They're arguably the biggest step forward in electric guitar since the 50s. Lots of new stuff there for the time, some of which became standard years after: stainless steel frets, piezo+magnetic pickups, carbon fiber reinforcement, adjustable vibrato, possibly the most seamless/flattest neck joint ever... not to mention the whole design is amazing.
Les was known for that. I heard a story of him doing a signing and these two guys came and one had a Gibson Les Paul for him to sign. He turns to the other guy there and he said he didn't have a Les Paul, but he had a Strat. Les signed that too and told him "there, now you have a Les Paul".
Just a note that he continued on his path of innovation w/ Ken Parker Archtops, which he was still involved in building until just before the end. These are $20k+ custom orders so there aren't too many in the wild.
Wow, so you can adjust action with just a screw at the back? I wish it were that easy on nylon-string guitars instead of having to file and shape nuts and saddles. The last time I made a saddle from a bone blank I spent hours only to find I'd messed the curvature up.
My dad got to play a prototype Parker Fly while doing some collab at the Fishman R&D facility. (I’m not sure many generations, but fishman made the piezo bridge pickup for the more acoustic sound.) Of course this was well before phone cameras but the way he described it with the naturally curved ergonomic neck and stuff made it sound like pure magic. Gotta say, when there was one I could play at my local music shop a couple years later, it didn’t disappoint. Too delicate feeling for me but it felt like the future.
Yeah. I am not the greatest guitar player but once after seeing Pops Staples playing one on TV a little voice in
my head told me “get a Parker Fly, you will never need another guitar” … and I ignored it. Shouldn’t have.
the guitar market is very conservative , as can be seen by the fact that the design itself was pretty divisive even if a lot of their innovations have stuck around.
I always though the Fly looked awful but I played one once and it was amazing. If they could've just done that but made it look less like a piece of modern art from Patrick Bateman's apartment, I would've definitely been more interested
Similarly, my dad was a luthier for 15 years before passing away to cancer in 2022.
In the 5th grade, I wanted to learn guitar, so being the engineer he was, he built one. But needed machines first, and wood, and the garage.
Being an engineer instead of a business-minded operator prevented his work from becoming too well known but the instrument and what he accomplished was special.
I played the Parker Fly at Fishman Transducers before it came out, when I was a kid.
I was actually working there, not for Ken but for Larry Fishman. I should never have been: I was too young and inexperienced and had no idea the responsibility I was taking on, or how underpaid I was for that responsibility. For a brief time I was shipping, receiving, inventory and stockroom. It near killed me and when they let me go I could only agree, I had no more to give and was totally burned out. I can still see the general manager, though I don't remember his name now.
I was trying to make guitars myself at the time, along very different lines, and when I played Ken Parker's new creation, I had enough sense to not recoil and show how much I just didn't click with it, but I still made Larry Fishman real mad and Ken alarmed and unhappy. Turns out Ken knew better than I did that there were people who'd understand what he'd invented: among them, Adrian Belew.
I ended up doing Ken-like stuff in my own field: I hope he learned that secret, that if you're doing anything really original you can only measure it by how intensely it affects people, both positively and negatively. I'd love to hear one of his archtops, and I have no idea whether I'd love or hate it, but I feel certain I'd immediately react in some way, and that's the highest compliment.
Shame, I just saw his gofundme a couple of days ago. I've owned and played thousands of guitars, that's pretty much how I earned money through college (I'd flip guitars basically). Parker guitars were really something, but definitely not for everyone - a Parker Fly Deluxe was by far the lightest guitar I ever owned and tried. Should've kept it, as they go for 3-4 grand these days on the used market.
Unrelated, but: if you are a fan of comics/graphic novels, Ken Parker by Berardi & Milazzo [1] is an awesome Western. It's a series of short stories bound by a coherent but loose continuity, following the eponymous character as he moves across late-1800 America.
Having started in the '1970s, it features topics of social justice and the fate of Native Americans to a literary level rarely found in comics, but it's particularly good in how it depicts realistic characters - often conflicted, incoherent, and of uncertain morality. Parker himself is hardly a saint, and definitely not a hero to start with.
As far as I know, it has only partially been translated to English from its native Italian, but even the smallest nuggets is worth experiencing IMHO. There is something about Italians doing Westerns (see also: Sergio Leone) that brings the genre to epic levels.
Alan Ford is another Italian gem taking place in the states and touching upon social justice issues, though more of a cynical/dark comedy. One of the villains is SuperHic, a drunk who steals from the poor and gives to the rich
A true shame. Until recently guitarists were notoriously conservative regarding instrument design and I have an immense amount of respect for people like Ken that chose to push those boundaries. Challenging guitarists to play something more progressive than the usual 75-year-old designs was a big deal in the heyday of the grunge movement and emergence of the vintage gear market. Hats off to a true American original.
Sorry, what's the shame about? That he could not be saved, or that the funds could not be raised? Or perhaps something else,... who's to be ashamed, though?
It is indeed a great lost to (living) humanity to loose its great minds, but still his letter is an incredible example of conscious apprehension of live and its transience. And reading 'shame' several times in the comments here is at least very weird to me.
God bless this beautiful soul's transition into the great unknown.
"it's a shame" is a common English colloquialism that means "that's sad", or maybe "that saddens me". No actual shamefulness is usually implied by the phrase. Weird, but there it is.
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They're arguably the biggest step forward in electric guitar since the 50s. Lots of new stuff there for the time, some of which became standard years after: stainless steel frets, piezo+magnetic pickups, carbon fiber reinforcement, adjustable vibrato, possibly the most seamless/flattest neck joint ever... not to mention the whole design is amazing.
This video from this guy dropped just two days ago, and explains a lot about the features and constructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S6Cni3nkws
It's a shame they stopped manufacturing after the company was sold. I had one and regret selling, as prices haven't really come down!
Rest in peace and thanks for everything, Mr Parker!
So we found a nice big permanent sharpie, and Les Paul signed my Parker Fly.
The neck 'join' in particular is wicked: https://kenparkerarchtops.com/guitars2
I always though the Fly looked awful but I played one once and it was amazing. If they could've just done that but made it look less like a piece of modern art from Patrick Bateman's apartment, I would've definitely been more interested
He also caught mostly the attention of forward-looking players of past decades, rather than new players.
I wonder if he had gone after nu-metal artists like PRS did the brand would have survived.
Being an engineer instead of a business-minded operator prevented his work from becoming too well known but the instrument and what he accomplished was special.
I know own the shop, guitars, and everything after his passing - a couple years ago I made a reddit thread asking for help - it blew up and is an interesting read - https://www.reddit.com/r/guitars/comments/1f07f1s/my_dad_lef...
I like to take pictures of products and build websites, unfortunately we just ran out of time.
https://sgg2.webflow.io/
I was actually working there, not for Ken but for Larry Fishman. I should never have been: I was too young and inexperienced and had no idea the responsibility I was taking on, or how underpaid I was for that responsibility. For a brief time I was shipping, receiving, inventory and stockroom. It near killed me and when they let me go I could only agree, I had no more to give and was totally burned out. I can still see the general manager, though I don't remember his name now.
I was trying to make guitars myself at the time, along very different lines, and when I played Ken Parker's new creation, I had enough sense to not recoil and show how much I just didn't click with it, but I still made Larry Fishman real mad and Ken alarmed and unhappy. Turns out Ken knew better than I did that there were people who'd understand what he'd invented: among them, Adrian Belew.
I ended up doing Ken-like stuff in my own field: I hope he learned that secret, that if you're doing anything really original you can only measure it by how intensely it affects people, both positively and negatively. I'd love to hear one of his archtops, and I have no idea whether I'd love or hate it, but I feel certain I'd immediately react in some way, and that's the highest compliment.
Having started in the '1970s, it features topics of social justice and the fate of Native Americans to a literary level rarely found in comics, but it's particularly good in how it depicts realistic characters - often conflicted, incoherent, and of uncertain morality. Parker himself is hardly a saint, and definitely not a hero to start with.
As far as I know, it has only partially been translated to English from its native Italian, but even the smallest nuggets is worth experiencing IMHO. There is something about Italians doing Westerns (see also: Sergio Leone) that brings the genre to epic levels.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Parker_(comics)
It is indeed a great lost to (living) humanity to loose its great minds, but still his letter is an incredible example of conscious apprehension of live and its transience. And reading 'shame' several times in the comments here is at least very weird to me.
God bless this beautiful soul's transition into the great unknown.