Who owns a Parker and a Jem?

[Josh Blagg]

I was hoping for a good comparison from an owner of both instruments, as I will most likely be going with one or the other. *The Fly is my top choice right now because of the playability of the guitar. *Once I picked one up, I absolutely could not put it down until the guitar store closed. *And no, it doesn't break my ribcage...consider me blessed or something.

[Josh Blagg]

Let me just add that I know all the technical specs of the guitars. *I was just looking for a "Well, I like this about this one and I don't like this about that one..." type of answer.

[bduersch]

For a brief period of time I owned a Jem-BSB and a Parker Fly Classic (and I currently have a VWH and a DBK), so I can give some perspective.

Cons of the Fly:
1. The Fly's neck is SO thin, that after long periods of playing my hand would cramp up. Could just be me.
2. For a guitar of that size/weight, the Fly has decent tone. But, to me, it still was somewhat like playing a piece of cardboard with piezos. It never had quite enough sustain and crunch for me.
3. The location of the upper strap pin drives me nuts... the body isn't thick enough to put dunlop straploks on (which would be poking into your chest if you did install them), and if you tilt the guitar at the wrong angle it's really easy to yank the strap right off.

Pros of the Fly:
1. The piezos are better, IMHO, than the piezos installed on the Ibanez double edge guitars. There's much more flexibility with switching and tone controls.
2. Though not a lo-pro edge, the tuning stability of the Parker trem, graphite nut, and locking tuners is EXCELLENT.

Given a choice, I'd take a Jem any day of the week. Not necessarily because I'm a gigantic Vai fan or Ibanez freak, but just because the variety of tones are better suited for my style of playing.

Tip: Consider buying a used Parker... seems like they're always up on Harmony Central and e-bay. They're hard to resell, so you may be able to get a good deal.

--B

[Josh Blagg]

I'm definately taking the used route...the new ones are way too much.

I would never complain of a neck being TOO thin, but that is because I am sitting here with a vintage strat shaped neck in my hand...

Also, have you tried different pickups with the Fly? *The first thing I will do is change the pickups...I don't like the ones they use because of the ceramic magnets.

My favorite things about the guitar are the neck and the neck/body joint.

[darren wilson]

I've got a Parker Fly Classic (but no JEMs) and it's the most incredible guitar i've ever played. The only thing i don't like about it too much is the painted neck... i much prefer the feel of oiled maple.

The stainless steel frets are brilliant and the tones and textures of the guitar are plenty versatile for me. And yes, the neck/body joint (what little there is of one) is amazing... most neck-through bodies are like that, but because the body of the Parker is so thin, the neck just disappears into the body.

The pickups could stand to be a bit more warm and punchy, but they are very nicely balanced with the incredible-sounding piezos. (The neck pickup is based on the Air Norton and the bridge pickup is based on the Tone Zone.)

If you're going to replace the pickups, you're either going to have to do some routing on the body or get custom-wound pickups from DiMarzio. The Fly's pickups are mounted a little unconventionally... they don't have the "ears" that the mounting screws go into as on most humbuckers. Two of the pole pieces are actually the mounting screws that go directly into the wood.

[Christopher Chen]

Darren, I love your guitar, it's beautiful.

After seeing your guitar last year during that time you posted the pics, I was inspired to try a Parker....ESPECIALLY A BLUE ONE! Yeap remember I love my guitars BLUE too.

I love it....the feel of a Parker is entirely different from that of a jem. Seriously. I don't think there is any basis on which one could compare them by. The only thing that was a set back was the parker trem. Going without the lo pro and being unable to have that versatility of dive bombing and other crazy whammy bar effects can be quite of a downside to some.

But for me it's the sheer feel and tone of the parker that makes up for it. I love the piezos!!! Shortly after trying the parker I checked out Ibanez's double edge...the edge is no where near that of the parker.

They are trully beautiful guitars, anyone who has the means to get one should just go ahead! But a downside is the high prices. And also they're pretty fragile. Little knocks which a normal guitar would be able to take, the parker can't. The finish is pretty fragile.

But on the whole lovely guitar.

Go get one!

And a jem too!!! :biggrin:

Chris.

[Josh Blagg]

That is weird about the pickups...I contacted Parker and they said I could replace the pickups with any standard sized humbucker, as long as they werent active (active pickups like EMG would fry the piezo's circuit).

Anyway, the first thing I noticed when I played a Parker unplugged was that the notes are much more balanced than on any other guitar I have ever touched. *Plus, the playability was unparalleled. *I agree about not being able to the crazy dive bombs and such...I wish they would release one with a Floyd Rose...but I doubt it happens -- Ken seems pretty set on the design.

For Darren...How low can you get your action without buzzing?

[darren wilson]

Probably couldn't tell you exactly how low i could get it... i prefer having the notes ring true rather than have the absolute lowest-possible action. But right now, the action is around 2mm or so at the 12th fret, and it plays clean and clear across the whole neck.

[Josh Blagg]

Do you know where I can hear some good lead playing out of a Parker Fly? *I'm not real sure of who uses one other than Phil Keaggy and Reeves Gabrels, and then I am not even sure which tunes have good lead playing in them.