Mind Blown! - $149 Firefly FFST Strat - Best Budget Guitar
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- Опубліковано 1 лют 2024
- Today we're checking out my NEW relic Firefly. Roasted maple neck, Bone nut, Stainless steel frets, Spoke wheel truss rod, locking tuners, Alnico 5 pickups, made in Korea bridge with huge Trem Block. Dual-finish relic. Wow! Let's check it out! This guitar is completely stock and right out of the box for this review and demo. I didn't even change the strings. For the demo I was running through VCV rack. If there is enough interest in the patch, I can set it up on my store for $1 dollar. Or buy me a coffee and I'll email it to you. Thanks for watching!
Guitars Garden FFST Strat
guitarsgarden.com/collections/sg
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All Music Composed by Mark Gutierrez - Навчання та стиль
I am glad you verified that it comes with a full size trem block. That's the very first thing that I change on a cheap Strat. I bought a traditional Tele and the Ghost White John 5 HH Tele with the same specs and I was really impressed with the quality for the price. The SS Frets and quality of the fret work in particular were top notch. It's rare to get a sub $200 guitar that doesn't need some upgrades (tuners) and a fair amount setup out of the box. The only upgrade I did was to install a 4 way switch on the traditional Tele, but that should already be on every Tele IMO.
I got a non relic one a while ago. The body is thinner than a fender, and I stripped the paint and refinished it in rattle can nitro. It was a five piece walnut body. I spent as much on the Yosemite pickups I put in it as the guitar, but the tuners and bridge were both super solid and didn’t need replacement.
I dig the locking vintage tuners I need someone those. That’s a great buy might have to try one
I don't NEED a new guitar but, grrrrrrr, you've really made me want one of these!
Exactly how I felt when I saw it.
Same here!
this is exactly the one i want i love the look of it thank you for the review mark i love this guitar and it is an awesome deal for all of the stuff your getting
I got the exact same one 12/23 for $200. Fret work is awesome! The biggest issue I had was the saddle screws being too high and sharp, so I switched them out. Other minor problems were the bridge tone knob didn’t work, and the humbucker is weak. Overall, can’t beat the price! The relic look great and the junction is smooth.
I didn't realize the pick guard was mint green until you mentioned the first time.
Great value technically speaking, and the detailed job they do making the guitar look like wear by friction is pretty amazing... I'm considering getting a Firefly telecaster. I'm taking guitar lessons, and honestly, even if I was a pro, I'll consider them as a viable option for a good guitar that doesn't involve selling a kidney to get it.
this is crazy, awesome guitar
Very cool guitar. Every time I go there to look at guitars, they are sold out. Bummer. I would love to get one of the strats and modify it. Thanks for sharing with us.
check back often, I just saw one in chameleon green back in the shop.
Really nice, Mark. It's crazy how good guitars with a cheap price point are these days.
Looks great!!
Dude, just found your channel…love your approach and style…had to sub👍
I bought the same one and made it into a single invader blocked trem setup. I had to change the tuners and the high low e gets weren't pushed in all the way so the high e was getting caught up on the fret until i manually pulled the string off. Not bad still for the money! I love the guitar, it plays great!
What's the fret board radius? And it it a chunky, Modern C or other profile?
Hi Mark, without a doubt, the value is outstanding and by far one of the best choices out there when it comes to value for the bra$$. Iv'e checked these out in the past, however there does not appear to be any international shipping available? (US only). Think your choice with head stock would suit the body's design for sure.
I have a double cut dual P90 firefly and a smokey burst les Paul style. They are amazing guitars in my opinion. Full size pots. And the electronics are good also. Don't know how they do it. They obviously cut out the middle man. Which allows them a little more Head room
Hi, Mark. Great find and great video. Thanks. Just wanted to relay that I just looked up the site and the price jumped to $179.91 in a month for the same model you unboxed. Still looks worth it, however. They are apparently hot sellers.
Mine has a full size trem block too. The only upgrade to consider is a set of pickups.
Wow ..this is a really nice guitar !
Great review Mark. I would be curious to see what it looks like under the pickguard. Was the black paint shielding? Also, what website did you purchase from?
Good question. I'll take a look under the guard when I take the neck off to reshape the headstock. I bought from: guitarsgarden.com
@MarkGutierrez Yeah, I saw that on the video after I asked. I checked it out in the morning, went back to purchase in the afternoon, and they're sold out. I guess your video got some exposure.
I picked up a relic fast last week from Firefly Guitar Garden. The only thing I had to do was tune it. It was set up incredibly well and it also sounds and plays well. There were no sharp edges or high frets.
Same here. No fret work needed. I lowered the saddles a bit and it was good to go.
When you see all the stuff these low priced guitars it makes you wonder why fender can’t do it for even 3 times the price.
Yeah, when we buy a Fender, we are buying the brand name, not necessarily the guitar specs.
It's actually disgusting how much Gibson and Fender charge. They are exploiting the glut of middle manager couch guitarists with money to burn. 8k for a fucking "masterbuilt" ? Makes me sick. Unless they are paying these guys a million dollars a year, there is no excuse for it. Pure greed, and I'd never buy another of their products on principle. Buying a top dollar Fender or Gibson these days is the antithesis of rock and roll.
It's probably not the materials, it's the wages of the workers.
I bought a firefly hollow body the guitar was built fine sounds fine the pickups were a lil microphonic but they have updated tg as t problem since my purchase id buy one
@@ROLEPLAYA64this is true. Employees, investors, etc. Much bigger operation = many more people divvying up the profits = need more profit to divvy = need more revenue to generate more profit = prices go way up
Wow. Wish they had these in Europe. Would love to try one out.
As of Feb.3, Guitars Garden only offers two FFST models: The Classic Relic Model Ash and the Classic Plus. Their prices have also been bumped up by at least $10. The model in this video is not available.
I’ve got the black relic FFST. I love it! I’ve also got a couple American Fenders. Yes, you can tell a difference in feel, but I play the Firefly mostly. I love I don’t concern myself if i bang it around. Honestly the FFST IS a really great guitar as is.
the song you play is wonderful, it feels like listening to a Slowdive record, congratulations; honest guitar review
Hi Mark, good to see you again. I have EART strat that I bought for 199$, it plays great and it too has stainless steel frets and the fret ends look exactly the same. Question, how do you think these fret ends are being done. Machine? Hand made? I'm of the opinion that their must be a machiine cranking out these frets, what do you think?
I've seen both Ken Parker and Chris from Highline Guitars use automation to make the fret ends prior to installing them on the fretboard. I'm sure a machine or at least a jig is used to round them.
I got a Fojil one like this. It was also reliced. Was maple body and roasted maple neck. Sounds really cool for $99 bucks. They really are outdoing themselves these days. If your a beat maker you can get some unique Guitars to create some cool riffs ti sample.
I think I saw a Cort with very similar spec. But when I check at the website, it is not available ? Probably Indonesia (where I live) exclusive models, Cort sometimes do local artist's limited one-off models..
Cool video. Thank you. All ST style guitars sold out. Bummer.
Beautiful musical guitar performance! Bravo! Oh and nice guitar... 🤓🎸
I’m learning on an acoustic guitar, wanting an electric. How does the firefly compare to Sterling cutless?
Hi, I want to buy one, but if you do me a favor what´s the neck profile with messures if you do not mind. Thank you.
I have one of these and I was blown away, too! It's scary that a $149 guitar can be this good! Especially the neck, it really plays as well out of the box as I've ever seen and I have had dozens of guitars. I didn't like the tuning keys, though. I put some Hipshots on it.
yeah the tuning keys are a little sticky. I assume due to the sandblasting relic job on them.
@@MarkGutierrez They might just be not made that well since they're probably one offs. And my FFST Relic had a mahogany body. They do make some of the other FFST's with Ash but yours is probably mahogany if it's light. Mine is 7.3 lbs, even lighter than my American Standard which is alder and weighs 8 lbs. If it's ash it is even heavier than alder at closer to 9 lbs. My mahogany Gibson SG Standard is mahogany and it's 6.8 lbs. Just look where the paint is off and you can tell if it's mahogany or ash.
I have a bunch of slightly older Firefly guitars (335 style, LP style, thinline style, doublecut jr style), and they all punch way above their price point. That said, it looks like they're getting even better as time goes on. The first thing I changed on all of them are the tuners, but looks like these have even addressed that!
Great review!
I have this guitar but with single coil in bridge , and it’s an insane value .Stays in tune , rosewood fretboard, on a roasted maple neck .I play it more than my Tele
@@markwillingham5343 I actually ended up getting one with a single pickup and a Floyd... and, yeah... it's my best Firefly. It's not perfect, but I've seen guitars that cost literally 20 times as much with just as many minor issues. I will say these tuners are just... ok. They seem to hold fine, and I'm sure the locking nut helps, but they don't turn very smoothly. They remind me more of tuning a violin than tuning a guitar, it's like there's too much slop in the gears, so it almost feels like you're tuning with friction, but I haven't felt a strong need to replace them. Time will tell how I feel.
Beautiful relic job, you can really see the Bamboo showing through.
😂
good thing wood has nothing to do with tone lol
😂😂😂
😂😂
🤣🤣🤣
I got the buckethead looking firefly and it plays really great. I like it so much i got some graphtech tuners and some Seymour Duncans for it
Hey Mark, how long from the time you ordered this did it arrive to your doorstep? I am wanting to pick one up for myself!! Amazing value for sure!!!
It was the typical UPS ground. I think it was a little over 5 business days.
Nice music. Does this guitar stay in tune?
Really beating myself up about not pulling the trigger on this one as a Frusciante fan, was eyeing it for weeks until they sold out. Feel like I got my lick back with the most recent drop, a 3 P90 LP style that I believe was 1 of 1 since it was removed from the website minutes after checking out. It was so random, I kid you not every time I refreshed the website more and more guitars were getting released. I was up until 5am that night lol.
That looks fab, health to enjoy. Such a creative demo, additionally.
These are amazing! And great job jumping on it they’re sold out!
Too many incredibles man, less is sometimes more 😎
My 4k MusicMan has stainless frets, bone nut, same truss rod adjustment, locking tuners…man for $150 if this plays well at all , what a great deal
What Delay unit are you using? Sounds Fantastic!!
VCV Rack. It's a custom patch based off of the Hologram Microcosm
Great looking and sounding guitar, unfortunately Firefly guitars are not available to us non USA residents as Guitar Garden only ship within the USA.
Do you happen to know if the neck joint is the same size/screw spacing as Fender's? If I bought one of these and wanted to put a fender neck on it could I?
edit: for the non-contoured options
I can only assume that it is a standardized spacing.
Leo Jaymes and IYV are putting out some fine equipment too. Honestly, i don't get the "relicing" thing. That seems it dhould be done naturally through use.
Only thing missing is 24 frets. That makes so much sense on a guitar as Octave. 24 frets are so much more understandable. 22 is like an octave and not all of the second. Not this companies fault, probably Gibson & Fender during the early years. 24 frets = 2 Octaves per string, this should be the norm in 2024.
Really, does show you the huge profit involved in high-end guitars
Looking at putting in the EMG Lukather set in
I just got the relic hss ffst at $159. Great features and setup. Mine is a little heavy at just under 9 pounds. Unfortunately, the tone pots are non functional on any of the pickups. Sent a note to guitarsgarden but have not heard back yet. Likely a wiring issue but unfortunate qc issue on what could be a great guitar.
Update no response from guitarsgarden concerning the tone controls not working. Was able to look into it with some help and one cap was wired on the wrong lug of the pot. Also they did not wire the switch properly. All fixed now. Still pleased with the guitar and it plays and sounds good. However, the lack of any response from the seller may keep me from future purchases. Buyer beware with this company as not sure they will service a more serious issue.
I wish we could get Firefly's in the UK - Look awesome! Love your playing btw 😎👍
What's the neck profile/shape?
You sold one! Relic, ash body, rosewood board. I figure for the price, why not
I just looked a day after you posted this video and there are only 2 options. I also like the one you liked but didnt get. Too much relic'd is not to my liking. Amazing deals! Thanks for sharing!
Now there is only one! I am not joking! I just looked and there is one strat style with a ash body no options.
@Thesegotoeleven1968 I known, they need to make 10x more than they are. I wanted the white non relic'd one.
@@dragan4658 Yes that is the one i am after too 👍
@Thesegotoeleven1968 just have to keep checking. It's amazingly innexpensive. Ide love to my hands on the copy of the Adam Jones firefly made a while back. Wish us luck! 🤘
Can’t find them for sale on guitar garden
How did you get the relic job ?.....its not on the site
It's a good job that in the 30 seconds worth of actual playing of the guitar you resisted the temptation bury the sound of the actual guitar in effects.
can't find anything like that one made by firefly?
Nice review and an impressive instrument. However, you broke them! As of 2/13/24 they only have one style of their FFST on the website. It sells at little higher price point, $170. However, considering the instrument comes with locking tuners, and a bone nut, this is still a good price. Their stock in other styles is not great either. They do seem to have a good selection of their Les Paul copies, the FFSP.
Actually just noticed that the relic style you bought has been switched from an HSS to an SSS. The HSS configuration is now on the other white relic model for $189.91. A little twilight zonesque, perhaps? Hmm...🤔🤭
I really like the current headstock shape. Just my opinion. Why do you think these are so cheap and can you CONSISTENTLY get a good product from them?
I can only guess why they are so cheap. I would assume a surplus of materials and very, very cheap labor. Plus they are listening to what the American market wants. We have been complaining for years about fret sprout, cheap ceramic pickups and skinny trem blocks. They are listening. Regarding consistency, I'm going to buy a second one. I'll let you know.
@@MarkGutierrez Thanks, I will keep an eye out for a follow up.
What size are the frets?
Will this model ever be back? It sold out shortly after this video, I’m sure.
Is there any way to test that the materials are as advertised? (metals, wood, lead-free paint, etc).
What a ridiculous question
Is the Paine lead?
Hello Mark,
I wanna ask you how can this be possible?
I guess you know the brand Harley Benton by Thomann in Germany (I only live about 60 km from the Thomann music store). And almost everybody I know was very stunned, wenn you look on the Harley Benton guitars when it comes to builting quality, the sound and price of this guitar by that little money you have to pay.
But when I look at the firefly guitar that you have shown in your video I'm so mindblowing!
For 149 $ that is so incredible. Locking Tuners, Stainless steel frets, realistic Heavy Relic, Access heel joint, Roasted marple neck, the cool finish white over sunburst like from the Fender Custom Shop, etc.). How ist that possible to sell a guitar like that for that little money? What is your personal think?
With lovely greetigs from Germany
Matthias
This is Nice Thank You for this Video 😎🤘👍 can you please help me where to buy this kind of model of Firefly Relic Strat .. Thank's Bro 🤝
I just received the single coil version of this exact guitar and she is incredible. 176 bucks delivered, no tax online. I can't stop playing the guitar and with the playability and even the stock pickups along with the beautiful Relic job they did there is no way I could ever justify buying a ridiculous $5,000 Custom Shop fender
how much does it weigh?
How much does it weigh?
Where can I buy them in Europe?Spain.
What is the neck profile like?
I might consider getting one of these, but I gotta know the neck profile first.
Modern C
@@MarkGutierrez Thank You, very much appreciated. These guitars are difficult to find (you were correct, they do sell out quickly).
I've signed up for Guitar Garden's Newsletter, I think I'll give one of these a try if and when they become available. 👍
The headstock is almost identical to a John Page Ashburn 😉
Paul Reed Smith out of Indonesia, comes out of the same court factory, as court, classic vibes by squire and my classic vibe had the worst fret a job
Where do I look on the Internet for a firefly stratocaster can you tell me please.
They have one back in stock.
Looks like they don’t have any more left? Link to the site doesn’t show any products
Bargains sell out fast.
So a mick mars guiatr ?
I guess I need one more guitar😁
Similar to the Jet Strats , I have no idea how they are making a profit ? as the big trem block is like £50 alone here in the UK where i live , then to roast the maple neck is an extra process then to do relic job is another few hours time and stainless steel frets and locking tuners , They must be losing money on these surely?
We live crazy times...
That body wood looks a LOT more like Mahogany (probably Nyatoh) than it does Ash.
And now....out-of-stock on nearly every model. Whew! That big trem block is like the 70's Ibanez Silver Series strat copies
I don't see them available anywhere or through link
Check back often, I just say one in chameleon green.
Just bought the 1800 dallor sparrowhawk ltd in vintage sunburst and there was so many qc issues. 😢 i love the look but the guitar arrived unplayable.
Muy buen precio , nada más necesita una buena lijada y pintada y va a quedar magnífica!
Te la compro en $100.00 pesos gabachos, yo la pinto y la arreglo y te ago un video para que veas cómo va a quedar de suave!
That’s a better relic job than fender does on $4K custom shop models.
Followed the link nothing available??
Holy SHIT thank you for making this, this is exactly what i've been looking for. China numbah ONE !!! ☝ 😎
I can't find these guitars.
Yep..i got the Jet js 300 a couple of months back and its almost the same thing...gorgeous roasted maple neck,bone nut, full big block but no SS frets( i installed them myself later) or spoke wheel truss rod or locking tuners and it was a tad more expensive too...still for someone who wants ridiculous value and knows how to do guitar work and setting up an instrument i consider it a crime to pay hundreds for the fenders of the world that are way pricier with more inferior base....
What i dont agree is that china ll get designers and presents us with super high quality new design guitars..not that they cant do it...they can do it right now but cause they arent japan and will never gonna be like that.....their objective is screaming deals at the lowest prices possible to flood and dominate the marker and that excuses them from any real quality control or enter the boutique guitar building world....
Iam willing to get 5( or more) of those firefly(or similar) guitars in different colours for example and mod them with with slightly different specs or aftermarket parts but i would never get one high quality relatively expensive guitar from china and i think most people would agree....
I was looking at those Jet guitars for a while, I still may get one. I agree with everything you've said. However, just a few weeks ago at this year's NAMMM show we saw a handful of Chinese companies present their new original design models, in particular, Fesley. Once these Chinese companies throw their hat into the NAMM Show every year, they will be expected to produce interesting new products and not just clones. The future is bright.
@@MarkGutierrez They are great but judging from this video this firefly here is even better without a doubt....although if we count the import costs for my country(Greece) it really isnt so its also a matter of where you live if you want the best deal....
My main point is that nowadays there are guitars with killer specs that people flat out ignore cause they are really stuck in the X logo thats missing from the headstock..what they dont get is that pretty much anyone can make a killer guitar(build it from scratch or mod a preexisting model) thats is better or no par than any offering from any major name for half or even one third of the cost but they cant make a guitar like that firefly for that amount of money...(or even triple).....i could have stolen most of the parts and still that guitar would cost waaaay more than 149......
Great vid. Just subbed. Sell me that guitar. Lol. 😂🎉
good choice, looks like it's sold out already
Crazy how fast they sold out. Two weeks ago they had a ton of Strats an teles.
is it all sold out?
Good question, sites empty. Lol
Would love to see the mod to the headstock
This is why there's a guitar in the background of every YT video regardless of the topic. I'd be willing to bet that half of those people can't even play guitar.
是的，现在很多中国工厂都有足够的能力做好的吉他。由于市场上g和f的知名度最高，所以不得不用模仿的方式吸引大家的注意，后期很多中国品牌会陆续登场。
Yeah, but don’t get too excited about those "stainless steel” frets. Yes, they do look amazingly well finished, and they do feel great… but trust me, it’s nowhere close to true stainless frets. I mainly play an Ibanez MM1 (Martin Miller’s signature AZ), but I also own an Eart headless guitar that has the same made in china "stainless steel" frets. I’ve been playing my MM1 everyday for the last 2 years, bending like crazy all the time and the frets are literally still brand new (not a single wear mark). I bought the Eart a year ago and haven’t played it much.. and the frets are already showing wear marks. They might be made of a stainless material, but they are NOT the same as high quality stainless steel frets that you’ll find on high end guitars. Obviously, that’s expected at this price, but most people seem to believe these frets will be super long lasting.. they won’t!
So cool if only there was a left handed one for me🤷♀️ iI have some videos on relic if you wanna take it to the next lvl and make it look even more cooler😉
I watched your vid on relicing hardware. You also beat me to the Marr's guitar review. Such a great book.
@@MarkGutierrez haha well I'd still watch a video of you looking though it😉
I paid 300 just for a neck from Warmoth,wow has the game changed.
100 percent. Things are changing so quickly.
as of now theyre sold out lol.... damn jealous these are nice