About the Fly Clone Project

[vjmanzo]

the Fly Clone Project is a research effort of the Electric Guitar Innovation Lab. intended to maintain and adapt parts used on original and early USMC-Parker Fly* guitars, which are no longer being made or available. ‪The Fly Clone Project began in order to address the growing and eventual need for replacement parts and services related to Parker Fly guitars including adaptations and modifications to these unique instruments;‬ the Fly Clone project will continue to exist as an independent research effort regardless of and unrelated to the official status of the Parker Guitars brand.

Note: If you are looking for stock OEM parts, we strongly recommend that you contact Mike Gallenberger at Gman.music on Reverb or wiguitar on eBay to see if the part you need is available in his stock.

-Phase one of Fly Clone Project is to model or source every component of the original Parker Fly guitar (1993-2003) as well as some aspects of the early "refined" (2003+) Parker Fly and some other models; this includes a comprehensive list of all bridge components, electronic components, screws, and so on. Producing CAD models of all components will ultimately allow us to fabricate parts through 3D-printing and machining methods.

See the Anatomy of a Fly to check the status of Phase one.

-Phase two involves determining how best to make the “cloned” parts available to Fly owners through this website with a sustainable workflow.

-Phase three involves the creation of the advanced and specialized tooling used to create specific Fly components including springs, the fretboards, and stainless steel frets.

-Phase four involves the adaptation of existing parts for new functionality and operation, and ultimately: experiments toward new innovations.


Project work began in spring 2018 and will continue indefinitely as part of the ongoing research of the Electric Guitar Innovation Lab.

*All product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Parker Guitars, Parker, Fly, Fly Guitar, and NiteFly are registered trademarks of U.S. Music Corp, a division of Jam Industries, LTD. Use of these marks does not imply an affiliation with U.S. Music Corp, Parker Guitars, or its parent companies and does not imply an endorsement by these companies.

[billy]

[alber.t]

This is great news. Two talented friends working together, only good things can happen. Finally in 2019, this is the best news for the "Loyal Parkers Enthusiasts". Thank you for making it possible.

[vjmanzo]

Thanks, Albert--great to connect with you on here, my friend!

[Patzag]

Well what do you know!
This is awesome. I really wanted a home away from the home forum in case of disaster and you made that happen VJ. Awesome.
It’s funny to see “Newbie” under my name here though!!!
I’m looking forward to be an active member here.
Patrick

[vjmanzo]

Awesome, Patrick! It’s great to see you here! Totally agree: great to have a contingency!

You’re definitely not a newbie when it comes to Flys—not in real life or on this site; I think your new rank is more appropriate Thanks for being a part of this!

[Tangerine~Fly]

Awesome concept and very nice execution.

Thank you for taking on this project.

[Patzag]

Awesome, Patrick! It’s great to see you here! Totally agree: great to have a contingency!

You’re definitely not a newbie when it comes to Flys—not in real life or on this site; I think your new rank is more appropriate Thanks for being a part of this!

That’s funny! I like my new title!
And I see the old cronies all got it too.
That’s cool!

[vjmanzo]

@Tangerine~Fly : thanks for the kind words!

@Patzag : haha! Yes, It's a special distinction for all the old Fly obsessives who make/made the official forum awesome!

[rsdio]

I do not see the Printed Circuit Board or flexible circuit "tapes" listed. Is there any plan to clone these?

Are all of the PCBs simply still working to this day? Seems possible that none of them have actually broken.

On the other hand, it's well known that the flexible circuit "tapes" break easily. I've read many stories about Parker Fly owners who've had to work around a cracked tape. For another instrument that I co-designed, the Soundplane, we went through a handful of flexible circuit manufacturers before finding one that is high quality and very reasonably priced. As soon as I got my first Parker Fly - which has its output jack replaced with a non-original part - I wanted to design a whole tape to restore it.

Has anyone found a way to gain access to an unsoldered tape to take measurements? I assume that desoldering one of these rare birds would be risky, but it might be worth it. Some of the measurements - such as the parts that line up with connectors, pots and switches - don't need to be measured because the mechanical drawings for the parts themselves should have that information. Some of the widths are easy enough to measure inside the guitar. But getting the length right to make sure there isn't too much tension inside might take some trial and error.

Anyway, has any of this been looked in to?

[vjmanzo]

Hi @rsdio; welcome to the forum.

I am looking into this and am trying to obtain the circuitboard intact. I’m not sure what will come of this though; it would be great to come up with a solution that allows people to save the rev 1 Fishman piezo, but, as you noted, it’s not an easy process.

Yes, many of the original PCBs are still working to this day, though it’s also the case that many people on this forum have had to convert to point-to-point wiring, but, if left alone, the PCB should, in theory, hold up fine.

We’ll keep you posted about what comes of our digging into this area, but nothing to announce just yet. PM me if you’d like to get involved in this given your prior experience.

[SeverusStarkiller]

Hi,

I was told about some waiting list for trem springs? If there is one how do I join?

Thanks!

[vjmanzo]

Hi @SeverusStarkiller; welcome! There is no waiting list for springs.

[JMStaehli.com]

Just signed in. Great site.
I get a lot of calls from my website asking for help keeping these guitars working. I hope it is ok for me to refer your site towards their interests in my replies to them. I'm getting old. Tx

[vjmanzo]

Thanks, @JMStaehli.com; glad you’re a part of this!