First time I played it, I hated it - too different, too skinny, too slender a neck, too light, too easy to play. Second time (ten minutes later), I went "OK, I'm beginning to see what the attraction is". Third time, I stopped and put it down after three hours (or 20 minutes subjective time) and swore I'd never play one again for fear of buying it (R14,000 in '94 or so - I just couldn't afford it
and support a family).
It totally changed my perspective on what an electric guitar
could be. Incredibly light (4.4 lbs - about 2 kgs), very resonant and incredibly easy to play - you could almost fret notes by breathing on the strings. The neck join is absolutely seamless. The Fly was solely responsible for starting my lifelong obsession with piezo saddles, locking tuners, graphite nuts and stainless steel frets.
Ken Parker is a genius, pure and simple, but like most people of that ilk, he moved on once he had done it (now builds archtop acoustics) and sold out to American Musical (same guys who ruined Washburn) who then sold it on to another bunch. From all accounts, the quality standards have dropped badly, quite aside from the new models (which only look like Parkers IMO, having few of the real innovations that made the Fly so awesome). Last time I spoke to Andy Innes, he had just received his Custom Shop Fly with Graph Tech Saddles, but he wanted to redo the electronics himself because the factory had made such a hash of it.
Speaking of Andy, here's my report on a Johhny Clegg show where I got to go backstage and drool on Andy's Parkers (lots of pics):
http://www.guitarforum.co.za/general-discussion/johnny-clegg-andy-innes-and-lots-of-parker-guitar-pics/
And here is Ken's new site:
http://kenparkerarchtops.com/
