the Fly Clone Project

Hi all,

I got a new old stock 2008 Parker fly Mojo from a shop that still had one in stock back in my home country (Cyprus). I live abroad so I had someone pick it up for me and didn't really have a look at the guitar, but was assured by the shop that it was unused and as it came from the factory with no blemishes etc. However, when I came over for holidays and had a look at the guitar the fretwork looked horrendous at places and the were tooling marks all over (see pictures). I brought it to the shop and they told that was from the factory and there was nothing they could do about. They also asked me if I wanted to give it back as they would sell it easily, which I didn't want to do because it's hard to get a good condition fly, especially without shipping, fees etc. After using it a couple of times one of the frets fell off and I'm beginning to think other frets may have fallen off and the shop did a lousy job at reinstalling them. Was quality control really that bad during that era that this could have come like this from the factory?

Not sure where I can include pictures, the attachments only allow 3 mb (I'm new to the page).

Hi @Alex—sorry to hear about this. QC was seemingly still strong during the USM years, but occasionally some things slipped out of the gate in less-than stellar shape, which seems to have happened far less during the “Ken years” at Parker. Having said that, 2008 was reportedly a production year vexed by failing epoxy on both fingerboards and frets.

I doubt that the Fly you’re looking at left the factory in that condition. It’s more likely that it was poorly cared for and repaired.

Are you planning to repair it? There are some guides on fret repairs in the Ken’s Corner section of the site.

There was a year during which the summer temperatures at USM screwed up the glue curing on their fretboards. This resulted in a number of frets lifting and falling off.
There is a video online on how to repair these.
Pay attention to the fretboard itself and make sure it is not lifting. Because fret repair will be defeated if the board is lifting.

I would return it. I don’t know how much you paid for it, but there are decent deals in EU on Parker guitars. They are not common, but I’ve seen deludes sell for $1800 not that long ago.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'll keep on to the guitar and do my best to reglue the fallen fret and clook at other frets that might need attention because it's a great guitar minus the fret issues. Do you know if it's possible to buff up the composite fretboard edges which have been slightly filed down in some places like you would other materials?

Alex wrote: ↑Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:51 pm Do you know if it's possible to buff up the composite fretboard edges which have been slightly filed down in some places like you would other materials?

Being as no one else has responded, yet: If you’re referring to paint chips on the edges of the fingerboard, I’ve seen a number of Fly owners fill the chipped areas by building up several carefully applied thin layers of nail polish or CA glue and then carefully sanding it flush. Though I’m thankful none of my Flys have fingerboard chipping severe enough to feel, I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to attempt the repair myself; so I can detail it here. Fortunately/unfortunately, that hasn’t happened, yet. I’m hoping others will chime in.

Alex wrote: ↑Wed Oct 05, 2022 3:51 pm Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'll keep on to the guitar and do my best to reglue the fallen fret and clook at other frets that might need attention because it's a great guitar minus the fret issues. Do you know if it's possible to buff up the composite fretboard edges which have been slightly filed down in some places like you would other materials?

Post pictures please so we can see what you see.

Here are some pictures. Sorry for the delay.

Well, a part for the fret that fell off, the neck looks good. I'm sure you can use a mild buffing wheel but I wouldn't get too aggressive as the fretboard is extremely thin and glued on the neck and that joint should not get exposed.