Your advice applies to EVERYTHING sold on Alli Express. Do not trust that a branded product e.g. d’addario strings is really manufactured by that brand. It’s all too easy for a scammer to reproduce the brand’s packaging, then put an inferior knock-off product in it. Sadly, scammers are everywhere on the inet waiting to reel in innocent guppies who want to save a few bucks and fail to do their due diligence. As others have said: BUYER BEWARE.
@@Skipp-q7h I've been watching some of these TH-cam videos and they get knocked off brand guitar sent to them to review and it's so sickening how hot they try to sell the guitar
@@mikeg6666 i have one firefly guitar left........i had bought 5 of them.....none of the firefly guitars i bought were very good.........i had their ff338 that i bought new on ebay from Guitars Garden it was the green one with racing stripe and i bought the Glarry ggs101 at around the same time......sold the firefly and kept the glarry because the glarry was/is a way better made guitar.....like i said i had 5 fireflys and still have the aerosonic.......that guitar looks nice on the outside but inside it is very badly routed with gaps everywhere and areas that look like they where done by blind monkey with a hammer and screwdriver......no more firefly's for me......the best guitar i own is my Grote Gibson l5 copy.........now that's a crazy good made guitar for the $300 it cost me new from Grote guitars........
DUDE! No way! A knockoff of a budget!? Unbelievable! How low can they go?! Max! This is the kind of crucial stuff that makes me always start my YT roundabouts with Guitar MAX! No kiddin. You were the first host that started me off on my current guitar playing life. I had some bad stuff happen, but I’m back to give it another shot. You’re not responsible, man. You just started me thinking again and I appreciate it. Anyway, thanks a mil, man. It means something to me. It matters. It’s just super cool to see you plant a flag for what the music is supposed to be about. A lot of people want things to be right and it’s a constant battle. So there will always be a need for the inside scoops. Great to see you in the lead tank, bro! Thanks!
I have purchased a few Firefly guitars..338, tele, and jaguar with P90's to mod & upgrade just to see what I could do. I put USA Gibson PAF's in the 338, but the Tele style was surprisingly good as received and it plays great. It is a total shame that there are companies in this world so unscrupulous that they would deceive people in that way. I got all mine from Guitar Garden and have been very happy with their service.
I have a semi hollow Tele w P 90s Squire special run clone, and an Explorer w H B s . Both have similar full C style necks. Are your necks the same too or do they vary ? I'm thinking about the roasted Tele .
@@terryenglish7132 They vary slightly in thickness, but not bad...the nut width is the same. The 338 is a very comfortable medium "C". The Tele is slightly thicker almost identical to my Sire and my PRS Vela "pattern regular" carve which is medium "C", but very comfortable. The Jaguar is the thickest and a bit bigger than I like, so I'm thinking about sanding it down a bit and then use Tru-Oil to seal it again. I did a Strat partscaster and sanded the neck, rolled the edges of the fretboard, then used about 6 coats of TRu-Oil sanding with 400 grit between coats and it feels great.
That proves something to me I already knew. There were copies of burny made in the day Greco copies and many many others. But if they are doing this apparently there's money to be made. That just proves that firefly guitars are made very well solid and for the most part are very good bones.
I’m a Firefly fan and was up to about seven of them. Did some trades so I’m down to only 2 now. But I check Guitars Garden all the time to see what’s going on. Great company and super solid guitars. I was actually playing my ff-338 earlier today with some distortion cranked and fell in love with it all over again. Max, once again, I love this kind of content and without you, Firefly would have taken so much longer to reach us. Thanks for this.
Those 335/338 type copies are sweet. One of my band mates has one (and several other of their models).and I've been playing it steadily for over a year. I haven't played any of my other guitars at our rehearsals or gigs since he let me try it out. My LPs, Strat and Teles are getting lonely. I was gonna sell those and get me a truckload of the Fireflies, but I know I'll miss them 😆 I'm getting my retirement in April, so I'm gonna wait till then and try to get one or two.
Proof that some people only care about the name scribbled on the headstock. Even if on an already low price item. Not digging on Firefly, I hear good things, but I also remember people were buying them and reselling at twice or more the price a couple of years ago. All on the name.
I tried to buy a Firefly ES 338 from Amazon for three years in a row. I finally was able to place an order right after the new year but was later informed by Amazon that my order would be cancelled due to the model being sold out again. Apparently, speculators were buying whole lots and then reselling them at substantially inflated prices. It looked like my chances of actually buying one through a bona fide outlet were either slim or none. Then one day while visiting a pawn shop I found one that was everything I'd hoped for. Of course, I had to pay more than the MSRT but was happy to get it at around $200.00 without the case. That was nearly four years ago and I've yet to be as pleased with a guitar purchase as I've been with my Firefly. I only wish they assigned serial numbers to each run so that collectors like myself could find which year and source each version comes from. So, I'm not surprised that imitations would arise to cheat sincere aficionado's like myself.
I bought a Firefly version of the 335 a few years ago from their factory. It was a popular guitar and was sold out here in America. I ordered it and the next day on their website they had the 335 “spalted maple” for $20 more. I had a whole month to beat myself up for not seeing and ordering the spalted maple . Lo and behold ,a month later, the FedEx truck delivered it ,and to my surprise ,it was the spalted maple. Beautiful guitar. This the golden age quality affordable of guitars. Have been playing over 60 years and have had several hundred cheap and expensive guitars over the years. I can’t believe the cheap guitars I would walk by in the trash and keep going and turn down when given to me are now selling for big money. They were garbage then. Norma’s, Teisco, St.James……..maybe because they’d have 4-5 microphonic pickups and loads of switches and knobs.
Hi, I didn't know they were fake, I bought one (ff338). It arrived in 14 days, perfectly set and in tune, with very few flaws only on the neck, the sound is very good, I am very satisfied, I have been playing the guitar since 1996. I live in Italy and Guitars Garden doesn't ship here, which is why I bought it on that site, but I didn't know they were fake, well it worked out for me.
Guitar Garden has an e-Bay seller and is sold Via Amazon too as the real deal. This might help in selection but if it is the problem is the real brand Firefly band in Italy, then that is probably a government reason from a bigger brand made in Italy making Gibson type guitars lobbying to keep these out of the market.
How much of this can be attributed to the fact that people are buying Fireflys and then reselling them at a higher price? I can see the scammers looking at that and figuring out that people will think that's what they're doing.
I bought 2 Firefly ES 335 clones from the Guitars Garden website a few months ago. The Prismatic finish (saw it right here in your video) and a pink finish that was on sale. The pink one arrived with a BADLY warped neck and I returned it. Customer service was responsive and they issued me a return label so it wasn't too bad. I did have to rebox and drive it to Fed Ex, so a bit of a pain.The multi colored guitar had a cracked pickup ring I had to replace. I wasn't a huge fan of it at first but after playing it more and more it's growing on me. I wanted a semi hollow to add to my collection and tend to play mostly harder rock/punk/metal but I do think it's quite decent and worth the money.
Thanks for looking out for us ! Much appreciated and Merry Christmas. I'm interested in getting a FF, and I won't do business with Amazon for anything. Thanks for posting the other links. Jim Muscle Shoals, AL
I’m a American hobbyists guitarist that lived in China for over 10 years, and awhile back after watching your videos on firefly, I just want to get one and ironically I found the factory that makes them and got a really satisfying LP, but after I got it, that factory got shutdown(info from the middleman that I actually gotten the guitar from),it was around November 2023, so I’m not too sure if the quality remains the same, or better/worst, but what I got for the price is truly amazing.
The Firefly guitar is not sized like a standard Gibson or Fender. Upgrading to better pickups will require some routing of the cavities. I've had similar problems with upgrading kit guitars. The parts just aren't the same size as one would find in a music store.
Really appreciate your heads-up. I just got my Firefly Telle through Guitars Garden and am very pleased. I own Fenders, Gibsons, and all major brands. Firefly now my first Chinese guitar. Very pleased with it. It has the right resonance, wood, density, and vibe! As you say, avoid the other questionable sites.
Mmm 🤔 reminds of another video from samurai guitar theory where he explained of the dirrent scams even a scam envolving a fake 35 dollar acoustic guitar
Hey Max, I bought the Firefly 338 on your recommendation, and have since added 3 more. They all came out of the box ready to play. What`s amazing to me is the high end features they offer.
I'd buy a knockoff of a guitar that a famous guitarist has (or had). Like a Randy Rhoads Polka Dot Flying V, a George Lynch "Mr. Scary", Steve Vai's Flame guitar from his DLR days, a Joe Satriani model with graphics or a Van Halen striped guitar. I wouldn't buy a knockoff of a knockoff. I did buy a knockoff of a white Steinberger GM-2T (The kind Vito Bratta uses in the "Little Fighter" video) from DHGate. Sure, it wasn't Steinberger quality. But it also wasn't Steinberger price.
I’ve always wondered what you would receive if you did order the “$150 Les Paul” from one of those Facebook scams. I’m hoping you’ll address that in your upcoming scams video.
I got my Firefly Pro form Guitars Garden and didn't have any problem... I also didn't have to wait a long time to get it... But, I agree with your advise to not get Byers Fever is really good... Be patient and get it from the dealer and not from some weird market...
I am very unlikely to buy a Firefly guitar (I have many, many expensive guitars), but this is good to know. Thanks for the warning. I did buy a couple of cheap guitars, to see what the fuss was about. They're better quality than I expected. If you know how to set them up properly, they're downright playable and can even be playable out of the box. I'd also, "Simply wait." Firefly may not make that same model again, but they're bound to make something similar. At this level, there are surely finite configurations.
Great info. I've played several of the Fireflies and so far I haven't found anything wrong with them. Two of the fellas I play music with have a nice collection. They play and sound as good as the actual models. I'm planning on ordering me a couple in a few months, so now I'll know to just get em from the guitar garden site.
Thanks for the infoi have two firefly guitars a 338 and a Telecaster I bought from the marketplace, the 338 from Amazon which cost 200.00 a few years back. Just be patient. Love your videos always.
I Love your vids! After I saw this video I jumped on Guitar garden and they just listed a bunch more new Les Paul style guitars! I have an older blue berry burst LP firefly and I love it! It sounds good and plays great! It’s kinda crazy that there are companies out there making knock offs of with all do respect to firefly, knock offs! I also have a real 2016 Gibson Les Paul standard and that one is my absolute baby! But if you don’t have the money to buy a guitar like that or are just getting started I’d highly recommend the firefly as long as it’s purchased from Guitar garden. I watched the video where you cut the bottom of the firefly LP off and I was impressed with what was under the finish! Great Video and keep up the great work!
Thanks for this. Good to know. Also, on the Les Paul style they sell, what are the Pickups? They don’t say anything about them on the website that I could see. Thanks a lot.
Thank you for the info. I'm actually supposed to receive a firefly guitar today, I am eager to see if it's real or not. I wish there was a list of things to look for.
I have two Fireflies from Guitars garden. Right out of the box they both feel right ( action wise ) and stay in tune. I feel like I don’t need a set up on both. Awesome guitars.
Whether a high end guitar like Gibson, knockoff, or a low end one, either it plays like crap or not. I have never ordered a guitar online, and don’t think I ever will. I’d rather try & buy one I can physically try out first. I’d save up for an Epiphone that has Gibson quality behind it than blindly buy a cheap knockoff that may have issues that need to be corrected, like improper bridge placement or a twisted neck!
A few years ago I heard that Epi knock offs were a thing.. I've since seen an Epiphone LP standard which looked well dodgy.. especially next to a pukka Epi LP Standard. Ta Max.
I bought a Firefly Les Paul type guitar a while ago. It was NOISY AS HELL. Took it to the guitar shop and the wiring was total crap. I'll never buy another one.
Chinese manufacturing- they make a product, pay someone on TH-cam to promote them, people run out and buy them, you slow down production and get the factory next door to buy your parts and produce a knockoff driving up demand for the original, ramp up production, raise the price, the factory next door goes back to making toasters and everyone is happy. Heck it’s probably the same manufacturer just making guitars out of the parts that didn’t pass inspection. 😂
I have been beyond frustrated waiting for ( ANY!) SG style, but the blueburst in particular and the Les Paul to come back in stock... checking Guitars Garden weekly but about to just blow it off in favor of whatever catches my eye next, like the Musi Capricorn...
I’ve purchased two Xavier T styles from Guitar Fetish, with good features I couldn’t get from Squier… but I do like the new FF with the trem… though I would not want the 2 humbuckers they put on it, I’d either want a mini humbucker in the neck (like I have in my Xaviere “Keef” T style model, or the two gold foils like I have in my Xaviere T style semi-hollow … Harley Benton also has some “Fusion T HH T styles with trems… MADE IN INDONESIA… $259 is $100 more than what firefly charges for their T style FFTL Classic MGN … made in China… with supposedly same features as Harley Benton …. locking tuners, stainless steel frets, push pull coil split…
I bought a firefly 335 from guitars garden. It was ROUGH. Im sure there are some good ones out there but the Leo Jaymes, Eart and others are setting a new bar in quality and consistancy.
hit of miss. and don't believe the customer satisfaction. they sent an SG with an f'd up unfinished fretboard and basically F U. wouldn't exchange it. there was brown crap all over it, maybe to dye it?? and then a splotch were there was no dye. no way to resell that. : ( but i got several in the order and others were ok. electronics issues on one, and again, an FU. when they are good, they are good. when they aren't, you're SOL.
My SG I purchased from them was absolutely perfect , not one problem or flaw. My next one will be the Leo Jamz SG , looks pretty slick and got good reviews. I think it's only around $130 which is a ridiculously good deal IMO!
Dude i picked up a new headless leo jaymz 2nd hand for a $100. Man it's Fn astonishing how nice it plays. I do want to eventually sand the neck down, but the playability is out of control good.
Kinda funny the knockoffs cost more than actual Fireflys. If I’m spending 300 bucks at Ali Express it’s gonna be a knockoff of a 5k guitar. Having said that, if I had 300 bucks to spend it would be a spent at Guitars Garden.
Hello, I have a question. What about the Merle Haggard “ Tough Dog” guitars from China. Are they safe to buy and are they of decent quality. I see them on eBay for sale. Thanks Max.
If you buy a counterfeit Firefly you almost deserve it..... Guitar Gardens customer service is terrible.....non responsive. The company selling on Ali Express likely has better communication.... I'm an idiot and bought 2 guitars from GG....both=POS with glaring issues....Guitar Gardens gave me zero help to return or exchange.....
Found one on ebay. But the guy said he has no paperwork with it and he wanted $450 for it. Found another on reverb they wanted $499 but they didn't say if any paperwork came with it
@GuitarMAXMusic I wasn't sure if it came with paperwork. Certificate of authenticity. Serial number of guitar, a little bit of a description about it, if it was what number it was in production. Just to give you an example of what I thought
Sorry but you can’t buy them in Europe Firefly Guitars (and to contradict the delivery-time , in Europe that is TEN days to TWELF days ) but having said that they shouldn’t make knock offs of a good cheap guitar (and I am still a bit mad about the sawing of the guitars , you could have taking the the electronics out and shown the inside etc.)
Why not? A cheap guitar is the perfect place to fuck around and gain knowledge of a skill you don't (yet) posses...Unless your trying to re invent the wheel it's pretty straightforward ...short of cutting up the body or neck, there really isn't anything that cannot be un-fucked fairly easily
Hey my name is Scotty and I say this a lot in today's society..... AIN'T IT JUST AIN'T IT 😜 lols........I use to work at a plant that manufactured Mobile home.....They got caught running double serial numbers....One of set numbers went North and the other South......And the stock holders footed the bill. Keep up the good work Sir....
![[#2024MAMA] ROSÉ (로제), Bruno Mars - APT. | Mnet 241122 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dgGqD28J6aQ/mqdefault.jpg)
what a world we live in where we have knockoffs of knockoffs
We could have a knock off of a knock off of a knock off
Feel like a situation like the opening credits of Monty python movie
I guess that's what happens when the knockoffs get really good. Lol
Eventually we will forget what Gibson and fender are lol
@@AutisimAwarenessWe can but hope....
Its public service announcements like this that make you a shining example of the TH-cam guitar community. Keep up the good work!
I appreciate that!
Your advice applies to EVERYTHING sold on Alli Express. Do not trust that a branded product e.g. d’addario strings is really manufactured by that brand. It’s all too easy for a scammer to reproduce the brand’s packaging, then put an inferior knock-off product in it. Sadly, scammers are everywhere on the inet waiting to reel in innocent guppies who want to save a few bucks and fail to do their due diligence. As others have said: BUYER BEWARE.
In this case the instruments are a worse deal then on Amazon, official site or the correct e-Bay seller.
Making knockoffs of guitars that cost 200 dollars is a new low honestly
Maybe...but it's probably wayy easier
Depends on the selling price and the build quality. They may be the deal of the century!
@@Skipp-q7h I've been watching some of these TH-cam videos and they get knocked off brand guitar sent to them to review and it's so sickening how hot they try to sell the guitar
This is priceless. Glad I bought all my Flies from Guitars Garden.
I have one firefly SG I bought off eBay and I know it's legit because it said guitars garden was the seller.
@@mikeg6666 i have one firefly guitar left........i had bought 5 of them.....none of the firefly guitars i bought were very good.........i had their ff338 that i bought new on ebay from Guitars Garden it was the green one with racing stripe and i bought the Glarry ggs101 at around the same time......sold the firefly and kept the glarry because the glarry was/is a way better made guitar.....like i said i had 5 fireflys and still have the aerosonic.......that guitar looks nice on the outside but inside it is very badly routed with gaps everywhere and areas that look like they where done by blind monkey with a hammer and screwdriver......no more firefly's for me......the best guitar i own is my Grote Gibson l5 copy.........now that's a crazy good made guitar for the $300 it cost me new from Grote guitars........
you must be in the EL CHEAPO GROUP😝😝🤣🤣
@@angelestevis7544 Not me , I've only got a few budget guitars. I have more guitars in the $600-$1200 range than the $300 and under one's...
@bazonblades hey how long did it take to recieve your guitar?
DUDE! No way! A knockoff of a budget!? Unbelievable! How low can they go?! Max! This is the kind of crucial stuff that makes me always start my YT roundabouts with Guitar MAX! No kiddin. You were the first host that started me off on my current guitar playing life. I had some bad stuff happen, but I’m back to give it another shot. You’re not responsible, man. You just started me thinking again and I appreciate it. Anyway, thanks a mil, man. It means something to me. It matters. It’s just super cool to see you plant a flag for what the music is supposed to be about. A lot of people want things to be right and it’s a constant battle. So there will always be a need for the inside scoops. Great to see you in the lead tank, bro! Thanks!
I have purchased a few Firefly guitars..338, tele, and jaguar with P90's to mod & upgrade just to see what I could do. I put USA Gibson PAF's in the 338, but the Tele style was surprisingly good as received and it plays great. It is a total shame that there are companies in this world so unscrupulous that they would deceive people in that way. I got all mine from Guitar Garden and have been very happy with their service.
I have a semi hollow Tele w P 90s Squire special run clone, and an Explorer w H B s . Both have similar full C style necks. Are your necks the same too or do they vary ? I'm thinking about the roasted Tele .
@@terryenglish7132 They vary slightly in thickness, but not bad...the nut width is the same. The 338 is a very comfortable medium "C". The Tele is slightly thicker almost identical to my Sire and my PRS Vela "pattern regular" carve which is medium "C", but very comfortable. The Jaguar is the thickest and a bit bigger than I like, so I'm thinking about sanding it down a bit and then use Tru-Oil to seal it again. I did a Strat partscaster and sanded the neck, rolled the edges of the fretboard, then used about 6 coats of TRu-Oil sanding with 400 grit between coats and it feels great.
Hope the baby’s doing well. Great video thanks for sharing.
That proves something to me I already knew. There were copies of burny made in the day Greco copies and many many others. But if they are doing this apparently there's money to be made. That just proves that firefly guitars are made very well solid and for the most part are very good bones.
I’m a Firefly fan and was up to about seven of them. Did some trades so I’m down to only 2 now. But I check Guitars Garden all the time to see what’s going on. Great company and super solid guitars. I was actually playing my ff-338 earlier today with some distortion cranked and fell in love with it all over again. Max, once again, I love this kind of content and without you, Firefly would have taken so much longer to reach us. Thanks for this.
Did you find all the necks to be similar , or did they vary ? I have an Explorer and a Tele , but both necks are a nice full C.
Those 335/338 type copies are sweet. One of my band mates has one (and several other of their models).and I've been playing it steadily for over a year. I haven't played any of my other guitars at our rehearsals or gigs since he let me try it out. My LPs, Strat and Teles are getting lonely. I was gonna sell those and get me a truckload of the Fireflies, but I know I'll miss them 😆
I'm getting my retirement in April, so I'm gonna wait till then and try to get one or two.
U Kno u made it when they start copying u!
it's amazing that we now have knockoffs of an already cheap products, it's just not enough for them to rip off expensive products.
BTW, there is NO QC on FF guitars in the U.S. They ship as they get 'em.
Proof that some people only care about the name scribbled on the headstock. Even if on an already low price item. Not digging on Firefly, I hear good things, but I also remember people were buying them and reselling at twice or more the price a couple of years ago. All on the name.
This is even worse because it's more believable than a big name because you wouldn't suspect the low price.
I tried to buy a Firefly ES 338 from Amazon for three years in a row. I finally was able to place an order right after the new year but was later informed by Amazon that my order would be cancelled due to the model being sold out again. Apparently, speculators were buying whole lots and then reselling them at substantially inflated prices. It looked like my chances of actually buying one through a bona fide outlet were either slim or none. Then one day while visiting a pawn shop I found one that was everything I'd hoped for. Of course, I had to pay more than the MSRT but was happy to get it at around $200.00 without the case. That was nearly four years ago and I've yet to be as pleased with a guitar purchase as I've been with my Firefly. I only wish they assigned serial numbers to each run so that collectors like myself could find which year and source each version comes from. So, I'm not surprised that imitations would arise to cheat sincere aficionado's like myself.
If you go to their website, you may be happy to see that they do have serial numbers printed on the rear of the head.
Love that you support this company. Bought a lizard burst LP from guitar gardens and absolutely love it!
Good advice. I've got my eye on that Firefly FFLPS ELECTRIC GUITARS (Blue Bat) for $199. Pretty cool looking Les Paul style guitar.
Bro…. I know it’s November but I had to double check the calendar to make sure it wasn’t April Fools day.
I bought a Firefly version of the 335 a few years ago from their factory. It was a popular guitar and was sold out here in America. I ordered it and the next day on their website they had the 335 “spalted maple” for $20 more. I had a whole month to beat myself up for not seeing and ordering the spalted maple . Lo and behold ,a month later, the FedEx truck delivered it ,and to my surprise ,it was the spalted maple. Beautiful guitar.
This the golden age quality affordable of guitars. Have been playing over 60 years and have had several hundred cheap and expensive guitars over the years.
I can’t believe the cheap guitars I would walk by in the trash and keep going and turn down when given to me are now selling for big money. They were garbage then. Norma’s, Teisco, St.James……..maybe because they’d have 4-5 microphonic pickups and loads of switches and knobs.
Remember when you found out people were making counterfeit strings? Meanwhile, the real strings are only 6 or 7 bucks.
Great video, Max! As always, buyer beware.
Very true!
Hi, I didn't know they were fake, I bought one (ff338). It arrived in 14 days, perfectly set and in tune, with very few flaws only on the neck, the sound is very good, I am very satisfied, I have been playing the guitar since 1996. I live in Italy and Guitars Garden doesn't ship here, which is why I bought it on that site, but I didn't know they were fake, well it worked out for me.
Guitar Garden has an e-Bay seller and is sold Via Amazon too as the real deal. This might help in selection but if it is the problem is the real brand Firefly band in Italy, then that is probably a government reason from a bigger brand made in Italy making Gibson type guitars lobbying to keep these out of the market.
@@caseysmith544 On ebay I only saw used FFs at high prices around €300 if I remember correctly🤷
Oh wow, scam of a knockoff brand?! That’s a riot!! You gonna review some of these? It would be a riot!!
How much of this can be attributed to the fact that people are buying Fireflys and then reselling them at a higher price? I can see the scammers looking at that and figuring out that people will think that's what they're doing.
i think its more of a case where something might have not met qc standards, so someone juts takes it and tries to get some money back to recoup costs
I bought 2 Firefly ES 335 clones from the Guitars Garden website a few months ago. The Prismatic finish (saw it right here in your video) and a pink finish that was on sale. The pink one arrived with a BADLY warped neck and I returned it. Customer service was responsive and they issued me a return label so it wasn't too bad. I did have to rebox and drive it to Fed Ex, so a bit of a pain.The multi colored guitar had a cracked pickup ring I had to replace. I wasn't a huge fan of it at first but after playing it more and more it's growing on me. I wanted a semi hollow to add to my collection and tend to play mostly harder rock/punk/metal but I do think it's quite decent and worth the money.
Money left over to buy a $30.00 Louis Vuitton knock-off, a $158.00 bootleg Rolex & a $9,950.00 Porsche speedster replica kit car.
Oh man! Knock off Firefly guitars are all the new rage! I can't wait for someone to do knock offs of the knock offs!
Nobody’s gonna wanna make knock offs of a knock off, oh wait.. they just did.
Thanks for looking out for us ! Much appreciated and Merry Christmas.
I'm interested in getting a FF, and I won't do business with Amazon for anything.
Thanks for posting the other links.
Jim
Muscle Shoals, AL
I’m a American hobbyists guitarist that lived in China for over 10 years, and awhile back after watching your videos on firefly, I just want to get one and ironically I found the factory that makes them and got a really satisfying LP, but after I got it, that factory got shutdown(info from the middleman that I actually gotten the guitar from),it was around November 2023, so I’m not too sure if the quality remains the same, or better/worst, but what I got for the price is truly amazing.
It's incredible that there are people out there 'knocking off" low end guitars...
I can't believe companies are making knock offs of knock offs
i said the exact same thing lol, its hilariously bad
My firefly flying V has the best fret ends of any guitar I've ever played, inexpensive or very expensive. I don't know how they offer them so cheap.
Thanks for the heads up.🎸
The Firefly guitar is not sized like a standard Gibson or Fender. Upgrading to better pickups will require some routing of the cavities. I've had similar problems with upgrading kit guitars. The parts just aren't the same size as one would find in a music store.
Really appreciate your heads-up. I just got my Firefly Telle through Guitars Garden and am very pleased. I own Fenders, Gibsons, and all major brands. Firefly now my first Chinese guitar. Very pleased with it. It has the right resonance, wood, density, and vibe! As you say, avoid the other questionable sites.
Mmm 🤔 reminds of another video from samurai guitar theory where he explained of the dirrent scams even a scam envolving a fake 35 dollar acoustic guitar
Hey Max, I bought the Firefly 338 on your recommendation, and have since added 3 more. They all came out of the box ready to play. What`s amazing to me is the high end features they offer.
I'd buy a knockoff of a guitar that a famous guitarist has (or had). Like a Randy Rhoads Polka Dot Flying V, a George Lynch "Mr. Scary", Steve Vai's Flame guitar from his DLR days, a Joe Satriani model with graphics or a Van Halen striped guitar. I wouldn't buy a knockoff of a knockoff. I did buy a knockoff of a white Steinberger GM-2T (The kind Vito Bratta uses in the "Little Fighter" video) from DHGate. Sure, it wasn't Steinberger quality. But it also wasn't Steinberger price.
Just as with counterfeiting $1 bills, I would have NEVER suspected…
I bought a FireFly from your link and it was a very good guitar for a great price! We all know we can trust Max to tell us the truth, Thanks!!
Zebra stripe ,🤘
Patiently waiting for the new Guitar Max Signature from Harley Benton in the new colors 😊 Hoping for a Transparent White or Transparent Black ❤
I'd like a matte/satin white with gotoh 510 trem. Keep everything else the same.
@@nolerx I like matte satin too, but if it has a trem it's gotta be a Floyd double locker.
Must be the ad I saw a few days ago . Black Friday sale with guitars for 140-165 dollars!
Good looking out Max, thanx!
I’ve always wondered what you would receive if you did order the “$150 Les Paul” from one of those Facebook scams. I’m hoping you’ll address that in your upcoming scams video.
I got my Firefly Pro form Guitars Garden and didn't have any problem... I also didn't have to wait a long time to get it...
But, I agree with your advise to not get Byers Fever is really good... Be patient and get it from the dealer and not from some weird market...
...btw, I bought a Matte finish bat inlay Firefly....for the price - AWESOME....but I switched out the pickups, as the stock pickups suck!
I am very unlikely to buy a Firefly guitar (I have many, many expensive guitars), but this is good to know. Thanks for the warning. I did buy a couple of cheap guitars, to see what the fuss was about. They're better quality than I expected. If you know how to set them up properly, they're downright playable and can even be playable out of the box.
I'd also, "Simply wait." Firefly may not make that same model again, but they're bound to make something similar. At this level, there are surely finite configurations.
Thank for the heads up!
I’ll wait for the knock off of the knock of the knock…. That’s where my budget is at
Dude, that T-shirt is sick!
Great info. I've played several of the Fireflies and so far I haven't found anything wrong with them. Two of the fellas I play music with have a nice collection. They play and sound as good as the actual models.
I'm planning on ordering me a couple in a few months, so now I'll know to just get em from the guitar garden site.
Good video Max, but why would anyone bother to fake such cheap product? if bothering to fake, at least fake something that's valued more, no ? weird.
Wow! Counterfeit Fireflys: Speechless
I wonder when the Firefly guitars will ever come back in stock. Seems that they just don't make em anymore
Thanks for the infoi have two firefly guitars a 338 and a Telecaster I bought from the marketplace, the 338 from Amazon which cost 200.00 a few years back. Just be patient. Love your videos always.
I Love your vids! After I saw this video I jumped on Guitar garden and they just listed a bunch more new Les Paul style guitars! I have an older blue berry burst LP firefly and I love it! It sounds good and plays great! It’s kinda crazy that there are companies out there making knock offs of with all do respect to firefly, knock offs! I also have a real 2016 Gibson Les Paul standard and that one is my absolute baby! But if you don’t have the money to buy a guitar like that or are just getting started I’d highly recommend the firefly as long as it’s purchased from Guitar garden. I watched the video where you cut the bottom of the firefly LP off and I was impressed with what was under the finish! Great Video and keep up the great work!
Thanks for this. Good to know. Also, on the Les Paul style they sell, what are the Pickups? They don’t say anything about them on the website that I could see. Thanks a lot.
Thank you for the info. I'm actually supposed to receive a firefly guitar today, I am eager to see if it's real or not. I wish there was a list of things to look for.
I have two Fireflies from Guitars garden. Right out of the box they both feel right ( action wise ) and stay in tune. I feel like I don’t need a set up on both. Awesome guitars.
Whether a high end guitar like Gibson, knockoff, or a low end one, either it plays like crap or not. I have never ordered a guitar online, and don’t think I ever will. I’d rather try & buy one I can physically try out first. I’d save up for an Epiphone that has Gibson quality behind it than blindly buy a cheap knockoff that may have issues that need to be corrected, like improper bridge placement or a twisted neck!
A few years ago I heard that Epi knock offs were a thing.. I've since seen an Epiphone LP standard which looked well dodgy.. especially next to a pukka Epi LP Standard.
Ta Max.
I bought a Firefly Les Paul type guitar a while ago. It was NOISY AS HELL. Took it to the guitar shop and the wiring was total crap. I'll never buy another one.
Ebay shop is now out or stock . Guitars Garden only ships to USA. Where can I get one Firefly guitar in Europe?
I appreciate you trying to help. I'm trying to determine oif buying a 338 and upgrading the pups is worth it
We'll really be in trouble when someone
starts cloning guitars made by the company/s
that are currently cloning the Firefly lineup.
Chinese manufacturing- they make a product, pay someone on TH-cam to promote them, people run out and buy them, you slow down production and get the factory next door to buy your parts and produce a knockoff driving up demand for the original, ramp up production, raise the price, the factory next door goes back to making toasters and everyone is happy. Heck it’s probably the same manufacturer just making guitars out of the parts that didn’t pass inspection. 😂
I have been beyond frustrated waiting for ( ANY!) SG style, but the blueburst in particular and the Les Paul to come back in stock... checking Guitars Garden weekly but about to just blow it off in favor of whatever catches my eye next, like the Musi Capricorn...
or Virgo HB
One name...IYV......I own 3....all solid instruments....Firefly killers.
I'll check them out. Thanks for the (gear)heads up!
I have the M-Musi Capricorn HSS in purple raspberry burst. Nice axe, hemispherical stainless frets - but a bit on the heavy side.
@@normbarrows Trying to choose between that and Musi Virgo HH
I have a 338. It's KILLER. Wish they'd make an LP Jr.
Chire Fly! Interesting.. Thanks for the heads up Max!
I’ve purchased two Xavier T styles from Guitar Fetish, with good features I couldn’t get from Squier… but I do like the new FF with the trem…
though I would not want the 2 humbuckers they put on it, I’d either want a mini humbucker in the neck (like I have in my Xaviere “Keef” T style model, or the two gold foils like I have in my Xaviere T style semi-hollow …
Harley Benton also has some “Fusion T HH T styles with trems… MADE IN INDONESIA… $259 is $100 more than what firefly charges for their T style FFTL Classic MGN … made in China… with supposedly same features as Harley Benton …. locking tuners, stainless steel frets, push pull coil split…
It's unbelievable. Copying everything. Scamming and cheating.
I bought a firefly 335 from guitars garden. It was ROUGH. Im sure there are some good ones out there but the Leo Jaymes, Eart and others are setting a new bar in quality and consistancy.
hit of miss. and don't believe the customer satisfaction. they sent an SG with an f'd up unfinished fretboard and basically F U. wouldn't exchange it. there was brown crap all over it, maybe to dye it?? and then a splotch were there was no dye. no way to resell that. : ( but i got several in the order and others were ok. electronics issues on one, and again, an FU.
when they are good, they are good. when they aren't, you're SOL.
My SG I purchased from them was absolutely perfect , not one problem or flaw. My next one will be the Leo Jamz SG , looks pretty slick and got good reviews. I think it's only around $130 which is a ridiculously good deal IMO!
@lurklingX that crap is wood filler grain filler on the fret board.
Dude i picked up a new headless leo jaymz 2nd hand for a $100. Man it's Fn astonishing how nice it plays. I do want to eventually sand the neck down, but the playability is out of control good.
@@lurklingX Did you purchase it recently? I was also considering a Redid SG or the Westcreek one...
Just bought my first firefly. Awaiting its arrival.
I didn't realize this was happening now.. But, I had no doubt that it was going to happen; sooner or later.
Thanks for video, just be patient and wait, good advice ! While I'm on , how are you getting on with your album ? any update ?
I've checked out this item they look good but honestly I've never played a firefly guitar
Kinda funny the knockoffs cost more than actual Fireflys. If I’m spending 300 bucks at Ali Express it’s gonna be a knockoff of a 5k guitar. Having said that, if I had 300 bucks to spend it would be a spent at Guitars Garden.
Sometimes the knockoffs are better than the knockoffs they've knocked off. See: most knockoffs of Gibsons for example.😂
A knockoff of a knock off. I see the irony there. What would really be funny is seeing Gibson doing an ultra expensive Chibson knock off.
Hello, I have a question. What about the Merle Haggard “ Tough Dog” guitars from China. Are they safe to buy and are they of decent quality. I see them on eBay for sale. Thanks Max.
LOL Whats next ?
Fake meat ?
Ohhh.
Max, can you please do a video on the company that backs firefly? JSN or something like that?
How is it your Van Halen logo is reversed on your shirt, but the Marshall logo behind you is correct? 🤷♂
The Dollar General version of a Kmart version of an actual version of a guitar...🙃🙊...Hey if it plays and stays in tune...
How can one tell the difference of a knockoff to a real firefly. If your buying used. What should look for?
Good question! Back of the headstock should say something like "Designed and backed by JSN" with a serial number.
Did you review a 10S already?
I saw a tiger sparkle LP style guitar with ebony fretboard and real mother of pearl inlays for like 700$.
Hard to believe now that Firefly is being Cloned! Who's next... Thomann?
So said but thanks for keeping us informed 👍
If you buy a counterfeit Firefly you almost deserve it.....
Guitar Gardens customer service is terrible.....non responsive.
The company selling on Ali Express likely has better communication....
I'm an idiot and bought 2 guitars from GG....both=POS with glaring issues....Guitar Gardens gave me zero help to return or exchange.....
What if it's from the same manufacturer that actually makes the firefly guitars (maybe without the logo, but same maker)?
They don't have locking tuners stainless steel frets. Not the same
What do say? how would a firefly be shipping from china? did they even make an archtop?
Good stuff Max, this helps young kids too.
Found one on ebay. But the guy said he has no paperwork with it and he wanted $450 for it. Found another on reverb they wanted $499 but they didn't say if any paperwork came with it
That's very expensive for one of these guitars! I'm curious though, what kind of paperwork would you expect to come with it?
@GuitarMAXMusic I wasn't sure if it came with paperwork. Certificate of authenticity. Serial number of guitar, a little bit of a description about it, if it was what number it was in production. Just to give you an example of what I thought
Sorry but you can’t buy them in Europe Firefly Guitars (and to contradict the delivery-time , in Europe that is TEN days to TWELF days ) but having said that they shouldn’t make knock offs of a good cheap guitar (and I am still a bit mad about the sawing of the guitars , you could have taking the the electronics out and shown the inside etc.)
I picked up the 338 . It's just beautiful.
I want to upgrade it, but I dont want
to do it myself...
Why not? A cheap guitar is the perfect place to fuck around and gain knowledge of a skill you don't (yet) posses...Unless your trying to re invent the wheel it's pretty straightforward ...short of cutting up the body or neck, there really isn't anything that cannot be un-fucked fairly easily
Thanks for sharing.
How does one get Firefly guitars in the UK?
I looked at the website and am real interested in an acoustic.
Hey my name is Scotty and I say this a lot in today's society..... AIN'T IT JUST AIN'T IT 😜 lols........I use to work at a plant that manufactured Mobile home.....They got caught running double serial numbers....One of set numbers went North and the other South......And the stock holders footed the bill. Keep up the good work Sir....
Anything for a dollar I guess.