P 38
 

Hey! Nice to see a Parker forum finally available somewhere...feel somewhat sheepish christening the thing with my measly little post about the "budget" Parker, but a Parker's a Parker, right? Right?

Well, actually, that's my question...anybody played one of these yet? Our local stores don't seem to interested in getting any in anytime soon, but I'm curious as to others impressions of this instrument...nothing unrealistic, like "Does it compare to the more expensive model?" because I know it can't, but looking for general impressions.

Thanks, and thanks for the new forum!

Paul

Greetings, Paul! Welcome to the Forum. It's brand new as you can tell, and I hope that you'll spread the word!

Regarding the Parker Fly, I'm assuming that you're talking about the new P-38 model. I've never played it personally, but it looks a lot like the Parker Nitefly, adding some cost-lowering items like maple/rosewood neck instead of the composite covered neck of the NiteFly and the Fly deluxe. I used to own a Parker Nitefly, and wasn't terribly happy with it. The action was terrible and my tech never could get it right. I sold it and bought a Parker Fly Deluxe and have been very happy with it for the most part.

I wouldn't recommend buying a lower-end Parker. If that's the price range you want, I'd strongly recommend the Godin LGX, LGXT, LGX-III, or LGX-SA instead. The L.R. Baggs pickups offer a much more realistic acoustic tone, and the Seymour Duncan pickups are first-rate.

The magic of the Parker in my opinion, can only be found on the Fly Deluxe and higher models. The guitar weighs just a few pounds, and plays like a dream. I call it my alien guitar, because it's unlike any other guitar. I've had some realiability problems that I could go into detail about, but I'm confident that Parker has fixed a lot of problems that they've had in the past. I REALLY like the Parker Fly and would highly recommend it. It's a pretty special guitar, and if you play one you'll know what I mean.

Thanks and come back often!

J.R.

Thanks JR, and, yeah, that's pretty much what I thought...if I want a real Parker, I guess I gotta spend the dough. I do a lot of home recording of new age instrumentals, and one of the Fly's seems like the perfect studio guitar for that purpose...

I have a LR Baggs bridge that I just installed on my Strat, but haven't played with it too much...

Ok, now I have to make that choice, feed the 10 month old, or buy a Parker...hmmm...

http://taylorforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

Paul

Hehe! Yeah, it's a tough choice - feeding the kids or buying the Parker. http://taylorforum.com/ubb/smile.gif But seriously, I've seen them sell for around $1000 on Ebay, which is a quite a discount from new. However, if you're into recording new age instrumentals (I am too!), I'd suggest going with the LGX-SA and a Roland VG-88 or GR-33... or Both. I paid just over $1000 for my LGX-SA new, and it interfaces really well with the VG-88. Since I got into synth guitar, it has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities for me. I love experimenting with the different sounds, and "building new guitars" with the VG-88. All in all, you could pick up a new GR-33 and the LGX-SA for less than you'd spend on the Fly alone.

I've never tried the MIDI Fly... I'll bet that's a lot of fun.

J.R.

JR, I can already tell this is going to be a dangerous board to visit...dangerous as in "expensive" http://taylorforum.com/ubb/smile.gif...I've thought about guitar synths, but had never had the chance to try one...the local stores never have them set up properly and seem to lack the sales knowledge to convince me to buy one.

You write new age instrumentals too? Do you have a site or something where I could hear your works? I'd like that a lot. My site is linked in my profile.

Maybe I'll take this over to the "synth" forum...sheesh...first thread in the Parker forum and already it's off topic! Guess that shoots my chances at a moderator's job! http://taylorforum.com/ubb/frown.gif

Paul

Hey, Paul. This is a super-dangerous board run by a long-time G.A.S. sufferer. http://taylorforum.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Synth guitar is a lot of fun, but you're right, you really need to hear a good setup. There's a Roland VG-8 mailing list that talks a lot about this stuff at: www.vg-8.com

I don't have any of my music up yet, unfortunately. I'll try to put something up in the next month or so.

Cheers!
J.R.

test

I am going to respectfully disagree regarding the Nitefly. I recently bought an early version (no preamp) for $450. The guitar plays incredibly well and I prefer it over the Fly Deluxe models I've tried for a few reasons.

First, I prefer the Deluxe's extreme light weight, but the Nitefly is not a heavy guitar.

I hate the neck profile of the Deluxe. Wide and thin. Like an 80s Charvel. I could live with it, but it's certainly not my choice. The neck on my Nitefly feels SO much better and NORMAL http://taylorforum.com/ubb/smile.gif. The bolt neck joint is actually pretty nicely done too.

Ok, pickups. I prefer the s/s/h configuration of my Nitefly with the 5 way over the h/h w/ 3 way on the Deluxe. The Deluxe gives you good choices, but I prefer the Nitefly setup.

The bridge feels great on both, but I admit I like the whammy design on the Deluxe better. That single spring is fantastic whereas the regular multi fender type springs on the Nitefly are just, um... so retro. (GRIN).

Acoustic sound: It's not bad. I get some great sounds going into either a Nitemix or my Baggs PARA DI and then into an Ultrasound acoustic guitar amp (www.ultrasound.com).

Feel: I don't have any problems with action or playability on my Nitefly. Setup seems pretty standard to me and I like the way the truss rod adjustment is setup just like my Musicman Silhouette.

I think a used Nitefly is one hell of a bargain. I wouldn't buy a new one for $950. For that, I'd get a used Deluxe (if I liked the neck) or some other alternative.

I also have a Shadow that does the acoustic thing well and I have a nice Fender Japanese Tele (sweet looking fancy model) w/ a Fishman Powerbridge that I use. Picked that up for $250 at a guitar show. Gonna use the Nitefly and Tele at my gig tonight. Fun for everyone! Especially me (GRIN).

Here's an in-depth review of the new axe:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Reviews/Parker_P38/

OK, I finally got to play one of these newfangled axes at a local shop a couple of days ago. Here's my take. Now I'm admittedly not a major Parker fan in the first place, but I must say, I liked the new one alot, in fact, I liked it better than any of the high end Parkers I have played over the years.

Why? The maple w/rosewood neck, primarily. It feels real and it is real. I like it much better than the ersatz carbon fiber material-covered higher end neck.

I barely resisted not buying the one I tried. $600, hey, that's cheap for what you're getting, but my wife would have killed me and frankly I couldn't have justified it myself, considering I have 10 guitars already, including a Godin LGX-SA (also w/piezos).