I have a Firefly 338. I bought it expecting to have to do quite a bit of work to it. I didn't have to ANYTHING to it. Plays great. Sounds great. It's KILLER.
I just recently got my first Firefly, and I will almost certainly be getting another one or two. I did a few mods to it but the only thing it actually NEEDED out of the box were tuners. They had kind of alot of slack in them. I did change the pickups and pots, and added some shielding, but you could definitely get away without doing any of that (I like to play stoner/doom, so I wanted higher output, more bass heavy pickups. The pots and shielding I did because I figured I had it open anyway so why not.). It started out pretty damn good, now its a beast!! Love it!!!
Considering your aim was Stoner/Doom, may I ask what pickups you decided on? I just received the Firefly - Adam Jones "Tiger Queen", and I too like a heavy sound.
@@Cobrajet1971 Gotta type this a second time now because it didn't post the first time. So here goes. Seymour Duncan Slugs. VERY high output, slightly rolled off treble. Bobbins are slightly longer than standard, so they come with special pickup rings that are for flat top guitars. If you have an arch top like a LP, just get a set of rings for archtops, line up the SD rings with the ones for your guitar, trace the notches for the bobbins (the SD rings are just standard size rings with notches cut out for the bobbins), take a round or half round file and file them out. Thats exactly what I did. It takes about 45 minutes, and it came out perfectly. You won't be sorry! 🤘🤘
I just got an elite and it has exactly the same issues you mentioned! Fret buzz, grounding and weird pots. The pots are also kind of hard to turn- definitely not going to move them with a stroke of your pinky! Also, mine doesn't have the belly cut. Doesn't bother me. Nice review.
Yes Firefly is legit. I have six right now and have sold five others that I've had in the last few years. The six I sold the buyers all tried them out before buying and all were happy. Now I see the newer tele and strats have stainless frets, bone nuts, locking tuners, Korean bridges, alnico 5 pickups, rosewood fretboards and are made with decent woods. Out of 11 I've had one that I had to reglue the nut on and one with frett buzz on a couple of fretts. They aren't Fenders or Gibsons, but are very playable and look damn good. I don't play for a living or gig and I mostly play my acoustic guitars. I can't say how they'll hold up over the years since the ones I still have I've had for one to three years. They don't compare to the higher end epiphones, but are definitely better than the low and mid tier epiphones I've had in the past. I did not modify any of my guitars and only did restringing, set the intonation and basic maintenance. A couple do have tuning issues and if I played them that often I would change the tuners. The new models probably don't have that issue. For $169 to $220 I would definitely buy some of the newer ones off their site if I didn't have too many guitars already. Check out guitars garden website, look at the pics and read the descriptions. I've read where some have had guitars damaged during shipping, and where some recieved the wrong guitar, but with common sense and any communication skills you can get any problem like that taken care of. They are definitely legit and not a scam site. That being said, if you're a professional player or a cork sniffer they're probably not the guitars for you.
does it come by UPS. cuz I bought a kramer v from reverb for 350 canadien. and upon arrival suprise UPS charged me 150 canadien for customs fee. never bying a freaken guitar from reverb again. UPS suck. plus the boxe a broke everywere like crazy and there was a huge chip on one off the points. Imagine if I have to pay UPS 150 bucks again for a 200 dollar guitar. it's just crazy.
Thing is, that's a beautiful looking guitar, but for about $650 you could get a "Sire Larry Carlton LP" with the same neck and back profile. When you replace those pups for Seymour Duncan pups, it'll cost you about $180 to $200. When you change the 4 pots to good CTS pots, that'll run about $50 to $60. A good LP bridge will run about $70 to $80. A Switchcraft will be about $15 to $20. It would be good to purchase one of these, if you want to, learn how to solder & work on guitars for extra cash or an expensive hobby. Good video review Bruda !
All those upgrade will cost over $300 so doesn't it make more sense to just buy a better quality instrument and save the time and effort to replace them? Also, you don't need to spend $200 for new pickups as long as they're shielded properly, you could get away for $50 pickups. Expensive pickups won't matter if you're playing anything other than clean tones.
Great video, nice in depth review. Quality control is hit or miss with Firefly. I own 2 of them . My first ( Aerosonic) came without ANY issues, I gave it a good setup with some Gibson strings and I was shocked at how great a guitar it is. I recently bought a FFTL ( Tele copy) hoping for the same experience. It arrived SHATTERED in pieces. Emails with Guitars Garden Customer service is actually in China, they looked at the pics I sent and sent me a replacement. I didn't even have to send back the broken one. The replacement arrived in a week...ALSO DAMAGED...neck pocket cracks. They then sent me a return label addressed to some luthier in NY. I agreed to try one more replacement and received the 3rd guitar the following week. The box was left on my doorstep and looked like somebody carried it in a backpack from China...the box was literally torn in two, the Styrofoam was crumbled into pieces YET THE GUITAR IS IN PERFECT CONDITION! Go figure...lol I gave it a set up with some strings...I love it! Good luck with your mods bud. Cheers....Len from South Carolina
That’s really cool to hear that they continued to make it work. It stinks it took 3 tried but good to know they hold true to getting you a guitar that works
does it come by UPS. cuz I bought a kramer v from reverb for 350 canadien. and upon arrival suprise UPS charged me 150 canadien for customs fee. never bying a freaken guitar from reverb again. UPS suck. plus the boxe a broke everywere like crazy and there was a huge chip on one off the points. Imagine if I have to pay UPS 150 bucks again for a 200 dollar guitar. it's just crazy.
Bought a firefly 338 changed pickups and had to steel wool the frets. It’s awesome. Had old pickups laying around didn’t buy any. It plays and sounds great. Stays in tune. I’m happy
Another guy out doing a review on these paired it with an LP studio. Now the guy did some work on the frets and replaced the strings, no other mods......that said it was darn close. Someone who never play would not be able to tell the difference.
Too many cons for a lot of people but not for me. I mod a lot of guitars. I just bought a like new Epi Les Paul from Guitar Center for 112.00 & it really didn't need anything. Frets are leveled well but scratchy, I've got the action at 1mm on the 12th fret & it plays fantastic. That's a good guitar you got from Guitars Garden
I bought the Elite Spalted Maple top and am going to redo the pickups. I love my gold on black look with the spalted maple top. I'll be watching you to see exactly how you do your improvements.
does your signal chain have compression on? that can mess with the volume pots as you turn down the volume the compressor compensates until it hits a threshold and falls off
Yeah, that’s why there’s break up on my “clean” tone hahaha but even without all the stuff I still hear it. I have some ideas for fixing it but it’ll just take time and troubleshooting and a little money 😅
I now have 5 firefly guitars. These are unbelievable guitars for twice the money they want. I just got the mad cat tele reproduction and it is nothing short of gorgeous and it plays and sounds just as good. Minor set up and adjustments and they're good to go.
Nice review. I saw another review where they pointed out the Bridge was installed upside down which can be an easy fix but you said you were going to replace yours with a roller Bridge anyway. But since the screws on the bridge should be at the bottom of the guitar that is probably why the low E string was digging into the saddle because the saddle was probably for the low E string? By the way, if you like all blacked out guitars, and judging by that cool Strat on the wall I think you do..... you should check out the ESP LTD EC black metal. All blacked out stainless steel Frets locking tuners one single Seymour Duncan black winter pickup with a push-pull volume pot. I picked one up used but mint with a case for 500 bucks. Seems to me, unless you really need to pick ups, that would also be an alternative for what you are doing with this Les Paul Style without really having to do anything. Cheers.
It is not. Shielding paint is made with graphite, so it's conductive, and it's normally black. In fact I haven't seen another color of shielding paint. I doubt it's shielded underneath the finish color, that would make it hard to see whether or not it's actually, well...... shielded. Hearing all that noise his guitar makes in the video pretty much shows it's not shielded plus it appears to have a grounding issue, so he needs to fix that first and then see what difference it makes
Yes, we that usually is shielding but some companies cheap put and the shielding is not good. I just ended up copper taping this when I modded it. Video coming out this week 😊
The firefly I got " needed " and I say this loosely , but for those with a new bridge piece and the pickups were adequate but not great so I replaced them which was expected. The volume pots were also upgraded. Mine is not a Les Paul type. The tuners aka machine heads were ok. The frets are amazing. The set up was decent but that Bridge piece made it close to impossible to adjust and there was a rattle. Cosmetically it was mostly ok with a few slight blemishes. I am happy with my firefly.
I bought one a few years ago and don't play it much. My cons are fret buzz, won't stay in tune, and heavy. On the bright side it looks good. In the end I just decided I'm just not into LP style guitars. Glad I only spent 200 to learn that.
All guitars need work when new regardless of the name on the headstock. Fret leveling is the #1 thing required. Nut cutting corrected get standard action specs. You can then decide what else you want to change/upgrade. You need to learn how to fully setup all guitars, or have someone who knows how to do it. Then it will be sweet. I do this on my channel to all styles.
I've been buying firefly since they arrived. Each year they get better. I buy they because the bodies are great and I get to do my mods. With a few changes, you can make your 160 to 200 dollar firefly into the 1500 dollar fender/gibson/gretsch you want. It's great. The last firefly I modded, my tech, and to professional musicians I know wanted to keep my guitar. All I did to that one was put in a pair of 59 Tele pickups that cost a tad more than the guitar. Good looks, great feel and awesome sound.
Consider the purchase you paid for the Guitar! Now, with that price that you paid, add that to the pick ups, the wiring, and anything else that you think that it might need to carry it to where it would be deemed a professional grade guitar. And just buy the sheer aesthetic seven alone I’d pay that much just for a strip down version of that much less something with pick ups. But we always know cheap guitar always needs an upgrade. thank you for sharing that video. I really appreciate it and have been given a little extra thought about maybe looking into one of those I like the contour and I like the headstock little bit resembling of maybe a custom LP looks like a fun Guitar. Cheers.
Let it sit around a while. Seems like they settle a little after a while. I've done Set ups and leveling of frets on a few. The fact that the bodies on these guitars are amazing along with the fretboards with rolled ends.. Decent pickups ... Most potentiometers don't have those problems including that buzz. Swap out those pickups for a set of Seymour Duncans and locking tuners that guitar will be amazing. Love those cut aways.
I really enjoy my Firefly Little set up But it was $126 Last year. I have the Red Bat Les Paul. luckily on my model I didn't have any grounding issues. but then again for a $200 platform it's a great way to build up to the guitar you want. also it took about three oil treatment before my neck got quiet.
Firefly make great guitars! I’ve got a couple and I like them ! I’ve got your guitars cousin from Harley Benton and I love it !! I threw some EMG 85 81s in mine and it’s one of my go tos
@@kiillabytez I’ve got all kinds of guitars expensive and cheap , if a person has some basic skills they can turn a cheap guitar into one that plays just as well as their expensive counterpart. Has nothing to do with not wanting to “invest” into an expensive one
@@TheUlesifah701 That's like spending extra money on a Ford Pinto to pimp it out into a better car, but at the end of the day, it's still a Ford Pinto.
does it come by UPS??? to Canada. cuz I bought a kramer v from reverb for 350 canadien. and upon arrival suprise UPS charged me 150 canadien for customs fee. never bying a freaken guitar from reverb again. UPS suck. plus the boxe a broke everywere like crazy and there was a huge chip on one off the points. Imagine if I have to pay 150 bucks customs fee for a 200 guitar??? naaaa that just sucks ddd.
I bought a Firefly that was a clone of a thinline telecaster, I saw a lot of great reviews on them which end up to be sponsorships with those larger youtube channels. What I got was a crooked bridge and the holes were mis-drilled in the body. The seller who was the same as the manufacturer did not care about it. I shipped it back to them and got all of my money back.. but expect the quality assurance / control to be very poor. IYV electric guitars are way better brand for the same price points AND a lot of people don't know that they make some Harley Benton guitars.
That's unfortunate. I bought my first FireFly guitar, and the frets are like GLASS and no buzz. I was beyond impressed with my guitar. Maybe it was just a fluke, but I prefer my firefly over any Epiphone. And the tuning stability is rock solid. In many ways, I prefer it over my Gibson.
Have had several Firefly and new ones have alnico pickups, steel frets and all were great. legitimate? There are several TH-cam sites for months like Jimmy Stewart that show you this is legit, so .?..
It's good if you're just learning to play, but if you want a quality guitar with none of those issues, you'll have to spend at least $500 to get a great experience. If you're just a hobbyist, go for it, but if you're a serious player, make a better investment.
Since ive bought several Firefly guitars and have watched many reviews some legit and some obviously sponsored so they tend to hold back the honesty in fear of not getting new products for free Firefly started with high quality and was out only every 4 to 5 months now that production has ramped up the quality is lacking yes my FFLP is awesome and my i believe FF38? but my FFLX and i believe FFLB were garbage had several issues to many to go into and my Firefly SG copy is just okay..so basically it's either a hit or miss
Man I have a 338 (335) clone and a dual humbucker Telecaster clone with 2 pt tremelo, locking tuners and roasted maple neck and roasted Mahogany body. They both seem to be a lot higher quality than the guitar you're holding. After watching your review I don't think I'd buy a les paul clone from firefly.
So, it's a "great guitar"? You just need to get the frets leveled and intonation set and truss rod adjusted. Then order new pick ups, bridge, all 4 pots (I'm guessing the tuners are garbage also - but you didn't mention this), sort out the shielding etc. So you will end up with a $200 guitar that owes you $600? And this is what you would recommend to a beginner? Hmm
First of all, Thanks for your time and work & opinion creating this video. You are appreciated. I don' mean to B!t(h, But I am growing weary, Well a bit annoyed actually. Not at you in particular But when a TH-cam creator,, Unboxes and reviews and maybe demo's a "Budget Friendly" guitar. And the like the finish good, The tuners work well, The pickups and set up is good and the frets are very good.. And then the reviewer uses the term .. "Good or great guitar .. AT THIS PRICE POINT .. Either the F#(k!n' thing is "Good or Not" It looks good, It plays good, It's made well, It sounds good. So What the Hell does the price point? Have to do with if the physical guitar? Good or Not.. that simple. Sorry for the long diatribe Bro.. I hope it helps your TH-cam algorithm Peace Out & Good Luck with your Channel
This terrible musician (?) tells me he has a big guitar collection, I end up at his house and he shows me about 15 Firefly Stratocaster guitar like objects in every color under the sun. I'm looking at wonder at all these crappy guitars thinking he could have bought 1 or 2 decent real guitars but since he couldn't play after 30 years of trying I guess they are all pre CBS Strats to him. I shook my head...
Just out of curiosity.....If the guy was happy with his guitars, why is it sad? Is it sad that his standards are different than yours? Or is it sad that he's not a world-class player after 30 years? And apparently you are. Or is it sad to be so judgemental of other people and their possessions? And then get on a comment section to run that person down to complete strangers on the interwebzorznet? I guess for some sort of "cred" that you feel like you will get for just being a douche.
Damn, you just described me. I have a shit ton of budget guitars and can’t play for shot either. I feel like a worthless, pathetic loser now. Thanks for crushing my dream bro.
@@markflores2475 I bet you are kidding. But if you are not, well friend tomorrow is a brand new day. 1)think about what you CAN do on those guitars 2)think about what you can't do today but want to do. Now remember unless you are paying rent etc as a guitarists this should just be fun!!!!!! Ok, you've thought about what you can't do. Take one tiny step to change that. Don't watch a zillion TH-cam videos. Because a big part of this is muscle memory. Watch maybe one or two instructional vids and with a pen and paper take notes. Now work only on that tiny area you want to improve on and only play that. ( Till you can't stand it lol and then a bit more) Work on that one hour. Now allow yourself to do anything on your guitar. Repeat that every time you play. You are gonna amaze yourself with your progress. That's why I wrote this long winded thang. Rock on!
yes, it's a legit entry level mass produced Chinese guitar. It's 200$ because it cost about a quarter of that amount for materials, manufacturing and administration. If you spend another 4 to 6 hundred on it to fix and upgrade everything then it will still be an entry level guitar with basic hardware -- enjoy
@@LuisJimenez-pb3ge I don't know how you tell yourself things, but If I need to, I wouldn't write it as a comment here. I would just think it. Whatever you consider "overpaying" for a guitar, or anything, is your personal finance problem, not mine
I have this one with the Floyd Rose and 5 others and they are worth 700-1500 bux a piece. That is a SATIN finish. It has the Alnico 5 pickups...NICE...the machines are lock downs. This dude needs lessons on how to do technical assessments. Every guitar has to get taken care of by the shop or a lutheir. This is a $200 guitar so it is not going to come perfect but everyone that I have for $50 bux to have it taken care is incredible. He doesn't even show one set of cords so can this dude even play?
Firefly guitars are really good for the price. I have two FFLPS's and they are fantastic.....For less than $200.00 Especially this model. I think this one is really good. At least my personal example is. I had a little fret buzz out of the box with very low action. I think the pickups are a little bright through my 50 watt Stealth, but sound bad ass through my MT15 rig. Everything else is G2G other than wanting a set of locking tuners and a basic set up. Honestly, I think this model is an incredible steal for what you get. For a foundation for "improvement" I think this model is a total mod project winner. My bridge saddles were also set up incorrectly to intonate the lower three strings. I will flip them when I do the first string change and set up.
Yeah, they’ve definitely won me over for their price to quality! I couldn’t get the bridge to intonate properly. I have a video coming out soon about the modding process I did to these. It was pretty simple too. I love it!
But the experience of playing any of these ultra cheaply made knockoffs is literally nothing like playing a Les Paul or any of the other major guitars they look like.
@TeleCaster66 , that's funny. I have owned a Les Paul before. A Custom Shop Custom Silverburst. A guitar that was 21.5 times more expensive. I have also owned Japanese made ESP standard series Eclipses. A guitar that was 14.5 times more expensive. Neither one was worth the cost. But this $200.00 Firefly is worth more than its cost. So, what is your point again?
@@BazonBlades I did try to flip them but still could not get it to intonate. In my mod video I am releasing this week, you’ll see the bridge I replaced it with. It’s honestly just tougher to intonate on les paul style bridges than strat style in my experience. But it still doesn’t take away how much fun they are to play
I have a Firefly 338. I bought it expecting to have to do quite a bit of work to it. I didn't have to ANYTHING to it. Plays great. Sounds great. It's KILLER.
I got one also and have been really impressed
Give it time...
I just recently got my first Firefly, and I will almost certainly be getting another one or two. I did a few mods to it but the only thing it actually NEEDED out of the box were tuners. They had kind of alot of slack in them. I did change the pickups and pots, and added some shielding, but you could definitely get away without doing any of that (I like to play stoner/doom, so I wanted higher output, more bass heavy pickups. The pots and shielding I did because I figured I had it open anyway so why not.). It started out pretty damn good, now its a beast!! Love it!!!
Considering your aim was Stoner/Doom, may I ask what pickups you decided on?
I just received the Firefly - Adam Jones "Tiger Queen", and I too like a heavy sound.
@@Cobrajet1971 Tiger Queen's pretty dope lookin too, by the way. I got the Gorgon. Same guitar, Medusa on the back.
@@Cobrajet1971 Gotta type this a second time now because it didn't post the first time. So here goes. Seymour Duncan Slugs. VERY high output, slightly rolled off treble. Bobbins are slightly longer than standard, so they come with special pickup rings that are for flat top guitars. If you have an arch top like a LP, just get a set of rings for archtops, line up the SD rings with the ones for your guitar, trace the notches for the bobbins (the SD rings are just standard size rings with notches cut out for the bobbins), take a round or half round file and file them out. Thats exactly what I did. It takes about 45 minutes, and it came out perfectly. You won't be sorry! 🤘🤘
This is an excellent, honest and comprehensive review. Thanks for posting this - great job!
Thanks for the review!
I just got an elite and it has exactly the same issues you mentioned! Fret buzz, grounding and weird pots. The pots are also kind of hard to turn- definitely not going to move them with a stroke of your pinky! Also, mine doesn't have the belly cut. Doesn't bother me. Nice review.
Check out for electronic shielding. No pickup cavities paint shieldings.👍
Yes Firefly is legit. I have six right now and have sold five others that I've had in the last few years. The six I sold the buyers all tried them out before buying and all were happy. Now I see the newer tele and strats have stainless frets, bone nuts, locking tuners, Korean bridges, alnico 5 pickups, rosewood fretboards and are made with decent woods. Out of 11 I've had one that I had to reglue the nut on and one with frett buzz on a couple of fretts. They aren't Fenders or Gibsons, but are very playable and look damn good. I don't play for a living or gig and I mostly play my acoustic guitars. I can't say how they'll hold up over the years since the ones I still have I've had for one to three years. They don't compare to the higher end epiphones, but are definitely better than the low and mid tier epiphones I've had in the past. I did not modify any of my guitars and only did restringing, set the intonation and basic maintenance. A couple do have tuning issues and if I played them that often I would change the tuners. The new models probably don't have that issue. For $169 to $220 I would definitely buy some of the newer ones off their site if I didn't have too many guitars already. Check out guitars garden website, look at the pics and read the descriptions. I've read where some have had guitars damaged during shipping, and where some recieved the wrong guitar, but with common sense and any communication skills you can get any problem like that taken care of. They are definitely legit and not a scam site. That being said, if you're a professional player or a cork sniffer they're probably not the guitars for you.
"Cork Sniffer"?!? HAHAHA that's hilarious! thanks for the comment!
does it come by UPS. cuz I bought a kramer v from reverb for 350 canadien. and upon arrival suprise UPS charged me 150 canadien for customs fee. never bying a freaken guitar from reverb again. UPS suck. plus the boxe a broke everywere like crazy and there was a huge chip on one off the points. Imagine if I have to pay UPS 150 bucks again for a 200 dollar guitar. it's just crazy.
The fflp is ceramic hb now when you check. Just bought one, and it sold out quickly. Missed my chance on an elite flame top bourbon burst
I thought you said that you sold 5 ?
Thing is, that's a beautiful looking guitar, but for about $650 you could get a "Sire Larry Carlton LP" with the same neck and back profile. When you replace those pups for Seymour Duncan pups, it'll cost you about $180 to $200. When you change the 4 pots to good CTS pots, that'll run about $50 to $60. A good LP bridge will run about $70 to $80. A Switchcraft will be about $15 to $20.
It would be good to purchase one of these, if you want to, learn how to solder & work on guitars for extra cash or an expensive hobby. Good video review Bruda !
All those upgrade will cost over $300 so doesn't it make more sense to just buy a better quality instrument and save the time and effort to replace them? Also, you don't need to spend $200 for new pickups as long as they're shielded properly, you could get away for $50 pickups. Expensive pickups won't matter if you're playing anything other than clean tones.
Great video, nice in depth review. Quality control is hit or miss with Firefly. I own 2 of them . My first ( Aerosonic) came without ANY issues, I gave it a good setup with some Gibson strings and I was shocked at how great a guitar it is. I recently bought a FFTL ( Tele copy) hoping for the same experience. It arrived SHATTERED in pieces. Emails with Guitars Garden Customer service is actually in China, they looked at the pics I sent and sent me a replacement. I didn't even have to send back the broken one. The replacement arrived in a week...ALSO DAMAGED...neck pocket cracks. They then sent me a return label addressed to some luthier in NY. I agreed to try one more replacement and received the 3rd guitar the following week. The box was left on my doorstep and looked like somebody carried it in a backpack from China...the box was literally torn in two, the Styrofoam was crumbled into pieces YET THE GUITAR IS IN PERFECT CONDITION! Go figure...lol
I gave it a set up with some strings...I love it!
Good luck with your mods bud. Cheers....Len from South Carolina
That’s really cool to hear that they continued to make it work. It stinks it took 3 tried but good to know they hold true to getting you a guitar that works
does it come by UPS. cuz I bought a kramer v from reverb for 350 canadien. and upon arrival suprise UPS charged me 150 canadien for customs fee. never bying a freaken guitar from reverb again. UPS suck. plus the boxe a broke everywere like crazy and there was a huge chip on one off the points. Imagine if I have to pay UPS 150 bucks again for a 200 dollar guitar. it's just crazy.
@@christineblack4654
It came via FedEx. I've just completed a total upgrade on the guitar, amazed at how it plays.
Bought a firefly 338 changed pickups and had to steel wool the frets. It’s awesome. Had old pickups laying around didn’t buy any. It plays and sounds great. Stays in tune. I’m happy
Another guy out doing a review on these paired it with an LP studio. Now the guy did some work on the frets and replaced the strings, no other mods......that said it was darn close. Someone who never play would not be able to tell the difference.
Too many cons for a lot of people but not for me. I mod a lot of guitars. I just bought a like new Epi Les Paul from Guitar Center for 112.00 & it really didn't need anything. Frets are leveled well but scratchy, I've got the action at 1mm on the 12th fret & it plays fantastic.
That's a good guitar you got from Guitars Garden
That’s cool! Yeah, I’m really into fixing up and modding guitars so it’s right up my alley.
I simply love my Firefly 338 ..!
They're crisp sounding and new feeling !
Worth every penny !! 😊
I have a 338 Spalt top
LOVE IT.
The only FireFly NOT
Modded at all.
Great Guitar !!!!
I bought the Elite Spalted Maple top and am going to redo the pickups. I love my gold on black look with the spalted maple top. I'll be watching you to see exactly how you do your improvements.
You can actually see how I did my upgrades in my video after this: th-cam.com/video/k-u5Ym4txs8/w-d-xo.htmlsi=f_C7qzAvEn_7Y_sA
does your signal chain have compression on? that can mess with the volume pots as you turn down the volume the compressor compensates until it hits a threshold and falls off
Yeah, that’s why there’s break up on my “clean” tone hahaha but even without all the stuff I still hear it. I have some ideas for fixing it but it’ll just take time and troubleshooting and a little money 😅
Where do you find the link to buy firefly guitars?
I now have 5 firefly guitars. These are unbelievable guitars for twice the money they want. I just got the mad cat tele reproduction and it is nothing short of gorgeous and it plays and sounds just as good. Minor set up and adjustments and they're good to go.
Nice review. I saw another review where they pointed out the Bridge was installed upside down which can be an easy fix but you said you were going to replace yours with a roller Bridge anyway. But since the screws on the bridge should be at the bottom of the guitar that is probably why the low E string was digging into the saddle because the saddle was probably for the low E string? By the way, if you like all blacked out guitars, and judging by that cool Strat on the wall I think you do..... you should check out the ESP LTD
EC black metal. All blacked out stainless steel Frets locking tuners one single Seymour Duncan black winter pickup with a push-pull volume pot. I picked one up used but mint with a case for 500 bucks. Seems to me, unless you really need to pick ups, that would also be an alternative for what you are doing with this Les Paul Style without really having to do anything. Cheers.
Thanks for the comment! That ESP sounds SICK! right up my alley! hahahaha Thanks for the recommendation!
I just received the poly color. Love it. The cavities are painted. Isn't that shielding?
It is not. Shielding paint is made with graphite, so it's conductive, and it's normally black. In fact I haven't seen another color of shielding paint. I doubt it's shielded underneath the finish color, that would make it hard to see whether or not it's actually, well...... shielded. Hearing all that noise his guitar makes in the video pretty much shows it's not shielded plus it appears to have a grounding issue, so he needs to fix that first and then see what difference it makes
@@barryengle12666 Mine is painted black and looks like shielding paint. Maybe different for different guitars. No grounding issues here.
@@flppr1 I read that wrong, my bad...
Yes, we that usually is shielding but some companies cheap put and the shielding is not good. I just ended up copper taping this when I modded it. Video coming out this week 😊
The firefly I got " needed " and I say this loosely , but for those with a new bridge piece and the pickups were adequate but not great so I replaced them which was expected. The volume pots were also upgraded. Mine is not a Les Paul type. The tuners aka machine heads were ok. The frets are amazing. The set up was decent but that Bridge piece made it close to impossible to adjust and there was a rattle. Cosmetically it was mostly ok with a few slight blemishes. I am happy with my firefly.
I bought one a few years ago and don't play it much. My cons are fret buzz, won't stay in tune, and heavy. On the bright side it looks good. In the end I just decided I'm just not into LP style guitars. Glad I only spent 200 to learn that.
All guitars need work when new regardless of the name on the headstock. Fret leveling is the #1 thing required. Nut cutting corrected get standard action specs.
You can then decide what else you want to change/upgrade. You need to learn how to fully setup all guitars, or have someone who knows how to do it. Then it will be sweet. I do this on my channel to all styles.
Definitely agree that the cost of the lesson was low hahaha I’ve found you can sell these for pretty much what you got them for too, so that’s nice
I’ve had four Firefly’s and loves each and everyone of them
I just bought my 3rd firefly les paul. Ive had no issues with any of them except that the necks are bigger than what im used to.
I've been buying firefly since they arrived. Each year they get better. I buy they because the bodies are great and I get to do my mods. With a few changes, you can make your 160 to 200 dollar firefly into the 1500 dollar fender/gibson/gretsch you want. It's great. The last firefly I modded, my tech, and to professional musicians I know wanted to keep my guitar. All I did to that one was put in a pair of 59 Tele pickups that cost a tad more than the guitar. Good looks, great feel and awesome sound.
Nice! I'm hoping to mess around with a FireFly Telecaster soon!
I just ordered on of guitar garden how long it took to ship if u don't mind me asking I'm in Florida
That’s okay. It took less than a week to ship to GA. So not bad
Consider the purchase you paid for the Guitar! Now, with that price that you paid, add that to the pick ups, the wiring, and anything else that you think that it might need to carry it to where it would be deemed a professional grade guitar. And just buy the sheer aesthetic seven alone I’d pay that much just for a strip down version of that much less something with pick ups. But we always know cheap guitar always needs an upgrade. thank you for sharing that video. I really appreciate it and have been given a little extra thought about maybe looking into one of those I like the contour and I like the headstock little bit resembling of maybe a custom LP looks like a fun Guitar. Cheers.
I have 2 FFLPs and they don't have the 'comfort cut'. When did they start that?
It seems like something they do on some of their models but not all of them. They usually show it in the photos if they do have it
II had the same issue with mine bur found it was the cable they sent with it.
The buzzing is a deal breaker for me . Let us know if you are able to fix that. Was it the pickups?
I hear that. It’s pretty fixable with a new bridge that’s not painted. I have my part 2 video coming out later this week. Stay tuned 😊
Let it sit around a while. Seems like they settle a little after a while. I've done Set ups and leveling of frets on a few. The fact that the bodies on these guitars are amazing along with the fretboards with rolled ends.. Decent pickups ... Most potentiometers don't have those problems including that buzz. Swap out those pickups for a set of Seymour Duncans and locking tuners that guitar will be amazing. Love those cut aways.
Where’d you buy it? I can’t find it online at all.
Guitarsgarden.com
Guitarsgarden.com is what Google took me to
I really enjoy my Firefly Little set up But it was $126 Last year. I have the Red Bat Les Paul. luckily on my model I didn't have any grounding issues.
but then again for a $200 platform it's a great way to build up to the guitar you want. also it took about three oil treatment before my neck got quiet.
The red bats are so cool, That's what I originally went to buy but then saw this guitar and knew I had to get it hahaha
Firefly make great guitars! I’ve got a couple and I like them ! I’ve got your guitars cousin from Harley Benton and I love it !! I threw some EMG 85 81s in mine and it’s one of my go tos
Incorrect..., they make CHEAP guitars for people who don't want to invest in a good guitar.
@@kiillabytez I’ve got all kinds of guitars expensive and cheap , if a person has some basic skills they can turn a cheap guitar into one that plays just as well as their expensive counterpart. Has nothing to do with not wanting to “invest” into an expensive one
@@TheUlesifah701 That's like spending extra money on a Ford Pinto to pimp it out into a better car, but at the end of the day, it's still a Ford Pinto.
@ well if a person doesn’t mind having a comfortable pinto that gets them around what does it matter ??
does it come by UPS??? to Canada. cuz I bought a kramer v from reverb for 350 canadien. and upon arrival suprise UPS charged me 150 canadien for customs fee. never bying a freaken guitar from reverb again. UPS suck. plus the boxe a broke everywere like crazy and there was a huge chip on one off the points. Imagine if I have to pay 150 bucks customs fee for a 200 guitar??? naaaa that just sucks ddd.
That’s a bummer. I believe this was shipped through USPS
I bought a Firefly that was a clone of a thinline telecaster, I saw a lot of great reviews on them which end up to be sponsorships with those larger youtube channels. What I got was a crooked bridge and the holes were mis-drilled in the body. The seller who was the same as the manufacturer did not care about it. I shipped it back to them and got all of my money back.. but expect the quality assurance / control to be very poor. IYV electric guitars are way better brand for the same price points AND a lot of people don't know that they make some Harley Benton guitars.
That's unfortunate. I bought my first FireFly guitar, and the frets are like GLASS and no buzz. I was beyond impressed with my guitar. Maybe it was just a fluke, but I prefer my firefly over any Epiphone. And the tuning stability is rock solid. In many ways, I prefer it over my Gibson.
That’s sick! Either way, it’s not a problem for me since I can do all the fine tuning myself. I still love the guitar and play it often to this day.
@@Bruddermane that's cool
Have had several Firefly and new ones have alnico pickups, steel frets and all were great. legitimate? There are several TH-cam sites for months like Jimmy Stewart that show you this is legit, so .?..
Id say these guitars are more for modders than beginners
What makes you say that?
has way too much wrong with it to be considered a good guitar. It looks incredible but you have to a fix l28 different things.
It's good if you're just learning to play, but if you want a quality guitar with none of those issues, you'll have to spend at least $500 to get a great experience. If you're just a hobbyist, go for it, but if you're a serious player, make a better investment.
Firefly guitars, generally speaking, make good "HUSKS" for Modders out there.
Since ive bought several Firefly guitars and have watched many reviews some legit and some obviously sponsored so they tend to hold back the honesty in fear of not getting new products for free Firefly started with high quality and was out only every 4 to 5 months now that production has ramped up the quality is lacking yes my FFLP is awesome and my i believe FF38? but my FFLX and i believe FFLB were garbage had several issues to many to go into and my Firefly SG copy is just okay..so basically it's either a hit or miss
This is the best deal for a beginner out there.......
Man I have a 338 (335) clone and a dual humbucker Telecaster clone with 2 pt tremelo, locking tuners and roasted maple neck and roasted Mahogany body. They both seem to be a lot higher quality than the guitar you're holding. After watching your review I don't think I'd buy a les paul clone from firefly.
That’s a sexy beast for $200. I’m in gotta have one.
Isn't that the dangerous thought ;)
So, it's a "great guitar"? You just need to get the frets leveled and intonation set and truss rod adjusted. Then order new pick ups, bridge, all 4 pots (I'm guessing the tuners are garbage also - but you didn't mention this), sort out the shielding etc. So you will end up with a $200 guitar that owes you $600? And this is what you would recommend to a beginner? Hmm
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Noice!!! 🤟🏻
Zuwell guitars are good to
I haven’t heard of them. I’ll have to check them out! Thanks for the comment 😊
First of all, Thanks for your time and work & opinion creating this video.
You are appreciated.
I don' mean to B!t(h,
But I am growing weary, Well a bit annoyed actually.
Not at you in particular
But when a TH-cam creator,, Unboxes and reviews and maybe demo's a
"Budget Friendly" guitar.
And the like the finish good, The tuners work well,
The pickups and set up is good and the frets are very good..
And then the reviewer uses the term .. "Good or great guitar .. AT THIS PRICE POINT ..
Either the F#(k!n' thing is "Good or Not"
It looks good, It plays good, It's made well, It sounds good.
So What the Hell does the price point?
Have to do with if the physical guitar? Good or Not.. that simple.
Sorry for the long diatribe Bro.. I hope it helps your TH-cam algorithm
Peace Out & Good Luck with your Channel
Your sentence structure is worse than the complaint. Good god man!
Scam I paid only to have more random scamers try to use the my account the only texture what my card being used
Looks good.
the guitar itself looks good but that is the ugliest headstock ive seen but thats only my opinion so its subjective
This terrible musician (?) tells me he has a big guitar collection, I end up at his house and he shows me about 15 Firefly Stratocaster guitar like objects in every color under the sun. I'm looking at wonder at all these crappy guitars thinking he could have bought 1 or 2 decent real guitars but since he couldn't play after 30 years of trying I guess they are all pre CBS Strats to him. I shook my head...
Just out of curiosity.....If the guy was happy with his guitars, why is it sad? Is it sad that his standards are different than yours? Or is it sad that he's not a world-class player after 30 years? And apparently you are.
Or is it sad to be so judgemental of other people and their possessions? And then get on a comment section to run that person down to complete strangers on the interwebzorznet? I guess for some sort of "cred" that you feel like you will get for just being a douche.
Damn, you just described me. I have a shit ton of budget guitars and can’t play for shot either. I feel like a worthless, pathetic loser now. Thanks for crushing my dream bro.
@@markflores2475 I bet you are kidding. But if you are not, well friend tomorrow is a brand new day.
1)think about what you CAN do on those guitars
2)think about what you can't do today but want to do.
Now remember unless you are paying rent etc as a guitarists this should just be fun!!!!!!
Ok, you've thought about what you can't do. Take one tiny step to change that. Don't watch a zillion TH-cam videos. Because a big part of this is muscle memory. Watch maybe one or two instructional vids and with a pen and paper take notes. Now work only on that tiny area you want to improve on and only play that. ( Till you can't stand it lol and then a bit more)
Work on that one hour.
Now allow yourself to do anything on your guitar.
Repeat that every time you play. You are gonna amaze yourself with your progress. That's why I wrote this long winded thang. Rock on!
Lots of 2000 dollar guitars have same problems. If you disagree you need to watch more TH-cam videos.
yes, it's a legit entry level mass produced Chinese guitar. It's 200$ because it cost about a quarter of that amount for materials, manufacturing and administration. If you spend another 4 to 6 hundred on it to fix and upgrade everything then it will still be an entry level guitar with basic hardware -- enjoy
If this is what you need to tell yourself to justify overpaying for guitars than by all means go ahead 😂
@@LuisJimenez-pb3ge I don't know how you tell yourself things, but If I need to, I wouldn't write it as a comment here. I would just think it. Whatever you consider "overpaying" for a guitar, or anything, is your personal finance problem, not mine
@@rodnyg7952 it’s ok, I like playing nice guitars, you like overpaying for guitars. We are not the same ;)
@@LuisJimenez-pb3ge ....sure thing, junior. Mabey when you grow up; maybe not
...sure thing, junior. As if you actually know anything about any guitars I have or what I paid --very convincing
Fire wood....
Paying employees next to nothing. Having no safety or environmental provisions at the factory makes it possible to produce a $200 guitar.
And a multitude of Televisions computers and cell phones and just about anything you use . So what's your point.
I have this one with the Floyd Rose and 5 others and they are worth 700-1500 bux a piece. That is a SATIN finish. It has the Alnico 5 pickups...NICE...the machines are lock downs. This dude needs lessons on how to do technical assessments. Every guitar has to get taken care of by the shop or a lutheir.
This is a $200 guitar so it is not going to come perfect but everyone that I have for $50 bux to have it taken care is incredible.
He doesn't even show one set of cords so can this dude even play?
Firefly guitars are really good for the price. I have two FFLPS's and they are fantastic.....For less than $200.00
Especially this model. I think this one is really good. At least my personal example is. I had a little fret buzz out of the box with very low action. I think the pickups are a little bright through my 50 watt Stealth, but sound bad ass through my MT15 rig. Everything else is G2G other than wanting a set of locking tuners and a basic set up.
Honestly, I think this model is an incredible steal for what you get. For a foundation for "improvement" I think this model is a total mod project winner.
My bridge saddles were also set up incorrectly to intonate the lower three strings. I will flip them when I do the first string change and set up.
Yeah, they’ve definitely won me over for their price to quality! I couldn’t get the bridge to intonate properly. I have a video coming out soon about the modding process I did to these. It was pretty simple too. I love it!
@@Bruddermane did you have to flip the saddles for the lower three strings?
But the experience of playing any of these ultra cheaply made knockoffs is literally nothing like playing a Les Paul or any of the other major guitars they look like.
@TeleCaster66 , that's funny. I have owned a Les Paul before. A Custom Shop Custom Silverburst. A guitar that was 21.5 times more expensive. I have also owned Japanese made ESP standard series Eclipses. A guitar that was 14.5 times more expensive. Neither one was worth the cost. But this $200.00 Firefly is worth more than its cost. So, what is your point again?
@@BazonBlades I did try to flip them but still could not get it to intonate. In my mod video I am releasing this week, you’ll see the bridge I replaced it with. It’s honestly just tougher to intonate on les paul style bridges than strat style in my experience. But it still doesn’t take away how much fun they are to play