What I'm Up To These Days

[Paul Marossy]

I haven't been hangin' around here much lately, been busy pursuing writing music and other stuff. For some crazy reason, I've decided to target Parker Guitar players because I feel like there is a lack of interest or understanding of manufacturers about these cool guitars. So, I've been doing some things to make the Parker Guitar player's life simpler and less frustrating. I know it's a small niche market, but if no one's going to do something about it, I am! So, over the last 18 months, I've come up with five different things that can help out Parker Guitar players.


The first one is Stereo Splitter Boxes, which I call the "1flyBOB". This will allow you to use a regular 1/4" stereo cord from the guitar to the box and a pair of 1/4" mono cables to a pair of amps. This will eliminate the need for a cheesy, hard to find, cheaply made stereo to pair of mono cords monstrosity! And, at the same time, the ground lift should eliminate any hum/buzzing that can occur when you connect the inputs of two different amps together with a common ground thru the Y-cord. Here's an example of How To Use This box.






And then there is taking the "1flyBOB" one step further and adding a built-in direct box to it. I call this the "1flyBOB-D". This is the first 1flyBOB-D that I have made, and I'm still working out a couple of bugs.








Then we have the "2flyBOB". A Parker Fly owner asked me to build him a box that would allow two guitars to be used with the same stereo breakout box. I like this one, it's pretty cool - there's input jacks for two guitars and a footswitch to select between them. There's a ground lift switch and a nifty two color LED indicator to show you which guitar is active, too.





And here is a second one that I built recently.

Here's an example of How To Use This box.



Fourth, we have the "2flyBOB-Direct" project, which is kind of a custom order. It's a box that will allow you to switch between two different Parker Flys, has a selectable DI section, and a tuner out. This one turned out to be more work than I anticipated! But, it turned out nice. Here's a few pics of it:











Finally, I have the PPB-1, which as an active buffered splitter box that would work well with Parker Fly variants that have passive piezo pickups. I designed a PCB for it that would drop into a Hammond 1590B enclosure.





I'm currently in touch with the vice president of marketing for US Music Corporation. They might possibly show an interest in these, but I'm not sure that they have seen the light yet...

EDIT: OH, and this is way, way above my head, but if someone would design a stereo wireless system, there's many Parker Guitar players that would jump on that!

[aron]

Very cool stuff! Thanks for keeping us in the loop. The Parker Fly guitars are so easy to play. Kind of reminds me of the first time I played a great PRS.

[oldrocker]

Awesome man.  Absolutely awesome.  Those splitters will deifinatly come in handy.  That combination splitter direct box is a great idea.  Ground lifts are a must with that type of box.  Nice job as usual.  Killer.  I can see you've been busy.  
I wish I could take some time to write and jam.  All I'm doing lately is updating already built effects and adding bypass stomp switches to a bunch of pedals.  
Again nice job on those builds.  

[calculating_infinity]

Very nice work as usual Paul!  Thats very smart that you have been targeting the Parker Guitar niche market.  I've never played one but now I have to go visit my local guitar store to see if they have any.  Good luck with US Music Corporation!  I hope everything goes well for you!

[MicFarlow77]

Hey Paul,

AWESOME WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (now you need some custom enclosures.... sorry, couldn't resist...)

I have seen you on the Parker boards... I've done a few posts there, but not too many.... I did manage to draw up a good diagram of the wiring for the Deluxe.... not easy with those ribbon cables)

As a fellow Parker owner ('98 Metallic Blue Deluxe), I share the profound joy of playing it and sometimes absolute frustration if I desire to modify it..... Easy to play, not easy or cheap to modify.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks,

Mick

[Paul Marossy]

Hey Paul,

AWESOME WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (now you need some custom enclosures.... sorry, couldn't resist...)

I have seen you on the Parker boards... I've done a few posts there, but not too many.... I did manage to draw up a good diagram of the wiring for the Deluxe.... not easy with those ribbon cables)

As a fellow Parker owner ('98 Metallic Blue Deluxe), I share the profound joy of playing it and sometimes absolute frustration if I desire to modify it..... Easy to play, not easy or cheap to modify.

Keep up the good work.

Thanks,

Mick

Actually, I do need some custom enclosures. That is, if this stuff takes off... 

[blanik]

just curious, can you get any number on how many guitars Parker sold since they came out? and are they still selling a lot? i remember seeing a lot many years ago but i haven't seen many lately?

R.

[Paul Marossy]

just curious, can you get any number on how many guitars Parker sold since they came out? and are they still selling a lot? i remember seeing a lot many years ago but i haven't seen many lately?

I tried to do that once, but I can't really get a firm answer on that. There are a lot of Flys and Niteflys out there now, and they have orders months out. I'm sure there's several thousand out there now between all the different models. The Flys and certain Niteflys take more time to make than your regular guitar because of the carbon fiber wrap, the patented finger joint neck joint, the carbon fiber fretboard, etc. The cheaper Niteflys made overseas have been selling very well, too. They used to sell Parkers in Guitar Center and Musicians Friend some years ago now, but I noticed thay aren't carrying Parker anymore. I'm not sure why...

EDIT: I already kind of played the numbers game. I know it's a small niche market.  A lot of Parker owners are successful people who don't mind spending $100 for something that is a convenience. 

EDIT #2: This is my dream guitar right here -

[Cliff Schecht]

Paul, I've always wanted a Parker, ever since the first time I saw one at a higher end guitar shop when I was like 12 years old (I'm 20 now). I've always had an appreciation for innovative ideas and designs and something about the Parker's just catch my eye (maybe it's the great usage of carbon fiber). That one you posted is absolutely gorgeous, I'd even venture to say that it's my dream guitar as well .

Those boxes look good as well, I haven't built anything in a while but I'm about to get a chance to now that summer is almost here (electrical engineering takes up a bit of time). I'm going to be working on some original designs as well so hopefully I can finally submit more designs for people on this forum (or anybody who builds stuff).

I'm also drawing up compact PCB's for the Red Llama and the Harmonic Percolator so I'll get those project posted up whenever I'm done.

[Austin73]

Hey Paul, nice work , glad you are fighting the corner for us Parker guys ha ha. Just a few questions ..

On the DI are you just putting the Piezo thru it or is it Mag or Mix?

Also ground lifts are you just switching the ground off on one signal or are you passing thru a transformer?

Don't panic not after ripping you off but just curious.

Also if you really want to make foot switchable select for piezo, mag or both please let me know ha ha

Cheers

Aus

[blanik]

nice guitar, is it all carbon fiber or wood body? looks like a BC Rich Mochingbird from an angle... 
the only time i've seen one live was Reeves Gabrel with Tin Machine (with Bowie) in some club in montreal in the 80s or early 90s...

nice boxes! maybe Parker could buy your design or finished boxes (prolly with a more corporate finish) and sell them through their regular distribution line... $$ 

R.

[sfr]

Nice.  I have a couple guitars here I've wired for Rickenbacker-style stereo years and years ago and I remember looking for a stereo splitter, and only finding the Ernie ball one, which doesn't have the ground lift/transformer isolation, and the Rick-o-sound unit, which I couldn't actually find a way to purchase, and which had a hard-wired cable.  (ugh.)  Couldn't tell if there was an isolation transformer or anything in there.  So yeah, Rickenbacker owners could add to your market as well!  (Although some Rick's seem to use dual mono)  But yeah, I remember searching all the usual places and not finding anything for sale that would accomplish this simple task.  All your fancy variations are pretty cool too.

[George Giblet]

Apparently Frank Gambale used a Parker Fly on tracks "Land of the Leal" and "Salvador Once More" - I love the clean sound on those tracks.  I didn't know about Parker until I did a web search on Gambale's guitars!

[Paul Marossy]

On the DI are you just putting the Piezo thru it or is it Mag or Mix?

Also ground lifts are you just switching the ground off on one signal or are you passing thru a transformer?

Don't panic not after ripping you off but just curious.

Also if you really want to make foot switchable select for piezo, mag or both please let me know

On the DI, it's the only the piezo. That gives more flexibility, if you don't want to/need to take an acoustic amp with you, you can just run it thru the PA system. I've built a repoire with many Parker Guitar players, so you'll have a tough time movin' in on my turf. 
http://www.diyguitarist.com/CustomShop/CustomShop.htm

nice guitar, is it all carbon fiber or wood body? looks like a BC Rich Mochingbird from an angle... 
the only time i've seen one live was Reeves Gabrel with Tin Machine (with Bowie) in some club in montreal in the 80s or early 90s...

nice boxes! maybe Parker could buy your design or finished boxes (prolly with a more corporate finish) and sell them through their regular distribution line... $$ 

On the Fly, they are various wood combinations with a carbon fiber wrap on the neck, and depending on the model, the entire body may be wrapped with it as well (or just the back side if it's a flame model). What I'm hoping is that US Music Corporation will colloborate with me on this. I'm not sure what the outcome will be. Maybe they will offer my items in their online store. Who knows?

Nice.  I have a couple guitars here I've wired for Rickenbacker-style stereo years and years ago and I remember looking for a stereo splitter, and only finding the Ernie ball one, which doesn't have the ground lift/transformer isolation, and the Rick-o-sound unit, which I couldn't actually find a way to purchase, and which had a hard-wired cable.  (ugh.)  Couldn't tell if there was an isolation transformer or anything in there.

Huh, I didn't know that they have stereo Rickenbacker guitars. My breakout boxes don't use transformer isolation on the ground lift, it simply lifts the ground connection on the magnetic pickups. On my PPB-1, I do actually have an active audio transformer isolation ground lift circuit in it. In practice, the simple ground lift seems to be fine.

Apparently Frank Gambale used a Parker Fly on tracks "Land of the Leal" and "Salvador Once More" - I love the clean sound on those tracks.  I didn't know about Parker until I did a web search on Gambale's guitars!

Huh, very interesting. There's some great acoustic sounds on "Raison D'Etre". I wonder if it's a Parker Fly? That would also explain how he plays so freakin' fast on an acoustic! 

Paul, I've always wanted a Parker, ever since the first time I saw one at a higher end guitar shop when I was like 12 years old (I'm 20 now).

Yeah, same here. I played one in Musicians Friend when they first moved to Las Vegas and I immediately wanted one - there was absolutely no doubt whatsoever! But, the problem for me has always been being able to afford one. My Mojo Nitefly was a stretch for me, but I'm going to get a Fly sometime in the near future.

[Geoffrey Teese]

Great job, Paul!!!!!  There is another market that could find interest in this.  People like me with stereo output guitars such as my ES345TDCSV.  My original Y-cord has been spliced so many times that it is now unusable.  I've had to use a variety of plug adapters in order to use the guitar live.  Almost four inches of adapters hanging off the guitar's output jack, oh yeah, that's been good for my guitar...

Best of luck with this!

[rockgardenlove]

ES345TDCSV

That's a crazy name for a guitar.  I don't see why they don't name them more memorable names...EG Fender Strat, Gibson Les Paul, etc.  It's just so much easier to remember...for me at least.

Anyways, nice job on the pedals!  Good luck!

[Cliff Schecht]

ES345TDCSV

That's a crazy name for a guitar.  I don't see why they don't name them more memorable names...EG Fender Strat, Gibson Les Paul, etc.  It's just so much easier to remember...for me at least.

Anyways, nice job on the pedals!  Good luck!

It is a Gibson . I've got an ES335 that I love and a local guy has some stereo Gibson hollowbodies that we've ran through some vintage Gibson stereo cabs (with stereo tremolo!) and it sounds freaking fantastic, one of the better sounding guitars Gibson has made IMO.

[Paul Marossy]

Great job, Paul!!!!!  There is another market that could find interest in this.  People like me with stereo output guitars such as my ES345TDCSV.  My original Y-cord has been spliced so many times that it is now unusable.  I've had to use a variety of plug adapters in order to use the guitar live.  Almost four inches of adapters hanging off the guitar's output jack, oh yeah, that's been good for my guitar...

Best of luck with this!

Thanks! I really appreciate the support. 

EDIT: I've got a few of the 1flyBOBs for sale on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Parker-Fly-Parker-Nitefly-Stereo-Splitter-Box_W0QQitemZ110118521202QQihZ001QQcategoryZ2384QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[puretube]

R-E-S-P-E-C-T !

[Paul Marossy]

R-E-S-P-E-C-T !

That means a lot coming from you!