Today's parker guitars

[Dr.J4ckal]

How good are they? I read that the quality has gone down since a few years ago when someone bought the company (I think it's washburn?)
It's a shame if it's true. I haven't tried the fly, but IMO they look REALLY cool, I won't mind to own one someday. People said many good things about their neck too.

[Bfeeney]

I haven't seen a Parker in years, I thought they just faded away.

[jmh151]

They're still around. The quality didn't necessarily decrease, what happened was Washburn bought them, then they introduced a more affordable import line, which isn't the same quality as the American made ones. If you get an american made Parker it's still the same quality as before, the problem is people confuse the imports for the americans.

I tried a few out when they first came out. Advantage is they were super light, if you need a super light guitar. The neck was too narrow for my tastes. I prefer very low action, and unfortunately for the piezos to work as they should you need a medium action on them. I liked the stainless frets and slick composite fingerboard. Guitar made the pickups- Dimarzios- a little too hi fi and compressed sounding.

Good idea, but as a whole the guitar wasn't revolutionary. Since it came out there's been alot more piezo equipped electrics, Washburn has used Parker's stainless frets and composite boards on some of their shredder axes, there's more compound radius necks out there now, and IMO Ibanez copied their trem by offering mechanisms allowing their trems to float, block, or only push down.

[dominus]

I didn't care for the upper horn myself when I had one. The neck was on the small side too.

[Matt42]

I had a P42 (budget line) for a while. It was fun, but the piezo really only worked on the lower strings, I couldn't hear the high e and b strings if I was soloing with only the piezo. The pickups were supbar as well. I just never got a really great sound out of it. It ended up as part of a trade, and I don't really miss it.

[Jessie's ghost]

I played an American Fly a number of years ago and was really impressed. I was suspicious when I saw them come out with an import line, but I haven't tried them.

[formula73]

They're still around. The quality didn't necessarily decrease, what happened was Washburn bought them, then they introduced a more affordable import line, which isn't the same quality as the American made ones. If you get an american made Parker it's still the same quality as before, the problem is people confuse the imports for the americans.

This seems to happen a lot and nobody seems to notice. Gibson has Epiphone; Fender has Squier. There's a differentiation there and I think it helps to separate the top shelf stuff from the more extreme examples of "built to a price point."

How many people who slag Deans, Washys, Hamers, etc., have ever actually PLAYED a USA? There are really people out there that believe that $4k+ USA is junk because of some mystery wood $300 special they owned when they were 15 that had the same name on the hs.

You'd think, being businesses, they'd pick up on this kind of thing.

[RoccoFunnyMan]

A friend of mine did some photography work for them, instead of cash he opted for a custom guitar made from a exotic chunk of wood he had. I will have to get more details and a pic of it, it's pretty sweet.

[DankStar]

How many people who slag Deans, Washys, Hamers, etc., have ever actually PLAYED a USA?.

while I don't slag them, even though I go to many a music store, most places I've stopped in don't even seem to stock USA deans, hamers, etc. Kinda sucks, there's a whole tier of guitars I've never tried because I never lay eyes or hands on them. I keep hearing how great they are and how they sell well but shop owners always seem to pedal cheap junk, even seemingly big dean dealers.

[formula73]

That's part of the problem-those actually SELL. The top shelf USA stuff *might* sell if the right guy walks in through the door, but most guys won't even consider a 2/3/4k guitar that's not a Les Paul and thus, it will hang behind that counter forever. I got my first Dean, a 96 USA ML Ltd, for 850 in 04 because it hung on that wall for 8 friggin years...

Your best bet is just to find somebody who owns one that you can try out. We're out there.

[Jessie's ghost]

That's part of the problem-those actually SELL. The top shelf USA stuff *might* sell if the right guy walks in through the door, but most guys won't even consider a 2/3/4k guitar that's not a Les Paul and thus, it will hang behind that counter forever. I got my first Dean, a 96 USA ML Ltd, for 850 in 04 because it hung on that wall for 8 friggin years...

Your best bet is just to find somebody who owns one that you can try out. We're out there.

I encountered the same thing with Jackson. I've run into people who think they're this "okay mid-level guitar" and have no idea they've always made great guitars in the U.S. And you wouldn't know, not from going to the big box stores.