Is This $269 Guitar REALLY Rosewood? It weighs 9.4 lbs!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Firefly Guitars is famous for making super affordable, high quality guitars, and often guitars are not the same as every other budget brand. Here's a great example! With stainless steel rounded ball end frets, locking tuners, brass block 2 point bridge (that actually stays in tune!), alnico pickups, and an impressive "composite rosewood" body... all for $269!? Let's do a 1-take, unedited unboxing, demo, and review here on the Guitar MAX channel!
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I like these unedited one take videos..
Max asking viewers to consider subscribing while pointing a large blade at the screen is pure gold. Yes sir, Mr. Max whatever you say. Consider me a subscriber.
I have this guitar from their first run. It is amazing and as an owner of another 5 Firefly's I'd say it's their finest product.
That's a pretty good endorsement. Thanks. I've been thinking about getting an affordable guitar and hoping to find something that doesn't need a bunch of work.
@@comfortablynumb9342 I have 3 Fireflys . The pots needed to be replaced on 2 right out of the box. They were useless .The tuners only hold tune a short while, but if you aren't gigging they'll do til you get around to replacing. They do sound pretty good in general tho, w good to fantastic sounding pickups and str8 necks.
@@comfortablynumb9342I had their version of an SG and it really was a good guitar and well made , I did however change the tuner's and pickups and it played amazing. Was almost as nice as my Epiphone SG pro G400 and not as heavy...
@@terryenglish7132 Just use a Luthier's knot to tie them off, and they'll never slip.
@@art.is.life.eternal Thanks, I guess you mean the tuners. I always secure strings well. The slippage is internal. Just crappy parts tolerance I'm assuming.
I watched this review last week and as a result I ordered the guitar from Guitar Garden. Thanks for the review - everything you said about the guitar is absolutely correct. Right out of the box the setup was perfect. The intonation was spot on. I was looking for a Strat but I never thought that I could get such a quality guitar for that price!
Yes! These are great. I just bought the Firefly Rosewood Telecaster.
I know that in this video, you didn't get to it, but my Tele has full size pots and cloth covered pickup wires. The selector switch seems nice and tight. The bridge is a Wilkinson with solid brass saddles. It has the same locking tuners and stainless frets as the Strat. Oh! And they used that black shielding paint in the control cavity. Firefly has more than made an effort on these, they succeeded. I'm sure I'll be buying more from them.
What brass ,mainly zinc ,spelter ,proper brass is 70 /30 AND 80 /20 , THE STAINLESS FRETS WILL BE CHROME IRON ,STAINLEESS STEEL WAS FIRST MADE BY FIRTH BROWNS IN SHEFFIELD ENGLAND ,MY HOME TOWN ,THIS IS JUST CHEAP SHIT
That guitar sounds really kick ass. Firefly making some nice guitars.
I have been eyeing this one for a month or so. My brain says I need it but my back says NO YOU DON'T. It sounds amazing.
Get it. Back surgery has come a long way and there's always a chair.
@@WhippJunior I'm in his position, 56 years old with back and joint problems. Yep you can always take a seat !
@@timrobinson9192 Back surgery in '93 still holding up so....
I have this and the rosewood Tele and love both of them.
I love that you have a P-38 Lightning model in the background. My dad flew a P-38 in WWII doing photo recon for the Army Air Force fighting Nazis in Europe.
I noticed the P-38 in just about all of Max's videos.
Big salute to your Dad. MY Dad flew a C-47 on D-day, dropping paratroops.
I have been playing a composite guitar for about 10 years and love it. Heavy as all get out, but changes in weather don't affect it at all.
That's what I was thinking
What's the brand ?
@terryenglish7132 it's a Switch Innovo IV. The company only existed for 5 or 6 years.
I think its a cool concept. Heavy is ok with me so long as its somewhat balanced. I would like to hear it with ceramic p/ups to warm up the tone. Lots of cool features for the price point and anytime a standard trem and well cut nut bring tuning stability its a beautiful thing
It is a polyester resin, so the main body and neck are one piece with what looks and feels like an ebony fingerboard. The sustain is great.
He says " please consider subscribing" with knife in hand, lol🤣🤣
I just thought that was funny for no particular reason.
But yeah man i just got hip to these Firefly guitars, they have a few models, but it would seem that they have a bunch of the explorer type models, which look very cool too.
I think it was a great idea for them to make a model out of a more exotic wood .
Most of the cheaier ones are made from basswood, in which i like, but they don't balance well and have neck dive.
Also basswood doesn't take abuse very well either.
I have been wanting to see a rosewood guitar for a long time now, thank you for the video.
I got the rosewood tele over a month ago and it is the one I'm playing the most now. Not sure why, but it has the best sustain of all my electrics... maybe the composite rosewood? Also, this is not mentioned much, the Firefly neck is slightly wider than Fender and Squire necks. The E strings are slightly more "inside" the neck and I really like that. Coming from playing classical guitars, I like the wider neck.
They have a Tele version of this as well on the website. I'm sure you'll get around to reviewing that one, too. Excellent work. People worry too much about the name on the headstock. There are some amazing guitar values out there if you're not concerned about the name on the headstock.
max, i love the unedited vids, thanks! and i shouldn't play heavier guitars, as i have back issues - my 6er is a michael kelly enlightened patriot, with the chambered body, which is much easier on my back
Authentic Stratocaster sounds. Love that. I wish the pick guard was a light color instead of black, but that can sure be modded. There won’t be any neck dive with that super heavy body.
That’s one cool looking guitar. If it were me, a wood pickguard of maple would look amazing.
Gotta thank you Max. I Have a nice Firefly collection. Bought the Rosey Tele 2 weeks ago and the Strat was shipped today.
This guitar is the best of the 3 that you have tested lately! This sounds awesome with your Boss and amps! It has a really rich dark balanced sound that you would expect from a rosewood Strat shaped guitar!
Great video Max you ROCK my friend and I have always trusted your complete honesty thanks Ernie
Been waiting for this one. Sweet.
Sweet guitar. Thanks for the rundown Max. My pocketbook might take a little hit on this one,,,, lol
Reminds me of George Harrison's Telecaster. It's gorgeous, and I'm a sucker for dark wood. Firefly guitars are amazing value; you get so much for your money. I'd take this over a Squier any day - you get higher-end Fender features for a fraction of the price. For those who can't or don't want to pay a fortune, this is a great budget guitar, and I'd rather have 3-4 guitars than one expensive one.
I really like the dark wood too. Looks awesome. And I need a new guitar. Mine is well and truly worn out. I've had it since I was in 8th grade in around 88. I'd love to get it fixed up with new frets and pots and tuners, but it would probably cost a lot more than a new Firefly. I'm not thrilled with a 9 lb guitar but it's not the end of the world.
I've been watching some videos about affordable but decent guitars. It seems like Harley Benton and Firefly are both good values.
@@comfortablynumb9342 Fortunately you mentioned the 2 areas where Fireflies suck. The tuners are ok , but call out for replacement. The pots are complete garbage and definitely need to be replaced. The pickups are fine. The bridge HB on my Explorer clone is one of the best pickups I've ever heard.
Max, I really like these videos. Thank you for making this style. Gorgeous guitar. The body construction is like a marshmallow sandwich 🙂 There was a company back in the 80's I think that made guitars out of a composite they called rockwood (spelling?). They were very nice guitars. Can't remember the actual brand other than it wasn't the Hohner Rockwood, which is a guitar model. Anyway this seems very similar. Firefly just keeps getting better and better.
I just bought one. Got a FFSP a month ago and have been so blown away with it. Shouldn't have bought this but also haven't stopped thinking about it since it dropped on the site. I am very eager.
I absolutely love this look. I didn't get one, I got a Squire Affinity. But that little regret nags at me. The good news is they're not terribly expensive and it's an achievable second guitar.
Hi Max. Keep up the one take reviews. Love ‘em !
Am impressed with that bridge.Brass block. I couldn’t believe it stayed in tune. Im not a strat guy, but Impressed with firefly
I now have seven Firefly guitars because of you
The Gibson Sonex mystery wood formula. Excellent material for filling divots in a rosewood fingerboard.
Live my Sonex!
That’s really nice especially for the price. Thanks for showing it.
Thanks, I've been looking at that model. I have 2 Firefly guitars for 3 years now; a 338 type, and a LP style and no complaints. At 70 something, I play sitting down most of the time so weight is ok. Good point about balancing that weight if you stand. Get strap in sweet spot and even heavy guitars will "float" so to speak. ❤
Wow that's a beautiful guitar Max😎🤘
Great video. Love the format.
This thing sounds incredible. I'm a firm believer that most of the sound is in the amp, but you can absolutely hear the difference between a crappy pickup and a nicely made pickup. These are really good. They definitely do sound very fat, full, and strong for single-coils. The bridge looks like nice hardware for sure.
The composite body? I'm mostly ambivalent about it. Don't love it, don't hate it. Feels kinda fake, but also, the proof is in the pudding; it sure ain't hurting the sound, that's for sure. I don't like that it's heavy, that's the one thing that would definitely turn me away. The Ibanez S-series is my ideal guitar. Super thin, super light. It's just my preference. A regular strat is fine too, but why get one that weighs 9lbs when I can get one that weighs 6.5? 🤷♂
Very nice segment, and very professional
been watching this channel for a while now. Great job.
Unbelievable, I have not seen a rosewood body on a Strat style guitar since 1965 and the guitar the lead played in a band I was in! Brings back memories, loved that guitar's feel...heft made it feel so solid. Good looking instrument!!
I remember George Harrison had a rosewood Telecaster that he played.
Another great video of Firefly guitars and affordable guitars !! I have two Fireflies, one Telecaster and a 338 , guess I collect but can't play a note,I have around 13 guitars. Don't worry about the haters keep doing you ! Love the videos Love Heavy Metal and Love you 😊
19:38 Just a quick question:
Did you stretch the strings when you first got the guitar before you started tuning it? If not, that might be the reason why it kept detuning during the demo.
FTR, I just recently bought the Firefly Rosewood TELE, and I love it. It's a great tribute to George on the rooftop.
I'll bet the Strat is equally good. It seems to be, according to your excellent video here.
The weight of a guitar doesn't bother me, since at my age, I do most of my playing while seated.
Keep up the good work, Max!
I have the Rosewood Strat and Tele version. Very nice guitars. Yes they are heavier than my other strats but not noticeable when you are playing. They are very good sounding and the hardware is impressive for this price point. I would like to ask for your help on one item. Mine came in minus the tremolo bar. I am having a hard time finding the correct one. Could you maybe give me the specs for the bar or point me to a link on say Amazon to order one. I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks and great video. Keep them coming.
MAX, kudos for keepin' "the pedal to the metal" on the issue of inexpensive builds (esp. offerings from China); which go WELL beyond just qualifying as "decent repros", and into the realm of the "truly innovative". I have a few MIC examples of this approach (some actually unbranded!), which leave me wondering WHY we aren't seeing such innovation from the (still existing) "originators" of these designs. @ any rate, I say: Smoke em' while U got 'em!
Goodness gracious! I wasn't gonna buy another strat but you making it hard. 😮😮😮
Fun fact: this and the telecaster version is based off of a set of guitars Fender made in the late 60s for Jimmi Hendrix and George Harrison respectively. You can see the tele on the beatles rooftop recordings, but Hendrix passed before he ever had the chance to play his.
If that neck had a maple skunk stripe? Chef’s kiss. As it is, it’s already a 100% stunner. Way to go Firefly!!
What a great looking guitar. I have figured that when guitars' wood are listed on Amazon as "Body Material: mahogany", it's more than likely a composite. Opening them up usually confirms this. I'm alright with it, they're well below $300. You shouldn't expect all to be solid wood.
Like that knife too..where did you get the wig ..?
Dammit Max! I was doing great until I watched this. So it’s on the way, should have it next week. I love your naked reviews and enjoy many of the guitars you’ve opened. I’d love to see a review of a dean zelensky LaVoce.
Maybe--The older we get ,The more we like Light. I might not be able to gig with it , but I still want one, looks like a keeper to me.
I was watching a lot of demos on squire but I may get the firefly after watching this
That line around the body is from the seam on the two piece casting mold when it was formed.
Yeah those pups sound loud and clear with a good crunch.
Certainly not what i was expecting from single coils
The walnut color of this guitar brings tears to my eyes. In 1972, while I was overseas in the Navy, I bought a Gibson SG through the Commissary that had this same walnut finish. Later in the mid-nineties, it was in my storage locker in Jacksonville, FL, while I was apartment hunting. Some low-life thief broke into my locker, trashed the entire unit, and stole my beautiful Gibson SG. I didn’t care about the other contents, I just mourned the loss of my guitar. Damn.
Love the unboxing!!🤘🏻🎸🤘🏻🎸🤘🏻🎸!! This guitar is beautiful ands great too!! Thank you Max for the demo and true review!!
some people have a difficulty holding a heavy guitar. so it's good to have some lightweight options available.
It looks so satisfying
Soon I'll be looking for a new guitar. I don't want anything too cheep or too expensive. As long as it stays in tune and sounds good. I haven't played in too many years but I have had a major itch to play guitar again for many years now. It will be time for me to get a guitar again soon :)
Firefly has done it again! An amazing guitar! Although I sense the pickups are quite higher output than the usual pickups Fender sells. If it has low output set like a 57/62, I am buying one!
Great video as always. I'm curious. What do you plug your boss simulator into? Do you have a 10-in speaker? Cab that you plug it into for this video? Or is it going through monitor speakers? That's the part I'm missing and I think of a lot of us don't understand the true usefulness of these simulators which are awesome but taking it from there. Where do we plug it into? Thanks Max. Keep rocking you the best
That bridge is very nice. My American Fender Strat came with one like that @ 5x the cost. I bought another bridge that was better, but that new bridge cost $300. Yeah, this is a smokin' deal from Firefly.
Your the best Max, love these vids.
Thanks a ton!
Great foto finish
Very pretty guitar. I guess its not a 'real' wood finish but it looks great to me! I had a plywood strat in the 80s and this thing blows that away .. so we've come a long way.. lol.
Nice way of dealing with the drop off of rosewood processing.
Is it a veneer on the top to give you a grain look?
Great! Now I want one
Beautiful guitar
I like how he eyeballed the neck relief when the strings weren't up to tension
Can you saw a chuck out of this one too i want to see what the inside looks like or at least do a tear down video on it
I almost bought that guitar from Guitar Garden; I was looking for a guitar to learn how to do set up and upgrades without worrying about making a mistake on my more expensive Stratocaster.
9 1/2 pounds seemed a little heavy to me, so I went with the Firefly ffsps spalted maple top - Les Paul style guitar because I already had a Stratocaster, and the Les Paul wasn't as heavy (It sounds funny that I decided on the Les Paul because it was lighter). When the guitar arrived, it needed some relief in the truss rod, but other than that, the guitar was good to go.
Will you check you the ml ffvx when the new models come out? That purple sandblasted one looks sick, I recently got one of the blue flame topped ones its pretty killer
A rose wood body is a custom shop request, go Fire fly. They did it again 😂!!!
I definitely dig this 🪓
You rock dude ! Thanks for another great review ! 🤘
Looks good as it is but it might look better to. use Howards RESTORE A SHINE. Polishing Compound on the Body and leave the neck and headstock Mat as it is. Also, Beef that Violin up w/ Some Generic Hot Rails in the Bridge and neck. HSH.! Oh ya
Max, really like your one take videos. Of course unboxing is always good. That Firefly is a great deal. Like others from them. I have one Tele style and a Les Paul clone. Had them a couple years now, and love how they sound and play. Great channel Max....OG in Montana
I notice at least some of their new Teles have a thinner neck. Is yours in that category, or is it more like your Paul ?
I got the telecaster and I hate telecaster but now it's my favorite guitar. I have everything from custom fender to gibson. Thers just something about this rosewood tele.
I don't mind a heavier guitar when it comes to the body as it helps with sustain. I don't need another strat style guitar, but that one is making me want another one as I have a Harley Benton super strat TB 620
Good playing, impressive straight out of the box. If they can mold that body material, maybe they can mold about 3 pounds out of it for people that don't play gibson solid body guitars.
Just gorgeous...... And seems to work, as well!!!!!
ThanxMax!!!that
I would have subscribed, but when asked you pointed a knife at me! ;-) by the way - there are several rosewoods. But hey - out of the box, this is a rather cool axe.
@GuitarMAXMusic_TEIEG-RAM I am sorry. This YT account is my only connection .
During xmas of 2023 I was able to procure to brand new Firefly strats for under $300.00 for the pair.
One was white and had a cool relic look with a Humbucker (HSS) in the bridge and one was pure white (SSS) with no relic and both of them had more features than a high end Fender strat. For example, both had upgraded strap pins, locking tuners, bone nut, stainless steel frets, roasted maple necks, alder bodies, large blocks and alnico 5 pups.
These guitars are amazing.
I only wish the company would put out different necks on them, as I can only enjoy a thicker neck i.e. soft V or medium C and these all come with a modern C neck. Just my 2 cents worth. Peace.
I need a beefy neck too or I get carpal tunnel problems. I'd call most of my FF necks a beefy C , they're all bigger than a Squier or Fender C.
Oh btw . The Jimmy Vaughn Strat necks are pretty beefy, basically a Baja Tele neck as a Strat.
At the GG website, looking at one now!
I have a solid rosewood Telecaster that is NOT weight relieved, its weight is just shy of 11 pounds.
That said, I love it. For some reason I had to switch that rosewood Tele to steel saddles on the bridge, it sounded way too dark (possibly die to the dense rosewood).
Another strange thing, none of my clip on tuners work very well on it, its like all the vibration has been attenuated by the time it gets to the headstock where the tuner is clipped!
The bridge Tele pickup rocks, and sounds like an angry P90.
I don't wish to debate tonewoods for electric guitars, however, my rosewood Tele is the darkest sounding electric guitar I own!
Literally bought the Les Paul version a week after discovering one of your videos on these
They're great guitars for the price!
It looks awesome, but not a fan of the tremlo system ;) yes on the compound radius!
I just sent a Sire T-7 back because of a faulty volume pot. Soooo I ordered the Firefly rosewood tele. The sire was beautiful and great playability but after 13 yrs of buying from that vender it seems they skipped the 55 point inspection….
I like the tele
Are those lines on the body from a veneer or are they hundreds of lines of poured rosewood composite material? The heel of the neck has the same appearance. Which makes me think veneers are being used. I don't know how a large hunk of rosewood should look.
I wouldn't want a guitar that heavy. I own an eight and a half pound guitar and that is about the limit of comfort for me. This Firefly does look good. The pickups are missing too much mid range and bass in all positions. If the neck is actual carved rosewood and not a composite, alone such a piece of wood for a Stratocaster replacement neck would cost $500. Maybe it would be worth it to upgrade the electronics on this. It certainly sounded like it needs a setup.
It's a beauty, but I have a question - does it smell like rosewood??
I've sanded a lot of real Brazilian rosewood and it is VERY fragrant and I wonder if this feature gets lost when it's mixed with that epoxy or whatever to make it composite.
Thx.
@GuitarMAXMusic_TEIEG-RAM
I don't have a telegram account. I tried to email, but that didn't go through.
Really impressed with this guitar, I'm getting one
Just mite be too heavy, but I could excuse it for the price.
It didn't really go Out Of Tune very much considering its brand new and it looks beautiful.... I wonder if they have a telly cuz I don't like tremeloes.. is that made in the same place as Harley Benton??
The red shirt is back. Sooooooo sick
I trust what you say and do about these guitars . I never thought you were trying to sell the product just show us what is our there and cheap and of quality. Peace f the haters keep up the great show. Vinny Vincent. No not that one but close lol
Just looking at this guitar the other day. Already sold out. Suppose the Explorer style guitars they currently have available are also killer. And also, probably will not last. This is the Golden Age of inexpensive but good guitars. Can you tell if the grain on it is the way the composite cures? Or is it silkscreened onto it?
Are you going to do the Telecaster version of the same type build?
Can confirm composite resin adds a fuck ton of weight to a guitar. I have a Gibson Sonex, which has a mahogany core surrounded by a super thick layer of resin. I think it weighs about 10lbs. It's super heavy, to the point that I really don't play it often even though it's my favorite guitar.
I love the way this guitar looks and sounds, but I won't be getting it because of the weight.
Heavy 6 string bass user, plus old LP, plus Enya X4 Pro, so heavy not an issue. Very curious about the ding and dent factor, not that I abuse my gear. Does a ding show as milky? and I assume that a ding happens less than, say, mahogany; true?
Perhaps that heavy and dense composite material is heavy but it sounds great.
My poor guitar from the late 80s is worn out and I bet it would cost a lot more to fix it than to buy a guitar like the one in the video. I like the color and it sounds awesome. And apparently it doesn't need a lot of setup work.
Flaxwood makes full composite wood guitars, also sells composite necks.
I have Telecaster with flaxwood neck and guitar hasnt need any adjustements ever over many years, neck is just that stable and doesnt care temperature/air humidity changes
Greetings from 🇫🇮
@@jkarra2334 cheers from Virginia!
My old Westone guitar, built in the 80s and truly beat, still stays in tune. It's never needed much work but now the frets are gone. If getting new frets is affordable I'd rather do it. It really just needs a new push pull tone pot, and one tuner screw is wrong but works. I like the scars and dings.
I'll take one of those please.
Thanks for the review. I bought the Telecaster version of this guitar and it needed nothing right out of the box completely set up plays like butter. The only thing I don't like about it is how much it weighs! Thanks for all the videos.
Been eyeing it for months now
Ive been eyeing the Tele version of this on their site for a while now. But I have too many guitars at the moment. Next one I get is going to be an acoustic. And before that I need to get my acoustic bass fixed.
The Ibanez Talman electrics when they first came out were composite. They were heavy too, but when people modded it by routing the body the dust was extremely poisonous if you didn't wear a mask.
The price for such features and quality is unheard of even 15+ years ago.