New Addition to the family

[Doughboy]

I've wanted one for a looooooooooooooong time but couldn't justify spending close to $4000 on one.
Thanks to craigslist, I just picked up a 2006 Fly Classic in near mint condition for 1/4 of the price.

 

[Eric Banjitar]

Nice Purchase. Well done man!

 

[Cagey]

Never having played one, I looked it up. That's a helluva deal. So... what is it about those fiddles that makes them so expensive?

 

[AutoBat]

only a few people in the world will willingly construct such an abomination

 

[bagman67]

Never having played one, I looked it up. That's a helluva deal. So... what is it about those fiddles that makes them so expensive?

The higher end ones are made out of almost nothing - the body is a very thin slab of wood with a carbon fiber/resin backside to keep it rigid and light and strong.  Lotsa labor inputs, and also there's the "we're the only ones doing it this way" manufactured scarceness.  Plus they really are very comfy to play.

 

[Cagey]

I did notice looking at the body that it probably took an appreciable amount of time to get all that contour work to look nice finished, even if the gross cut was done on a CNC.

 

[Doughboy]

It's by far the most comfortable guitar I have ever played & has the best intonation & neck set up. Probably due to the carbon glass-epoxy reinforcement.

Tonaly, if you're used to a 10lbs Les Paul, it doesn't match up. Mine weighs under 5lbs & you need to compensate for the lack of bass. It's not as tone-less as people claim. If you use the same settings as your regular guitar, it doesn't work. You need to dial in a whole new set of parameters for a Parker.

I was inititially attracted to it by the look, then the weight. But it's plays really well & sounds not too bad. Does it sound as good as my beloved mahogany/koa Warmoth? Nope!!! But it's good for what it is, & at the price I got it for, it worked out not too badly.

Now, it's time for me to start planing my next Warmoth build for the summer.

 

[JimBeed]

Nice addition, incredible colour  , made me look at what they offer colour wise on other ones,
i must say im impressed with the amount of purple choices, but the lack of bass versions clinches it for me  :laughing7:
But it also got me thinking of doing a washed black 4 string counterpart to my 5 string when i get more funds, dont ask me why  :dontknow:
Sorry for the off topic, but warmoth do have rio grande powerbucker for 4 string still in stock and a neck jazz or two left, Damn you Warmoth, Damn you....

 

[Kadmium]

Never having played one, I looked it up. That's a helluva deal. So... what is it about those fiddles that makes them so expensive?

A couple of things. The whole guitar weighs no more than 5 lbs, and the neck is super-stable from being reinforced with carbon fibre. Stainless steel frets are standard, the fingerboard is a very smooth carbon-epoxy-resin composite, a nice piezo system and very comfortable trem are included, and the trem can be switched from fully floating to divebomb-only to fully locked. The back carve is very comfortable and the whole thing is incredibly playable. My favourite thing about them, though, is they're the only guitar I've ever played to get upper neck access right:

I'm a Parker fanboy (obviously), so I'd better balance this out with cons. That retarded upper horn is a pain in the ass/chest, and the pickup cavities are non-standard, so replacing the pickups is much harder than it should be. Also, most guitar purists hate them, but they tend to hate anything invented after 1960.

 

[Doughboy]

I'm a Parker fanboy (obviously), so I'd better balance this out with cons. That retarded upper horn is a pain in the ass/chest, and the pickup cavities are non-standard, so replacing the pickups is much harder than it should be. Also, most guitar purists hate them, but they tend to hate anything invented after 1960.

I find the horn hurts when sitting down, since the angle drives it into your chest, but standing up, I don't seem to have that problem.

Also, you couldn't be more correct on your purist comment. I have a friend who only plays Strats or Les Pauls. Nothing else exists for him. he won't even play a parker because of the look. Nothing apart from Fender, Gibson or Marshall exist for him.

 

[Cagey]

Sounds like an interesting instrument. Maybe not a primary, but certainly worth having in the collection.

 

[Cagey]

Also, you couldn't be more correct on your purist comment. I have a friend who only plays Strats or Les Pauls. Nothing else exists for him. he won't even play a parker because of the look. Nothing apart from Fender, Gibson or Marshall exist for him.

That's not too unusual, although accepting both Gibson and Fender is. Usually it's one or the other. I got a buddy like that, too. If it's not a Gibson guitar and a Fender amp, the closer to fossilized the better, it's crap.

 

[Doughboy]

Sounds like an interesting instrument. Maybe not a primary, but certainly worth having in the collection.

Exactly!!!! It will never be my main instrument, in the same way a tele will never be my main axe. I'm a die hard alder strat maple neck guy until the end, but I want to own different kinds of guitars with different woods, PUs etc.

 

[m4rk0]

it looks like it has a reversed carved back, just like the Westone Panteras......  (which is at the top of my "list")
the have the best heel ever too!!

 

[Jusatele]

I have always loved the look of the Parker
and I have had a chance to play on as a friend of mine owns one, I can say I was impressed with it
He however says it is a nice guitar and fun to own but just lacks what makes a guitar great
He pulls it out once in a while and gives it a ride then returns it to the stable.
I do not tend to keep guitars like that long, all mine are players,
And my favorite is a Tele

on a side note, if a purist believe anything after 1960 is crap, how do they deal with Mesa Boogie amps, PRS guitars and Marshall amps ?

 

[JimBeed]

how do they deal with Mesa Boogie amps, PRS guitars and Marshall amps ?

UNCLEAN!!!!!  :laughing7:, speaking of various geetars for different PU's, i can think of ten or so different basses for all the combos i can think of  :sad:

 

[Strat Avenger]

I just don't get what people see in those guitars.    :icon_scratch:

 

[swarfrat]

I came up with a 3+3 or 4+2 design  that resembles the fly headstock. But I'd forgotten they did theirs just for the whimsicalness of it - I might  put up with its ugliness for a 3+3 straight headstock.

 

[Doughboy]

I have always loved the look of the Parker
and I have had a chance to play on as a friend of mine owns one, I can say I was impressed with it
He however says it is a nice guitar and fun to own but just lacks what makes a guitar great
He pulls it out once in a while and gives it a ride then returns it to the stable.
I do not tend to keep guitars like that long, all mine are players,
And my favorite is a Tele

on a side note, if a purist believe anything after 1960 is crap, how do they deal with Mesa Boogie amps, PRS guitars and Marshall amps ?

Couldn't have put it better myself. Parkers are very nice guitars, but they'll never replace a real traditional all wood guitar for me in terms of tone. The reason I never pulled the trigger & paid $4000 for one was because I knew it would only be a fun guitar to have but not something warranting the high retail price. However, for the price I bought mine for, it's well worth it.

 

[Jusatele]

I have always loved the look of the Parker
and I have had a chance to play on as a friend of mine owns one, I can say I was impressed with it
He however says it is a nice guitar and fun to own but just lacks what makes a guitar great
He pulls it out once in a while and gives it a ride then returns it to the stable.
I do not tend to keep guitars like that long, all mine are players,
And my favorite is a Tele

on a side note, if a purist believe anything after 1960 is crap, how do they deal with Mesa Boogie amps, PRS guitars and Marshall amps ?

Couldn't have put it better myself. Parkers are very nice guitars, but they'll never replace a real traditional all wood guitar for me in terms of tone. The reason I never pulled the trigger & paid $4000 for one was because I knew it would only be a fun guitar to have but not something warranting the high retail price. However, for the price I bought mine for, it's well worth it.

kind of like some of those Jazz Boxes That Go For12 Grand, love to own one, someday will find one for 1500