1998 Fly Supreme

[BMA_USA]

Hello! Here is my 98 BMA that I've had for about 17 years, the only Parker I've owned. The grain is more 3d / holographic in some areas which doesn't come through in the photos. Weight is 5 lbs 10 oz, pickups are gen1 small logo. In hindsight, I wish I would have bought a player grade Fly to take to gigs and jams before the current price situation hit.

[vjmanzo]

Looks terrific, @BMA_USA! Congrats and welcome!!

Beautiful color and I can imagine the holographic features you’re describing! Bet it sounds killer!

I wish I would have bought a player grade Fly to take to gigs and jams before the current price situation hit.

Don’t worry: I have a beat-up Deluxe with major scratches, scuffs, and chips throughout, and I’m prepared to trade with you whenever you’re ready

[mmmguitar]

My 2011 Supreme has one of the deepest flamed grains I’ve seen pulled off on a Parker, and I’m not babying it - These suckers were made to be played. Granted, they were made to be played by players better than me - But I’m still taking chances with it.

Glad to read you’re still in love after all these years.

[BMA_USA]

Don’t worry: I have a beat-up Deluxe with major scratches, scuffs, and chips throughout, and I’m prepared to trade with you whenever you’re ready

So a relic Deluxe?

But I’m still taking chances with it.

I started buying more beater guitars and also assembling them from scrap heap parts because it's pretty fun and I'm not worried about putting dents in them. Can mod, bang, paint, hacksaw, and blowtorch away without losing any sleep over it. I'd love to get my hands on a Deluxe Single 2 that was cosmetically rough but mechanically sound to put my finished touches on.

[vjmanzo]

I'd love to get my hands on a Deluxe Single 2 that was cosmetically rough but mechanically sound to put my finished touches on.

Yeah—the Single 2’s don’t really pop up much, unfortunately. A couple folks here have them—I’ve never played one myself. I did install these Vintage Vibe P90s in a Deluxe, which I’m very happy about! Here’s a link to a thread with another member’s sound clips. That might be as close as I’ll come to a single clip in a Fly for a while!

[BMA_USA]

Yeah—the Single 2’s don’t really pop up much, unfortunately. A couple folks here have them—I’ve never played one myself. I did install these Vintage Vibe P90s in a Deluxe, which I’m very happy about! Here’s a link to a thread with another member’s sound clips. That might be as close as I’ll come to a single clip in a Fly for a while!

Yeah I was mostly joking about a Single 2. They seem about as elusive as the Ibanez 542R and 430SII that I can't seem to get my hands on. That P90 looks and sounds interesting though. Not surprised it can cop a good surf tone since the Fly's raw cleans are bright and snappy. To my ear, the stock Parkers really excel at funk rhythm cleans where fast response and clarity are desirable. For other types of cleans it's rarely my first choice for recording, mostly because I tend to hold onto guitars that do one or two things extremely well. For example, I have a 1970s Univox (the Cobain one) that gets used almost exclusively for surf and twang tones. It has a tiny neck, tiny frets, and isn't the easiest guitar to keep in tune, but it just kills everything else I have for those sounds without having to do much tweaking or EQing. Then I have a 57 RI Strat that lays down beautiful fat, sparkling cleans, but compared to the Parker it's like driving a 1950s Mercury Lead Sled versus a Lamborghini, so it mostly stays in the case unless I'm recording a specific part.

[BMA_USA]

Oh, one other point about Parker cleans: I basically never use the raw piezo sound for anything. I play a fair amount of real acoustic guitar and can't handle piezo quack. Where I have found it to be more useful than the mags is driving certain IRs, especially acoustic instruments that have similar attack and timbre like dobros, mandolins, and sitars. Dunno if you guys are doing that here but I feel like it's an area I need to explore more.

[mmmguitar]

Where I have found it to be more useful than the mags is driving certain IRs, especially acoustic instruments that have similar attack and timbre like dobros, mandolins, and sitars. Dunno if you guys are doing that here but I feel like it's an area I need to explore more.

I’m not driving IRs, but I’m similar in that my Flys’ piezos essentially only get used with Roland COSM modeling or samples via 13 pin-out. There’s just no comparison between the onboard quacky tones afforded by a piezo pre and a signal that’s massaged with outboard gear. I know a number of Fly and NiteFly owners swear by the Fishman Aura and various inline IR loaders.

[vjmanzo]

I know a number of Fly and NiteFly owners swear by the Fishman Aura and various inline IR loaders.

I think I’m one of these owners, though I also spend a great deal of time swearing at my Fishman Aura and various inline IR loaders

The attack of a piezo element, as part of an ADSR contour, is so dissimilar to the contour of an actual acoustic guitar that even identical timbral similarities facilitated by an Aura sometimes sound strange. I’ve had success using an 1176 compressor in front or after an Aura to help make the Fly piezo more palatable in a mix (by reducing the attack), but, I agree, that it’s not straightforward getting an authentic acoustic sound out of the piezo.

There is something to be said about the piezo being mixed in with the magnetic pickups in modest amounts. In an otherwise saturated or lush texture, quacky as it, the piezo does introduce some top-end “something something” that isn’t easy to get with magnetic pickups. It’s definitely useful for adding clarity with dense harmony and overdrive. I much prefer the piezo on my Fly in that context as opposed to a solo exposed piezo signal with or without IRs.

[mmmguitar]

The attack of a piezo element, as part of an ADSR contour, is so dissimilar to the contour of an actual acoustic guitar that even identical timbral similarities facilitated by an Aura sometimes sound strange. I’ve had success using an 1176 compressor in front or after an Aura to help make the Fly piezo more palatable in a mix (by reducing the attack), but, I agree, that it’s not straightforward getting an authentic acoustic sound out of the piezo.

This fundamental obstacle is why I finally moved on from the Line 6 Variax - The piezo artifacts that seemed an acceptable compromise ten years ago just don’t pass an A/B test today unless some judicious DSP is being applied to mitigate them.

And going back to single coils and Parkers: I have one dedicated “strat” (a parted-together Steinberger with Eric Johnson pickups) that I use when going for that authentic sound - but I find that the rest of my guitars (all humbuckers with a mix of coil splits, r/c filters, and a few with 13 pin-outs for single coil modeling) get far enough into that ballpark that I don’t need to swap guitars unless I’m in a stratty mood.

I guess what I’m getting at is that a Fly may not be a strat, but you can dress it up like one and mingle in strat land.

[vjmanzo]

a Fly may not be a strat, but you can dress it up like one and mingle in strat land.

We’ll said, Marc!

[BMA_USA]

Yeah for live playing I take my best players (Fly & Hohner G3T) and fake it into whatever land I need to be in, but I don't even play out that much anymore other than occasional jams. For home use and recording, I'm in the philosophical camp that different guitars have different strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. I'm not really a collector like you guys, so it's about the only way I can justify buying more guitars. I have a rule that any new guitar I buy has to perform a unique function that I can't get with the other instruments, and it can't just be something trivial like having slightly different pickups. For example, the last guitar I bought is a pedal steel and I definitely don't play country!

[mmmguitar]

I don't consider myself a collector, either - It's just a very slippery slope that you follow until you find yourself in a valley that has too many guitars to see your way out of. I had to write a note to myself pitching the idea of selling three guitars this month so I'd have room for other guitars.