Parker Guitars Fly Classic

I saved my money for a while and bought the Fly Classic for $2069 from Musicians Friend. Best thing I've ever bought, and it even came with a knarly case!

I've been searching for the "perfect guitar" for quite a while, but when I went into a store and saw the Fly Classic, it was love at first sight. I thought it was a little out of my price range, but I thought "what the hell... I'll give it a try." The next thing was pure poetry... The moment I took it off the wall I was dumbfounded at how light it was and it seemed to fit perfectly around me. I pluged it in and played for I don't know how long.. I was lost in the way it took what ever you were playing and did its tonal magic, turning it into a masterpiece. I noticed after at least a half hour that I had a bit of a crowd. About 3 months of slaving away at work I ordered my Transparent Cherry Fly Classic. I've had it for a while, and I still sleep with it right next to my bed.

Honestly the only thing I don't like about the Fly Classic is that I can't bring it to work with me. It, in my eyes, is the perfect guitar. Its a little pricy, but play it once and you will see that it is well worth every penny and then some.

Everything is put together like a work of art. The whole guitar is masterfully crafted with absolutly every single detail carefully kept into consideration.

I am completely in love with my Fly Classic. I have my whole computer set up with pictures and sounds that came from the beautiful guitar. My friends think I'm obsessed because I just go on drives and let the guitar ride shotgun, because I never know when I'll want to play again. Easily my favorite thing in the world. Thank you Mr. Parker. I owe you big time.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

USA made
Carved Mahogany body with Basswood neck
Parker custom-cast aluminum vibrato bridge, stainless steel saddles
DiMarzio custom wound pickups
3-way mag pickup selection with push-pull coil tap
Custom Fishman piezos and stereo voltage-doubled pre-amp
Custom Parker vibrato system
Stainless steel frets
4¼ lbs
Must use a battery to get piezo tones
Must use a Y cable to get split stereo tones, but the piezo can be blended in mono with a mono cable

UTILIZATION

This guitar is going to get a glowing review from me in every category, as it is one of the best guitars I've ever played. It is so well-designed in every aspect - ergonomics, playability, weight, sound capability, vibrato stability, neck stability, beauty. The smoothness of the neck and also of the vibrato system is remarkable. It is truly a great guitar, and one of the most original designs of the last 50 years.

SOUNDS

Electric tone wise, this guitar seems to live in shred-land, although it is way more than adequate at a variety of other genres. The bridge pickup screams, with lots of bite and upper harmonics. The neck tone is very smooth, and silky, and the middle position provides plenty of spank. Jazz, blues, rock, and country tones abound here, but shred is where this guitar shines.

Acoustic tone - well, what other electrics do you know that will do acoustic tones? The sounds are very convincing, and can split to another amp or be blended into the main amp. This allows the jazz, pop, and even other experimental sounds to happen, all "on the fly".

OVERALL OPINION

I give this guitar a perfect ten. It is a steal for the price, it is incredibly durable, it plays like a dream, and can get nearly any tone imaginable. The only way this guitar could be better is if the electric pickups had a 5 way switch or a 3 way with push-pull coil tapping, but I'll take what I can get.

This is a American made guitarn with 24 stainless steel frets, 2 Dimarzio humbucking pickups (3 way selector), a Fishman piezo pickup (Acoustic sounds) and a custom cast aluminum vibrato bridge, Stainless steel saddles. Of course you also have a volume knob for both Electric and Acoustic configs and tone knobs for both as well. This hs a beautiful neck thru body setup, very slick and set up to play fast.

UTILIZATION

The neck has a great! feel. I always let other people play this guitar and that is usually one of the first things they mention, that and how light it is. Access to the higher range notes is as easy as it can be from my experience. It was definitely ergonomically designed. The whole thing weighs about 5 lbs. and they even made the back concave so its forms around your belly (really nice for the ones with a few extra pounds in that region, haha). You can very easily get a great sound out of this thing. Even though its really light, it packs a full heavy sound great for Rock, heavy Rock, fusion and even straight jazz. You can also blend the electric/acoustic pickups for some interesting, full tones.

SOUNDS

It is very versatile like myself so it suits me well. I use it with a slew of high end effects and run it into my Fender Twin (reissue). I love it! The guitar has a wide range of sound, super clean, gritty, smooth. I have to say that my favorite sounds are the super clean and the really gritty tones I get. Overall, I wouldn't recommend it for Jazz as I prefer a hollowbody any day, but if you are in a pinch, it will certainly suffice. Sometimes I like to just run it directly into my Twin and crank the volume. It sounds so gritty, I love it.

OVERALL OPINION

I have had this guitar for 5 years and I have loved it always. The best thing about it for me is its ability to have a huge sound but only weigh 5 lbs. This is great after a 2-3 hour set and your neck isn't killing you. What I didn't like about the guitar was the whammy bar bridge. Its just not my style really, as well as it was fairly hard to keep it in tune when the bridge wasn't fixed. I tried strats and les pauls mainly, this thing sounded as good if not better, but it only weighs a fraction of the others. These things don't come cheap. Its a great guitar for the price none the less, but I don't recommend it too beginners (only because of the price). I would buy one again in a heart beat.

ditto the configurations of other users

UTILIZATION

Totally consistent with other reviews!
I confirm the questionable position pickup selector.
I added the management of the 9V battery, failure is direct and therefore difficult to manage live (access hatch screwed!).
Finally, the output level and / or high impedance makes use of some preamps a little tricky when they have no suitable input (hi-z).
Caution: having a leaf spring spare vibrato, possibly because it is the breaking points ... but hey it's just qques €.
The really strong point: NEVER go out of tune! vibrato, temperatures, humidity ... nothing works ).

SOUNDS

Totally consistent with other reviews! => Happiness flexibility without limits, and without the weight.

OVERALL OPINION

I almost buy the usa for $ 2,700 (€ when the was under $), then a few months later, I found Used to Paris for an amazing price ... the best deal ever!
I intend to offer him a set in seymour duncan-and if fortune knocks at my door, I find him a little sister!