126:. His tremolo/vibrato design allowed the user to choose between floating or dive only operation, and it could also be used as a stop tail bridge. The Fly weighed around 5 pounds, while most full size solid body electric guitars of the same category usually weigh from 7 to more than 9 pounds. Parker was one of the first builders to use
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and began building stringed instruments while working with the furniture-maker
Richard Newman. Guitar lessons further sparked his interest in the instrument and in the 1970s he returned to the New York City area where he began working with a lute maker on Long Island. He then worked at Stuyvesant
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Music in
Manhattan repairing string instruments. From 1983 had his own shop where he worked on the development and construction of violins, cellos, and especially Renaissance lutes.
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and made his first guitar (out of wood and cardboard) at the age of 13. In his early 20s, after studying various aspects of tool-making and woodworking, he worked in a
137:. With Larry Fishman's help he was also one of the first builders to embrace the use of a piezo bridge which allowed the electric guitar to simulate the sounds of an
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164:. As of 2015 Parker has a shop in Massachusetts where he builds a small number of hand made and individualized custom archtop guitars per year.
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one and blend the acoustic with the electric signal through his innovative control layout. The Fly had 11 patents and was exhibited at the
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that mounts to the guitar via a turnbuckle mechanism that allows the action to be adjusted without affecting the tuning, a unique
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Parker sold his company in 2004. A few years later, he started designing
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brought out in 1993. The Fly incorporated non-traditional materials like
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201:, Issue 93 (reprinted on kenparkerarchtops.com). Retrieved 1 May 2015.
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electric guitar which came out in 1993. He is the founder of
212:"D.C. Charge: Electric Guitar Storms the Smithsonian"
229:"Mass Appeal: Ken Parker's Unconventional Archtops"
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98:and collaborated with Larry Fishman to design the
152:. His archtop designs incorporate an adjustable
182:Classic Guitars: Identification and Price Guide
102:, a controversial, innovative and futuristic
62:known for his unique archtop guitars and the
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246:"Struts And Frets, Building A Better Guitar"
114:blended with more traditional elements like
94:In the early 1990s, he founded the company
325:NAMM Oral History Program Interview (2010)
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195:"Luthier's Workbench: Ken Parker Guitars"
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265:"Builder Profile: Ken Parker Archtops"
227:Bienstock, Richard (5 October 2012).
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354:Businesspeople from New York City
244:Bilger, Burkhard (14 May 2007).
210:Johnston, Richard (March 1997).
112:Carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer
193:Baker, Rorick (January 2009).
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143:Smithsonian Institution
133:that were glued on the
297:The Tone Quest Report
180:Freeth, Nick (2007).
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78:Parker was raised on
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323:Ken Parker
168:References
108:fiberglass
64:Parker Fly
56:Ken Parker
46:Occupation
33:Ken Parker
23:Ken Parker
158:tailpiece
135:fretboard
139:acoustic
120:basswood
116:mahogany
49:Inventor
274:19 July
60:luthier
124:spruce
293:(PDF)
131:frets
276:2011
154:neck
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