Concert/Bronze refined vs pre-refined

[ahmadimran]

Just wondering how much does the refined vs pre-refined discussion affect the Parker Fly Concert/Bronze models as there are no electronics as such. Do they remain mostly the same or are there notable differences such as with the other Fly models?

[vjmanzo]

Hi @ahmadimran—just my opinion: the real issue is about quality control. Remember: Ken Parker was still at the helm of Parker Guitars when the Refined Fly was introduced; he made Refined Flys! ...which of those “refinements” Ken actually wanted to implement is another discussion!

I believe the electronics on the Concert were the same through the years. I have owned Concerts from both eras and they sounded and played similarly.

As far as I’m concerned, if you are okay with the “refined” aspects of a particular Fly, the only potential issue is that Ken wasn’t there to say “hey, that one needs a closer look”. The folks doing QC at USM weren’t lightweights either, so the likelihood is that a Refined Fly (Concert included) will be great! There’s an unfair misconception that all Refined Flys are inherently inferior in build quality and that’s simply not true. Of course, the Fly isn’t as easy to build as, for example, a Telecaster, so you really need skilled craftspeople overseeing production, and, in that regard: nobody had a better eye than Ken.

There’s some info on what the actual Refinements were and how the Refined Fly has held up in this History post, which you may have already seen.

[ahmadimran]

Thanks VJ! Yes I went through the history post, which I think is fascinating and a must read for all visitors here.

Just a theoretical exercise, more about changes made design wise, post 2003, as to my untrained eye there are much less changes made to the Concert, compared to the other models, pretty much the same design carried through, both externally as well as the electronics (Due to no magnetic pickups), except as you say, maybe changes in quality control being a differentiator.

A beautiful 1998 model appeared (and sold) yesterday on Reverb https://reverb.com/item/38838067-parker ... t=38838067

[vjmanzo]

Happy to help, @ahmadimran, and thanks for the kind words about the history post, my friend.

Yes, I saw that Concert come and go. I really like the Concert, and Ken described in a lecture he gave that the Concert was closer to his original concept for the Fly (without magnetic pickups). The Fly Concert is effectively a hardtail Fly Artist without magnetic pickups and strung with phosphor bronze strings and a bit lighter in weight.

Looking for one?

[Patzag]

According to @Billy, who is MUCH smarter than me in those matters, the Low E string issue is apparently due to the fretboard in the refined Flys being WIDER than Pre-refined. I don't have a pre-refined anymore so I can't verify that but he might chime in.

In any case, the bend was annoying and while not an issue on a hard tail did not play so well with a trem.
Nevertheless, the Refined Fly was still a bad-ass guitar.

Anyway, I don't think it was a QC issue, it was more of a design change at the point USM changed from the conical fretboard shape to the 14" constant radius. A design change no accompanied by a full retooling, probably also to keep costs down. Not the smartest move.

[vjmanzo]

Gotcha, @Patzag; I deleted my previous post outlining the specific low E string issue after noticing the image I posted showed a string tied around the low E tuner traditionally instead of using the Sperzel string-thru locking design, but I'm glad to read your comments here. I don't own a Fly with that particularly problem. It's tough to hear that the issue was not a QC issue; I own two later Flys, but don't have this issue, so i assumed it was the sort of thing I was referencing to @ahmadimran.

[Patzag]

Thanks VJ!