Tenth anniversary for Parker guitars.

IN JULY 1993, AFTER TWO years of perfecting his bold and brilliant new guitar design, Ken Parker shipped the first Parker Fly guitar for retail sale. Since then Parker Guitars has shipped thousands of instruments worldwide, introduced several more groundbreaking models, and has provided musicians with a guitar more diverse than any other on the market.

To commemorate the celebrated company's tenth anniversary, Parker Guitars unveiled new versions of the original Fly Classic and Fly Deluxe models at the NAMM Summer Show in Nashville. The new Fly series represents the first significant updating to the Fly line since production began one decade ago. The company will also be introducing a new Fly--the Parker Mojo--at the show.

"The Fly exceeded my wildest dreams," recounted Ken Parker, who, with Larry Fishman, co-founded Parker Guitars. "I started toying with the idea of the Fly in the '80s, and when we finally shipped the first one, I really didn't know what to expect. The response turned out to be incredible. Musicians from every genre of music have told me unique and personal reasons why they love their Parker Fly."

Professional guitarists have been among the most ardent enthusiasts for Parker. Over the years Parker guitars have been immensely popular with rock acts including Dave Navarro of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Joe Walsh, Reeves Gabrels, Deron Miller of cKy, Mark Farner, Carl Verheyan, Todd Whitner of Tantric, and many others. The guitar is also revered by country and folk players like Merle Haggard, Greg Martin, and Joni Mitchell, as well as by funk/boogie players: Spacey T of Fishbone, Blackbird McKnight, and Boogie Mason of P-Funk are all Parker artists. Many artists have used Parkers in the studio, recording the many tones that can be achieved only with a Parker. In 1996 masterful guitarist Phil Keaggy recorded an entire album on his Parker, entitling it "On the Fly." Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton is currently touring and recording with the newly introduced Fly Bass.

"We've listened carefully to our customers and dealers as we mark our tenth anniversary," said Drew Hannah, president and CEO of Parker Guitars. "We're tremendously excited about the improvements to our Fly Classic and Fly Deluxe models. The new Parker Mojo is the first Parker model designed specifically to get that crunchy, heavy rock tone."

The company's Custom Shop was opened in January of this year, allowing authorized Parker dealers to order custom-made Parkers for their customers. Parker allows clients to choose the wood, color, pickups, frets, tuning gears, and much more when creating their own custom Parker Fly. The Parker Custom Shop also makes available models that have been introduced but discontinued over the last ten years, including the Fly Supreme, Fly Artist, Spanish Fly, Fly Concert, Hardtail Fly, and the Fly Deluxe-Single 2.

The goal of Parker Guitars has always been to create the most versatile, responsive, dependable, and beautiful instruments possible. Developing the original Fly guitar was a painstaking process during which the company created new manufacturing approaches to making guitars. Parker's complete line of guitars is sold through independent music retailers throughout the world and includes the Parker Fly, the NiteFly, the P Series, the Standard Series, and the Parker Select line as well as the Parker Fly Bass.