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| Parker Fly | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Manufacturer | Parker Guitars |
| Period | 1993–2016 |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Solid Double Cut |
| Neck joint | Set |
| Scale | 25.5" |
| Woods | |
| Body | Various tone woods with a carbon fibre exoskeleton |
| Neck | Various tone woods with a carbon fibre exoskeleton |
| Fretboard | Carbon Fibre |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Fishman piezo vibrato bridge |
| Pickup(s) | 2 splitable Humbuckers 1 single coil 1 piezo |
| Colors available | |
| Various | |
The Parker Fly was a model of electric guitar built by Parker Guitars. It was designed by Ken Parker and Larry Fishman, and first produced in 1993. The Fly is unique among electric guitars in the way it uses composite materials. It is notable for its light weight (4.5 lb; 2.0 kg) and resonance. It was also one of the first electric guitars to combine traditional magnetic pickups with piezoelectric pickups, allowing the guitarist to access both acoustic and electric tones. Production ended in 2016 and the company has not released a new model of any kind since.
Inspired by earlier musical instruments like the lute, Ken Parker began experimenting with hardwood exoskeletons to provide rigidity to the instrument but hardwood was too difficult to work with and did not achieve satisfactory results. Inspired by a friend who used carbon fiber to build speed boats, Ken Parker started experimenting with the material.[1] Flys were built with an exoskeleton along the back and around the neck of the guitar. It was made from a carbon fibre/glass/epoxy composite material that is thinner than the paint finish. The same composite also comprised the fretboard material.[2]
The exoskeleton supposedly provided the guitar with strength and rigidity, as well as increasing the guitar's sustain. It also possibly gave the added benefit of allowing a smaller, more efficient body. One of Ken Parker's primary goals in designing the Fly was to build a guitar with less mass than a traditional electric guitar but with the same or even more rigidity.[1] The composite exoskeleton was one of the primary reasons why such a design is possible, he claimed.
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Parker Guitars". Archived from the original on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-09-02.