Ken Parker, creator of Parker guitars, has been a masterguitar builder for years. He has worked with many companies and knows almosteverything there is to know about crafting instruments. Parker designed what isprobably the most innovative guitar since Leo Fender invented the Stratocaster in1954. Utilizing the knowledge he gained from years of experience, he made theParker Fly, taking all the best aspects of classic guitar designs and rollingthem into one beautiful package.

The Fly Classic, amazingly, weighs onlythree pounds without compromising great tone. Its body is made of mahogany, witha neck of basswood joined seamlessly to the body. Over the basswood is afingerboard of ebony, finished with a coating of carbon and glass fibers. Thecombination of this carbon-glass finish and the seamless neck joint gives thisguitar arguably the best action ever, with seemingly endless sustain. The frets,unlike most guitars, are made of stainless steel, which won't wear down asquickly as ordinary frets.

As for the electronics, they are simplymind-boggling. The Fly Classic features two custom-wound DiMarzio hum-buckingpickups, to get a sound like a Les Paul, but they can be split for a warmer chordsound. The bridge is aluminum and has six Fishman piezo pickups set into it,which pick up the instrument's acoustic vibrations, making it sound like anacoustic guitar. The Fly features a built-in pre-amplification system, allowingyou to play either with the hum-buckers, the piezos or both at the same time outof the same amplifier. This gives the instrument the widest sonic range of anyguitar ever.

The only downside to the Parker Fly is its price tag, whichranges from $700 to $5,000. That includes a hard-shell case and a stereo cable,which are worth a great deal themselves. If you can afford the Parker FlyClassic, you can't buy a better guitar.