the Fly Clone Project

Hi! I've lurked this forum a bit and used some of its resources to make some upgrades (well, changes, anyway) to my V2 Nitefly. I thought I'd finally introduce myself. I bought this Nitefly back in like 2002 as a college student as my first electric guitar, after trying a P-38 in the local Guitar Center and deciding on the spot that I needed a Parker of some kind. The Nitefly was at the sweet spot of affordability for me at the time — I don't know why I splurged on it rather than settling for a P-38 but since part of what I love about it is the fretboard, I'm glad I did. I've always lived in small apartments and condos so don't have room for lots of guitars, but I've never felt the need for another. Probably the best decision I ever made as a college student!

Originally it was all black but earlier this year I replaced the pickguard and knobs (and strap) with something more playful. I also swapped out the single-coils for some rail humbuckers. Why? Well, I am not a very good guitarist, so why not? I liked the look of them, and I noticed I was mostly using the bridge humbucker in the original configuration. I use this guitar purely for recording and always with a stereo cable, so I also changed the mag/piezo selector to control coil tapping for the new pickups. Later I have a blue Alumitone I'd like to put in for the bridge pickup, and a Free-Way switch I want to put in for the 5-way (if it's not too deep to fit in the body ) but I'm not ready for more open-heart guitar surgery just yet.

I also have a "Hornet" bass as described in this thread but honestly it doesn't have much of what makes the NiteFly so special to me and I'm trying to find a next bass now that I'm an adult with money. Asking about basses people love is one thing I wanted to do here in this forum!

Hi @valrus! Welcome!! Love the look of this and very exciting to learn about these mods—seems like a killer instrument!

I’ll add that I do love my Fly Bass FB-4 It makes me seem like a better bass player than I am They’re not so common and they’re on the pricey side, but I’m a big fan!

valrus wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 11:18 pm Why? Well, I am not a very good guitarist, so why not?

A player after my own heart! Your project ambitions are somewhat similar to this thread. I bring it up to say that, when you feel up to attempting the surgery, I'll be happy to help. I *think* the Free Way blade switch circuitboards are similar in depth to the Schaller Megaswitches and in dimension to typical PCB "import" blade switches (i.e., they should fit). Feel free to bounce wiring ideas off our community of tinkerers. Any previous Alumitone experience/impressions? They have a character all their own.

vjmanzo wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 11:50 pm Hi @valrus! Welcome!! Love the look of this and very exciting to learn about these mods—seems like a killer instrument!

I’ll add that I do love my Fly Bass FB-4 It makes me seem like a better bass player than I am They’re not so common and they’re on the pricey side, but I’m a big fan!

I'll second VJ's comment, the FB-4 is an amazing bass. Many tones can be pulled from it and the neck makes it extremely easy to play. If you can find one for a decent price, I would definitely jump on one.

vjmanzo wrote: Wed Nov 30, 2022 11:50 pm I’ll add that I do love my Fly Bass FB-4 It makes me seem like a better bass player than I am They’re not so common and they’re on the pricey side, but I’m a big fan!

syncopa wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 5:46 pm I'll second VJ's comment, the FB-4 is an amazing bass. Many tones can be pulled from it and the neck makes it extremely easy to play. If you can find one for a decent price, I would definitely jump on one.

Yeah, that would probably be one of my first choices. But they sure are expensive, and I'm not sure I'm psychologically ready to spend that much on a bass. "Makes me seem like a better bass player than I am" is definitely appealing though. I'll keep an eye out but all the ones I've seen for sale just now are like $3500+, which is for sure more than I'm ready to drop.

mmmguitar wrote: Thu Dec 01, 2022 3:04 am Your project ambitions are somewhat similar to this thread. I bring it up to say that, when you feel up to attempting the surgery, I'll be happy to help. I *think* the Free Way blade switch circuitboards are similar in depth to the Schaller Megaswitches and in dimension to typical PCB "import" blade switches (i.e., they should fit). Feel free to bounce wiring ideas off our community of tinkerers. Any previous Alumitone experience/impressions? They have a character all their own.

Thank you! I am planning to do the simplest possible thing (swap in the Alumitone with no wiring changes and follow one of the schematics on Free-Way's site) but I'll definitely come here for help if I don't feel sure of myself. I've never used an Alumitone before but "a character all their own" is what I'm looking for! I don't claim to be an innovative musician but if I were just looking to replicate a 60-year-old tone I'd have a Strat instead of a Nitefly.