MikeM wrote:
Looks like a playstation remote..
The buttons are a bit overkill, I would definitely opt out of the whole crazy midi system they have going on.
deefstes wrote:
A question though; What defines a Parker Fly? What sets it apart for instance from a Parker P44 or P42? Is it just the piezo pickup or is there more? I was under the impression that one of the signature features of Parker Fly is the composite materials it is made from and specifically the exoskeleton - which is defeated by a Walnut top isn't it?
The fly as far as I recall used to be completely made of spruce with a fibreglass exoskeleton, the body and neck were both spruce I believe, which apparently has great properties with regards to resonance but wouldn't be able to handle the tension put on it in this particular form.
I believe the exoskeleton was see-through so I'd imagine that throwing on a nice walnut top wouldn't ruin the integrity or tone. I think they just used to make them in solid colours because an electric made of spruce on it's own would look kinda dull.
The exoskeleton that they baked on was everything with regards to Parkers though, essentially the body was as thick as the neck so the heel was seamless, made them very comfy guitars to play. They also had graphite fretboards with stainless steel frets that were glued on, so there were no tangs, and one of the most awesome trems on the market that was also very easily adjustable with regards to tension and general float.
As far as I know though these days Parker no longer do the exoskeleton thing, I think it was decided that it was too costly. Ken Parker himself had left the company by this point and was now focusing on arch tops, Parker guitars was now owned by accountants and penny pushers etc. The seamless neck join was replaced with the radial one and lots of the things that made them unique and amazing were stopped, that's when they started making their new models like the nitefly etc which I believe tend to borrow far too heavily from the old constructions methods that Parkers originally rejected, this is also when their cheaper Korean series guitars started appearing.
This is just the impression I have, I may be wrong as I stopped following this brand when the changes started happening. They released a seven string this year (picture was in one of my posts to this thread), it looks okay but ultimately Parker have done something that makes no sense and released a guitar in seven string form that is absolutely nothing like the flagship model of that company that everyone wanted to see in a seven string, they'll then discontinue it and claim that there wasn't enough market interest when everyone asked for a FLY not a NITEFLY/DRAGONFLY/WHATEVERFLY...
