Parker PB65SP

At first glance it’s understandable that you might confuse the new Parker PB65P ($2,099 list) with the innovative Fly Bass, the ultra-lightweight instrument with whiz-bang technology like a 12-piece wood and carbon-fiber body sandwiched at high pressure and a carbon-glass-epoxy fingerboard. But while the instruments share a similar body contour, the PB65P is, at least by contrast to the Fly, fairly conventional in construction. It has a 2-piece mahogany body and through-body mahogany neck; all capped with a beautiful spalted-maple top. No fancy piezo system here, either: the PB65P has two EMG HZ humbuckers and EMG electronics. Still, like the Fly, the PB65SP is its own rare breed, so low-end non-conformists should take note.