|
|
Print-friendly version
Parker Guitar Shops
Parker Guitars create electric guitars and basses, and the company was founded by Ken Parker in the 90's. Parker rose to early fame working form his workshop in New York, his early designs were noted for departing from traditional techniques and designs. He popularised the use of light woods to create thin, light guitars such as popular, basswood, spruce and maple, along with using composite materials in some designs such as resin and carbon fibre. Composite fingerboards are also a unique Parker feature on some guitars along with coil tapped humbuckers and piezoelectric pickups. The bodies of Jackson guitars are ergonomically designed and most feature adjustable lockable floating bridges. In 2004 the company was sold to U.S. Music Corporation
based in Illinois. Manufacturing also moved to Mundelein, IL in 2004.
The Parker custom shop opened, at the Washburn factory, in 2005. Import
production moved from the Cort factory in China, to the Nova factory,
also in China, after the completion of the buyout. Since 2002, Parker has also produced the Fly bass guitar, in
both 4-string and 5-string versions. The 5-strings are noted for their
ease of use for 4-string players, both with respect to weight and
string spacing. As with other Parker guitars, they offer both magnetic
and piezoelectric pickups, with the ability to blend the two. In late 2006, Ken Parker, who had been in seeming absentia since
selling Parker guitars, surfaced with a new take on archtop guitars. An
example is an action adjustment system that raises and lowers the neck
without causing the guitar to change in pitch.
Other changes are the location of the soundhole, the materials,
bracing, binding and basic theory of the physics of the guitar. The
weight of this archtop, 'the Olive Branch' is a mere 3.5 lbs. It is
essentially, as dramatic a change in the design of the archtop guitar
as he offered in the Fly model electric solid body guitar, summarized
above. Ken Parker currently builds only custom guitars.
| You are viewing results 1 to 1 of 1 |
| You are viewing results 1 to 1 of 1 |
|
|
