In the 1980’s Casio introduced a series of guitar shaped products labeled as DG, digital guitars. These started with the DG-1 and progressed to the DG-20. These plastic instruments had an elongated body, and a thin neck.
When the user pressed the appropriate “string” on the fretboard position a note would sound. The six strings consisted of nylon lines. each of the similar size that gave the allusion of guitar strings.
The sounds emitted were similar to those on the Casio keyboards that proliferated stores in the 1980’s. This also had a built-in drum machine with 12 patterns. The Casio DG was unique for its time, but it could hardly be called a guitar. It was more of a toy.
Lately I have been seeing advertisements for some guitar-like instruments. Are they guitars, or are they toys? What is the purpose? The advertisements promise, "No musical background needed..." and "Pain free playing".
The Aeroband guitar is quite unique. It sells online for $429. For an additional $40 you can get a package with a soft case. The neck is detachable. There are 6 steel strings on the body, but they just give the feel of strumming or picking. These seldom break, but Aeroband sells new sets.
The instrument's neck has soft silicone “strings” that are permanently fixed to the neck. These give a feel of guitar strings. All of the sounds are built into the program. And it offers 9 built in tones.
These include a variety of electric guitars, acoustic guitar, classical guitar, bass guitar, banjo, piano, clavinet. Drum loops are included. This instrument is always in tune.
With the Bluetooth App there is a feature that allows a variety of guitar tunings, like Dropped D, DADGAD, open tuning etc.
The neck has a built-in capo feature that allows the user to change the pitch of the strings up or down. This feature is found on the buttons on the instruments headstock.
The Aeroband guitar is fully MIDI compatible and works with major DAW’s on Window and macOS via a USB connector.
The user plays actual guitar chords and can also play individual notes. Though you cannot bend strings, it does allow pull-offs, and hammer-ons. So the user must have some basic knowledge of playing guitar.
It does not allow for string vibrato, and cannot achieve harmonics. The sounds are sampled, but the acoustic and classical guitar sounds are quite realistic.
The APP feature is amazing. The guitar has two built-in speakers, but it can be plugged into an amplifier.
The Aeroband works on a USB charger and fully charged you can expect 7 to 8 hours of playing time. For an additional $30 you can purchase a microphone that attaches to the guitar body.
All effects are done via the software, so you cannot use pedals.
I believe this product would be useful for a novice player that has some experience or a person with a disability where actual guitar strings might be painful. Though a well set up guitar should not create pain.
Is it a toy? Not really, but it is not a guitar. This is a well thought-out and designed product. It is doubtful that anyone would use it in a professional capacity but prove me wrong. It is designed for fun. It is not a replacement for a real guitar, nor is it a teaching tool.
Lava guitars have come up with some very interesting carbon fiber guitars. Some have built-in effects and amplification. Their product that is like the Aeroband is The Lava Genie, which is a Smart sampler instrument designed for someone that wants to play guitar but has little or no training and no desire to learn to play an actual guitar.
The front of the body features a “shelf” that containers controller buttons on both sides that allow you to select the desired tone, the rhythm pattern of the backing drum track, and the pattern to be strummed. The user simply strums their fingers on the front of the instrument.
There are 7 sections/frets on the neck, each represents a chord, C, Dm, EM, F, G, Am, B dim. This feature can be extended to 21 sections/frets if the user needs more chords.
To trigger a chord, press the desired section on the neck and press the tap pad on the guitar’s body with the right hand. This triggers the auto chording feature.
Tapping on the bottom section of the neck starts the instruments rhythm section. This same section also has a tap-tempo feature to change the speed of the drum patterns.
This instrument has two speakers so there is no need for an amplifier, though there is a port to connect a cable to an external amplifier.
The side of the neck has guiding lights that allow the user to know what fret/section they are on. The Lava Genie app has thousands of licensed songs. ( I believe there is a minimal subscription fee to access the songs.)
The app also contains hundreds of preset tone combinations. Five presets at a time can be loaded into the instrument. The Lava Genie comes with a creative mode that turns off the backing and preset strumming so the user can have it function like a basic guitar.
The instrument is foldable, the neck detachable, and it comes with a travel case. The price is $399 direct from the manufacturer.
On the positive side, it is simple to play. The user presses buttons. There are no strings. Knowledge of basic theory is required, but the user does not play chord patterns, they simply press the corresponding fret/section. Talent is unnecessary.
If your intent is to sing and play guitar you may enjoy the Lava Genie. The negative aspect is, although it sounds like a guitar (and other instruments) it is not. Sounds are samples. The user cannot play individual notes.
The Lava Genie looks fun, but I would rather spend $400 on a real guitar. If you are someone that wants to pretend they are playing a musical instrument, here you go.
The Liberlive C1 is another stringless guitar sampler has similar features to the Lava Genie, i.e.. The touch sensitive neck pad section, the strum bars, and the free apps.
Instead of the "shelf" with buttons that come on the Lava Genie, the LiberLive has two "levers" that control the strumming and functions.
The headstock has a dial to change the instrument’s pitch. The user can preset up to 72 chords. Pressing on the neck starts the rhythm and allows for touch-tempo changes. The app features a song library with chord sheets.
The neck is foldable as is the body. The instrument comes with a small gig bag and retails for $419. Much like the Lava Genie, this instrument is a sampler that allows the user to accompany singing, so no individual notes, or runs. It may be a fun instrument for some folks, but it is definitely not a guitar. It is an expensive toy.
One word of caution. All of these instrument manufacturers are funded by Kickstarter campaigns. All are guitar samplers. They are designed for the user to have fun making music without the bother of actually learning to play guitar. These are not guitars. These are clever items designed for those with a short attention span that seek instant gratification.
When I started to play guitar I learned basic chords, I learned patterns, scales, modes, and how they related to music. I applied my knowledge of reading written music to guitar. Perhaps in these current times instant knowledge is preferable to years of learning. Talent takes time.
In my opinion get a real guitar. You can get a nice instrument for less than $400. Then learn to play guitar, and share your music with others.
We shared techniques and technologies, and tried to envision some new tools for guitar players. Long story short, we founded Parker Guitars in 1991 in order to realize the Fly Guitar project. We created tools to build the guitars, and established our factory in Massachusetts, where we produced about 30,000 guitars and basses."
The Parker Fly was made from a variety of woods, including poplar, basswood, and spruce. Once the unique shape of the body and neck were carved the instrument was coated with a composite of resin and carbon glass to reinforce the structure.
The fretboard was also made of a composite material and the frets were made of stainless steel. The design process has given Parker Fly guitars the reputation of having the “fastest neck in the business”.
Due to their durability, these materials will pretty much last for the lifetime of the owner.
The electronics used in the instruments were very unique as well. The guitar used either coil split humbucking pickups or single coil pickups. Both had active circuitry. The Fly also had a piezo pickup for acoustic sounds.
The guitars vibrato was unique as well. Instead of using wound springs, The Fly utilizes a shaped flat steel spring that returns the guitar to pitch. It could be set for bend down down mode, balanced mode (full floating), or fixed mode.
The tension is controlled by a balance wheel. (The guitars manual cautions not to set it too tight as this could cause the spring to break). The vibrato was engineered in a way to bring the strings back to pitch. Sperzel locking tuners aided in maintaining the instruments pitch and eliminated the need for string trees.
In October 2002, Parker began offering the Fly Bass guitar in both 4 and 5 string versions. These basses were well received for their ease of use. They came with both magnetic and piezo pickup and the player could blend the two sounds together. The basses were also manufactured in the Massachusetts factory.
As he states, "In 2003, U.S. Music purchased Parker Guitars, and moved the production facilities to the greater Chicago area. Since that time, all of the new models produced by Parker Guitars, including any acoustic or semi hollow instruments, have been designed solely by Parker Guitars' design engineers. I have had no involvement with any of these new design projects.
Creating the Parker Fly, Nightfly, and the Fly Bass was a labor of love. I had a lot of fun designing them and then devising and building the production tooling to make them. These instruments have worn well, and now the product line has been expanded by the new owners."
The U.S. Music Corporation is a distributor of multiple products, including Parker guitars. This organization manufactured the guitars from their Illinois based factory. They developed the line and changed up a few things.
U.S. Music took a different approach to Parker Guitars. Some Parker guitars were no longer made with the original composite finish, but were now made of wooden bodies. To be fair, by 2001, Ken Parker had offered some models with wooden bodies.
Also some of the new models appeared to be Parker guitars that had morphed with other popular guitar designs.
For instance, the Single Cutaway Fly Mojo may have been a wonderful guitar, but the Les Paul influence is obvious.
This was a single cutaway guitar with twin Seymour Duncan humbucking pickups. The body and neck were made of mahogany and were joined by using Ken Parker’s multi-finger neck joint. This guitar featured a tune-o-matic style bridge and a stop tail piece. The neck was topped with an ebony fretboard that had no position markers and the unique Parker 6 on-a-side headstock.
The Fly Mojo Flame did have the body shape of a Parker Fly guitar. The literature suggests it was made of mahogany with a “unique AAA flame maple skin over a solid mahogany body allowing the sound of mahogany to fully resonate through.” I cannot determine if this means the body had a maple veneer or a maple photo-flame finish.
This guitar came with a mahogany neck topped with the Parker headstock and included one Duncan Jazz and one Duncan JB humbucking pickup. Once again the fretboard was ebony with no position markers.
The Fly Mojo Flame also had the Parker Fly vibrato, sans the adjustment wheel. U.S. Music eliminated the vibrato adjustment wheel on all models that they produced.
The Fly Mojo was similar in all aspects of the previous guitar, but the body was made of natural unstained mahogany.
U.S. Music continued to build The Parker Fly guitar, but changes were made from the original design to correspond with their vision of this instrument.
The body was now made of mahogany with a basswood neck. The Fly Classic weighed in at 5 pounds and had the features of the original Fly, except for the choice of body wood and composite finish.
The U.S. Music Parker Fly came with two Seymour Duncan humbucking pickups and included the Parker vibrato. The guitar was available with three colour options.
The Fly Deluxe was a similar instrument that apparently was voiced differently than the original. It came in different six different colour schemes.
The Parker Nitefly Series included two guitars with features in the same shape as the original Parker Fly model. However these both had solid mahogany bodies and bolt on mahogany necks.
The NiteFly Mojo Flame guitar had the same style neck, with a plain ebony fretboard, topped with the Parker style headstock. The thing that stood out on this guitar was the two humbucking pickups that were topped with chrome covers. One pickup was a Seymour Duncan Jazz pickup and the other was a Seymour Duncan JB pickup. This guitar featured the Parker vibrato. The mahogany body came with what the literature called, “a flame with a traditional AAA flame maple top over the solid mahogany body.”This guitar was offered in cherry sunburst or transparent blue-burst.
The NiteFly Mojo guitar had the same accouterments however the pickups lacked the chrome covers and there was not a flame veneer topping the mahogany body. It was bare wood and available in a natural finish, a transparent cherry finish, or a dusky black finish.
The Parker Southern NiteFly was Parker’s answer to the Fender Telecaster. The body on this guitar was made of swamp ash and the bolt on neck was maple. The guitar even had black plastic pickguard. The neck pickup was a single coil with a chrome cover that could have been right off of a Tele. The Powerbridge™, looked like the rectangular chrome plate on a Telecaster. It contained a second single coil, slanted pickup and the adjustable bridge saddles contained the Fishman™ piezo elements. There was no vibrato on this model.
What set this apart from a Telecaster was the Parker Fly body, and the Parker headstock. The chrome control plate featured a third knob for the piezo volume. Above it was a second toggle switch to activate the piezo pickup. It was available with blonde, butterscotch, or transparent red finish options.
There were other variants that U.S. Music came up with for their Parker guitars.
The Parker Nite Fly was one of the models designed by Ken Parker in the late 1990’s. The U.S. Music version of this guitar, called the NiteFly M, had a solid mahogany body and was topped with two humbucking pickups. The bolt-on neck was also made of mahogany. This instrument was offered with a natural oil and wax finish or a similar finish in black. It had the Parker vibrato.
The Nite Fly Alder was Parker’s version of the Fender Stratocaster. This time the body was, of course, made of alder wood, while the neck was maple topped with an ebony fretboard. The pickup layout was similar to that on a strat, but the bridge pickup was a Seymour Duncan humbucking model. The controls were the same as those on a Stratocaster; a master volume, and two tone controls. It too came with the Parker vibrato. It was offered in cream white, Indigo blue,and cherry red.
The NiteFly SA was based on the original Parker model. It had the typical Parker shape, but was topped with a white plastic pickguard that contained the electronics, including two single coil pickups and a humbucking pickup in the bridge position. A slider switch acted as a pickup selector. The guitars body was made of swamp ash and the neck was maple. It came complete with the Parker vibrato and was available in transparent red or blue.
The PB61SP featured neck-thru construction of a spalted maple top and mahogany neck with an ebony fretboard and a spalted maple headstock veneer. The tuners and adjustable bridge/saddle were gold-plated. The body was in the Parker Fly Bass shape. This bass, like all Parker basses, featured twin EMG 35CS active bass pickups.
The PB51TR (Transparent Red) was very similar, except the body and neck were made of mahogany and it was finished in transparent red. The tuners and adjustable tailpiece were in a black gun metal finish.
The PB41 series offered the same great features, such as EMG pickups, however the body was made of Sitka spruce with a Urethan finish, and the bolt-on the neck was maple. It was available in Silverburst, Black Matte, and Gold Matte. The hardware was also done in a black finish. These basses were available in four or five string models.
In 2006 the company added a line of acoustic-electric and jazz guitars under the Parker brand name. These were manufactured off-shore by Washburn guitars. At that time U.S, Music owned the US distribution rights to the Washburn brand as well.
These acoustic models included the 24 fret Bronze Fly, which was a solid body guitar in the shape of the Parker Fly. It had no magnetic pickup, only a Fishman piezo pickup in the Parker style bridge, however there was no vibrato. Ken Parker had offered this guitar when he owned the company under the name The Fly Concert.
The Nylon Fly was a similar guitar. This model came with the Fishman piezo placed under a handcrafted ebony bridge. Both models were topped with gold-plated Sperzel locking tuner. During the years Ken owned the company this guitar was called The Spanish Fly.
The PJ14N and PJ12 SB were true archtop hollow-body guitars. Both of these guitars had the most unusual body designs as well as unique f-holes.
The body of the PJ14N was made of natural spruce and the guitar featured a single Egnater floating Humbucker pickup with pickguard mounted controls and a 5-ply Rock Maple neck with Gold Grover Titan Tuners. The inlaid trapeze tailpiece appears to be made of ebony and the headstock was highly inlaid. This jazz box had only one sound hole. The bound ebony fretboard was inlaid with mother-of-pearl block fret markers. This guitar came with a 3-on-a-side headstock and it was simply awesome!
The PJ12 SB (sunburst) featured two Egnater Humbucker pickups mounted on the guitars body with individual volume and tone controls, a stunning brass tailpiece, and a 5-ply Rock Maple neck with Gold Grover Titan Tuners. This guitar featured a bound ebony fretboard with block position markers. The 3-on-a-side headstock had a large split-diamond inlay and above it the Parker logo all in mother-of-pearl. The PJ12 was the same guitar with a natural finish.
Another development in 2006 was the introduction of a line of acoustic-electric guitars under the Parker brand. These models all had ovular sound holes. The guitars were actually made by the Washburn guitar company under the Parker logo and were given the designation of Parker Event Series guitars. These included three wide bodied models and five thinner body instruments. All had the same unique Parker body shape as the Jazz series. The line up included three non-electric acoustic models.
The P8E guitar was designed with a solid cedar top, with a flamed maple back and sides. The unbound fretboard was made of ebony and had small dot inlaid position markers on the boards bass side The electronics were designed by Larry Fishman and included a piezo unit in the bridge and a Fishman magnetic pickup just under the neck. The master volume control is on the guitars top and on the upper side bout are the controls for treble, bass, and pickup balance.
The P9E was very similar, except for the choice of wood. For this guitar, the top was solid cedar, but the back and sides were made of Indian rosewood The neck was made of mahogany.
The P10E came with all the features of the P9E, however the neck had an ivoroid fretboard with dark dot position markers. The bridge was made of this same material.
The Parker P6E models featured a thinner body than the aforementioned instruments. This guitar was available in various styles.
This guitar had a solid Sitka spruce top with single ply binding. The accouterments were similar to th aforementioned mode, with biggest difference being the depth of the body.
The other difference was the necks which were made of 5-ply mahogany and maple. The body on the P6E models were made with mahogany back and sides. Once again the fretboard Is made of ebony with microdot inlays, The electronics were designed by Larry Fisher. These guitars were available in white, black, and transparent red.
The Parker Intrigue Series, were acoustic guitar, with no electronic features. The unique body shape on these instruments was much different as there is no cutaway section.
The PA28 came with a solid cedar top and solid Indian rosewood back and sides. The neck was 5 ply mahogany/maple topped with gold-plated Grover Stay-Tite open back tuners. These instrument had a zero fret to help with intonation.
Also it 2006 Parker also came out with a unique acoustic bass guitar to match up with their Event Series guitars.
The PAB 40 bass guitar featured the same shape as the Event Series guitars. It included nine feedback suppressing slots routed into the bodies upper bout. The piezo and electronics were the customized Fishman Matrix Bass system and installed on the upper side. The bound body was made of American black walnut and included a thumb rest. The ebony fretboard had only dot inlays at the 12th fret. The 2 on a side headstock was topped with gold-plated tuners. The pin bridge was uniquely designed of ebony wood.
In 2009, the brand was acquired by JAM Industries of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Production remained in Illinois. JAM is a multi-national distributor of musical instruments, pro audio and lighting and consumer electronic.
This company has acquired many smaller distribution companies and owns the distribution rights to quite a few well know brands including Digitech, Washburn, Marshall, Hagstrom, Randall, Oscar Schmidt, and Korg.
In 2010 the MaxxFly model was introduced. This model was based on the Fly guitar, but featured a refined headstock which allowed it to be hung on a wall guitar hanger. The top horn was reshaped to be more traditional and ergonomic.
Standardized pickup cavities were set up to aid in manufacturing. The frets were reduced from 24 to 22, and the body became slightly thicker and heavier.
In 2015 the JAM Corporation announced that Parker's US production had ceased and a search for a new off-shore facility was underway.
Parker did create several special edition models after the 2015 announcement including the Fly Mojo Snakeskin model, the Koa Fly Mojo model, and the Four Season Fly Mojo guitar, which was offered in differing finishes corresponding to the seasons.
The Parker Fly brand was being manufactured until November of 2016 when the factory in Buffalo Grove, Illinois was shut down. The U.S. Music website states, “The Parker Guitar line-up is currently being updated for re-release in 2017.
After Ken Parker sold his interest in Parker Fly in 2003 He returned to his first love, which is building archtop guitars. He started doing this in the 1970’s, long before he became preoccupied with the Parker Fly guitar. During these years he was able to strike up a friendship and get advice from Jimmy D’Aquisto.
On most models this involves a bridge with a saddle that is adjusted by means of some knurled knobs to raise and lower the action of the strings. He felt the bridge is such an important element in transferring the string vibrations to the guitars body and the standard method needed to be improved upon.
This allows the player to not only adjust the neck, but to play in upper registers without being impeded by the instruments body or neck heel, as there is no neck heel. Another advantage to the removable neck is that the instrument can be dismantled and placed in travel size containers for safe travel on airlines. Parker was able to build an instrument available with a variety of differing necks for the same body, such as a 25.5” scale or a 30” baritone scale, even six or seven string necks that would fit the same body.
Parker’s fretboard design involves an altered conical parabolic curve that is based on the players preference for string gauge and action. He suggests using 12 gauge string sets for his instrument, preferably made of phosphor bronze material, since he uses Fishman Rare Earth SA220 humbucking pickups on his instruments.
The headstock on Parker's archtop guitars is similar to the minimalist six-on-a-side type that he used on the Fly guitars. He has chosen Gotoh Stealth tuners to top his instruments. These are the smallest tuners on the market. He covers the back of the tuners with a plate so the machines are not visible.
Sadly Ken Parker became ill and was diagnosed with cancer in 2023.
In a recent social media post he announced he was very ill and had lost use of an arm. It was just days after this announcement that, influential luthier Ken Parker passed away from a rare form of cancer. He was only 73 years old. Parker died at his home in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on October 5, 2025, with wife Susan Kolwicz by his side. He was 73.
Tributes have poured in from his fellow luthiers including Linda Manzer, Dana Bourgeois, and others. Ken Parker was a beloved and respected member of the luthier community.
