Up for sale, a 2003 Parker Fly Bass FB4 in exceptional, 100% original condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original padded gigbag and user manual. This finely-crafted Parker comprises a multi-ply Sitka spruce body capped by deeply figured quilted maple on the face and back, a mahogany neck wrapped in a skin of carbon fiber, and Parker’s patented glass/carbon fiber fretboard. Features include custom DiMarzio pickups, a Fishman piezo pickup under the bridge, and an active Fishman EQ for a huge array of tonal sculpting options.
The tonewood complement ensures a certain immediacy and glassy top end articulation, with great harmonic complexity in the midrange and a big, open low end response. The DiMarzio Ultra Jazz single coil pickups are custom wound for Parker by DiMarzio, delivering noise-free punch and cut with great midrange burp and a touch of growl. The individual Fishman Piezo elements embedded in the bridge saddles have a very natural, acoustic upright-esque feel. The Piezo sound is viable on its own, or blended with the DiMarzios for an array of different tonal colors. The active Fishman preamp circuit has a broad EQ sweep, enabling the user to dial in everything from deep thump to bright growl. Featherweight at 6lbs 14oz, this Parker benefits from a professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 45-105 roundwound strings, easy-playing action, and spot-on intonation.
The mahogany neck is wrapped in a carbon fiber skin, improving stability, and the profile has a slender C-shaped carve with modest shoulders and lightly rolled fretboard edges, measuring .755” deep at the 1st fret and .845” at the 12th. The fretboard is crafted from a patented blend of glass and carbon fiber and sports Parker’s unique conical radius, 10” at the nut and transitioning to 15” at the 24th fret. The medium fretwire is pristine, playing cleanly up the 34” scale with a straight neck and a responsive, optimally-adjusted truss rod. The Graphtech nut measures 1.6” in width. On the slender headstock, the original set of Sperzel locking tuners are crafted from lightweight aluminum, turning smoothly and holding pitch as they should.
All of the electronics function as intended; the harness features Master Volume, Magnetic Pickup Volume, Magnetic Pickup Pan, Stacked Magnetic Tone (outer ring: Bass, top knob: Treble), and Stacked Piezo (outside ring: center-detent Tone, upper knob: Volume) controls. The active Fishman preamp is powered by a 9V battery. The black dome-topped knobs are notably clean, with just a faint touch of patina on the Custom Ibanez Mono-Rail II bridge.
The high-gloss Natural finish highlights the consistent, three-dimensional figuring that extends across the quilted maple top and back. Cosmetic wear is limited to a few dings (three total) along the lower bout perimeter and a handful of faint finish scratches in the clear coat on the body as a whole. The smooth gloss on the neck profile is flawless.
The original Parker-branded heavily structured gigbag is included, along with the user manual.
