I had an original Gibson 'V' I got in the late 60's I traded my Lp custom to a guy from Seattle for it. I played it for years. Yes sir ...standing up. It's decades later and I still play standing up because it feels weird and awkward not to, LOL.
Wow, they look very nice. I'm an old dude who's owned some very classic guitars like a 70's Les Paul Custom, an Angus 60's SG, and an old Fender Tele with a DiMarzio bridge pickup that was made by DiMarzio himself when he was just starting out. I was told that pickup alone is now worth a fortune and of course the guitars are too. But here's the thing. As much as they were great guitars, they were really only great because back then there was not much competition. I did have a 70's Ibanez Explorer, one of the lawsuit models and it was very nice, but besides that, there was not a lot that could compete with Gibsons and Fenders, but now you have loads of much cheaper alternatives. What I believe happened is guys my age and older who have made lots of money over their lives ( I am not one of them!), now want to buy the Gibson or Fenders they never had or are sorry they sold and will pay almost anything now to get them, so they've driven the prices through the roof. I actually bought the Gibson SG I had from a young lawyer in 1977 so he's a perfect example of the guys paying a fortune to get these guitars back again. I never paid much for my guitars at the time, like I paid $350 for the SG in 1977 dollars (inflation adjusted says that's about $1,700 which is BS - it's more like about $900 at the very most) but that's still not a lot compared to what they sell for now, and I just think the prices for old guitars is insanely out of line and I would bet a Firefly is just as good as those guitars I had. In 1980 I started buying new guitars that were coming on the market like I bought a Washburn Eagle in 1980 and the lead guitarist in our band made fun of it, calling it a 'washrag' - he was a real Gibson purist and I'm sure there's still lot's like him around but it's all a load of garbage. Anyhow, long story shorter, my advice to younger guys maybe just starting out is just get whatever works for you at the best price you can get it and just PLAY! Eddy Van Halen made his guitar out of some reject parts and he did okay for himself! ~ cheers guys.
I've been going back and forth for several months now on the "budget" brands. Harley Benton, Xavier, Indio and firefly. This video seals the deal. Thanks Darrell, great informative entertaining video as always. I'm getting a firefly!
I have a Firefly and a Westcreek. They both are gorgeous with great necks,feel, QC however the pickups could be better yet as this price with better pickups in place far better overall deal than say Epiphone.
I like the red-burst. I've been lurking in forums for a couple years now, you just confirmed what they'd been saying, that the quality and qc have improved. Thanks for reviewing, Darrell.
Thank you for this comprehensive and impartial review of this FF. I own a FFLP style guitar that was original purchased based on your review. I have made a few mods and now it’s good enough to keep forever despite only having about 350 in it. Keep it up, Darrell.
I got a Firefly V about 4? months ago. I love it. The neck profile is similar to my Les Paul so it feels great. Tones are great too! Build is flawless.
They have definitely gotten better. I have a blood fade lp, the only thing I changed was those microphonic pickups. Now rockin Demarzio 36th anniversary pafs! Love it!
I bought the Les Paul version a few months ago. I've owned many Gibson Les Pauls over the years and I have 3 vintage LP's that I play regularly. So, naturally, I was curious. For $200, why not? If the guitar sucks, I can always throw it on the fire and toast its demise with a few sentimental words and a good ale. But, it didn't suck. The setup out of the box was good (not great). But, it was a lot better than the setup on the last LP that I bought. Yes, the fret edges were a tad rough. But, that's an easy fix that you can do at home if you know what you're doing. A simple YT search will provide anyone with all they need to know to file down the fret edges. Then, there's the pickups. They stunk and so did the pots. Replaced the pots with a good set of 500/250k pots with a coil split and installed a set of Duncan JB's. This guitar screams now. It plays great. Holds a tune very well. Its ability to intonate is excellent. Has great tone. I have no problems with this guitar at all. I actually play it quite a bit.
I've found with the lower end guitars are starting to do stainless frets and locking tuners still for a good price, maybe the big boys should start taking a look. They're going to start to lose some business with their prices
Thanks for the review Darrell! Based on your opinion I am interested in Firefly. At this point the only thing stopping me from buying is the lack of published specs. I want to know the string spacing at the nut, neck width, neck thickness, neck shape, and scale length. Without such basic information I have no idea if the guitar will feel comfortable enough for me to want to play or if it will just collect dust.
Agreed. Commented on Darrell's vids before about mentioning neck specs on his vids, sometimes he has in other vids but this is stopping me from taking the plunge just to have a V. Also the neck joint, he doesn't show the back of either guitar except the tuners. When he turns the guitar back around I think I see a volute. Another vid says 43 mm nut, set neck, and I don't know if the guy was including the strings LOL but said full C shape 23-24mm neck thickness which suggests it has a neck like a log LOL. It doesn't appear that thick when Darrell flips the guitar around after showing the tuners so who knows. I'll pass on it.
"The Tape Farm" did a review on this guitar, measured the neck thickness, width down the neck (53.1 mm at the 12th), nut width (43.2mm) with a vernier caliper, weight (6.8 lbs on that one, another review was 7.6 lbs, of course wood varies), measured fretboard radius (12"), neck profile type (classic C), 24.75" scale.. all on the vid ...has a volute, set neck, this guy does neck specs thoroughly. It measured a whopping thickness of .950"/24.1 mm at the first fret, .980/24.9mm at he 12th, it does have a neck like a log lol. Not for me, I like thin necks, .750-.800". Bummer, this is for someone with big hands LOL.
They have the same scale length as the real deal and I would also say the same neck specs. I have the SG copy and it has the wider thinner neck like a real Gibson and a 24.75 scale length like the Gibson. As far as whether you will like it, well, you never know about any guitar you buy online but don't have a chance to see it before you buy it.
A friend who decided to refret a guitar with stainless steel and almost instantly regretted the decision due to sheer amount of elbow grease required for the most minor of tasks. Stainless steel fretwork requires the resources of an actual factory equipment fitted workshop!
Great if you aren't a fan of colour. I dislike dull guitars and I think grey is about as dull as it comes. For a similar reason, I'm not fond of black guitars.
Trust me that is not silver burst I have the silver burst Firefly explorer and it's very different. The silver burst I have does not have a flame maple top and doesn't have binding on the body and it's got chrome cover double cream ceramic magnets humbuckers that don't sound that great. Maybe mines the older model and the flame top is the newer model!?
Great looking guitars, cool to see they listen to feedback from buyers too! I hope their shipping improves too, to reach a wider area. I can't order them from South America
Hello darrell, I really like these guitars. In fact almost every Firefly I've seen. The problem is that customs taxes and VAT (extra tax here in Spain) cost the same or more than the guitar itself. Keep it up with your channel, it's really fantastic
The EU duty tax... I had that problems when I sent my own guitar to my wife's in the UK... They had it sit in this place, Coventry parcelforce... Till they FINALLY got to it and then said I had to pay 85 pound duty tax to get it out from there, to my wife. I was like... It's not for sale... It's MY personal guitar... They don't listen or care.
It would be impressive if they managed to pull off a neck-through Firebird shape. (Even Gibson sometimes cheats and just does set neck on certain Firebird models).
Like Garrett said, they've added a FFFB heading with Firebird style guitars. Noticed it about a month ago. They had 3 colors at the time. How can one tell from a picture but it does look like it is a neck thru design. Funny I emailed them with a request to do a Firebird back in March, kept harping on the neck thru design if they had the inclination to add that to their line up. Just coincidence I'm sure. Put my vote out there for a review video.
Owned a couple firefly out of curiosity…they were okay for the price. Hardware was a joke tho…stoptail piece legit was breaking just from string tension. Tuning was bad and pickups bad. Def just wanted to play my Gibson instead haha
I love the way these guys play and love their channels, but when they do budget guitar reviews i wonder if companies give them well setup and maintained instruments to review...
Life is too short to own and play inferior guitars. Save a little longer and get the good stuff. You know you’ll get there eventually anyway. Buy once, cry once.
@@gtrman12887 yeah possibly. It's not dgb that's to blame though , he didn't seem impressed with Hatley benton. I got the cheapest tele and I love it as stock.
First, this is not directed at Darrell Braun. I enjoy his channel and his content. 2 Thumbs up for that. That being said, I also think that there needs to be full disclosure regarding these guitars and the reviews. Folks like to hype these guitars up, but no one talks about the horrible customer service side. If you get a good one, you're lucky. I own 8 Firefly guitars and 5 of them were pretty good out of the box and 3 were damaged. Those metrics put me at about a 63% positive experience. The damaged guitars had Nickle sized paint chips down to the bare wood, broken electronics, etc. When I reported that to their Customer Service with pictures, they emailed me and told me what beautiful guitars they were and offered me a $10 discount or I had to pay for the return shipping. A $10 discount wouldn't even begin to cover the cost of a typical professional repair for the average player. No one should have to repair a new guitar or pay to return a damaged one. That's the game that they will play with you. Fortunately, I'm a builder and tech so I have the tools, skills and parts to make the necessary repairs. The average guitar player may not be able to do that and taking it to a tech or luthier can add about $100 to the price. If Guitars Garden isn't going to stand behind their products and get their act together with their customer service then how good are they really? So keep that in mind when you give these folks your money. You're rolling the dice. The customer experience is not always roses and chocolate. The second thing that always comes to mind and, I'm speculating here, is the question of whether or not Guitars Garden is cherry picking guitars for specific TH-cam reviewers in order to get positive reviews. It baffles me that none of these popular channels get a bad guitar. I see some of the smaller channels discussing their awful customer service. Anyway, I encourage folks to do their own research and make an informed purchasing decision. Thank you.
I am SO glad your channel came back up in recommendations! I've saw quite a few before and up until now, I was so bummed about Harley Benton discontinuing the Explorer guitar in blue when I was highly considering it and then... THEN I now know of Firefly guitars! I went to their site and looked at the Explorers and saw TWO in gorgeous blue colours, especially the metallica blue. And I said outloud, "that's my guitar." Like the guitar I HOPED I would someday find it in, shape, colour, EVERYTHING. Thank you SO much for introducing me (and everyone) else to this amazing brand! I NEVER would've found out about them otherwise!
I literally just did the math this morning. And my collection of almost all of the Firefly models (including these 2), LP $220 LG $180 Dobro $160 TL $180 LV $275 LX $275 JA $175 338 $200 My memory of price,tax, and shipping is terrible but collection costs $1500-$1750. They are all Beautiful, and I’m not afraid to play wear and tear into any of them. Don’t get me wrong, I’d trade em all this minute for most any Gibson Standard LP. But not for a Studio.
Thanks for this and other great vids! I really like that V, hmmm, seems I can afford an electric guitar! Have loved my acoustic for a long time. Got rid of my last electric guitar around middle school, after my band broke up. We were terrible. Now 63, haha, and want to learn some riffs, rock of course! One little question: you say in several vids that you add gain. I think that is primarily using gain in the amp rather than the controls on the guitar? I'm talking about when I hear you play with some cool distortion and it sounds really great for rock. Seems to me you can only add so much gain with the guitar's controls and you may refer to the amp? THANKS! Keep up the good work, you are really helpful for people of all levels.
I put a strip of stick on rubber on the lower leg. I now own 12 FF guitars for less than the cost of a Gibson LP Standard. The frets ARE NOT Stainless Steel but they are ball ended, polished pretty good and I bought 6 from their latest drop. :)
I bought a Firefly 335 about a year ago and a Firefly Batburst LP in red just recently and love them as much as my real Gibson LP and fender strat. They all play nice but the Firefly's are a whole lot less expensive !
I went thru several G Explorers before getting my Les Paul Costom ... a 78 with the trem set up. I loved the Explorers but have never looked back. I wore out the original trem bridge and replaced it with a exactly the same unit. I play it every week. I also put Toni Iommi pickups (MUCH cleaner than the originals) and put push pull pots so I can switch to single pole sound on demand with out messing with the original appearance.
How did you get those fireflies into canada? I've been trying to contact them for over a year and they will not answer and they will not fulfill an order to Canada on their website
I have both the V and Explorer. Both are really good guitars, and stupid good for the money. The Explorer had some neck dive. I moved the strap button to the base of the heel - balances perfectly now. No, I dont care about the old screw hole. I play classical seated, so no issues there either. Both are stock, the only work beyond setup is the nut slots are now cut / dialed in and both are great players.
Keep up the good work. Question for you. The guitars in the videos show exposed black humbuckers. The guitars on the Guitar Gardens website show humbuckers with a chrome cover. If I buy one, which pickups am I getting? I noticed the same is true of reviews I have seen of the FFPR on other channels. Given the problem with microphonic pickups, I want to make sure if the pickups from the guitar on the website are the pickups without microphoning. Thanks!
HAVE MY PRAYERS BEEN ANSWERED? Did my offerings work? Darrell is covering a V!!! Holy hell! Also when playing a V sitting down putt it between your legs like a classical guitar. It’s so comfortable like that. I say that as a V lover! Edit: oh noooo they put the input Jack in the worst place possible! The idea place is on the upper horn like with Jackson’s and the Dave Mustaine Gibsons.
Awesome videos always enjoy seeing something different than a Fender or Gibson. Btw when are you reviewing Hamer guitars, they are low cost but great guitars for the price.
I just went through the web site and can't find any indication about stainless steel frets. I hope Darrel can answer this one because I really want to know as well.
Darrell, Thank you for the great video and awesome guitars :) It seems the guitar you showing here on this video the finish and the pickups are not the same showed at the website. Do you know why or the pictures are just off and not what you actually buy?
Thanks for the review, Darrell! I'm curious if the headstock on the V is advantageous to the Explorer one. I assume both have a fairly high angle but I couldn't tell too well from the video. I would not like the V for playing seated but if the headstock is loads better, maybe I'd compromise.
I heard a difference. The thin neck had more "chime" to it. Noticed it more on the clean sounds. I have a thick head so maybe that affected my hearing. Great fun thanks.
Impressed to see SS frets on these but in my experience the issues with cheap imports isn't just sharp fret ends. They almost always have a few poorly laid frets that are unlevel, which in the case of SS are much harder to work with if you're not a pro and need to level them due to buzzing/dead spots. I may try the Explorer. I'd prefer the V but the volume knob is in a bad location for me.
Thank you for pointing this out. Just because a guitar has many features that you find on a high-end guitar doesn't mean it's a high-end guitar it can still be poorly constructed and poorly built. Who cares if it has stainless steel frets if the fret wire is coming out of the fretboard. Who cares about a flame Maple neck if it's unstable. Etc.
@Camilo Lopez I've tried newer imports. I thad 2 of the new epiphones (a Les Paul modern and a 335 limited edition). Both had poorly installed frets with lots of buzzing. I've been playing a long time so I was able to do a grind and polish/fret level but the average player might not be able to. I will say it seems to be a much bigger problem on Chinese made guitars. Almost every one I've played has had fret problems. Indonesian made guitars have definitely improved but still have occasional fret issues. Korean guitars have certainly been high quality for years. I'm not a nitpicker and don't expect perfection for a cheap guitar. I honestly don't care about cosmetic issues but poorly installed frets are a constant irritation. It's not as simple as swapping out cheap pickups or hardware.
@@beefnacos6258 Right on! I wish more reviewers would focus on the details. Sure, you can't expect perfection from a cheap guitar but basic playability does matter. Lots of guitars look great on paper or hanging on a wall but if you want decent action and can't work on your own guitars these things matter.
If you know how to dress frets then small details are not a problem. But the best thing is if there's something crappy with it then just pay a luthier to fix it and you'll save a fortune instead of paying for some way overpriced Gibson or whatever.
@@plane_guy6051 SS frets are harder to work with and more expensive if you pay a luthier. If you're too cheap to buy a quality guitar then you probably won't want to fork out the cash for a fret job. It can cost as much as one of these guitars.
Since you are in Canada, how did you get those guitars. I've been in touch with Firefly, and they don't ship to Canada. I'm in Manitoba and I and 3 friends of mine would like to buy some of these guitars.... Help!!!!
Awesome video and thanks for the insite on Firefly....question after viewing this video I did go to there site(link in description) and boy do they have a selection....I didn't see anything with upgraded options...or is a across the board change...thanks very much and your videos are truly amazing...
Wait, I have NEVER heard anyone claim those SS frets before now, not from Firefly nor in the Facebook fan page. Are you sure they aren’t just ball-end nickel with a good polish job?
Just fantastic, I am a firefly fan. Like you said why buy 1 guitar when you can get 2 or 3 for less than a full price Gibson. I wouldn't say anything if they weren't of great quality in which they are. Got my I will definitely buy a lot more.
I have a Gearit semi hollow body Telecaster style guitar that I got for $91 with rounded end stainless steel polish frets that sounds great and a Toostar telecaster and a Toostar jazzmaster each for $217 that also has rounded end stainless steel polish frets that sounds great My point is you can find good budget friendly guitars under $300 with rounded end stainless steel polish frets that sounds great 🙄
When you know how to sit with a Vee, it's the easiest guitar to play sitting IMO. Been playing them for over 40 years..... Having said that the jack position on this Vee doesn't help and I think the switch on these Firefly Vee's is in a weird place too.
I have a Firefly LP and SG and both are superb! Now these V's and Explorers have stainless steel frets! Lots of the cheaper Chinese guitar brands are using the ball end stainless steel frets. Must be a Chinese company just pumping out these rounded frets by the ton!
Totally understand the Steel frets, sounds good, but not something I know a lot about. I do find that both body styles are very awkward shapes to use unless you're standing up. What kind of pick-ups are they .. they look kinda cheap, they may not be m but they look like it. Nice clean acoustic sound though, but I agree, throw in some Duncan pickups ... you probably will do it in the end The finish looks great, yup .. good review, and i pretty much agree with everything you said,, ,, which in itself is an achievement !!!
I do ...ya have to use one horn through ya leg obviously...like a classical guitar position... But ya right it is different from say a SG or a Paul sitting down Always loved V'z
Darrell could put a set of strings on a broom and make it sound killer. Almost any guitar played through a high end amp is gonna sound great. I am looking at picking up a new LTD Arrow 1000. This firefly V is very cool though - if it had a different shaped headstock it would be almost identical to the new Dave Mustaine signature...
Darrell, how can you tell on the website which models have the SS fretwork? I do see some of the FFLX claiming a "AAA+ quality" fretboard. Guessing that is it?
Ever tried playing a V sitting down...I don't recommend it lol!
You just need to put the v between your legs. But its more of a live instrument
I rarely play sitting but, when I do, I play in the "classical" position. It's actually not bad with a V-shaped guitar.
That’s actually the main reason I won’t buy a V. 😂
I had an original Gibson 'V' I got in the late 60's I traded my Lp custom to a guy from Seattle for it. I played it for years. Yes sir ...standing up. It's decades later and I still play standing up because it feels weird and awkward not to, LOL.
I have, a lot. have to straddle it between your legs, but…… 😀
Wow, they look very nice. I'm an old dude who's owned some very classic guitars like a 70's Les Paul Custom, an Angus 60's SG, and an old Fender Tele with a DiMarzio bridge pickup that was made by DiMarzio himself when he was just starting out. I was told that pickup alone is now worth a fortune and of course the guitars are too. But here's the thing. As much as they were great guitars, they were really only great because back then there was not much competition. I did have a 70's Ibanez Explorer, one of the lawsuit models and it was very nice, but besides that, there was not a lot that could compete with Gibsons and Fenders, but now you have loads of much cheaper alternatives. What I believe happened is guys my age and older who have made lots of money over their lives ( I am not one of them!), now want to buy the Gibson or Fenders they never had or are sorry they sold and will pay almost anything now to get them, so they've driven the prices through the roof. I actually bought the Gibson SG I had from a young lawyer in 1977 so he's a perfect example of the guys paying a fortune to get these guitars back again. I never paid much for my guitars at the time, like I paid $350 for the SG in 1977 dollars (inflation adjusted says that's about $1,700 which is BS - it's more like about $900 at the very most) but that's still not a lot compared to what they sell for now, and I just think the prices for old guitars is insanely out of line and I would bet a Firefly is just as good as those guitars I had. In 1980 I started buying new guitars that were coming on the market like I bought a Washburn Eagle in 1980 and the lead guitarist in our band made fun of it, calling it a 'washrag' - he was a real Gibson purist and I'm sure there's still lot's like him around but it's all a load of garbage. Anyhow, long story shorter, my advice to younger guys maybe just starting out is just get whatever works for you at the best price you can get it and just PLAY! Eddy Van Halen made his guitar out of some reject parts and he did okay for himself! ~ cheers guys.
I've been going back and forth for several months now on the "budget" brands. Harley Benton, Xavier, Indio and firefly. This video seals the deal. Thanks Darrell, great informative entertaining video as always. I'm getting a firefly!
Good luck
I have a Firefly and a Westcreek. They both are gorgeous with great necks,feel, QC however the pickups could be better yet as this price with better pickups in place far better overall deal than say Epiphone.
I have 5 Firefly Guitars.
Love them all.
Great to see the improvements.
I have Modded 4 of mine.
Number 6. Is Just
A Decision away.
I like the red-burst. I've been lurking in forums for a couple years now, you just confirmed what they'd been saying, that the quality and qc have improved. Thanks for reviewing, Darrell.
I've owned the FFLX model for a few months and absolutely love it! Can't beat the quality for the price point. 👍👍
Thank you for this comprehensive and impartial review of this FF. I own a FFLP style guitar that was original purchased based on your review. I have made a few mods and now it’s good enough to keep forever despite only having about 350 in it. Keep it up, Darrell.
I got a Firefly V about 4? months ago. I love it. The neck profile is similar to my Les Paul so it feels great. Tones are great too! Build is flawless.
You're not going to fall for this imposter in the post above trying to steal from you, are you?
@@joeking433 Nope. I will pray for them -- pray that they get herpes of the brain.
Is there a link to buy?
They have definitely gotten better. I have a blood fade lp, the only thing I changed was those microphonic pickups. Now rockin Demarzio 36th anniversary pafs! Love it!
The guy posting above is not Darrell, it's a crook imposter. Don't deal with these crooks.
I bought the Les Paul version a few months ago. I've owned many Gibson Les Pauls over the years and I have 3 vintage LP's that I play regularly. So, naturally, I was curious. For $200, why not? If the guitar sucks, I can always throw it on the fire and toast its demise with a few sentimental words and a good ale. But, it didn't suck. The setup out of the box was good (not great). But, it was a lot better than the setup on the last LP that I bought. Yes, the fret edges were a tad rough. But, that's an easy fix that you can do at home if you know what you're doing. A simple YT search will provide anyone with all they need to know to file down the fret edges.
Then, there's the pickups. They stunk and so did the pots. Replaced the pots with a good set of 500/250k pots with a coil split and installed a set of Duncan JB's. This guitar screams now. It plays great. Holds a tune very well. Its ability to intonate is excellent. Has great tone. I have no problems with this guitar at all. I actually play it quite a bit.
"I have no problems with this guitar at all"
*everything but the wood species must be changed to make it playable*
They look and sound real nice. How long until Gibson comes hunting for them like they did with Dean guitars?
I've found with the lower end guitars are starting to do stainless frets and locking tuners still for a good price, maybe the big boys should start taking a look. They're going to start to lose some business with their prices
The big boys need to grow up. Children are outsmarting them now.
Thanks for the review Darrell! Based on your opinion I am interested in Firefly. At this point the only thing stopping me from buying is the lack of published specs. I want to know the string spacing at the nut, neck width, neck thickness, neck shape, and scale length. Without such basic information I have no idea if the guitar will feel comfortable enough for me to want to play or if it will just collect dust.
Agreed. Commented on Darrell's vids before about mentioning neck specs on his vids, sometimes he has in other vids but this is stopping me from taking the plunge just to have a V. Also the neck joint, he doesn't show the back of either guitar except the tuners. When he turns the guitar back around I think I see a volute. Another vid says 43 mm nut, set neck, and I don't know if the guy was including the strings LOL but said full C shape 23-24mm neck thickness which suggests it has a neck like a log LOL. It doesn't appear that thick when Darrell flips the guitar around after showing the tuners so who knows. I'll pass on it.
"The Tape Farm" did a review on this guitar, measured the neck thickness, width down the neck (53.1 mm at the 12th), nut width (43.2mm) with a vernier caliper, weight (6.8 lbs on that one, another review was 7.6 lbs, of course wood varies), measured fretboard radius (12"), neck profile type (classic C), 24.75" scale.. all on the vid ...has a volute, set neck, this guy does neck specs thoroughly. It measured a whopping thickness of .950"/24.1 mm at the first fret, .980/24.9mm at he 12th, it does have a neck like a log lol. Not for me, I like thin necks, .750-.800". Bummer, this is for someone with big hands LOL.
They have the same scale length as the real deal and I would also say the same neck specs. I have the SG copy and it has the wider thinner neck like a real Gibson and a 24.75 scale length like the Gibson. As far as whether you will like it, well, you never know about any guitar you buy online but don't have a chance to see it before you buy it.
A friend who decided to refret a guitar with stainless steel and almost instantly regretted the decision due to sheer amount of elbow grease required for the most minor of tasks. Stainless steel fretwork requires the resources of an actual factory equipment fitted workshop!
Awesome video friend! What did you plug them into? I have the same “explorer”model and i feel the pickups are lacking for me.
I love Silverburst. looks awesome on both guitars
Great name.
This isn't silver burst, it's more of a grey burst
Great if you aren't a fan of colour. I dislike dull guitars and I think grey is about as dull as it comes. For a similar reason, I'm not fond of black guitars.
Trust me that is not silver burst I have the silver burst Firefly explorer and it's very different. The silver burst I have does not have a flame maple top and doesn't have binding on the body and it's got chrome cover double cream ceramic magnets humbuckers that don't sound that great. Maybe mines the older model and the flame top is the newer model!?
Great looking guitars, cool to see they listen to feedback from buyers too! I hope their shipping improves too, to reach a wider area. I can't order them from South America
There are some company’s that you can ship too and they will ship from them to South America
Hello darrell, I really like these guitars. In fact almost every Firefly I've seen. The problem is that customs taxes and VAT (extra tax here in Spain) cost the same or more than the guitar itself. Keep it up with your channel, it's really fantastic
The EU duty tax... I had that problems when I sent my own guitar to my wife's in the UK... They had it sit in this place, Coventry parcelforce... Till they FINALLY got to it and then said I had to pay 85 pound duty tax to get it out from there, to my wife. I was like... It's not for sale...
It's MY personal guitar... They don't listen or care.
It's like a luxury tax they are acting like...
It would be impressive if they managed to pull off a neck-through Firebird shape. (Even Gibson sometimes cheats and just does set neck on certain Firebird models).
I checked out their Website. They actually have a Firebird style guitar. It's called The FFFB
Like Garrett said, they've added a FFFB heading with Firebird style guitars. Noticed it about a month ago. They had 3 colors at the time. How can one tell from a picture but it does look like it is a neck thru design. Funny I emailed them with a request to do a Firebird back in March, kept harping on the neck thru design if they had the inclination to add that to their line up. Just coincidence I'm sure. Put my vote out there for a review video.
Owned a couple firefly out of curiosity…they were okay for the price. Hardware was a joke tho…stoptail piece legit was breaking just from string tension. Tuning was bad and pickups bad. Def just wanted to play my Gibson instead haha
I love the way these guys play and love their channels, but when they do budget guitar reviews i wonder if companies give them well setup and maintained instruments to review...
FUD
Life is too short to own and play inferior guitars. Save a little longer and get the good stuff. You know you’ll get there eventually anyway.
Buy once, cry once.
@@gtrman12887 yea when its a paid advertisement you can only wonder...
@@gtrman12887 yeah possibly. It's not dgb that's to blame though , he didn't seem impressed with Hatley benton. I got the cheapest tele and I love it as stock.
First, this is not directed at Darrell Braun. I enjoy his channel and his content. 2 Thumbs up for that. That being said, I also think that there needs to be full disclosure regarding these guitars and the reviews. Folks like to hype these guitars up, but no one talks about the horrible customer service side. If you get a good one, you're lucky. I own 8 Firefly guitars and 5 of them were pretty good out of the box and 3 were damaged. Those metrics put me at about a 63% positive experience. The damaged guitars had Nickle sized paint chips down to the bare wood, broken electronics, etc. When I reported that to their Customer Service with pictures, they emailed me and told me what beautiful guitars they were and offered me a $10 discount or I had to pay for the return shipping. A $10 discount wouldn't even begin to cover the cost of a typical professional repair for the average player. No one should have to repair a new guitar or pay to return a damaged one. That's the game that they will play with you. Fortunately, I'm a builder and tech so I have the tools, skills and parts to make the necessary repairs. The average guitar player may not be able to do that and taking it to a tech or luthier can add about $100 to the price. If Guitars Garden isn't going to stand behind their products and get their act together with their customer service then how good are they really? So keep that in mind when you give these folks your money. You're rolling the dice. The customer experience is not always roses and chocolate. The second thing that always comes to mind and, I'm speculating here, is the question of whether or not Guitars Garden is cherry picking guitars for specific TH-cam reviewers in order to get positive reviews. It baffles me that none of these popular channels get a bad guitar. I see some of the smaller channels discussing their awful customer service. Anyway, I encourage folks to do their own research and make an informed purchasing decision. Thank you.
Thanks for all you do to help people like me and enthusiasts that just want to have fun with music without a lot of coin.
I am SO glad your channel came back up in recommendations! I've saw quite a few before and up until now, I was so bummed about Harley Benton discontinuing the Explorer guitar in blue when I was highly considering it and then... THEN I now know of Firefly guitars! I went to their site and looked at the Explorers and saw TWO in gorgeous blue colours, especially the metallica blue. And I said outloud, "that's my guitar." Like the guitar I HOPED I would someday find it in, shape, colour, EVERYTHING. Thank you SO much for introducing me (and everyone) else to this amazing brand! I NEVER would've found out about them otherwise!
I literally just did the math this morning. And my collection of almost all of the Firefly models (including these 2),
LP $220
LG $180
Dobro $160
TL $180
LV $275
LX $275
JA $175
338 $200
My memory of price,tax, and shipping is terrible but collection costs $1500-$1750.
They are all Beautiful, and I’m not afraid to play wear and tear into any of them.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d trade em all this minute for most any Gibson Standard LP. But not for a Studio.
As always, Fantastic, Honest review! Thank you once again, DARRELL!⭐️⭐️👍⭐️⭐️
That explorer is cool. Looks like I know what my next guitar will be.
Thanks for this and other great vids! I really like that V, hmmm, seems I can afford an electric guitar! Have loved my acoustic for a long time. Got rid of my last electric guitar around middle school, after my band broke up. We were terrible. Now 63, haha, and want to learn some riffs, rock of course! One little question: you say in several vids that you add gain. I think that is primarily using gain in the amp rather than the controls on the guitar? I'm talking about when I hear you play with some cool distortion and it sounds really great for rock. Seems to me you can only add so much gain with the guitar's controls and you may refer to the amp? THANKS! Keep up the good work, you are really helpful for people of all levels.
They look like a great modding platform. That said stock they look and sound the nuts.
Great stuff as always sir
I put a strip of stick on rubber on the lower leg. I now own 12 FF guitars for less than the cost of a Gibson LP Standard. The frets ARE NOT Stainless Steel but they are ball ended, polished pretty good and I bought 6 from their latest drop. :)
I bought a Firefly 335 about a year ago and a Firefly Batburst LP in red just recently and love them as much as my real Gibson LP and fender strat. They all play nice but the Firefly's are a whole lot less expensive !
I think they're actually nicer than the non-USA made Fenders.
I've always wanted an explorer shaped guitar. Especially one with an FM top.
@darrellbraunguitar hey does this other account have anything to do with you?
Do you know what the radius of the neck is for the V’s? It dosnt say on the website and im thinking about picking one up, great vid!!🤘
The explorer style is killer for that price point
I went thru several G Explorers before getting my Les Paul Costom ... a 78 with the trem set up. I loved the Explorers but have never looked back. I wore out the original trem bridge and replaced it with a exactly the same unit. I play it every week. I also put Toni Iommi pickups (MUCH cleaner than the originals) and put push pull pots so I can switch to single pole sound on demand with out messing with the original appearance.
Great video Darrell, on the Flying-V model which is better...the string thru body or the stop tail piece? Where do Firefly guitars come from? Thank's
How did you get those fireflies into canada? I've been trying to contact them for over a year and they will not answer and they will not fulfill an order to Canada on their website
Hi Mike. It could be because Darrell has almost 800k subscribers.
@@davidkastin4240
Discrimination. I have the 800 but not the k
Great video as always. Also do a review on Jackson guitars.
I have both the V and Explorer. Both are really good guitars, and stupid good for the money.
The Explorer had some neck dive. I moved the strap button to the base of the heel - balances perfectly now. No, I dont care about the old screw hole.
I play classical seated, so no issues there either.
Both are stock, the only work beyond setup is the nut slots are now cut / dialed in and both are great players.
Loved the show the guitars look and sound great. whent to sight found guitars but they have chrome covers on ?
Keep up the good work. Question for you. The guitars in the videos show exposed black humbuckers. The guitars on the Guitar Gardens website show humbuckers with a chrome cover. If I buy one, which pickups am I getting? I noticed the same is true of reviews I have seen of the FFPR on other channels. Given the problem with microphonic pickups, I want to make sure if the pickups from the guitar on the website are the pickups without microphoning. Thanks!
Darrell, I know you don't do this but I would love to here you play a nice extended solo. You're a monster player!
Agreed!!
I want this V but can't figure out where to buy one??
HAVE MY PRAYERS BEEN ANSWERED? Did my offerings work? Darrell is covering a V!!! Holy hell! Also when playing a V sitting down putt it between your legs like a classical guitar. It’s so comfortable like that. I say that as a V lover!
Edit: oh noooo they put the input Jack in the worst place possible! The idea place is on the upper horn like with Jackson’s and the Dave Mustaine Gibsons.
Works ok with 90 degree guitar cord
Hey Darryl...how did you get the Firefly guitars...they apparently don't send to Canada!?
Awesome videos always enjoy seeing something different than a Fender or Gibson. Btw when are you reviewing Hamer guitars, they are low cost but great guitars for the price.
They look amazing mate. Only problem is I’d have more luck findings hen’s teeth than one of these anywhere online in the UK
Aloha from Hawaii 🏝️
I have a Firefly FFLP Classic 2020 blueberry burst & glad I got it 👍
Does Firefly indicate SS frets? I cant seem to find it on their website. Is it the entire line that's been upgraded?
I just went through the web site and can't find any indication about stainless steel frets. I hope Darrel can answer this one because I really want to know as well.
love my fflx in greenburst.
no complaints.
sold my gibson explorer.
Darrell, Thank you for the great video and awesome guitars :) It seems the guitar you showing here on this video the finish and the pickups are not the same showed at the website. Do you know why or the pictures are just off and not what you actually buy?
These guitars don't exist on firefly's website :(
I wish more companies made firebird style guitars such a under rated body shape
I checked out their Website. They actually have a Firebird style guitar. It's called The FFFB
Thanks for the review, Darrell! I'm curious if the headstock on the V is advantageous to the Explorer one. I assume both have a fairly high angle but I couldn't tell too well from the video. I would not like the V for playing seated but if the headstock is loads better, maybe I'd compromise.
Does Firefly ship to Canada or just to Darrell?
Dude those are some sic looking guitars🤘🤘🤘
I would love another V, and I hate the big pickguard most go with, but the toggle switch placement on that thing is cursed.
Do we know why they are so hard to find for sale? Were they a limited time run? That FFLX is exactly what I want
Hi Darryl, just curious what the duty to import to Canada is?
I heard a difference. The thin neck had more "chime" to it. Noticed it more on the clean sounds. I have a thick head so maybe that affected my hearing. Great fun thanks.
Impressed to see SS frets on these but in my experience the issues with cheap imports isn't just sharp fret ends. They almost always have a few poorly laid frets that are unlevel, which in the case of SS are much harder to work with if you're not a pro and need to level them due to buzzing/dead spots. I may try the Explorer. I'd prefer the V but the volume knob is in a bad location for me.
Thank you for pointing this out. Just because a guitar has many features that you find on a high-end guitar doesn't mean it's a high-end guitar it can still be poorly constructed and poorly built. Who cares if it has stainless steel frets if the fret wire is coming out of the fretboard. Who cares about a flame Maple neck if it's unstable. Etc.
@Camilo Lopez I've tried newer imports. I thad 2 of the new epiphones (a Les Paul modern and a 335 limited edition). Both had poorly installed frets with lots of buzzing. I've been playing a long time so I was able to do a grind and polish/fret level but the average player might not be able to. I will say it seems to be a much bigger problem on Chinese made guitars. Almost every one I've played has had fret problems. Indonesian made guitars have definitely improved but still have occasional fret issues. Korean guitars have certainly been high quality for years. I'm not a nitpicker and don't expect perfection for a cheap guitar. I honestly don't care about cosmetic issues but poorly installed frets are a constant irritation. It's not as simple as swapping out cheap pickups or hardware.
@@beefnacos6258 Right on! I wish more reviewers would focus on the details. Sure, you can't expect perfection from a cheap guitar but basic playability does matter. Lots of guitars look great on paper or hanging on a wall but if you want decent action and can't work on your own guitars these things matter.
If you know how to dress frets then small details are not a problem. But the best thing is if there's something crappy with it then just pay a luthier to fix it and you'll save a fortune instead of paying for some way overpriced Gibson or whatever.
@@plane_guy6051 SS frets are harder to work with and more expensive if you pay a luthier. If you're too cheap to buy a quality guitar then you probably won't want to fork out the cash for a fret job. It can cost as much as one of these guitars.
Can’t wait to watch another awesome video by the best guitar reviewer on TH-cam! Keep up the great work Darrell!
Thanks brother!
Hey Darrell, I purchased a Gibson Explorer earlier this year, i love it, But i will definitely check into these guitars ! thx
If frets suck…I do not buy! I have put Gibson Vs back on the rack for this reason. Great review sparks my interest
I bought the blue Firebird version and I love it. great guitar I even bought a new bridge to put on it haven't needed to put it on yet
Since you are in Canada, how did you get those guitars. I've been in touch with Firefly, and they don't ship to Canada. I'm in Manitoba and I and 3 friends of mine would like to buy some of these guitars....
Help!!!!
Awesome video and thanks for the insite on Firefly....question after viewing this video I did go to there site(link in description) and boy do they have a selection....I didn't see anything with upgraded options...or is a across the board change...thanks very much and your videos are truly amazing...
Hi Darrell, No link to where I can buy one? Can't seem to find a website with these new Fireflys.
Wow serious sustain! The pick ups sound great.
The SUSTAIN comes from the Distorted Amp.
The way you hold a Flying V is an absolute eyesore and rage inducing but aye, you gotta go what you gotta do!
I have 4 of them and I'm glad I got them when I did. They are gone now, supplies are extremely limited.
Definitely digging these. It’s a not ugly take on the explorer as well!
Those updates make Firefly guitars a great guitar to start with…although the shape of the guitars is probably for standing.
Wait, I have NEVER heard anyone claim those SS frets before now, not from Firefly nor in the Facebook fan page. Are you sure they aren’t just ball-end nickel with a good polish job?
When I saw the cover image I thought you were gonna cover Dean! Lol if I ever got a non-traditional shaped guitar, I'd like to try a Dean ML.
Just fantastic, I am a firefly fan. Like you said why buy 1 guitar when you can get 2 or 3 for less than a full price Gibson. I wouldn't say anything if they weren't of great quality in which they are. Got my I will definitely buy a lot more.
Just placed an order for a Gibson ES 335.
Hoping to have one of your guitar...😁... Enjoy watching your video most of all on guitar build... Keep on rocking and godbless
I was thinking of getting a Harley Benton explorer, but now I’m reconsidering… Thanks bro for the epic reviews🥶
Been wanting to try the FFLX for a while now. They both look and sound great.
Some crook is trying to rip you off in the post above. Don't even deal with them.
@@joeking433 I am aware, but thank you, sincerely. This is becoming more and more common. Good man looking out for others. Thank you.
@@benpowersguitar I feel I need to get the word out as much as possible. I'd hate to see anyone get ripped off. Thanks for the reply!
I have a Gearit semi hollow body Telecaster style guitar that I got for $91 with rounded end stainless steel polish frets that sounds great and a Toostar telecaster and a Toostar jazzmaster each for $217 that also has rounded end stainless steel polish frets that sounds great
My point is you can find good budget friendly guitars under $300 with rounded end stainless steel polish frets that sounds great 🙄
When you know how to sit with a Vee, it's the easiest guitar to play sitting IMO. Been playing them for over 40 years.....
Having said that the jack position on this Vee doesn't help and I think the switch on these Firefly Vee's is in a weird place too.
Just curious how and where did you get these into Canada I live in Windsor and tried Firefly they say doesn't ship to Canada
Hey Darrell! Do you think that they’ll the same upgrades to their LP style guitars?! I really wanna buy one of these! Thank you in advance
Are these guitars suitable for metal?
If Firefly was around in the late 80's I definitely would've purchased one.
I have a Firefly LP and SG and both are superb! Now these V's and Explorers have stainless steel frets! Lots of the cheaper Chinese guitar brands are using the ball end stainless steel frets. Must be a Chinese company just pumping out these rounded frets by the ton!
Here's another criminal trying to rip me off in the post above. They disgust me and they deserve what they get!
350 EUR HB guitars have SS frets as well and baked maple necks and a Tusq nut.
Totally understand the Steel frets, sounds good, but not something I know a lot about.
I do find that both body styles are very awkward shapes to use unless you're standing up. What kind of pick-ups are they .. they look kinda cheap, they may not be m but they look like it.
Nice clean acoustic sound though, but I agree, throw in some Duncan pickups ... you probably will do it in the end
The finish looks great, yup .. good review, and i pretty much agree with everything you said,, ,, which in itself is an achievement !!!
I do ...ya have to use one horn through ya leg obviously...like a classical guitar position... But ya right it is different from say a SG or a Paul sitting down Always loved V'z
Hearing that Explorer-body play clean was kinda funny. 😎
Hi Darrell love the reviews on Firefly guitars can you let me know how we can get them in Australia?
Is that one of the backing tracks from elevated jam track been played at the start. Like it already 👍👍
I see no mention of SS frets on FF's website. Am I missing something?
Have you tried the double neck yet ? I was curious about them if they come back in
Darrell could put a set of strings on a broom and make it sound killer. Almost any guitar played through a high end amp is gonna sound great. I am looking at picking up a new LTD Arrow 1000. This firefly V is very cool though - if it had a different shaped headstock it would be almost identical to the new Dave Mustaine signature...
Darrell, how can you tell on the website which models have the SS fretwork?
I do see some of the FFLX claiming a "AAA+ quality" fretboard. Guessing that is it?
Swing and a miss on the V head stock , but love the Explorer and the headstock.
Is Gibson going to sue them?
Great video Darrell 👍👍
Thanks man!
It's not V and Explorer. Explorer and Flying V are names Gibson use for their guitars.
What amp were you using while playing the explorer with the crunch tone?