# NGD.......Parker content!!!



## Metal#J# (Jan 1, 2007)

I actually got this on Thursday so I've had a few days to bond with it. It's a 96 Fly Classic with a limited Rootbeer finish. My first impression was better than I expected. I love the light weight and the way it sort of cups my beer gut. The wide/thin neck feels great and the action goes lower than any other guitar I've owned without buzzing. I think the trem system is a great design as well considering you have the ability to lock it up for tuning stability. And no pings from the trem spring.....nice!!! 

Then I had to plug it in and it just happend to be in piezo mode. I've never had a guitar with this system so I didn't know what to expect but right away I was impressed. I spent about a 1/2 hour bustin out the acoustic catalouge before I move on to the inevitable. Unfortunately the gen1 DiMarzio's are as bad or worse than I could have antisapated by reading the Parker reviews. Thin, mushy, weak.......not much else to say really. I'm hoping a new battery will improve them slightly because I just cant imagine Ken Parker putting all the effort into designing such a quality instrument and then putting these craptastic pickups in there. They are seriously bad.......for any style of music. I've looked into the options for pup swapping but unless I want route the cavities and install pup rings I'm pretty much beat. To me the guitar is too good looking to put rings on it. I've seen some modded Flys with actives and rings and I just don't think I could do that. DiMarzio seems to only offer vintage output options for the first gen Flys. Seymour Duncan Hasn't got back to me yet.

Anyway, how about some pics:














































As we all know not all online trans actions go well. The guitar is in great condition for it's age and it was described simply as a collector's guitar with slight picking swirl. This was not the case. The above pic is the worst of the damage but there are 2 other obvious marks that you have to seriously be blind not to notice. When I questioned the seller about it he quickly moved to attempts to minimalize and manipulate stating that because I had won the auction at such a low price I shouldn't complain......not denying that he in fact misrepresnted the guitar to get more money out of it.........face to face transactions are becoming more and more apealing.


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## Guest (Jul 19, 2010)

Sweet guitar man! I've always fancied a Parker. Very versatile, so light...and those fret wires and fret board are super smooth under your fingers.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I always thought these guitars were a neat concept, but I've only seen them in pictures. Sorry the pickups are crap, maybe you can get them rewound to suit you better. I'd try contacting John Moore.

Matt


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i have always admired the look of them but have never had the opportunity to play one. yours is a cool color. it's more of a hires rootbeer than a barq's, i think. i was thinking the same as mrmatt. maybe there is something out there in the custom line up that would suit your needs. certainly not _all _of the others out there with these guitars have been hamstrung by the drawback you mentioned? i would think by now someone would have found a solution.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I bought myself a nice cherry red P-44 last year, like this one.








It is a budget guitar in the Parker line, so the mahogany body is heavier than a Fly. The neck is very nice and the instrument feels solid. The Vibrato system is good, although I gather the system on the Fly and lower-priced models is not identical. Still, it comes back to tune very easily.

The electronic features (e.g., the mono-stereo option, and battery opening) are pleasing and useful. I found I wasn't crazy about the tone cap value used so I changed that, and also installed a compensation cap on the volume control, à la Telecaster.

The piezo bridge pickup is nice but you can't really use it in conjunction with the whammy bar on mine since an audible "thunk" can be heard when the bar is engaged. Not sure how much of that is the actual design of the system, and how much may stem from Steve's Music giving me the wrong vibrato arm when I bought it (the guy rummaged around in a box of arms to find what he thought was the right one). I wrote to Parker about it, and their solution was essentially to damp the arm by winding some tape around it at the base.

The humbuckers it came with are not especially inspiring. I may change them for something else. I'm pondering a pair of GFS Retrotrons.

All in all, though, a flexible, and eminently playable guitar. Everyone who picks it up is pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it is. I suspect that's because the angular nature of the upper horn makes them think it's going to be uncomfortable.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Nice buy, J!

I actually went to the local store last week to trade the Sims in on a nitefly, but the upper horn ended up jabbing me in the chest when I got the guitar strapped to a position that was comfortable  - everything else about the guitar was fine, save the pickups could have used a swap. I tried a 2010 dragonfly and it would probably also be up your alley - light, shredder neck profile, and the seymour duncans in it sound much better then the dimarzio's that were in the nitefly.

Definitely a solid purchase, and yours look pretty good!


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

oooohhhh that chery is ....well, cherry! hahahha. nice one!


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## Metal#J# (Jan 1, 2007)

@ Budda, the horn seems to be a problem for a lot of people. Must have something to do with the height you're wearing it. It's not at all an issue for me. Overall I would say it's very comfortable guitar to play. 

I got around to changing the battery and it did improve the output but the tone still sucks. I don't know why they had to integrate the passive pickups in with active piezo circuit. I can see myself tearing the whole system out just to get a decent humbucker in the bridge.


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## twoonie2 (Jan 19, 2008)

I just picked up a Parker Dragonfly last week ... and just love it!! 

Some of my friends have given it a spin and they also like it a lot!!! Very versatile axe!!!


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## Metal#J# (Jan 1, 2007)

Just curious......does the Dragonfly have a bolt on neck? I've seen some with the truss rod adjustment just above the neck pickup and some by the nut.


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## dodgechargerfan (Mar 22, 2006)

That root beer matches my 1971 Chrysler. I love it.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I believe the Dragonfly is bolt on.. it's been a month or so since I played the one we have here. It looks and sounds better then the nitefly it hangs over, that's for sure.


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## skleung (Oct 11, 2010)

Hey I recognize these photos...you're also on the parker forum. I've seen you post on there before. I'm skleung on the parker forums. Good to see you here as well  Awesome parker btw!!!! I've got a fly classic. 

sam

___________

FREED BY ONE on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

YouTube - skleung's Channel


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## Nork (Mar 27, 2010)

sucks about the damage, but that's an awesome looking guitar dude. i love my nitefly to death. i've tried to fall in love with regular guitars, but once you go parker...

well, maybe not. but i do love my parker.


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Just a thought, can you do something like the EMG 18 Volt mod to your guitar?

Those are nice and light, I tried the line at a local shop and was impressed!


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## Metal#J# (Jan 1, 2007)

It would require routing and pickup rings.........not sure if I want to get into that much modding. Although I'm told the new Parker's can fit any new Duncan pup if you cut the tabs off.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Or just buy the Adam D sig model w/ EMG's


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