Can't belive how lucky I got with this guitar. Came in flawless. No blemishes, tuners hold fine, no sharp frets, intonation was even fine, sound is incredible at this price range, playability fine, construction beyond what it should be. It is a beautiful guitar. I changed strings of course. I have been using it for recording and everyone thinks it is some really nice guitar when they hear the recordings. Again, I got lucky as quality control is really iffy and just hit or miss. Super great project guitar or first guitar on a budget. I have owned an American Strat, tele and some other great (expensive) guitars and no, it isn't one of those. But at this price, it can do a wonderful job and be very satisfying.
Seems to me that people want to justify their thousand plus dollar guitars and call these junk. The guitar price speaks volumes. If you don't want to risk having a guitar that doesn't live up to your standards then by all means do not purchase an inexpensive guitar. I've heard great musicians (real ones, not only great in their own mind and in their own bedroom) play lesser guitars and guess what, they sounded amazing still. It may be more of a player thing than a guitar thing. If you would have your multi- thousand dollar guitar to get a good setup, then do the same with this and drive on. I love the look of these and they sound pretty good out of the box.
Realistically, quality pickups cost money, quality tuners cost money, quality electronics cost money, quality wood costs money, quality craftsmanship costs money... you get what you pay for in this world. You’re not a guitar snob for wanting a guitar that lives up to your standards. Cheap guitars are great, but let’s not pretend that they’re just as good as a Gibson or a Fender.
@@sloebone7399 I agree with you. I have a Gibson and I have a bunch of cheap axes and from my experience the electronics on the cheaper ones is usually shit. Also fit and finish usually isn't on par with the cheaper guitars.
@@sloebone7399 But then there's those dummies like Jimmy Page playing a danelectro. go figure? and the price of gold foil pickups on used Kays and Silvertones.. back in the day we laughed at those guitars. Then there's the simple fact that I traded my Bigsbys off for Chinese versions, and I use Chinese locking tuners instead of Grovers. You make an argument that simply ONLY stands up now and then, not all the time.
Its hard for a guitar to be $150 new and not be junk. That doesn’t mean only $2,000 guitars are not junk. Epiphones and many Squier models are very good quality and are still cheap.
I bought one of these. The fit and finish is excellent, and remarkable for this price. The tuning machines are pretty cheap, and of a low ratio. They are hard to use, and don't hold tune. The wiring uses the 16 mm pots, but is cleanly done. The switch is fine. Hardware is OK. The pickups were OK at low volume, but they are pretty inadequate otherwise. I bought the chocolate brown model, and replaced all hardware, tuners, and pickups with gold versions. Painted the pickguard and truss rod cover gold. It is stunning now, and holds tune, and the replacement humbuckers sound great. No fret work was needed, and the neck is great. A real bargain.
Watch the video of james hetfield in the recording studio. He laughs out loud and his gajillion dollar custom ESP captured his laugh through the pick up. I believe was an EMG.
I like it that you are honest with the pros and cons, and you don't push yourself as an "internet expert." What I see is a guy who does NOT know everything, trying out a guitar that is not every thing, and that combination epitomizes most of us. We can't afford or don't want to pay $3-4000 for a guitar with issues when we can pay less for a $200 guitar that has the same basic issuse that are easily fixed by most guitarists. I just ordered my ff338 in spalted maple ($210 out the door) and if the pickups on that one are microphonic, they will be replaced by alnico pickups that are NOT. It is ceramic pickups that tend to be micriphonic. I've heard that the metal pup covers also increase the microphonic qualities and decrease the output of all pickups. That is an observation that should NOT be considered Gospel, but instead just a simple free suggestion to be considered or not by the individual consumer. I'm not a professional player, but I don't get along with cheap junk guitars, either. Asians have a history of taking pride in any waork they do, but they are also learning the immoral western ways of conning us into buying sub-par products. Americans have money but not the good sense to spend their money wisely. If guitar is magpie gaudy, an American will BUY it. That is NOT a putdown ofd Firefly, but rather a general observation of the shallow thinking and low standards of the typical American consumer.
Want to add that I think Firefly may have improved quality control vastly since this video or I just got really lucky. Bought one of these a couple months ago in blueburst. Gorgeous finish, neck straight, action perfect, inlays are flawless, headstock logo and inlay is straight (this has been crooked on some ive seen), fret work couldnt be better, not a single sharp fret and they are even perfectly dressed and rounded off, pickups sound fantastic. Feels like the steal of a lifetime for about $220 US total.
Still a lottery but I suspect they've got an edge on their Chibsons. I won the neck/frets lottery on mine too. The Chenders are a different story, I'm at 2 for 4.
Thanks for the first honest review of this guitar I have seen so far. Most reviewers are simply wowed by the fact that it doesn't fall apart coming out of the box they never delve into subjects like tuning, p/u's or electronics. It's a "Bye, Bye, Bye" for me, but if I knew someone who was limited to a couple hundred bucks (guitar and upgrades), I'd say go for it. One sure thing is they won't be $140 forever.
Bought one, had it set-up by the local luthier guru. Have ALL my guitars set-up by the local luthier guru, regardless of price. Nothing wrong with these little gems, at all. Play good, sound good, look good. These little gems are a no-brainer, folks.
I bought one a little over a month ago. After playing it in now with new Elixer 10's, she sounds great. Same tuning issues..the fix - hipshot locking tuners, new bone or brass nut. Will stick with the existing pickups for now but If I run into problems giging, will change them out. Very good review!!
Loved the microphonic test! I've never seen that before! My black Firefly became a very nice guitar after I replaced the tuners and the bridge with inexpensive upgrades I found on eBay.
@Dewane White - I play as a hobby, and mainly use solid bodies, but this was such a small risk because of the low price that I bought one just to see what it was like. I also bought their Telecaster Thinline copy, and that had a few more flaws in the finish, but it still wasn't bad. However, I don't think I'd go this route as a professional because of reliability and durability concerns, even when upgraded.
When Darrel Braun demonstrated the microphonic effect on the 338, he had the gain turned all the way up and you could hear the background noise without him making a sound. Yes, you could hear him WHEN HE SPOKE INTO THE F HOLE but it was not as loud as a true mic would be even though the gain is maxxed out.
From my own review: I’m a gigging musician, and I gotta say… I love my Firefly FF338. I've seen some reviewers and commenters complaining about minor blems and construction issues, but I must have gotten really lucky or the quality control got better when I bought mine. Right out of the box, the finish had zero issues, the binding work was flawless, the neck was straight, frets were perfect, and my inlays didn’t look messy like the ones in other videos (mine are as flawless as a 70s Gibson Les Paul). I removed the pick guard on mine and she’s just such a pretty little lady. THAT SAID… yes, the electronics in these guitars are cheap and not performance quality. If you’re a serious player and you want a semi-hollow you can gig with, you’re going to need to upgrade a few things on an FF338. First and foremost, the Firefly stock factory pickups need to go. The stock pickups sound okay and perform fine if you’re just in your bedroom jamming by yourself and you’re not looking to play this axe in a band. But for those of you who play in live bands like I do, you’ll wanna note that Firefly doesn’t wax pot their pickups. This means that if you turn up loud enough to match the volume of a drummer, it’s gonna be feedback city… Even without distortion, if you’re on the bridge pickup, it’s gonna squeal like a pissed off cat. You can correct this issue by removing the pickups and wax potting them, but I don’t see the point. They’re cheap throw-aways just like that terrible nine gauge strings that come on it. I recommend finding something much nicer to install into this guitar. For me, needing to swap out pickups isn’t a deal breaker whatsoever when it comes to buying a guitar… I don’t think I’ve left stock pickups in any of my guitars since I learned how to use a soldering gun. In fact, I think part of developing your craft as a guitarist is learning to experiment with different pickups, mixing and matching different brands and styles between the bridge and neck pickups, and trying different combinations and sequences until you find a unique tone. That’s the Peter Green approach. Mess with your guitar’s guts until it’s the only guitar in existence that sounds the way yours does. As soon as my FF338 arrived at my house, I was on the mission to find the right pickups for this guitar. My luthier buddy was ranting and raving about the Seymour Duncan “Slash series” Alnico Pro II Humbuckers. Now, I was skeptical… Slash is a good player n’all, and I’ve definitely enjoyed some GNR when I was a kid in the 90s, but I’m really more of a Duane Allman / Peter Green kinda guy. I don’t hide behind a lot distortion, so I want pickups that sound rich when played clean but also sound sweet with some fuzz. Most pickups that sound wicked with distortion sound like garbage on a clean channel. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Slash play his Les Paul clean… if not distorted he’s got a chorus pedal on it. So, this was a concern of mine when it came to Slash’s custom designed Humbuckers. But my luthier friend insisted that these Slash Seymours were boss and were diverse in tone capabilities. So I bought a set and had him install them for me (I don’t work on hollowbody guitar innards, hell no)… And once the new pickups were in, well… my luthier friend was kinda ticked off. Why? Because my little hundred and fifty dollar Firefly guitar with a two hundred dollar set of pickups now plays and sounds just as nice as the 1973 Gibson ES-335 he paid seven grand for only a few months prior. As he said “It’s like… UNFAIR dude”. Since then, I’ve dropped maybe another hundred bucks into putting a high-quality pickup selector switch that was a little less clunky/noisy, and I went ahead and installed some really nice volume and tone pots in it. I installed a nicer jack because the stock one seemed to want to push cables out and, after a year of very regular playing, it started crackling a bit. I never had an issue with the stock tuners failing to keep the guitar in tune, but I changed them out because I prefer the locking style guitar tuners. So really, aside from the very necessary pickup upgrade, everything else I’ve done to it has been more just me geeking out having fun customizing this guitar I love so much. I mean, I seriously play my FF338 for more than half my band’s set. Slap some heavy stings on it like the Ernie Ball “Not Even Slinky” strings, and you’re in for some sweet tones. Oh, and if any of you are looking for a hard case that snuggly fits a Firefly FF338, order a Gator GWE-335 (that’s Gator Cases’ design to carry a Gibson 335). This specific case fits perfectly. I don’t have to put extra pack in it or nothing. The padded lid holds it snuggly in place. It’s pretty much a perfect fit. So, there you have it… With the case and all the upgrades, I have less than $600 invested in this guitar but now have an axe that plays like a $7,000 Gibson and looks amazing. The only thing that could make me happier is if it had a zero-fret like the Gretsch Tennessee Rose, and I sometimes fantasize about installing a Bigsby bridge on it, which might happen sometime this year… But even if I add the Bigsby, I’m still only about $800 deep into this guitar, and it’s an amazing freakin guitar! I let my session buddies try it out and they can’t believe it was ever a mere $150 purchase. An additional word about premium guitar scams.. err.. I mean BRANDS: The reality for guitar players in the 21st century is that premium name guitar manufacturers have inflated their price tags to absurd amounts. Musicians touring in vans and surviving on peanut butter sandwiches can’t afford the kind of scratch Fender and Gibson wants for one of their guitars. If these guitars would have cost this much against the average blue collar wage of the 1960s (yes, considering inflation since then) we wouldn’t have photos of people like Pete Townshend in their early pre-success years playing Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats. Jimi Hendrix and his manager barely had enough money to fly to California and perform Monterey Pop, but he was willing to burn and smash his strat just for theatrics. Guitars back then just didn’t cost people what they do now, plain and simple. So, what happened? Does Gibson and Fender think today’s musicians are struggling any less than they were in the 60s and 70s? Of course not. The truth is I don’t even think that touring, professional, working musicians are even their sales demographic anymore. Just look at the guitars Gibson and Fender are putting out these days… they want three grand for a basic Les Paul Standard. Ask any luthier or guitar tech and they’ll bluntly tell you that these premium guitars are coming out of the factory with poorer and poorer quality control, less and less hand-crafting, and with features that seem more and more out of touch with a working guitarist’s needs. For example, all the new Gibson Les Pauls now have pickups which are hard-mounted to a big plastic circuit board hidden inside the body of the guitar…. Everything is machined together so you can’t change anything… meaning you can’t swap out the pickups and create a custom sound on today’s Les Pauls. My jaw hit the floor when they did that to their production. I mean… every career guitar player swaps out pickups, so what does that tell you about Gibson’s actual target audience in these current times? It’s pretty clear… they wanna sell overpriced guitars, manufactured with a fraction of the quality of their pre-1980s predecessors, to bloated old baby boomers who haven’t been in an actual band since high school, but who have more money to blow, but not enough musical know-how to realize that they’re being conned into paying thousands of dollars for a cookie-cutter circuit board with strings. That’s their target audience, not people who actually play because it’s life to them. So… all of you… Stop being conned into thinking that American Gibson and Fender products are what you simply MUST buy if anyone is gonna respect you as a professional musician. It’s just not true. Most working musicians in the modern day are doing exactly what I’ve done here… find a cheaper off-off brand guitar with a well-made neck and body, then beef it up with nice custom parts and accessories, and turn it into a dream guitar. Screw Fender and Gibson. Fender just got sued for price fixing, and Gibson had videos leak onto UA-cam of them purposefully destroying thousands of their own brand new guitars to create a supply shortage 11:44 so as to tinker with inflating the value of their guitars. These were instruments that could have been donated to poor kids, but instead they drove a CAT bulldozer over them. If you don’t believe me, search UA-cam for “Gibson Destroys Guitars” and you’ll see all the videos that leaked. Firebirds, 335s… all getting smashed. Gibson lied and tried to retort that the guitars being destroyed failed quality assurance… All lies. What they’re doing is a form of collusion. So yeah… don’t support companies like Gibson and Fender with their new products. Buy cool cheap guitars like Fireflies, put a little work into them, and turn them into the most badass guitar on your block. That’s where it’s at. Thanks for reading.
I noticed the pickups were microphonic right away. HOWEVER, I replaced the pickups with dragonfire vintage buckers and it completely fixed that issue. The vintage buckers sound great, but I would go with dragonfire A2 buckers if I had to do it again
I have been looking at Dragonfires to replace the microphonic pickups in mine as well. I will look into the A2 buckers. What did you not like about the vintage buckers?
Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of the vintage buckers, I just think the A2 buckers would fit the "personality" of a semi hollow better. The vintage buckers are a little more articulate and the A2s are smoother. Mine sound great, I won't be changing them again, I just think the A2 sound fits better.
Ryan: Thanks for the review. I picked up a $99.00 OLP Benji Maden MM Silhouette style guitar, back in '06 still have it, put an old Dimarzio harmonic distortion pu in it. Sounds great. I still play the hell out of it.
I bought one of these ( the Ice Tea version) a week ago knowing full well I’d be replacing some parts. I have to adjust the truss rod on mine as well as a few buzzing frets and a buzzing bridge so I order some new tuning keys and a bridge for mine and I thought well if I’m taking it that far I might as well put some better pickups in it. So it’s going to be a winter project when all the parts come in. Don’t get me wrong I’m not disappointed at all for the price.
I just traded a Glarry GST for a blue Firefly 338 and I definitely got the better end of the deal. I'm gonna install locking tuners to help with the tuning stability. It had the original factory strings on it, which were total garbage, but it sounds great with the new set of Fender 10s I put on it.
I got a good deal on an Artcore Semi-Hollow that had an elusive buzz …. It turned out that the buzz was coming from the pick-guard which was touching the neck pup.
Thanks for a good review, great advice and not encouraging everybody to buy a Firefly. FWIW I see the FF338s are available right now in; wine red, blue burst, black and red burst but, like always they will sell out quickly and not everybody that gets one will be pleased with it. Mine is translucent red, I've had it for months and it's basically stock. It's one of 7 for me, the only one I bought new and the most I've paid for a guitar. It's not my favorite, best tone or the one I pick on most but, I really like it. I've always liked the 335 look, I like that the guy is still selling them for $139.91, I like that it has good bones. I would say it's a niche guitar. If you want one, you'll know. I really hope that the people that want one can get one because they do have value beyond $139.91 just like the good MIJ lawsuit guitars of the 70s.
Yep, pretty easy. I had some uncovered pickups that I wanted covers on, watched a few videos, did it myself, pickups sound great, looks wonderful on guitar, saved money!
I think Ryan has nailed it. I have one of these and I am thrilled with it. It does have cheap ceramic pickups and tuners that don't quite stay in tune as much as you would like but at $140 I expected that and will easily replace them. Mine is a golden sunburst and the finish is flawless. I love the way mine looks. A lot of people have noticed the filler around the inlays but mine was made Oct. 2019 and the inlays (plastic I am sure) do not have the filler around them. They seemed to have improved this. If you want the very best action you might need to touch up the fret leveling but the fret work is pretty good. I got no problem with that as I have heard the same thing about some recently made Gibsons. Mine has no "Made in China" sticker on it nor does it have any visible serial number. They should probably put a serial on it but I don't expect it to skyrocket is value anyway. The bridge and tail piece are not premium but they get the job done. The hollow section of the body has no perfing to bind the top to the bottom as a gibson would and the sides are probably much thicker wood the have something to glue. If it were a true hollow body this would be an issue but as a semi-hollow I don't think it affects the tone much. Its a buy-buy-buy if you are willing to work around the shortfalls that are inevitable at this price. We should all be a little concerned that China can produce such quality at this cost but I am too busy enjoying the windfall. I would never pay $2500 for a Gibson anyway so they lost nothing.
I put a set of Grover tuners on mine, good to go. I own a black one. Bought it January 2019 and have been playing it regularly in my guitar rotation. I would buy another.
Having watched videos of these guitars I can say they look like fun tinkering guitars. I could see picking one up and just playing with the hardware and pickups to no end. At sub 200 you could have a blast with one of these.
Would waxing the pots help with the microphonic issue? If not it might be worth just changing the pickups and the capacitors. Apparently tuners as well. I'm waiting on one and I can't wait to get it and I do plan to upgrade whatever it needs. Good video thanks. Except for the distorture. Hah
I have 2 of them, just ordered another one yesterday. I also have Epiphone and Ibanez semi hollowbody as well. For the money, I think they are pretty dang sweet, your milege may vary
2nd review I have seen on this guitar in the past year, thanks for the reminder to check this one out. Looks fine for the money if you are in the hunt for a 335 style guitar
I think this is probably the best review on these I've seen. I did buy one of these gold 338s a couple weeks ago based on the hype from some other guitar reviewers. Actually my friend and I bought one each at the same time and two days later we packed em back up and returned them for the issues you named and a couple more. We both had bad spots on the necks, fretboard and binding. Tuners are really crappy, pickups not the worst but not the best by far. Ours just didn't play well and it was obvious things would need fixing and replacing. All that said, if you like upgrading guitars for fun then buy it. My view is I could spend another 150, the cost of good pickups, new tuners, bridge and setup fee and instead pay 2-300 on a Harley Benton or Wolf guitar and be studio and stage ready out of the box.
Thanks for pushing me to pull the trigger... during the last round of Firefly's being available on Amazon, I purchased a wine red one. After about a week of noodling with it, I gotta say wow. The fit and finish, setup and playability are as good as guitars I own worth 10 times as much as I paid for this. The sound is good, action low and buzz free, and intonation is damn close to dead on. Frets are level and the fret ends are nice and smoothed over with no sprout. Again, better than many guitars I've played costing much more. The finish is smooth and glossy, binding looks great (including inside the f-holes) and the fretboard is very well done. Not USA Gibson, Fender, or PRS finish quality, but better than the low end Epi's and Squires. No hairline cracks at the set neck's heel (can't even say that about most Gibsons). As you said, "it's a $140 guitar that just plays" .... It's an enjoyable, nice sounding, and very playable right out of the box. NO setup necessary....Any nitpicks about the finish go in the "Who Cares" file because I intend to play the crap outta this thing....it's going pick up some wear. I buy guitars to play them. I'll pick some very minor nits on it -- tuning stability was not so good initially, but it's gotten better over the last week as the guitar has 'settled in'. Regardless, I've got some Wilkinson tuners and a GraphTech nut that will go in shortly, along with some DR Pure Blues strings. The only other nitpick is that it looks like some numbnut in the factory grabbed one of the strap buttons with a set of pliers to screw it in... the edge is somewhat chewed up. Microphonic pickups? Yes, perhaps, but their tone is good. For $60 you can get some Dragonfire pups and problem solved if it bothers you. Switches and pots are good. Other than that, it's a beautiful instrument that plays well... way beyond what I was expecting. I you do some wise shopping for tuners, nut, and pups, for $100 additional in upgrades (under $250 total!!) this could be made into a truly excellent guitar.
@@sloebone7399 WTF It was $139. I've had $1000+ guitars that I've thrown the PUPs in the trash. I changed the nut and tuners (I"m still WAY under $200) and tuning stability is now perfect. PUP's? Mine aren't harmonic at all, in spite of Ryans complaints. In fact, I bought some Filtertrons to put in this guitar, but haven't put them in yet, because the more I've played this guitar the more I like the stock pups. Looky here: I've got 15+ guitars both new and vintage (some from before I was born in '66) . My "gold standard" is my Carvin custom shop... it' plays perfect, always. Carvin... (now Keisel) guitars build quality (especially their necks-- frankly their pup's suck) is beyond reproach. The Firefly guitar I have isn't far behind on the neck, and the I am presently enjoying the stock pups, although I can see wanting better (but why would you be looking at fireflys if you're that fussy!!). I am pretty capable on a fret level / setup ... the Firefly didn't need much!
Eeks, yours is a lot ruffer than the black one I got last year, my finish was flawless. I think with these super cheapies your parts are lottery(my tuners were ok, pickups were nice, and hot! pretty good rock pickups, but the bridge was completely jank, so I replaced that with another cheapo chinese one) Like I say, I just think the parts are hit or miss for these. Good luck on the Firefly lottery, mine came out great!
Yeah i lost the lottery on the one i got and returned it. I know a lot of people rag on Amazon but man their returns policy is so freaking good and all I had to do was take it to a UPS store, they scanned a code Amazon sent me in an email on my phone and printed a shipping return label and that was it...had my money back in my bank two days later. I say all that because anyone worried they may get a dud like mine shouldnt be scared to go ahead and get it...play it for a week and if its not your cup o tea then return it and lose nothing. BTW they show up on Amazon every couple weeks, every 15 days according the the Firefly store. Sometimes its the 338s, sometimes it strats, or teles or les pauls. They rotate models.
Ok Ryan, I bought my gold 338 within seconds of seeing your first video that came out about a month prior to this one, which means I didn't have a chance to learn about the jeers. And that's TOTALLY OK. I had nothing but cheers when I opened the box and while watching this second video I recognized some of the issues, but not all. Paint a little, more like tiny, bit wonky near the neck joint? Yes. Not the best tuners? Sure. On the other side of the ledger, very acceptable fret work and edges. And you're right, those inlays do have a line, but my 53 year old eyes weren't aware of it until I put a magnifying glass on them. And that brings up the last and most important point. I'm old enough to remember what $140 would get you in the way of an electric guitar when I was a teenager. It got you nothing, or at least nothing you'd want to spend any length of time playing, and certainly not a hollow-body. If you want perfection, don't buy. If you can live with some minor issues and/or have the ability to deal with or fix them, buy, buy, buy.
Nice overview. For the money, it seems like good buy. The things you have control over, like the tuners and pickups can be easily sorted out. But, it's things like the general build of the guitar (that you don't have a lot of control over) that make it worth it our not. I'll have to check this guitars out. Thanks for the review.
That's a good looking guitar. Fixing up a guitar that you like is worth the money. I kinda like what you did with that Epiphone Les Paul Jr. a while back. It made me kind of want one. I'm hoping that you'll keep this one and do some mods to it. Great video!
I have the green burst one. It's a cheap guitar, but a really good cheap guitar. That's my best way to describe it. I would also say, differently from the review, that it's a guitar to just play. I don't think spending a lot of time or money on this after the fact is worth it. Just play it and enjoy.
I purchased the red Fireflies & the only thing that I had to do is put a good set of strings on to set the intonation. For $150.00, if you can catch them on Amazon, they can't be beat. Looking forward to new models someday.
Just received a blueburst one today, think they've been paying attention to all these review videos complaining about packing and finger prints, mine arrived double boxed and very clean, the guitar to be honest is not bad at all for the price, I will do upgrades (only cause I do that with most of my guitars) I have a pair of 57s I will probably throw on this along with some grovers otherwise pretty suprised and pleased with it, just saying
Guitar doesn’t stay in tune, no biggie. Tuning is fun, makes you feel needed. Microphonic pickups? Bonus! You can play through the bridge and sing into the neck pickup. Bad finish? Just leave the price tag on it so you don’t feel bad when you look at it.
My tuners were just fine. My bridge pup was slightly microphonic, barely!, and the neck pup was fine. The gloss black finish was perfect all over. I love it. I own several guitars. I built a few myself.
The inlays are not routed too large....its called inlay binding hahaha IMO The pups are not a must replace/repair for everyone, if you only play clean or are far enough away from the amp, its not an issue. The poor tuners have a plus side, frequent tuning teaches your ear the notes of the open strings ;) Some owners report a rattle in the bridge, its the little wire that runs across. A couple coats of nail polish will stop the rattle. I love my august 2018 edition of the sunburst. Only issue was to dress the fret ends. Took me 15 minutes to address. For those wanting one, they are going up on amazon any moment now, be ready as they usually last less then a week. Cheers and very good vid Ryan, thanks
For double the price of a bottle of nail polish, one can just get another bridge without the retaining wire. $20 and you get a roller. That doesn't diminish the cleverness of that hack though!
It's not necessary to desolder the covers to take them off. Put a metal paint scraper on the joint and a little tap of a hammer. Many pros and pickup makers use this method. I wouldn't do this on a vintage pickup, but a $100 Duncan, sure. If you put them back on, of course you'll need to get out the iron.
I got the same one after your first video, I threw some lock-in tuners and it made it instantly better (obviously). Plan on swapping out the electronics and nut.
The thing is of course.. most people aren't going to do much work on a cheap guitar. I had some adjustment done on my 500 dollar Samick semi-hollow. And I asked the guy (who builds custom guitars): "If anything, what would you change on this guitar to make it a bit better?" He said: "Nothing. It's fine the way it is. It's an affordable guitar but it plays nicely, sounds OK and has no real issues. But it's not worth upgrading." That is also why it makes much more sense to spend a bit more so you can get a guitar (hopefully) without issues. If spending 100 or 200 dollars more will mean you don't have to do any work, because the guitar is good 'as is', then buying a dirt cheap guitar makes no sense. I do like the argument "It's nice to have around the house". Thing is, most of us already have way too much cheap stuff around the house, and buying more chinese cheap stuff isn't doing much good to us or the environment.
Hmm, I don't mind havinf to lube the nut or replace it, nor do I minf replacing tuners for some better ones, but the PUs are just beyond me right now...I think for me it's a FireFlunk...for the time being atleast, maybe in 5 mins I change my mind...
I never met a microphonic pickup that didn't sound awesome. The bridge pickup in my Univox went microphonic and it sounded so good, it was un believable, but if you got the volume loud enough to keep up with a drummer it was feedback city....so I begrudgingly replaced it. Same deal with a 12 string Apollo my buddy has, old 60's style el cheap-O staple pickups, microphonic, but sound cool AF....just don;t turn it up too much and keep the guitar pointed away from the amp.
An Apollo! I have a 6-string kind of 335 copy with totally microphonic pickups--and they sound great! I love microphonic pickups. Part of the charm is the unpredictability.
Did you ever have the guitar set up? Every guitar I buy (new or used) I take to my guitar tech and have him do a set up. This includes: Bridge height and intonation adjustment, neck tension adjustment, minor fret dressing,etc. His work always plays like a million bucks, even on a $129 Squire. If the tuners are sloppy, I have him put on a set of Spertzels.
Totally agree. A $99 guitar to a $5,000 gibson needs a setup before it's really played. Not sure why all the reviews online talk about now it needs a setup, like thats abnormal.
went back and forth 'tween this and an HB-35plus Cherry LH, and have to say for the extra 60 bucks I am very pleased with my choice. I agree with Trey below, he's right. But I needed something red and hollow and it fits right in with my more expensive players quite nicely. Great idea for the pups. Will check that out. Have a sneaky suspicion...
I managed to get one of the last black ones. I'm very impressed. Its the by far the best playing guitar I've played, second only to my Epi Les Paul Standard that I put hours in to make it playable. I think the only problem I see are the unpotted pickups. I love the sound though. I might just pull them out and wax pot them myself.
Piano is my primary instrument, so I don't know that much about guitars (I do play pretty well though). I recently bought a lefty blue burst...was encouraged by another lefty FF338 owner to snag it up as they are hard to find. Then tonight before viewing this video, I cam across the Ibanez Artcore AF55...$379.99...which is probably how much upgrading the pickups and tuners on the FF338 will cost me. Fortunately, I have guitar tech savvy friends who are willing to offer advice.
@@officialdandaman Thanks for the reply. Actually my bandmate had an extra set of Epiphone humbuckers he is installing for free. Can't wait to try it out!
Being a Fender geek, I like your channel name, and 1st time visiting. Great review on this guitar. I think it's a looker and need to get one asap. Replace Tuners, no prob, and a little pencil lead on the nut never hurt anyone. Like your demeanor and your voice isn't irritating like some other channels I checked out. I subscribed, so keep me in mind if you want to sell it! Thanks for posting, ill be back 👍👍
How many professional musicians do you know that buy a $140.00 instruments. This is clearly a perfectly fine guitar for beginners or home pickers. I bought all my three grand children one of these and they love them. What a bargain.
Bought a second hand Epi Dot 'cause Firefly wasn't available. The Dot also has finish issues, particularly the F holes, which look like they are finished by a 10yr old with a bread knife and a Magic Marker. Of course the electronics and tuners etc. are good on the Epi, but they should be for the price of the Dot. Thanks.
Buy some used grovers from an epiphone or something and then maybe get some guitarfetish pickups and I’d honestly get some nice CTS pots because it probably has mini pots or really cheap ones
I've seen a lot of comments on those guitars, most say how good they are with a little tweaking. What I would like to see is a video of the tweaking, part numbers preferably Amazon parts for us out in the boonies folks . Everyone mentions how good the body and fretboard are it would be nice to see just how great the guitar could be.
You can spend a lot more and still need upgrades or repairs right out of the box. I have two of them and both are pretty darn good for the money. Both came setup better than the 2 new Gibson's I bought this year. You can remove the pickup and heat the pickups up and reflow the wax with a heat gun.
I've played through some Gibson pick ups that are microphonic - Even some "bespoke" quality p'ups that are (to a lesser degree) - to the extent that one of my favourite sounding p'ups is microphonic. I cope with it because I really, really hate a potted p'up! That's just me and I've been playing since late 1965. Best, Pete.
I ordered non wax potted PU from the people at DiMarzio (DP274/275) last year and literally had to wait for months for them. They are now installed in my fantastic Tokaï Les Paul and sound great from no to plenty of gain. The only issue I need to manage is feedback at (very) high volume when plenty of gain is involved. But that sound...
Nice review mate really balanced and informed. Some ppl pay extra for unpotted PAF style pups. Do you know what the DCR of these is? Sounds like a modern wind from here ✌️
I have one I have been waiting to do an unboxing and playthrough for a couple of months now. I am going crazy waiting for my brother to come over. We've both been vacationing.
I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. That said, I did see these back in stock and successfully (?) passed (resisted) buying one (a few). Here's to fighting the good fight in the future. Is it really good though? And now I see this gold, which I didn't know existed before this video. I don't even like that color in general, but now...
plan on spending dough to get it studio or live gig ready, otherwise it makes a good practice in your room guitar but you wouldnt want to use it live or in a studio sitch without upgrade. Like i said elsewhere...can upgrade it or just add upgrade money to buying something better for not much more. Check out the Harley Benton stuff...think youd like something from them better and theyre good to go out of the box. Also look at Wolf guitars out of California...they get high praise for cheap guitars like the Harleys do. Good luck!!
I’ve been waiting for the ffth for a couple of months. Missed 2 on amazon by a couple of hours. Saw the 338s on amazon, and bought 2 blueburst and a red. Jesus... I’m addicted. I should get them tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Hey man eddie van Halen took seconds on a body and a neck and built his own axe 🪓 im just saying yes it was e v h but he had imagination so dont believe all the hype on guitars i want pay over 2 hundred dollars for any guitar I tinker with all of mine and make it how I want thats all part of it for me terr it down and make it squeal. Like a pig ahh what satisfaction 😌 ✨
They sell out because Hucksters buy them & resell them at 2x’s the price on EBay & Craigslist. Only buy them from Amazon. Play Authentic. LOL Gibson! I put a Tusq nut and Grover tuners on mine. Plays like a 335 now. My inlays are perfectly fine. My pickups are not microphonic. Maybe this batch got messed up. Ryan - The guitar fits in a regular dreadnought case. I also reshaped the headstock so that it resembles a Gibson scroll-book headstock. I created my own logo & named it the “Nibson”.
I have a big issue, trying to get one in UK despite sending 2 emails to 'guitars garden' main supplier they have not responded Amazon never have enough in stock when they do get them & when you do find one for sale it's either already sold or piss taking price demanded ! Anyone else having this problem ?
I'm old... so I already have pretty much everything I need, which means that it is really tough to buy me gifts (so I'm told). Which means my ppl take note of when I seem interested in something as a future gift idea. I have a lot of guitars; I have a '64 Strat, a '53 Tele reissue, a Gretsch, a nice Washburn with a Floyd Rose and a few others. I mentioned a while ago that "...they can't keep these Firefly's in stock--they're flying' off of Amazon." Guess what I got for Christmas. But. I may have a lot of guitars, but never have had a Les Paul. Since I also can't afford a real Les Paul, I was also (less vocally) checking out the Harley Bentons, and ended up ordering one for myself. So I now have one of those, AND a Red Firefly FF338. I agree with everything you've said; for $140 the Firefly can't be beat. Mine was pretty clean out of the box--some of the fret ends needed a little dressing, the headstock is oddly cut off-center, but the finish is basically flawless. And it does go out of tune a lot (I prob will replace the tuners). Otherwise, plays great, nice pickups, no buzzin' or hummin'. Another 'But'-- the Harley is better... and 'way more than just $40 better. I've checked out a lot of other LP -style guitars from more well known (here in the States) manufacturers and they pale in comparison. The finish, the set-up, hardware, electronics --- all 'way better. I like the Firefly, and I do play it a lot, it's a comfortable guitar that's very cooperative, and for some reason pinch harmonics are really easy to pull with it. The Harley on the other hand is fast becoming one of my faves, it is a great guitar regardless of price point. I wouldn't tell anyone not to buy the Firefly, but if they have the extra $40, and don't mind a few extra hoops to jump thru, I'd get the Harley Benton.
This may be a stupid question, but how do tuners make it lose tune? Aren't they a gear and a worm drive shaft, so how does it back off the tuning? So unless touched, they should not turn. Was reading a review of these, a guy said he put a piece of tape in the pickup cover to kill the feedback. Not sure if that helps, but that's what he did to fix his.
John Smith from my experience cheap tuners aren’t always about loosing tune, they can be jumpy and hard to get into tune. But if there is a jumpy ness there could be a bad connection between the grab and worm screw allowing slippage.
I got one of those it ok. I put eppiphone dot pickups burns pots sozo caps grover machines took care of tuning issues. its ok for the price. If I get tired of it I will donate it or I will keep it. Not sure yet.
Usually, it's basically just a high pitched feedback sound, so I'm sure it's been used many times in recordings that used feedback creatively. Microphonic guitar pickups have been a thing forever. Other than that, you can just tap on them and make a click noise through the amp.
ordering an hb 35 in the states would cost $100 more after shipping, but you do a get a guitar that needs far less help out of the box. I don't have one to do a direct comparison with, but i remember the hb being heavier than the firefly.
Unfortunately we have the same issue on this side with Fireflys. That finish is stunning. The weight isn’t an issue when you can only play sitting down 😂
Can't belive how lucky I got with this guitar. Came in flawless. No blemishes, tuners hold fine, no sharp frets, intonation was even fine, sound is incredible at this price range, playability fine, construction beyond what it should be. It is a beautiful guitar. I changed strings of course. I have been using it for recording and everyone thinks it is some really nice guitar when they hear the recordings. Again, I got lucky as quality control is really iffy and just hit or miss. Super great project guitar or first guitar on a budget. I have owned an American Strat, tele and some other great (expensive) guitars and no, it isn't one of those. But at this price, it can do a wonderful job and be very satisfying.
Seems to me that people want to justify their thousand plus dollar guitars and call these junk. The guitar price speaks volumes. If you don't want to risk having a guitar that doesn't live up to your standards then by all means do not purchase an inexpensive guitar. I've heard great musicians (real ones, not only great in their own mind and in their own bedroom) play lesser guitars and guess what, they sounded amazing still. It may be more of a player thing than a guitar thing. If you would have your multi- thousand dollar guitar to get a good setup, then do the same with this and drive on. I love the look of these and they sound pretty good out of the box.
Realistically, quality pickups cost money, quality tuners cost money, quality electronics cost money, quality wood costs money, quality craftsmanship costs money... you get what you pay for in this world. You’re not a guitar snob for wanting a guitar that lives up to your standards. Cheap guitars are great, but let’s not pretend that they’re just as good as a Gibson or a Fender.
@@sloebone7399 I agree with you. I have a Gibson and I have a bunch of cheap axes and from my experience the electronics on the cheaper ones is usually shit. Also fit and finish usually isn't on par with the cheaper guitars.
@@sloebone7399 uh...gibson is garbo nowadays lol.
@@sloebone7399 But then there's those dummies like Jimmy Page playing a danelectro. go figure? and the price of gold foil pickups on used Kays and Silvertones.. back in the day we laughed at those guitars. Then there's the simple fact that I traded my Bigsbys off for Chinese versions, and I use Chinese locking tuners instead of Grovers. You make an argument that simply ONLY stands up now and then, not all the time.
Its hard for a guitar to be $150 new and not be junk. That doesn’t mean only $2,000 guitars are not junk. Epiphones and many Squier models are very good quality and are still cheap.
I bought one of these. The fit and finish is excellent, and remarkable for this price.
The tuning machines are pretty cheap, and of a low ratio. They are hard to use, and don't hold tune.
The wiring uses the 16 mm pots, but is cleanly done. The switch is fine. Hardware is OK.
The pickups were OK at low volume, but they are pretty inadequate otherwise.
I bought the chocolate brown model, and replaced all hardware, tuners, and pickups with gold versions. Painted the pickguard and truss rod cover gold. It is stunning now, and holds tune, and the replacement humbuckers sound great. No fret work was needed, and the neck is great. A real bargain.
Watch the video of james hetfield in the recording studio. He laughs out loud and his gajillion dollar custom ESP captured his laugh through the pick up. I believe was an EMG.
I like it that you are honest with the pros and cons, and you don't push yourself as an "internet expert." What I see is a guy who does NOT know everything, trying out a guitar that is not every thing, and that combination epitomizes most of us. We can't afford or don't want to pay $3-4000 for a guitar with issues when we can pay less for a $200 guitar that has the same basic issuse that are easily fixed by most guitarists.
I just ordered my ff338 in spalted maple ($210 out the door) and if the pickups on that one are microphonic, they will be replaced by alnico pickups that are NOT. It is ceramic pickups that tend to be micriphonic. I've heard that the metal pup covers also increase the microphonic qualities and decrease the output of all pickups.
That is an observation that should NOT be considered Gospel, but instead just a simple free suggestion to be considered or not by the individual consumer. I'm not a professional player, but I don't get along with cheap junk guitars, either.
Asians have a history of taking pride in any waork they do, but they are also learning the immoral western ways of conning us into buying sub-par products. Americans have money but not the good sense to spend their money wisely.
If guitar is magpie gaudy, an American will BUY it. That is NOT a putdown ofd Firefly, but rather a general observation of the shallow thinking and low standards of the typical American consumer.
Ꮚ˘ ꈊ ˘ Ꮚ I personally like opencoil pickups.
Want to add that I think Firefly may have improved quality control vastly since this video or I just got really lucky. Bought one of these a couple months ago in blueburst. Gorgeous finish, neck straight, action perfect, inlays are flawless, headstock logo and inlay is straight (this has been crooked on some ive seen), fret work couldnt be better, not a single sharp fret and they are even perfectly dressed and rounded off, pickups sound fantastic. Feels like the steal of a lifetime for about $220 US total.
Still a lottery but I suspect they've got an edge on their Chibsons. I won the neck/frets lottery on mine too. The Chenders are a different story, I'm at 2 for 4.
Thanks for the first honest review of this guitar I have seen so far. Most reviewers are simply wowed by the fact that it doesn't fall apart coming out of the box they never delve into subjects like tuning, p/u's or electronics.
It's a "Bye, Bye, Bye" for me, but if I knew someone who was limited to a couple hundred bucks (guitar and upgrades), I'd say go for it.
One sure thing is they won't be $140 forever.
Bought one, had it set-up by the local luthier guru. Have ALL my guitars set-up by the local luthier guru, regardless of price. Nothing wrong with these little gems, at all. Play good, sound good, look good. These little gems are a no-brainer, folks.
I bought one a little over a month ago. After playing it in now with new Elixer 10's, she sounds great. Same tuning issues..the fix - hipshot locking tuners, new bone or brass nut. Will stick with the existing pickups for now but If I run into problems giging, will change them out.
Very good review!!
Loved the microphonic test! I've never seen that before! My black Firefly became a very nice guitar after I replaced the tuners and the bridge with inexpensive upgrades I found on eBay.
Not bad for people who can't afford high end guitars, I would buy this and many others and make mods to them, and they sound just as good!!
@Dewane White - I play as a hobby, and mainly use solid bodies, but this was such a small risk because of the low price that I bought one just to see what it was like. I also bought their Telecaster Thinline copy, and that had a few more flaws in the finish, but it still wasn't bad. However, I don't think I'd go this route as a professional because of reliability and durability concerns, even when upgraded.
The whole "microphonic pick ups" issue is more common than most think. Much more expensive Les Pauls will pick up your voice if you shout into them
When Darrel Braun demonstrated the microphonic effect on the 338, he had the gain turned all the way up and you could hear the background noise without him making a sound. Yes, you could hear him WHEN HE SPOKE INTO THE F HOLE but it was not as loud as a true mic would be even though the gain is maxxed out.
From my own review:
I’m a gigging musician, and I gotta say… I love my Firefly FF338. I've seen some reviewers and commenters complaining about minor blems and construction issues, but I must have gotten really lucky or the quality control got better when I bought mine. Right out of the box, the finish had zero issues, the binding work was flawless, the neck was straight, frets were perfect, and my inlays didn’t look messy like the ones in other videos (mine are as flawless as a 70s Gibson Les Paul).
I removed the pick guard on mine and she’s just such a pretty little lady.
THAT SAID… yes, the electronics in these guitars are cheap and not performance quality. If you’re a serious player and you want a semi-hollow you can gig with, you’re going to need to upgrade a few things on an FF338.
First and foremost, the Firefly stock factory pickups need to go. The stock pickups sound okay and perform fine if you’re just in your bedroom jamming by yourself and you’re not looking to play this axe in a band. But for those of you who play in live bands like I do, you’ll wanna note that Firefly doesn’t wax pot their pickups. This means that if you turn up loud enough to match the volume of a drummer, it’s gonna be feedback city… Even without distortion, if you’re on the bridge pickup, it’s gonna squeal like a pissed off cat. You can correct this issue by removing the pickups and wax potting them, but I don’t see the point. They’re cheap throw-aways just like that terrible nine gauge strings that come on it. I recommend finding something much nicer to install into this guitar.
For me, needing to swap out pickups isn’t a deal breaker whatsoever when it comes to buying a guitar… I don’t think I’ve left stock pickups in any of my guitars since I learned how to use a soldering gun. In fact, I think part of developing your craft as a guitarist is learning to experiment with different pickups, mixing and matching different brands and styles between the bridge and neck pickups, and trying different combinations and sequences until you find a unique tone. That’s the Peter Green approach. Mess with your guitar’s guts until it’s the only guitar in existence that sounds the way yours does.
As soon as my FF338 arrived at my house, I was on the mission to find the right pickups for this guitar. My luthier buddy was ranting and raving about the Seymour Duncan “Slash series” Alnico Pro II Humbuckers. Now, I was skeptical… Slash is a good player n’all, and I’ve definitely enjoyed some GNR when I was a kid in the 90s, but I’m really more of a Duane Allman / Peter Green kinda guy. I don’t hide behind a lot distortion, so I want pickups that sound rich when played clean but also sound sweet with some fuzz. Most pickups that sound wicked with distortion sound like garbage on a clean channel. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Slash play his Les Paul clean… if not distorted he’s got a chorus pedal on it. So, this was a concern of mine when it came to Slash’s custom designed Humbuckers. But my luthier friend insisted that these Slash Seymours were boss and were diverse in tone capabilities. So I bought a set and had him install them for me (I don’t work on hollowbody guitar innards, hell no)… And once the new pickups were in, well… my luthier friend was kinda ticked off. Why? Because my little hundred and fifty dollar Firefly guitar with a two hundred dollar set of pickups now plays and sounds just as nice as the 1973 Gibson ES-335 he paid seven grand for only a few months prior. As he said “It’s like… UNFAIR dude”.
Since then, I’ve dropped maybe another hundred bucks into putting a high-quality pickup selector switch that was a little less clunky/noisy, and I went ahead and installed some really nice volume and tone pots in it. I installed a nicer jack because the stock one seemed to want to push cables out and, after a year of very regular playing, it started crackling a bit. I never had an issue with the stock tuners failing to keep the guitar in tune, but I changed them out because I prefer the locking style guitar tuners. So really, aside from the very necessary pickup upgrade, everything else I’ve done to it has been more just me geeking out having fun customizing this guitar I love so much. I mean, I seriously play my FF338 for more than half my band’s set. Slap some heavy stings on it like the Ernie Ball “Not Even Slinky” strings, and you’re in for some sweet tones.
Oh, and if any of you are looking for a hard case that snuggly fits a Firefly FF338, order a Gator GWE-335 (that’s Gator Cases’ design to carry a Gibson 335). This specific case fits perfectly. I don’t have to put extra pack in it or nothing. The padded lid holds it snuggly in place. It’s pretty much a perfect fit.
So, there you have it… With the case and all the upgrades, I have less than $600 invested in this guitar but now have an axe that plays like a $7,000 Gibson and looks amazing. The only thing that could make me happier is if it had a zero-fret like the Gretsch Tennessee Rose, and I sometimes fantasize about installing a Bigsby bridge on it, which might happen sometime this year… But even if I add the Bigsby, I’m still only about $800 deep into this guitar, and it’s an amazing freakin guitar! I let my session buddies try it out and they can’t believe it was ever a mere $150 purchase.
An additional word about premium guitar scams.. err.. I mean BRANDS:
The reality for guitar players in the 21st century is that premium name guitar manufacturers have inflated their price tags to absurd amounts. Musicians touring in vans and surviving on peanut butter sandwiches can’t afford the kind of scratch Fender and Gibson wants for one of their guitars. If these guitars would have cost this much against the average blue collar wage of the 1960s (yes, considering inflation since then) we wouldn’t have photos of people like Pete Townshend in their early pre-success years playing Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats. Jimi Hendrix and his manager barely had enough money to fly to California and perform Monterey Pop, but he was willing to burn and smash his strat just for theatrics. Guitars back then just didn’t cost people what they do now, plain and simple. So, what happened? Does Gibson and Fender think today’s musicians are struggling any less than they were in the 60s and 70s? Of course not.
The truth is I don’t even think that touring, professional, working musicians are even their sales demographic anymore. Just look at the guitars Gibson and Fender are putting out these days… they want three grand for a basic Les Paul Standard. Ask any luthier or guitar tech and they’ll bluntly tell you that these premium guitars are coming out of the factory with poorer and poorer quality control, less and less hand-crafting, and with features that seem more and more out of touch with a working guitarist’s needs. For example, all the new Gibson Les Pauls now have pickups which are hard-mounted to a big plastic circuit board hidden inside the body of the guitar…. Everything is machined together so you can’t change anything… meaning you can’t swap out the pickups and create a custom sound on today’s Les Pauls. My jaw hit the floor when they did that to their production. I mean… every career guitar player swaps out pickups, so what does that tell you about Gibson’s actual target audience in these current times? It’s pretty clear… they wanna sell overpriced guitars, manufactured with a fraction of the quality of their pre-1980s predecessors, to bloated old baby boomers who haven’t been in an actual band since high school, but who have more money to blow, but not enough musical know-how to realize that they’re being conned into paying thousands of dollars for a cookie-cutter circuit board with strings. That’s their target audience, not people who actually play because it’s life to them.
So… all of you… Stop being conned into thinking that American Gibson and Fender products are what you simply MUST buy if anyone is gonna respect you as a professional musician. It’s just not true. Most working musicians in the modern day are doing exactly what I’ve done here… find a cheaper off-off brand guitar with a well-made neck and body, then beef it up with nice custom parts and accessories, and turn it into a dream guitar. Screw Fender and Gibson. Fender just got sued for price fixing, and Gibson had videos leak onto UA-cam of them purposefully destroying thousands of their own brand new guitars to create a supply shortage 11:44 so as to tinker with inflating the value of their guitars. These were instruments that could have been donated to poor kids, but instead they drove a CAT bulldozer over them. If you don’t believe me, search UA-cam for “Gibson Destroys Guitars” and you’ll see all the videos that leaked. Firebirds, 335s… all getting smashed. Gibson lied and tried to retort that the guitars being destroyed failed quality assurance… All lies. What they’re doing is a form of collusion.
So yeah… don’t support companies like Gibson and Fender with their new products. Buy cool cheap guitars like Fireflies, put a little work into them, and turn them into the most badass guitar on your block. That’s where it’s at.
Thanks for reading.
No issues with mine, love it.
I noticed the pickups were microphonic right away. HOWEVER, I replaced the pickups with dragonfire vintage buckers and it completely fixed that issue. The vintage buckers sound great, but I would go with dragonfire A2 buckers if I had to do it again
I have been looking at Dragonfires to replace the microphonic pickups in mine as well. I will look into the A2 buckers. What did you not like about the vintage buckers?
Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of the vintage buckers, I just think the A2 buckers would fit the "personality" of a semi hollow better. The vintage buckers are a little more articulate and the A2s are smoother. Mine sound great, I won't be changing them again, I just think the A2 sound fits better.
Ryan: Thanks for the review. I picked up a $99.00 OLP Benji Maden MM Silhouette style guitar, back in '06 still have it, put an old Dimarzio harmonic distortion pu in it. Sounds great.
I still play the hell out of it.
Just ordered the 338 in a matte black finish today can't wait to get it
I want to get the 335 sunburst, how do i get one ? I looked on Amazon but don't see one.
3rdShiftPaul F they're sold out rn
I bought one of these ( the Ice Tea version) a week ago knowing full well I’d be replacing some parts. I have to adjust the truss rod on mine as well as a few buzzing frets and a buzzing bridge so I order some new tuning keys and a bridge for mine and I thought well if I’m taking it that far I might as well put some better pickups in it. So it’s going to be a winter project when all the parts come in. Don’t get me wrong I’m not disappointed at all for the price.
I just traded a Glarry GST for a blue Firefly 338 and I definitely got the better end of the deal. I'm gonna install locking tuners to help with the tuning stability. It had the original factory strings on it, which were total garbage, but it sounds great with the new set of Fender 10s I put on it.
I wish they’d do the gold top again. I picked up the spalted maple and really enjoying it, but man that gold top really pops.
I got a good deal on an Artcore Semi-Hollow that had an elusive buzz …. It turned out that the buzz was coming from the pick-guard which was touching the neck pup.
Thanks for a good review, great advice and not encouraging everybody to buy a Firefly. FWIW I see the FF338s are available right now in; wine red, blue burst, black and red burst but, like always they will sell out quickly and not everybody that gets one will be pleased with it. Mine is translucent red, I've had it for months and it's basically stock. It's one of 7 for me, the only one I bought new and the most I've paid for a guitar. It's not my favorite, best tone or the one I pick on most but, I really like it. I've always liked the 335 look, I like that the guy is still selling them for $139.91, I like that it has good bones. I would say it's a niche guitar. If you want one, you'll know. I really hope that the people that want one can get one because they do have value beyond $139.91 just like the good MIJ lawsuit guitars of the 70s.
The routing for the inlays is unfortunate but the fact that a $140 guitar even has inlays is amazing
I would definitely suggest trying wax potting the pickups. 10 minutes and a dollars worth of paraffin/bee's wax, and the microphonics should be fixed.
Yep, pretty easy. I had some uncovered pickups that I wanted covers on, watched a few videos, did it myself, pickups sound great, looks wonderful on guitar, saved money!
I think Ryan has nailed it. I have one of these and I am thrilled with it. It does have cheap ceramic pickups and tuners that don't quite stay in tune as much as you would like but at $140 I expected that and will easily replace them. Mine is a golden sunburst and the finish is flawless. I love the way mine looks. A lot of people have noticed the filler around the inlays but mine was made Oct. 2019 and the inlays (plastic I am sure) do not have the filler around them. They seemed to have improved this. If you want the very best action you might need to touch up the fret leveling but the fret work is pretty good. I got no problem with that as I have heard the same thing about some recently made Gibsons. Mine has no "Made in China" sticker on it nor does it have any visible serial number. They should probably put a serial on it but I don't expect it to skyrocket is value anyway. The bridge and tail piece are not premium but they get the job done. The hollow section of the body has no perfing to bind the top to the bottom as a gibson would and the sides are probably much thicker wood the have something to glue. If it were a true hollow body this would be an issue but as a semi-hollow I don't think it affects the tone much. Its a buy-buy-buy if you are willing to work around the shortfalls that are inevitable at this price. We should all be a little concerned that China can produce such quality at this cost but I am too busy enjoying the windfall. I would never pay $2500 for a Gibson anyway so they lost nothing.
I put a set of Grover tuners on mine, good to go. I own a black one. Bought it January 2019 and have been playing it regularly in my guitar rotation. I would buy another.
Having watched videos of these guitars I can say they look like fun tinkering guitars. I could see picking one up and just playing with the hardware and pickups to no end. At sub 200 you could have a blast with one of these.
Would waxing the pots help with the microphonic issue? If not it might be worth just changing the pickups and the capacitors. Apparently tuners as well. I'm waiting on one and I can't wait to get it and I do plan to upgrade whatever it needs. Good video thanks. Except for the distorture. Hah
I have 2 of them, just ordered another one yesterday. I also have Epiphone and Ibanez semi hollowbody as well. For the money, I think they are pretty dang sweet, your milege may vary
Good for you🙄
2nd review I have seen on this guitar in the past year, thanks for the reminder to check this one out. Looks fine for the money if you are in the hunt for a 335 style guitar
I think this is probably the best review on these I've seen. I did buy one of these gold 338s a couple weeks ago based on the hype from some other guitar reviewers. Actually my friend and I bought one each at the same time and two days later we packed em back up and returned them for the issues you named and a couple more. We both had bad spots on the necks, fretboard and binding. Tuners are really crappy, pickups not the worst but not the best by far. Ours just didn't play well and it was obvious things would need fixing and replacing. All that said, if you like upgrading guitars for fun then buy it. My view is I could spend another 150, the cost of good pickups, new tuners, bridge and setup fee and instead pay 2-300 on a Harley Benton or Wolf guitar and be studio and stage ready out of the box.
i just got a harley benton semi hollow in and ill be doing a comparison soon.
@@60CycleHumcast Oh man I look forward to that! Thanks for the heads up man!
Gibson: Play Authentic
Ryan: *makes a video reviewing a copy guitar*
Gibson: Am I a joke to you?...
Everyone: Yes
poor Gibbons
Only the first one is original. The rest are All copies!
Thanks for pushing me to pull the trigger... during the last round of Firefly's being available on Amazon, I purchased a wine red one. After about a week of noodling with it, I gotta say wow. The fit and finish, setup and playability are as good as guitars I own worth 10 times as much as I paid for this. The sound is good, action low and buzz free, and intonation is damn close to dead on. Frets are level and the fret ends are nice and smoothed over with no sprout. Again, better than many guitars I've played costing much more. The finish is smooth and glossy, binding looks great (including inside the f-holes) and the fretboard is very well done. Not USA Gibson, Fender, or PRS finish quality, but better than the low end Epi's and Squires. No hairline cracks at the set neck's heel (can't even say that about most Gibsons).
As you said, "it's a $140 guitar that just plays" .... It's an enjoyable, nice sounding, and very playable right out of the box. NO setup necessary....Any nitpicks about the finish go in the "Who Cares" file because I intend to play the crap outta this thing....it's going pick up some wear. I buy guitars to play them.
I'll pick some very minor nits on it -- tuning stability was not so good initially, but it's gotten better over the last week as the guitar has 'settled in'. Regardless, I've got some Wilkinson tuners and a GraphTech nut that will go in shortly, along with some DR Pure Blues strings. The only other nitpick is that it looks like some numbnut in the factory grabbed one of the strap buttons with a set of pliers to screw it in... the edge is somewhat chewed up. Microphonic pickups? Yes, perhaps, but their tone is good. For $60 you can get some Dragonfire pups and problem solved if it bothers you. Switches and pots are good.
Other than that, it's a beautiful instrument that plays well... way beyond what I was expecting. I you do some wise shopping for tuners, nut, and pups, for $100 additional in upgrades (under $250 total!!) this could be made into a truly excellent guitar.
Minor nits like TUNING and BAD PICKUPS? What would you consider major?
@@sloebone7399 WTF It was $139. I've had $1000+ guitars that I've thrown the PUPs in the trash.
I changed the nut and tuners (I"m still WAY under $200) and tuning stability is now perfect.
PUP's? Mine aren't harmonic at all, in spite of Ryans complaints. In fact, I bought some Filtertrons to put in this guitar, but haven't put them in yet, because the more I've played this guitar the more I like the stock pups.
Looky here: I've got 15+ guitars both new and vintage (some from before I was born in '66) . My "gold standard" is my Carvin custom shop... it' plays perfect, always. Carvin... (now Keisel) guitars build quality (especially their necks-- frankly their pup's suck) is beyond reproach. The Firefly guitar I have isn't far behind on the neck, and the I am presently enjoying the stock pups, although I can see wanting better (but why would you be looking at fireflys if you're that fussy!!).
I am pretty capable on a fret level / setup ... the Firefly didn't need much!
Eeks, yours is a lot ruffer than the black one I got last year, my finish was flawless. I think with these super cheapies your parts are lottery(my tuners were ok, pickups were nice, and hot! pretty good rock pickups, but the bridge was completely jank, so I replaced that with another cheapo chinese one) Like I say, I just think the parts are hit or miss for these. Good luck on the Firefly lottery, mine came out great!
Jank?
Yeah i lost the lottery on the one i got and returned it. I know a lot of people rag on Amazon but man their returns policy is so freaking good and all I had to do was take it to a UPS store, they scanned a code Amazon sent me in an email on my phone and printed a shipping return label and that was it...had my money back in my bank two days later. I say all that because anyone worried they may get a dud like mine shouldnt be scared to go ahead and get it...play it for a week and if its not your cup o tea then return it and lose nothing.
BTW they show up on Amazon every couple weeks, every 15 days according the the Firefly store. Sometimes its the 338s, sometimes it strats, or teles or les pauls. They rotate models.
Great review! Please keep us posted if you make any upgrades, modes, etc. Thanks!
There are a few in black left of the 338 on amazon.
And amberburst and blue.. as of right now. Maybe not in 5 minutes
Ok Ryan, I bought my gold 338 within seconds of seeing your first video that came out about a month prior to this one, which means I didn't have a chance to learn about the jeers. And that's TOTALLY OK. I had nothing but cheers when I opened the box and while watching this second video I recognized some of the issues, but not all. Paint a little, more like tiny, bit wonky near the neck joint? Yes. Not the best tuners? Sure. On the other side of the ledger, very acceptable fret work and edges. And you're right, those inlays do have a line, but my 53 year old eyes weren't aware of it until I put a magnifying glass on them. And that brings up the last and most important point. I'm old enough to remember what $140 would get you in the way of an electric guitar when I was a teenager. It got you nothing, or at least nothing you'd want to spend any length of time playing, and certainly not a hollow-body. If you want perfection, don't buy. If you can live with some minor issues and/or have the ability to deal with or fix them, buy, buy, buy.
I didn't realize how pretty the gold top was
Nice overview. For the money, it seems like good buy. The things you have control over, like the tuners and pickups can be easily sorted out. But, it's things like the general build of the guitar (that you don't have a lot of control over) that make it worth it our not. I'll have to check this guitars out. Thanks for the review.
That's a good looking guitar. Fixing up a guitar that you like is worth the money. I kinda like what you did with that Epiphone Les Paul Jr. a while back. It made me kind of want one. I'm hoping that you'll keep this one and do some mods to it. Great video!
I have the green burst one. It's a cheap guitar, but a really good cheap guitar. That's my best way to describe it. I would also say, differently from the review, that it's a guitar to just play. I don't think spending a lot of time or money on this after the fact is worth it. Just play it and enjoy.
That's how I felt about my Ibanez Artcore. It felt plasticy and kind of cheap, but it was a stone cold fox for looks and played out like a champ.
This review is spot on. Nice job Ryan.
10:24 that is now the new name of my band.
😆😆
I purchased the red Fireflies & the only thing that I had to do is put a good set of strings on to set the intonation. For $150.00, if you can catch them on Amazon, they can't be beat. Looking forward to new models someday.
Nice If you are singer of your band, you don't need a microphone in front of you! it's come included with the guitar. that's a good deal!
That bit where you touched the pickups sounded like something Vai would do at a gig!
microphonic pickups have a lively quality ,, in the tone & attack .. picking..,,, I like em
Just received a blueburst one today, think they've been paying attention to all these review videos complaining about packing and finger prints, mine arrived double boxed and very clean, the guitar to be honest is not bad at all for the price, I will do upgrades (only cause I do that with most of my guitars) I have a pair of 57s I will probably throw on this along with some grovers otherwise pretty suprised and pleased with it, just saying
Im still happy with my 338. its a solid guitar for $140
Brought to you in "SQUEAL-O-VISION"!
Finally someone makes a video about the dam pickups
Guitar doesn’t stay in tune, no biggie. Tuning is fun, makes you feel needed. Microphonic pickups? Bonus! You can play through the bridge and sing into the neck pickup. Bad finish? Just leave the price tag on it so you don’t feel bad when you look at it.
I left my guitar sitting in my closet for about 3 months, took it out and it was still perfectly in tuned! Seems like a mixed bag type deal.
My tuners were just fine. My bridge pup was slightly microphonic, barely!, and the neck pup was fine. The gloss black finish was perfect all over. I love it. I own several guitars. I built a few myself.
Your life is miserable
I have semi-hollow and it never feeds back. I agree with you. It's not the body. For $140.00 it sounds good, it looks good I say buy it
The inlays are not routed too large....its called inlay binding hahaha
IMO The pups are not a must replace/repair for everyone, if you only play clean or are far enough away from the amp, its not an issue.
The poor tuners have a plus side, frequent tuning teaches your ear the notes of the open strings ;)
Some owners report a rattle in the bridge, its the little wire that runs across. A couple coats of nail polish will stop the rattle.
I love my august 2018 edition of the sunburst. Only issue was to dress the fret ends. Took me 15 minutes to address.
For those wanting one, they are going up on amazon any moment now, be ready as they usually last less then a week.
Cheers and very good vid Ryan, thanks
I got the sunburst and same problem with bridge. Made a kink in the wire and it went away. Changed the strings and good to go. Great for the value
For double the price of a bottle of nail polish, one can just get another bridge without the retaining wire. $20 and you get a roller. That doesn't diminish the cleverness of that hack though!
It's not necessary to desolder the covers to take them off. Put a metal paint scraper on the joint and a little tap of a hammer. Many pros and pickup makers use this method. I wouldn't do this on a vintage pickup, but a $100 Duncan, sure.
If you put them back on, of course you'll need to get out the iron.
Or cut through it with a razor blade. Pretty easy
I got the same one after your first video, I threw some lock-in tuners and it made it instantly better (obviously). Plan on swapping out the electronics and nut.
Why replace the nut if it's bone?
@@georgefurman7652 Simply aesthetic purposes, the lock in tuners are black, and with a black nut the headstock will be all black.
The thing is of course.. most people aren't going to do much work on a cheap guitar. I had some adjustment done on my 500 dollar Samick semi-hollow. And I asked the guy (who builds custom guitars): "If anything, what would you change on this guitar to make it a bit better?" He said: "Nothing. It's fine the way it is. It's an affordable guitar but it plays nicely, sounds OK and has no real issues. But it's not worth upgrading."
That is also why it makes much more sense to spend a bit more so you can get a guitar (hopefully) without issues. If spending 100 or 200 dollars more will mean you don't have to do any work, because the guitar is good 'as is', then buying a dirt cheap guitar makes no sense.
I do like the argument "It's nice to have around the house". Thing is, most of us already have way too much cheap stuff around the house, and buying more chinese cheap stuff isn't doing much good to us or the environment.
Hmm, I don't mind havinf to lube the nut or replace it, nor do I minf replacing tuners for some better ones, but the PUs are just beyond me right now...I think for me it's a FireFlunk...for the time being atleast, maybe in 5 mins I change my mind...
Well, hell, I need a microphone too!
I never met a microphonic pickup that didn't sound awesome. The bridge pickup in my Univox went microphonic and it sounded so good, it was un believable, but if you got the volume loud enough to keep up with a drummer it was feedback city....so I begrudgingly replaced it.
Same deal with a 12 string Apollo my buddy has, old 60's style el cheap-O staple pickups, microphonic, but sound cool AF....just don;t turn it up too much and keep the guitar pointed away from the amp.
An Apollo! I have a 6-string kind of 335 copy with totally microphonic pickups--and they sound great!
I love microphonic pickups. Part of the charm is the unpredictability.
Did you ever have the guitar set up?
Every guitar I buy (new or used) I take to my guitar tech and have him do a set up. This includes: Bridge height and intonation adjustment, neck tension adjustment, minor fret dressing,etc. His work always plays like a million bucks, even on a $129 Squire.
If the tuners are sloppy, I have him put on a set of Spertzels.
Totally agree. A $99 guitar to a $5,000 gibson needs a setup before it's really played. Not sure why all the reviews online talk about now it needs a setup, like thats abnormal.
went back and forth 'tween this and an HB-35plus Cherry LH, and have to say for the extra 60 bucks I am very pleased with my choice.
I agree with Trey below, he's right. But I needed something red and hollow and it fits right in with my more expensive players quite nicely.
Great idea for the pups. Will check that out. Have a sneaky suspicion...
THAT IS AN AWESOME COLOR! A gr8 deal as long as no fret work is needed. Very honest review, as usual! One question... Is that a Gibson lol.
I managed to get one of the last black ones. I'm very impressed. Its the by far the best playing guitar I've played, second only to my Epi Les Paul Standard that I put hours in to make it playable. I think the only problem I see are the unpotted pickups. I love the sound though. I might just pull them out and wax pot them myself.
Yvan Shank I just got my black one a month ago. ZERO issues, microphonic PU’s is all! Love it
That "micro"-"phonic" moment was hilarious, lol
Piano is my primary instrument, so I don't know that much about guitars (I do play pretty well though). I recently bought a lefty blue burst...was encouraged by another lefty FF338 owner to snag it up as they are hard to find. Then tonight before viewing this video, I cam across the Ibanez Artcore AF55...$379.99...which is probably how much upgrading the pickups and tuners on the FF338 will cost me. Fortunately, I have guitar tech savvy friends who are willing to offer advice.
ʕ´•ᴥ•`ʔ get both, I have 2 guitars presently, 1 Firefly FFLP classic & 1 Ibanez Gio 🎸
@@officialdandaman Thanks for the reply. Actually my bandmate had an extra set of Epiphone humbuckers he is installing for free. Can't wait to try it out!
Might buy the guitar just for the “microphonic tactile experience”.
Being a Fender geek, I like your channel name, and 1st time visiting. Great review on this guitar. I think it's a looker and need to get one asap. Replace Tuners, no prob, and a little pencil lead on the nut never hurt anyone.
Like your demeanor and your voice isn't irritating like some other channels I checked out.
I subscribed, so keep me in mind if you want to sell it! Thanks for posting, ill be back 👍👍
its already sold, sorry, welcome to the channel though!
@@60CycleHumcast thank you, no problem. Although I'm always in the market, so keep me in mind. 😉👍
I'd love it if these folks made a LP standard copy, I've been toying with getting a chibson but not wild on the whole ordering process
zipporaid they’re in the process of it! They just posted pics in their Facebook group
How many professional musicians do you know that buy a $140.00 instruments. This is clearly a perfectly fine guitar for beginners or home pickers. I bought all my three grand children one of these and they love them. What a bargain.
There's alot of people saying don't buy if your a beginner I just bought one have you had any major problems?
Bought a second hand Epi Dot 'cause Firefly wasn't available. The Dot also has finish issues, particularly the F holes, which look like they are finished by a 10yr old with a bread knife and a Magic Marker. Of course the electronics and tuners etc. are good on the Epi, but they should be for the price of the Dot. Thanks.
Buy some used grovers from an epiphone or something and then maybe get some guitarfetish pickups and I’d honestly get some nice CTS pots because it probably has mini pots or really cheap ones
it does, they're the 16mm ones. Pots don't REALLY affect tone, so I wouldnt replace them personally, but CTS pots feel a lot nicer.
I Have the Gloss Black one ive had About 5 months now !!!
I've seen a lot of comments on those guitars, most say how good they are with a little tweaking. What I would like to see is a video of the tweaking, part numbers preferably Amazon parts for us out in the boonies folks . Everyone mentions how good the body and fretboard are it would be nice to see just how great the guitar could be.
Doing the set up and "tweaking" as you say, is half the fun. Turning a pig's ear into a silk purse, if you get my drift.
You can spend a lot more and still need upgrades or repairs right out of the box. I have two of them and both are pretty darn good for the money. Both came setup better than the 2 new Gibson's I bought this year.
You can remove the pickup and heat the pickups up and reflow the wax with a heat gun.
I've played through some Gibson pick ups that are microphonic - Even some "bespoke" quality p'ups that are (to a lesser degree) - to the extent that one of my favourite sounding p'ups is microphonic. I cope with it because I really, really hate a potted p'up! That's just me and I've been playing since late 1965. Best, Pete.
I ordered non wax potted PU from the people at DiMarzio (DP274/275) last year and literally had to wait for months for them. They are now installed in my fantastic Tokaï Les Paul and sound great from no to plenty of gain. The only issue I need to manage is feedback at (very) high volume when plenty of gain is involved. But that sound...
Nice review mate really balanced and informed. Some ppl pay extra for unpotted PAF style pups. Do you know what the DCR of these is? Sounds like a modern wind from here ✌️
Wow, 140 bucks and you can also use it as a microphone? What a deal!
Also keep in mind that the microphonic-ness is the pickups might be the reason it sounds good, since you’re getting the actual pluck of the pick.
That's right.
so when one of the first cheers is "good to hang on wall if you own a t.g.i.f's". I'm afraid i don't fit that profile!
Mr. 8:45 come on down to the TGI Friday’s that I own, and we will treat you like family
I have one I have been waiting to do an unboxing and playthrough for a couple of months now. I am going crazy waiting for my brother to come over. We've both been vacationing.
Can you recommend a good nut replacement for the FF338?
Firefly guitars have ' bone ' nuts, see specs on the Guitar garden website.
I just finally got one!!. Found it new, the lizard burst $167.00 free shipping wow. Now, I'm addicted got too, goto G.A. now.
I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar. I don't need another guitar.
That said, I did see these back in stock and successfully (?) passed (resisted) buying one (a few). Here's to fighting the good fight in the future. Is it really good though? And now I see this gold, which I didn't know existed before this video. I don't even like that color in general, but now...
plan on spending dough to get it studio or live gig ready, otherwise it makes a good practice in your room guitar but you wouldnt want to use it live or in a studio sitch without upgrade.
Like i said elsewhere...can upgrade it or just add upgrade money to buying something better for not much more. Check out the Harley Benton stuff...think youd like something from them better and theyre good to go out of the box. Also look at Wolf guitars out of California...they get high praise for cheap guitars like the Harleys do.
Good luck!!
I’ve been waiting for the ffth for a couple of months. Missed 2 on amazon by a couple of hours.
Saw the 338s on amazon, and bought 2 blueburst and a red. Jesus... I’m addicted. I should get them tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Great review .ive been wondering about these !
The tone is really nice
A wallflower guitar?! 😊 Firefly stories, the kind that involve their own men in black. Or goldfleck.
Embrace the feedback and replace the tuners... you can totally control that feedback and have fun at high gain.
Hey man eddie van Halen took seconds on a body and a neck and built his own axe 🪓 im just saying yes it was e v h but he had imagination so dont believe all the hype on guitars i want pay over 2 hundred dollars for any guitar I tinker with all of mine and make it how I want thats all part of it for me terr it down and make it squeal. Like a pig ahh what satisfaction 😌 ✨
They sell out because Hucksters buy them & resell them at 2x’s the price on EBay & Craigslist. Only buy them from Amazon. Play Authentic. LOL Gibson! I put a Tusq nut and Grover tuners on mine. Plays like a 335 now. My inlays are perfectly fine. My pickups are not microphonic. Maybe this batch got messed up. Ryan - The guitar fits in a regular dreadnought case. I also reshaped the headstock so that it resembles a Gibson scroll-book headstock. I created my own logo & named it the “Nibson”.
Black electrical tape cut to cover the poles, then put the cover back on. Always works for me.
Blue burst looks decent
140 Bucks... plus new good PU, plus new tuners.... same price as a Epiphone The Dot.
I have a big issue, trying to get one in UK despite sending 2 emails to 'guitars garden' main supplier they have not responded Amazon never have enough in stock when they do get them & when you do find one for sale it's either already sold or piss taking price demanded !
Anyone else having this problem ?
They are back up for sale on Amazon! No Gold though....
I'm old... so I already have pretty much everything I need, which means that it is really tough to buy me gifts (so I'm told). Which means my ppl take note of when I seem interested in something as a future gift idea. I have a lot of guitars; I have a '64 Strat, a '53 Tele reissue, a Gretsch, a nice Washburn with a Floyd Rose and a few others. I mentioned a while ago that "...they can't keep these Firefly's in stock--they're flying' off of Amazon."
Guess what I got for Christmas.
But. I may have a lot of guitars, but never have had a Les Paul. Since I also can't afford a real Les Paul, I was also (less vocally) checking out the Harley Bentons, and ended up ordering one for myself. So I now have one of those, AND a Red Firefly FF338.
I agree with everything you've said; for $140 the Firefly can't be beat. Mine was pretty clean out of the box--some of the fret ends needed a little dressing, the headstock is oddly cut off-center, but the finish is basically flawless. And it does go out of tune a lot (I prob will replace the tuners). Otherwise, plays great, nice pickups, no buzzin' or hummin'.
Another 'But'-- the Harley is better... and 'way more than just $40 better. I've checked out a lot of other LP -style guitars from more well known (here in the States) manufacturers and they pale in comparison. The finish, the set-up, hardware, electronics --- all 'way better. I like the Firefly, and I do play it a lot, it's a comfortable guitar that's very cooperative, and for some reason pinch harmonics are really easy to pull with it.
The Harley on the other hand is fast becoming one of my faves, it is a great guitar regardless of price point.
I wouldn't tell anyone not to buy the Firefly, but if they have the extra $40, and don't mind a few extra hoops to jump thru, I'd get the Harley Benton.
And you still don’t have a Les Paul.
I'd give the wax potting a try
This may be a stupid question, but how do tuners make it lose tune? Aren't they a gear and a worm drive shaft, so how does it back off the tuning? So unless touched, they should not turn.
Was reading a review of these, a guy said he put a piece of tape in the pickup cover to kill the feedback. Not sure if that helps, but that's what he did to fix his.
John Smith from my experience cheap tuners aren’t always about loosing tune, they can be jumpy and hard to get into tune. But if there is a jumpy ness there could be a bad connection between the grab and worm screw allowing slippage.
I got one of those it ok. I put eppiphone dot pickups burns pots sozo caps grover machines took care of tuning issues. its ok for the price. If I get tired of it I will donate it or I will keep it. Not sure yet.
WHAT is its body size Ry? 335 size or more like 339 size? Cheers. Sounds ok, but those pick ups are definitely NOT potted!
It's reportedly between the two.
@@georgefurman7652 Ok, makes sense! Thanks!
Could you use the microphony as an effect? It feel like it's just crying out to be creatively used.
Usually, it's basically just a high pitched feedback sound, so I'm sure it's been used many times in recordings that used feedback creatively. Microphonic guitar pickups have been a thing forever.
Other than that, you can just tap on them and make a click noise through the amp.
The intro to Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings" was Krist yelling into the pickups.
I think it’s a really great value guitar Ryan but I’d rather spend the little extra on a Harley Benton HB 35 +. Very interesting thanks 👍😊
ordering an hb 35 in the states would cost $100 more after shipping, but you do a get a guitar that needs far less help out of the box. I don't have one to do a direct comparison with, but i remember the hb being heavier than the firefly.
Unfortunately we have the same issue on this side with Fireflys. That finish is stunning. The weight isn’t an issue when you can only play sitting down 😂