7 ms·

Ken Parker, famed luthier, has died

145 points by dagmx 1y ago

toomuchtodo 1y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Parker_(guitar_maker) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Parker_(guitar_maker)
TrackerFF 1y ago
Shame, I just saw his gofundme a couple of days ago. I've owned and played thousands of guitars, that's pretty much how I earned money through college (I'd flip guitars basically). Parker guitars were really something, but definitely not for everyone - a Parker Fly Deluxe was by far the lightest guitar I ever owned and tried. Should've kept it, as they go for 3-4 grand these days on the used market.
alexjplant 1y ago
A true shame. Until recently guitarists were notoriously conservative regarding instrument design and I have an immense amount of respect for people like Ken that chose to push those boundaries. Challenging guitarists to play something more progressive than the usual 75-year-old designs was a big deal in the heyday of the grunge movement and emergence of the vintage gear market. Hats off to a true American original.
- larodi 1y ago
  Sorry, what's the shame about? That he could not be saved, or that the funds could not be raised? Or perhaps something else,... who's to be ashamed, though? It is indeed a great lost to (living) humanity to loose its great minds, but still his letter is an incredible example of conscious apprehension of live and its transience. And reading 'shame' several times in the comments here is at least very weird to me. God bless this beautiful soul's transition into the great unknown.
  - rfrey 1y ago
    "it's a shame" is a common English colloquialism that means "that's sad", or maybe "that saddens me". No actual shamefulness is usually implied by the phrase. Weird, but there it is.
whstl 1y ago
Shame, I'm a huge fan of the Parker Fly. They're arguably the biggest step forward in electric guitar since the 50s. Lots of new stuff there for the time, some of which became standard years after: stainless steel frets, piezo+magnetic pickups, carbon fiber reinforcement, adjustable vibrato, possibly the most seamless/flattest neck joint ever... not to mention the whole design is amazing. This video from this guy dropped just two days ago, and explains a lot about the features and constructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S6Cni3nkws https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S6Cni3nkws It's a shame they stopped manufacturing after the company was sold. I had one and regret selling, as prices haven't really come down! Rest in peace and thanks for everything, Mr Parker!
- sivers 1y ago
  I had my Parker Fly with me at a gig in NYC, when back stage I met Les Paul. He had never seen one, and he admired its radical choices. So we found a nice big permanent sharpie, and Les Paul signed my Parker Fly.
  - sedawkgrep 1y ago
    That’s amazing! From one of the original innovators to one of the most recent.
  - jacquesm 1y ago
    That is an absolutely amazing story, thank you for sharing it!
  - DrewADesign 1y ago
    That’s totally rad. Bummed I never got to see Les play. At least I got to see Dick Dale a couple times.
  - GoofballJones 1y ago
    Les was known for that. I heard a story of him doing a signing and these two guys came and one had a Gibson Les Paul for him to sign. He turns to the other guy there and he said he didn't have a Les Paul, but he had a Strat. Les signed that too and told him "there, now you have a Les Paul".
jacob_rezi 1y ago
Similarly, my dad was a luthier for 15 years before passing away to cancer in 2022. In the 5th grade, I wanted to learn guitar, so being the engineer he was, he built one. But needed machines first, and wood, and the garage. Being an engineer instead of a business-minded operator prevented his work from becoming too well known but the instrument and what he accomplished was special. I know own the shop, guitars, and everything after his passing - a couple years ago I made a reddit thread asking for help - it blew up and is an interesting read - https://www.reddit.com/r/guitars/comments/1f07f1s/my_dad_lef https://www.reddit.com/r/guitars/comments/1f07f1s/my_dad_lef... I like to take pictures of products and build websites, unfortunately we just ran out of time. https://sgg2.webflow.io/ https://sgg2.webflow.io/
- jacquesm 1y ago
  Is the business still operating?
  - jacob_rezi 1y ago
    No, there are no employees left but I still maintain the workspace until we find a buyer for the operation
    - jacquesm 1y ago
      I am going to make really sure that my heirs are going to be left with a simple financial arrangement, thank you for the implicit reminder to do so. Your dad was awesome, I looked at that video 3 times and there is so much love poured into that workshop that it makes me wish I knew someone worthy of carrying that torch for another generation. I can identify just about every station and see how smart and cost efficient he had it all set up. Have you thought about reaching out to the Luthier guild? https://luth.org/ https://luth.org/
- vjulian 1y ago
  Way cool! Also, La Crosse! I have family there. I’ll stop by one of these days.
ZoomZoomZoom 1y ago
Ken will be missed. A true innovator and so generous with his knowledge and experience. I wasn't following his personal affairs closely so was extremely bummed by the latest events but it was great to hear from himself he found a person he believed in enough to pass the torch to. I've had one of his electrics briefly and it felt and played great. I didn't bond with the instrument due to specific personal preferences, but it was great to feel for myself this particular guitar was as good an instrument as Parker reputation makes you expect.
YZF 1y ago
I play and build electric guitars. Interesting that I wasn't that familiar with his work. Maybe I'll take some elements from the Fly into my next build...
brandall10 1y ago
So sad. One of the few people who really innovated in the guitar space. I was just watching YouTube videos last night of his incredible archtop. I never owned one of his original Fly series guitars but I played many back in the 90s and owned a DragonFly for a few years (not his design, but incorporated elements).
colorcoder 1y ago
[dead]
analog31 1y ago
I'm a bassist, and was aware that Parker made basses, one of them for the legendary electric bassist Steve Swallow. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/what-happened-to-parker-guitars.1448875/page-2 https://www.talkbass.com/threads/what-happened-to-parker-gui...
webprofusion 1y ago
Brilliant designer and luthier.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
HardwareLust 1y ago
What a shame, Ken was one of the few true innovators in luthiery.
ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago
I loved that note. He had a great attitude, and I loved him “passing the torch,” in that manner. Maybe the attention the post gets, will help his family to recoup some of their medical costs. Kinda sucks, that they need to do it, though.
danielvaughn 1y ago
Years ago, a friend introduced me to the world of boutique luthiery. It’s a fascinating art and for steel string acoustic guitars, it’s been undergoing a kind of renaissance throughout the past 20 years. I was lucky enough to play some very fine instruments; it’s incredible how good they sound.
- nativeit 1y ago
  My step-father was a very active bluegrass musician in North Carolina, and when he died I inherited all of his instruments. In particular, I have a unique banjo made by a local luthier (Bob Shue) specifically for my step-father. The banjo features a machined bronze tone ring that lends a very dark tone to the instrument, rounding out the typically nasal characteristic nicely. It weighs a ton, but features a lot of very beautiful hand-carved inlay and absolutely gorgeous mahogany and ebony. The artistry is undeniable. I grew up teaching myself to play guitar using the Online Guitar Archive (olga.org I think it was, all user-submitted ASCII text files). I was one of the teenage brats in the guitar shop putting their grubby hands on everything when the Parker Fly was first released. It blew my little mind, I have a lot of memories playing grunge riffs in a corner of Reliable Music. RIP Mr. Parker, good show old chap.
johngossman 1y ago
New Yorker did a great interview with Parker in 2007. Even if you're not a guitarists, a good read about innovation: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/05/14/struts-and-frets https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/05/14/struts-and-fre...
fl4tul4 1y ago
This hit hard, for some reason: >> $127,419 USD raised of $450,000 goal · 788 donations Go play lute with the angles, noble sir.
Applejinx 1y ago
I played the Parker Fly at Fishman Transducers before it came out, when I was a kid. I was actually working there, not for Ken but for Larry Fishman. I should never have been: I was too young and inexperienced and had no idea the responsibility I was taking on, or how underpaid I was for that responsibility. For a brief time I was shipping, receiving, inventory and stockroom. It near killed me and when they let me go I could only agree, I had no more to give and was totally burned out. I can still see the general manager, though I don't remember his name now. I was trying to make guitars myself at the time, along very different lines, and when I played Ken Parker's new creation, I had enough sense to not recoil and show how much I just didn't click with it, but I still made Larry Fishman real mad and Ken alarmed and unhappy. Turns out Ken knew better than I did that there were people who'd understand what he'd invented: among them, Adrian Belew. I ended up doing Ken-like stuff in my own field: I hope he learned that secret, that if you're doing anything really original you can only measure it by how intensely it affects people, both positively and negatively. I'd love to hear one of his archtops, and I have no idea whether I'd love or hate it, but I feel certain I'd immediately react in some way, and that's the highest compliment.
Pet_Ant 1y ago
A death notice... with a link to a GoFundMe for a cancer treatment. Just another poignant reminder on the state of American healthcare.
- 6stringmerc 1y ago
  Stronger correlation: How the USA treats its Artistic class. Can be a revolutionary talent, participate in commerce, and not afford to bury yourself.
- eumenides1 1y ago
  I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw the GoFundMe and felt such disdain for American's inability to provide for itself.
- twobitshifter 1y ago
  For real, top of his trade and he ends up needing to plea for money. Hopefully some successful artists who have played Parkers will be able to help out.
aanet 1y ago
Oh man, this is sad to hear. Parker guitars is new to me. Saw some pics. They look absolutely gorgeous!! As a profession, luthiery is quite niche. I feel it’s one of those professions, like all craftsmanship, that is timeless. Looking at these pics makes me feel like I want to learn the art. (Bassist here)
toyg 1y ago
Unrelated, but: if you are a fan of comics/graphic novels, Ken Parker by Berardi & Milazzo [1] is an awesome Western. It's a series of short stories bound by a coherent but loose continuity, following the eponymous character as he moves across late-1800 America. Having started in the '1970s, it features topics of social justice and the fate of Native Americans to a literary level rarely found in comics, but it's particularly good in how it depicts realistic characters - often conflicted, incoherent, and of uncertain morality. Parker himself is hardly a saint, and definitely not a hero to start with. As far as I know, it has only partially been translated to English from its native Italian, but even the smallest nuggets is worth experiencing IMHO. There is something about Italians doing Westerns (see also: Sergio Leone) that brings the genre to epic levels. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Parker_(comics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Parker_(comics)
- foobarian 1y ago
  Alan Ford is another Italian gem taking place in the states and touching upon social justice issues, though more of a cynical/dark comedy. One of the villains is SuperHic, a drunk who steals from the poor and gives to the rich
twobitshifter 1y ago
I have a P32 guitar which is probably forgotten by many. I played a neighbor’s fly, and it was so much better than my crappy guitar at the time that I decided I wanted a Parker. The P32 was all I could afford but it is extremely playable and overall a really great guitar, even though everyone thinks it looks weird.

145 points by dagmx 1y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Parker_(guitar_maker) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Parker_(guitar_maker)

Shame, I just saw his gofundme a couple of days ago. I've owned and played thousands of guitars, that's pretty much how I earned money through college (I'd flip guitars basically). Parker guitars were really something, but definitely not for everyone - a Parker Fly Deluxe was by far the lightest guitar I ever owned and tried. Should've kept it, as they go for 3-4 grand these days on the used market.

alexjplant 1y ago

A true shame. Until recently guitarists were notoriously conservative regarding instrument design and I have an immense amount of respect for people like Ken that chose to push those boundaries. Challenging guitarists to play something more progressive than the usual 75-year-old designs was a big deal in the heyday of the grunge movement and emergence of the vintage gear market. Hats off to a true American original.

larodi 1y ago
Sorry, what's the shame about? That he could not be saved, or that the funds could not be raised? Or perhaps something else,... who's to be ashamed, though? It is indeed a great lost to (living) humanity to loose its great minds, but still his letter is an incredible example of conscious apprehension of live and its transience. And reading 'shame' several times in the comments here is at least very weird to me. God bless this beautiful soul's transition into the great unknown.
- rfrey 1y ago
  "it's a shame" is a common English colloquialism that means "that's sad", or maybe "that saddens me". No actual shamefulness is usually implied by the phrase. Weird, but there it is.

whstl 1y ago

Shame, I'm a huge fan of the Parker Fly. They're arguably the biggest step forward in electric guitar since the 50s. Lots of new stuff there for the time, some of which became standard years after: stainless steel frets, piezo+magnetic pickups, carbon fiber reinforcement, adjustable vibrato, possibly the most seamless/flattest neck joint ever... not to mention the whole design is amazing. This video from this guy dropped just two days ago, and explains a lot about the features and constructions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S6Cni3nkws https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S6Cni3nkws It's a shame they stopped manufacturing after the company was sold. I had one and regret selling, as prices haven't really come down! Rest in peace and thanks for everything, Mr Parker!

sivers 1y ago
I had my Parker Fly with me at a gig in NYC, when back stage I met Les Paul. He had never seen one, and he admired its radical choices. So we found a nice big permanent sharpie, and Les Paul signed my Parker Fly.
- sedawkgrep 1y ago
  That’s amazing! From one of the original innovators to one of the most recent.
- jacquesm 1y ago
  That is an absolutely amazing story, thank you for sharing it!
- DrewADesign 1y ago
  That’s totally rad. Bummed I never got to see Les play. At least I got to see Dick Dale a couple times.
- GoofballJones 1y ago
  Les was known for that. I heard a story of him doing a signing and these two guys came and one had a Gibson Les Paul for him to sign. He turns to the other guy there and he said he didn't have a Les Paul, but he had a Strat. Les signed that too and told him "there, now you have a Les Paul".

jacob_rezi 1y ago

Similarly, my dad was a luthier for 15 years before passing away to cancer in 2022. In the 5th grade, I wanted to learn guitar, so being the engineer he was, he built one. But needed machines first, and wood, and the garage. Being an engineer instead of a business-minded operator prevented his work from becoming too well known but the instrument and what he accomplished was special. I know own the shop, guitars, and everything after his passing - a couple years ago I made a reddit thread asking for help - it blew up and is an interesting read - https://www.reddit.com/r/guitars/comments/1f07f1s/my_dad_lef https://www.reddit.com/r/guitars/comments/1f07f1s/my_dad_lef... I like to take pictures of products and build websites, unfortunately we just ran out of time. https://sgg2.webflow.io/ https://sgg2.webflow.io/

jacquesm 1y ago
Is the business still operating?
- jacob_rezi 1y ago
  No, there are no employees left but I still maintain the workspace until we find a buyer for the operation
  - jacquesm 1y ago
    I am going to make really sure that my heirs are going to be left with a simple financial arrangement, thank you for the implicit reminder to do so. Your dad was awesome, I looked at that video 3 times and there is so much love poured into that workshop that it makes me wish I knew someone worthy of carrying that torch for another generation. I can identify just about every station and see how smart and cost efficient he had it all set up. Have you thought about reaching out to the Luthier guild? https://luth.org/ https://luth.org/
vjulian 1y ago
Way cool! Also, La Crosse! I have family there. I’ll stop by one of these days.

ZoomZoomZoom 1y ago

Ken will be missed. A true innovator and so generous with his knowledge and experience. I wasn't following his personal affairs closely so was extremely bummed by the latest events but it was great to hear from himself he found a person he believed in enough to pass the torch to. I've had one of his electrics briefly and it felt and played great. I didn't bond with the instrument due to specific personal preferences, but it was great to feel for myself this particular guitar was as good an instrument as Parker reputation makes you expect.

YZF 1y ago

I play and build electric guitars. Interesting that I wasn't that familiar with his work. Maybe I'll take some elements from the Fly into my next build...

brandall10 1y ago

So sad. One of the few people who really innovated in the guitar space. I was just watching YouTube videos last night of his incredible archtop. I never owned one of his original Fly series guitars but I played many back in the 90s and owned a DragonFly for a few years (not his design, but incorporated elements).

colorcoder 1y ago

[dead]

analog31 1y ago

I'm a bassist, and was aware that Parker made basses, one of them for the legendary electric bassist Steve Swallow. https://www.talkbass.com/threads/what-happened-to-parker-guitars.1448875/page-2 https://www.talkbass.com/threads/what-happened-to-parker-gui...

webprofusion 1y ago

Brilliant designer and luthier.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

HardwareLust 1y ago

What a shame, Ken was one of the few true innovators in luthiery.

ChrisMarshallNY 1y ago

I loved that note. He had a great attitude, and I loved him “passing the torch,” in that manner. Maybe the attention the post gets, will help his family to recoup some of their medical costs. Kinda sucks, that they need to do it, though.

danielvaughn 1y ago

Years ago, a friend introduced me to the world of boutique luthiery. It’s a fascinating art and for steel string acoustic guitars, it’s been undergoing a kind of renaissance throughout the past 20 years. I was lucky enough to play some very fine instruments; it’s incredible how good they sound.

nativeit 1y ago
My step-father was a very active bluegrass musician in North Carolina, and when he died I inherited all of his instruments. In particular, I have a unique banjo made by a local luthier (Bob Shue) specifically for my step-father. The banjo features a machined bronze tone ring that lends a very dark tone to the instrument, rounding out the typically nasal characteristic nicely. It weighs a ton, but features a lot of very beautiful hand-carved inlay and absolutely gorgeous mahogany and ebony. The artistry is undeniable. I grew up teaching myself to play guitar using the Online Guitar Archive (olga.org I think it was, all user-submitted ASCII text files). I was one of the teenage brats in the guitar shop putting their grubby hands on everything when the Parker Fly was first released. It blew my little mind, I have a lot of memories playing grunge riffs in a corner of Reliable Music. RIP Mr. Parker, good show old chap.

johngossman 1y ago

New Yorker did a great interview with Parker in 2007. Even if you're not a guitarists, a good read about innovation: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/05/14/struts-and-frets https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/05/14/struts-and-fre...

fl4tul4 1y ago

This hit hard, for some reason: >> $127,419 USD raised of $450,000 goal · 788 donations Go play lute with the angles, noble sir.

Applejinx 1y ago

I played the Parker Fly at Fishman Transducers before it came out, when I was a kid. I was actually working there, not for Ken but for Larry Fishman. I should never have been: I was too young and inexperienced and had no idea the responsibility I was taking on, or how underpaid I was for that responsibility. For a brief time I was shipping, receiving, inventory and stockroom. It near killed me and when they let me go I could only agree, I had no more to give and was totally burned out. I can still see the general manager, though I don't remember his name now. I was trying to make guitars myself at the time, along very different lines, and when I played Ken Parker's new creation, I had enough sense to not recoil and show how much I just didn't click with it, but I still made Larry Fishman real mad and Ken alarmed and unhappy. Turns out Ken knew better than I did that there were people who'd understand what he'd invented: among them, Adrian Belew. I ended up doing Ken-like stuff in my own field: I hope he learned that secret, that if you're doing anything really original you can only measure it by how intensely it affects people, both positively and negatively. I'd love to hear one of his archtops, and I have no idea whether I'd love or hate it, but I feel certain I'd immediately react in some way, and that's the highest compliment.

Pet_Ant 1y ago

A death notice... with a link to a GoFundMe for a cancer treatment. Just another poignant reminder on the state of American healthcare.

6stringmerc 1y ago
Stronger correlation: How the USA treats its Artistic class. Can be a revolutionary talent, participate in commerce, and not afford to bury yourself.
eumenides1 1y ago
I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw the GoFundMe and felt such disdain for American's inability to provide for itself.
twobitshifter 1y ago
For real, top of his trade and he ends up needing to plea for money. Hopefully some successful artists who have played Parkers will be able to help out.

aanet 1y ago

Oh man, this is sad to hear. Parker guitars is new to me. Saw some pics. They look absolutely gorgeous!! As a profession, luthiery is quite niche. I feel it’s one of those professions, like all craftsmanship, that is timeless. Looking at these pics makes me feel like I want to learn the art. (Bassist here)

toyg 1y ago

Unrelated, but: if you are a fan of comics/graphic novels, Ken Parker by Berardi & Milazzo [1] is an awesome Western. It's a series of short stories bound by a coherent but loose continuity, following the eponymous character as he moves across late-1800 America. Having started in the '1970s, it features topics of social justice and the fate of Native Americans to a literary level rarely found in comics, but it's particularly good in how it depicts realistic characters - often conflicted, incoherent, and of uncertain morality. Parker himself is hardly a saint, and definitely not a hero to start with. As far as I know, it has only partially been translated to English from its native Italian, but even the smallest nuggets is worth experiencing IMHO. There is something about Italians doing Westerns (see also: Sergio Leone) that brings the genre to epic levels. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Parker_(comics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Parker_(comics)

foobarian 1y ago
Alan Ford is another Italian gem taking place in the states and touching upon social justice issues, though more of a cynical/dark comedy. One of the villains is SuperHic, a drunk who steals from the poor and gives to the rich

twobitshifter 1y ago

I have a P32 guitar which is probably forgotten by many. I played a neighbor’s fly, and it was so much better than my crappy guitar at the time that I decided I wanted a Parker. The P32 was all I could afford but it is extremely playable and overall a really great guitar, even though everyone thinks it looks weird.