Was This Guitar So Ugly The Company Went Out Of Business? 

Great testament! I can totally see Phil operating exactly like that. Our local music stores were all the opposite, more like "LOOK BUT DONT TOUCH AND GET OUTTA MY YARD KID...".😂. Which is also why, the second we turned 16 and could drive, we ditched all of those stores and drove to places 2-3 hrs away to play and buy our gear. This was 20 yrs before any Internet... We figured out where the cool stores were strictly by word of mouth. You met a guy who knew a guy whose dad worked with a guy in a band and he bought his guitar at "X" 150 miles away. Saturday morning we were there checking it out😅. Barely enough money for gas,we were tire-kickers most of the time. Until we weren’t.

You can just tell he's a good guy, but your story just confirms it. I used to just be a player that never wanted to tinker or learn how to fix things, but he has led me by example and gotten me interested through his passion and knowledge. Very well done Philip.

What a cool story! Rock on Brother!

Go Phil! See I knew he was a superhero!

wait, our Phil? He used to kick me and throw things at me, lol. Just kidding, Hes a superhero

Headless guitars are awesome.

Nitefly mojo was my favorite of all the Parker instruments. For some reason I never got on with the full fledged fly body

@@BitMatt1 i have two headless strandbergs and two headless kiesels, i'd rather change strings on a floyd rose guitar with a headstock than a fixed bridge headless guitar, but maybe that's just me

Parker is still around making guitars.

@@matthewf1979 Only in name, they have nothing to do with the original Parkers

I had three of those , I also love them.

I never played one, but it was the cost imo. I think everyone would rather have an american fender.

I was waiting for you to comment or someone to mention you in the comments! 🤩

I was wondering how long it would take you to see this. 😆

@@Mechagnostic same lol

But the tone on these things sucks!! Parkers just don't have the balls and character of an EVH or really 100s of other guitars.

Hey Andre, was watching the video and thought you would be the ideal person to comment here! I disagree with Phil, what killed Parker guitars, here in Europe, was the price and the rarety of it. I only saw one or two, during the ninetees. I love the design and all the futuristic specs it had, but couldn't afford one , by that time.

Totally agree. In a sea of guitars that look all too familiar, the Parker's really stand out. IMO.

Yep agreed. It was a phenomenal guitar too.

Love the fly. It loves you back!

Nah man they ugly af

i agree, i have a 97, plays so well

CA guitars what happened?

@@MrCyrusorleans Hi Bernie, After Hurricane Katrina,it took a good 18 months to get production running again. With all the Venture Capitalist invested in the company they probably decided to cut their losses. I worked directly with Ellis, the founder and President of CA Guitars, in Engineering and Product Development. Ellis licensed the technology to Peavey after that. They were still doing the Cargo Guitar up until Peavey pulled out of Mississippi. Not sure what they are doing with it overseas Now. We were way ahead of our time with the CA.

Archtops? I am considering buying one; I played an old ES335 I like, and PRS has a new one the sounds really good. How do I find out more about Ken's archtops? Thanks a lot -Jeff, retired Mechanical Engineer.

@@JeffMountainPicker just search Ken Parker guitars

Yep,me too. I wanted one but couldn’t justify paying the price for the nitefly and not getting the specs I wanted for the price I was paying. I ended up getting an E.S.P. L.T.D. with everything I wanted for a decent price

Yup, I thought they were a bit pricey for what they were.

Expensive? Doesn’t seem to bother Gibson.

@@stockholm1752 Parker Fly doesn't have as widespread of a potential user base as Gibson...

i find the travel guitars to be ugly since you get well nothing except a stick with knobs

same! and I bought a Parker fly classic when I could finally afford one :)

@@DD1072goos for you buddy. someone offered me a nitefly few months after my wedding. Too bad I have limited funds. But im still searching for a nitefly.

Yep, me too

I finally bought my dream Parker pre-refined last year. 95 Makik Blue Deluxe hardtail

Same, 👍my 99 Fly is green, 98 Nitefly is pearl white😍 Love them & You won't regret getting one

I also have a pre-refined Fly Deluxe, it's the one guitar I would never sell. It's my dream guitar and regardless of what most people think of the body shape, I think they're beautiful.

@@visionsofbeyond9095 I totally agree. I just got mine last year and love it. Don’t sell it! They are going for a lot now but they will only be more expensive and harder to get moving forward. I agree I don’t care what anyone says they are beautiful works of art!

@@fibonacho Nice! That's an old one. Mine is a 95 Majik blue Deluxe hardtaile version

Iv got a refined fly deluxe, the thing is impeccably perfect.

I have many US made, costly guitars. The Fly Classic stands alone.

Stop lying louis I remember you saying they sucked.

Literally? boooooooo

I remember those ads with Reeves Gabrels in all the guitar magazine and thinking that he looked like someone from the future. At the time I was around 17, and by the time I could actually afford one many years later, they were already hard to find.

i was going to say, Adrian Belew

I saw Bowie at Phoenix Festival , UK in 1996 and I remember Reeves playing a white one I think. "Hallo Spaceboy" was heavier than Slayer!

Reeves played Steinbergers in Tin Machine. He started playing Parkers on "Outside" I think. By "Earthling" he was playing a NiteFly that he painted himself.

They were crazy expensive (for me at least) as a teenager in the 90s, maybe the used market can be an option now 🤔

I always thought it's it own classic look especially with that pickguard.

That's how my Fly † does it. There are two jacks at the bottom, with a button next to them (not on the face of the guitar). The button switches the jacks between _One off / one stereo_ and _Both on / both mono_ I made a 25-foot insert cable (the longest I could find at the time was 10 or 12 feet) to run the guitar to both my amp and a D.I. for the PA. Haven't played it in a long time, but it's a great guitar. † ("standard" Fly--not a NiteFly)

Disengage the Simulator.

CKY and Adam D of Killswitch Engage is how I stumbled upon this guitar aswell

He borrowed the guitar. After rehearsal he left it plugged in not knowing that would drain the batt. When performance time came the batt was dead and Tim didnt know what happened. The shows drummer had the parker guitar in the dressing room.

Yes, should be there for at least a day. I was planing on stopping by the Solar, Delicious Audio booth

30 years later you still have most luthiers refusing to work with steel frets because it wears out tools quicker.

@@guyincognito320 They should up their game.

I never found them ugly. My only complaint is the horn that can dig into your chest but I eventually adjusted to that.

@@roberteltze4850 Yeah, sitting... amazing stage guitars because of the incredible lack of weight!

And Mark Farner has been playing one for years

I agree. I have a cheaper p44, but it's wood grain w/two humbuckers and it's one of the best looking Parkers, I think. Plays like a dream.

Exact same story here. Really wanted one back in high school but obviously couldn't afford it back then. Looked again and...still can't afford it now.

You need strandberg in your life

I own both as well. Plus a JP6. All fantastic guitars, but the Parker is easiest to play. Their mantra "Nothing plays like a Parker" is no BS.

False equivalency logical fallacy: Weight, stiffness, strength, density, flexibility, malleability, pressure resistance... are all different physical properties, where one doesn't make, nor rule out the other. Although many dense materials are heavy, it doesn't mean they are strong, or stiff... and you can have a light weight but highly dense material too, and one that is either flexible, or stiff... Take a Carbon fiber rod at the very same dimensions of a steel rod: The carbon fiber rod is stiffer, where as the steel rod is more flexible, and so the steel rod will bend and return to shape, but if bent too far, stay bent for also being malleable where the carbon fiber is less flexible, not mailable at all, and always returns to the same shape after bending . On the other hand the carbon fiber after bending a certain amount will snap and break. In either case though, if in a guitar neck, and you bend one with either that far that the steel will misshape, or the CF break, the wood is busted beyond repair anyhow, or you rip out the bolts holding it to the body... The carbon fiber is stronger by roughly 10%, but almost 100x lighter in weight than the steel, is a little less dense, and doesn't rust either, and because it isn't as flexible as steel, it makes for better tuning stability and sustain. Also: When used for neck reinforcements to get better stability from warping and in tuning, steel can add up to neck dive where with CF it's much less likely. A lighter guitar is a big plus if you play 45 minute sets or longer, as it doesn't do a number on your shoulders, neck or back, and Parker's were very light. Parkers are great guitars, and if you dress like an alien 👽while playing one, the shape isn't all that odd!😜 Look up the guitars Steve Cline used to make in the 80's (and may still make). He was all about ergonomics and not wanting to be in everyone else's box.

Truly mind-boggling logic. Yours is the superior intellect...

@@howardthrust I didn't write that to show off my intellect, but to tell you you were looking at it the wrong way. I did although study engineering, and have been building guitars for 4+ decades. Longevity/decay rates is of course a factor with any material but again, weight is not the determining factor. When someone corrects you on things that are not mere matters of opinion, they are not attacks, but attempts to share knowledge. If you see them as attacks, rather than learning opportunities, you are not doing yourself any favors. Sure, had I called you stupid or similar as some people may do, it would have been an attack, but even then the information may still be valid, and they are just dicks in conveying it. Logical fallacies are also not attacks by nature, but a big part of the study of philosophy, more specifically "the rules of logic" as used in epistemology (How we derive knowledge). They are just short descriptive terms so one can spot them in ones self (Self improvement) and in others when in debate or argumentation..., and convey them by name, instead of having to write whole paragraphs or essays.

Check out "shatnershairpiece" on RU-vid. He's a Canadian from Vancouver who has a Parker Fly and can really make it sing.

Yeah, I have my Fly Deluxe, (2003?) pure white, light as a feather, and I still play it every day. I love the feel, the tone, and the action. I played with a band for a couple of years with, after a nasty back injury; if I'd been slinging a Les Paul, I'd have been crippled. The super light-weight Fly was no problem. Cheers

So visionary nobody uses them anymore.

They didn't come out until 1993

​@@DanielBerzerk Oops, my bad, give or take a few years...

But you also are afraid to play it? What is the point in havin it if you're afraid from scratching a guitar you'll never sell?

@thefactorypilot145 it's a boomer thing.

"The playability is off the charts." "It has about 2 hours play time on it" ok...

You are wasting a beautiful guitar. It is a tool to make music with. It is made to be played. You are probably missing out big time.

weight is the reason I walk out of the house with my Southern Nitefly when its a 3-4 set gig. piezo acoustic and straight electric sounds make for a fun gig...