the Fly Clone Project

Notes on this article "The history of the Parker Fly" by Justin Beckner published by guitar.com (June 28, 2022)

Most of the information is spot on, but apart from a few minor quibbles, the truss rod story might be usefully corrected..

I can’t remember ever building more than a couple early prototype instruments without rods, and can confidently say that nothing was ever sold without an adjustable truss rod.

A couple of these (early, rough) development/test guitars slipped between the cracks in the late 80’s, when I was getting sick of playing with my first lightweight truss rod design, which was a 1/16” (1.5 mm) 1X19 stainless steel twisted strand cable.

Before any production guitar was shipped, we tested and finalized the unique TR design that was part of every Fly guitar.

This innovative rod was a complex and costly gizmo with six unique component parts instead of the usual 3 or 4, using a .078”  (2 mm) diameter piece of stainless steel music wire, and tested to exceed 1500 pounds breaking strength.

Payoff was the weight, just 1/6th of the Gibson or Fender rods, and worked well until someone got inebriated and tried to “see what it can do”, whereupon all bets were off.

Because I snuck the adjuster opening in the treble edge of the headstock it turned out that many folks overlooked it as there was no TRCover!

Due to the stability of the guitar’s structure, rod adjustments were very rarely needed after the initial setup, apart from when the string gauges were changed.

Broken truss rods are terrible challenges on any instrument, but the one I designed isn’t repairable on this planet.

Again, thanks for your kind words and appreciation!

#TrussIssues

Thanks for posting this, Ken. My Midifly is a 1999, I think. I have never once had to touch the truss. The guitar plays like a dream.

Ken,
First of all, I have to say how much I respect your talent for creating instruments that are truly incredible in every aspect. I had the chance to meet you back in '95/96 at the NAMM show in Anaheim when l had my first Parker Fly Classic my dad bought for me, which l still have today. Unfortunately l was a shy twenty-something back then and was intimidated by your big beard, tall stature and crazy spectacles, lol. l should of just said hi. Anyways, here's a story about my first Parker Fly. Today l have 3 'classics'. The first one my dad bought me in '95 and many, many years later l actually broke the bridge through the top of the guitar-it literally punched through the wood. I'm sure you know where this is going...about 5 years ago l noticed that the Parker had a buzz that seemed to come from the truss rod. This guitar was the only guitar l used for years in my old band and it was really used, let me tell ya. lnstead of adjusting the truss rod, which l was afraid to touch, l adjusted the 'wheel'. I kept turning the wheel until, you guessed it, the entire bridge punched through the top of the guitar. I was beside myself. What an idiot l was-go ahead and rag on me, l deserve it. LOL. l purchased 2 other guitars to replace it. The first was a 2001 with 2nd gen PU's and more red then wine colored-l never really liked it as much as my original but l still have it. The second replacement was a 98 and an exact replacement-near perfect condition. It is about a half pound heavier then my 95 and sounds fatter for some reason-maybe the PU height/position-not sure. I like how it sounds, though. It is a beautiful guitar. Back to the original Parker l broke. It was left in the rafters of my California garage for about 5 years (with many winter and summer temperatures to affect the body) when l finally decided to bring it down and put it back together. l used wood glue to attach the top wood piece back on (it looks crude but kinda cool, too)-put back together the internals-put the strings back on that were on the guitar when it broke and threw a battery in it. This time l cranked on the truss rod and the vibration went away-should've done that first. LOL. The moment of truth...l plugged it into my Groove Tube Soul o 75, and this f***ing thing came roaring back to life-sounded as good as ever! l was blown away-still am. It's like it never happened. It's still my main guitar and sounds and plays incredible. There is simply nothing like a Parker (pre-refined). They are built to last! Not sure if you'll ever read this but if you do, thanks for the great instruments Ken. You are one of a kind, for sure...
Thx,
Jon

Here's a pic after putting it back together...