NGD: Parker Fly Deluxe 1998 Emerald Green

[thraxil]

I tried one in a local guitar shop when I was about 17, and wanted one ever since. I'm sure there was a perfect time to get one when the prices bottomed out, but I totally forgot about them until seeing the guy from Summoning The Lich palying one.

Yeah, that was basically like 2008 - 2019 or so. I paid under $1k for most of mine on eBay during that time period (sometimes *well* under).

Interestingly, the guy from Akercocke played one for the longest time but when they started touring again a few years ago he was playing ESPs.

I'd be hesitent to take a Fly on tour. They're more rugged than they look, but like OP mentioned, literally every part (except some screws) other than the tuners is custom. If something breaks (eg, the trem spring), you're not likely to be able to just pop into a local guitar shop and get a replacement. I'd rock a NiteFly on tour though.

 

[Rachmaninoff]

lol, the Fly necks are thinner than any Ibanez Wizard. They're a wide and super slim C.

You said the Fly neck is 19.9mm... the Super Wizard is 17mm.

 

[MFB]

that's not too thin imo, though I have heard they are a C and not a D and I think the flat back of a D like Wizard necks make it "easier" to play thin necks

If you think 20mm is thin, just wait until you play an Ibanez with a Wizard neck.

Anyway... how's the neck profile? More of a C or D shape?

There's no way those measurements are right, they were MUCH thinner than that as I've got guitars with that, and the Parker is what feels like 1/2 that size. It's so fucking ridiculously curved, there's no shoulders at all, and barely even a middle. Wizard thickness seems appropriate, and my Jackson MT Pro neck was also very flat like the Parker was.

 

[Kyle Jordan]

It wasn't until this year that I saw Ken talking about the prototype Fly. It's absolutely ridiculous. It's like just the top of an archtop.

Watching that video and getting to the part when he jokes about sending him $5,000 nearly had me doing the Fry "Shut up and take my money" move. I really want to see what he has in mind for the non-standard magnetic pickups on it.

 

[TheUnvanquished]

That is really cool guitar. It's funny, I used to see ads for these in guitar magazines in the 90's, and I thought they were the lamest guitar in the world.

View attachment 140978

Now, I wish they were still around. Ahead of their time.

My sentiments exactly.

 

[TimSE]

you get a like for Moxy!
Ragdoll?

Yup Ragdoll! Nearly 3yr and an absolute lady killer

Congrats! I had a Fly a long time ago and wish I still had one. The Nitefly I had was also excellent.

I'd have picked up another one by now but the prices have understandably exploded on them.

Ty kindly. I got a super good deal on this one. Right place right time I think, even though it was an 11hr round trip to get it worth it for sure especially as its near mint

If you think 20mm is thin, just wait until you play an Ibanez with a Wizard neck.

Anyway... how's the neck profile? More of a C or D shape?

I actually have a J custom RG8520 on the way to me so I'll do a lil comparison when that gets here. I've had ibbys plenty before and its right up there with them but havent had my hands on one for few years so itll be good to side-by-side them.

I always wondered why that horn, which is pretty much an ergonomic design flaw in my book, made it into a guitar that was so over-engineered. It wasn't until this year that I saw Ken talking about the prototype Fly. It's absolutely ridiculous. It's like just the top of an archtop. The horn presumably doesn't dig into you because it's about as thick as a sheet of cardboard, vs. the production Fly where it curves back thick enough to dig into you.

Anyway, I also got a Fly recently. It's not my favorite guitar, but I'm finding it hard to get rid of because the thought that went into it is so evident across the entire instrument.

Yea its defo odd. Its soooo spot-on except for that. The Maxxfly/Dragon fly design makes total sense to me after playing this one

Parkers suck. Terrible guitars. No one should own them. Definitely no one should own eight of them.

Everyone who has one should sell it for cheap so someone with eight Parkers can buy more of them at a reasonable price because he still doesn't have all of the models that he wants.

Holy shit Got any family pics? What do you think of the Refined models because I think I would prefer their switch/pot layout over these Pre's layout. I keep hitting my knobs (giggidy) going to the selector toggle.

That's awesome!
HNGD!

As others, when I was younger I thought it wasn't edgy enough...now I think it's a unique guitar and it pains me that it's not around anymore

Same! took me 21 years to get hold of one after my first guitar teacher had one and thought it was super cool ever since.

I tried one in a local guitar shop when I was about 17, and wanted one ever since. I'm sure there was a perfect time to get one when the prices bottomed out, but I totally forgot about them until seeing the guy from Summoning The Lich palying one.
Interestingly, the guy from Akercocke played one for the longest time but when they started touring again a few years ago he was playing ESPs.

Yea Akercocke went super normal for whatever reason. I always liked the parker + suit look. As for the prices I got super lucky with this one and picked it up for ~ half what they are going for. The fact its in such good condition and well looked after its an amazing deal

 

[thraxil]

Holy shit Got any family pics? What do you think of the Refined models because I think I would prefer their switch/pot layout over these Pre's layout. I keep hitting my knobs (giggidy) going to the selector toggle.

Not *all* together. I've got them kind of split up. Five of them are here with me in London (1997 Artist, 1999 Classic, 2000 Stealth, a 5-string Fly Bass, and a Southern NiteFly). The rest are stored back at my Dad's place in the US (a Deluxe, Mojo Singlecut, a NiteFly-M, and an older HSS NiteFly) [crap, that's nine, not eight. No one tell my partner!]

I have this shot of the US ones plus my Southern NiteFly from my last visit back to my dad's when I took them all out for cleaning and restringing (I carried the NiteFly back to London with me). Plus an old shot of the Classic and Stealth together.





The only refined one I have in the whole collection is the Deluxe. I do agree that the electronics setup is generally an improvement. You lose a tone-control on the piezo, but I don't really care much about that and I'd rather have the push-pull pots and more robust point to point wiring (none of my ribbon cables have gone out completely but the one in the Artist is a bit flakey sometimes and eventually I'll probably try to get them all converted to P2P).

 

[narad]

Love those proper Flys!

 

[Musiscience]

Still sour about that 2017 relaunch that never happened. Hopefully someone gets the rights at some point in the future and get these back to market.

 

[TimSE]

Not *all* together. I've got them kind of split up. Five of them are here with me in London (1997 Artist, 1999 Classic, 2000 Stealth, a 5-string Fly Bass, and a Southern NiteFly). The rest are stored back at my Dad's place in the US (a Deluxe, Mojo Singlecut, a NiteFly-M, and an older HSS NiteFly) [crap, that's nine, not eight. No one tell my partner!]

I have this shot of the US ones plus my Southern NiteFly from my last visit back to my dad's when I took them all out for cleaning and restringing (I carried the NiteFly back to London with me). Plus an old shot of the Classic and Stealth together.

View attachment 141162

View attachment 141163

The only refined one I have in the whole collection is the Deluxe. I do agree that the electronics setup is generally an improvement. You lose a tone-control on the piezo, but I don't really care much about that and I'd rather have the push-pull pots and more robust point to point wiring (none of my ribbon cables have gone out completely but the one in the Artist is a bit flakey sometimes and eventually I'll probably try to get them all converted to P2P).

Oh yeaaaaa thats a killer collection! I loooove the grain on the Deluxe at the end there. Good job man

Still sour about that 2017 relaunch that never happened. Hopefully someone gets the rights at some point in the future and get these back to market.

Yea same. I certainly hope so. Way too innovative and underrated to be lost to history. Plus I want to be able to get spare parts if I need them lol

 

[BlackMastodon]

Congratulations, beautiful guitar!

Count me in the camp of folks who love everything about these guitars. I remember when I first started playing and was taking lessons, my teacher brought one in once (don't remember the exact model, but it's very similar to the one on the far left of thraxil's first pic - the natural mahogany with minimal carving) and just being distracted the entire lesson looking at it and wondering what this majestic thing was. Then when I was in a band in high school, the other guitarist got one that's actually very similar to OP's, now that I think about it.

I managed to get one in 2014 and love it. It's a fixed bridge with 2 humbuckers and piezo in majik blue, which some internet sleuthing has told me is a 1994 Deluxe model. I tried cashing in on it a year or 2 ago but couldn't stomach any of the offers and am really glad I managed to keep it. It's not in the best shape but it's such a cool guitar that I don't want to get rid of.

 

[dave_elliott]

I have the same one, same color, that I bought for nothing on ebay years ago. Amazing guitar. The neck just goes on and on with perfect action. I can see why they couldn't afford to make them but they should have, instead of producing a cheaper pseudo PF.

 

[TimSE]

Congratulations, beautiful guitar!

Count me in the camp of folks who love everything about these guitars. I remember when I first started playing and was taking lessons, my teacher brought one in once (don't remember the exact model, but it's very similar to the one on the far left of thraxil's first pic - the natural mahogany with minimal carving) and just being distracted the entire lesson looking at it and wondering what this majestic thing was. Then when I was in a band in high school, the other guitarist got one that's actually very similar to OP's, now that I think about it.

I managed to get one in 2014 and love it. It's a fixed bridge with 2 humbuckers and piezo in majik blue, which some internet sleuthing has told me is a 1994 Deluxe model. I tried cashing in on it a year or 2 ago but couldn't stomach any of the offers and am really glad I managed to keep it. It's not in the best shape but it's such a cool guitar that I don't want to get rid of.

Very cool, the hardtail versions are really rare from what I can tell. The serial number should tell you the year it was made. I think the first 3 numbers are the day of the year, then the number unit made that day, then the year followed by 2 letters for the body/neck woods used.

I have the same one, same color, that I bought for nothing on ebay years ago. Amazing guitar. The neck just goes on and on with perfect action. I can see why they couldn't afford to make them but they should have, instead of producing a cheaper pseudo PF.

Lovely stuff! yea the action is just unbelievable on these things. When I got it the action was like 4 mm high and I worried there was something wrong with it but luckily its perfect and it just needed a good setup. Its so low it almost ruins other guitars by comparison

 

[BlackMastodon]

Very cool, the hardtail versions are really rare from what I can tell. The serial number should tell you the year it was made. I think the first 3 numbers are the day of the year, then the number unit made that day, then the year followed by 2 letters for the body/neck woods used

I stand corrected, it's a '95 Fly Deluxe hardtail then!

 

[thraxil]

I remember when I first started playing and was taking lessons, my teacher brought one in once (don't remember the exact model, but it's very similar to the one on the far left of thraxil's first pic - the natural mahogany with minimal carving) and just being distracted the entire lesson looking at it and wondering what this majestic thing was

That would be the NiteFly-M then. (there's also a NiteFly Mojo which is very similar, just with a glossier finish and Seymour Duncan pickups and pickup rings). The NiteFly-M was my first Parker and the only one that I bought brand new at retail price (about $1400 at the time, a huge investment for me); all my others I picked up used. Still one of my faves and a candidate for "most versatile production guitar ever made".

 

[TimSE]

That would be the NiteFly-M then. (there's also a NiteFly Mojo which is very similar, just with a glossier finish and Seymour Duncan pickups and pickup rings). The NiteFly-M was my first Parker and the only one that I bought brand new at retail price (about $1400 at the time, a huge investment for me); all my others I picked up used. Still one of my faves and a candidate for "most versatile production guitar ever made".

I've no first hand time with a Nitefly or a mojo. Glad to hear they stand up. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for Maxxfly 7 string from now on. Absolutely on my bucket list now

 

[thraxil]

I was moving stuff around today and thought I'd take a group shot of the UK half of the collection.

 

[TimSE]

I was moving stuff around today and thought I'd take a group shot of the UK half of the collection.View attachment 142478

Damn man that's a helluva collection you got going on there

 

[Jamiecrain]

Best guitars ever. They should still exist…perhaps one day.

7 string Parker is my profile pic.

 

[ctgblue]

I had one for a short period in 1998, a '97 deluxe mahogany, looked exactly like this one. Sold it for about $2k, now they're asking stupid money for them.

I was gigging and using Jacksons/Ibanez 24 fret models.
The pickups sounded really weak and nobody wanted to try and change them due to the intricate wiring setup. the trem was not as resilient as the floyd/edge units I used - really used. I also felt like I was gonna break it when I would 'dig in' on a solo. Wish I'd have kept it, but long gone.
Enjoy it, seemed well built and fun, just wasn't what I needed, with limited budget.