all of them. Very nice clear sound, but well balanced (not too bright, thin, mid-heavy...).

The set up and build quality are some of the best I've seen in production guitars...regarless of price! I've had $2000 guitars (had--past tense!) that didn't sound or play this nice. The top looks great, the fretwork is impecible, the electronics are wired very neatly, the intonation was almost spot on out of the box. Action at the nut is excellent. The "compound radius" is awesome...feels great all across thefretboard.

The hardware is top notch and the neck is set beautifully. I don't foresee any issues. Strap buttons are strong, but I use a DiMario Clip Lock strap, so I'veswapped them out. I do bring backups, but mostly for a variety of tones. That said, the Parker currently gets the most love because it's so darn versatile.

N/A Haven't had reason to call.

I've been playing about 18 years. I mentioned my amps earlier. I also have a '78 Strat, MIJ Jazzmaster, G&L Tribute ASAT Classic (anther great sleeper) and a really sweet SG Classic. I would absolutely buy another PM-20. I've thought about getting another to load with some different pickups (so I can cover even more ground). It's just an exceptional, exceptional guitar. I would love to see one with a walnut top and satin nickle finish. I think that would be gorgeous. The bubinga's beautiful, too, but black hardware isn't my finish and as long as I'm dreaming, I think the walnut grain is a little prettier, anyway. It would be cool, too, if Parker could magically make 5 more pounds disappear, but it's certainly very light already!

2007 PM20, my option was burled mappe top in cabernet color. Ebony fingerboard, mahogony set neck and mahogony body. 2 "tapped-coil" humbuckers, 1 volume, 1 tone. String-thru body.

Simple, effective, easy

Simply this is now the axe of choice. Took me 365 days to make a call on this guitar, I sat at LA Music in Mississauga Canada off and on with various guitars on my lap. This Parker won....not flat out but with the rest of the obsetvations clearly the winner overall.

The Parker LOOK id still unique when it come to on stage. But the fit is great action straight out of the box and the Burled maple is the finish that catches some eyes.

Main elecrtic guitar now and seems to be holdong up real well.

No issues thus far

This is as far as I'm concearned at the price range the flat out winner overall. I did look at the PM 20 Pro with the upgraded pickups but to be honest I did not feel the increased price realy made me want to go there. Athough Ken Parker is no longer involved with his name sake guitar they seem to have kept Ken's quality and attention to detail as high as ever.

I like the neck tapped and bridge humbucker configuration.
Coiling tapping actually makes a big difference on this
guitar.

The pickups are good but not great but above average
for an import.

The action out of the box is outstanding.
I had the guitar plek'ed and set up with
10-46 strings. It needed very little plek
leveling. The plek tech was suprised how
good the fret job was from the factory in
fact. He showed me the before and after
graphs and it was better than many USA
made guitars. I love the neck carve and
10"-13" compound radius neck and ebony
fret board.

The low e string saddle is coming loose.
The bottom of the bridge had the part
number BM-002 so I have ordered a graph
tech reso-max bridge replacement with
string saver graphite saddles which I
intend to put on when it arrives. Other
than this the guitar is build solidly.

I decided I wanted to upgrade the bridge
anyway so I didn't call on customer
support.

Of all the imports in this range this
guitar is an excellent value.

I like the Les Paul style guitar. This
is a single cut but has a 25.5" scale.
Normally I like the shorter LP 24.75" scale.
But this guitar feels short scale because
of its over all length which is only 37.75".
It has a nice snappy sound because of the 10-46's
I put on this longer scaler. But it also has
the more beefy fullness of a single cut - very
unique sound. The unusual headstock makes
this guitar visually unique without having the
total over the top visual rebellion of the Parker
fly. I like this guitar having it only 3 months
that yesterday I when back to the store and bought
the PM-20 Pro. I'm debating on whether I'll keep
this one for back up or trade it in for a second
PM-20 Pro.

2002-2003 PM20, in burled mappe top in cabernet color. Ebony fingerboard, mahogony set neck and mahogony body. 2 "tapped-coil" humbuckers, 1 volume, 1 tone. String-thru body. Visually, very understated - no finderboard inlays (just dots on side), understated and undersized headstock, no headstock inlay, no extra h/w. It's a great way to take the look of the guitar out of the equation, and yet still have something that's almost a work of art (the wood's visual texture and color are awesome) that I can hang on my wall.

(If they had a black chrome option, the guitar would be completely understated, which would allow the appropriate focus on the sound. )

Don't confuse the understated visual with how this sounds. Very versatile. I play fusion (Jeff Beck, Michael Stern), some jazz, some "boutique" rock (Liquid Tension Experiment); this can play them all. But through all the styles, the "warmth" of the mahogony body and the "precision" of the ebony neck are a constant.

The coil-tapping on both pick-ups makes it easier than switches or box-stomping to change tones and brightness. Play through a Fender 65 Deluse (22w, 1x12).

And as much as I enjoy the sounds, I will be switching to Seymour Duncan pickups (different ones for neck and bridge, and both still tapped) to expand the tone range even more.

As stated above, the feel and look of the guitar are like nothing I've ever seen or played, and certainly not for any guitar even close to what I paid (I got it new off of ebay from a music store for < $400).

Everything seems fine on all of the fit-features, but the luther who will replace my pickups will tell me how much additional setup was needed.

Haven't had any problems, so I think it's good.

No contact with Parker.

Had this two years. It's now the only guitar I have (disposed of Epiphone Les Paul, Fender JazzMaster, and Guild Starfire), as it covers so much of the sound sprectum (and makes my home office/studio so much less clutterred).

I wish it had the stainless frets that the top Parkers have, but then it would cost as much as the top Parkers.

As a fan of complete onboard switching capabilities (pickup, phase, single/dual coil and series parallel switching), I would only rate a 10 for a guitar that smoothly incorporated all of these options from the factory.
That said, with a single volume, tone, and a 3-way pickup switch controlling two passive Parker Stinger Humbuckers, I applaud Parker for incorporating dual push-pull coil-splitters. When used in conjunction with the pickup switch, it's possible to simulate the feel of two volumes by setting one pickup as single-coil and the other as dual-coil, then switching between them with the pickup switch. Backing off the volume a bit simply magnifies the effect. Very handy for semi-clean to very dirty changes within a song.
I have the Bubinga-laminate topped model (transparent top-coat and a brownish (tobacco?) tint to the body and neck) with what appears to be a one-piece mahoghany body (a rather uncommon treat for a guitar in this price range), a mahoghany neck (once again, it seems to be made of a single piece of wood), which is attached to the body in a set-thru style (the neck is set, but appears to be and feels like a neck-thru). The fretboard is ebony which is once again uncommon for a guitar in this price range (most guitars under $1000 and many over $1000 feature a maple or rosewood fretboard), and matches the black headstock. The fretboard is very clean with no inlays, side dots only, and 22 frets on a 25 1/2" scale for those of us who love the sound of mahoghany, but don't like the loose feel of a 24 3/4" scale length.
The Body is roughly similar to a Gibson Les Paul, but a little thinner (front to back), and perhaps a tad wider (left to right). The Neck is different than many manufacturers, but it fits my hand just perfectly. It's about the width of a fender neck, but a little thicker. It's not quite as thick as a standard Gibson and not quite as wide as a PRS. I would compare the PM-20's neck to the ESP Eclipse. They have a more similar feel than any other manufacturer (in my opinion), and both are very comfortable. One thing which both share is a slight flare at the low end of the neck close to the headstock. This is a fantastic improvement as it facilitates much easier chording at the lower frets (particularly those first-fret bar chords that most of us hate)
The standard tuners are non-locking Grovers I believe. While I plan to replace them with locking tuners, the 18:1 gear ratio makes for very smooth and stable tuning.
The bridge is a Tune-o-matic with string-thru body mounting.

While the PM-20 is not overly decorated with hardware and binding and such, it is very much a working guitarrist's Axe with much to love. Particularly for a Korean manufactured model. It earns a much higher grade than many of it's Asian-made counterparts. If you are looking for the Mahoghany-bodied full mid-ranged tone without the weight and price tag of a Les Paul or even an SG, look no further. At roughly 8 pounds, this is an exceptionally versatile and well-toned guitar.

I can't say enough about the tone of the PM-20. While I have not owned very many guitars, and even less moderately expensive guitars, I have been a guitar connessiur for several years now and have played most every major manufacturer's top models. While there are some guitars out there that exceed the PM-20 in the tone department, nearly all of them cost at least $1000 more (high-end PRS and Gibson's being a few examples). However, within $1000, I would dare to say that the PM-20 is without equal.
I am currently enrolled in a college of music and am studying most contemporary music styles. I have yet to come across a style of music for which the PM-20 is not suitable.
While I have not played this axe through effects pedals much, I can't imagine it sounding bad through them. I am currently playing through a Peavey Valveking. While I am usually a fan of the whole scooped mids sound, I actually recommend adding a healthy dose of mid-range to the sound for this guitar. Trust me, just try it.
While there is some noise from this guitar, I think it's due to the fact that I live with a Tech-Junkie who has more radio-frequencies flying around the house than there are stars in the Milky Way. Nothing a mediocre noise gate couldn't take care of.
The overall tone of this guitar with either or both pickups engaged in humbucking mode and the volume and tone both full on is very much akin to a Les Paul, but with perhaps a bit more clarity. With the bridge pickup soloed and coil-split, I am able to get some very bright tones similar to a Tele, while the neck pickup soloed and split is very similar to a Strat neck pickup. When both pickups are coil split and on together, the sound is similar to a vintage humbucker, but with clarity akin to the neck/middle pickup combo on a strat. It could even be likened (to a certain extent) to a P-90 when the tone knob is adjusted lower.
I have yet to discover a truly undesirable tone from this guitar.

The action on this guitar is phenomonal. It's not low enough to be buzzy, but not high enough to be uncomfortable.
I haven't adjusted the pickups at all, but the sound fine right where they are. Nice tone, nice gain and no wolf-tones.
As the top is a laminate and not a true cap (as on a Les Paul or PRS), it's only one piece rather than bookmatched. There is a 1 1/2"-2" knot-hole type blemish on right side of the top (close to the controls), but it doesn't seem to affect the tone and I regard it as a beauty mark. :P Hence the rating of 9.
The electronics on this guitar are exceptionally quiet (particularly the pickup selector switch) and very smooth. Nothing was out of place, rusty, oxidized, loose (with the exception of the strap buttons, which have been replaced with straplocks) or flawed when I purchased it.

This guitar is well suited for live work, no doubt. Everything seems very solid and capable of taking a little bit of a beating.
I feel very much so that I can depend on this guitar to treat me well.
I rarely have a backup guitar on gigs. But, with that said, I would be ok with bringing only this guitar to a gig.

I have only dealt with them prior to the guitar purchase concerning details about this guitar. They were not overly helpful, but they were able to answer all my questions fairly quickly and courteously.

I have been playing about 8 years, and I own a variety of other guitars ranging from old to new, electric to acoustic to classical to bass.
I feel that I got a great deal on this guitar for the price and I would most definitely replace it in the event of loss, theft or damage.
As I said earlier, I am something of a guitar connessuir and I feel that this is the best guitar available under $1500. My only plans for altering this guitar are to install gold hardware and gold covered humbuckers (neither of which am I in a terrible hurry to do).

Please, if you're and intermediate player looking to upgrade or a professional looking for a less expensive, extremely giggable guitar. Try this one first and save yourself some time and effort.

Bubinga topped PM20 in honey burst, twin humbuckers with split coils, ebony fingerboard, see parkers website for full specs.
Came with just about the best soft case I've seen

I like to play electrics unpluged when I first get them, If it doesnt sound good unpluged chances are it won't jacked in, this guitar sparkled. Playing through a marshall MG250 I couldn't get a tone I was quite happy with, however through my little VOX DA5 superb, so I've ditched the marshall for a fender performer 650 and it sounds sooo sweet.
I have several "reasonable priced" guitars from the fender and ibanez stable non of which come close to the parker in terms of usable volume and tone controls. The drop in output from Hum -single pole while understandable is annoying, but with the volume pot been so usable without colouring the sound you can compensate for it.
I play heavy rock to blues to acoustic stuff(this is the only electric I have found that sounds half decent through a acoustic simulator pedal.)

One or two frets were slightly sharp and one of the tuning pegs was slightly wonky. The neck joint is a work of art and it arrived in tune!(all strings slightly # but in tune with each other).
Pickups were slightly low to get the best out of them. The quilted finish is real nice!
Build is really good for any money for what I paid exellent (Fender, Gibson LEARN YOU GUYS!)

It's built quite tough but I treat it like a baby, I've replaced the strap buttons with schaller straplocs, I wont use jim dunlops since the incident with my Tele the failed straplock and the stone kitchen floor!

I work on a technogy helpdesk so I know good customer service.
Nothings gone wrong so I can't comment on parkers CS

I've been playing 10+ years I would still consider myself a beginer.
I own mainly strats and teles built from parts ( I trust myself to put them together mor than fender!), and an ibanez SQ for live work until the parker (I still take the ibanez to the rougther places)
The lack of fret markers is weird for other people if your trying to show them something, or when possing in the mirror (we all do it!)
If it were stolen I would probable save a few quid and buy a PM10 which I wouldnt be so precious about. But definetly another Parker no question.

I suppose you'd judge what features the guitar has based on how many? This guitar works perfectly with the features it has. The pickups are bright and powerfull but not uncontrolable and when coil tapped ok a little loss in volume but you are losing a coil. the tuners are excellent, the fretboard is stunning and the bridge is solid.

I've never played a more versitle guitar! Blues,funk,rock,prog even malmsteen can be acheived! it's rich and bold,it has character and is consistant. Never heard sound like it...even on much more expensive guitars. I Had a PRS dave navaro, Once I played the parker pm20 in the guitar shop, I sold the PRS and went back and bought the parker...and a mesa boogie!!!!

for a guitar that cost less the ??400 you can fault it. On this one I found no blems or flaws at all. The switches are of good quality,the overall feel is excellent. I bought the bubinga top model and got a lovely finish.

There's no question in my mind that this guitar will not let you down, had mine a while now and have gigged many times with it, on occasion have taken a fender strat with me. Soon realised that there really is no need.

haven't needed to contact customer support. I never like speaking to customer support there always a risk of being fobbed of or lied to. I doubt I'll need to with the parker

Been playing 20 years,had ibanez, fender, gibson, yamaha, prs and now parker,will never buy anything else again, until the point where the guitar no longer plays or is broken accidentally or the wife smashes it against the wall i won't have anyting else, at that point I hope they still make it or something as good. Great for the money, once played you'll be hooked. You'd be gutted if you played the parker pm20 after you paid twice even three times the price for anything else.

Mine has a wine mappa burl finish that is very well done. The specs for the guitar are available in several places so I won't waste time rehashing. The features I really liked were the split humbuckers, set neck, simple control layout and the ebony fingerboard. I also liked the 25 1/2 scale and 1.65" nut width. This was the same as my go to guitar (an old Telecaster).

Features I don't like: Plastic nut, light gauge strings

I like blues, classic rock, southern rock and Motown. This guitar gives you a lot of different sounds to sound your best. I have plugged it into Solid State, tube amps and used the Digitech RP 150 Guitar Modeler and the guitar always does it's job.

The humbuckers are Parker "Stingers" which do a fine job of sounding musical. When switched to single coil, you loose a great deal of volume. I'm sure you could fiddle with the amp to compensate but I choose to just keep it in HB mode. Sustain is nice. I don't plan on changing the pickups so I guess I'm happy with them overall.

The guitar arrived in tune! I looked for flaws and could not find anything worth mentioning. Because I have worked overseas, I am more critical of import quality. You will not find a better guitar coming out of Korea! Looks, build quality, neck feel, sound ... impeckable.

No opinion at this time.

Warranty is 1 year. Seems like a good company.

I've been playing for 30 or so years. I have owned several Strats and Teles but I am fond of hollowbody guitars. This is the first set neck solid body guitar I have ever owned and I couldn't be more pleased.

It is a genuine musical instrument at a price that's more than fair. Overall, a great guitar in design and execution.

This years PM20pro In flametop mahogany two pice body, set neck, 22 fret ebony fretboard, polyurethane finish with abalone triming, graphit nut with locking Sperzel tuners, Seymour Duncan jazz and JB with dual coil tapping 3 way 2HH, volume and tone controls. Set through body Tone Pro. Gig bag, allen wrenches, manual and cable Included.

Its as they say, Its a Parker! I got my Parker yesterday and Iam addicted to this guitar already. Iam running It through a GS-10, so I havent heard It live yet. Although I have heard some effects that sounded horrible with my old guitar, now sound great with the PM20p. The guitar Is sweet, thick and warm sounding, with a fantastic balance and harmonical display. Its not a pounding guitar to me, because you can get what ever sound you like If you play It right It lets you do what ever you want with a profesional sound.

As addictid to Its sound, the same gose for its feel. I played alot of guitars In the past, but never came across such a comfortable guitar! Iam affraid this guitar almost plays you! Factory adjustments with minor problems like pickup hight. The guitar was almost In tune when I pre-order It. The only problems that I have found are two, one of the strings had just a small turn In the peg, so when I whent to tune It, It slipped from the peg and I cant get It back on. So Iam gonna have to put new strings on. Second Is the noise Iam getting when In pull-tap mode. The shelding seems ok, but It might need more. Need to hear It live. No flaws In the finish In my case. Its just beautiful looking and sounding guitar for the price.

At first, its a bit scarey. Been used to other guitars, Its thin and light and that takes about half hour to get used to. As I said befor, I dont think this Is a pounding guitar, so this all depends on you and the public you play In front of. It dose look like It will last everythings solid on It, but then again only time can tell and how you take care of It.

Its seems warranty Is a year long and no contact with the support team need til date. Parker has a active forum with all types of feedback, but generaly Its an addiction to the Parker Instrument. When you play one, you will understand why. You can also see fotos of owners with there Parkers, real nice thought.

Ive been playing on and off for about 25 years. My main Instrument Is the guitar, but for the past three years Ive been playing drums, I also spent some time on bass. The reason I bought this guitar was for my DAW layout at home. I have discoverd that some companys like Parker or Warwick who manufactor guitas In Corea are doing a great job for the price and quality. I recently bought a Corvette RockBass from Warwick, and very happy with It. With these two Instruments I have mid-high range quality Instruments at a resonable price with a profesional sound for my DAW, or any situation. Going back to the PM20Pro, It makes you wanna play and Its the best sounding guitar I have heard, Its so comfortable, its a pleasure to play, no dead spots at all and the neck Is awsome. Its very dificult to explain, so why dont you just try one and welcome to the club! The thing Is now, that I like this guitar so much that Iam thinking of getting a Fly! (part two of the addiction) Good job Parker and Thanks, you made my day.

I INITIALLY bought my PM20 from an eBay seller who liquidates B-stocks, blems, demos, and prototypes. I couldn't believe the "blem" that got this guitar tossed in the bin! There was a TINY finish bubble UNDER the tuner cap on the back of the headstock. I'd have never seen it if I hadn't been curious and taken off the tuner. The finish was honey burst on Mappa Burl. GORGEOUS finish on a succulent piece of wood. The mahogany body and neck feel better'n sex! This is the guitar you'll never want to put down! The Parker Stinger pickups have plenty of bark, bite, and balls, but they're not short on weepy dark tone either. Overall this is the most versatile guitar I've ever owned... and it's my cheapest to date! Gig bag is nice for what it is, but Parker really needs to make a hard case for a guitar this playable. Mine gigged twice before tragedy struck, but more about that later. At any rate, I want a hard case for my replacement PM20 Pro! The dual humbuckers have a coil-tap feature that lets you play ANY style of music. I do everything from Queen to Clapton to Pink Floyd to Tool, and this ONE guitar doest it all admirably.

Okay, it's like this. Take a Les Paul, a Strat, a Tele, a PRS Custom 22, a JS6, throw 'em all in a pile with a bucket full of strings from .08 to .12s, kick Harry Potter's ass, steal his wand, wave it over the pile and say "Wingardium Leviosa." It'll cost you about $9 grand, and you'll have the entire wizarding world pissed off at you, but you'll end up with a guitar that sounds like a Parker PM20. There simply IS nothing better, NOT EVEN FROM PARKER!

The neck had me wondering for awhile. It feels really small, but HOLY JEEZUS it's fast! I LOVE the ebony fretboard! I've owned a lot of guitars, and played literally thousands, but never seen a foreign-made one with this level of quality. It was delivered with the intonation needing a little attention, but I handled that in 10 minutes. Finish was beyond flawless, save for the needle tip sized bubble hiddend under the tuner cap. I'm talking about serious museum quality fit and finish here!!!!!

AAaahh.... here we come to the clincher. I owned my PM20 for 3 months. I gigged it twice without incident, and the rest of its life it stayed in my temperature- and humidity-controlled studio. I've always been obsessive about keeping my instruments in top shape, but this one beat me. The finish on the neck began to crack, then splinter, peeling away slivers of the wood with it. I was horrified! The damage rendered it completely un-playable. BUT there's good news..... keep reading! Incidentally, I'm a member of the Parker Guitars web forum, and of the hundreds of owners on the forum, I'm the ONLY one who's had this problem. But still, yeah- I'm afraid the new one is gonna fall apart.

Okay, here it gets dicey. John Page, a factory rep who appears on the Parker Forum frequently, is a champion of a guy. He got my problem solved, offered me a SWEET deal on an upgrade to a PM20 Pro. I was thrilled with the offer, but when it got beyond working with him, customer service sucked the sweat from a gorilla's balls. I was lied to, manipulated, and ultimately sent a guitar that was structurally and functionally better than what I had before, but the fit and finish were (and still are) SHAMEFUL in comparison. For the $200 difference in price, I can't recommend the Pro series.

I've been at this guitar thing since I was nine. That's 32 years now. I own -but no longer play- guitars from Fender, PRS, Gibson, Ibanez, Washburn, Rickenbacker, Galanti. I still play my Taylor and Babicz acoustics. I run all my stuff thru Trace Elliot amplifiers, but "all my stuff" now consists of six USA-made Parkers and five Korean "P-Series" Parkers. The rest of the guitars are just sitting back increasing in value til I find another Parker to buy. I love the feel and action of the PM20 Pro. It suits me better than even my Fly Classic, which set me back 10 times as much money. If it was stolen, yeah, I'd get another one, but I'd insist on seeing and playing it first. Quality of manufacture seems incredibly consistent with Parker, but finish quality doesn't, as witnessed by the multitude of blems they ship to the guy I bought my P guitars from. What doesn't make sense is that they blem out some great guitars, but they completely overlook major finish flaws in others, and ship them out as top-shelf stuff. Not cool.