Good to see that Ken seems open to the idea of making the “real” Flys he envisioned if he could get the funding.

I wonder if the Fishman Fluence technology could be used to make ultra thin pickups nowadays.

are you aware of anyone who has examples of most, if not all of the Fly models, and could provide a comparison video? I think that seems to be my calling in life 🤪😂 I am actually working on a proper comparative study of tonewoods using the Fly models I own, but that will be a while, unfortunately. ...

https://youtu.be/MzsC6Yjn6HI Once again, thank you for the detailed responses…very helpful indeed. I was not aware of the Aura. It seems to be pretty amazing - I didn’t know that it was possible to make a piezo sound like a real acoustic guitar, but this sample has definitely made a believer out of...

I apologize for rambling on, but I’m generally pretty jaded with guitars, and discovering the Fly, as well as Ken himself, has made me excited again. It seems like his work is the epitome of guitar manufacture, and only a relatively small group of people are aware of his brilliance and innovation. H...

Also, I remember hearing Ken say that he’d love to make a baritone archtop, but so far, nobody has commissioned one. I’m not sure if that is still current, but I might be crazy enough to drop 30K on one. If I remember correctly, Ken has a thing for Cellos, so I think he’d really dig the build, and I...

Oh yeah…does anyone know where I might obtain an actual Parker Y cable? I know that I can get an aftermarket one, but it’d be really cool to have the real deal.

Hi @Stella—my personal opinion. The Artist, to my ears, sounds the least like all the others in an acoustic and diffuse sort of way; they all have their own “special something” ☺️ The Deluxe is a bit “tighter”, especially with distortion. If you’re playing clean, you can hear a big difference; both...

Back to the Flys (Flies?)…

How does the Artist compare to the Deluxe? Does the spruce have an appreciable tonal difference to the poplar?

The more I research the archtops and listen to Ken explain not only his building methodology, but the theoretical side of his approach, the more I realize that I should try to commission him to build a guitar for me. I’d have to sell off a considerable chunk of my collection in order to do so, but I...

Every time I pick up my Deluxe it’s like a revelation as compared to any other guitar in my collection. Mr. Parker really did create a guitar that fixes the problems inherent with all other guitars. It doesn’t feel like anything else, and I mean that in a good way. I currently own almost 60 guitars,...

This popped up today…looks like a really clean example of the guitar I want, but I don’t think I can go 4K:

https://reverb.com/item/43604576-parker ... t=43604576

I think that a teal Classic with vibrato is going to be my next target. I’ll just be patient and enjoy my Deluxe until one appears for sale. That will give me the mahogany and color that I’m after. Good stuff…

Thanks again guys. You’re being very helpful. As I’m a fan of 2 point, non-locking units (current favorite is the Gotoh 510), I’m excited to try out what Mr. Parker came up with. It sounds very intriguing.

Thanks @mmmguitar and @vjmanzo. I think I’ll hold off on a mojo - didn’t realize that they didn’t exist until the later era. There is a white 1996 Deluxe on Reverb with the vibrato (sorry for calling it a trem before) that is calling to me, but I think it’s a bit more than I’m willing to spend atm. ...

I know this is a somewhat silly question, but I’d like to try a trem version of the Fly. Since I already have a Deluxe, what do you guys recommend as a second model? I am a mahogany fan, so the Mojo is what I’m naturally drawn toward, but a spruce model seems I intriguing.

Thank you…

So, I’ve had the guitar long enough by now to say that it’s simply the easiest guitar to play that I’ve ever touched. It almost feels like I’m cheating. I’ve owned at least 100 guitars from all different eras and manufacturers, but this one is right at the top. I have no idea why anyone would have a...

Thanks to each of your for the responses…very helpful.

Would this be considered an original, early refined, or refined guitar? I don’t really know enough to know what to look for.

Hello, I’m new here and to Parker guitars, so please forgive my ignorance. I recently acquired this Fly from the original owner. He claimed to have purchased it directly from Ken Parker in Rochester NY in 2004. It was supposedly a custom order that the purchaser did not pay for. As I know almost not...