Parker Fly

Satchriossi · #1 02-01-2007, 04:47 PM

Hello!

Are Parker vibrato systems as useless as i'm guessing they are due to the lack of a locking nut? By useless, i mean its the sort of system a magazine would describe as 'suprisingly good' like when they describe a strat's vibrato system? Or does it magically stay in tune regardless of what gets thrown at it like a locking system? If it can't be used with as much freedom as a locking system - WHY is it there at all!? If it goes out of tune alot when used alot then it will go out of tune atleast abit when used for 'subtle vibrato' as they tend to describe it in the typical magazine article. Any loss of tuning means it's totally failed as an instrument and can't be trusted up on stage when you need absolute reliability.

I really like the look and spec of Flys and am considering blowing LOADS of cash on one, but i can't see how the vibrato system can be any good and this is completely putting me off. Can anyone comment from personal experience as to their peformance please?

Thanku

Given to Fly · #2 02-01-2007, 04:54 PM

I have just played Parkers in music stores but in my opinion they are the coolest tremelo systems around. By just rolling a dial you can have a floating trem, a fixed bridge, or a strat like tremelo. I thought that was a really cool innovation. As for tuning stability, I'm not sure since I have never played one for days on end. I imagine the tuning stays pretty close because the guitar does have locking tuners. Hopefully a Parker owner will post with some more substantial info.

**jim777** · #3 02-01-2007, 05:09 PM

The Flys have locking tuners and stay in tune very well. If your music requires you to go absolutely crazy on the bar then the Fly might not work for you, but otherwise the Fly trem is rock solid. It certainly has no problems with 'subtle vibrato'
Also, PM me before you spend LOADS of cash on one, as I may be able to help you out on that score

jim

540s · #4 02-01-2007, 05:41 PM

The Parker trem is pretty good. It holds its tune well even with fairly heavy use.

I was in love with the Fly's until I had one for awhile.. actually I still love 'em but while playing when sitting the upper horn would dig into my chest.. It actually took about a week to figure out why I had a large bruise around my left brest plate.. I thought I had something growing in there

fyrie · #5 02-01-2007, 06:35 PM

The tuning stability is pretty good on a Parker. I own a nitefly, and although it's not as good as a double locking trem, it's still pretty darn good. Case in point: Reeves Gabrels used a parker for years and he is notorious for whammy bar abuse.

David McCarroll · #6 02-01-2007, 06:55 PM

I have a Fly Classic, and the tuning stability is pretty much as good as a Floyd Rose - the Graphtek nut and locking tuners are pretty much all you need. Adrian Belew played in Sydney a couple of months ago, using a Tangerine Fly - did absolutely obscene things with the trem, and as far as I could see, he didn't have to tweak the tuning at any time over an hour and a quarter of wiggle-stick mayhem - in fact Belew's Flys are modded to give him even more up-trem than you can normally get from a Fly.

By the way, the roller wheel adjusts the spring tension, there is a little togglew switch on the back which manually changes the guitar from fixed, to floating, to down trem only. You have to keep the guitar out of your friends hands at a gig, because they all fiddle with the wheel and put the beast out of tune! Parker eventually buried the tension wheel inside the guitar after millions of complaints from music stores about noobs fiddling with the guitars!

My Fly Classic in glorious Metallic Unwashed Potato Brown (well, Parker called it Rootbeer) - lovely!

TongueShredder · #7 02-01-2007, 07:42 PM

Wow pretty cool guitar you got there David. Nice color

David McCarroll · #8 02-01-2007, 08:07 PM

Yeah, stealth machine. I lent it to our singer one night when her Fender Telecoustic commited suicide (figuring that the piezos would get her a half decent acoustic sound through the PA - correct!), forgetting that being a somewhat "visual" person, she relied on the fingerboard dots to navigate her way around the guitar. Some very odd key choices that evening!

The colour is really quite lovely, subtly metallic, and shows off the amazing contouring of the body very well - Parkers really are a fine example of just how good CNC work can actually be.

TongueShredder · #9 02-01-2007, 08:34 PM

How's the neck compared to a prestige? I might just one of these if the neck is as playable as a prestige.

540s · #10 02-02-2007, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TongueShredder

How's the neck compared to a prestige? I might just one of these if the neck is as playable as a prestige.

The necks are easily as playable as a prestige!

Demogorgos · #11 02-02-2007, 01:30 PM

I owned 2 Parkers, and they're awesome. Had to sell 'm for cash tho

I'll pick one up again for sure in the future.

Regards,

JP

**jim777** · #12 02-02-2007, 01:51 PM

The necks are very thin and fast. Here are some pics of mine as well.

jim

Satchriossi · #13 02-02-2007, 02:35 PM

Thanks for the replies!!

So its the graphtec nut that makes the difference then? Every none locking system i've ever played - including a ridiculously expensive 'vintage' strat - just went completely out of tune when i did a bit of a bar scoop to move from one note to the next, not what i'd call extreme abuse but it upset the poor little fender none the less... i have since assumed that once the strings have been dragged through the nut, the friction associated with them moving back through the nut under spring tension to return to zero point will always throw the tuning out - by which i mean, one or two strings will have gone sharp or flat ot whatever. I'm very pleased to hear the parker system is better because everything about their design seems so awesome, i'm just unsure of the vibrato system's performance and this is a very important area for me. Its very cool that you can alter the mode of the vibrato system from floating, to down only to hard tail.

Does the Parker system 'flutter' like a floyd type design when in floating mode?

That Fly in the cherry coloured finish looks FANTASTIC!

**jim777** · #14 02-02-2007, 03:07 PM

The wheel on the older Fly Deluxes allows you to adjust the tension, but I don't know if it flutters like a Floyd, exactly. For one, it's a down only trem for the most part; it doesn't allow you to pullups except of the very slightest variety. It is a great trem though.

And you can PM me about the Cherry one's availability if you want

Demogorgos · #15 02-02-2007, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim777

The wheel on the older Fly Deluxes allows you to adjust the tension, but I don't know if it flutters like a Floyd, exactly. For one, it's a down only trem for the most part; it doesn't allow you to pullups except of the very slightest variety. It is a great trem though.

And you can PM me about the Cherry one's availability if you want

If you set the wheel to "flubberish", it detunes if you abuse it. The "flubber" that can be attained is only very limited compared to that of an edge/OFR though...

Regards,

JP