Parker Fly PB51 - Trade Pending £750

[6feet7]

[size=4]I got this a few months ago but at the moment I'm having to sell everything. It only weighs 8 lbs, and is in pretty much unplayed condition. It looks like it's spent it's life in a hard case (which is included, as is a letter of authenticity)[/size]
[size=4]Post or meet up. Let me know [/size]

[color=#222222][size=4]Below is a review.[/size][/color]

[color=#222222][size=4][email protected][/size][/color]
[color=#222222][size=4]07881 596446[/size][/color]

[b][color=#222222][size=4]PS. I can take payment by credit/debit card[/size][/color][/b]

[color=#090909][color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]The radical Parker Fly bass is available in imported form, without all the high-tech construction but still with a very individual look indeed. [/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif][url="http://www.parkerguitars.com/"]Parker[/url] Guitars was originally set up by American luthier Ken Parker in the early ’90s. Jazz legend Steve Swallow played the first prototype[url="http://www.parkerguitars.com/"]Parker[/url] Fly bass throughout the decade, and this endorsement – together with those for Parker’s Fly guitars – meant [url="http://www.parkerguitars.com/"]Parker[/url]‘s small business in Rochester, New York grew rapidly.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]In 2003 the company was bought by US Music Corporation, and more affordable Asian-made models were introduced.
The [url="http://www.parkerguitars.com/"]PB51[/url] is a prime and rather striking example. It’s made in Indonesia but retains all the familiar characteristics of the US-built Fly basses.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]The American models employ classical guitar-grade sitka spruce in the bodies: here the wings are two pieces of mahogany glued to a central core, with the whole front covered by a sumptuous flame maple top.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]The polyurethane transparent red finish is the only colour available.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]The body design is extremely unusual, even pincer-like, but it’s all part of a quest to create a bass that really fits right into the body of the player.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]Flipping the [url="http://www.parkerguitars.com/"]PB51[/url] over, you’ll notice both the sectional nature of the construction and a slight thinning of the body’s mass from lower half to upper. You’ll also see the heelless through-neck section; the deep cutaways afford unfettered access to the highest fret.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]Any bass this modern-looking is likely to be active-powered, and the back is where you’ll find the convenient quick-release compartment for the 9v PP3 battery.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]Neck construction on the US-made models involves graphite woven with wood for strength and stability, but on the [url="http://www.parkerguitars.com/"]PB51[/url] the neck is a seven-piece all-wood affair with strips of mahogany separated by thin ebony stringers. The profile is a fairly flat ‘C’ – slim, fast and comfortable under the hand. Behind the curved oblong headstock there’s a strengthening bulge beneath the nut.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]The same flame maple veneer that fronts the body adorns the headstock’s face, while the four [url="http://www.parkerguitars.com/"]Parker[/url] Open Gear L-4 tuners, like all the hardware, are coated in black.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]The strings have plenty of break-angle over the graphite nut, and the ebony fingerboard carries 24 medium nickel silver frets with offset pearloid dots on its face and more on the top edge. The bridge – actually four individual Mono Rails – can be used string-through (courtesy of chunky ferrules beneath the bridge) or top-loaded.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]Adjustment is by Allen key only. The pickups, in fairly standard neck and bridge positions, are a pair of black oblong [url="http://www.emginc.com/"]EMG[/url] 35CS units which are coupled to a roster of controls numbering two Volumes and centre-indented Bass and Treble, all of the knurled Tele-style variety.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]Sounds
Thanks to the [url="http://www.emginc.com/"]EMG[/url]s there’s no hiss whatsoever, just a clean, fat sound with a growling edge and excellent definition. Higher strings exhibit a high-mid zing, but this isn’t a dominating characteristic and it helps bring out the harmonics in the notes.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]It’s a contemporary tone from a contemporary bass, and none the worse for that. The [url="http://www.parkerguitars.com/"]PB51[/url] gets a lot rockier when you edge up the bass EQ, gaining a weighty, growly thud that’s well-defined enough for groove parts and sufficiently wide-sounding for more melodic work as well as old-school soul and blues, and the metallic edge helps it cut through a larger band. Adding treble EQ can brighten things up if needed.[/font][/color]
[color=#474747][font=arial, verdana, sans-serif]Soloing the bridge [url="http://www.emginc.com/"]EMG[/url] delivers the tight, burpy tone you’d hope for and the minimal volume differential with the other two settings probably explains the slight high-mid bias elsewhere. More bass EQ gives a splendidly funky, punchy impact, and although the snarling edge on flat settings is lessened, there’s still plenty of burpy definition.[/font][/color][/color]

Edited November 13, 2014 by 6feet7

[PhilLawton]

Spankingly lovely bass. Have a bump.

[6feet7]

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[6feet7]

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[Fleabay85]

great sounding bass !

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[6feet7]

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[6feet7]

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