Fly weight?

[Mike987]

The Parker fly is known for its light weight…but my question is, is there any reason a fly would weigh more than 4.5 to 5 pounds? I believe the scale isn’t working correctly but I’ve had someone hold my fly mojo and stand on the scale and then with my fly bronze and I’m getting a whopping 7+ pounds with the mojo which Is unmodified besides swapping the refined metal knobs for rubber pre refined ones that are lighter and over 5 pounds for the fly bronze! Just curious as to if there would be a reason why certain models would have excess weight or the scale is just wrong? I lift weights on a regular basis so I have a pretty good idea of weight. The mojo feels to be close to 5 lbs and the bronze feels significantly lighter.

[vjmanzo]

Great question, @Mike987. In short, the way that Ken described it in a lecture he gave: if you’re trying to reduce the weight of a car by five pounds, you don’t look for something that weighs five pounds and then get rid of it—you look for a bunch of small ways in a variety of areas to reduce the weight: the length of wire used to make connections, the materials used, and so on.

USM seems to have embraced this ideology less than when the Flys were being made in Wilmington. Certainly the differences in wood have something to do with the weight—unavoidably so—but so do pickups (on the Mojo), the Flex PCB vs. point to point wiring, the knobs, and so on. All of those little things add up.

[Patzag]

I suspect your scale is off. My Mojo, which was heavy, was 6lbs. The Bronze should be MUCH lighter.

[jester700]

I also suspect the scale. Even my maple necked Bolt on with a Floyd is only 6.25 lbs. No way a Mojo is 7.

[mmmguitar]

Outliers are out there:

The Roland GK3 unit on this 2011 Lime Gold Mojo tipped it over 7lbs. The current owner (Fly Clone member kmadd) confirmed that the guitar is approx. 6.4 lbs with the pickup removed; which makes it their heaviest Fly:

https://reverb.com/item/60151804-parker ... llywood-ca

This '08 Mojo I formerly owned remains the heaviest Fly I've both encountered or even heard of; at nearly 8 lbs with the GK unit on:

viewtopic.php?t=591

Anecdotally, many of the listings I've seen for Graphtech/Duncan-era 2014 and '15 DF842 and Fly models have spec'd 7.0 lbs (which led me to pass them over).

[jester700]

Outliers are out there:
...
Anecdotally, many of the listings I've seen for Graphtech/Duncan-era 2014 and '15 DF842 and Fly models have spec'd 7.0 lbs (which lead me to pass them over).

Wow. I sit corrected. I get that the later ones had thicker bodies to allow standard pups, but 7 lbs for a Parker just seems wrong (except Niteflys - different critter). If my DF824 was 7 lbs I'd have sent it back.

[Jupiter]

I have weighed 3 Fly guitars in total (with two different scales, the differences was +- 50gr).

My '95 Fly Deluxe weighs 2365gr (with the tremolo arm which weighs 38gr).
My '98 Fly Classic weighs 2475gr (with the tremolo arm).
My friends '07 Mojo weighs 2.9Kg (again, with the tremolo arm).

I think the tonewood combo is important here, the mahogany-mahogany is heavier than the mahogany-basswood which is heavier than the poplar-basswood combo.

On the other hand, my friend and I are still trying to understand why his Mojo is almost half a kilo heavier than my Classic while the only significant difference is the neck tonewood. This can't be because of the mahogany neck alone, so I guess it also has to do with the weight of the particular wood slab the body, neck etc is coming from.

[Patzag]

I have weighed 3 Fly guitars in total (with two different scales, the differences was +- 50gr).

My '95 Fly Deluxe weighs 2365gr (with the tremolo arm which weighs 38gr).
My '98 Fly Classic weighs 2475gr (with the tremolo arm).
My friends '07 Mojo weighs 2.9Kg (again, with the tremolo arm).

I think the tonewood combo is important here, the mahogany-mahogany is heavier than the mahogany-basswood which is heavier than the poplar-basswood combo.

On the other hand, my friend and I are still trying to understand why his Mojo is almost half a kilo heavier than my Classic while the only significant difference is the neck tonewood. This can't be because of the mahogany neck alone, so I guess it also has to do with the weight of the particular wood slab the body, neck etc is coming from.

There are a number of things that could make the mojo heavier:
1. Wood
2. Thickness of the body. Check it out, not all bodies are made equal.
3. Truss Rod. Metal rod instead of "piano" wire.
4. Knobs - that's a BIG one. The heavy metal knobs are much heavier than the rubber knobs.
5. Check the thickness and width of the neck. My mojo's neck was slightly thicker and wider than my Deluxe.

There may be more that I missed ...

[Jupiter]

There are a number of things that could make the mojo heavier:
1. Wood
2. Thickness of the body. Check it out, not all bodies are made equal.
3. Truss Rod. Metal rod instead of "piano" wire.
4. Knobs - that's a BIG one. The heavy metal knobs are much heavier than the rubber knobs.
5. Check the thickness and width of the neck. My mojo's neck was slightly thicker and wider than my Deluxe.

There may be more that I missed ...

Wow, thanks for the info, Pat!

I think #4 shouldn't be in the equation, if the tremolo arm is just 38gr, I don't see how three metal knobs can add that much weight.

As for the #5, I did notice that the neck was a bit thicker but not that much, otherwise I wouldn't have played it at all (like the Nitefly I was talking about in the other thread). Can't say I noticed any differences in the width but I'll take your word for it as you are way more experienced than I am (and also you own a few of these too, lol).

I think the first three points alone can explain the extra weight.

Thanks Pat.

[Patzag]

Sure.
But don't discount the knobs and other small things. KP worked on every little bit, and every little bit added to another little bit adds up to a significant change in weight. It's not just one thing.
If you want to have fun, pull all the knobs on your mojo and weigh them and compare to all the knobs on your deluxe - and then tell me what you think.
Cheers,
Patrick

[Jupiter]

Sure.
But don't discount the knobs and other small things. KP worked on every little bit, and every little bit added to another little bit adds up to a significant change in weight. It's not just one thing.
If you want to have fun, pull all the knobs on your mojo and weigh them and compare to all the knobs on your deluxe - and then tell me what you think.
Cheers,
Patrick

Hey, that wasn't my Mojo, and I doubt my friend is willing to pull anything out of his Mojo...actually, his two refined Mojos, the guys owns 30 high quality guitars and these two are his favorites,lol..

But I get your point, it's like ditching extra weight from a racing car or a bike, you do it piece by piece, gram by gram.

[Patzag]

But I get your point, it's like ditching extra weight from a racing car or a bike, you do it piece by piece, gram by gram.

Exactly!

[nuovonormale]

talking about knobs, but going a bit out of topic.. (maybe I'll post this separately in a more relevant topic)
does anyone here on the forum has a couple of original (plastic/rubber) spare knobs?
In the pre-refined I bought they were replaced with metal dome knobs... which I *really* would like to revert back to original.
The owner thought he'd find them somewhere at home but has not managed to locate them.
thanks
Andrea

[vjmanzo]

does anyone here on the forum has a couple of original (plastic/rubber) spare knobs?

We have some comparable ones linked on the parts page, but they’re not exact, unfortunately

Maybe post a separate thread in the Classifieds?

[nuovonormale]

thanks vj, I'll do!
I had seen those referenced in the Parts List you linked which seem to be exactly the same as the originals bar the white (or blue) "line" and I regret not buying a few while I was visiting US: now it'd cost me some absurd shipping to get them.
silly me

[tronathan]

Proud new owner of an early ‘04 Mojo clear coated (trans cherry…I think); it came in at 5lb 12oz (no trem bar); light for a guitar, but not pre-refined light as I remember when I was a teenager;

Swapped out the heavy steel knobs for simple wood ones I bought online and saved almost 3 oz. Theyre not the OG rubber ones, but there’s something more fitting to having minimalist wood knobs instead of those steel ones that are basically the heaviest possible hardware.

I’m legit considering swapping out the strap pegs for plastic ones… maybe save a quarter oz? And trying to find an ultra lightweight strap that is still comfortable.

Doesn’t seem that there’s much left except electronics which seems like hands-off territory; although an incidental and microscopic weight reduction comes from hair-thin and comically delicate wires from a replaced battery case (one of the few things I’m less than stoked about upon receiving my dream guitar)

Any other suggestions for weight reduction? Maybe a couple helium balloons tied to the headstock?

[mmmguitar]

[vjmanzo]

I remember seeing that “travel Fly” on eBay a few years back!!!

[tronathan]

Ok ok! No more mods necessary

[Nefarius]

[Image of a butchered Fly I won't repeat in a quote]

That's a crime against humanity, I'm calling The Hague!

Greetings...
Nef