Spanish Fly History

[RIJO]

Hi, does anyone know what year the Spanish/nylon fly was first introduced? Also does anyone know what design changes occurred throughout the product's lifespan?

[vjmanzo]

Hi @RIJO, the Fly Nylon first appeared in the 2000 catalog though it was likely in production a few years before that—mine is from 1999.

The Spanish Fly is the USM-era version of the Fly Nylon. They are identical in build, and use the Fishman Powerchip preamp.

[RIJO]

Hi, I did a bit more digging. I'm pretty sure the first year was 1998 for the bronze and the nylon fly. What exactly do you mean by the USM-era? Which came first? Also does anyone know what finishes were originally available for these?

[vjmanzo]

Hi @RIJO, I recommend reading this History article for some context about the second decade of Parker Guitars when they were operated under the umbrella of USM. The name of both the Fly Concert and Fly Nylon models changed during this second decade.

According @Ken Parker in this video, the original design of the Fly was supposed to be closer to what was later released as the Fly Concert; the so-called “Potato Chip” Fly, specifically. That being said, my Fly Concert is from 1997, so that model was at least in production by that time.

An additional note about the name of the Fly Nylon model:

Ken wanted to call them the Fly Classic or Fly Classical, but the “Classic” name has already been designated to what we now regard as the Fly Classic. Ken also took issue with the decision to name the guitar the “Spanish Fly” because of the obvious connotations of the term; that’s why that model is called both the Fly Nylon and the Spanish Fly.

According to Ken, Larry Fishman owns one of the first Fly Nylon instruments (three in total) ever made, which were 2” wide at the nut—this dimension changed during production.


#ParkerPrototypes