Parker Fly

[Jim Soloway]

Anyone have a working knowledge of the various Fly models? Is there one (or some) that has the super light weight, a hard tail bridge and a Piezo? Will it do a decent jazz-type tone?

And Jazzrat, if you see this, it seems to me that you've had several. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[krusty]

As I recall, Jim, there was indeed a hardtail version relatively early on in the Fly production. I have seen exactly one of them. It was for sale last year in southern Ontario, and I foolishly passed. All versions are very lightweight. I have a Nitefly M, with dual Dimarzio 'buckers. I have tried several other pickup sets in it, including a set of Suhr vintage, and have always gone back to stock. I find they are the most balanced and well-suited to the guitar.

The Fly trem is a very good one. It can be set against a hard stop with extra spring tension, effectively making it behave as a hardtail. The trem will still drop with the bar installed, but if you choose not to, it's effectively rigid. The early fly models are very different, with a leaf spring that has to be changed out for different string gauges. I don't know if it can be locked down like the Nitefly. As far as a jazz tone is concerned, The M I have will do it beautifully, especially with the piezo blended in very slightly.

The neck is one of the finest I have ever played. The action can be set very low with no buzzing at all. The nut on mine, however, is a very narrow 1 9/16. I have gotten quite used to it, and it has helped me adapt to my Gretsch, with its 1 5/8" nut.

Looking at the Fly Mojo on Kijiji up Garibaldi way? Lovely guitar, and I believe that trem can be locked down. Not a bad price considering the price of a new one. The finish chip on the neck can be fixed with a little patience.

[SierraTango]

I purchased one when they first came out around 1993 or so. It was a Fly Deluxe in Emerald Green. It took me a while to get used to the trem system. I didn't snap to the fact that there are different springs used to tension the system for different gauge strings. Once I got that sorted, it worked perfectly and I kept it set up for use, even though as OP states you can disable the trem system and make it a hardtail.

At the time, I was playing jazz with a quartet using a Epiphone Howard Roberts. However, I was also gigging in a house band doing everything from so called "Beach Music" ( I was living near North Carolina's Outer Banks) to Top 40, to you name it. I ran the Fly in Stereo. The Piezo went to a Evans amp (also made in NC) with a 15" for clean/quasi acoustic tone, and the mag side went to a Rivera M-60 tube amp with multiple gain staging for electric needs.

It was by far the most versitile gigging tool I ever owned. I no longer had to carry two guitars to the gig. It was super comfortable to get through the night with (9-1:30-remember those days?). As OP stated, when set up properly it almost played itself. Incredible neck, yes a bit narrow. I used DR Pure Blues strings on it, and once it was set up with those it was rock solid. A superb tool, a work of genius.

On a few jazz gigs I decided to try it out with the quartet using just the Evans and using the mono mode. You guessed it-again totally capable in that setting. It beat the crap out of the Howard Roberts. The rest of the band asked me to please use that rig going forward-it sounded so much better.

Great, great guitar. Will do anything you ask of it. I could be wrong about this, however I think Pat Martino was seen playing one for a while. Please feel free to correct me.

[Marc-Andre Seguin]

Hello Jim,

I'm a firm believer in "sound is in the fingers". But let me give you my opinion from personal experience.

I've played the cheapest Parker Fly (a bright red one!) for my entire last year of university. I've recorded and played live throughout the school year. With two humbuckers, it served my "Ed Bickert - ish" sound very well! :-)

I hope this helps,

[klk]

9-1:30-remember those days?

heh.

830-2 out in the county.

for the op, the wild card with parker fly is whether that upper horn hits you or not. try it standing and sitting.

[feet]

there was a model called the "Southern NiteFly" which was a tele kinda thing, some of which had both the piezo and tele style bridge. no longer extant, but you might see one in the wild.

and apparently, they aren't... "female friendly" guitars, i guess you could say. luckily, you seem to take care of yourself. if you had moobs it might be a no go.

[Rob MacKillop]

I had a Parker Fly Deluxe. They are superb guitars, but few realise that you have to string them with the correct gauge of string for them to work properly - they have very little latitude. If you take the back plate off you will see a 9 or 10 written in pencil - match that with a set, and you will get the best out of a finely-tuned instrument. That said, I'm not sure how well your low tuning would work, Jim.

Sound wise, I found them very clear, yet somehow not traditional or even organic (I know, a vague term, but it seems the best word in this context).

[jazzrat]

Jim, Sorry I'm just now seeing this.
I am a Parker fan and am playing a 99 natural Classic as my main guitar right now.

Here is my .02 with maybe some points related to what I (think) I know about your usual preferences.

BRIDGE: I like having a trem bridge but my previous Classic was a hardtail and, though they are a little harder to find, the hardtail bridge offers better sustain and less "rumble" when the piezo is engaged.

PICKUPS: Gen1 Dimarzios...stock to spring of '99 are very transparent which can be great for effects but short on personality of their own. I prefer the Gen2's which to my ear have a little warmer top end, more of a traditional tone.

NECK: I prefer a fatter neck but don't expect that with a Fly. It's the one thing I am compromising on right now to get the other features. A NiteFly on the other hand has a very nice beefier profile.

PRE-REFINED VS. REFINED: I submit you may prefer a refined model (post 2003-2004?) Offers a simpler point to point wiring scheme without the touchy ribbon cable attachments. The newer Flys allow pickup swaps with much less hassle.

ERGONOMICS: I personally don't have an issue but some folks complain about the "horn" gouging them in the chest.

TONE: All manor of great tones available but the neck pickup placement with the 24 fret neck may be an issue.

STRINGS: I think the Fly handles drop tunings spectacularly but heavier strings may be an issue. I use 11-46 which is perfect for the variety of things I play.

I love 'em Jim but you'd really have to try one I think. New prices are nuts but if you buy right used they hold their value well.

Right now at the Parker forum there is a spectacular black '93 hardtail that was Ken's personal guitar and purchased directly from him as he was raising funds to kickoff his archtop biz. I know the current owner (jamrcat) from years on the forum and he is a straight shooter and a great guy. I think he is still on Montana so not the other side of the word from you.
PARKER CLASSIFIEDS

I love mine but you know me....I'd trade for your Heritage

Very best of luck getting what you want. With some medical issues I'm always on the hunt myself.

[KEOKI]

I own a Gen 1 Delux and a Gen 2 Mojo. Either perform well in ANY band or solo setting. That being said there are also other manufacturers that offer 'Parker Like' playability and characteristics.

[ecj]

I've played a couple of these. Totally awesome machines. They're just so weird, I could never bring myself to buy one.

Martino did indeed play an electric yellow version for a while. The story I heard was that he had his 0.16s on there and the neck snapped half way through a gig, so he gave it up. Could be apocryphal.

[JSanta]

Jim,

I've owned two and was one of the original contributors over at the Parker forum. These are superb guitars that are capable of making nearly any kind of tone you can imagine. I had both a Deluxe and a Classic and preferred the Deluxe that had aftermarket Duncan Black Back pickups installed. I echo everything that Jazzrat has stated as well. I really wish I had kept at least one of mine, but where I was in my life, I sold off everything I owned gear wise.

[Woody Sound]

They are excellent guitars, I used several for a long period, but I just could not get along with the small body, especially in the lower-left bout (under the arm).

A little clarification about the trem string gauge. If you are using the trem, you should match the trem spring with the string gauge. I know they make/made a 9, 10, 11. I don't know about a 12. You can usually find them on ebay for about $25. Or write to them.


Parker Guitar USA 11 Gauge Tremolo Spring for Proper String Tension | eBay


Now the cool part. There are 3 trem modes: Fixed, down only, and full floating. Fixed is locked, so in that mode it's similar to a hard tail and you don't have to worry about that stuff.

http://www.parkerguitars.com/images/...dbook_2004.pdf

[Jim Soloway]

thanks guys. And just to be clear, I'm not about to buy one. My eBay listing for the Heritage expires around the end of the week. If it doesn't sell them I'm considering a trade or partial trade for a guitar plus some cash. Being in Canada, it's too awkward to flip a guitar from a trade so I would want it to be something I would get use out of as a player. So I'm putting together a list of candidates and I've always thought the a fly could be usefull. There are going to be other guitars on the list including some that we built.

[Peter C]

So that's why Pat Martino stopped using a Fly! LOL
I would like to spend some time with one - with 12s only

[Greentone]

Parker guitars are great...for their intended purposes--to be THE solid body guitar for all situations. What you might want to consider, but this is a rather expensive deal, is Parker's archtop line. Parker makes some unbelievable and expensive archtops.

Check out the great Larry Coryell performing "Lush Life" on his Parker:

[Jim Soloway]

Parker guitars are great...for their intended purposes--to be THE solid body guitar for all situations. What you might want to consider, but this is a rather expensive deal, is Parker's archtop line. Parker makes some unbelievable and expensive archtops.

Check out the great Larry Coryell performing "Lush Life" on his Parker:

I've actually had the good fortune to have played several of Ken's archtops but the whole reason I'm considering any guitar is because I've found that my back will no longer put up with an arch top.

[Greentone]

Sounds like Fly time.

[Jim Soloway]

Sounds like Fly time.

First I have to find a way to sell my Heritage but yes, a Fly does look like a viable possibility.

BTW ....

[Toddep]

I was reading this thread last Sun. before my trio gig that night. I figured why not bring the Parker Fly... And I was reminded all over again on what a wonderful guitar it is!!! ('95 Fly Deluxe em green). I recently acquired a 11 gauge spring and I'm looking forward to 11's! I was curious about the story of Pat Martino's Parker Fly... Guess I won't put 16's on it. Thank You

[Woody Sound]

Martino did indeed play an electric yellow version for a while. The story I heard was that he had his 0.16s on there and the neck snapped half way through a gig, so he gave it up. Could be apocryphal.

Here's a passage from a PM interview on "All About Jazz":

"Prior to Ken Parker’s invitation for me to endorse the Parker Fly. I was using a solid-body instrument custom made for me by Abe Rivera. My guages at that time were: E-1=16, B-2=18, G-3=26, D-4=36, A-5=48 and E-6=58.

The first serious promotion took place at a NAMM show, in Anaheim, CA. After its first performance the neck literally bowed, and was impossible to use. From that point on, Ken and I worked on the design of the neck to be identical in size with the Rivera, as well as its strength regarding string guages. We finally reached its ultimate capacity, which by the way is what I’ve continued to use with the instrument I designed for Gibson.

That guage is: E-1=15, B-2=17, G-3=24, D-4=32, A-5=42 and E-6=52.

Thanks for the memories!"

[D.G.]

Fly's look really cool, and they weigh pretty much nothing, but I find the upper horn uncomfortable. I have owned a few Nightflys and because they are built pretty much like a strat, the upper horn is not an issue for me. They are great guitars, but they definitely have their own sonic thing going on and eventually I decided the sound I really want out of a solid body guitar is a vintage strat sound. My 2007 Am Standard Strat is the only solid body guitar I need, though I do own a couple of cheap Teles

As far as weight is concerned, the lightest guitar I own, bar none, is a Fender Modern Player Tele Thinline, the chinese one with the p90s.

[Kiefer.Wolfowitz]

Chris Forshage makes ergonomic guitars, such as 6- and 7-string ergonomic hollow-bodies and archtops.

[jazzrat]

I love my Parker but I'd go for a Forsage in a heartbeat if I could swing it.
Might be something to consider Jim.

A Forsage with an F-hole and a beefy neck with that Loar style burst you like....winner.

[Jim Soloway]

I think I can safely say that anything that involves me laying out a bunch of cash at this point in my life is absolutely not going to happen. I'm thinking strictly in terms of what I can trade my Heritage for and even then, I'd probably have to sell something else to make this work.