My First Parker

[jb63]

That teal classic is a beauty, but $4k is way to high for one with no hard case.
For #3k if you offloaded 3 $1000 guitars that you then wouldn't need, it would make sense.

Prices are through the roof.

[Stella]

Every time I pick up my Deluxe it’s like a revelation as compared to any other guitar in my collection. Mr. Parker really did create a guitar that fixes the problems inherent with all other guitars. It doesn’t feel like anything else, and I mean that in a good way. I currently own almost 60 guitars, which were all carefully selected over the past 30 years, and it’s impossible for me to pick a favorite, but the Deluxe has become one that I’ll never consider selling, if that says anything. It’s certainly a shame that it was cost prohibitive, or that demand was such that he stopped making these marvels of engineering. I apologize, but I haven’t read up on why he sold Parker guitars.

I’ve been following Ken’s work on his website concerning his modern archtops, and I’m possibly more impressed with those than the Flys (or is it Flies?). I own multiple Gibson, Epiphone, Gretsch, PRS, and Framus archtops, some dating as far back as the early 30s, and while I love them all, from what I can gather, the Parkers just seem to blow everything else completely out of the water, both in terms of sound, as well as construction. I imagine the playability is also better than anything else that’s ever been made. It’s doubtful that I’ll ever be able to afford one, but hopefully I’ll be able to play one someday.

[vjmanzo]

Hi @Stella,

There are many reasons why Ken made the decision to move on from Parker Guitars, but, as his friend, I’ll just summarize/simplify them by saying that it became more interesting and fulfilling for him to do “something else”

His archtops are bad-ass of the highest order! Very Fly-like and very unique!

[Patzag]

Every time I pick up my Deluxe it’s like a revelation as compared to any other guitar in my collection. Mr. Parker really did create a guitar that fixes the problems inherent with all other guitars. It doesn’t feel like anything else, and I mean that in a good way. I currently own almost 60 guitars, which were all carefully selected over the past 30 years, and it’s impossible for me to pick a favorite, but the Deluxe has become one that I’ll never consider selling, if that says anything. It’s certainly a shame that it was cost prohibitive, or that demand was such that he stopped making these marvels of engineering. I apologize, but I haven’t read up on why he sold Parker guitars.

I’ve been following Ken’s work on his website concerning his modern archtops, and I’m possibly more impressed with those than the Flys (or is it Flies?). I own multiple Gibson, Epiphone, Gretsch, PRS, and Framus archtops, some dating as far back as the early 30s, and while I love them all, from what I can gather the Parkers just seem to blow everything else completely out of the water in terms of sound and construction. I imagine the playability is also better than anything else that’s ever been made. It’s doubtful that I’ll ever be able to afford one, but hopefully I’ll be able to play one someday.

Everything he said except the number or quality of guitars I have! Lol!

[Stella]

The more I research the archtops and listen to Ken explain not only his building methodology, but the theoretical side of his approach, the more I realize that I should try to commission him to build a guitar for me. I’d have to sell off a considerable chunk of my collection in order to do so, but I am beginning to feel that having one master-level, lifetime guitar, built to my specifications, is the way to go. As someone who already is a huge fan of archtops, It seems like something that I need to do.

I’m going to ponder a bit more on this decision, but it’s becoming apparent that this is not something that I will be able to talk myself out of easily…

[vjmanzo]

Hi @Stella—I completely understand what you’re saying. Again—Ken’s archtops are incredible. If you love your Fly and you like archtops, then I think it’s totally worth looking at what it would take to fundraiser for it by “thinning the herd” of guitars from your collection.

I agree: Ken’s archtoppery series is a behind-the-scenes look into how much care and craft Ken puts into each of these instruments. Having him build one just for you…woohooo!

[Stella]

Back to the Flys (Flies?)…

How does the Artist compare to the Deluxe? Does the spruce have an appreciable tonal difference to the poplar?

[vjmanzo]

Hi @Stella—my personal opinion.

The Artist, to my ears, sounds the least like all the others in an acoustic and diffuse sort of way; they all have their own “special something”

The Deluxe is a bit “tighter”, especially with distortion. If you’re playing clean, you can hear a big difference; both sound great, of course, just different.

If you’ve not seen it, you may find it helpful to read this post on wood types for the various Fly models.

[Stella]

Hi @Stella—my personal opinion.

The Artist, to my ears, sounds the least like all the others in an acoustic and diffuse sort of way; they all have their own “special something”

The Deluxe is a bit “tighter”, especially with distortion. If you’re playing clean, you can hear a big difference; both sound great, of course, just different.

If you’ve not seen it, you may find it helpful to read this post on wood types for the various Fly models.

Thank you. I had seen that thread, but didn’t think that I could read the wood descriptions…then I clicked on the picture…duh.

What I’m wondering is if the spruce imparts a more traditional acoustic sound when using the piezo. I like the sound that I’m getting currently, but I would like to hear a comparison of the different models. I can’t seem to find a video or sound sample anywhere online. If such a thing exists, or could be made, I believe that it would be a great asset to this forum.

[Stella]

Oh yeah…does anyone know where I might obtain an actual Parker Y cable? I know that I can get an aftermarket one, but it’d be really cool to have the real deal.

[Stella]

Also, I remember hearing Ken say that he’d love to make a baritone archtop, but so far, nobody has commissioned one. I’m not sure if that is still current, but I might be crazy enough to drop 30K on one. If I remember correctly, Ken has a thing for Cellos, so I think he’d really dig the build, and I’d love to hear the deep tones that one would produce. I’m assuming that it would work best if it had a slightly larger body shape, as well as a longer scale length.

[Stella]

I apologize for rambling on, but I’m generally pretty jaded with guitars, and discovering the Fly, as well as Ken himself, has made me excited again. It seems like his work is the epitome of guitar manufacture, and only a relatively small group of people are aware of his brilliance and innovation.

He really deserves to be regarded in the annals of guitar history in the same breadth as Les Paul or Leo Fender…even though his guitar craftsmanship skills far exceed either of them. I still admire PRS himself for his enthusiasm and high manufacturing standards, but I realize that to a large degree he has become a shill for his company nowadays.

Ken still seems to do it primarily for the love of building and the quest for perfection. That is a very rare quality to find in someone with commercial success and a modicum of fame.

[vjmanzo]

He really deserves to be regarded in the annals of guitar history in the same breadth as Les Paul or Leo Fender…

I think many of us share these exact sentiments!

Does anyone know where I might obtain an actual Parker Y cable?

Regarding the “stereo cable“, the one linked on the Anatomy of a Fly page is the OEM Pro Co cable. Sweetwater seems to still have stock of these and their SKU even has “Parker” in it

I remember hearing Ken say that he’d love to make a baritone archtop, but so far, nobody has commissioned one.

Regarding the baritone, yes, Ken has said this a few times; in fact, he mentioned it during the lecture he gave at our lab a few years back. Shortly before the pandemic, he has his guitar Lucky strung up with 13s or 14s and tuned down to C standard and it sounded great and baritone-ish in that register even without changing the body size. I have a few Flys set up dropped down to B and I love that sound, especially clean, though you do start to push the limits of what can be intonated properly…obviously that’s less of a concern on an archtop.

I’m wondering is if the spruce imparts a more traditional acoustic sound when using the piezo.

Regarding the Fly Artist, The Piezo system is exactly the same across all Flys from that vintage except the Fly Concert and the Fly Nylon, which you probably already knew. The spruce body on the Artist does add a little bit of something something compared to other Fly models, but I think the difference is less noticeable than the magnetic pickups given the nature of what piezo elements do. Using bronze strings would make it sound even more like an acoustic, but you’d lose the mags.

FWIW—the signal coming off the piezo is nice and strong and consistent; perfect for additional processing. I use a Fishman Aura with my Flys and I’m happy with the options though, lately, I do end up reamping it out through hardware compressors later on. Here’s a little demo video I made with my Fly Concert, which is not exactly what you're asking for, but you may find helpful:

[Patzag]

I had an Aura and returned it, but your demo really sounds amazing. Very, very nice!

[vjmanzo]

Thanks, Pat!

[Stella]

Once again, thank you for the detailed responses…very helpful indeed.

I was not aware of the Aura. It seems to be pretty amazing - I didn’t know that it was possible to make a piezo sound like a real acoustic guitar, but this sample has definitely made a believer out of me…very nicely done. I think I need to get one.

Regarding the other sound sample that I’m looking for, are you aware of anyone who has examples of most, if not all of the Fly models, and could provide a comparison video? I realize that that is a tall order, but I think it would be extremely cool.

[vjmanzo]

are you aware of anyone who has examples of most, if not all of the Fly models, and could provide a comparison video?

I think that seems to be my calling in life

I am actually working on a proper comparative study of tonewoods using the Fly models I own, but that will be a while, unfortunately.

I can record some guitar examples directly into a DAW, but, to me, the tonal differences really reveal themselves in context of playing certain pieces/styles, and you’d probably need to live with each guitar for a few minutes/hours to get a sense of who does what best. In my studio, I know the way I like to use my team, but it’s taken me a while to make sense of that.

Once we are able to squelch COVID concerns, I’d like to revisit the idea of doing “Parker Con”.

[Stella]

are you aware of anyone who has examples of most, if not all of the Fly models, and could provide a comparison video?

I think that seems to be my calling in life

I am actually working on a proper comparative study of tonewoods using the Fly models I own, but that will be a while, unfortunately.

I can record some guitar examples directly into a DAW, but, to me, the tonal differences really reveal themselves in context of playing certain pieces/styles, and you’d probably need to live with each guitar for a few minutes/hours to get a sense of who does what best. In my studio, I know the way I like to use my team, but it’s taken me a while to make sense of that.

Once we are able to squelch COVID concerns, I’d like to revisit the idea of doing “Parker Con”.

Great. I look forward to hearing the results of your study.

If you can get a convention organized, I’d love to attend with my Deluxe…very cool idea.

[mmmguitar]

I fear some of the Reverb flippers may have already established the “Parker con” service mark.

[vjmanzo]

I fear some of the Reverb flippers may have already established the “Parker con” service mark.

I think that wins as the best one-liner on Fly Clone!