Parker Fly Owners and Fans

Capt Nasty said:
Are black flys unusual? Seems there are a lot of red and blues out there. Blacks seem to be scarce.

Also, how is the neck thickness? I have seen some say that the Fly has a thin neck kind of like a Wizard neck. Just found the specs for a Fly Mojo. The neck is spec’d at .890” at 1st to .960” at 12th. That is hardly Wizard thin. My DK1 is .750” - .810” and that is thicker than a Wizard.
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I no longer have one to compare but I recall thinking that the Parker Fly Deluxe, Classic, and Mojo all had wide thin necks. Not Wizard thin like my Ibanez S540 or RG3120 but still on the thinner side. I don't like big necks and I liked the Flys. The SS frets made bends easy!

I also played a Nitefly. It is a completely different beast - fat neck and heavy.
 
Capt Nasty said:
Are black flys unusual? Seems there are a lot of red and blues out there. Blacks seem to be scarce.

Also, how is the neck thickness? I have seen some say that the Fly has a thin neck kind of like a Wizard neck. Just found the specs for a Fly Mojo. The neck is spec’d at .890” at 1st to .960” at 12th. That is hardly Wizard thin. My DK1 is .750” - .810” and that is thicker than a Wizard.
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My Parker Fly Deluxe has a thin Neck but not as Thin as my Ibanez’s with The Super Wizard Necks...
 

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Capt Nasty said:
Are black flys unusual? Seems there are a lot of red and blues out there. Blacks seem to be scarce.

Also, how is the neck thickness? I have seen some say that the Fly has a thin neck kind of like a Wizard neck. Just found the specs for a Fly Mojo. The neck is spec’d at .890” at 1st to .960” at 12th. That is hardly Wizard thin. My DK1 is .750” - .810” and that is thicker than a Wizard.
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No, i'd say black was the most common colour for the pre-refined Fly's, maybe there's just more trading going on for the other colours.

Neck thickness...i know there was a bit of variability, but measuring the thickness of my '94 Fly deluxe i just happen to have at hand...

0.74" at first fret, 0.807 at the 12th

I don't think neck thickness is the be all of playability though. I have a Parker Dragonfly DF524 whose neck feels even thinner, but it just doesn't quite sit in the hand as well as the Deluxe.
 
Carl said:
... 0.74" at first fret, 0.807 at the 12th

I don't think neck thickness is the be all of playability though. I have a Parker Dragonfly DF524 whose neck feels even thinner, but it just doesn't quite sit in the hand as well as the Deluxe.
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That measurement is good news.

I agree that neck thickness is not the end all be all of playability but... I know that I have never bonded with guitars that have thicker necks. It is a very quick cycle every time I try a thicker neck. I try to convince myself I like it then 3 days later the guitar is cased and I don’t touch it anymore and it goes up for sale. Big part of the reason that I have never had a Les Paul for more than a couple weeks.

Even my wife knows the deal. If I start talking about a Les Paul she says “so, you are ready to have another weekend fling with a new Les Paul...”

And once again thanks to everyone for responding. Big help and greatly appreciated!
 
Having played both Ibanez guitars and Parker guitars, I will say that the wizard is a tad thinner but, the Parker has a "feel" to it that makes it feel thinner and easier to play. Hard to describe without actually feeling it.

As far as color selection, black ones are not quite as common as the blues, reds or even greens but, the Italian Plumb tend to be the most coveted ones. Depending on how light hit it, it could almost appear black. They also had a Solar Flare which was really rare and very cool looking.
 
Mojos came out after Washburn/US Music bought out Ken Parker. They kept trying different variations to cut manufacturing costs yet keep what they thought made it still a "Parker". This, in my opinion, was when the wheels started to fall off.
 
Rhodes said:
Mojos came out after Washburn/US Music bought out Ken Parker. They kept trying different variations to cut manufacturing costs yet keep what they thought made it still a "Parker". This, in my opinion, was when the wheels started to fall off.
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Ok, gotcha. Perhaps I need to rethink the Mojo idea. The upper fret access is something I am really looking for.
 
Capt Nasty said:
Ok, gotcha. Perhaps I need to rethink the Mojo idea. The upper fret access is something I am really looking for.
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There are some Mojos that have the "set neck" style as well. They really went through a LOT of changes after Ken Parker and Larry Fishman sold the company. Just a matter of knowing if the version you are considering is actually the version you want.
 
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I had an early Mojo and it was a great guitar. The Mojo was essentially (at first) a Mahogany Deluxe with Duncan Pickups. Sounded like a Les Paul(ish), heavier than a classic. The whammy was the refined type though so the bushing broke pretty quick, and the saddles were also less than ideal. But if felt great and sounded good.
Still, nothing like the KP era.
 
I have 2. A 97 Fly Classic which is my main gigging guitar and a 97 Fly Bronze, which is a piezo only model. I love them both.

Check out Vince Genella, he is a Fractal user and Beta tester and was a Parker endorsee and still owns a large collection from Deluxe's to a Belew model and a 7 string DragonFly.
 
guitarmanUK said:
I have 2. A 97 Fly Classic which is my main gigging guitar and a 97 Fly Bronze, which is a piezo only model. I love them both.

Check out Vince Genella, he is a Fractal user and Beta tester and was a Parker endorsee and still owns a large collection from Deluxe's to a Belew model and a 7 string DragonFly.
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The Belew model is the one I've been looking for. I've never seen one used. That 'Belew Berry' color kills.
 
I have a '98 Classic red/wine colored Fly and used to play it exclusively until I couldn't handle changing the 9V battery every couple of weeks; man, that thing eats batteries.

It's not like it starts to sputter and dies suddenly; the sound seems to thin out over time and you get tone-suck and then start dialing in more low end/mids, etc. and wondering why it's sounding so thin, even though the flashing battery status LED in the back says the 9V is ok.

I have mods to rewire it so the magnetic pickups go direct to the output jack (like a conventional guitar) but have been advised that would hurt the resale value so I've not done that. I've been toying with the idea of selling it for years since I've playing Suhrs for some time.

I do have to say it's amazing to play and feels awesome...killer sustain, fantastic access to all frets up to the 24th, the best neck/body joint ever, light, ergonomic...it's so ahead of it's time in many respects that I feel guilty for not giving it the love it deserves, but can't bring myself to mod/re-wire it.

This thread made me pull it out today and have a play on it; I really need to either sell it or mod it.

EDIT:

Whoa! I see there is one on reverb.com...asking $5,500 CDN o_O
 
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Stratoblaster said:
I have a '98 Classic red/wine colored Fly and used to play it exclusively until I couldn't handle changing the 9V battery every couple of weeks; man, that thing eats batteries.

It's not like it starts to sputter and dies suddenly; the sound seems to thin out over time and you get tone-suck and then start dialing in more low end/mids, etc. and wondering why it's sounding so thin, even though the flashing battery status LED in the back says the 9V is ok.

I have mods to rewire it so the magnetic pickups go direct to the output jack (like a conventional guitar) but have been advised that would hurt the resale value so I've not done that. I've been toying with the idea of selling it for years since I've playing Suhrs for some time.

I do have to say it's amazing to play and feels awesome...killer sustain, fantastic access to all frets up to the 24th, the best neck/body joint ever, light, ergonomic...it's so ahead of it's time in many respects that I feel guilty for not giving it the love it deserves, but can't bring myself to mod/re-wire it.

This thread made me pull it out today and have a play on it; I really need to either sell it or mod it.
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What model is it?
 
Capt Nasty said:
What model is it?
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Parker Fly Classic...

It has the upgraded/2nd generation DiMarzio pickups, a refurbished, spare circuit board, and a brand new (at the time) replacement circuit board. One of the chips on the board went bad and they fixed the board and sent a whole new replacement as well 👍
 
Well, if you decide to move it along PM me and tell me more including what you would ask for it.

I already have my eyes on one that I am holding to see where the seller goes with it... a red classic as a matter of fact.
 
Some other thoughts about the Fly:
  • it stays in tune amazing...extremely stable
  • the magnetic pickup selector is in a very poor position; it's hard to access quickly without hitting the main volume control
  • the main volume control turns very easily; a slight brush turns it and I frequently turned it accidentally
  • stainless steel frets rule IMO; it's 22 years old and there is only the slightest wear on one or two frets
  • I used it whenever I needed an acoustic guitar; never owned a real acoustic guitar aside from a nylon string classical guitar
  • the original .010 tremelo bar/spring/gizmo is broken (I'm pretty sure); still have the .009 one though
  • never really used the tremelo, but it's cool you can easily lock/unlock the bridge to float/lock it in place
  • it's not as fat sounding like a Les Paul nor thin-ish like a Strat can be, somewhere in the middle. Has it's own vibe
 
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