Parker Guitars Southern Nitefly

Piezo bridge and Tele style pickups work well together, locking tuners are nice. Check out Parkers website for details

The Piezo pick ups work very well. No one will think you are playing a Martin, but are easy to switch to a convincing acoustic sound. The stock tele style pick ups sounded OK clean but were terrible and noisey with the least bit of overdrive. I installed Kinman Noisless Broadcasters and that would bring the sound to an 8 or 9. The tone is still a bit harsh (probably due to the stainless steel frets) when played alone, but it cuts quite weel in an ensemble. I do not notice the harshness when playing with Bass, Keyboard and Drums.

The slope on the tone control is a bit steep for my taste - it acts like a very steep low pass filter.

Even with the Kinman's, there is still a bit of 60 hz noise in the bridge pickup. It is barely noticeable live but might offend some for recording. I would not record with it. I was never able to determine whether it was the Kinman or guitar electronics, but I had a pro shop in Chicago look at it and coat the circuit cavity with conductive paint. The paint helped some, but there is still noise.

Body wood and finish are perfect - neck is very easy to play but take some getting used to. A few frets seemed very slightly out of allignment height wise, but I could not tell by playing. I was a bit dissapointed when I removed the pick guard to replace the pick ups - There was extra screw hole in the where it looked like the pick guard was origniall not installed properly. You could not see the hole with the pick guard on, but this did not give me a good feeling about quality.

Overall the guitar seems quite solid, but somehow a small bb sized chip came off of the neck on the top side of the neck around the 7th fret. It is quite obvious since the epoxy/composite cover is black and the wood core is very light colored. I am reasonably careful, but I do not baby guitars. It is possible a gig bag zipper caught it at an odd angle. The hardware seems fine.

I dealt with them quite a bit by email and phone. I sent the guitar back to Parker a few months after I bought it because the stock pick ups were so noisey I thought there was something wrong with them. They said it would take 2 - 4 weeks to look at it and I said fine and sent the guitar to them (I paid shipping). I did not hear from them after 4 weeks and called. The person who answered the phone was quite arrogant and almost accused me of lieing about when I sent the guitar in. I had no other communications with them but ~2 weeks later the guitar showed up on my porch with a note saying everything was fine with the guitar, single coil pickups are just noisey and the fingerboard (fret height issue) was within spec. I would have been happier if they would have contacted me before sending the guitar back. I'd give them a 8 if they called and offered to change out the pick ups for noisless models at my cost. 9 if they offered to swap the pick ups at their expense. 10 if they would have authorized the retailer to swap the picups at no charge to me.

I've been playing 35+ years as an ameture, and own quite a bit of gear including an American deluxe Strat, Thinline re-issue tele, Carvin DC127, Gibson Acousstic, THD bivalve head, J-Design cabinets, Fulltone and Homebrew effects. I owned a Parker PM20 (Aisian Made) and I thought the Aisian model fit and finish was every bit as good as this model. I was considering a Fender Custom Classis (Custom Shop) Tele at the time I purchased this, but chose the Parker because I liked the neck better (at the time) and liked the Piezo bridge. I should have bought the Tele. If lost or stolen, I would pick something else or just play one of my other dozen guitars.

This review is for 2008 Parker Southern Nitefly, graphite neck with stanless jumbo frets, ash body, locking tuners, Duncan Broadcaster pickups, Fishman piezo saddles in the bridge.It came with a hard case, stereo cord, moose antler (for wall hanging) and assorted tools only one of which (rod for truss adjustment) was applicable, the rest were for the Parker vibrato bridge not installed on this guitar.It was advertised by the seller as a one piece body but is is indeed two piece.

It's a Tele configuration in the traditional Parker 'Strat leaning into the wind' body shape. The neck is bolt on but with the neck pocket relieved to match the curvature of the neck for better access to the higher frets. The piezo and mag pickups can be played in stereo.

Although reviewed by others here as having a Tele sound, nothing could be farther from that. This guitar sounds like a Parker, specifically a hard tailed Parker. Parkers sound like a thin light Strat, and this model especially so. Because of the graphite neck, and especially the stainless frets Parkers have an especially bright overtone, and any fret buzz form improper technique is emphasized.

Although 'Nothing Plays Like a Parker' may be true, Parkers are not for the inexperienced. They are ultra sensitive, have a wide neck that is better suited for the finger pickers, and the neck is very thin for those who use the proper violin technique of keeping the thumb on the neck at all times. They are not for the 'chicken choker' type of player who is big on barre chords and 'F' chords made with the the thumb wrapped around the neck. If you have a jazz style you will LOVE Parkers.

Although Parkers have a wide frequency response no matter the wood, they are excessively hot in the midrange peaking at 10 Db at around 1.6 K and rolling off around 3.6 K. The hard tail alder body probably emphasizes this but most of the characteristic sound is probably from the neck as the vibrato bridge models are so heavily routed the thin body probably counts for very little. Parkers sound like Parkers.

I have found that to tame a Parker a 7 band equalizer is a necessity if one is playing through a traditional open backed combo amp. The absolute best combination for me has been and R. L. Baggs Para Acoustic EQ which is parametric with notch filters. I have a love/hate thing for Parkers, but with the Baggs EQ I can achieve some absolutely fantastic sounds. I've sworn I would sell the damn Parker MANY times, but its still here. It best suits a jazz style of playing and although the Southern Nitefly looks like a Tele and and it has Broadcaster pickups, I don't think it would be good for country or heavier rock.

With the Fishman piezos as a third pickup it does have a distinctly Strat sound. I would liken it to my aluminum necked Kramer that had a Strat pickup configuration: a clean jazzy bell toned Strat.

With the Baggs and just the Fishman Bridge pickups I can achieve a better acoustic sound than I can with my Giannini Craviola with a Baggs pick up and piezo button installed. It's that convincing!

As delivered the action on the Southern Nitefly was terrible, even horrible. I bought in on line as there are no Parker dealers in my state and my experience with Parkers come from friends who own them. The neck was forward bowed and the action was impossibly high. The pickup adjustment was quite close.

It is scary to adjust the tension rod on a graphite neck, and bringing it in was a white knuckle experience. The adjustment rod supplied is easily bent, and the truss rod on this guitar felt as it were binding.

It took three sets of strings to work out the neck. The 9's supplied were way too rubbery for such a live neck and a hard tailed bridge. By adding tightening increments a bit at a time over the course of a week I was finally able to get the neck flat and straight without the frightening kinks and twists that it went through along the way. This guitar is not like any other Parker I have played. They have all had extremely low and fast action.

Although the neck now appears straight and a metal ruler shows it true from the second fret down with only the slightest forward bow on the Low E side close to the nut, this guitar cannot be played with excessive emotion, it will buzz anywhere with the low E 3+mm above the highest fret. I suppose this may be considered low (not to me), but I have other guitars in my collection that are much lower and can be played more aggressively.

Hard tailed bridges with the strings through the body have no shock absorber capability to them (nothing like a whammy bar or stop tail piece). If twang is your thang, a graphite neck will knock the twang ball right out of the park!

Construction fit and finish is some of the best I have seen, and after owning my share of Korean and an now Chinese instruments, the Parker is the best built of all. Yes, the imports are good, but the US built Parker puts them all to shame. It costs three times as much, but the value is really there in spades. If you have never seen a US made Parker I guess whatever is good enough.

The Parker is built like a tank, it would be great for a pro dependability and feature wise.

It's a stand up guitar more than a sit down. Sitting while playing is awkward because the body is too small to rest the forearm and if one's wrist is held straight the pick falls over the neck. It may be better for finger pickers (I doubt it). The wide thin neck and small body make for a very tiring playing experience for me. One's right wrist has to be bent down to keep the pick back from the neck.

However, when played while standing the Parker hangs properly and is enjoyable to play, and being light is a plus.

The Parker can make a ton of sounds, but very few are the tried and true familiar. It takes a lot of tweaking and adjusting to get the most out of a Parker because of its unique voicing. I very much doubt that any audience would be patient with that. It's the perfect instrument for recording, but I wouldn't fly it as a primary live instrument.

I'm a Tele guy. One size can fit all, but the Parker Southern Nitefly isn't it, not even close. To me it is Parker Extreme and without the whammy bar and hard tailed, it emphasizes everything that is Parker, both good and bad. Like I said, love it or hate it. When my wife hears me play a more successful improv on the Parker she says, 'Don't you EVER sell that guitar!'. I guess I'll have to get a divorce from her first.

Never dealt with them, but I'm tempted to send it back and have them tell the neck is okay in writing.

I've been playing nearly 40 years. I own, or have owned, Pauls, 335's, 175's, SGs, Strats, Teles (too many remember) and many oddballs like aluminum Kramers. I'll take a chance on a wierdo instrument because I'm not afraid to try something new. I build my own guitars, and collect and repair amps, so if you have to be there and done that, I probably have too.

If the Parker were lost, it would make a great 'one that got away' story but I wouldn't buy another. One should own (in order) a Tele, Les Paul, and a Strat, then, only then, should one spend a thousand (or thousands) on a Parker. They're very much a specialty product and are great for the arty minded geeks in the world without girl friends (although they may really want one!).

Parkers are new to me but it seems to have quality parts. The pickguards edge is a little sharp and a beveled edge would look better. Overall it seems to be a quality USA made guitar. Very light and balanced. The specifications are on their web site.

The sound is typical Telecaster. Lots of bite and it gets a little dirty when pushed. If you like single coil guitars you will love this one. The Fishman system adds more sounds than the typical Tele. If you are looking for a Tele sound you can get it. You can really get this guitar to come alive with the right attack.

It plays like butter and that is why I purchased it. It really is the best playing guitar I own. The neck is a work of art and precision.

It is new and no issues. I'll let you know in 6 months.

I have not used it.

I have been playing Telecasters for 30 years. I haved owned Gibson, Gretsch and other Fenders, but I always drift back to a Tele. This guitar seems a natural for Tele lovers if you can get past the looks. It grows on you, but it is a bit over the top for an old timer like me. Play it and listen to it. I think you will buy one because it is just so nice.

the usual parker features, minus a vibrato system. and, oh yeah, minus crappy dimarzio pickkups. for full details, check out parker's website.

how does it sound? in a word, good. really good. unplugged it sounds loud, and very detailed. plugged in it sounds very nice also. tone is very subjective so i'm not going to try to describe it. i will say that it DOES sound like the ash and maple combo though. this is a tele knockoff. does it sound like a tele? sort of. you could probably convince someone it was a tele if you blind folded them. i'm not into the piezo thing, although i've been using them on and off for years. good for stage and occasional oddball recording sounds once in a while. while the duncan pickups sound good to me, i think i could do a bit better w/some fralins. i was shocked by how a set of fralins transformed my already spectacular sounding strat into my favorite strat of all time. my rating here is actually a 9-minus.

this is my 6th parker since 1998 and they have all absolutely KILLED when it came to workmanship. luckily, when ken sold the company nothing changed in this catagory. just read all the other reviews on this catagory so i can save my breath here.

parkers have always been the most stable instruments i've ever owned. period.

was better when ken owned the company. i noticed that the texture of the fingerboard looked a little different (rougher) than my ken-era parkers which were smooth. sent them an email and asked about it. got an email back from someone named Stacey who must have thought i was a rookie or something. she tried to explain to me that the nitefly models were different models from the set-neck parkers (no, reeealy?). this, after i told her i owned a few of both types, and that they were the same. guess she didn't know that i've seen these built as i've toured the original factory twice, as i live in MA, where they were originally built. i don't think she really knew what she was talking about. and it's not a big deal, except when i replied (nicely) to her inept answer she decided she didn't want to respond any further. i contacted her weeks later on a different question- as to which Seymour Duncans were used, and she was at least able to answer that.

i have mixed emotions about parkers and feel i'm qualified to weigh in as i've owned a Classic, Butternut Ltd., Spanish Fly, Nitefly SA, PM20 Pro, and now the Sothern Model. i know these instruments well. their build quality is second to none. they play themselves. they're versatile. they're comfortable to play weight-wise. and, they're DIFFERENT. but.........THOSE PICKUPS! i'm sorry, but the dimarzio's don't do the guitars justice. ken's only poor design decision i guess. cuz unplugged they all sounded great. my parker pm20 pro import sounded better than my USA Classic and Butternut models! i actually sold them. go w/the bolt on parkers. they sound great and you can always change the pickups yourself to your own liking. as you can see up above, i gave this one a 9 for sound. i believe the 10 can be achieved w/the right pickups, and again, the Duncans in this DON'T suck. i just feel it could be a bit better. nonetheless, this one is a keeper. i was surprised not to see any reviews of this model yet here on HC so i figured i'd write one because this guitar deserves a lot more love than it seems to be getting. dare i say, "hidden treasure"? check one out!