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Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2019 11:28 pm
by vjmanzo
Tonewoods
Below is a comparison of tonewoods used on Parker guitars that originally appeared on the official Parker Guitars website:
Parker Wood Guide.png
Official Fly Models
The various models of Flys denote the distinct wood combinations used. Below are the names that appear in the official in catalogs. Most commonly:

Fly Deluxe - basswood neck + poplar body
Fly Classic and Fly Jazz - basswood neck + mahogany body
Fly Artist and Fly Concert and Fly Nylon - basswood neck + spruce body
Fly Mojo - mahogany neck + mahogany body
Fly Hardtail* (aka “Fly Stealth”) - basswood neck + basswood body
Fly Supreme and Fly Maple Custom - basswood neck + maple body

More details on each model can be found in the catalogs from 2004 prior.

* Note: while all aforementioned Flys (except the Fly Mojo) were once available with either hardtail or vibrato bridges, only the model with a basswood neck and basswood body is named the “Fly Hardtail”. Additionally, while most Flys came “Standard” with piezo electronics, non-piezo Fly Deluxes, Classics, etc. were also available.

Please also note these model names are commonly attributed incorrectly on used Flys listed for sale (Reverb, eBay, Guitar Center, Craigslist, etc.). A photo of the serial letters or a close look at the woodgrain and finish options on the body are your best clues to verifying what you’re looking at (this is actually easier than it sounds, actually!).

Fly Model Names
Unlike, for example, Fender Stratocaster models, which span from inexpensive "budget models" like the Squier to more expensive high-end models, the Fly has no tiers of "build quality". There is no "Fly Basic" to which a "Fly Deluxe" is superior; a "Fly Supreme" is not "Supreme in comparison to all other Flys"; the "Fly Mojo" doesn't, in any measurable sense, have any more "Mojo" than a "Fly Classic". ;) Each model has a unique name and, while they all have their own special timbral qualities, they were all made similarly to very tight tolerances and primarily differ only in wood type and, potentially, with the electronics. Subjectively, they are certainly all in the same family with regard to "feel", balance, tuning stability, and many other qualities that make Flys so great!

The main differences in list price between the Fly models had more to do with the particular tonewoods that were used; as a comparison, basswood tends to be a less-expensive wood than highly-figured maple, so the "Fly Hardtail" model (basswood body) had a lower list price than the "Fly Supreme" model (highly-figured maple body).



Fly Model Variants (Fly Butternut, Fly Koa, Fly Tulipwood, etc.)
There are several other tonewoods variants that have existed through the years as custom shop or special orders including Flys with bodies made of koa, butternut, walnut, and cedar. Ken regularly experimented at Parker Guitars, and sometimes he would get limited quantities of certain woods resulting in short runs of 50 or so Flys like the so-called "Fly Butternut" model. The butternut wood, for instance, was supplied to Ken from a one-off supplier; in Ken's words, "We would have made more of these instruments, but we only had a limited supply of material...they sound like 'mahogany-plus!'". Such one-off models never received differentiated monikers (like Deluxe, Classic, Mojo, etc.) that were officially noted in any catalog and they were, most commonly, guitars sold at trade shows like NAMM.

The USM custom shop made it possible for customers to order Flys in various unusual tonewood combinations, whic resulted in more "unofficial" models. For example, there was an unofficial model that has been colloquially referred (on the old USM forum era) as the “Fly Virtuoso”: spruce neck + spruce body. Again: that name never officially appeared in any catalog. The so-named Norse Flys, as another example, were a custom shop order of hardtail versions of the Mojo and Artist (in both spruce and cedar) with hardtail bridges, no piezo components, and custom engravings.

The "Fly Tulipwood", as another example, was a variant of the Fly Deluxe and quite literally exactly the same as a Fly Deluxe with the notable exception that the poplar body wood was figured (less common for poplar). While building Fly Deluxes, Ken and his team simply put all of the “attractive looking“ pieces of poplar wood in a pile, and, eventually, then made a line of Fly Deluxes from these unique pieces of poplar. Accordingly, these Deluxes were painted with a transparent green finish as opposed to the usual Fly Deluxe treatment of painting the bodies with an opaque finish.

The model names in the catalog are, in some cases, less prescriptive of the woods used: the Fly Deluxe model is most commonly a Basswood neck + Poplar body, but, in the first batch of Flys made in 1993, the Fly Deluxe was a Redwood neck + Poplar body.

Similarly, the Fly Artist model name has been used officially to refer to guitars built with a "Redwood neck + Spruce body", a "Basswood neck + Spruce body (most common combination)", and "basswood neck + cedar body". Ken loved to experiment with different wood, so the naming conventions were less interesting to him and his team than how they sounded; this Fly Douglas Fir speaks to that spirit of exploration.

Ken originally intended to call the Nylon string version of the Fly the “Fly Classic”. It appears in the catalogs as the “Fly Nylon” and was later called the “Spanish Fly”. The “Fly Concert” also became known as the “Fly Bronze”.

#WoodTypes

Re: Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 9:15 am
by mmmguitar
As obvious as it is that I should just ask Ken directly, I’m curious to know others’ thoughts: Why do you suppose swamp ash was good enough for the Nitefly line, but never an option with Flys? I’ve owned several guitars (mainstream and niche) with SA bodies, and find it odd that it was never implemented in the Fly line in a production capacity, even under USM or Jam.

Re: Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 1:01 pm
by vjmanzo
That’s a good question, @mmmguitar! I do know that @Ken Parker loves to experiment and did many one-off Flys of varying materials and wood combinations during his tenure at Parker Guitars!

I’ve tagged him in this message, but we’re supposed to chat anyway soon, so I’ll ask him!

Re: Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2021 12:45 pm
by vjmanzo
:: added a brief video to the original post in which Ken Parker tells two stories about trying to convince people that Parker Fly guitars are made out of wood ::

Re: Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2023 11:37 pm
by Voice Of Reason
I initially went ahead with the Fly Classic due to it being able to produce warmer (e.g. classic rock) tones (and it was much cheaper than a Fly Mojo).

I have never tried a Deluxe, hence my curiosity.

Are the pre-refined ones actually around 4.5lbs (about a pound less than a Classic)?

Are Deluxes that different sounding compared to Classics? (The description I had read made Deluxes seem like funk machines or something).

Re: Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 12:10 am
by vjmanzo
Voice Of Reason wrote: Mon Jan 09, 2023 11:37 pm Is it true that they are (at least the pre-refined ones) around 4.5lbs (about a pound less than a Classic)?
Yes, they are around 4.5lbs—the hardtail Deluxe is a little lighter than even that.
Voice Of Reason wrote: Mon Jan 09, 2023 11:37 pm How different sounding is the Deluxe compared to the Classic?
To me, the Deluxe is a little snappier, but they’re definitely all in the same family. I feel strongly that with the right strings and knob tweaking, one can blur the lines between the Deluxe, the Classic, the Mojo, and the Supreme—even with a clean tone. The Artist and the Stealth are the most unlike the others, in my opinion—the Artist is diffuse with overtones while the Stealth has a prominent fundamental frequency and subordinated overtones.

I started with a Mojo and, now having played them all, I think the Deluxe is my favorite. 🤷

Re: Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 5:29 am
by mmmguitar
In recent years, many of the Ken-era Deluxe listings I see which specify weight seem to be in excess of 5 lbs, but never more than 6 (a kitchen scale claimed that my '97 Deluxe is 5 lbs, 8 oz - two ounces heavier than my Classic from the same year).

The lightest production Fly I've seen for sale was a black '93 hardtail redwood neck Deluxe a guy on the old board tried to sell me for $2k (which I passed on because, at the time, that was double what you could find '90s Flys for on eBay). He claimed it was something like 4.1 lbs.

I recall Adrian Belew mentioning somewhere that USM managed to get his lightest signature Deluxe (with all the extra stuff inside) down to 4.5 lbs - But I've yet to bother André Cholmondeley to confirm this.

Re: Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 8:48 am
by Patzag
I've never bothered to weigh them, but my Hardtail Deluxe is significantly lighter than my Classic.

Re: Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2024 5:37 pm
by Soloaxer
Nice comparison thread, VJ!

My '99 Ruby Red Deluxe weighs in at 5.6 lbs. (without battery). My '06 Italian Plum Mojo weighs in at 6.7 lbs (with battery). My '97 Artist weighs in at just about two potato chips (scary light!).

Yes I agree, the Artist is alive with overtones taking you to dreamland with the physical resonations of those overtones transferring into your body while hearing them (whew!).

My Deluxe is bright---a real cut through the mix voice and a strong singing ring.

My Mojo has the growl of a deep, dark gutteral beast arising from the depths below to confront you with it's intimidating fullness and dark, heavy nature.

The voices are all very distinct and if you have good processors, the vast universe is at your command.

Had my Artist for sale. I decided to keep my Artist. Nothing compares.

Re: Parker Wood and Tone Comparison and Fly Model Comparison

Posted: Sat Mar 09, 2024 7:38 pm
by Patzag
Soloaxer wrote: Sat Mar 09, 2024 5:37 pm Nice comparison thread, VJ!

My '99 Ruby Red Deluxe weighs in at 5.6 lbs. (without battery). My '06 Italian Plum Mojo weighs in at 6.7 lbs (with battery). My '97 Artist weighs in at just about two potato chips (scary light!).

Yes I agree, the Artist is alive with overtones taking you to dreamland with the physical resonations of those overtones transferring into your body while hearing them (whew!).

My Deluxe is bright---a real cut through the mix voice and a strong singing ring.

My Mojo has the growl of a deep, dark gutteral beast arising from the depths below to confront you with it's intimidating fullness and dark, heavy nature.

The voices are all very distinct and if you have good processors, the vast universe is at your command.

Had my Artist for sale. I decided to keep my Artist. Nothing compares.
Could not agree more with you. Since I got my Artist, my Classic and Deluxe feel a little neglected.
I thought the honeymoon period would end. Not at all.
Yet I love all three and they are very distinct in tone. But all amazing.
As I wrote on another forum, I’ll take a Fly ( as “generic” as they can be) over a ‘59 Les Paul any day.