Has Guitar Technology Actually Improved?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- Comparing the Aristides h06 and the original Parker Fly
My Only Guitar Course: oneguitarcourse.com
All My Stuff: linktr.ee/andrefludd
FREE Guitar Craft Newsletter: www.andrefludd.com/newsletter
Patreon for more guitar stuff: / andrefludd
Podcast: open.spotify.com/show/6pZwdWh...
Favorite Gear
GUITAR CHAIR & discount: www.hinomi.co/andre
Ergonomic tool: sweetwater.sjv.io/VmWY7A
Favorite guitar under $500: sweetwater.sjv.io/zNkboe
Favorite all-around amp: sweetwater.sjv.io/jrgyYe
Favorite strings: sweetwater.sjv.io/eKGEYr
Favorite Gear (Europe): thmn.to/thocf/ad464wb96y
0:00 the guitars
0:45 manufacturing Aristides
1:27 manufacturing Parker
4:00 Headstock Parker
5:30 Neck Aristides
7:01 Neck Parker
8:55 What happened to Parker
9:38 Hardware Aristides
10:55 Weight
11:50 Body Aristides
12:38 Body Parker
14:39 Electronics Parker
16:58 Bridge Parker
20:15 Other Details Parker
20:45 Parker final thoughts
25:38 Aristides final
27:54 Final opinion 
Видеоклипы
The only true groundbreaking guitar innovation has been the MGK Razor Blade Schecter
I'd say it's cutting edge! ...... I'll see myself out....
Hilarious
ahhh xD
😂😂😂
A great "ground breaking" guitar is that shovel guitar that Justin Johnson plays.
The real advancement is in mass production with quality.
yeah, a cheap Strat' clone with a setup and $20 worth of pickups would stomp either of those fiddles
Spot on
amen to that.
And that advancement mostly comes because the machinery for precision work is all made overseas now….cheap guitars have always had “fancy” finishes because they’ve always had captive labor overseas….
Higher consistency at the lower end(s) due to finer tolerances executed with computer-controlled predictability, in a nutshell.
Ned Steinberger and Ken Parker were spirits in a material world, true border-pushing minds inside a super-conservative market.
Vigier? Leduc?
@@harounel-poussah6936 there is nothing exclusionary in their statement?
@@SarahAndreaRoycesChannel I'm no sure what do you mean by exclusionary in this case, maybe I miss a point?
Ken-era Fly or actual production as well as NS Designs, are not really widely spread? Leduc decided to retire in 2023 after 50 years activity, it's obvious that since he worked alone in the workshop he installed in the barn of his house, he was making 25-30 instruments a year, but all at levels of perfection rarely seen... Vigier makes 500 instruments a year, well, I think it's similar to pre-factory PRS when they were making good guitars?
I'd also be curious about giving a try to Teufel and Auerswald but these are even more rare...
@@harounel-poussah6936 That is all nice trivia and discussion for a comment thread on its own, but you responded to the praise of two individuals with a list of further deserving names as if the original poster forgot them. The original post was never implying, the two he named are the only people in the field deserving of praise a ka it was not exclusionary.
Bro they are both alive!
The evertune bridge is the best innovation for guitar in the last 20 years. Its amazing
its shit.
I like it and I’m happy to see a lot of different builders using them. Parker parts are hard to source, especially electronics. Gibson robot tuners (lol) and their other tuning system are the same.
AGREED I CAME HERE TO SAY THIS.
Having to spend almost as much as a new bridge costs to play with more or less tension than the norm is not the kind of innovation anyone needs.
I can't get over how freaking cool that Parker Fly looks. It reminds me of so many different things from my childhood. That's such a beautiful instrument.
I worked at Parker in the 90s, when Ken was still there. I can definitely confirm that Ken is most certainly a tonewood guy. But Parker Fly bodies are not wrapped in carbon fiber. The skin is only applied to the back of the guitar. The neck, having a fiber fret board, is essentially wrapped, for lack of a better term. But if you look at a spruce or a mahogany fly the sides and front of the body are just the wood.
Tonewood. Bummer.
People making recreations of cabinets using IR responses has been pretty cool recently.
Nice video. I like innovation, I bought my Steinberger bass in around 1984 and still play that bass. I'm all for practical innovations. Saying that, I still like a traditional fender better these days. I have built many basses and some guitars. From a manufacturing point of view, wood rules as far as ease of manufacturing. More importantly, a wood guitar is easy to repair. Refretting a wood fingerboard is way easier that phenolic, ebonal, aluminum and other non-wood materials. Modifying pickup and control routes in a non wood body is a pain too, if even possible. Needless to say that sanding synthetic materials requires special skills, but may require special equipment like respirators.
I remember the parker fly being the future of guitars. I also remember some aerospace grade aluminium thing. Maybe it was called a roswell guitar.
check out the Gittler Titanium (now called the Gittler Classic) - I've had mine for several years!
I remember a roswwll guitar made by Jackson (silverchair used 1) Looked like star trek logo
Jackson Roswell Rhodes from around '95ish
Aerospace grade aluminium is called duralumin and was tougher than regular aluminium... Currently used on jet fighters from the 50's/60's... had been highly replaced by a mixture of titanium and thermoplastics similar to Kevlar
@@harounel-poussah6936 thats right duralumin. Loved that stuff, so it's been replaced now. Did not know that, i would say 80 percent of what i made was made out of that stuff (back in the 90s). I made so may things for my guitar back then with it, that and loads of slides from phospher bronze. This was fighter aircraft I worked on back then.
there's dozens of us who like the parker headstock! dozens! lol
I am with you my dog
Yeah, there's definitely loads, particularly younger modern players. That's why blackmachine, ormsby etc all have their take on it.
I hope that’s “tone composite” lol
ahh xD
😂
I remember playing a Parker Fly back in the early 2000's in my local Guitar Center. It felt like a Formula One car in my hands, every note rang for days and it was resonant and loud. 14 year old me couldn't afford one at the time but I keep my eye out on Reverb for them. I will say though, I'm not a fan of Aristides's headless guitars, but I ordered a T/0 back in November and received it last week. With the Fishman Moderns it just sounds like you're getting hit by a bus, it's such a thick and loud sound like nothing else I've played. Devin Townsend has one and explains the same thing. Who knows, maybe one day Parker will come back.
Best advance was the consistency in the production thanks to CNC machines.
From the ergonomic side, Ola Strandberg is the new Leo.
That’s from the instrument itself, but for the industry, amp modeling is the biggest change
I commented one on of Ken Parker's videos - and he said that he had the NASA guys in awe of what he was doing with his carbon fibre composite processes back in the 90's.
Also what Ken is doing now - with pushing the art of archtops forward, is just as amazing.
I am really interested in the conclusions that the tonewood study will come up with.
So long as they have frequency output graphs and correct for everything else.
I'm talking exact same pickups, tuners, bridge etc transferred over between guitars, same strings, same pickup heights, mechanical strumming, same paint/ finish - so the only difference is the wood type.
Then I want to see the frequency shift graphs overlaid.
I am in the camp that the wood can affect sustain time and will make a difference when strummed acoustically - but when run through an amp it will be barely perceptible, or could be dialled in to match with a small tweak to the amp controls or an EQ. I make reference to the SpectreSound video test where he does this - and backs it up with the data.
Real CF is still expensive _now;_ so just imagine back then when it was primarily the domain of military, NASA and F1 development.
Yeah the Pickups, amp, fingerstyle vs pick type, speaker and other electronics dominates 95+% the sound of electric guitar. A maple cap and fretboard (in contrast to mahogany and rosewood) _does_ have a slight affect on the onset/transient characteristic, if not the resultant timbre. I had a basswood Ibanez that always felt and sounded somewhat squishy or 'fluffy', too. But none of that amounts to even 2% of the total sound or feel.
I understand that "Tonewood" applies more meaningfully to acoustic tops, wherein the carve, treatment and moisture variance(s) can create more dramatic results. It isn't called the sound-board for nothing, I suppose.
good enough for Belew good enough for you! 😇
yep! Whenever I get gear envy I think about EVH assembling and modifying his guitar from b-stock parts
I know the Parker guitars VERY well and I like 'em, but I prefer the Vigier Excalibur Supra to the Fly Classic and the Fly Deluxe...
Thhus, there's smth I hate with the Fly: F'cking don't play while sitting!!!!! The upper horn will continuously hit your chest and it won't take long before it becomes really painful !!!
Another tip : I didn't tried another P-44, but.... This Korean version, at least the one I tried, was really exceptionnal, better than the Ken-era Fly Classic I know the best!!!! And... no fancy carbon fiber wrapping, carbon fretboard, it's all wood...
If, like Belew or myself, you come from the Strat, the Excalibur is really the best, it has all you hoped from a Strat but a Strat will never give you.
Note, to keep the Strat feel, don't opt for the maple tops, the rear routings... go for the versions with a pickguard, and... the classic 2010 trem bar is... as efficient as having a Floyd Rose.
Note that I had hybrid PUs made: The DiMarzio SSS kit was great, but I missed some Strat PU features, thus... I went for PUs doing both :
I kept the FS- in neck and the Half Track in bridge and these were added by a replica of the CS Abigail Ybarra, the real Hendrix stuff, if you prefer...
For the #2 Excalibur, she was my main axe in a Pink Floyd cover band... I didn't liked at all the Seymour Duncan HSH set...
So... the gilmour set on The Wall, two Strat'71 and a FS-1 as bridge, then... My PU-maker did a DM Super-Distortion in single coil format to go with the FS-1 and a SH-4 in single coil format for the neck...
In both cases, the DM/SD things are hand wound/rewinded, mounted as humbuckers, and he installs a magnetic barrage because if you don't, the powerful magnet in the SC-format humbucker will ruin the single coil...
Thinking that if a guitar is good for s.o else, it's good for you, well, not really :
The Shawn Lane signature Excalibur has a 24.75" scale instead of a 25.5"... I have rather large fingers, 24.75" is a no go! He got a flat fretboard instead of the 11.8" radius, Flat fretboards suck for rhythmn guitar, but if you do solos at Shawn Lane's speed, that's for you...
Excalibur : Shawn Lane, Ron Thal and... Ron Laster (James Brown guitarist).
Had mine before Shawn started to use it...
And my fav'd guitar is another Vigier: own two Passion III-90/10... They also have the patented 90/10 neck, but in neckthru construction... But forget about it, only 46 were built, 1991-1999 : they were 50% more expensive than the most expensive Fender Custom Shop of this era...
Let's say it's very different, you'll get closer to the sound Santana had on Borboletta or Love Devotion Surrender, but it's way more balanced than the Gibson L6
Aristides felt like a refinement of largely existing ideas, a good one at that. However, Parker was the maverick that introduced a lot of details that still influences luthiery today.
Indeed. Other than fanned frets and evertune bridge, it seems like little that's new in the last 25 years has caught on.
Electric guitar was perfected by the end of the 1950s as far as most people are concerned. The rest of us are just weirdos probing the limits.
Correction: the most sold signature guitar has to be the Les Paul.
My pre-refined Fly Deluxe is a work of art and passion. When I pick it, it has a godly aura and inspires me. That guitar comes from a different Universe for sure.
I'm always impressed by your videos no matter what the subject is.
15:14 there were a few parker flys in an hss layout. however no one really bought them and thus not many were made. i sold my stratocasters after getting my hands on one.
the parker fly has that "super distortion" sound, because those are demarzio superdistortions that were made at half height. i like how the super distortions sound
Hey Doc! Happy Weekend to ya! Yay on the springs. I have a '97 Fly Deluxe w/ 9 and 10 but am going to buy a full set just in case. Also cool that they are now making a new wiring harness/ribbon for Fly's. Should probably pick one of those up as well. Just don't like having to use a battery. Wish someone made an adapter so we could use coin batteries. Aristides and a Kiesel next year. Thanks for the great effort as always and Best Regards and Best Wishes!
I hate that some techs just get forgotten, like the zero fret was a trademark of cheap guitars, but if you use a stainless steel zero fret it is one of the best non locking nut solutions.
Can you let us know when the peer reviewed tone wood stuff is published and available? I’d VERY much be interested in that!
Yep I’ll cover it!
Always loved the design of the Fly and so much respect to Ken Parker for wanting to find improvements.
My dream guitar is the Adrian Belew signature Fly. Midi, sustainiac, trem, piezo, and variax features.
I'm here for all the Parker content you can bring!
How would you rate the playability of the Aristides vs the Parker Fly and even the NiteFly? I got hooked by the unique Parker design in the 90s and have been playing NiteFlys ever since. I've never felt that any comparably priced instrument came close to how the NiteFly feels and sounds. I'm curious if you think that there is a modern instrument that delivers the value that the Fly or NiteFly did in its time.
No one will ever outdo Parker milled fret slots and stainless steel fret (rods!) The most amazing design, ever! I doubt anyone will outdo Parker's amazing one-off bridge, as well.
Always wanted a Parker. Thought they were so cool.
Have you played the Matt Belamy Cort guitar with the Kaos pad and killswitch?
I was told by one of the luthiers at Parker when I had one with frets falling (Ken Parker era), that the issue was a defect in the epoxy glue they were using.
Another unique feature of the Parker Fly is that it's wired in stereo so you can send the magnetic pickups to one amp and the Piezos to a seperate amp.
Yeah, I generally find Piezos sound like... well, like ass through electric amps. With digital modelling, though, it's easier to switch to something (often the easiest thing to find is a Roland JC clone) that'll give a usable sound.
@@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t A Parker with the humbuckers going to a Fender amp, and the piezos going to a Trace Eliot Acoustic amp together sounds Incredible!
The Parker Fly to me is still the most modern and innovative guitar. The design and ergonomy is top notch, a real piece of art.
Brian Moore was another great, and overlooked, brand in the early 90's. I love the MC/1. It's still great.
Something you see in all regards except for handheld electronics and cars is that there's been an interest in low-entry non-destructive modding and customisation on high-end gear. Keyboards can be modded without soldering, you can source the parts for an entirely toolless pc, sport bikes try to do the weirdest things while still fitting within the standards. The Aristides fits in this as well. You can try a lot of different mods without needing to commit to them and it's no longer a workshop endeavour.
are you gonna cover the study when its published? im really curious about the results?
I was just watching a video about a guy making an archtop in a channel called arch toppery, turns out it's Ken Parker, and he has a whole channel about making guitars. Parchtops, with some other Good stuff thrown in. I had made a comment getting him mixed up with the guy who made Mark Knopfler his archtop in the video that I saw. But it turns out he's pretty accomplished in other ways. I thought his headstock looked familiar in the classical stringed archtop video he just put out. With him reworking and experimental guitar he made in the late '70s early '80s, with a guy playing it as a demo at the end and then a second video.
Ken Parker is just about the best to do it when it comes to composites. His newest guitars wrap a veneer over the carbon fibre over the wood core, so it looks like wood but still gets the carbon fibre as far from the geometric centre as possible. Which the fly also did, which gives you the most stiffness and stability from a given amount of material. Rather than inlaying it in the centre next to the truss rod which a lot of people do these days, which is easier, but gives you less benefit. The frets are awful to work on tho - the glue can fail. The tanged fretwire design while imperfect is standard and everyone knows how to do it, so I think that lack of standardization was the big flaw. Same with some of the hardware. Basically like any of those loss leading hypercars that sold for less than they cost, and are now hard to maintain for lack of parts. Sometimes things are just ahead of their time.
Just like you mentioned about the fret Material I don't recall ever hearing anyone using rich light on their front boards
Maybe because it's called 'Richlite'
Martin started using it in ~ 2000 with their X models
I can't wait for the studies on tonewoods from this university to be published since all the evidence I have found (the study from the University of Paraná, as well as the studies published by Manfred Zollner in the book The Physics of the Electric Guitar) agree the little impact on the sound.
As soon as you have news, it would be good if you put the link to search for it.
Parker guitars are hands down the best, most thought-through guitars to this day.
What about Line 6's Variax? It models both several guitars and several tunings. Owned one in the past and it was mind-blowing to me
To me, Parker archtops are literally works of art. Love the comparison of not just models but the discussion of what have we learned over time. While some people are playing checkers, Dr. Fludd is playing -chess- Go.
the thing i love in guitar is that i can pick my 80' Fernandez 00' Schecter or modern Yamaha or Harley Benton i enjoy playing all of them
Thank you, Doctor.
For most guitarists who grew up admiring specific guitarists, anything that goes beyond what their beloved guitarists played is heresy. The musical world is unbelievably conservative.I mean look at Fenders and Gobsons - they don't dare do even the obviously needed improvements, let alone innovations. I've made my own headless bass with moveable pickups, provision for counterweights in the body and some other innovations and people just look at it as if it's either a funny weird thing that's not rally a bass or if they're gong to contract the plague just by looking at it.
I say use and DIY whatever you like.
Markets are another animal... (for better or worse) until you are selling widgets or whatever people are willing to buy - _innovation_ is it's own success, and the exclusivity of the prototype _invention_ it's own reward. Fender and Gibson don't _need_ to change diddly - not when they keep outselling others.
_Pro Tip: Honestly, nobody in the audience wants to look at a headless guitar or bass. It is what it is._ It's just another stark reality of a 1st-world 'problem' that you're better off accepting sooner than later.
have you ever done/thought about doing reviews on acoustic guitars?
Yes it’s in the works
I'd love for Andre to do a full video on just fretboard radius: I don't see any ergonomic reason for a more curved fretboard - easier barre chords is a MAYBE, but how do we know that that's the case at all? maybe a flat surface is better for leverage?
A test between a guitar with no radius, and a bunch of guitars with decreasing fretboard radii would be cool, with as similar a setup as possible so as to rate their ergonomics fairly.
I will before the end of the year!
The Fly has a carbon fiber exoskeleton which keeps the neck from warping, creeping, or ramping at where it meets the body as all other guitars do. Does the Aristides have this? If not it's not even a close comparison.
With the pickups being thin could you trie putting in lace pickups? Those things are crazy thin
Great idea but the fly pickups also don’t have mounting screws so it would still need minor modding
@@andrefluddI i wonder if you could try modding the pickup instead if the guitar but that would probably be pretty difficult
Still enjoying my EBMM Kaizen 6, and Majesty 6. 😎
I’ve played many guitars and I still dream about a Majesty 7 that I played almost ten years ago.
Curious about the petrucci being the best selling signature when Yngwie has had a signature since 88 I think. At it hasn’t really changed until recently with the SDs.
I think the Dimarzios went into the Parkers right around the year 2000. So not early 90’s, more like late 1999 and later….
I feel like a lot of guitarists complain about there not being any "new guitars" but then when there are new guitars that are easier to play, fix issues of older models, or just generally more ergonomic, they complain and say how they'll never beat the originals like???? I think people just want to experience seeing old guitars for the first time again but that's kind of a fruitless endeavor
You really like teasing that RC-ONE in the back huh? When's the video on that monster?
It is truly a shame that Parker guitars is no longer in business. But it's very hard to deny the impact it has left on guitars to this day. The company is gone, but the legacy continues.
Also, IMO Strandberg guitars are a bigger innovation than Aristides. Aristides basically took the Strandberg, removed the special neck profile, and made it out of a composite. You spoke about the Parker being a combination of many prior innovations, brought together in one instrument. I view the Strandberg in the same way. Each individual element isn't unique to Strandberg (except maybe the neck because of the patent), but it was the first one to combine ALL those things in that way.
Still, the Parker is MORE innovative. Especially because of WHEN it was made.
When is this peer reviewed research on tone wood due out? Will you be making a video about it?
I’m not sure, but I will def make a big video about it when it comes out
Huge improvements in guitar marketing!
I would *love* to own a Parker Fly, but the search for an affordable one hasn't advanced very far in years. I wish Ken would go back and make the Parker Fly.
Can I have that Parker? I've wanted one since I was a kid. The ones on the used market don't seem to be in the best condition.
I guess I'm still stuck in the 80s. Although, I would love to see a plain old dinky guitar with that cutaway heeljoint and with modern materials like richlite and carbon fiber.
we reached peak technology. remember tc flashback ii? beaming presets via iphone/pickup, assignable mashswitch. 7sec delay, looper. 129€. thats were digital fx should be. dang teleplaying worship musicaans
I LOVE the Parker Fly! It's a shame they never made a lefty version. It definitely is a polarizing axe. There's no middle ground. people despise it or they love it.
True guitar innovation would focus on modernizing the electronics. Fishman has done a good job with their fluences, I think Seymour Duncan had that phone switchable pickup and Manson guitars have pretty cool onboard electronics, but overall most of the industry (including myself) is still using 1930’s tech. Comfort, ergonomics, and instrument timbre are highly personal so no guitar is truly ideal physically. Also I think people really don’t understand the value of composites, they add significant to strength but they are also significantly denser than wood. So really they should just be used to strengthen key areas, such as stiffening the neck to reduce bowing which is what Parker was doing…
imho the main barriers are
a) Electric guitar was ~95% 'if not 100% 'perfected' by 1960. People _expect_ to hear buzzing and actually _prefer_ a sense of untamed "raw electricity" - not clinically sterile studio conditions.
b) innovation can help a bit at a time, but change enough bits and eventually you have created a very different animal if not some other instrument type.
I LOVE the idea of the Parker Fly, but to your main gripes, it's exactly why I immediately lost interest when I tried one a ways back: The gloss neck back was no bueno, the fat neck contour at the nut was just too much, and that insipid horn dug into my chest like heart disease in America. Such an awful detail. Upper horns are too much on most superstrats/strats, let alone exasperating that problem.
Otherwise, it's a brilliant design and the idea of a dead stable neck through the use of composites (I've got a Steinberger with the carbon rods in it that hasn't moved since I bought it in 2008) is great. I kinda think the bridge should have been double locking too. Making a neck super stable then combining a vibrato with a conventional nut seems counter-intuitive.
I was thinking about buying a Parker Fly because it was cutting Tech back when it came out, but decided not to after seeing the new guitar technology 🙂
I feel like whenever you talk about parkers their prices go up!
I’m an old(ish) conservative guy whose guitars are all boomeresque, lol. But this is my favorite guitar you tube channel by far!
I always found those Parkers to be super uncomfortable to play while seated
I'd say overall the main improvements that have been made in that time are with average quality across all brands. I might be wrong because I wasn't there to experience it, but from what I understand, 30ish years ago choice of brand mattered so much more for the pure build quality of the instrument. Japanese and American made guitars were so ahead of the game that they were (mostly) almost the only options for a high-end guitar. But now paying attention to brand names and location of where it was made doesn't seem to be as big of a deal - you can make any guitar feel great no matter where it was made.
The drop in popularity of guitar is dropping the prices of used guitars, which in turn are dropping the prices and raising quality of new guitars, as companies need to compete with the used market. This is the most significant change in guitar manufacturing imo
Major improvements in manufacturing making playing guitar more affordable and accessable than it ever was. Back in the day a cheap guitar was commonly a chinese piece of junk with nasty fretwork and faulty electronics. Now you can buy an eigth string multiscale guitar for as much as $180 that is quite decent. Also there are way more options for lefties right now.
I still have two Parker Fly guitars. A mahogany Fly Classic and a rare Fly Deluxe hardtail (yes, they made a non-trem version). Love them and they have the silkiest neck I have ever tried. Ken Parker was so far ahead of his time that he was ultimately unable to find a market for his designs. Plus guitarists are bunch of fuddy duddies (change any of the old 1950s designs and there is a loud wailing and gnashing of teeth).
Makes arguments about improvements and leads with tone wood? Jim Lil did an entire series very methodically disputing where the tone was. I could see the updated fab processes providing a more consistent end product, because it does. C&C and other improvements remove the variation in the manufacturing process. Early 80's guitars anyone? Great guitars, but you had to find the good one.
it's too bad that Parker isn't really around still. I would think they would be very popular now if they ever could come back to life.
...surprised Fender doesn't own them :/...
The biggest advancement has been stainless steel frets in cheap guitars. Yea they need work, but once it’s done, they play well for a lot longer than any name brand guitar
I owned a Parker Fly, the higher end model, I personally did not like how it felt while playing. Something about it seemed sterile and could not connect with it, even though I loved the look.
I’d say that once of the things that makes me feel connected to the instrument is how it interacts with the body while playing it, the vibration of the guitar itself, linked to the volume mass of the guitar body. It’s very subtle but noticeable nonetheless.
Also, tone wood deniers are just a step away from being globe deniers.
To be fair, the Parker was 30 years ahead of its time so perhaps an unfair comparison if talking about the broader industry?
There is not one company in the world that has perfectionized the electric guitar while there are numerous details out there that will improve comfortable playing and better quality overall. There are some perfectionists so you will like John Petrucci and Toni Abasi who strive for perfection but they are a very small minority.
It's kind of a contradiction: when it comes to guitars of course I know there can be very precise materials to enhance playability, resonance, intonation and tuning stability, etc.
Yet at the same time I've seen people try to make something like acrylic guitars since the 80s and overall most people want technology up to a point: there's always a big demand for having the 'modern' guitars but by customers that still want the handmade/craftmanship of an actual luthier, mostly because of the stigma of mass produced guitars.
So you might be able to craft a really precise guitar but a lot of people would go 'But this isnt *wood* at all...I don't like it' without giving it a proper chance. It's a weird space to be in when it comes to wanting modern features but frowning upon non handmade production.
Aesthetics are what you're left with after the fun of nerding-out wears off ;)
Its hard to sell inexpensive guitars outside of the usual R&R paradigm - and R&R is partly the sound of 'a fight' and/or possibility for a disaster. It's a strange virtue in that these guitars should not be "too easy" to play, or ever seem to sound 100% sorted. People pay more for apparent wear and tear just to project the illusion that it's seen 'better days'.
I always get so nervous watching you move those beautiful and expensive guitars around so close. I am too clumsy, they would be trading paint
how does the fly get sufficient break angle over the nut without a string tree? ive been wondering about this for a while.
The tonewood debate is easy….ask yourself if there is difference between waterproof mountaineering boots and ultralight running shoes…see allll done….which shoe applies to you? Figure that out yourself…..no need to endlessly argue over superior pizza toppings…..
I think Parker was the last real innovator if you consider stranberg as more refinement than breakthrough.
Does guitars HAVE to evolve?
Complex electronics (Fender offset models, Gibson RD artist, most BC Rich models), alternative materials (Danelectros made from masonite, the Res-O-Glass Jack White uses made from fibreglass and Ampegs made from plexiglas with aluminium necks) and innovative hardware (Floyd Rose and Kahler vibrato systems, Schaler and Dunlop strap locks, Sperzel locking tuners) aren't anything new.
But trough all innovations and experimentation, guitars have stayed relatively traditional, rarely straying far from Stratocaster and Les Paul-like features
There's no such thing as tone wood.
tone wood does exist it really depends on a lot of things though and the effect is very very small but if you've played guitars for a long time those super super super small differences change how you play it but reasonably for the average player it doesnt exist
Had Parker been able to get it in more hands (less expensive) I think they'd still be around. The only model that wasn't priced out of the struggling musician demographic was really nothing special but still a bit pricy. I know in my circles they were considered overpriced gimmicks. Sad really.
There would probably be more innovations if boomers weren't so reluctant to change. Kahler bridges for example. But nope, people stick to Floyd and call it's setup "calming" and "getting to know tour guitar better" instead of embracing an easier, more modern variant. It already took ages to get locking tuners
Hey. Guitar teacher here. In my experience teaching, it's ironically mostly the teenagers who are obsessed and totally enamored with "classic" designs and they want to be Slash whereas the older dudes will take any quality of life improvements they can get. I've been teaching for almost 20 years and that's my experience anyway.
Boomers are in their 60s and older. Most of the guitar buying public aren’t boomers.
The mistake was in not making an effective mvp! Imho
What I hate about the tonewood argument is that it removes the human element out of the “tone”. Tone starts in your brain. You’re creating the sound. The most important element of tone is your brain. It’s not above the waves on a damn graph. It’s not measurable. It’s a stupid argument.
Ooohhh, a "peer reviewed study"? As we all know thanks to esteemed peer-review publications such as Fat Studies ( I am NOT making it up), peer-review is basically the same thing as "fact" and should be taken seriously at all time because the holy words "peer review" were uttered.
They close the factory in Illinois after Parker Guitars couldn't repear guitars made with cheap glue, so no... technology is not improving
Tonewood makes no perceptible difference in an electric guitar
From where I stand, they might be the best playing most ergonomic guitars in the world, but they are still ugly has hell. The Aristides is not bad, except for the fact that it's headless which I personally don't like ( your mileage may vary)
Honestly biggest changes in guitar tech have been CNC advancement, evertune, and printed pickups.
to be honest the aristides look super cheap, look like a white hunk of plastic to me kinda like the enya travel guitar but that is actually cheap
No. The Fly is still the best guitar.
Tonewood is clearly a thing, that should even been in question. See: hollowbody and semi hollowbody guitars. Take that to a different structure, all wood have different levels of porousness and vibration of strings is changed by the substrate it is attached to. Fight me. Is it ok though if I hate stainless steel frets more that anything, for no clear reason? Where is this study so I can throw it in my bandmates faces? I think there have been innovations in playability over the years, including on Tele's.
🤣
That Parker guitar has to be the ugliest shape ever made right ?
🤣
makes it easy to hold i guess
Lol, have you seen B.C. Rich guitars?