Clap twice, turn knob halfway to left then full way right while flicking between position 2 & 4, scream shamal am into the neck pickup and you get a beautiful organ sound - just like that.
The look may not be the cup of tea of everyone.. but my god...this is probably the best signature model i've seen till this day... and this video is already 13 years old...
I bought a Parker after years of seeing Adrian's enthusiasm for them. (Not the signature model - that was beyond my means, and I've never seen one for sale.) Fantastic guitar. The very best guitar I've ever played, after a lifetime of Epiphone Les Pauls and some no-name knockoffs of others. My current Epiphone has remained untouched since I got the Parker. It can't compare to a Fly.
I'm impressed that you can admit a mistake; that's rare on youtube vids. Maybe it shows Adrian attracts thoughtful fans. We're on the same page; Adrian and Hendrix are kindred spirits, and what Jimi did remains unsurpassed; I love his incredible sound paintings. He did prove you can do a lot with a little!
I went to the guitar clinic at Sweetwater to see Adrian Belew. What a SWEET place Sweetwater is! What a beautiful guitar---who wouldn't LOVE to have one of those! And Adrian Belew was (as always) in top form with his Power Trio. Well worth the 500 mile round trip! And someday I'd love to have a Parker Adrian Belew Signature Fly. (Doesn't hurt to dream, does it??) : )
Hendrix took advantage of the most modern sound technologies of his time (in fact he helped new ones come about because of his constant quest for something new and different). Do you honestly think if he were alive today, he'd stick to a strat, a marshall, and the handful of pedals that were available back then? More likely, he'd still be seeking new sounds from the latest tech gurus.
My own personal Hendrix career trajectory that exists in a timeline where he didn't die, he would've been playing the SynthAxe and making music inspired by Kraftwerk, Gary Numan etc. His 1983 concept album "Mermaid Radio Wave Salad (Another Mother)" would be a huge bomb, widely critically-panned at the time, but would find a new audience when people in 2016 begin using his music in "slowed + reverbed" remix vaporwave videos.
amazing ! ...yet somehow i miss the sounds that Adrian used to pull out of his old worn-out strat, when he played with the talking heads and the 1981 king crimson...
Very narrow minded statement. Who cares whether you control the sound with a fretboard or a keyboard; the point is to be creative, do something beautiful, and play an instrument that you love. Adrian is an inspiration to anyone wanting to express themselves in a way that is completely unique. And the Parker Fly is an amazing instrument.
I'm still amazed how people stumble upon the PCB thing while it had already been talked about and resolved long time ago. You simply unsolder the pots, put some wiring between the pots and the PCB and have the board lying somewhere in the cavity with pots layout freely arrangable.
ok this thing does a few more things than i thought haha, but either way. how many times do you think you are going to do a dobro/sitar/banjo/12-string/lapsteel/harpsichord solo?
Nice collection of guitars. No Parker Fly? Just out of curiousity, have you ever tried one? If not, give one a try if you get a chance. You just might agree with me. You have a nice day also.
I don't believe I started out calling anybody an idiot, so I'm not sure what you mean when you say "You first". I take it you play? What kind of guitar do you have? Just wondering.
Phffttt...Parker Flys. "State of the Art" guitars that have had all the soul engineered out of them. Tried one at the local music store some months ago, thought it was terrible. Even the music store guys couldn't understand what the fuss was all about. Want a truly great guitar? Get yourself a PRS!
Oh Parker, why was there never a Fly twin-neck? I would have given A LOT for a twin-neck I could actually wear without crippling back pain and may even be able to carry more than around a hundred yards without a good long sit down.... I think it would have been truly beautiful. Expect to hear back from me when the budget allows... P.
it seems like a very good guitar with many features ...i think the only thing that his holding this guitar back is the appearance...a gibson sg or les paul (for example) with this exact features would be an A LOT better selling guitar!!! and a lot more expensive because you pay the name GIBSON too!!
personally, i think Gibson and Fender guitars are JUNK. like most players, i romanticized them.... until I finally got to play them. I was stunned that I hated so much about them! then i tried a used $100 ibanez destroyer and that guitar is amazing!
I would think a more reasonable price would be something like in the $1000-2000 range. I was able to play one of these things and they ARE amazing, but that is way too pricey I think.
I really like it...and I have a normal Nitefly but the price is outrageous...and why is Adrian, arguably a very influential guitarist calling the "Pee-eh-zo" a "Pie-Zo"? Good grief!
Before you watch this video, THIS GUITAR COSTS 7,000$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really wanted one till I looked up how much it cost. I could buy every guitar this one simulates and have more bragging rights and get the real tones instead of the impersonators.
This guitar is at least $5,000 overpriced. They want $10,000 for the guitar. I'd say a similar stock US Parker would be about $4,000 the Variax and Sustainiac aren't $6,000.
Well its all subjective, but from many standpoints in my opinion Adrian Belew is way more sophisticated, innovative, and musical than Vernon Reid--and he has better technique.
because who dont like programing a computor while playing live in concert and trying to stay on time and in tune? no wonder his hair has fallen out. its from stress.
$9,000 for this thing. wtf!?! its a parker fly with a fernandez sustainer clone. that pickup kit costs $200 on ebay, and it sounds just like this. don't be a sucker. for that much money you could build an entire rig that sounds ridiculous and still have money left over
"The Variax solid body guitar sounds are better than any mid-priced guitar" ??!! that's bullshit no reasonable guitar player will ever buy!!! variax stuff is made for players with no real interest in sound. ANY mid priced guitar coupled with a mid price tube amp would sound better than whatever modeling shit existent. wich has a higher sound quality, mp3 or vinyl? same question here. the problem is the "mp3" is worth 10 times the "vinyl" in this case.
THESE PICK UPS SUCK. I PUT A FRANKENSTEIN PICK UP IN MY PARKER FLY AND DISCONNECTED THE OTHERS. IT IS AWESOME NOW. MY QUESTION IS CAN IT BE MODIFIED TO PUT IN A FLOYD ROSE SET UP...THE WOOD QUALITY IS INFERIOR SO I DONT KNOW IF I WOULD TAKE THE CHANCE IN DOING THIS. WHY DONT THEY MAKE A MODEL WITH A FLOYD ROSE WHAMMY BAR????????????????????
IT has los of features but all this Sounds Sound like plastic. It has horrible mids. I wrote this before, but whenever I hear a Parker guitar I have to write that. Spart from that Adrian is a freut guitar player. He uses the guitar more like a Keyboard. I th inkl that's Who He is more interested in the Features th an in the sound.
![Parker Fly Classic Review [HD]](/img/n.gif)
Clap twice, turn knob halfway to left then full way right while flicking between position 2 & 4, scream shamal am into the neck pickup and you get a beautiful organ sound - just like that.
one of the best guitars and nicest guitarists ever......the perfect duo!!!
YOU NEVER SAID WE COULD LET GO OF THE BUTTON ON THE BACK!!!
are you still holding it??
KingbassK oh god it’s been four years he’s still pressing that button...
The look may not be the cup of tea of everyone.. but my god...this is probably the best signature model i've seen till this day... and this video is already 13 years old...
I bought a Parker after years of seeing Adrian's enthusiasm for them. (Not the signature model - that was beyond my means, and I've never seen one for sale.) Fantastic guitar. The very best guitar I've ever played, after a lifetime of Epiphone Les Pauls and some no-name knockoffs of others. My current Epiphone has remained untouched since I got the Parker. It can't compare to a Fly.
I'm impressed that you can admit a mistake; that's rare on youtube vids. Maybe it shows Adrian attracts thoughtful fans. We're on the same page; Adrian and Hendrix are kindred spirits, and what Jimi did remains unsurpassed; I love his incredible sound paintings. He did prove you can do a lot with a little!
Adrian is possibly the greatest rock guitarist ever... His sig guitar is worth it! A brilliant creative device.
I went to the guitar clinic at Sweetwater to see Adrian Belew. What a SWEET place Sweetwater is! What a beautiful guitar---who wouldn't LOVE to have one of those! And Adrian Belew was (as always) in top form with his Power Trio. Well worth the 500 mile round trip! And someday I'd love to have a Parker Adrian Belew Signature Fly. (Doesn't hurt to dream, does it??) : )
Hendrix took advantage of the most modern sound technologies of his time (in fact he helped new ones come about because of his constant quest for something new and different). Do you honestly think if he were alive today, he'd stick to a strat, a marshall, and the handful of pedals that were available back then? More likely, he'd still be seeking new sounds from the latest tech gurus.
My own personal Hendrix career trajectory that exists in a timeline where he didn't die, he would've been playing the SynthAxe and making music inspired by Kraftwerk, Gary Numan etc. His 1983 concept album "Mermaid Radio Wave Salad (Another Mother)" would be a huge bomb, widely critically-panned at the time, but would find a new audience when people in 2016 begin using his music in "slowed + reverbed" remix vaporwave videos.
amazing ! ...yet somehow i miss the sounds that Adrian used to pull out of his
old worn-out strat, when he played with the
talking heads and the 1981 king crimson...
Very narrow minded statement. Who cares whether you control the sound with a fretboard or a keyboard; the point is to be creative, do something beautiful, and play an instrument that you love. Adrian is an inspiration to anyone wanting to express themselves in a way that is completely unique. And the Parker Fly is an amazing instrument.
I'm still amazed how people stumble upon the PCB thing while it had already been talked about and resolved long time ago. You simply unsolder the pots, put some wiring between the pots and the PCB and have the board lying somewhere in the cavity with pots layout freely arrangable.
Thanks for adding. Nifty Groovy- just like Mr. Belew.
This sounds like the ultimate guitar. Does it work with Variax Workbench?
does it come with the flux capacitor?
He never told us to let go of the knob!
I LIKE IT
*jacks with wammy bar*
"It comes back in tune."
*plays E chord, definitely not in tune*
twslegendary Yeah that look on Adrian's face when he hears how flat the Low E string is... Priceless 😂
Where can I buy such an awesome guitar?
Remarkable guitar!
ok this thing does a few more things than i thought haha, but either way. how many times do you think you are going to do a dobro/sitar/banjo/12-string/lapsteel/harpsichord solo?
Nice collection of guitars. No Parker Fly? Just out of curiousity, have you ever tried one? If not, give one a try if you get a chance. You just might agree with me. You have a nice day also.
I don't believe I started out calling anybody an idiot, so I'm not sure what you mean when you say "You first". I take it you play? What kind of guitar do you have? Just wondering.
I wish I could afford this awesome guitar-!
Phffttt...Parker Flys. "State of the Art" guitars that have had all the soul engineered out of them. Tried one at the local music store some months ago, thought it was terrible. Even the music store guys couldn't understand what the fuss was all about. Want a truly great guitar? Get yourself a PRS!
Easily my dream guitar from my favorite guitarist. I'd pay 50,000$ for it if I had that kinda money
Can you program the Variax with Workbench Hd?
@meginis8 You've never seen NIN live, have you?
Eye of the beholder.
Wonder what these cost at the time
@rambache This guy is Michael Angelo Batio without the toupee :D
@docman777
I'd say NIN and 90's King Crimson are pretty metal, Thats just me though...
How much?!?!
@meginis8
have you not heard THRAK?
i want that in a 7-string version!!!
cool but since we're modeling sounds, bring back the synth Axe!!!
+mike jones no need for it anymore, but i know what you mean (i still want one)
Oh Parker, why was there never a Fly twin-neck? I would have given A LOT for a twin-neck I could actually wear without crippling back pain and may even be able to carry more than around a hundred yards without a good long sit down....
I think it would have been truly beautiful.
Expect to hear back from me when the budget allows... P.
KEPHALLE Tell that to Ed from Radiohead or Dustin from Thrice. HEYOOOOOO!
(I'm a Variax user)
Adrian would make a good Larry Fine in the 3 Stooges remake. Now we just need a Moe & Curly.
I thought Moe was on The Simpsons.
it seems like a very good guitar with many features ...i think the only thing that his holding this guitar back is the appearance...a gibson sg or les paul (for example) with this exact features would be an A LOT better selling guitar!!! and a lot more expensive because you pay the name GIBSON too!!
I don't get the lol, he's pronouncing it correctly in the video.
personally, i think Gibson and Fender guitars are JUNK.
like most players, i romanticized them.... until I finally got to play them.
I was stunned that I hated so much about them!
then i tried a used $100 ibanez destroyer and that guitar is amazing!
too bad this gutiar cost $10 000 and the company went out of business
I agree...The Moog Guitar seems a bit cooler.
Look at the comment "comb or a hat"-obviously referring to Adrian's hair loss.
I would think a more reasonable price would be something like in the $1000-2000 range. I was able to play one of these things and they ARE amazing, but that is way too pricey I think.
Funny, SweetWater no longer carries Parker guitars...
I really like it...and I have a normal Nitefly but the price is outrageous...and why is Adrian, arguably a very influential guitarist calling the "Pee-eh-zo" a "Pie-Zo"? Good grief!
Did anyone actually buy this guitar? I remember it was like $9k new
New these were $9999.99 . . . which is beyond most folks' wallet.
LOL... "thank you so much for buying it". I wonder how much commission he gets for each sale. I want one. Parker Fly guitar are amazing.
too many features in one guitar! ... being MIDI ready is cool.. how about MIDI IN too to switch between settings? :P ..
I'll have three pls...
Nothing, it's still there. It's just a broader pallette.
foreverrrrrrr?
Uh... at first sight very close principle to the Moog guitar...
I'm sure you could, and I could leap tall buildings in a single bound if I wanted to. I just don't want to.
THIS GUY IS MICHAEL ANGELO BATIO WITH A BIG BALD SPOT!
I read this like "swee twater"
Before you watch this video, THIS GUITAR COSTS 7,000$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I really wanted one till I looked up how much it cost. I could buy every guitar this one simulates and have more bragging rights and get the real tones instead of the impersonators.
I agree with itzed, it's way too complicated. Gimme a Strat or a Les Paul.
Chris Boylan Well that’s why it’s Adrian Belew’s guitar and not yours
this is a perfect guitar for recording or playing songs with alot of acoustic and electric parts but sadly its a bit ugly
This guitar is at least $5,000 overpriced. They want $10,000 for the guitar. I'd say a similar stock US Parker would be about $4,000 the Variax and Sustainiac aren't $6,000.
this guitar needs Version 2 without (those 25 other sounds... sitar! mendolin!! ) and less midi
oh and adrian belew = guitar jesus
does it make cafe as well ????? you need a keyboard not a guitar
Well its all subjective, but from many standpoints in my opinion Adrian Belew is way more sophisticated, innovative, and musical than Vernon Reid--and he has better technique.
Bro Clingon Guitar
The fuced up thing. Is they are solid gats!
Pie-Zo
nice guitar ...nothing "beats" a tortured strat though lol
Awesome ideas, awesome instrument. $9000, ugh.
because who dont like programing a computor while playing live in concert and trying to stay on time and in tune? no wonder his hair has fallen out. its from stress.
$9,000 for this thing. wtf!?! its a parker fly with a fernandez sustainer clone. that pickup kit costs $200 on ebay, and it sounds just like this. don't be a sucker. for that much money you could build an entire rig that sounds ridiculous and still have money left over
"The Variax solid body guitar sounds are better than any mid-priced guitar" ??!! that's bullshit no reasonable guitar player will ever buy!!! variax stuff is made for players with no real interest in sound. ANY mid priced guitar coupled with a mid price tube amp would sound better than whatever modeling shit existent. wich has a higher sound quality, mp3 or vinyl? same question here. the problem is the "mp3" is worth 10 times the "vinyl" in this case.
what's midi ha ha . I'm just a guitar player man . I dunno
THESE PICK UPS SUCK. I PUT A FRANKENSTEIN PICK UP IN MY PARKER FLY AND DISCONNECTED THE OTHERS. IT IS AWESOME NOW. MY QUESTION IS CAN IT BE MODIFIED TO PUT IN A FLOYD ROSE SET UP...THE WOOD QUALITY IS INFERIOR SO I DONT KNOW IF I WOULD TAKE THE CHANCE IN DOING THIS. WHY DONT THEY MAKE A MODEL WITH A FLOYD ROSE WHAMMY BAR????????????????????
Major gearhead here, suffering from as much G.A.S. as the next guy, but I can say in all honesty, I do not want this guitar:S
Don't care for Parkers. Next time, if you want to reply to an opinion you don't agree with, try to do it without being so childish, ok?
Talk about over complicating things!
$10,000? ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
lol "pie-zo"
peh, modeling. No thanks.
Love Adrian though. Seen him many times with Crimson.
Incredible.... but seriously... is it necessary... its just a bit toooo much to me.
Humphrey's Clock For you maybe, but not Adrien Belew
No thanks, I'd rather spend 9,000 on a small house or a car.
9:05 "comes back in tune every time" - clearly not LOL
he is not making any music in this video
its pronounced pee-et-zo
Oh, a bald joke; how original and relevant.
Way too complicated.
Very artificial sound
this doesn't sound good for $8,500 & looks cheap & even the chrome look on the knob looks like painted plastic ..
IT has los of features but all this Sounds Sound like plastic. It has horrible mids. I wrote this before, but whenever I hear a Parker guitar I have to write that. Spart from that Adrian is a freut guitar player. He uses the guitar more like a Keyboard. I th inkl that's Who He is more interested in the Features th an in the sound.