The Making of a Parker Electric Solidbody Guitar

[monsarad]

Listen to Akinun's Polar Ignition vid on youtube, Parker Mojo at it's very best folks!

[JonnyMonster91]

I love Parker's designs, but $700+ for a made in china electric? No thanks.

[dustinkirk]

HEY GUYS... I've got two MINT condition 1998 Parker Fly guitars for sale (deluxe, and classic). if you're interested message me and I'll give you details and links to the photobucket albums.

[willeng84]

@dustinkirk Yeah I have been looking for one for a minute, not much on e-bay but guitar center has a good used one right now I like, send me the link I would love to check them out.

[dustinkirk]

@willeng84

it won't let me post the link for some reason. if you search on ebay " parker fly deluxe mint ", and " parker fly classic mint ", just look for the emerald guitar and the plum colored guitar. those two are mine. you'll know they're mine if the location says nashville, tn

[quarktron]

I have to correct a mistake in this video. Ken Parker never put his Fly between two chairs and stood on it, that was Ned Steinberger with his Steinberger electric guitar. There's a video of that here on u-tube

[jsmallsawe]

Cool vid, just wish it was a little better quality.

[katarzis27]

Can you please reupload with a better quality?

[me86680]

......loke something u would use at home when ur packaging, uh stuff up.........:)

[mynumberisnt4556169]

ummm... i think i'd rather just have a heavier guitar...

[MegaSmud]

I don´t want to have a guitar, that is made of composite materials. It is made from a carbon fibre/glass/epoxy. I mean: real guitars are made of 100% wood. Comparing the sound of a Parker Fly with the sound of a wooden guitar, there are significant differences. A guitar will always sound like its material. How many guitarists play a Parker Fly? And how many guitarists play wooden guitar?

[1xDRCx]

@MegaSmud The guitar is made of wood, it's covered in composite material, and the fretboard is made of composite.

[MegaSmud]

@1xDRCx I know, read my comment. But the guitar is not 100% wood and you can hear that.

[woshushe]

@MegaSmud @MegaSmud well i could say how many guitarists play strato or LP and they don't know why? strato has 1 sound, no matter what pickups: it's a 60 years old project.

plus: carbon fibre has the hardness of ebony but the fibre can be oriented, meaning the vibrations going in the direction you decide (even better than bone), and after all the "composite" is just in the rear of the body, so the 95% it's wood, almost like every guitar (except for non painted guitars) but the fretboard

[strandwolf]

@MegaSmud How many guitarists? So what. By the way, ever hear of Harvey Mandel? He plays a Parker and is a world class guitar player. Bob Dylan recently called him for a televised gig. Dylan has worked with, um...Mike Bloomfield and Robbie Robertson....

[zzlong55]

The "glue" is epoxy resin. The "composite" is pre-preg, pre-impregnated woven carbon fiber. Pre-preg is ready to go off -- cure -- which is why it must be refrigerated. It will "go off" at temperatures 40 degrees and above. The colder the temps, the longer it will take for the resin to go off. At room temperature it will cure overnight, but Parker "autoclaves" (ovens) their guitars so that they are workable within one hour.

[sbvikings30]

fong rakes rood rets

[AnOddMusician]

parkers are nice.. really comfortable but i cant stand the price, or the shape

[AldoZuper]

parker sucks, gibson rocks!!! ask slash, angus young or jimmy page

[PreedyM2k]

@AldoZuper you can't shred on a Gibson, the access to upper frets is limited and Les Pauls are heavy guitars

[AnOddMusician]

@PreedyM2k dont tell ,me what i can and cant shred on sir.

[PreedyM2k]

@AnOddMusician I too can shred on a Les Paul, but I find it hard due to limited access to upper frets

[codyandcambria]

@PreedyM2k

tell that to brendon small

or sqwisgaar or toki

[hypershade72]

Get a Mexican Fender and do your own surgery for a truly "custom" job. You might learn a thing or two in the process ,and be able to afford a car when all's said and done. 4G's for an axe? You gotta be blowin me!

[HillaryHitler]

Has anyone heard of these frets just falling off over time since they are glued on?

I read a rant about a guy who claims his did and Parker charged him $400.00 to fix it OUCH! if that is of course true

[quarktron]

The "governor of the mill" guy in the video mentions Ken Parker taking a guitar and putting it on two chairs and standing on it to show how strong it is. He is incorrect, that was Ned Steinberger who did that.

[HillaryHitler]

I don't understand why these guitars break over $4,000 myself.

The material is COSTLY and it is a PITA process.

I would love to have a VR model myself, but the price is bull$hit

[deadxxx1000]

i would love a job there, i REALLY would

[DX5008]

oh my god one of the coolest guitar bodies but the headstock just wrecks it

[kierandoyle1992]

word of the day is composite apparently

[humpreystrong]

wow! this guitar is like a pizza!

[bcwdrums]

Interesting..........

[TheLukeDaniel]

he sounds like lars ulrich

[inagod]

Chicago company

[c0nn0r2209]

did i see a tresemme hair shampoo bottle next to the fretboard guy?? o.0

[Evgenyable]

This manufacture is situated in Pittsburgh?

[tkojams]

still the ugliest guitar known to mankind.

[ICBBZZ]

@tkojams A matter of opinion - I think it is an object of beauty myself..

[jeffreycollins]

the making of those guitars has not changed since they begun, and yet their prices have skyrocketed. I mean 7 grand for a Vernon Reid guitar. You gotta be kidding me.

[TheBillStickers]

@jeffreycollins They never really did set out with affordable prices in their objectives when they begun their little mission. They're not cheap in anyway, not even in taste as they were birthed by Ken Parker and Larry Fishman from wanting to perfect things. It's really, I suppose, not a guitar for guitarist but a guitar for luthiers.

They're very cool but they're losing feasibility with Global Warming being a Worldwide Issue relating to forests. They have to be smarter now with manufacturing.

[samick94]

@jeffreycollins

well the shape has not, but quality has. the newer ones use cheaper metals and electronics that are simply crap and then they charge you way more. normally around 2000-4000 for a classic or deluxe. wtf right

[FlipGordon]

@jeffreycollins I agree they must make $800 profit on each guitar HA! you might as well pay for a custom built for yourself.

[hufschmidguitars1]

@jeffreycollins did you buy the tools and redesign the templates and all the little details in order to build a 7 string version?

[TheBothanist]

@jeffreycollins Well then dont buy it...

[cbrandom]

@jeffreycollins No? I'm pretty sure when U.S. MusicCorps bought Parker from Ken Paker, SOMETHING PROBABLY CHANGED.

[Gorbyrev]

@jeffreycollins Better value than a private stock PRS. It takes nearly 40 hours to make a standard Fly not allowing for the installation of GK-2. A Les Paul takes about 9 hours and a Strat 6. The man hours in these things is amazing. Also you will find that street for a Vernon Reid is more like $5000. I have a '95 Deluxe which plays like new because it was so well made with technology that will last, zero fret wear and the neck is perfect. Ferraris aren't cheap for a reason - so it is with a Fly

[chhau123]

@jeffreycollins cos "money" drop their "price" endlessly.. check out the zeitgeist's movies(specially "moving forward") , it will tell you why..

[willeng84]

@jeffreycollins Actually I heard alot has changed. They used to use a shotty truss rod. It was made of piano wire. They also have changed the springs in the tremolo, however this actually saved them money in the long run so..... I agree but with the troubles I read about in the 90's and I think early 00's, its probably a necessity to stay in business. The production manager on another video made it sound like they were coming back in substantial quantities for a lil while.

[HillaryHitler]

@jeffreycollins

I agree it is BULL$HIT

[loof000]

@jeffreycollins

i assume you've heard of inflation...

if not you won't want to know what it used to cost to buy a tank of gas.

[jellynuts]

Boogie Street. Hahahah! Blah!

[cobraopts7]

wait heres a thought make a goodlooking guitar instead making ughly ass guitars

[rob61091]

pittsburgh kick ass guitars nice shirt

[elsepulcro]

yea hahahah he tries too hard to be cool

[Bellyflops2]

I love Fong

[kev4naru]

Mmmm..... toasty

[Obelisk2290]

sounds like a wood version of powdercoating

[66jordan61]

schecters are way better

[joeypaint]

Nothing really plays like a Parker.

Parker's are way lighter than the Schecters.

Everyone has a different liking for a guitar, mine is the Nitefly.

[winstonmisha]

WTF a pizzaoven lol

i want one of these guitars so bad !

[Dennizzz119]

Dont care As long as the guitar playes great

[rsrichiesambora]

i got the parker delux bout two years ago and its the best guitar ..besides the musicman luke ihave ever played the weight the feel the sound the balance every fucking thing about this guitar is unbelievable i got mine which is a 1996 delux an original from parker not a washburn fucked up model i got mine on ebay for 1000 euro and its still in pristine condition its all black and its beautiful, if you can get an original ken parker fly delux i highly recommend you do so fuck off washburn.....

[extremeguitargod]

thats right, it doesnt have a composite fretboard, it is made out of mahogany. i am getting the parker fly deluxe in 2 days

[zambcore]

but parker are better and lso gibson guitars are heavier than shecter

[fordgt402]

Shecter weighs 10 to 12 lbs ,Fly weighs 4lbs.

[fordgt402]

Actually there are also Parkers which are made in Korea.

[MIkeCampbellCKY]

The P series

[elusivEuphoria]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the P-Series don't have the composite fretboard right?

I'm severely tempted to get a Parker. They seem so cool.

[MIkeCampbellCKY]

idk

[joeypaint]

I'm pretty shure even the P-Series have composite fretboards but being cheaper, they don't have the same slender bodies as the Fly or Nitefly series.

[almostsk8er01]

and indonisea

[beondu]

I've been to the Schecter manufacturing plant in Korea. They made LTD, ESP, Epiphone, Squire and a bunch more all in the same one HUGE building. Not much difference in the processes used. Many of the parts were made in Korea as well. Only some of the electrics came from the US. The biggest difference was the inspection requirements to get through final shipping. The higher-end versions of any of those guitars had higher reject rates. Let the new guys work the cheap lines

[blinddecks1]

okay tell me something.

wht are these so expencive

i can get a schecter for 200 less and way better?

[peachy901]

they arnt way better

[blinddecks1]

and why not?

everything on it is better?

and basswood is so cheap

if u buying basswod go get a 200 dollar ltd

[peachy901]

in my opinion the parker has so much more thought and effort go into it. u can play ANYTHING on it. the clean sound si hevenly and everything about them is better than just some cheaply made Korean guitar designed for metal heads

[blinddecks1]

im pretty sure schecters are made in u.s.a

thats what the sticker on the baks for?

[ChrisDavidson29]

no 1 of my friends has a schecter c-1 classic and its made in korea but some schecters are made on the us

[blinddecks1]

so whats the sticker on the back say?

[austintyranny]

the wood is and body is made in South Korea but all of the electronics and stuff like that are made here in the U.S.

[blinddecks1]

yes i have and an hellraiser is not 200?

im pretty sure its more around 1000

[damrak1969]

I bought a Parker Nitefly about 12 or 13 years ago when they first came out and kept it for a while but I could never get past how the upper bought would poke me in the chest when I was sitting down to play it. Everone who played it said the same thing - the most uncomfortable guitar to play while sitting. Really spoiled it.

[JokerZED]

Well I am sat playing my nightfly mojo right now - no problemat all - for me the design makes the guitar rest nicely against me, and its so light I dont notice it there but it stays upright with my hands off it and perfectly balanced. Maybe its a posture thing

[damrak1969]

A lot of it is a posture thing when sitting. I did a search on it for my curiosity and found that a lot of people complain about it but either ignore it or put foam on the horn to compensate for it.

There was also a little story about it and it said that was Ken Parker poking you in the chest and telling you that he knew you would like his guitar!

"

[JokerZED]

lol,

Well this is only my 3rd or 4th guitar, but I love it -(well ok it could be a little warmer for my tatse but I think thats my cheap amp),

I hope I get to move up to a fly classic someday.

[StrykerTStrykerton]

Thats a single cut mojo not a nitefly

[blinddecks1]

try an jackson rr

cant even sit down with it

[schuey999]

It's not an exoskeleton. An exoskeleton would provide the shape as well.

[Zem0nkey]

It does.

[Moonmaster158]

Thats bad ass that they use pizza ovens

[AppetiteforIllusionz]

haha, the guy "chuck" at the begining says "aaaa" all the time

[apocatie34]

lets bake em' up and then cool em' up

[IETCHX]

well done... the interviewer was very pro

[Megamaniac610]

he stood on the guitar and it didn't break? Shit, I wasn't watching where I was going one morning and broke the neck off of my LTD. It was bolt on, so I was able to fix it with some putty, but still.

[ram16821]

I want my Fly with pepperoni, mushrooms and extra chaa-eeze, baby~!

[ckyvick666]

and i own a pre-washburn majik blue deluxe...

[linkedreality]

I own Leo Gibson's stool sample. Beat that.

[Purrebark]

i own jimi hendrix's soul...

[IETCHX]

my fridge is so full of beer, i got no room for food....check, and mate

[willie941]

I used to play a Gibson les Paul but then...I fell in love of Parker Guitars, I own a P-42 and my "star" is a Nitefly S.A. love them, nothing compares.

[mojoefly]

now i know why they are so expensive. the process, research, technology, salaries, machines, repairs and replacements, paint, the wood, labor and profit. and lots more that i missed. i cant wait to own.

[Gorbyrev]

Absolutely - but are they that expensive when compared to other US big name guitars? No way!

[crizilla138]

parkers are the best guitars. period.

[arohn2007]

I agree. I've owned a Parker NiteFly-SA now for 7 years

[snapascrew]

ive always wondered what those 2 switches do underneath the knobs on parker guitars, someone wanna tell me? lol

[perpetualcacophany]

One is a pickup selector for bridge, neck, and combined pickup selection. The other is for Selection of piezo or magnetic pickups or a combination of both. The knobs are standard volume and tone knob plus the other one is piezo/magnetic mix I think.

[perpetualcacophany]

Oops, I was wrong. It's standard neck and bridge tone knobs.

[renlex]

nope, the knobs are: magnetic volume, magnetic tone (pull for split-coil), piezo volume.

[savinmeagain]

in lamens terms you go from an acoustic sound to an electric sound and the middle is a combination with one switch the other switches the humbuckers

[paulrpotts]

They probably vary by model, but my Fly Classic has 3 knobs: electric pickup volume knob, electric pickup tone knob (it pops up to coil tap), and piezo volume knob. The 2 3-way switches are for the electric pickups (neck/both/bridge), and to switch between the electric pickups and piezos (electric only/both/piezo). If you plug in a TRS insert cable you can run it into two separate amps, preset your volumes, and switch between electric and acoustic sounds while you play.

[1624327568]

wouldn't opening that fridge and stuff let A LOT of cold air out? then the temp wouldnt be controlled....

[x7lost]

I'm pretty sure they took that into account when they designed it as a WALK IN fridge.

[k00pha]

we're waiting for deron miller signature

[mickyhodge]

parkers are awesome