the Fly Clone Project

Hello -

I picked up a 1995 Fly Classic recently and it plays great and is functional. I still own a 2014 Mojo Fly and I am familiar with that particular model setup etc. However, the Pre-refined is a bit different.

First, this came with an "updated" pre amp, which looks to be the Fishman Powerchip. Not sure why this modification was made, but I see that this also eliminated the "tone" stack of the piezo volume/tone control.

I'm not yet familiar with everything pre-refined, I have some questions:

-At some point, is it worth locating and restoring an original Preamp and cable/ribbon/pcb set and the stacked tone/vol? Do the original preamps sound any better? Do they failed often?

-The vibrato bar is hexagonal and is heavy, but it sits much too high for my tastes. Plus I don't like the upward angle (this or my 2014). Are there solutions for this?

-The truss rod doesn't seem to loosen to where I can set to 007 at 5th fret with 1&12 depressed. I figure I've made about 3/4 rotation already. Do I keep loosening?

Thanks!

fstrat76 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 12:11 pm -At some point, is it worth locating and restoring an original Preamp and cable/ribbon/pcb set and the stacked tone/vol? Do the original preamps sound any better? Do they failed often?

-The vibrato bar is hexagonal and is heavy, but it sits much too high for my tastes. Plus I don't like the upward angle (this or my 2014). Are there solutions for this?

-The truss rod doesn't seem to loosen to where I can set to 007 at 5th fret with 1&12 depressed. I figure I've made about 3/4 rotation already. Do I keep loosening?

1. The original PCB was designed to be both quick to install (at the original factory) and lighter than the traditional point-to-point your Fly has been converted to. Whether things are preferable or not depends on needs and preferences. There are ample posts you can find on this topic on these forums.

The Fishman Powerchip is already in the original pre-refined Fly. Reliability issues seem to be rare with the Powerchip. If it works, it works. Saddles and the PCB are more often the culprit when something goes wrong.

For my needs, I need the stacked tone. However, if a guitar has already been converted and works fine…

N.b. VJ has reproduced an updated version of the PCB for sale (not sure when they will be back in stock, but ask him if interested).


2. Some people have made their own hex bars. It is possible you have an aftermarket one (I bought a spare one on eBay and it sat too high as you described). If you get a spare one, you can also use a vice and try to adjust its angle to a more desirable one. These things have some pliability being mainly aluminium (I believe).


3. Avoid overdoing it (e.g. more than a quarter/max half a turn). If measurements still indicate no change, then stop!

Several members have never had to adjust the truss rod as it did not need to. Is your Fly in dire need of adjustments or are you simply tinkering?

Welcome, @fstrat76. Just to add on to everything Voice of Reason said: What gauge strings are you running? Being as you specified loosening the truss rod, am I correct to assume you’re trying to add relief? The Fly has a range of adjustable relief to accommodate your preference, but IMO was designed with minimal relief in mind. Due to the carbon reinforced neck, you may find the Fly requires more time and/or applied tension for a loosened truss to impart relief.

Thanks for the replies!

Voice Of Reason wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 12:58 pm 1. The original PCB was designed to be both quick to install (at the original factory) and lighter than the traditional point-to-point your Fly has been converted to. Whether things are preferable or not depends on needs and preferences. There are ample posts you can find on this topic on these forums.

The Fishman Powerchip is already in the original pre-refined Fly. Reliability issues seem to be rare with the Powerchip. If it works, it works. Saddles and the PCB are more often the culprit when something goes wrong.

For my needs, I need the stacked tone. However, if a guitar has already been converted and works fine…

N.b. VJ has reproduced an updated version of the PCB for sale (not sure when they will be back in stock, but ask him if interested).


2. Some people have made their own hex bars. It is possible you have an aftermarket one (I bought a spare one on eBay and it sat too high as you described). If you get a spare one, you can also use a vice and try to adjust its angle to a more desirable one. These things have some pliability being mainly aluminium (I believe).


3. Avoid overdoing it (e.g. more than a quarter/max half a turn). If measurements still indicate no change, then stop!

Several members have never had to adjust the truss rod as it did not need to. Is your Fly in dire need of adjustments or are you simply tinkering?

1. It sounds great as is but I'll dig into this more if I ever decide to restore it. Right now, this is a player guitar for me.

2. I suppose I could heat up the bar some and try to bend it, just afraid to break it I guess.

3. For the truss, yes, I stopped turning as it wasn't making any difference.

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 1:36 pm Welcome, @fstrat76. Just to add on to everything Voice of Reason said: What gauge strings are you running? Being as you specified loosening the truss rod, am I correct to assume you’re trying to add relief? The Fly has a range of adjustable relief to accommodate your preference, but IMO was designed with minimal relief in mind. Due to the carbon reinforced neck, you may find the Fly requires more time and/or applied tension for a loosened truss to impart relief.

I am using 9-42 NYXL. Correct, trying to add a little relief. It was tight at 005, I prefer 005 or 006. Looks like I can get it to 007 now. I'm good with setting it at 005/006 right now. I am just tinkering now as upcoming humid season messes with some of my guitars and I want to have some adjustment flexibility. I want to make there is nothing wrong with the truss.

One other question:

I've read posts about adjusting the pickup heights and also read the manual. Seems like its straightforward, but loosening those two pole screws does nothing. The screws are almost all the way out and the pickups will not move up or down. Any ideas on this?

@fstrat76, this post and the videos linked within it may help with your pickup height adjustment.

I have huge temperature swings where I live; so truss adjustments are necessary for all of my guitars (save the trussless Vigiers). The Fly neck is far more rigid and resistant to change than almost any other guitar; so coaxing adjustments into place can take a little more time to set in.

And being as it was mentioned above: So far as I can tell, the reproduction Fly PCBs are still available on the Reverb store.

fstrat76 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 4:11 pm I've read posts about adjusting the pickup heights and also read the manual. Seems like its straightforward, but loosening those two pole screws does nothing. The screws are almost all the way out and the pickups will not move up or down. Any ideas on this?

The trick is to grasp the pickups on their sides and pull them up manually. Having done this recently, I found there is a trial and error to set their height properly. You will have to exert some force to keep them in place while screwing back the pole pieces.

As for the bar… I’d buy a third-party one on eBay and not think too much about it.

As mmmguitar pointed out, it is highly unlikely for your Fly’s neck to shift even with humid/drastic temperature changes. See this for yourself by keeping a log over time.

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 5:30 pm @fstrat76, this post and the videos linked within it may help with your pickup height adjustment.

So far as I can tell, the reproduction Fly PCBs are still available on the Reverb store.

I haven’t seen the PCB on sale since January. It seems the initial batch quickly sold out. Unless the listing is region protected or something (I’m in Canada). VJ could shed some light on this best seller!

Voice Of Reason wrote: ↑Fri Mar 31, 2023 8:07 pm I haven’t seen the PCB on sale since January. It seems the initial batch quickly sold out. Unless the listing is region protected or something (I’m in Canada). VJ could shed some light on this best seller!

They are back in stock here and here—odd that you can’t see them, but I’ll check into the international visibility settings. Sorry about that

The original owner had all the oem parts (flex cable, preamp board, and vol/tone stack pot) and sent them to me.

I am planning on keeping the newer Powerchip in the guitar right now, as everything functions nicely and works fine. The piezo elements also work nicely with the Powerchip.

However, someday, I may want to restore it back to all OEM. I don't know what went wrong with the original preamp, but what has the higher failure rate, the pre-amp components or the flex cable?

Never heard of a preamp failing.

fstrat76 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 13, 2023 3:17 pm The original owner had all the oem parts (flex cable, preamp board, and vol/tone stack pot) and sent them to me.

I am planning on keeping the newer Powerchip in the guitar right now, as everything functions nicely and works fine. The piezo elements also work nicely with the Powerchip.

However, someday, I may want to restore it back to all OEM. I don't know what went wrong with the original preamp, but what has the higher failure rate, the pre-amp components or the flex cable?

There may not be any issues with the original components.

Unless you have the seller confirm this to you, the switch to point-to-point wiring may just have been made:

a) Thinking the PCB was bound to fail (i.e. there were no replacement PCBs available until recently). This was a common theme on the old Parker forums.

b) The guitar has some kind of mod to it (or the user was thinking about it), requiring PTP.

Apart from the (slight) weight difference and the the availability of the stacked tone…there are not that many reasons to restore the original components. You’d be hard pressed to hear much of a difference (unless the guitar is modded with a Freeway switch, etc.).