New to this board - longtime Parker player

[Neongreenman]

Hey all -

I didn't even know this board existed, but am excited that it does. Just found it today.

I am a long time Parker nut with a lot of history with these guitars and the brand. I also am pretty knowledgeable about models, features, materials, build quality, etc. So I am happy to be a resource if I can be of help to anyone.

Some facts about my history w Parker Guitars:

- I am from MA, and a close childhood friend's dad helped Parker with a bunch of legal counsel with they were building out the import line. So I was able to get a personal tour of the original Wilmington factory from CEO Drew Hannah. During this tour I held and played one of Ken's original Fly prototypes that was made as thin as he could possibly make it while supporting the string tension. The bridge went through the body and the strings went around small nails. The guitar probably weighed 2-2.5 lbs and was the most resonant guitar I've ever touched.
- I also met Ken several times while he was still involved, including when he spoke as a lecturer at the MFA in Boston when a Parker Artist was one of the guitars in an exhibit on the art of the guitar - I talked to him a bunch about being a metal player and shredder playing Parkers
- I had an original metallic teal classic that got destroyed and got hooked up by the dudes at the Wilmington factory to rebuild it a few years after that short-run color was discontinued. They took the electronics and hardware off the broken body, put them on a new classic body, and found an old can of the teal paint to use. They charged me their cost for this, which was like $800-1000 or something. The people at the original factory were incredibly nice. I ended up being able to go there 3-4 times total, see the entire assembly line and custom machinery, artist guitars, etc.
- My quote was featured in an original national Parker ad which showed the Artist and player quotes all around the guitar
- I have owned probably 15-16 Parkers - mostly pre-refined
- I did own a 2014 or 2015 original fly-shaped flame burst 7-string (US Music) that was their NAMM guitar all over the booth banners and such - regrettably I sold it when I lost a job and needed money. They only made a few Fly-shaped 7's and all were solid color but mine. It was amazing despite my general dislike of the US Music Parkers. I just didnt pick it up much because I dont really play 7's.
- I helped a good friend start a boutique guitar store that some of you may know and helped him onboard Parker. I watched the entire US Music saga play out and saw all of the quality, part, construction changes, etc. in real time. I would play a lot of the Parkers he got in over that time and notice things like body thickness changes, neck thickness changes, fret changes, ergonomics changes, the awful truss rod cover addition, etc. I have a lot of thoughts on things about this era that I really never see or hear people talking about online - basically the general idea being that as US Music increased price and tried to expand marketing of Parkers, they also removed all the original brilliant design components that Ken used for good reason. Example - why thicken the neck? probably because they wanted to use a shelf-ready truss rod rather than the graphite truss rods Ken used. Why thicken the body? Probably because they wanted to stop coating the backs of the bodies and necks with graphite composite. You get the idea. There were a few years there where every Parker he'd get in stock was basically a science experiment they were selling to the public for full price. Once in a while he'd get one in that felt just like a pre-refined and I'd debate buying it from him - but I was pretty broke at the time and they'd sell fast. There was a baby blue Classic and a solar flare Mojo I still wish I'd bought.
- My current Parkers are:
- 1999 Deluxe - heather gray
- 1998 Artist - butterscotch
- 2000 Classic - metallic teal - custom from Wilmington shop via my story above
- 1998 Stealth - "bronzarine" prototype - the production model is silver with black speckles. Mine is metallic-copper colored with black speckles. I have confirmation through some folks I've spoken with (who might be on this board) that Ken built this prototype and gave it to one of the people involved in the original design of the Parker bridge. I found it on eBay in like 2001 being sold by Guitar Center Boston, and that was also the same story the salesman there told me. The same person who confirmed this to me more recently told me Ken said he called the color "bronzarine"
- 2003 Mojo Flame - blue burst
- 2004 Mojo flame - red burst
- I bought my first Parker when I was 16. I've played them for 23 years. My first was the heather gray deluxe. But I have a huge thing for the 03-early 04 mojos - when they were first introduced and still made under Ken's eye in Wilmington - that is why I have two of them, and generally speaking if I get opportunities to buy more 03 or early 04 mojos, I plan to do it.
- My love of Parkers rubbed off on many friends over the years who always ended up agreeing that nothing played better. At this point I alert friends and other players to keep an eye out for the 03-04 mojos if they can.
- I have a Parker Fly tattoo

So yeah, if I can be of any help to anyone, please let me know. I will post pictures of my Parkers in the near future if there is interest. I recently moved and am setting up a new recording studio area so all my guitars are cased up right now.

[vjmanzo]

The same person who confirmed this to me more recently told me Ken said he called the color "bronzarine"

That was me! Glad we’ve found eachother again, @Neongreenman and welcome!

Thanks so much for the post—many of the sentiments you’ve noted are shared by members here and, to some extent, noted in the History thread. It’s terrific to hear about your great memories of the Wilmington days!


I’d love to see that Fly tattoo!!

[Patzag]

Awesome post.
I feel like i'm talking to my long lost brother!
welcome to the forum!

[Neongreenman]

The same person who confirmed this to me more recently told me Ken said he called the color "bronzarine"

That was me! Glad we’ve found eachother again, @Neongreenman and welcome!

Thanks so much for the post—many of the sentiments you’ve noted are shared by members here and, to some extent, noted in the History thread. It’s terrific to hear about your great memories of the Wilmington days!


I’d love to see that Fly tattoo!!

Awesome! I thought you may be here. Yeah fortunately I was able to keep the guitar. At one point I also sold my Artist to pay bills about ten years ago but my exact guitar popped up for sale from the person who bought it and I got it back.

[Neongreenman]

Awesome post.
I feel like i'm talking to my long lost brother!
welcome to the forum!

Thanks!