Is this forum for all Parker electrics, or just Flys?

[Notes_Norton]

Hi, I just noticed the http://forums.parkerguitars.com/ and http://forums.parkerguitars.com/index.php?action=login have gone belly-up.

So I bookmarked this site months ago "just in case" this was going to happen. The old Parker Forum has been pretty much comatose except for some trading for a while now.

So I have two USA Dragonfly/Maxxfly guitars. Is this the right forum for me to continue my Parker interests?

If not, is there a more general one?

Thanks,
Notes

[vjmanzo]

Hey Notes!

You're in the right place! I was just speaking with @Patzag (also an Administrator here) and we also suspect that the old forum is gone now.

Let the party continue here!

[Notes_Norton]

Thanks, that's great news.

Look like I won't lose all my old Parker Buddies.

I'm hoping my Parkers will keep working until I reach the coda of my life. I like the light weight, balance, radius, scale, and contours. It's like wearing a guitar instead of holding it. So far, so good. I've replaced the mag/piezo switch on one, and that's all that it's needed (other than strings of course).

The upper horn strap button screw comes loose, I put a toothpick in, but I think I'm going to have to do something more serious. Perhaps a toothpick with a little wood putty. It's a short screw, and I think with that soft wood they might have done better to put it in the end of the horn like a Strat. But it looks good hidden like that.

Well I'm glad the party continues here111

Notes

[vjmanzo]

Definitely @Notes_Norton !

I seem to recall coming across one of your old posts once before where you mentioned your Dragonfly; is it the first generation Dragonfly with the usual carbon fiber reinforced neck?

Also, I just added a section to the Tech Talk area of the site called "Dragonfly/Maxxfly"!

[Notes_Norton]

Thanks for adding the DF section.

My first DF had problems. A cracked body near the neck, causing the neck to misaligned and butted up against the pickup (see pix).



I don't know if it had a carbon reinforced neck or not. It did have a Fishman piezo.

It was slightly out of warranty and Parker customer service glued it.

About a year later, it cracked again in the same place. Parker service decided that the wood itself must have been defective and replaced the guitar with a newer model for no charge (they paid shipping both ways). The newer guitar has the ghost piezo.

I was so impressed with the excellent customer service, and I liked everything about the guitar except I missed the sound of P90 pickups so I had Parker build a custom for me with Seymour Duncan P-Rail pickups with triple-shot rings (to give me P90, rail, series humbucker and parallel humbucker sounds in one guitar).

Here they are.



I have never had to adjust the neck, so I don't know what kind of reinforcement is in there.

Sax is my primary instrument, I play 7. On the gig in my current duo it's mostly sax, wind synth, guitar and a little flute (plus vocals). Depending on the audience, I might play guitar from 1/4 of the songs to almost half.

Picking up and putting down instruments every song or few is one of the reasons why I got a lightweight Parker in the first place. Before that I was playing a Epiphone Casino (also light weight) but when I got a weekly job on a quay over a salt water lagoon I didn't want to put the hollow body guitar in that environment. I played an LTD Les Paul clone for a few years, but it was about 8 pounds and at the end of the gig my arm was sore. The Parker cured that problem.

This October or November we start our 12th year. New owners, and we are the only band to survive the new management. In the height of the season, people bring lawn chairs because there isn't enough seating for the crowds we draw. That's job security.

We'll start back as soon as the rainy season is over. That's usually late October, sometimes early November.

Notes

[vjmanzo]

Totally awesome that they fixed it for you, and, man: those look great! Nice to hear about what you’re up to as well.

[Mr303]

Hi everybody!
Glad to check in here and see VJ’s fine work is being infiltrated by miscreants and musicians.
Anyone have email for Big Swifty? I always liked his perspective and tales of gigging.
It’s Friday...made it through the week!
Cheers

[vjmanzo]

Hey @Mr303! Glad to see you here; numbered among the miscreants!

Yes, @Big Swifty is here; personally: I think he needs his own dedicated sub-forum just for tales of gigging...

This forum has a messaging system that seems to be reliable, so you can message him that way, I believe. The forum also has the “@“ feature I’ve been using, which makes it easy to notify people when you’re mentioning them (I mentioned you above, so you should see a notification at the top menu!). Just type @ then a username, and it autoformats.

[Mr303]

Hey @Mr303! Glad to see you here; numbered among the miscreants!

Yes, @Big Swifty is here; personally: I think he needs his own dedicated sub-forum just for tales of gigging...

This forum has a messaging system that seems to be reliable, so you can message him that way, I believe. The forum also has the “@“ feature I’ve been using, which makes it easy to notify people when you’re mentioning them (I mentioned you above, so you should see a notification at the top menu!). Just type @ then a username, and it autoformats.

Ahh yes definitely more miscreant than musician. Good to see you here too “notes”.

[jb63]

Ha ha! The Miscreant thread!

I think even the all-unfinished wood ones like Notes uses can last as long as any Gibson from Kalamazoo, as long as they don't get smashed.
Hopefully we can start again with this new space documenting wear and tear. Hey! Speaking of were and tear... the last we heard from Big Swifty his 96 took a terrible beating. How did that turn out? Are you still in business?

[Notes_Norton]

Ha ha! The Miscreant thread!

I think even the all-unfinished wood ones like Notes uses can last as long as any Gibson from Kalamazoo, as long as they don't get smashed.
Hopefully we can start again with this new space documenting wear and tear. Hey! Speaking of were and tear... the last we heard from Big Swifty his 96 took a terrible beating. How did that turn out? Are you still in business?

I've replaced the Mag/Piezo switch on one of my DFs. Although it looks like a Gibson pup switch it's not. It needs a SPDT switch. I used this one: https://www.amazon.com/Gardner-Bender-G ... =8-1-fkmr0

It fits, a little stiffer than the original but I don't mind, and it's nickel plated instead of black but that's OK too.

The original switch fell to pieces. I suspect a manufacturing defect as I never dropped or banged the guitar.

I love this guitar, and hopefully it will last until I reach the coda.

Notes

[vjmanzo]

The original switch fell to pieces. I suspect a manufacturing defect as I never dropped or banged the guitar.

I know that USM used different switches that the original Tocos switches, and these do tend to bleed/make noise/fall apart. Glad you got a fix going!

I, for one, would love to hear/see some examples of that Dragonfly with a clean amp sound! Just saying!

[Notes_Norton]

If I ever get clean recording I'll do it. I made a few tries when someone in the old Parker forum asked, but I got way too much 60hz hum.

I do fine in my MIDI studio for making backing tracks for my duo and for making aftermarket user styles for Band-in-a-Box, but whenever I try to record something live, I get hum. Perhaps because the house was built in 1950 and the outlets aren't grounded with a third wire??? Perhaps it's my gear??? Maybe it's humming because it doesn't know the words

I don't know why the synths direct into the mixer don't hum, but if I plug a guitar or mic into the mixer I get hum.

I play sax, wind synth, flute, guitar, bass, keyboard synth, drums and vocals, but I am not trained as a recording engineer.

BTW, I don't play through an amp, but use an amp sim/fx pedal straight into the PA system.

Our duo schleps to the gig:

• Two guitars (Parker DF & Parker PM10)
• One tenor sax
• Two wind MIDI controllers
• One tactile MIDI controller (Buchla Thunder)
• One flute
• One Korg Kontroller
• Three computers (only need two but the show must go on so the third is always up and running)
• Two amp sim/fx pedals for the guitars
• One MFC-10 pedal for the wind MIDI controller
• One 12 space rack full of PA mixer, FX and sound modules for the MIDI controllers
• Two EV speaker cabs with 15" Woofers
• Various stands, mics and cables

The last thing I need to do is add an amp.

In the past I also brought an alto sax, soprano sax, and keyboard, but that was when I was more insane than I am now. I'm still insane, just less insane

Notes

[jb63]

Interesting.
OK. Well last year before I schlepped everything onto a plane to fly to California and play for 15 minutes, I switched my setup to run everything electronic with lithium batteries. It took 2. I tested everything beforehand and my whole battery-powered system ran buzz-free for 3.5 hours straight. It was a $140 investment, but it solved every similar problem I have ever had. Waste some time here:

https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index ... ic=10662.0

I ended up with a Box king and its the best $100 I ever spent:



It DOESN'T, however address much from this thread!

[Mr303]

Hey Notes
I had similar feed/buzz problems in my house until I had rewiring done in 06. (House is ca1922,electric30’s,50’s upgrades)
This summer installed new drop ,meter panel and breakers.
I’m an old school 2 channel stereo guy with a system that’s worth more than my car and it really appreciates the full power now flowing.
I also had dedicated power runs installed for the stereo and it’s components with hospital grade plugs and upgraded buss bars at the panel for cleaner power. (The run was short, only 50 ft of wire)

Just brainstorming things you might use and have around the house or in the shed, could you get ready for a live recording then use something like a computer battery backup to swap out power cords one at a time from the outlet to the battery supply in an attempt to isolate the problem?
You could use a good extension cord to not drag the battery around. Or borrow power from a neighbor with good electric and use the extension cord to isolate. ( I work construction so if you need to borrow a couple good hundred footers ... .

Cheers

[Notes_Norton]

Thanks.

Rewiring is out of the question. The house was built on a concrete slab, over the cement block walls is real wood paneling (not plywood), it's a flat roof house so there is no attic. The tongue and groove ceiling is the bottom of the roof and 2" of polyurethane foam is on top of that (it used to be tar and gravel). The 1950 wiring (two wire romex) is in the walls, NOT in conduit, so the only way to rewire is to tear the walls apart which would mean replacing my "Dade County Slash Pine) real wood panels with either plywood or drywall. That ain't gonna happen.

It's also about the money. As a career musician, I'm having a great, fun life, but it isn't all that lucrative. If I had to do it over again, I'd make the same choice.

Actually it's about cost vs. need and priorities.

Need: I don't need to record audio, I make aftermarket MIDI styles for Band-in-a-Box and they record with no hum. I make MIDI backing tracks for my duo and record them into mp3s and I can do that with no hum.

Priorities, I just paid $18,000 to fix the plumbing. Cast iron pipes under the concrete slab to the septic tank have been getting roots in them for years. The roto-rooter guy says I should look into a more permanent solution, he put a camera in there and said they might eventually cave in. 69 years is a long time for a cast iron pipe to last under the ground, and every time he scrapes the roots out, a little more of the pipe's internal corrosion flakes off.

So I called plumbers. The first one said he would have to tear the concrete slab and my flooring up to replace the pipe. The second guy said he could make an epoxy type sleeve inside the pipe, there would be no seams, and guarantee it for the rest of my life. I checked him out and it's a company with a good reputation with 2 generations of owners. I had the part from the toilet to the septic done, and tomorrow they rest gets finished.

The procedure is interesting. First they scrape the pipe until it is smooth inside. Then they put a thin sleeve inside. The sleeve has a foam that gets saturated with an epoxy type resin, and what looks like tyvek coats the foam. The saturated sleeve goes in the pipe, then they put what amounts to a balloon inside that and inflate it to keep it against the walls of the pipe. It stays inflated and under pressure overnight, the next day they take the balloon out and the pipe is lined.

That's a lot of money and we just had enough in the house fund saved up for that.

For what it would cost to do the wiring, I could take and African photo safari. --- There is the priority with me. I live thriftily (no jewelry, no Cable TV, Dodge/Ford priced cars and drive them until they are unreliable, don't run the AC, and so on) and with the money I've saved I've been to I've been to: 49 of the 50 US states, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, St. Croix & St John (USVI), more than half the Canadian provinces, 7 Mexican states, Bahama Islands, Bermuda Islands, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, England, Scotland, Wales, Gibraltar, The Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Czech Republic, Austria, Australia, Russia, Japan and China (From the Great Wall down to Hong Kong).

That's a lot better than making a clean recording of something I don't necessarily need.

We did 5 weeks in Australia last year, and we just got back from Vienna, Melk and Krebs, Austria. We went to a Symphony, Opera and a mass with full choir, orchestra and pipe organ in Vienna. Other than China, it's all independent travel. In China we took a tour because I couldn't have learned to read the train and bus schedules in their pictograph writing style.

Next year I hope Madagascar.

Insights, incites, and TMI by Notes

[vjmanzo]

As a career musician, I'm having a great, fun life, but it isn't all that lucrative. If I had to do it over again, I'd make the same choice.

Off topic, but, man: that’s the best thing I’ve read all day!

[Notes_Norton]

As a career musician, I'm having a great, fun life, but it isn't all that lucrative. If I had to do it over again, I'd make the same choice.

Off topic, but, man: that’s the best thing I’ve read all day!

OK, I'll put it on topic.

When I go to "work" I play my Parker DF, Sax, Wind Midi Controller, Flute and Sing to backing tracks I make at home. These are my tools.

The DF stays in tune, has versatile tones, is comfortable to play, and is light weight so picking it up and putting it down all night doesn't build too much muscle.

I have a great time at work, and at the end they pay me money. How cool is that!

Here we are with our Parkers. We've had this gig once a week for 12 years now. It's the guard house of the actual birthplace of the US Navy SEALS. The Seals come down every year for a muster, and all the things on the wall are donated by US Navy SEALS. It's outdoors, on a quay over a salt water lagoon, with a state park on the other side of the lagoon. The regular customers are like extended family, we have running gags, and we call it work.



Actually the work is making the backing tracks, learning all the parts, being the 'band salesman' and schlepping the gear. Other than being the salesman and moving the gear, it doesn't seem like work. We have so much repeat business, I haven't played "band salesman" for over a decade.

I couldn't get the [img] tag to work, so here's the link:
http://www.nortonmusic.com/cats/x_Jim_c ... Clark.html


Notes

[Mr303]

Hola!
Off topic briefly
The liner fix is the most value for the money but it is way pricey.
Yeah I hate plumbing problems, I doled out 10000 for a 30 foot sewer repair under my garage, then had to pay a “repaired sewer” tap fee because of “increased volume” $3700!

Back on topic maybe?
Schlepping any tools whether industrial or musical is a drag but when everything works its worth the effort.
Selling a job is not my favorite aspect of being self employed and I do it a lot.
Side note
I’ve seen Bill Frissell a couple times live in small venues here in Denver and he typically only has a couple effects pedals, a Fender amp and a few guitars, even though he is an effects heavy guy at times. I bet his contract is simple too,”I’ll play the set and bring my amp and guitars. Pay at the end of the night”

[Notes_Norton]

We tell people we play for free and charge them to schlep the gear and learn new songs.

We used to just say schlep the gear, but then people volunteered to move the gear for us if we'd play for free

The heaviest thing we have are 40 lb speaker cabs, and I just tell myself, it's weight bearing exercise without having to pay a gym membership!

There are times when I think about leaving things home. Sax? Definitely not. Wind synth? Ditto. Guitar? Too much fun. Flute? Only weighs a bit. If you want to play with the tools/toys, you have to bring them to the gig and set them up. It's worth it.

The Parker DF with Duncan P-Rail pickups gives me the sounds of four guitars in one. That saves a lot of trips to the van.

Notes