Nitefly serial number?

[Mike987]

Just added a nitefly to my Parker collection today. It’s a dual humbucker model…serial number only has 5 digits though? I’ve tried researching it with no luck. Anyone have any idea how to figure it out? My other 9 Parker’s I’ve been able to figure out. This one seems to be an oddball. Also curious as to what factory pickups it has in it? *mike*

[vjmanzo]

Hi @Mike987 and welcome!

There are links to serial number info and catalogs from the FAQs section. Here’s what we have:

The NiteFly uses a different system using either a five or six digit serial number. The first one or two digits show the month, the third is the last number in the year, and the last three digits show the number in that months production.

Here’s a NiteFly serial number example:
Serial Number 117123
11=(Month) November
7=(Year) 1997
123=(Number of guitar that month) 123


See also the NiteFly History and Manual

[Mike987]

Thanks! I was really thrown off by the 5 digits instead of 6. Mines 37114 then obviously says USA after that. All of them were made in the USA early on I think?
So what I’m getting is it was made in march 1997 and the 114th guitar made that month?

[Mike987]

https://ibb.co/PmpTsVD
There she is!

[Mike987]

Oh thanks for the link! Didn’t catch that at first glance

[vjmanzo]

Happy to help! Those are definitely aftermarket pickups and Graphtech saddles.

[Mike987]

From what I was told they’re just covers on the pickups. If not, they’re dimarzios. So the saddles aren’t factory ones? The output jack is aftermarket I think. It sticks out a little more than my other Parker’s.
https://ibb.co/7WxK0Z5

[Mike987]

That was a screenshot from the ad before I picked it up

[vjmanzo]

From what I was told they’re just covers on the pickups.

Ahhh—could be! If you don’t see a route for a battery on the back, then you’ve got an NFVM1 or 2—NiteFly pick up info is here—could be one of those? The NiteFly History document might also be helpful.

So the saddles aren’t factory ones?

No, they are Graphtech saddles manufactured sometime in the 2010s for use with the Ghost Piezo preamp—you may have that very preamp in your NiteFly.

[Mike987]

https://ibb.co/k9k8Th1

Got the covers off today! Tons of wax under the covers. Never had covers like that on pickups so I had no clue. That was fun to clean up. The previous owner said it was an NFV8 I think? I was looking at the different model types last night and the only thing that throws me off of it being a different model is that it has no single coils like most I’ve seen. I can’t find any other models with the dual humbucker setup other than the NFV8 . My old nitefly had the 3 single coils. Does have a battery box on the back didn’t really check too much with the wiring since I just wanted to make sure the piezo and magnetic pickups worked. Never saw a Parker with the black saddles on it but the look pretty cool! Does have the coil split pull knob on it too. I’m guessing the rubber knobs have been replaced unless they came with metal ones since one of the knobs pulls up? It seems like the rubber knobs would be hard to grab to pull up. Unfortunately after I bought the factory knobs for my p38 I can’t find the rubber knobs for sale anymore and I believe they were Parker exclusive knobs. I try to make my guitars look like the did when they came from the factory. Especially my gator skin p36. I haven’t done more than put new strings on that since I believe that one is quite rare. I worry about messing that one up.

[vjmanzo]

If the previous owner went through the effort to change the saddles and install pickup covers, they could have also purchased a pickguard cut for dual humbuckers (from WD, for example) and changed from the original single-coils.

So much time has passed at this point—and the guitar may have changed hands multiple times—that it’s difficult sometimes to know all that a guitar has gone through in terms of modifications. Correlating the serial number to a year and model number is your best bet for determining what the starting configuration was.

[Mike987]

Good call. Never really thought of it that way. The serial number 37114 USA from what i get from that it would be march 1997 114th guitar made that month? From what I’ve been seeing on the nitefly history, there were some oddball models made around 2000 I believe too? Never knew about the nitemix til just last night either.

[respirator]

Just got a NFV1 (I sold my NFV5 in 2012 and has regretted ever since). Mint condition. I wonder about the serial though it is 600030 USA. That indicates that it was produced in 2000 as far as I understand. But NFV1 was not produced in 2000. Anyone who can shed a light on that?

[Patzag]

Just got a NFV1 (I sold my NFV5 in 2012 and has regretted ever since). Mint condition. I wonder about the serial though it is 600030 USA. That indicates that it was produced in 2000 as far as I understand. But NFV1 was not produced in 2000. Anyone who can shed a light on that?

Neck change?

[vjmanzo]

Neck change?

That would be my thought.

Does it have a passive piezo “NiteMix” inside of it? It’s possible that it’s not an NFV1.

[respirator]

It is without the battery cavity (and the mono/stereo switch). As far as I understand it that excludes all later models. A neck change makes sense.