It's kind of strange how us guitarists are fairly close minded about our instruments, we tend to stick to proven factors that make up our general view of what a guitar should do, resulting in the fact that when picking up a catalogue of a guitarcompany (regardless which one) You'll find the same types of guitars: Superstrats, Retro Fender-ish models, Gibson-esque models and Semie accoustic hollowbody electrics almost always copies of the Gibson ES 335 and ES 175.
Working with a professional luthier for six years and counting, I learned about bassplayers being more flexible, they order bodies made of Peerwood or ask us to put in seven band EQ's in order to maximize the number of sound options they can squeeze from the resulting bass.
So given that factor, builders like Ken Parker took a big risk for releasing a new concept, knowing very well that there was a big chance that the the people they wanted to reach would turn up their noses at what would well have been a very innovative concept, simply because it doesn't fit the tried and tested concepts that electric guitars had when the Stratocaster and the Les Paul were released.
The Parker Fly was hyped when it first came out, havin people such as Dave Navarro and Reeves Gabrels (the David Bowie band) as endorsers but Navarro eventually returned to his old faithfull PRS guitars after using the Fly for only one song in concerts, Reeves Gabrels still uses the Fly but his one is a custom built version without pickups and only with a MIDI converter put in it, the sounds he's getting from it are based on his late fifties Gibson Les Paul Junior through a fifty watt Marshall.
So here is a list of guitars which all stray off the beaten path, I ask you would you start using one of those as one of your stage guitars, reply to which one and why.
1. The Alembic Spectrum.
http://www3.alembic.com/img/13220_bodyfront.jpg This guitar has parametric EQ, low Ohm pickups and is made from very elaborate woods.
Would I play it?
Yes, I've always been a tinkerer and the many knobs intrigue me about what I can do sound wise, plus the fact that I dig the woods.
2. The Bond Electra glide
http://www.chrisguitars.com/bond-electra.jpg This eighties curiosity hasn't got conventional frets, the fingerboard instead had a sawtoothed shaped scallop going on over the entire length of the carbonfibre neck, the guitar also had LED screens telling the player at what level the volume was at and which pickup was selected, slecting pickups and the turning the volume up or down happend with pushbuttons, like those on a Casio keyboard.
Would I play it?
I already have once and I didn't like it, the sawtooth scallop fingerboard is a disaster and it sounds really crappy too.
3. The Modulus Genesis.
http://www.chrisguitars.com/modulus98g2t.jpg Like the Alembic, this Modulus comes from a comapny known for it's basses and it shares many trademarks from those too, that long horned body and the carbon fibre neck. For some companies those combinations work, what do you think?
Would I play it?
No, I don't like carbonfibre used in conjuction with single coil pickups it just makes the guitar sound so clinical.
4. The Travis Bean TB 500
http://edenhaus.com/gifs/a_tbeansnbst500dlx.jpg Travis Bean guitars have returned, being the favored guitar for the likes of Stanley Jordan, Joe Perr and Lee Ronaldo (Sonic Youth), the Travis Bean series have had a cult folowing since the early days and now they are back but not in the way you'd think. The current TB models are made almost ENTIRELY of metal with only a wood front.
Would I play it?
Tough one, TB guitars have a very appealing tone and sustain for days... But the Metal necks feel so wierd and they are prone to the weather conditions.
5. The Status Graphite guitar
http://www.status-graphite.com/oldsite/guitar/gitsun.jpg Again a guitar coming from a company known for their basses, the Status, like the Travis Bean differs from conventional guitars in the material used, being constructed entirely of Graphite with a Maple veneer top to give it a PRS vibe.
Would I play it? Yes, this one has a much better tone than the modulus and in overall it looks very pleasingly and it has a phenominal sustain.
6. The Fender Jaguar
http://www.crunchysandwich.com/images/front1.jpg To top it all off I thought I'd bring out a classic, but a classic inspite of itself. The Jaguar has a seperate circuit in which you can select a lead sound and just flip the switch and hoppa: you're there. Unfortunately, that clever circuit was only usable on the NECK pickup. Then we have the Vibrato which when it comes to staying in tune makes a Stratocaster Vibrato look like Floyd Rose. And what the heck were they thinking when putting on that foam rubber mute on the bridge, nobody'll use it. But still it looks so damn good.
So would I play it?
Yes, I am a sucker for guitars with a lot of knobs and it's thin wirey sound has a kind of charm that you won't get from any other kind of guitar.
