the Fly Clone Project

So... this is definitely a silly, convoluted question:

Is the late USM-era Radial Nitefly worth purchasing at >$2000?

My context:

• I've been a Parker fan since the 1990s and a Parker player since the 2010s...
  My first was a (now-stolen) Parker Fly Mojo Singlecut (FMS) which I purchased for ~$2500 new. I absolutely loved the tone, ergonomics, and feel of that guitar including the fact that it was passive (because I am lazy and like leaving guitars plugged-in). Things I didn't like were the crap pots/switches and the overall weight.

• When the FMS was stolen, I hastily picked-up the last PDF105 from Sweetwater because I had a gig and it was on fire-sale. I really like so much about this guitar like the weight, the Graphtech Ghost pickup, and the horn shape. Frustratingly, though, the CC pickups are not Jazz/JB and the PDF105 really is just a conventional bolt-neck guitar with all its inherent tuning instability. So...

• I bought a Nitefly Mojo (I think it was scanman's from the old forum) and was back in tonal-bliss. It's early USM-era (as 99% of Mojos are) and so still crap pots & switchs but the major annoyances were the weight, Fishman preamp tone, and upper horn.

• Recently, I "discovered" that Parker made 3-single pup Niteflys from the very start of the Nitefly line and acquired two Ken-era copies (one with active and the other with passive electronics). These are my current favorite (I've always been a strat/tele player) but they have some of the major drawbacks of the pre-radial Nitefly design including weight and the inferior Fishman pickups/preamp.

So, what I'm wondering... is a non-CF neck Radial Nitefly worth it? The Radial Nitefly looks like it checks a few of my boxes (great electric and acoustic pickups, lighter-weight carved body) but it definitely lacks the essence of what makes a Fly/Nitefly a Parker: the CF neck and its superior tuning stability. Essentially, at current used-market prices it's going for more than higher-end S-style guitars from PRS, Music Man, Ibanez, and Fender and I'm sure my inner Parker fan boy is the only reason I want to buy one.

In fact, as I type this, I'm thinking the 5/6/7xx Dragon/Maxxflys would probably be a better purchase because it'd be more things I want (single-coil pups and rounded horn) but I'm dismissing them outright because they, again, lack the CF-neck.

Add to that, I haven't made any mods to my stable of Parkers -I should probably just swap out the electronics and pots/switches and call it a day...

My two cents...

Nothing against the non-composite versions of Flys, and I'm not trying to be elitist, but I think the soul of a Parker is the whole composite materials construction. That is what distinguishes them from other guitars out there.

Aside from that, it becomes really a matter of you liking the shape/weight/tone of the guitar, which opens up possibilities for all sorts of other brands.
$2000 is a good chunk of money, you can get a lot of guitar for it if non-composites are an option.

I would suggest checking out some PRS, in my experience they tend to be very consistent and their quality control is far superior than the other big name brands, and then get it set up within an inch of its life by a good luthier/tech.

Short answer to the very long question: No.

Thanks guys!

Yeah, seeing the Radial Nitefly (and, by extension, the various Maxxflys) listed at higher than a Silver Sky or a Cutlass hurt my brain.

JP

I have had a few and I definitely think they are great guitars.
Its hard to compare them to the revolutionary design that is a Parker guitar, though, but as far as guitars go, they are fantastic. I'm a fan of rosewood necks and I've had 2 USA DF guitars with that neck and one I will never let go.
The maple neck with the Ebony fretboard is also great but more in line with the Carvins I've had.

The USA DF line had great neck construction.

The ability to get piezo with HSS, HSH or HH helps, but $2000 plus shipping is not going to have a serious resale value if you buy it just to check it out and want to move it to make room for more.

Lately, I'm thinking more on the lines of "Damn! I really just need one guitar, right ?"

Anyway, look what happened:

https://reverb.com/item/214450-parker-m ... 13-natural

So that one's gonna play the same as a $1500 one.

Incidentally, @jb63, did you ever sell that DF824 that you have in the Classifieds section?

Nope. That white one from china is still here, too.