Parker Fly Deluxe

For guitars of the straight waisted variety (or reverse offset).
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Jazz Master
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Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Jazz Master » Thu May 19, 2022 9:14 pm

I bought a busted Parker Fly Deluxe for $30, It was missing a bunch of parts & had a huge hole in the face of the guitar
I saw the prospect of repairing it or just selling the parts as these are worth a small fortune now days
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Routed the face to accept a patch made from poplar = the wood the guitars body is made from & glued it in a sanded it all smooth & have it all but ready to spray the paint
Also ordered & found all the parts including the ever elusive .009" tremolo spring which cost me $100
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Here's the patch I fashioned from a piece of poplar
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The routed hole ready to be filled
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After gluing patch in & filling curvature
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As it sits currently waiting for me to fix horn tip with epoxy & fiberglass & get the paint
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The 1st fret was loose & these are glued on with CA Glue = no fret tang
I removed it totally cleaned it up & clamped it back with a 14" caul & glued with #10 Stew-Mac Glue = 100% Perfect now...

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marqueemoon
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by marqueemoon » Thu May 19, 2022 10:00 pm

I love it! Great work so far.

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Scout
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Scout » Fri May 20, 2022 4:29 am

Nicely done! Perfect thread for the mods and project section.

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antisymmetric
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by antisymmetric » Fri May 20, 2022 1:12 pm

Scout wrote:
Fri May 20, 2022 4:29 am
Nicely done! Perfect thread for the mods and project section.

^^As above. I've always been fascinated by these since reading Ken Parker's explanation of them when they were released. Very keen to see your progress on this. 8)
Watching the corners turn corners

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Jazz Master
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Jazz Master » Fri May 20, 2022 4:23 pm

What's really crazy is this guitar was found sticking out of a garbage can here in town by the garbage men
They have brought me several projects that litter my basement shop where I work on Guns & Guitars..
Here are some of them in this photo, all except the Jackson DK2M Pile-O-Skulls
This room is off from my laundry furnace room & used to fold my laundry on this table
Now it's a guitar repair workbench & has a padded vise on the center leaf & tools are mostly underneath & scattered everywhere
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This Parker Fly Deluxe is a super high end guitar & has many great features & feels amazing in the hands
Going to do a repaint of the Dusty Black which has a lot of metal flake
Need to get to the local auto paint store & source the paint, BTW I used to be an autobody repairman in the 80s & early 90s
NOTE: The lower horn was busted & has epoxy applied ready to be sculpted
It also has electrical issues but I will get that sorted out, I even found a used Fishman control board on a piece of wall art @ a Local Guitar store
This guitar is wasted BUT the neck is worth buying for a Parker Nightfly project, It has a radial bolt on neck pocket that is rounded like a baseball bat in it's pocket & has a carbon fiber covered neck
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Mark FIX THIS!!

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Jazz Master
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Jazz Master » Fri May 20, 2022 5:13 pm

I just noted by looking at that photo above that that guitar has one of the polymer strap buttons that I need = OH YEAH!!
Need to go by there soon anyway
I buy all my strings there + other things = YEAH!!

Guitar Emporium at Maxwell's House of Music in Jeffersonville Indiana
https://www.maxwellshouseofmusic.com/

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sessylU
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by sessylU » Sat May 21, 2022 8:07 am

I've always had a soft spot for these. I think that I "discovered" them at a particular time. There was a review of one of them in one of the first guitar magazine's I owned, before I knew what guitars my heroes played or had developed any aesthetic sense related to the instrument. These sort of "snuck in" before I became more discerning. I probably would have hated them if I'd discovered them when I was seventeen or so, but when I was twelve, they seemed cool.
a total idiot jackass

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Unicorn Warrior
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Sat May 21, 2022 8:34 am

Are these the high end Parkers? I’ve not played many guitars that I liked more. I’ve only ever had one in my hand, and it was so light weight and felt like butter to play. I’ll never forget that.

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marqueemoon
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by marqueemoon » Sat May 21, 2022 9:19 am

sessylU wrote:
Sat May 21, 2022 8:07 am
I've always had a soft spot for these. I think that I "discovered" them at a particular time. There was a review of one of them in one of the first guitar magazine's I owned, before I knew what guitars my heroes played or had developed any aesthetic sense related to the instrument. These sort of "snuck in" before I became more discerning. I probably would have hated them if I'd discovered them when I was seventeen or so, but when I was twelve, they seemed cool.
I had to look it up, but the first Fly models came out in 1993 and maybe explains why they were not more popular. I first tried one in the late 90’s at the now-defunct downtown Seattle GC. One of the most effortless to play guitars I have ever tried, but also very clear and even sounding. Almost synth-like.

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Jazz Master
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Jazz Master » Sat May 21, 2022 3:32 pm

Unicorn Warrior wrote:
Sat May 21, 2022 8:34 am
Are these the high end Parkers? I’ve not played many guitars that I liked more. I’ve only ever had one in my hand, and it was so light weight and felt like butter to play. I’ll never forget that.
The Parker Fly was the high end model
There was also a Nightfly
The Deluxe was the Poplar body with Basswood neck = BP
There where many models but the Nightfly had a bolt on neck & the Fly had the neck thru with the thinnest neck joint ever made, The rear of the entire body/neck + headstock are coated with carbon fiber then baked in a pizza oven for two hours while being in a vacuum bag during the process
Ken Parked said these were $10,000 guitars being sold for $2000, Larry Fishman was Ken Parker's partner & responsible for the electronics
The early Fly's had ribbon cables in the body & later "Refined" models had normal wiring
The 2007 Deluxe I have has the normal wiring & Piezo pickups in the bridge saddles
Have a look at what these sell for now days on eBay & Reverb still $2000+
I stole this guitar for $30 & at the time thought about parting the husk out on eBay but thought with my autobody experience + wood working skills & guitar repair experience I could repair it into a 100% playing beast, I have maybe $200 invested because that unobtanium spring cost me $100 by itself

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Jazz Master
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Jazz Master » Sat May 21, 2022 6:54 pm

Here's the control board I got out of the smashed Nightfly on the wall at the Local Guitar shop
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Here is a Brian Moore iGuitar i2000 1.13 we found at the very same pawn shop the Fender jazz master is coming from
It has a 13 pin midi output that connects to our Roland GR-55 = super fine guitar for $400 OTD, It's hard case is worth $200
I just got in 12 fender springs to go under the trem bar & a black tip for the gold trem bar = tomorrow...
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Veitchy
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Veitchy » Sun May 22, 2022 3:14 pm

sessylU wrote:
Sat May 21, 2022 8:07 am
I've always had a soft spot for these. I think that I "discovered" them at a particular time. There was a review of one of them in one of the first guitar magazine's I owned, before I knew what guitars my heroes played or had developed any aesthetic sense related to the instrument. These sort of "snuck in" before I became more discerning. I probably would have hated them if I'd discovered them when I was seventeen or so, but when I was twelve, they seemed cool.
Same for me.

They really seemed like a proper 'blank slate' design that so rarely seems to happen with guitars nowadays. If you dig thin, fast necks they're meant to play incredibly nicely - never seen one in the flesh.

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Jazz Master
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Jazz Master » Fri May 27, 2022 12:40 pm

Replacing the bearings for the tremolo unit on the Parker Fly Deluxe
Mike @ WI-Guitar sent the four little bearings & they came in the package they have been in for the last 10+ years
Marked R2-ZZ(V1) Googles as a Bearing for a Fishing Real Made in China R2-2RS, R2-ZZ Ball Bearings,
1/8x3/8x5/32 [0.125" ID x 0.375 OD x 0.1562" W]

In the first photos I show how I removed them from the pins & re-installed them + oiled them with gun oil
100% Perfect fit in all three dimensions
Thanks Mike!
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Jazz Master
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Jazz Master » Sat May 28, 2022 4:04 am

Back to the Brian Moore iGuitar 1.13
Have a look at it's shape & contour
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13 Pin Midi Out that now goes to a Roland GR-55
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Re: Parker Fly Deluxe

Post by Jazz Master » Mon May 30, 2022 3:13 am

More Sanding & another problem
The thick paint on the side of the neck where the fret position markers are was cracked loose so I took a razor & snapped the paint off, also note cracks in the top from an impact I assume, you can see were the carbon fiber starts & is loose a small amount there
Plan on using CA Glue there to affix the Carbon Fiber back on really good & sanding till my fingers hurt
Also on the fingerboards treble side at the 10th-14th frets there is a similar problem were the neck was hit & tiny pieces of the carbon fiber are gone & will also need CA Glue & filling sanding
Started to sculp the lower horn that was also snapped off with Epoxy
Also wiped the bare wood with Timer Mate to fill the grain of the exposed wood on the body & patch
Removed the Sperzel Tuners & now the body is totally stripped
Noticed many more divots & marks in the paint all over the body, there is one in the back that went through the carbon fiber & will fill it with CA Glue as it will affix the fiber & fill at the same time, others need feathering out to disappear
Going up to Kroger to get some breakfast, it's after 7:00am already
Won't get much time today as there is the Memorial Day visits to the grave yards & put flags on Veterans graves
Then there is that Primus Concert in Louisville KY Tonight to see Les Claypool aka Mr. Krinkle
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