John Gatski is the Publisher & Executive Editor of Pro Audio Review.
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Parker NiteFly M
When the futuristic looking Parker guitars came out in 1992, players seemed to either love them or hate them. There was no in between. The thin, easy-to-play contours and the light weight was not vintage enough for many vintage purists.
Even though I am a vintage fan myself - Strats, Teles and hunky Les Pauls, the NiteFly M is a great guitar with a vintage flavor as well as modern playability and features. Features
Retail priced at $1,499, the NiteFly M is a solid, one-piece mahogany body in the classic Parker design with the long-horn cut away shape. Finished in oil and wax (which enhances the acoustic resonance), the tremelo-equipped guitar sports a set of custom-designed DiMarzio exposed humbuckers with split coil-switching and a Fishman saddle pickup system.
Controls consist of a humbucker volume, tone/coil split knob and a volume for the Fishman saddle active transducer. The selector switch toggles between the two DiMarzios or in combination, and/or the Fishman acoustic pickup.
The great-feeling, bolt-on, basswood neck, with composite-material finger board and long-wearing stainless steel frets, measures out at 25.5-inch scale length. The compound radius makes it comfortable - even for big fingers. The tuners are black-painted, locking Sperzels. The smallish Parker head stock looks cool, and the composite/basswood make the neck very strong.
The .009-.042 gauge strings attach to a Parker custom-designed, three-spring tremolo bridge. The tremolo adjustment and battery compartment for the active PU system are located in covers inside the back.
Bridge height adjustments and setting the bridge stop can be done without removing the backplate.
The Audition
Before I plugged in the NiteFly M, I strummed it to hear the effect of the thin-oil and wax finish. Even though it it is not a thick piece of mahogany, the lack of a heavy coat of polyurethane finish applied to many a modern electric guitar, made the guitar quite resonant sounding and open. I am a strong advocate of lighter satin and violin varnishes on solid wood guitars.
After a string tune up, (factory action was perfect), I selected a number of amps for the NiteFly M including a '66 Fender Deluxe Reverb, '65 reissue Twin Reverb, a Marshall JM 2000 DSL 201 and '71 Princeton Reverb.
I initially played the guitar with the .009-.042 strings, and it sounded good, but with Diaddario .010-.046s, the guitar really came alive.
While playing through through the warm, clean Fender black face amps, my first impression was how good the neck felt; my second impression was how easy the guitar handled and third, and by no means least, how full it sounded. In either HB position, the guitar could dish out warm jazz chords, or thick alternative voicings. But also picked notes via the bridge pickup were clear and full, without shrillness. Jazz players will like the way the NiteFly sounds on the neck pickup.
Kicking in the OD on my Marshall amp, the DiMarzios give a nice thick juicy taste with just a bit more edge than my Les Paul. Splitting the coils to get the single coil sound picks up the treble even more, but not the "ice pick in the ear" kind. It did not sound quite like a Strat, but the split coil mode allows a more cutting tone than the humbuckers.
Now the Fishman active pickup adds a another dimension; you can switch in only the Fishman saddle PU to get a thin acoustic presence sound for strumming, or a player can combine the acoustic with the magnetic PUs to get a whole new palette of sounds. The overall effect of such combinations is to give your guitar a more acoustic cutting edge.
I had no quibble with this guitar whatsoever. Its quality fit, and finish were perfect. DiMarzios are not my top choice for pickups, but they sounded very good in this guitar. I wonder what a set of Gibson Classic '57 or Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers, would sound like?
From a functional standpoint, it would be nice to see Parker make a hard case standard for its guitars, but a gig bag is standard issue. Summary
The Parker NiteFly M is a best buy electric guitar. With its top quality, made-in-U.S.A. construction, light weight and incredible feel and sound, this guitar would be at home in jazz, country, rock, funk - almost any type of music. Now Parker just has to pry it from my greedy little death grip.
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