Parker Guitars

Parker Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses, started by luthier Ken Parker in the early 90s. Most Famous for making the Parker Fly

Beginning in a workshop in Rochester, New York Parker designed and crafted electric guitars without depending on the examples of traditional acoustic and electric guitar design.Fact|date=February 2008

Contrasts between his guitars and others include :::Thin, lightweight guitars, generally made from lighter woods like poplar, Basswood, spruce, and Maple (although there is a mahogany Fly which is still fairly light).:: Use of composite materials (resin and carbon glass skin reinforce a thin carved body and neck.::Composite fingerboards with stainless steel frets vs. wood fingerboards with nickel-brass frets.::Integrated use of coil tapped humbuckers and piezo pickups with active electronics.::Ergonomic body design.::Adjustable, lockable floating bridge.

2003 was the last year of the old Flys, with the balance wheel on the face of the guitar and the 4 knob setup. In 2003 the Fly was "refined" with a new control layout consisting of a master volume, a master tone [coil tap function is on this control as well] and a master volume for the piezo

In 2004 the company was sold to U.S. Music Corporation based in Illinois. Manufacturing also moved to Mundelein, IL in 2004. The Parker custom shop opened, at the Washburn factory, in 2005. Import production moved from the Cort factory in China, to the Nova factory, also in China, after the completion of the buyout. (Due to an agreement with Korg, who was infusing money into Parker, prior to U.S. Music Corp.) Since 2002, Parker has also produced the Fly bass guitar, in both 4-string and 5-string versions. The 5-strings are noted for their ease of use for 4-string players, both with respect to weight and string spacing. As with other Parker guitars, they offer both magnetic and piezoelectric pickups, with the ability to blend the two.

In late 2006, Ken Parker, who had been in seeming absentia since selling Parker guitars, surfaced with a new take on archtop guitars. Ken Parker currently builds only custom guitars. [http://www.kenparkerarchtops.com/ Ken Parker Archtops] Fact|date=February 2008

Players include Adrian Belew, Vernon Reid, members of Killswitch Engage, Vince Genella, Saul Zonana, and Deron Miller. As of late, Parker has released several special edition Flys. There has been the Fly Mojo Snakeskin where a stock Fly Mojo was covered in snakeskin. Also were the 4 seasons Fly Mojos which were Mojos made corresponding to the season. Also released under the select series was the koa Fly Mojo.

New production and design is currently lead by Terry Atkins, of Gibson custom shop fame. (As well as Tacoma Guitars, and Jackson.) Terry has made several dynamic changes to the design of the flagship Fly model. Including updating the truss rod without sacrificing the weight or the feel of the guitar, and refining the hands on process to build these instruments.

Current Model Line-Up

Parker Select Series:
* Fly Bronze
* Fly Nylon (Spanish Fly)
* Fly Artist
* Fly SupremeOther USA models:
* Parker Fly Mojo - their flagship model
* Parker Fly Deluxe
* Parker Fly ClassicBolt on USA models:
* Parker Nitefly Classic
* Parker Nitefly Swamp Ash
* Parker Nitefly MojoNew and Other Models:
* Adrian Belew signature model
* Parker SC and SC Mojo- the single-cut version of the fly
* Parker PM-Series - Parker's import models
* Parker P-Series acoustics and electric acoustics
* Parker P-Basses

External links

* [http://www.parkerguitars.com/ Parker Guitars]
* [http://www.myspace.com/parkerguitars/ Parker on myspace]