# NGD: Parker Fly Mojo 'Olive Burl' Special Edition



## zimbloth (May 28, 2010)

I recently got this super rare (1/25) Parker USA Fly Mojo 'Olive Burl' in my store. As soon as I opened the case I knew there was no way I was going to put it up for sale. It has now become my main 'B tuning' guitar. I love this thing to death! The neck is so thin and comfortable, its light and perfectly balanced, and best of all it sounds fucking _incredible_. Huge tone and epic sustain. I'm going to be putting a Sustainiac in it soon anyways though! These things are pretty much perfect guitars to me 

*Specs*​

Mahogany body
Olive Burl burst top
Mahogany neck
Carbon Fiber fingerboard/neck enforcement
Stainless steel frets
25.5 scale
Compound radius (pretty flat)
Sperzel Locking Tuners
Fishman Acoustic Piezo System
Seymour Duncan pickups directly mounted onto the body
Parker bridge (stainless steel, hardtail mode/down only/fixed with the flick of a switch)
GraphTech Nut
3-way toggle with push pull coil splits
3-way mag/both/piezo toggle
Weight: 5 pounds

I'm planning on getting another one soon as well, for our other primary tuning. Probably either an Artist or Classic. I still love my Ricos but these are much more comfortable to play live than the Vixens, or anything for that matter. I love the Vixens as recording guitars however, but I'm tired of playing flying Vs live all the time.

And now on to the pics...


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## Andromalia (May 28, 2010)

I...I....I....can't afford this at the moment even if you were selling it. 
Possibly the most beautiful fly I've ever seen.


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## AcousticMinja (May 28, 2010)

"Wow" is the only word I can come up with at the moment. That is an absolutely amazing looking guitar.
congrats you lucky, lucky person!


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## Wookieslayer (May 28, 2010)

congrats!


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## Green_jelly88 (May 28, 2010)

What a beauty. My Parker GAS just got worse.


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## ralphy1976 (May 28, 2010)

so these are ok with B tuning, ie 7 string tuning...what gauge do you run on then?

very nice looking too if i may add!!!


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## E Lucevan Le Stelle (May 28, 2010)

Wow, that looks great  I personally don't like the recent Parkers that much, even the Mojos feel a bit clunky compared to the early mahogany Classic that I have. I can't deny that looks beautiful though...


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## ShadyDavey (May 28, 2010)

Beautiful


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## Metalus (May 28, 2010)

Once you go Parker, you never go back


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## mikernaut (May 28, 2010)

Nice addition to the collection Nick. Those are some pretty sharp Parker's!. How are you liking the Duncans with the mahogany? I found when I had the Silverburst Mojo (which had the same elements) I really prefered the sounds I was getting out of my regular Fly Deluxe and the Dimarzio's much more. I'd be tempted to throw in some BKP's to try in that.

Sadly I am Parkerless currently, but I'd love to get another in the future when my situation improves.


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## thraxil (May 28, 2010)

Nothing plays like a Parker.


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## ridner (May 28, 2010)

wow, that is sexxxy


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## vampiregenocide (May 28, 2010)

That is damn classy lookin.


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## drgordonfreeman (May 28, 2010)

zimbloth said:


> I recently got this super rare (1/25) Parker USA Fly Mojo 'Olive Burl' in my store. As soon as I opened the case I knew there was no way I was going to put it up for sale.



Thank you, Zimbloth, for I have now seen my true calling in life. I have now decided I shall open a music store, so that one day, I too can receive amazing guitars to sell, only to say, "No, baby... you're staying with me." If only finding the right woman was as easy.... _sigh_.

Congratulations on an amazing guitar!!!


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## Voodoo Turkey (May 28, 2010)

Now that is something special, I'm speechless!!


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## jbcrazy (May 28, 2010)

So awesome dude.... DUDE. I love Parker Flys.


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## 7 Strings of Hate (May 28, 2010)

I thought olives came off vines, not trees


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## screamindaemon (May 28, 2010)

I love the picture of the Super Troopers more than the guitar.
And I love the look of that guitar...


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## pink freud (May 28, 2010)

Flys are _so_ much better looking than the Dragonflys.


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## zimbloth (May 28, 2010)

Thanks guys! I'll be playing this guy tonight at our show, should be fun! Sounds godly through my ENGL.



ralphy1976 said:


> so these are ok with B tuning, ie 7 string tuning...what gauge do you run on then?



Oh yeah of course they're okay with B tuning dude. Hell, back in the day when I used to play these I had one tuned to A. I use Elixir NanoWebs 12s with this guitar. I tune it BEADF#B.



E Lucevan Le Stelle said:


> Wow, that looks great  I personally don't like the recent Parkers that much, even the Mojos feel a bit clunky compared to the early mahogany Classic that I have. I can't deny that looks beautiful though...



The newer ones sound better though IMO, and are still supremely light weight and have a thin neck. Every Parker I've got in the store has sounded a lot better than the old ones I used to own. I love the control layout, knobs, and other improvements found on the refined Flys as well.

It's true the pre-Washburns were slightly thinner but there were a lot of issues at the old factory that USM had no choice but to rectify. They've got a whole wall of faulty pre-USM Parkers hanging up at their Chicago offices as decoration. Also, while the Mojo has some weight to it, the refined Deluxe, Artist, and Classics are still light as a feather. Definitely not clunky at all IMO 



mikernaut said:


> Nice addition to the collection Nick. Those are some pretty sharp Parker's!. How are you liking the Duncans with the mahogany? I found when I had the Silverburst Mojo (which had the same elements) I really prefered the sounds I was getting out of my regular Fly Deluxe and the Dimarzio's much more. I'd be tempted to throw in some BKP's to try in that.
> 
> Sadly I am Parkerless currently, but I'd love to get another in the future when my situation improves.



The Duncans sound terrific in this guitar. I've been going back and forth between an ENGL Invader 100 and Fireball 100 lately. It sounds incredible through both amps. I still wish I could install BKPs in these as they're defintely better, but I'm not sweating it. Sounds awesome as is. The JB tight thanks to the ENGL/Fryette cab I've got going. That said, the pickups both Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio make for Parkers are tuned differently to fit Parkers, so it's not really fair to compare the JB in this guitar to a JB in another guitar.



thraxil said:


> Nothing plays like a Parker.







drgordonfreeman said:


> Thank you, Zimbloth, for I have now seen my true calling in life. I have now decided I shall open a music store, so that one day, I too can receive amazing guitars to sell, only to say, "No, baby... you're staying with me." If only finding the right woman was as easy.... _sigh_.
> 
> Congratulations on an amazing guitar!!!



Haha yeah, its a curse sometimes too though because I spend too much of my money on my own stock hah


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## technomancer (May 28, 2010)

Wow that's really awesome looking. Nice score Nick


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## 6Christ6Denied6 (May 28, 2010)




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## sakeido (May 28, 2010)

well I think its time I quit messing around got one of these things already. That is too nice.


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## poopyalligator (May 28, 2010)

Good lord that guitar looks amazing man.


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## ridealot100 (May 28, 2010)

My Ibanez officially looks like a squier now.


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## God Hand Apostle (May 28, 2010)

That's very pretty, but I coveteth the purple quilt myself. YUM!


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## hypermagic (May 28, 2010)

Weren't you and your other guitarist swearing by Flaxwoods now?
Are you still carrying Flaxwood?
Someday I'll get the scratch to buy something off of you.

Classy parker btw.


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## jsousa (May 28, 2010)

awesome as always from the shop of the axe palace 

if parker made 7's and had the option for direct mount bkp, id be a convert 110% no doubt!


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## teqnick (May 29, 2010)

No trouble saying that this is the most beautiful parker i've ever seen.


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## zimbloth (May 29, 2010)

Thanks guys 



God Hand Apostle said:


> That's very pretty, but I coveteth the purple quilt myself. YUM!



Yeah I have the purple quilt one here as well. I love that one too. Very tempted to keep that one also.



hypermagic said:


> Weren't you and your other guitarist swearing by Flaxwoods now?
> Are you still carrying Flaxwood?
> Someday I'll get the scratch to buy something off of you.
> 
> Classy parker btw.



Hell yeah I'm still carrying Flaxwood. We love Flaxwoods. I have one myself and my bandmate wants to buy one when money allows. I just fancy the Parker Flys a touch more. The necks are a littler thinner, it has 24 frets, flatter radius, and arguably the best bridge system ever made (not to mention the piezos). The Flaxwoods are easily the most resonant and naturally great sounding production guitars on the market, but the Parkers are just more my thing. 

I had a few Parker Fly Deluxes back in the day which I loved but then I went 7-string exclusively. The mahogany Flys have such a huge, thick, tight, aggressive tone with massive sustain. I could not be happier. It sounds great in B tuning. I played this guitar at our show last night, it sounded absolutely amazing for both riffage and leads.



ridealot100 said:


> My Ibanez officially looks like a squier now.



Haha



sakeido said:


> well I think its time I quit messing around got one of these things already. That is too nice.



Yeah they're sick man. Let me know if you need help picking one out (used or new).


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## Adam Of Angels (May 29, 2010)

I know a guy that has been offering one of these to me, but I haven't hammered out a deal with him yet.. I really want it, though. I just got a Fly Mojo natural, and while it needs to be sent back to Parker for a repair/replacement (truss rod trouble), its easily my favorite guitar at the moment (which is ridiculous given my love for Custom 24's)


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## zimbloth (May 29, 2010)

Adam Of Angels said:


> I know a guy that has been offering one of these to me, but I haven't hammered out a deal with him yet.. I really want it, though. I just got a Fly Mojo natural, and while it needs to be sent back to Parker for a repair/replacement (truss rod trouble), its easily my favorite guitar at the moment (which is ridiculous given my love for Custom 24's)



Yeah go for it man. I love PRS Custom 24s also, love love love 'em. The Fly Mojos just go that little extra mile though, especially in the playability department.


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## chucknorrishred (May 29, 2010)

wow, what type of trem is that?


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## zimbloth (May 29, 2010)

chucknorrishred said:


> wow, what type of trem is that?



It's a trem system unique to Parker Flys. It's incredible. Stainless steel, smooth operation, low profile, perfect intonation, Fishman piezo saddles, and coolest of all there is a switch on the back of the guitar that lets you switch between fixed bridge mode, down only, or fully floating. No need for a tremol-no. No need to ever access the back cavity, as even the spring tension wheel is accessible from the back of the guitar. It's just a genius design.


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## troyguitar (May 29, 2010)

Parker Fly > *. I just love the RR shape too much otherwise I'd be playing Fly's exclusively instead. One of these days I'll get a hold of the Washburn/Parker RR ripoff and see how it handles.


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## Xiphos68 (May 29, 2010)

Gorgeous guitar!

Now how does Olive wood make it sound then just being straight mahogany?


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## thraxil (May 29, 2010)

zimbloth said:


> It's a trem system unique to Parker Flys. It's incredible. Stainless steel



Mostly aluminum, actually, to keep the weight down.  Only the saddles are stainless steel. But I agree. I strongly prefer fixed bridges after some bad experiences with floating bridges but Parkers' are so good I'm happy to leave them in floating mode and find that they're still more stable than most fixed bridge guitars.


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## zimbloth (May 30, 2010)

thraxil said:


> Mostly aluminum, actually, to keep the weight down.  Only the saddles are stainless steel. But I agree. I strongly prefer fixed bridges after some bad experiences with floating bridges but Parkers' are so good I'm happy to leave them in floating mode and find that they're still more stable than most fixed bridge guitars.


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## jsousa (May 30, 2010)

zimbloth said:


> It's a trem system unique to Parker Flys. It's incredible. Stainless steel, smooth operation, low profile, perfect intonation, Fishman piezo saddles, and coolest of all there is a switch on the back of the guitar that lets you switch between fixed bridge mode, down only, or fully floating. No need for a tremol-no. No need to ever access the back cavity, as even the spring tension wheel is accessible from the back of the guitar. It's just a genius design.



i wish more companies would get a hint. especially for 7 and 8 string bridges --


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## zimbloth (May 30, 2010)

jsousa said:


> i wish more companies would get a hint. especially for 7 and 8 string bridges --



Ken Parker was a visionary and a genius, he wasn't concerned with what traditionalists wanted. Part of that stubbornness contributed to him having to sell the company eventually of course, but thankfully USM kept it alive. The point is though, there's really very little reason for companies to spend a lot of money on innovative new things like what Ken Parker did when 99% of guitarists are traditionalists who lack a lot of imagination. Almost no one plays 7 and 8-strings in the grand scheme of things, and the vast majority who do can't afford expensive high-end guitars. So it would just make no financial sense for companies to invest a zillion dollars in things like that when it's such a niche market. That's why independent custom shops like Blackmachine, Bernie Rico Jr, etc can thrive to fill part of that niche.


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## ibanez254 (May 30, 2010)

My god that finish is absolutely stunning!


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## darren (May 31, 2010)

Stunning. I've always loved the exotic Flys.


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## zimbloth (Jun 1, 2010)

ibanez254 said:


> My god that finish is absolutely stunning!





darren said:


> Stunning. I've always loved the exotic Flys.



Thanks dudes


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## zimbloth (Aug 12, 2010)

*Update: *I sent this off to Sustainiac to get their sustainer system installed in my Fly, can't wait! Normally I'd do this myself but Parkers are complicated and I wanted it done by someone who is used to working with Flys


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## FACTORY (Aug 12, 2010)

Gezzzzus. that looks great, Gotta love Parker's style. To this day I've never played one but I always wanted to check'em out.


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## SYLrules88 (Aug 12, 2010)

damn holy shit wow

cant think of anything else to say as everyone else has already said it. though the title said "olive burl" i was expecting this green burl top, which would have looked really nice too, but i like the color it actually is.

i would love to sit with a parker some day but it might be a bitch finding a store that keeps these in stock.


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## Goofpig (Aug 12, 2010)

Congrats buddy!

Welcome to the Parker family 
Had my Mojo in Natural Mahogany for just over a year now; never going back.


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## TheSilentWater (Aug 12, 2010)

drgordonfreeman said:


> Thank you, Zimbloth, for I have now seen my true calling in life. I have now decided I shall open a music store, so that one day, I too can receive amazing guitars to sell, only to say, "No, baby... you're staying with me." _If only finding the right woman was as easy.... sigh.
> _
> Congratulations on an amazing guitar!!!


Dude, open a brothel. 
That's a damn fine guitar. Congratulations are most certainly in order.


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## joshc482 (Aug 12, 2010)

im going to get a parker deluxe next month "from amazon for $2640" it will save me like 800 dollars. so what would you say sounds better out of the classic and the deluxe? if i wasn't getting the guitar for much less i would get the mojo, later i plan on getting a mojo quilt purpleburst. that guitar is beautiful. so how did you like the dimarzio pickups? i will be playing metal. and im probably gonna send the bridge pickup to seymour duncan to have it rewound for a more metal sound. congrats on the guitar its amazing


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## Philligan (Aug 13, 2010)

drgordonfreeman said:


> Thank you, Zimbloth, for I have now seen my true calling in life. I have now decided I shall open a music store, so that one day, I too can receive amazing guitars to sell, only to say, "No, baby... you're staying with me." If only finding the right woman was as easy..



Haha that happened to me, with an RGT42 (a much lesser guitar). I got to the store for work one morning and a guy I work with said "Phil! We just got this guitar in, and you're gonna buy it! It's purple!" And I was like "Haha, good one."

Then I opened the case and was like "You're right, I am gonna buy this." I miss those days, but I lost so much money, the owner basically paid me in gear  Now I've gotta worry about lame shit like student loan payments  haha.


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## Baco (Aug 13, 2010)

Very nice guitar, a Parker is on my wanted list too.

Oh, and this is so very true:



zimbloth said:


> 99% of guitarists are traditionalists who lack a lot of imagination



Well, I wouldn't say 99% but quite a lot of guitarists know just a couple of brands and just a couple types of guitars and anything outside that narrow circle is of no interest to them. Well, that's their loss...


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## zimbloth (Aug 13, 2010)

FACTORY said:


> Gezzzzus. that looks great, Gotta love Parker's style. To this day I've never played one but I always wanted to check'em out.



You really should. They're IMO the best playing guitars on the market not to mention the most feature-packed. I love 'em. 



SYLrules88 said:


> damn holy shit wow
> 
> cant think of anything else to say as everyone else has already said it.





Goofpig said:


> Congrats buddy!
> 
> Welcome to the Parker family
> Had my Mojo in Natural Mahogany for just over a year now; never going back.



Thanks man. Actually I've owned several Parkers before but this is the first one in a while for me 



TheSilentWater said:


> Dude, open a brothel.
> That's a damn fine guitar. Congratulations are most certainly in order.





joshc482 said:


> im going to get a parker deluxe next month "from amazon for $2640" it will save me like 800 dollars. so what would you say sounds better out of the classic and the deluxe? if i wasn't getting the guitar for much less i would get the mojo, later i plan on getting a mojo quilt purpleburst. that guitar is beautiful. so how did you like the dimarzio pickups? i will be playing metal. and im probably gonna send the bridge pickup to seymour duncan to have it rewound for a more metal sound. congrats on the guitar its amazing



Dude forget Amazon.com, I can hook you up big-time on a Parker. PM or email me 



Philligan said:


> Haha that happened to me, with an RGT42 (a much lesser guitar). I got to the store for work one morning and a guy I work with said "Phil! We just got this guitar in, and you're gonna buy it! It's purple!" And I was like "Haha, good one."
> 
> Then I opened the case and was like "You're right, I am gonna buy this." I miss those days, but I lost so much money, the owner basically paid me in gear  Now I've gotta worry about lame shit like student loan payments  haha.



Yeah it's tough because every brand I carry at my store I choose because I love their products, so just about everything I get in I am tempted to keep. It's amazing that I've been able to be relatively conservative with it. This Parker is the first stock guitar I've ever kept with the exception of a Caparison (but that was only because it got damaged in shipping).


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## Andromalia (Aug 14, 2010)

You DID have to put the thread back on top and FORCE me to look at the pretty pichturez again right ? That should be forbidden by the Geneva Convention.


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## zimbloth (Aug 17, 2010)

Andromalia said:


> You DID have to put the thread back on top and FORCE me to look at the pretty pichturez again right ? That should be forbidden by the Geneva Convention.



Please accept my apologies


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## Kayzer (Aug 18, 2010)

Awesomeness!!!!

What´s always bugging me on the parker guitars is the design of the upper horn it always hurts my chest otherwise these are killer! Am I doing something wrong? ;-)


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## BenInKY (Aug 18, 2010)

That's an amazing looking guitar. I really want a Parker, "if only I had the money" like so many other people. Heh.


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## sevenstringgod (Aug 18, 2010)

My god! That is absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations man. One question though, how do you swap the pickups? 

That's the first "direct mounted pickups" guitar I've seen in my life.


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## zimbloth (Aug 18, 2010)

sevenstringgod said:


> My god! That is absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations man. One question though, how do you swap the pickups?
> 
> That's the first "direct mounted pickups" guitar I've seen in my life.



Thanks man. 

The answer to question is: you really don't. It's a TRUE direct mount setup and the whole thing is proprietary. It would take a ton of nasty modifications to fit an aftermarket pickup in a Parker Fly. DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan however can make some of their other models in the Fly configuration, but the problem with that is the Parker pickups are voiced specifically for the Fly, so other pickups in my experience won't sound as good.

The other solution is to have the pickup sent out to someone like Tim @ BKP for a rewind. Honestly though, these things sound so awesome in their stock form. Even a BKP diehard like myself hasn't felt like its lacking. The guitar sounds so good inherently that it makes up a lot for the limitations of a standard pickup. 



Kayzer said:


> Awesomeness!!!!
> 
> What´s always bugging me on the parker guitars is the design of the upper horn it always hurts my chest otherwise these are killer! Am I doing something wrong? ;-)



Thats a common complaint but I don't really experience it. Obviously thats a moot issue when standing up, but sitting down it never affected me either. You just have to hold it a certain way. You just have to prop it up in the right position and its no problem IMO.

I play my Mojo for hours upon hours at rehearsals, shows, or messing around at my store and its comfy for me. That said they are designed as performance guitars, so when standing up its perfectly balanced, light, and effortless to play.


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## Goofpig (Aug 18, 2010)

Kayzer said:


> Awesomeness!!!!
> 
> What´s always bugging me on the parker guitars is the design of the upper horn it always hurts my chest otherwise these are killer! Am I doing something wrong? ;-)


 
There's a method to the madness.

I had that problem after my first show after getting my Fly.
It's a simple readjustment though, you need to push the neck out a little bit so the guitar is on more of an angle on your body. It's not much of a change but it makes a HUGE difference to comfort. 

And now I think about it, I get less hand fatigue these days as well.


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## cubo (Aug 19, 2010)

congrats  gorgeous top


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## Rashputin (Aug 19, 2010)

That indeed looks like a super comfortable guitar to play. AND it is freaking gorgeous. Nice one Nick!


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## zimbloth (Aug 19, 2010)

Thanks guys! I should be getting the guitar back next week w/ the Sustainiac installed. Can't wait. Thankfully I have several other Parkers at my store to keep me company while I wait


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## andres (Aug 19, 2010)

AWESOME parker.. seriously the olive burl is classy looking.


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## zimbloth (Aug 20, 2010)

Holy shit guys... I think I might have found the next Parker I'm may decide to keep for myself, check this out: Parker Fly Deluxe Custom 'Black Satin'


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## josh pelican (Aug 20, 2010)

That burst... is amazing. I have never seen such an amazing top, let alone a Fly that looked so good.

Everything about this guitar is superb.


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## zimbloth (Aug 21, 2010)

josh pelican said:


> That burst... is amazing. I have never seen such an amazing top, let alone a Fly that looked so good.
> 
> Everything about this guitar is superb.



Thanks dude, I'm really lucky to own this one. I can't wait to get it back in my possession


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## Chumple Spuzz (Aug 21, 2010)

Green_jelly88 said:


> What a beauty. My Parker GAS just got worse.



this is exactly what ran through my head too. that thing is gorgeous.


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## loktide (Aug 21, 2010)

wow. that parker is definitely something else, zimbloth. congrats 

i might perhaps be getting one soon myself too


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## zimbloth (Aug 29, 2010)

I ended up keeping that Black Satin one, I'll probably do the Sustainiac thing in that one too! I'll see how I like it first though when I get my Mojo back from them (tomorrow hopefully!)


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## maliciousteve (Aug 29, 2010)

Nick, stop posting pictures of these. My GAS is getting over whelming and unrealistic, thanks


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## zimbloth (Aug 29, 2010)

maliciousteve said:


> Nick, stop posting pictures of these. My GAS is getting over whelming and unrealistic, thanks



I'll try but no promises


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