Firefly "335" - Crazy Cheap, but is it ACTUALLY Good??
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- Moving past all the hype, today you get the straight goods on the Firefly FF338!
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FINALLY GOT A FIREFLY!!!!
Cant wait for the modification video and comparison. Thanks to you I opted for a Squier standard strat for my first electric. The guys at Andertons also give Squier lots of praise now.
Sounds as good as that custom custom multi handbuilt gtr. in the MIX.
Where can I get one of these? Amazon always seems to be out... :(
You’ve got to try the firefly LP! It’s the les Paul “inspired” guitar and the quality and finish is better compared to the 338. I’ve got one and they are just amazing for the money!
@@nate_d376 IDK but Harley Bentons guitars are amazing guitars i'd dare say much better than the Fire Fly 335 for about the same w/Free S&H to the States from UK. They have what would cost you $4-5000 for a super strat w/all the nice parts pickups & stainless steel frets
I need one of those as my "backup guitar". My fifteenth backup guitar.
I have one among my 27 axes in my arsenal. ;-)
Hahahah I mere mortal with 7 ...hahahah
2 of my buddies. Both of you rock!
@@robertclarkguitar LOL! Hey Robert!
@@robertclarkguitar Hey Robert!
The problem with play testing these cheap, low-end guitars is they all sound absolutely fantastic with you playing them. Send them to me I'll make them sound atrocious ;)
mac525 nice one
Right? Darrell and Max can make a Hello Kitty guitar sound amazing.
lmao
His amps and pedals are amazing to start.... If he can do these demos dry
Try one, you might be surprised.
Looks beautiful, sounds great, price is amazing. Some people like guitar pickups that squeal and go nuts under pressure. I don't think anybody really wants to play guitar because they are well-behaved instruments. They like to play them because the good ones misbehave in wonderfully unexpected, wild, beautiful, obnoxious, crazy, and inspiring ways. A perfectly behaved guitar is a waste of wood in my opinion. Thanks Phillip for sending it to Darrell for review!
Thanks for this review. I have one from a few months ago. They FF people listened and are fully wax potting. The wax actually comes out the screw holes on top! No microphonics from a vibrating metal cover. My frets were dressed on the ends when received. I did a quicky polish of the fret tops with a dremel cotton tool. This thing has recorded several songs, played relentlessly at gigs and noodling. I'm 70 years young and have a room+ full of every price bracket. I'm here to say price doesn't matter for some of the new guitar importers since they obviously pay attention to critics and direct the manufacturer to improve. I can inform anyone that will listen that this brand is worth the price period. For any experience level. That's why they are gone as soon as listed.... Thanks sir!
To give some of you young cats a bit of perspective I am also in Canada. In 1984 I think it was I bought a made in Japan Fender strat. It had a locking nut and knockoff trem ( it was the 80s). It cost me $950 after tax. Minimum wage at the time was about $6 an hour. The trem fell apart within months. My first amp was a solid state Traynor and it doubled as a radio as It also picked up the local radio station.
When I got back into guitar around 2010 I bought a new classic vibe strat for $279. It was the equal of my 80s strat in every way. This is a golden age of affordable gear. Enjoy!
DEAR GOD I AGREE . I am saving just 800 american. and am planning on buying 3 completely DIFFERENT Guitar rigs. I feel like a kid in a candy store with a credit card. LOL. THE BEST time in history to LOVE ALL things GUITAR !
The one good thing about firefly is that they are very responsive to the feed back that they get from their Facebook groups. The bone nut is a fine example of an improvement derived from feedback from their fans
Sounds like a good company. Smart business listening to feedback. I might scratch one down some day.
Looks like now in their models, they are offering full sized pots and locking tuners
So you reviewed my exact Firefly and everything was dead on. I love it!!!
it sounds studio worthy to be. I have a feeling firefly takes a little more pride in what they do. they have limits but they want to give you the best they can for the price. I plan to pick up one.
Love the pick up talking 😁
Yea, I guess that everyone has forgot.
Feature, not a bug.
That dark blue is mesmerizing and beautiful! Way too smooth of a hollowbody if I must say!
The spalted maple one is to die for.
Fast forward about 8 minutes and listen to Darrell's playing. It's flawless. The right amount of attack, the right amount of muting, the pulls and variability in the picking style, smooth but gritty. The thing is, Darrell could nail some wires to a bucket and a broom handle, do a quick solo, and it would probably sound like a record.
What's gonna determine if this Firefly guitar is any good, is if it stays in tune over time, the action doesn't drift over time, if the electronics and hardware stay in place and don't start pulling away or unscrewing. This stuff only shows up over time. But most importantly, is it really a "Firefly-class" spaceship worthy of the crew of Serenity? (sorry, couldn't resist).
I’ve had one in black for about a year with no issues at all. I play on a Fender Champion 40 amp and it sounds awesome!!!
i wonder how "affordable" guitars 10 years from now would perform, today's bang for the buck guitars are awesome!
9:11 Is he playing Smoke on the.... oh nevermind
He's playing Smoke on the Copyright Strike.
Smoke on the 72nd floor where the plane hit.
Mick oOf
Sure sounded like he was going there 🙄
....Wasser!!!
I have that exact same model color and all. I absolutely love it. No problems whatsoever.
Love mine so well that I upgraded the tuners, bridge (roller), pu's and I actually just installed a B7 Bigsby! Still for less than$400 bucks I have a super sweet guitar.
@Alberto Abarzua I could have but then I would have had just another Chinese made guitar of the same quality.
I LOVE THE MICROPHONIC PICKUPS! By far the most interesting thing about this guitar for me.. I haven't seen a reviewer that hasn't gotten a microphonic pair! I love them, I think they sound so good.
Paul Gilbert screams into his pickup during his solos. His guitars have Dimarzios.
@@richardbinder9662 if the pickups don't have wax potting, they will be microphonic regardless of the quality
@@oskarileikos Gibson's original PAFS weren't potted, but that was ok back then when everybody played CLEAN electric guitar! Once they started adding more distortion, the shortcomings came to the fore.
@@DMSProduktions true, but players like Jimmy Page and Keith Richards who played 50s Les Pauls did use distortion on them in the 70s. And it sounded fantastic. If I recall correctly, Gibson had in some of their custom shop models these new CustomBuckers a while ago, which were unpotted. It really affects the sound.
@@oskarileikos It does. IF you are judicious, yes you can use them fine with OD! I never said you couldn't, but you HAD to be aware of it and adjust accordingly!
I was feeling pretty anxious for the past few days. Don't know why, but I saw you uploaded this video and BOOM, my anxiety completely went away. Not sure if it's your positive attitude, smooth tones, or nice video quality, but you single handedly got rid of my anxiety today. And for that, thank you so much. Much love, Darrell!
Your hardwork deserves a thumbs up!
I love mine! It was built in Oct 2019. It has absolutely no cosmetic flaws anywhere and my fret ends were finished. It had one high fret which was an easy fix. At the same time I polished the frets. I was so happy with how it felt and played I spent about 3x the cost of the guitar on quality components and now it's absolutely amazing. I'm more of a pointy guitar fan but I love this big beast!! Also, my nut was definately plastic. It now has a real bone nut!!
"I spent about 3x the cost of the guitar on quality components" ... so how much did you spend? What else could you have bought for the same money?
Love that you managed to squeeze in a Gibson neck angle comment lol
Lol its so great how he jabs em every time
I've looked at a lot of budget instrument reviews and it seems like 99 times out of 100 if the player can PLAY it will sound good.
So, yea, I need to get good.
Post-production does wonders also
Mike Aux actually very true i can make a crap fender mini sound good
That's the bottom line for sure. If you can play it can sound good no matter the price.
If you are really good at controlling tone, than you can make anything sound good, but we all really know better instruments will sound better.
just because a guitar sounds good doesnt mean it feels good to play. dont forget that
Your videos are always such a breath of fresh air I've come to realize.
I was really upset with people in general today and I got home.
Turned on the TV and your video was the first on the suggestion list. I pressed play and within 10 seconds I found myself surprisingly emotional as I came to the realization that.
You know what?
Everything is going to be
O
K
Finally. What about Harley Benton 335 Plus doe 😳
I like your vibe ngl
Yeah, I've seen those, wondering if they are worth it, since firefly's seem to be almost impossible to get.
Most of the Harley Benton’s I have seen have gotten great reviews. I still want their $200 2x12 with Celestions.
@@shawnreed9016 If you're in the US, something to know. The amps only come wired for 220V (Euro std). US std is 110V. Speaker cabs have no electrical like that, so they can be used with American amps just fine.
I don't like the look of the Harley Benton 335
9:12 come on Darrell don’t do that to me
0-3...
Smooooooooke on the water
0-3-5
I just bought the Black LP and dude...idc what anyone says, its enough for me by far. Im not a 'pro' im more intermediate but dude I can feel and see an amazing guitar well enough.
I loved that you actually spoke into the PUPs!!
You make any damn guitar sound amazingly well :) you are a gift to the guitar community... Great job Darrell!
That speaking into the pickups made my day! 😂
I love mine! I've had absolutely no issues at all. I always wanted a 335 style guitar, but, wanted to try one out before I bought a Gibson. This thing blew my mind! Fantastic set-up, no finish imperfections. Maybe they watched Darrell's video and fixed the jacked up stuff.
Yeah and theyre more expensive now lol
I like those videos. Shows what you can realistically expect from a guitar in that price range.
I'm glad these exist because they are forcing mid tier instrument makers to up their game and also offer beginners an interesting option that won't make them quit out of frustration.
I had to bite the bullet and I picked up one of these last year. I have to say I really do like it! I did take it in for a proper setup and had the frets polished and put on some nice Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys. Oh, and I couldn't resist the Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups. For the price of the guitar, you can afford to add some finer touches! Love this guitar!
still have my first $99 Sears catalog guitar from the 80's, it's barely playable in comparison. Got a FF 2 years ago, 139$ free shipping 😂 love it! yes it needed a setup but a solid build, plays great, worth upgrading the electronics/hardware
I can't believe how good it sounds!
June 2021 and I got my Firefly ES335 copy. I took out my magnifying glass with LED. I can only say my green dye guitar is flawless. I ordered from Garden Guitars, not Amazon. I did pay $169, but it plays like a much more expensive guitar. I was planning to change pickups, but after playing it I changed my mind. My frets did not need a polish, they must have started to do this. Also, they did an amazing job hiding the wires, you can't see any of them. Very happy.
Drives me absolutely crazy that so many things are not shipped to Canada- I want to buy an Orangewood but can't; what could be the reason for a company not being able to ship across the border? I've had this issue with camera gear and all kinds of music gear and other items- even T-shirts and other clothing. Idiocy.
Couldn't agree more, I'd gladly order an orange wood or a firefly and deal with some fretwork myself. Sucks they are next to impossible to get in canada.
Don't forget tariffs and tax complications. It's tough.
1) The Canuck government charges crazy duties and us 'Mericans are always asked to declare stuff as "gifts", 2) FedEx and UPS shipping rates are insane, and that leaves only USPS - the worst shipping company with the worst tracking system. It's not worth the hassle. But don't feel bad, at least you've got decent pepperoni!
Canada? Mate, try getting anything sent to Australia from Trumpworld!
If you're near the border maybe you could have it shipped close, then drive over to pick it up in person? Just a thought. I have no idea if that's legal. 😁 👍
2:35 that AT-AT on the window though...
I love how you put this in perspective... When I first started you were lucky to get a *_playable_* guitar - much less one that could be used to sing into while playing! 🤪 Seriously, though what a long way these 'entry' level instruments have come. I'm just excited that "new" players, be they young or old, can get an instrument of this quality to learn on. When a guitar is this playable for this price, I think a LOT more "new" players will stick with it!
Best firefly guitar review I have ever seen. I have been waiting for a long time for a DBG review.
I've had one for about a year and a couple of simple "upgrades" I've made is really a game changer Roller bridge helps a ton Polishing frets is key Also leveling them was helpful I haven't changed the pups but on my short list. It's my blues go to axe and if you do a few cheap upgrades I think it plays every bit as good (or better) as a much more expensive Epiphone Dot.... Thumbs up
Curious why you chose a roller bridge on a non-tremolo, hardtail setup? Does it prevent binding at the bridge saddles when bending? I actually really like the tuneomatic bridges so to others I’d suggest just polishing the saddles to smooth out any binding issues. Works fine on my classic player jag with a tremolo even
@@SeemsLikeSomething Really went with suggestions from Firefly owners and I did not like the quality of the stock bridge on the FF I own. Roller bridge was inexpensive and an easy mod when I changed the strings Seemed to have improved the sustain but that could be argued with everyone having a different ear.
Guitar Refuge
Ah yeah I hear ya. Perhaps even swapping to just a nice quality version of the same thing would improve stuff. Definitely smoothing out the grooves of the saddles can help too. I’ve always found, getting the bridge as low as possible, even adjusting neck angle for that purpose, can be a big help for sustain
I have had a frefly for about a year.... mine has NO issies with the binding at all, absolutly perfect. However the fret ends were very sharp and the is some dead spots near the 18th fret (definitly fixable stuff). One issue i have noticed is that the neck joint has developed some cracks, thus far it appears to be paint only though.
Great review, thank you. And a big thank you to Phillip!
Darrell has 800k subscribers. I follow several of the famous guitar channels, but most have not this amount of subscribers. Why ? What Darrell does better than others ? They all talk about the same. Well... Darrell is not trying to be funny , doesnt make highly sophisticaded video edits, doesnt seem biased, doesnt do extremly long videos, its not boring... and but best of all, he seems a very nice guy. Thats what I most like in this channel
I like they that a mic comes with the guitar and it should match my voice too.
I love my Firefly, and despite a significant collection, I wind up recording with it regularly.
That said, the fretboard is NOT rosewood, but a plastique replica thereof. And yes, the frets need tons of polishing.
As for the binding, come on, really? I’ve seen 4,000 Gibson’s with bigger issues
Thank you for confirming that about the "rosewood" fretboard. I knew there was something off about it!
That Brand seams to me like they are employing young luthers like all the big guys used to do. They got skill, but are still green . LOVE IT !!! Tooling marks. wasnt factroy robots, was a person. Fill in's . PERSON, not a robot. not a CNC. I want to buy stock in this company.
Fair review. My sister in law bought me one for Christmas 2019 in 3 tone burst. Man, the pick ups are not microphonic! I must have got really lucky! No real problem with the frets and the truss rod works smoothly. Yes some small finish issues but nothing I haven't seen on guitars costing $1,000 US too. The tone is quite lovely from either or both of the pick ups certainly as good as an ES335 I used to own. My biggest complaint is the same as mine of the 335 - it's a big body that digs into my body at the lower bout... Best, Pete.
That looks like it came out of the same factory as the Artist Cherry 58 that we have in Australia. The quality control for the 58 is much better though. It's a bit heavier than the Epiphone Dot 335. With a proper setup and some new strings, they're great. Thanks for another informative review.
ye i go tone of those off amazon (might have been ebay) for my sister a while back (in scotland not oz) and apartfrom the low grade tuners it was great, i mean i polished the fret and conditioned the board, but it probably sat in a warehouse for a while,so i expected that
whoever is reading this, I hope you're having a great day today
Well I don't know why I came here tonight.....
That's nice. Bless you.
Thankyou. For you too as well
Likewise.
AClassOldie I got the feeling something ain’t right...
This is the best gear channel on the platform, bar none.
I had an ES 335 once. I loved it. The right amp and --- WoW!!!
She sure is pretty for $135!
Guitars are always a she.
She's $260 now
@@clawhammer704 Not to me they aren't. Unless they have a V hole instead of an F hole.
@Javier Ambrosio cringe
I’d check out Wolf guitars too from All In One Guitars. Exceptional quality and they sound amazing. The finish on them are fantastic. Would recommend to anyone who wants a guitar that plays like butter. Oh, and did I mention they do a free setup before they ship it to you to how you like it? ;)
Ps... the ones that are 499 come with a gorgeous hard case
I bought a Firefly over a year ago now. I did have to polish the frets and get rid of fret sprout on the ends of the frets. I did not have the microphonic pup problem that was demonstrated. I didn’t really have to, but I went ahead and changed the nut to Tusq. The nut on my guitar felt like plastic. I also replaced the tuners to Grover’s, but I didn’t really have to. I’ll have to say - I have an old guitarist friend from a famous band in the ‘60’s who stops by every so often and he gravitates to my Firefly every time he’s over. He is blown away by the guitar. It was definitely worth $135.
Nothing beats a great guitarist
Mine arrives tomorrow! Have the thinline tele firefly already and it is amazing.
How is it? worth it?
"Play Authentic"
Sorry, had to say it for the lulz
Joe P n
Lol
I had one. As soon as i put it up for sale on facebook marketplace, it was heading to its new home in only an hour because of the hype. Ive told plenty of people, if your looking for a guitar to get into modding and learning how to do setups, then get one of these. If your just playing in your bedroom, it was fine, but if you plan on gigging with it, you need to upgrade pretty much everything in my opinion.
Out of curiosity, what else would you recommend in the semi-hollow, relatively affordable realm?
If you can get one when they are up on Amazon, try the Firefly. It played really well, i just have other guitars id rather put money into. Check out 60 Cycle Hums comparison between three affordable semi hollows. He compares a Firefly, Harley Benton, and Grote.
I got my Firefly a little over a year ago. I paid 139.99 for it. Expecting to get what I paid for a cheap 335 that needed alot of work to be playable. I actually just wanted it for a wall hanger. It came in a few days wich I was not expecting and unboxing I was thrilled by the looks. I didn't go over with the fine tooth comb like you but looks are nice. I don't have all the gear you have so plugged into my Vypyr and started testing tones and microphonics. I have to say I was impressed and it sounded great for the price. I have purchased higher end guitars that weren't as good out of the box as this 140 dollar guitar. I love mine and although I don't play it as a first pick, ( I love my SG ), I do play it often enough to say it holds tune fairly well. It plays really well, the action is for me is almost perfect. This guitar is better than my first gig guitar by far. I am glad I purchased one and if I had to do all over again I would.
I’m not even mad at the microphonic lmao I’m already thinking how to use it with my looper
Would love to hear your opinion on the Harley Benton guitars. I know they're not as easy to get in the US, but I've been wanting a tele as a second guitar and they seem much better anything in that price range or even a bit above.
If I'm not mistaken he's done a lot of reviews on Harley Benton stuff.
There's also a lot of European guys. Seems like they are pretty good for the money. Especially if you can set up your own guitar yourself.
Bourne, Darell resides in Canada as he mention in his videos.. not sure how much shipping is from Thomann UK to Canada.
@@K750Ric Shipping from HB is $75 and you can include up to 3 guitars for that shipping price.
I have several and quality spread is an issue in the lower half of their price range. I would not recommend these to oversees buyers because returns are not really an option the way it is in Europe. Think of them as a "good for the money" compromise with the risk of getting something from a bad batch. Be prepared to do some minor fret levelling on them and deal with unannounced changes like a different bridge or a new fingerboard material.
From 250€ upwards, the range is much safer in this regard and they are up to the offered specs.
im in canada, i got he HB SC custom FR... while one of the more expensive SC's its fantastic value...you will NOT get a better guitar for the same price and im including "regular" used prices (not the blow out/dunno what they got guitars)..and similar priced epiphones do not stack up.
the canadian market is broken..our shipping and taxes are killing us
Darrell makes ‘cheap’ sound pretty good!!!
Great review! Curiosity got the best of me and I just had to try one. I've had mine for a couple weeks. I kept an eye on amazon and finally found one. I have to say that mine is exactly as the one you've got other than the color. I polished the frets first thing, they were really scratchy. microphonic pickups, binding just a little sloppy in places. But damn for the price who can complain. I had a bone nut blank ready to install when I realized it already had one! Never saw that before on a guitar at this price. It plays and sounds great. A few mods and this thing could compete with some of the big brands at a fraction of the cost, I mean locking tuners, upgraded pickups, maybe a roller bridge and it would be ready to tour. I was very surprised to say the least. Wife says it has to go before I start upgrading and spending more money on it lol, she's probably right!
I cured the microphonics on mine by taking the chrome covers off the pickups. No more microphonics!
I put in a set of humbuckers for $30 off Amazon. Never used cheap ones like these before and was very surprised at how good they actually are.
So they aren’t wax potted. Hmm
Akif Hafie You can actually wax pot them yourself using tea candles and a heat gun.
Bob Helbig good idea! I tried to make some cheap pickups "better" by potting way back forty years ago. Read up on the procedure, tools, materials and followed instructions.
In that case the untouched pickup had more appealing characteristics than the potted one. It's not always the cure.
Makes me think of Neil Young and his Les Paul; "Don't touch my pickups!"
There were (may still be) a bunch of various FF guitars available on Amazon over past 2 weeks. Already have a red FF338. Picked up the FFDCD, came in yesterday...lots of cosmetic issues (red transparent) and high frets, so I am returning for replacement. Comes in on Tues. My 338/335 was almost perfect, but I replaced several things to make it great. As Darrell mentions, it’s hit or miss.
I bought a yellow FFDCD earlier this month and got a good one. Then I replaced all the silver hardware with black (locking tuners, roller bridge, tailpiece, strap buttons, output jack plate) for less than US $100 from eBay retailers. Now it looks fantastic, stays in tune and plays great! Good luck with your 2nd one!
Patrick Fitzgerald thank you. I have a Schaller roller bridge sitting here waiting on the new one to arrive. Probably will replace tuners as well. Glad you didn’t have to go through the hassle. Congrats on the new axe!
for 150 is this a homerun, i totally expected the imperfections personally, and can def live with them! Great video and playing man! always a treat watching your stuff!
Thanks for your video...very unbiased and honest. I bought a Firefly "335" from amazon about three weeks ago. Cosmetics-wise it was perfect with no finish flaws at all. But the abr-1 styke bridge with the spring retainer was very buzzy because of sloppy tolerances. I contacted the seller and was refunded $15 which I thought was very nice of them to do so. I'm guessing this model was built in a non-climate controlled factory in a very damp region of China because the it took several weeks for the guitar to acclimate to my warm dry house and dry out. But now it's stable and hold tune and action very well. I can now do a little work on it including polishing the frets and smoothing the sharp fret ends (they were ok when I got the guitar but they "sprouted" as the guitar dried out. A great guitar for someone who has some guitar setup skills. For a beginner without those skills you might think about buying a used Ibanez or Yamaha that's several years old and nice and stable with better electronics and hardware.
That is exactly like mine. Yes, I bought into the hype. I've got Jackson, Epiphone, Yamaha...etc. I thought WTH! Let's go for it. I've had my 335 Firefly for a couple weeks and I got to agree with the review. My very first guitar was an 1983 Cort Effector Explorer that was an okay first guitar but it really is a horrible guitar. If you plugged into an amp and touched metal it would zap your ass. If my first guitar was the Firefly I would have been much better off. I plan on getting Les Paul copy if it comes out. Remember, don't think your getting a pro Strat or a Les Paul...you're not. Just have fun with it. Why make it so serious?
That fretboard is "compound" for sure, as seen on 6:09
Darrell, you have the best review channel on you tube, but more importantly, you seem like a very decent human being. These days, it's important to recognize that in a person, and call it out. Thanks for all you do.
Kevin O'Rourke
I have the blueburst. They are gorgeous in person. Mine has a sort of sticky pot but other than that it was awesome. Plays really nice. They just look cool while playing them. Gorgeous all around.
@Frank Masuzzo mine is a lot more blue than black though.
$150 for a good quality guitar= zero cons
How about a guitar review on a Nick Johnston Schecter Signature Guitar... Not the USA Models though.
I can report I bought one of these. It got to me with a broken string and the B-tuner not holding. But other than that, this thing was love at first sight. For the price, the body is sweet enough for me to do a few things to make it my own and it is still inexpensive. I am only a hobbyist, but this thing makes draws me to it every time I see it. Thanks for the review!
I have a 338 lefty. It took me months to find a lefty but now I love it. Upgraded the tuners and humbuckers. Sounds so much better now.
Looking at a blue burst lefty on FB.
@@MrMixolydian7 if you find one get it! They are not that easy to find.
@@charlesnix6066 , thanks. I PM’d the seller. Got wifey approval to buy this bad boy. That’s huge! Lol.
@@charlesnix6066 , just bought it. Shipping Monday. 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾
@@MrMixolydian7 niiiice! You're gonna love it! I would like to see some pics when you get it!
8:52 Fog on the liquid.
7:43 Are you playing Stevie T's Ed Sheeran song?
Oooh that's what it is. It sounded real familar
Lmao
I swear when this video first came out I was looking for a comment like this. I had to know I wasn't going insane, I think I'm still hearing Stevies: CAALAALAAALAA in my head.
I have set up quite a few of these for different people. Some batches had pickups from different manufacturers. Out of the nearly dozen of this model I have set up, I have only run into one guitar tht had potted pickups from the factory, and it was one where it wasn't the normal Firefly factory pickup, so evidently they bought a batch from someone else when their stock ran out. One whole boatload of this model had bad fret spacing, and there are still a lot floating around out there that never got returned back to Amazon for this issue. If you are thinking about buying a used one, beware of what you are buying. Fretwork is generally terrible. They advertised bone nuts at one point, but I have never seen a bone nut on any of the Firefly 338 models I've worked on. The factory bridges for the most part are junk, then tend to buzz because of cheap construction. Tuners, well, the normal crap. So between doing some work on polishing the frets, filing the fret ends, replacing the pickups with a good set of Dragonfires, replacing a bride with a nice roller bridge, installing a GraphTech nut, and replacing the tuners, you can end up with a playable guitar that doesn't sound too bad. In my opinion, overhyped.
I'm pretty impressed! I had a 335 copy that was made by Realistic (Radio Shack) back in the 1970's. They contracted a Japanese company to produce them and the build quality was exceptional, and they actually had a pretty reliable whammy bar built-in. They were also a zero-fret design, which was pretty common on Japanese guitars of that time period. It was my 'go to' guitar for about 15 years, and I finally sold it about 3 years ago for twice what I paid for it! This guitar looks very similar, with the exception of no whammy bar. The finish work looks really nice, if you don't look too closely at the binding mistakes.😁 The fret work could easily be remedied, and the price is such that I'd probably get one just to have it around for a spare or just to play around the house. Even if a guy had to go so far as to put a decent set of Seymour Duncan's in it, I think it would still be worth it.👍
Had someone bring me a new Firefly Tele to set up. Darrell is correct about inconsistencies. It had 7 frets needing to be leveled, the neck pocket was cut wrong, and fit/finish were poor. I suspect Darrell got a good one because of who he is. The rest of us should be wary...
Because of who he is? He literally explained a viewer sent the guitar they bought.
Not true man I’ve got a firefly LP and the finish quality is perfect except for a spot smaller than a centimeter. There’s also a firefly guitar group where most people have very tiny flaws or none at all
It seems to me like the whole strings, pickups and just the overall style of the guitar even with the frets being gritty and all that stuff. It describes my Ibanez guitar that I bought for $200. Did they buy their stuff from Ibanez?
That minute solo on that guitar was fire! Been looking for a good cheap guitar and this looks awesome!
Thanks to this review, and all the others praising Firefly guitars, it's now nearly impossible to find one of these, or any Firefly model guitar for under three hundred bucks. Thanks a lot guys. 😞
Microphonic or not that thing sounds the business. And for a 3rd the price of an Epi that doesn't sound as good it's a winner. Anymore I do not think that names on the headstock make the difference they used to. Sure there is no discrediting that the name on the headstock determines resale value. But how do you justify jumping to that echelon of guitar unless you are a working studio musician? For someone sitting around practicing or maybe doing small local gigging that thing would be the suitable with a little tweaking.
4:20 sounds like the opening for Cult of Personality.
My thoughts, too!
Went on Amazon and saw they are now in stock!.Bought the Black E355 can't wait till it gets here.!
Thanks for this, Darrell! I've hoped you would take a look at these, but seeing all the great guitars you get your hands on, I didn't think I'd ever see this. I have two of these, and from my experience your review is spot on. In addition to learning how to file frets, and a lot of other upgrades, I put P90s in one and will begin putting a coil split with zebra humbuckers in the other tomorrow. I'd love to see your ideas on customizing/upgrading a guitar like this, which for build quality and price put it in prime "project guitar" territory as far as I'm concerned.
I bought a few of these. Like he said the frets usually need some work here and there. i say spotty at best. You may luck out and get a super clean run but usually not. Also the pick ups are hit or miss . For some reason certain years sound better than others. The body paint etc usually look pretty damm good.
As usual, Darrell makes a cheap guitar sound like a million bucks. No surprise there. It's 95% player and 5% equipment..
no, the AMP,
PHILLIP!!! YOU ARE A RIGHTEOUS DUDE!!! ROCK ON !!!!
Still got mine. (Tobacco sunburst) n plays just as good as the day I got it. Which is excellent. Especially for a 150$ guitar. Pretty incredible.
Nothing that can not be put right..Thanks for a well balanced objective review.
The frets and fret ends on my Firefly were properly dressed at the factory (wherever that is). The binding was perfect all the way around as well. I'll have to admit that when I ordered it for $139.00 plus $30 shipping I wasn't sure if I was being scammed or not. I'm still amazed that I actually managed to score one and I love it.
Love how a good guitar player can make even the least expensive guitar sound good... the thing I liked the least was the difference between the neck and bridge pickup... I prefer the consistency in the sound. That said, for the price point, it would be a decent choice.
I got one of the FF-338 (Spalted Maple burst) for $189.00 after viewing your Nov. 12 video and was not disappointed. It looks like it's worth $1,000.00; have had this instrument for 4 months & have not detested any visual flaws or imperfections. It sounded great right out of the box and holds tune as well as any of my higher end guitars. Maybe Firefly takes more care with this model than the less expensive model in this video. Great tip Firefly Darrell, thanks.
Finally reviewed it! I was waiting for this a long time!
Finally someone is doing a review of a firefly guitar!!! It’s about time!
The bad and ugly are so miniscule, I'd say the whole package is fantastic. I have a 450 Ibanez, but had to swap the pups, and it does play well, but I can tell just by looking at this that it's better. The pups and playability make this a winner. You can wax pot pups very easily, polish frets easily. This sounds great!
I think that's my favorite solo you've ever played. Bravo