Ribbon cable install?

[Mike987]

I just snagged a complete 94 fly deluxe that will be here Tuesday for $800…electronics are all there but apparently there is no output from the guitar at all. From the pictures it looks as if the ribbon cable. I have two complete sets of pre refined electronics (chips, pots, etc.) and a set of ribbon cables. I have seen pictures of inside the guitar and it looks like one side of the ribbon cable is detached from the chip. This may be a stupid question, but none of my other flys currently have the pre refined wiring installed. (Two bronzes, a fly mojo, and a pre refined fly classic with 13 pin midi and aftermarket wiring installed) so my question is, does anyone have any pictures of the installed wiring in a pre refined fly or a diagram? And I imagine there is no soldering involved with replacing the cable? Does it just clip in? I probably overpaid for some of my stuff on an eBay auction a while back and I don’t want to trash it. If I can just fix what’s there rather than transplanting the stuff I have already, it would probably be easier than gutting the whole thing I imagine.

I’ve *attempted* to enclose pictures of the wiring from the listing.





I appreciate any help that can be provided. I am mechanically inclined, but far from an expert on these.

[Patzag]

I looked as closely as possible given the picture. It sure looks like the ribbon is broken. It will need to be replaced.
@Peaches can help do the install.

[Patzag]

Just to add some clarifications to my earlier post. The flex ribbon is broken. It will take some soldering to remove the old one and put a new one in.
It's not really difficult, but you have to have the right tools, particularly when you're dealing with the small mono/stereo switch. It's made out of relatively malleable plastic, which will melt quite quickly so care must be given when desoldering and re-soldering it.
Otherwise, yes, if the flex cable had been intact, then there would be no soldering needed, just pushing it in the slot on the preamp. But your guitar needs actual work.
The price is right. and with a little investment you should be able to get the audio running again as it was intended to.

Good luck and keep us informed of your progress.

[Mike987]

Hey thanks! I didn’t even notice that torn ribbon cable in the picture! I have to check, but I’m pretty sure one of the extra sets of electronics I have has the ribbon cable already attached to those pots and everything. Definitely going to check look over it to make sure it’s all in tact before I try to swap it out. If it looks like it’s out of my skill set, I’ll have @peaches fix it for me. Even with having him fix it and shipping, it’ll still end up being a good deal when it’s all said and done. I’ve always wanted one of those early model pre refined flys. I’m not sure if anyone has this info, but I think the first year flys were all made by Ken himself. But what year did they start being built by Parker employees other than Ken? From what I’ve noticed, and I could be mistaken, but is it just the really early models that had the white nut at the top of the neck instead of the usual black one?
I’ll keep everyone updated on my progress once it arrives!

[vjmanzo]

If it looks like it’s out of my skill set, I’ll have @peaches fix it for me.

Love it! I was gonna suggest having @Peaches take a look if need be!

I’m not sure if anyone has this info, but I think the first year flys were all made by Ken himself. But what year did they start being built by Parker employees other than Ken?

The first batch of 50 or so Fly Deluxes with redwood necks instead of basswood (1993) were largely made by Ken though there were other Parker employees at that time who were learning hands-on from him through that process. The next batch of redwood-neck Flys were made similarly, but those mostly ended up in the trash as described further in the History post, though, again, others were involved and learning hands-on. The process of building a Fly isn’t entirely linear for each build—a few people might, for example, make a batch of necks or make a batch of bodies. In 1993, Ken was training his team while also building the instruments.

Yes, the delrin nut is something found on Flys from 1993 with corian nuts and others used afterward as noted further in this thread on nuts.

[Mike987]

Thanks for the info, VJ! You’re a Parker fly encyclopedia! Now that you mention the redwood necks, I recall hearing something about those and If I’m correct it may have been when I was checking out your guitar collection on your website! I believe you have two of the redwood neck ones if I recall correctly? You have quite the collection by the way!

I don’t recall if I saw the answer to this while reading up on Parker fly history, but I heard somewhere that hardtail Parker flys were produced from the beginning up to 1995 or so? I have to check the serial number on the one I just bought but I was told it’s a 94 but it has a trem bridge. I’m assuming that if hardtails were made during those years, that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of the flys were hardtails and that they were just made up until that time with the trem ones too?

Oh, and an update on the guitar! It arrived yesterday and I did some touching up on some cosmetic stuff, and it needed strap pins which I had in my spare parts bins and then I decided to try to tackle the electrical stuff. It works now! Thankfully the set of electronics I bought a while back had everything still attached so I very carefully took everything out with the torn ribbon cable and put the new one in! Here’s my issue. I think either I soldered something on the switch incorrectly or it’s an issue with my guitar cable or the jack..and I haven’t had a fly with the little red button so it may be functioning properly. With the red button in one position I get no output. In the opposite, i do get sound. I’m not home so I can’t recall in or out for when it works. when I turn the switch on piezo, the volume works on the master volume AND the top of the stacked knob. It also seems that the bridge pickup is getting no sound. I used a wiring diagram that said fly classic for the switch. I don’t think it makes much of a difference since it had yellow wires on the diagram and mine are grey. I just wired them accordingly. Everything else works perfectly. Top and middle position on the pickup selector works. And all of the bottom toggle switch positions are working. I’m just kind of stumped by having multiple volume knobs. When I get home I’ll check to see if it’s possible that maybe the ribbon cable might be off a little or something in the connector? By the way, my cable needs a little twisting to go into the jack.

[mmmguitar]

With the red button in one position I get no output. In the opposite, i do get sound.

So you're getting mag and piezo signals in the one position, and nothing in the other? And with a mono 1/4" plug, or a T/R/S stereo plug? I ask because your symptom *could* be indicative of having the "tip" and "ring" lugs of the jack reversed.

FWIW, the original manual states that the red button pushed in is mono; and pushed out is stereo.

when I turn the switch on piezo, the volume works on the master volume AND the top of the stacked knob.

That seems correct.

It also seems that the bridge pickup is getting no sound.

A multimeter set for DCR/Ω to check the finish and start wire connections of the bridge humbucker where they're soldered to the 4PDT selector switch and the grounding point your chose (the reading should be in the vicinity of 17kΩ), and then moving the one probe from the humbucker "hot" wire to the series connection for the auto-split soldered to the same selector switch (either 8 or 9kΩ, depending on the coil) will diagnose whether the problem lies with the pickup itself, or not.

If those check out then, from there, you can switch the multimeter to test for continuity and hold one probe to the switch lug you soldered the pickup's hot wire to and the other probe to the output lug of the switch (when switched to "bridge", of course), then to the input lug of the mag volume pot, and then to the center lug of the pot (making sure the pot's turned all the way up to 10). All these points along the signal path should show electrical continuity. With the ribbon assembly and preamp, the signal path gets a bit more complicated from there (you will be following traces) - But so long as the neck pickup signal is being carried through, it should be safe to assume that the issue with the bridge pickup signal lies further upstream, between the pickup itself and the output lug of the selector switch.

Anything from a broken pickup winding or hookup wire between the bobbin and baseplate, to a cold solder joint, faulty switch, or a simple short caused from a fleck of excess solder could be the culprit.

[vjmanzo]

I heard somewhere that hardtail Parker flys were produced from the beginning up to 1995 or so?

Yes, hardtail Flys were available from the beginning until the end of Parker Guitars, but they weren’t as popular, so the production numbers on them waned through the years. Originally, Ken and Larry were planning to go to market with just the hardtail Fly Deluxe, but Korg insisted that they also develop a vibrato version of the Fly. To say that Korg “insisted” is an understatement, but I won’t get into the details on that. So…without changing the design and tooling everything they’d done so far, Ken and his team designed a vibrato system that fit inside that skinny-as-hell guitar we all know and love , which they showcased as part of the NAMM show in either ‘93 or ‘94.

I love the Fly hardtail. And yes, thanks for the kind words about my Fly swarm. The two redwood neck Flys I have both sound great and both sound different Go figure—wood is a weird and wonderful composite material capable of producing two guitars that sound noticeably different even when the same person makes the same guitar out of same batch of wood with the same electronics and the same strings.

[Peaches]

Hi Mike, just reading through all the posts now. @mmmguitar 's most recent post is great and should help you figure out what might be going on.

In the past when I have had guitars that has output in certain modes and not others, it has largely been the problem of the 1/4" trs jack. To see if this is the culprit, I have removed the jack from the body, and tested by plugging a cable in while the jack is not mounted to anything. This usually allows me to play around with it and see if I can get a connection by wiggling things around.

[Mike987]

Thanks guys! I haven’t had enough time set aside to take a look at everything yet since it drives me nuts to open something up and leave it like that if i don’t have time to complete it. I have noticed from messing around with it for a few minutes that if i plug my strum buddy in then then it seems like I don’t really have a hard time getting that cable in the jack as opposed to my other guitar cable. By the way, the strum buddy is a little portable suction cup amplifier for those who may not know. Probably sounds really weird if anyone doesn’t know what that it hahah. After reading these replies, I should definitely break out the multimeter and also take a closer look at the jack. Aside from the strum buddy, I’m noticing I have to use significantly more effort in getting a cable fully into the jack. I do have spare fly jacks ..thankfully. Now that I’m typing this, this question crossed my mind about the jack specifically…are the jacks different between the pre refined and refined flys? I know the wiring is different, but are the jacks different?
Also, I REALLY have a feeling after it being mentioned about some excess solder. I am not a betting man, but I would confidently bet that I am likely the worst at soldering than anyone in this forum, past or present. Haha. I started typing this yesterday and accidentally lost my text but I am under the impression that people who actually solder secretly have 3 hands or use one of their feet or something to do the job correctly. I never actually learned how to solder so I held the wires in place with one and my wife held the spool with a piece of solder sticking out and I just melted it right over each contact. So more than likely I have excess solder somewhere.

It’s also a heck of a coincidence that you mention the difference in the difference in how the guitars sound different, VJ! Less than 24 hours ago I was having a conversation with my wife about the difference in sounds in electric guitars and how much wood actually makes a difference in electric guitars. I know wood and stuff makes more of a difference in acoustic instruments but uhave several of the same model Parker guitars and I swear each one of them has their own sound..regardless of the same wood, configuration or pickup cavities, pickups. Both of my fly bronzes for example, they both sound awesome, but different. I’ve been wondering since none of my flys are hardtails besides my bronzes, is there a noticeable weight difference? I’ve always been curious if that little block they cut out for the trem spring makes a difference?

Thank you again for the replies everyone! I will keep you all updated. I’m aiming for taking a look at it tomorrow.

[vjmanzo]

are the jacks different between the pre refined and refined flys? I know the wiring is different, but are the jacks different?

Yes, the jacks are different. The pre-refined Flys had two different versions of a jack depending on whether your flex PCB had the parasite plug or not:

is there a noticeable weight difference? I’ve always been curious if that little block they cut out for the trem spring makes a difference?

The hardtails are a little lighter—it’s noticeable, but it’s a small difference.

I am under the impression that people who actually solder secretly have 3 hands or use one of their feet or something to do the job correctly.

I don’t do much soldering, but we have these solder stations in my lab, which have two hands to help hold things in place. We also have a few of these helping hands. Also, the electrical engineers all swear by this solder sucker. I have no affiliation with any of these products. They are very useful.

[mmmguitar]

Thanks for mentioning those endorsements @vjmanzo - I'll likely buy that soldering station and magnetic helping hand for this upcoming year's projects. I haven't done much soldering since moving last spring, and have been making do with a cheap, backup 30-watt pencil since my T12 died on me. I've had the same crummy "helping hands" tool with the two prongs and magnifying glass since I was a teenager; and just want to make the work less tedious, so I can focus on playing the gear.

While we're endorsing stuff: If I have a civic duty, it's to remind everyone that Kester "44" rosin-core solder does anything I need it to. Any time I've fallen into the trap of using some of the horrible, no-name "solder" that comes bundled with some irons or a jar of paste flux, I always regret it. Substandard solder has turned simple repairs or mods into nightmares for me.

[vjmanzo]

Kester "44" rosin-core solder does anything I need it to.

Thanks, Marc! Is this the stuff you use?

[mmmguitar]

Kester "44" rosin-core solder does anything I need it to.

Thanks, Marc! Is this the stuff you use?

Yes, and it comes in different diameters (people soldering pots, switches, and jacks might prefer .031" to .020"). I use the 63/37 when I want solder joints to harden immediately (which is most of the time), and also happen to have a spool of Kester's larger diameter 24 (60/40) which I tend to use for three-handed jobs where I find myself wanting an extra second or two to work with solder blobs before they harden (such as when I'm grounding several squirrelly cloth-pushback wires to a pot casing; and might need to switch hands to apply pressure to the bundle with a screwdriver tip or cylinder for the sake of squaring up any errant wires and ensuring they all stay aligned in the direction I want once I've removed the iron tip).