Thank you so much for playing it through an actual entry level amplifier...I'm not a fan of reviews that play a $100 guitar through $3000 worth of amplifiers and effects.
@KungFuCooter3 жыл бұрын
He told you that it was a Kitana 50 Amp. That's $500. $2500 in pedals?
@stepvanjoe34693 жыл бұрын
The amp $239
@The_Furless3 жыл бұрын
A KZbinr I watched for a review on a guitar said that *”If you truly wanna hear the guitar you gotta play it on a good amp!”*
@SingPsalms3 жыл бұрын
@@KungFuCooter Valeton headphone amp like 20 something bucks, sounds great. plenty of good budget options for good sounds. but I'd consider the Katana 50 budget, higher-end budget lol but very worth it... also like the Mustang 25LT, not as nice sounding as the Katana but has more modeling presets.
@kaoe1453 жыл бұрын
I have no problem with plugging in a low price guitar in a high dollar model amp for a review it lets you know what it could do you need a control so having a good amp for guitar reviews let you have that control
@fritsvanzanten35733 жыл бұрын
I experience some collisions in my brain when we notice blemishes in the finish of a 200 quid guitar, but eagerly pay hundreds of dollars extra for a relic-d guitar. 😁
@charlesreohr62363 жыл бұрын
You meant wreaked finished guitar I found the correct spelling in google.
@Aeon1353 жыл бұрын
Phil, you and Trogly are honestly the only reviewers i pay attention. You seem to be the only people who actually CRITIQUE stuff they get sent, even if it was free. So many youtubers are WAY too nice and don’t want to risk not getting more free junk. Really respect your commitment to giving yoir true thoughts.
@courtney57963 жыл бұрын
I ended up with the Grote version of this (because it came with a VERY nice gig-bag @ $200 shipped) It's got a red flame top and is gorgeous. I cleaned up the frets myself and took it to my local guitar store to check out intonation. They were very unhappy to hear I only spent $200 on it. :)
@justinrayguitars60243 жыл бұрын
Picked up one several yrs ago off Amazon. Bridge rattled like crazy so all that I had laying around was a roller bridge. Ended up putting a Bigsby on it that cost twice as much as the guitar. Still have it and still love it.
@luca7x6893 жыл бұрын
Synyster Gates Custom in the background is 💥.. will always be one of my favorite guitar designs..
@valuedhumanoid65743 жыл бұрын
I spend a lot of time outdoors at our lakeside cabin. Sitting around the fire at night with a guitar is common. I would never subject my expensive guitars or amps to the perils of rugged outdoor use, but I would this. Plugged into my battery powered Roland Cube if beer gets spilled on it, bug spray, drunks tripping over it…I could care less.
@teslaedison62363 жыл бұрын
You mean you couldn't care less
@gunkanjima34083 жыл бұрын
@@teslaedison6236 Get a life, mate
@kenhull23863 жыл бұрын
Phil....Love your approach on this type of review. You are our King of Honest Information. I love the fact that you'll give a $200 guitar the same checklist as a $2000 Gibson or Fender....and you're keeping it all very REAL! I now check in every day!! Keep it up.
@hughbarton57433 жыл бұрын
Arghh!!! Although I don't play that much(old, hands shot by arthritis, don't care about gigging anymore...), I thought I was all set with a Tele Thinline, Epi Les Paul, Ibanez Acoustic, Fender Mustang Bass, Kala Uke, various keyboards.... But I so miss my Penco 335 copy...so, I fear its time to buy another 335ish guitarthing... So beautiful! What a great color!!! I'm in love.... Thanks Phil! ( I guess )...sigh....
@charlesreohr62363 жыл бұрын
A friend of mine has arthritis he's older than me. I am 68. He says as long as he can still play he will it keep his fingers from welding up he plays bass in a jazz band. He also plays other things like keyboard, guitar and trumpet. I don't know his real age I think he's in his mid to upper eighties. He is always looking to learn new things and loves to play music. His bass is a Fender P Bass with strange looking EMI pickups.
@daviddemar87492 жыл бұрын
I started playing at 32 yrs old with a 170 USD cost Aria acoustic. At that time I swore that I wouldn't succumb to Guitar Acquisition Syndrome in my life.. It's almost 30 years later now. I have 7 guitars and over the years i have become a headstock snob. I can't play as often as I used to because I have RR-MS. But i have been having daydreams lately about playing a semi - hollow body guitar; something i thought I would NEVER consider. So dont apologize my friends The cherry red Epi 335 imho looks and sounds gorgeous and has been getting great reviews all over the place. Remember You Only Live Once.....😎🎼🎵🎶🎶🎵🎶🎸❤
@petestaint83122 жыл бұрын
Thank you for not shredding! Got to hear the actual sound. 👍
@ratwynd3 жыл бұрын
The only electrics I have ever bought that didn't need much more setup than new strings were used higher end guitars played by someone for a while. That includes some pro level instruments from Gretsch, Fender and Gibson. The only new acoustics that did not need a setup were Martins. I look at a setup as part of the necessary work to make a newly acquired guitar 'yours'.
@richardkeller86583 жыл бұрын
I've owned two Fireflys. I purchased a 338 that arrived with a twisted neck. You could look down the neck and see it twisted between the 6th and 8th fret. I then purchased their FFLPS and it arrived with a broken pickup and terrible frets. I guess that I'm one of the few that have had bad experiences with Fireflys. In my opinion, I would save a few dollars more and get a Tagima or an EART. Phil, I really do enjoy your videos!! Keep it up. thanks!
@chancemiller93403 жыл бұрын
Nice review. The nylon rattle dampeners are a new development. It's nice to see that as the price approaches/approached $200 and has spilled over, upgrades have continued to be added.
@FastSloW-qt8xf3 жыл бұрын
I bought a monopricr boardwalk. Which is their "335" version. Out of the box it was the nicest new guitar I've ever gotten. Most of my stuff comes from sweetwater. Love my semihollows. Especially with some quality p90s
@charlescorley53933 жыл бұрын
I bought one and had some custom wound PAF style hum buckers installed. I also have an Epiphany ES335 Pro. The Firefly now is my preferred. Insane value.
@SaxyCalzone3 жыл бұрын
Phil you should check out the 335 that’s made by Wolf, or they also go by AIO guitars(all in one guitars). I love mine.
@MiguelGuitars3 жыл бұрын
I have 2 Les Pauls from them, an AIO GoldTop and a Wolf Tobacco burst. They are some of the best playing and beautiful guitars I own. Well worth the price! 🤘🏻
@guitarflyer1723 жыл бұрын
I got the AIO 335 in blue and it was good. I still did a level and recrown and put good electronics in it and Fralin pickups. She’s a beast now lol Way better, but also about $500 in new parts. Just feels and plays amazingly now.
@nateg79733 жыл бұрын
@@MiguelGuitars how are the pickups?
@MiguelGuitars3 жыл бұрын
@@nateg7973 They're pretty good, a little hotter than an Epiphone I have with the Probuckers but with more mids. They're both about the same on the AIO and Wolf.
@nateg79733 жыл бұрын
@@MiguelGuitars Thank You
@MattZildjian3 жыл бұрын
not sure if due to the guitar or the amp, but this guitar had a really pleasing snap to the sound which gave it so much life
@blakeanderson79063 жыл бұрын
My first guitar was a Firefly lp and I changed everything on it and it was a fun learning experience. Currently I don't play my Firefly as I purchased some other guitars that I just enjoy playing much more than the Firefly... Having said that though, for the right person, I bet you will enjoy this guitar... especially for the price.
@SnarlyCharly3 ай бұрын
I played a used Epiphone 335 at my local Guitar Center last week, whoever owned it definitely knew how to setup their guitar, it's unquestionably the best playing guitar I've ever had the privilege of playing around with. It's also over double the price of one of these new Firefly 338's, though... Basically I want to know if a Firefly 338 will give me the same fantastic experience as that Epiphone 335 that I enjoyed playing so much.
@jessiejames2155 Жыл бұрын
I just bought this guitar for $250.00. It's blue on black . Its gorgeous ! I still have to make the adjustment on the distortion magnet.
@23skidoo463 жыл бұрын
The Harley Benton 335 version is the best I've played. great guitar for the price and it rocks.
@kramusic2 жыл бұрын
I have one of the very early Firefly FF338 guitars and, it had several issues when I got it. It had neck, fret buzz, bridge and, intonation & tuning issues that, took me a very long time to correct. The neck issue was the biggest issue to deal with but, after I dealt with all the issues, it seemed like I found myself playing the guitar constantly. After watching your review here, I may buy another FF338 to see how much better the quality on them has become. I still play the original cherry red one I bought years ago.👍🎸
@mburtondavis3 жыл бұрын
Bought one and have wicked fret buzz on the 1st and 2nd fret of the low E and A strings and I’ve tried everything but change the strings to a smaller gauge or replace the nut to one not cut so low.
@BudgetRC_Channel3 жыл бұрын
Your comment about the guitar being bright was spot on. Compared to my Ibanez AS93, my spalted Firefly is substantially brighter acoustically than my Ibanez. The Firefly is also a full pound lighter than the AS93. I've had 4 of the Firefly 338s and one thing I noticed is that every one of them had a different bridge. I think they get whatever hardware is cheapest at the time of each build batch. My first had an e-clip style bridge that was so poorly cast that the saddles didn't fit into the slots and the saddle screws wouldn't fully seat. My next two had the wire-retainer style bridge and they worked ok. My 4th (the spalted) had a wire-retained style bridge too, but it appeared to be a higher quality casting than the others. All 4 of them came with various degrees of cosmetic paint issues, usually because of inadequate or incorrect wetsanding & buffing that left a lot of sanding scratches that needed to be buffed out. None of these guitars was perfect, but every one of them was a great guitar after I set them up and polished out the cosmetic issues.
@jhumbrac3 жыл бұрын
These 335 types of guitars are really difficult to mod. Anyone thinking of using this as modding platform has a lot of work in store for them. Make sure you get some strong string or fishing line before you get started
@NeoRichardBlake3 жыл бұрын
Yeah, other than aesthetics, I've never really understood why semi-hollows don't have access ports for the electronics.
@RaptorV1USA3 жыл бұрын
it IS a PITA but its not that bad.. use good quality Bournes mini pots and yer pretty much good to go. You def. have to plan it out and have some solid patience but if you are careful about it you'll only have to ever do it once... many folks enjoy modding even when its a bit of a challenge or PITA...ultimately its all doable as long as you tape off the f holes etc nicely before you get to it you'll be good to go. i'm about to replace everything in one I just got & i'm considering using solderless connections under the pups at least so if I do want to swap pups in or out later its quick and easy...
@charlesreohr62363 жыл бұрын
I found that measuring and soldering every thing out side first then using air line for aquariums tie wrapped to the tops of the pots and switch makes it an east quick instalment. Just feed the air line ends thru the pot or switch hole and into the f holes connect the switches and then pull them through. Its a lot easier than trying to do it any other way. After you put the nut on just cut the tie off and install the knob. It saves a lot of time but you need to make sure the wiring is correct. I also install quick connect for the pickup in the pickup slots down to the switch and pots it makes for changing out pickups a lot easier. I also give the wires a little extra length so there will be a less of a battle getting the set in the right direction.
@miket.2203 жыл бұрын
Use aquarium air line, that hollow plastic tubing they use to feed air from the compressor into the fish tank. You can fit that over the stem of a pot and guide it through MUCH easier than twine or string.
@donniehba7953 жыл бұрын
Cool. As it turns out I bought the identical guitar back in May and took delivery on the same day as with a new Epiphone ES-335. I immediately changed out the pickups on the Firefly to Filterton -- not because anything was wrong but I wanted it to be different than the Epiphone. Both sound and play great but the Epiphone is better -- of course it cost close to 3 times as much. Keep up the great work, Phil!
@briansimpson81163 жыл бұрын
My favorite style of guitar. I love the figuring in the wood.
@donaldscheer52063 жыл бұрын
I recently purchased a Fire Fly FFLPS STYLE ELECTRIC GUITAR And I Love it!!
@PierceThirlen23 жыл бұрын
I bought a green sunburst Crown (Teisco) semi-hollow guitar for $89 in '68, adjusting for inflation $701 today. It had bound F holes, bolt on neck, skinny frets, mediocre tuners, cheap single coil pickups, cheap but intonatable bridge, and was not at all setup, and at 3.5 X the price of a Firefly. You are getting much more guitar for the money today.
@mrroye3 жыл бұрын
I am listening to this video on my full ear headphones. And it sounds fantastic to me. As far as driving the speakers, I have a 9 band MX are EQ between my guitar an my amp at all times. So giving it a slight boost on the way out would cover that with no problem. An in fact every person I've ever taught to play guitar when they switch to electric I told them to get a 7 band or more EQ.
@RelicOnMaui2 жыл бұрын
I bought one of the quilted maple models and noticed upgrades I haven't heard in any of the KZbins. For $20-30 more, I wonder if you get much better detailing. Mine had none of the problems people mentioned years ago. But considering 50 years ago, an Aria thin hollow knock-off without the thinline center plank, sold for the same $159-200, these are unbelievable bargains. CNC strikes again!
@stuahlers15283 жыл бұрын
Just bought a cherry red one a couple of months back, right out of the box not a flaw. No setup needed, tune up, intonate, and ready to go! Put heavier gauge strings and sounds awesome. Spot on review, thanks!
@ericvoss26363 жыл бұрын
After 35 years of playing and having a mild interest in a hollow body guitars the blue one showed up in stock on Amazon I pulled the trigger 'wife told me to'. It showed up well boxed, the strings were resting on the the first fret a simple truss rode adjustment fixed that. This one does have a wiring problem the bridge pick up only has a tone and a “less tone” controls so at some point I have to pull the wires and if I'm going to do that I'm just going to change pick ups and get a new wiring harness. The B string saddle has a little up and down movement and a click so I'm changing the the bridge at he next string change. When set up right the guitar plays great and sounds just fine.
@markpjf853 жыл бұрын
Stunning Emerald green guitar
@fongy2003 жыл бұрын
I live in the UK and we don't tend to see these much here, however I did replace some pick up's in one because the owner said they were squealing. Hollow bodies can tend to do that if situation permits but on this occasion the pups were microphonic, really bad. He chose some Entwistle HV58's and although their not the most expensive pick up out there they are definitely an improvement. The Firefly left sounding superb and the owner very happy. Their worth the money, even as a piece of furniture, a wall hanger or something for less than 200 bucks it's a no brainer. I wonder how many get sold to interior designers and decorators? Just a thought. Thanks Phil, superb content as always.
@amandahuginkiss68683 жыл бұрын
I would expect to do a setup on anything shipped to me that I hadn't played before, and actually anything I buy hands on. I tend to buy used, so that is probably why :-)
@bumpyroad32513 жыл бұрын
Yeah, it's much of a luck to buy a guitar {used or new} without having to do some set up on it. Everything I've ever bought needed some touches to shine on me. Nevertheless it's not the same an action lowering to fret leveling, crowning and polishing.
@NeoRichardBlake3 жыл бұрын
Yeah, I've never understood people to get pissy about a new guitar needing a setup... I thought that was just a thing. New guitar = do a setup. If every guitar came set up, there'd be almost no need for the service from guitar shops.Seems petty to complain about, and I think some people just need something to gripe about sometimes.
@NeoRichardBlake3 жыл бұрын
@@bumpyroad3251 Yeah, needing a fret level, I can see complaining about. But, honestly, I even give fret sprout a bit of a pass. I live in a desert, so I kind of assume that I'm going to have to touch up some scratchy frets. I've only had like two guitars that didn't need a little fret end whack with a nail file.
@thommackris9203 жыл бұрын
Yup, minor fret sprout, doing a setup (and possibly working on the nut) goes with buying any guitar, at any price. Phil should emphasize this, considering the presentation style of his videos is geared toward those with minimal to no technical knowledge. What I want to know (and got very little from this) is the things that will cost more money for the average buyer: a neck with a hump (very bad), inadequate range of adjustment in the truss rod, the need for fret leveling, parts that need replacement (bridge, tuning keys, etc.)
@undrway0033 жыл бұрын
Again, thank you for an excellent overview. The Firefly guitar seems to be making progress and is definitely become more main stream because of demonstrations like these. Have an amazing day! CHEERS
@christophermarsden93863 жыл бұрын
Got the same color in February changed out the tuners for Graph Tech Ratio Locking and love it.
@Mr.56Goldtop3 жыл бұрын
I have the cherry spalted maple. I also have an inspired by Gibson Epiphone ES335 that I bought at the same time, but had to wait a couple of months to receive it. Yes the Epiphone is a superior instrument in every aspect, but only by a hair. The FF is slightly lighter in weight and a bit brighter sounding than the Epiphone, and of course 1/3 of the price.
@BuckFlicks3 жыл бұрын
I had the first yellow spalted maple Firefly put out and I loved it... and I thought, "If I like this one so much, I bet I'd REALLY like an Epiphone ES-335." So I traded in my Firefly on the 335 and I just didn't like it. I recently sold my Epi at my cost and I just ordered another Firefly ff-338. Gonna hang on to this one, though I might go for some more vintage-sounding PAF pickups. The first FF I had was quite microphonic. Maybe they've made some improvements since I had the first one.
@ArthurMorgan_53273 жыл бұрын
Check out the tonerider AC 2 classic PAF , best vintage tone humbuckers for the money
@chadyoak16333 жыл бұрын
I just got a firefly SG type of guitar about a month ago. It come very close to being setup perfect.... as good as any guitar I’ve had shipped to me anyways. I think the pickups sounded very good for a $189 guitar. The nut wasn’t cut the best and the tuners weren’t all that great but other than that I can’t really complain about anything! I did put a new nut on it and a set of used Gibson burstbuckers in it. I absolutely love the guitar now. It definitely satisfies my need for the Gibson sound. I play it more than any of my $2000 guitars. I took a chance on firefly and I’m soooo glad I did!
@dbmabe3 жыл бұрын
Shout out for the 50W Katana!! I bought a MKII a few months ago. I bought an original back in 2017 and then made the mistake of selling it. When I needed another bedroom amp, I tried several, Vox VT20X, was a close 2nd. In fact, I ended buying it but took it back and traded back up to the Katana 50. My only gripe with the MKII is they got rid of the kickback stand.
@trent69marc3 жыл бұрын
just wanted to say that the bone nut is about 42 mm´s ( 41,91 mm exactly ), another great video, thx for that!
@adamdelarozza1985 Жыл бұрын
Thanks for making this video! I have the exact same Guitar. Purchase from amazon last May $159. they call this color (Matte Green) or Transparent green, they use Both to describe it. I luv mine and the color is hypnotizing as you know. I decide to get the model this guitar copies so well. i opted for the Heritage 535 in Emerald Green and one thing the FireFly has on it is the 'f' holes are binded but they aren't on the H-535🙂
@Sankeyite3 жыл бұрын
Love my Blue 338 and a red/blk Lp. Once set up they both play great, 2 yrs down the road they still get played everyday! Had to come back and add that on the LP set up, installed probucker vintage pu's with coil split, a Wilkinson roller bridge and has been a gig worthy guitar ever since. Now playing it weekly at the lodge and it's keeper for sure, plays right next to a Gibson LP and a fender strat, they haven't kicked me out yet cause my FF, and everyone loves the sound so .....
@kennethm.32963 жыл бұрын
We live in a fun time! I'm 49 and remember my first squire and these g
@danpaolillo26363 жыл бұрын
I’ve bought five of them. The newest ones have wax potted pickups. Really helps with the microphonic feedback.
@jstnxprsn3 жыл бұрын
I recently did an upgrade project on my guitar collection, mostly with low cost models I bought intending to upgrade. Squiers, a Glarry, etc. But my Firefly 338 is the only one, where the only thing I added was a case and strap. Everybody "Ooooh"s when I open the case. Action was good. Intonation good. Hell, I didn't even bother to change the strings, although they wore out quickly and I'm about to. I may do some fine tuning here and there as I play it more, but mist likely the only change I'll make eventually will be for better quality tuners, those these are adequate for non-pro playing situations. What I'm saying is for the money, you really coildn't want more out of a guitar. I love mine. One slight thing though. I chose the blue one, yet compared to all the blue ones I'd seen, mine came with a greenish tint to the blue. Still stunning to look at, jst not quite what I'd expected. I'm wondering if they have a quality control issue in their paint dept. Thanks for the great review.
@what18643 жыл бұрын
left reply earlier that i was receiving my firefly 338 today , got it and spent the evening playing it , only problems i had with it were the D string needed intonated and some what i thought was bridge rattle/buzz and i wasn't fond of the pickups [ i thought ] so after playing it for an hour i decided i was gonna swap out the pickups and put new strings on it , then i thought i would just change the strings and see what it would do , fixed all my problems , the strings that came on it [and most guitars ] from the factory suck , sounds great , plays great , first guitar i've bought and not needed to lower action , if anything it is to low , phillip mentioned his was bright , thought that to until i changed the strings i will say it again change the strings before you make judgment about it ....
@vancochran73443 жыл бұрын
You won't find any of the Firefly guitars for sale off Amazon. They have been out of stock for many months.There are lots on E-bay for 100.00 to 150.00 more than they were listed originally.They are nice and most used to sell for way under 200.00. Some sold for 159.00 to 189.00.
@activese3 жыл бұрын
Hi, almost every set of known brand pickups are a little or way more than $200. Fralin, Dylan, Monthys, Duncan, Marzio, but to keep it on budget maybe ghs, or wilkinson if you want to change them, but it looks amazing, and that green it's so nice.
@johnfritz153 жыл бұрын
I had one when they were $135.00. Loved it but traded it for an Epi LP.
@russellmcbride12423 жыл бұрын
Loving my quilt top 338 and my LLP lizard burst. 🎵FIREFLY🎶💯
@tomtracy28033 жыл бұрын
I got a green one a couple years ago and love it. But that spalted maple is....WOW!. I replaced the bridge and solved the noise. They didn't have those washers. The tuners are good enough, but I'm replacing them at the next string change.
@rabbithowls713 жыл бұрын
My favorite mod to cheap guitar humbuckers is a magnet swap. Throw some A2’s, or and A2 bridge and A3 in the neck and it will really change things for the better, and for only a few dollars.
@65dougk3 жыл бұрын
I'm guessing Phil's wife found his panty hose stash and he had to say "oh! ah, ah, I don't wear those, those are for guitar reviews, yeah, that's the ticket".
@MDonovan3 жыл бұрын
He has boxes of them!
@braddietzmusic24293 жыл бұрын
It’s a GREAT time to be a guitarist.
@gillamb86693 жыл бұрын
Nice shade of green. Even the back looks hot. 👍🤘
@ronr24453 жыл бұрын
My fly 335 is so heavily modded it's barely a fire fly any more.... but it crazy good now. Locking tuners , SD pearly gates pickups, roller bridge, custom wiring with push/push pots, silent 3 way switch and hidden wireless output. I relieved the last five frets for amazing low action and polished the frets. The frets tarnish very fast so I have new stainless steels waiting to pop in. I replace the frets on all my sub 1000 dollar guitars for that reason. I own guitars that cost thousands more and play no better. Phil aways says "How many guitars do you need?" ...The answer in my case is 37....but don't tell my wife!
@neilsnow76443 жыл бұрын
How do you hidden in wireless?
@MiikeyLawless3 жыл бұрын
So you dumped 5 to times the value into it lol. At that point, just save up and get a gibby or commission a good luthier. Lol
@ronr24453 жыл бұрын
@@realtruenorth LOL
@ronr24453 жыл бұрын
@@realtruenorth Don't you have a Capital to storm or some other stupid thing to do.
@ronr24453 жыл бұрын
@@MiikeyLawless I mod these as a hobby. And I don't care how much it costs...it gets way worse then this one... Its fun ...and you would probably string me up if I did this to my 68 LP gold top. So you see price is not a factor. I don't have to save up for anything...I have worked hard my hole life now its party time...cuz you can't take it with ya.
@Manuel-gh9wm11 ай бұрын
I'll buy it it's a nice guitar sounds great
@robertdamron8983 жыл бұрын
I own 5 Firefly Guitars. Including this one. LOVE Them ALL. Gonna Buy More. 😁
@BeatsAndGuitars3 жыл бұрын
Got damn it Phillip…I was trying not to but a Firefly but they do have some amazing colors.
@larrykendall3173 жыл бұрын
I got the 72 Thinline replica. The tone pot was loose not nut on the top. Its a wall hanger. Glad to send it to you.
@garymcaleer61123 жыл бұрын
Thanks, Phillip. Nice instrument, especially for the price. My tobacco flame top Grote detuned for added richness flavor would sound just as nice as the Firefly. Happy holidays, bro! Love you.
@TheGhostGuitars3 жыл бұрын
Honestly, I ALWAYS expect to do a setup on any new acquisition whether it be new or used guitar. This includes fret dressing, intonation, nut adjustment and saddle and pup height adjustments. I have a very specific setting requirements. I have one of the Firefly FF338-BB Blueburst with that odd JSN Torch headstock logo. Anyone knows what it's supposed to mean? The previous owner had installed a set of 2009 Gibson Les Paul Traditional Professional Burstbucker 3 and 57 Classic cream/black zebra humbuckers installed. Also included in the deal are the original humbuckers which are proven to be pretty ...microphonic as hell. With the Gibby pups the 338 rocks even under a fair bit of gain (tho not with as much volume as I'd normally do). I like it enough to not require any new semi-hollow for a long time (aside from a bass tho).
@lvrxplt3973 жыл бұрын
I have an Ice tea Firefly which is actually the size of a 338 Gibson. I found the pickups to be quite QUITE microphonic, and need to either be potted or replaced. Since the price point of the guitar is so low, Im probably going to just pot them and see what I get. I also have to replace the nut as it was cut too low and no amount of fret dressing will remove the buzz and washout below the third fret. For the price, I bought it as a project guitar and am mostly quite happy with it. Seems the more they make, the better they get. Thanks for showing these, now we know they'll sell out in a heartbeat again... lol
@allanmakela30117 ай бұрын
Got a Haze 335 from Australia$350 with a Bigsby type vibrato,no flaws,nice stuff
@acidbran3 жыл бұрын
Red one for 3 years now ? Plays great and sound nice. Got mine with Discover points for around $80 shipped. I'll keep it.
@karlheinzkupper96663 жыл бұрын
since i tried out a gretsch streamliner, for me gretsch is the go-to-brand when it comes to semi-hollowbody-guitars, if i was in the market for such a guitar
@maurizioferegalli68502 жыл бұрын
Hello, I have a nice ES-345 with Bigsby and Varitone at 5 positions to which the pick ups have been moved over time and I would like to bring them back to a more correct condition... It is established that the Gibson as minimum distance from the strings for Les Paul and SG recommends 2.4 mm for the neck pick up and 1.6 mm for the bridge pick up, pressing the strings at the 22nd fret as far as the pick ups of my ES-345 should (also indicatively) from the strings themselves (in millimeters) ??? Thanks for the reply.
@fawkesandhound3 жыл бұрын
Great quick look at this guitar. That price is crazy too.
@Edward-MTBKR3 жыл бұрын
I bought the wine red Firefly in 2018. It would have shredded your nylon (and your hand underneath :). After spending 2 days smoothing out fret ends, not a bad little ES copy. It's a great little guitar for the money, because who wants to spend thousands on an ES style guitar?
@jodycopeland13 жыл бұрын
Love the tone and some very tasty licks
@VictorKMayfield Жыл бұрын
My Firefly SG style is a great guitar.. I had to do a slight setup, but WELL worth 200 bucks. I also got a Firefly Les Paul style and its great too but HEAVY.
@clarkmillis19293 жыл бұрын
Got a black one. The bridge was too high, tailpiece too low, neck bowed. But I fixed them. Now plays better than Epiphones and Gretch's I've tried.
@ptrisonic3 жыл бұрын
I actually like the pick ups on my "338" . They are slightly microphonic (as were most of Gibson's HB's from the fifties) which I like. They are plenty powerful for Bluesbreaker style blues (from the mid to late sixties) which is "my " era. Thru a NMV Marshall style amp (like a Maven Peal Ganesha) it really sounds incredible... Yes you have to make some small adjustments to the guitar but I've done that with a Les Paul from the Gibson Custom Shop too. I expect to personalize guitars (action, neck etc.). With a guitar this reasonable it is good to try set ups on (it is easy but you need confidence to perform it on a guitar worth thousands of $'s). I got mine for Christmas last year from my Sister in Law (I love that woman)! Best, Pete.
@tankdarla6373 жыл бұрын
I love green guitars!
@relentless_fps3 жыл бұрын
Looks & sounds great for the money! I’ve had one of the Firefly Spalted Maple Top 335s in a transparent Ruby Red for awhile. It’s gorgeous & plays well, there’s plenty of upgrades you could do to really bring out the full potential & make it to your liking. I had one of the originals in the Blue Burst & I liked it a lot so I figured I’d pick up one of these. They have a lot of cool new colors popping up here & there on the website. I’d like to eventually get one of the Les Pauls as well!
@CheddarKungPao3 жыл бұрын
6:10 even when you're playing guitar you're still a great bass player, Phil. Dug that line. Solid, fair review, as always.
@stevenkelkey34122 ай бұрын
It is a legitimate guitar! The name on the headstock means nothing it's only a name! As long as the guitar sounds good and plays good and fit and finish is good that's all that matters! The G and the F on the head stock is only a status symbol! 🎸
@shaneworden13253 жыл бұрын
Thank you for another great review. Because of you sir I will be ordering one of these.
@24FretsGuitar3 жыл бұрын
Nice green finish. Cheaper guitars are getting better quality.
@minervameza26863 жыл бұрын
Love that groovy, McKnight playing! Keep it up, baby! 👍🏻
@DavidLHolzer3 жыл бұрын
Great review. Thanks Phil. I have an Oscar Schmidt 335 copy and l love it. Just like the FireFly, I get rave reviews when someone lays eyes on it.
@othermyke3 жыл бұрын
I have an Oscar Schmidt goldtop they made great affordable guitars too bad they stopped.
@robertyork25373 жыл бұрын
My first guitar was a black Delta King. I sold it and regretted it. Found one of the early 2000 models like the one I had at a local shop for 170 bucks. Those older ones are great!
@douglasgoodall36123 жыл бұрын
Mine arrived yesterday. Happy to say it is quite playable right out of the box. I have my PRS Hollowbody II Piezo to compare it against. It has different harmonics, and I don't regret investing a modest sum for some variation in tone and playing experience :-)
@glenkepic32083 жыл бұрын
Great vid. Guitar is a tremendous value (tho i'd skip the green;) 10 year old SB Ibz AS 73 so i'm set but had to laugh at the "You're not gonna drive the amp that hard..." bit. Tell that to Alvin Lee (TYA), Rick Derringer (RoadWork) or BB King (Lab Series on 10, controlled from Lucille). Semi's love being turned up. ok, the example, but hit it !!
@googleboy73 жыл бұрын
Hi phillip, I have several brand name guitars. After your previous review of the Firefly 335 I bought one. I love it. Thanks! Shalom/gw
@dlong71463 жыл бұрын
This would be a great guitar to buy to work on and learn how to set up yourself and change pickups and nut by yourself without having to worry about messing it up because its so cheap.
@Russell_Optics3 жыл бұрын
Mine actually came with a bone nut. Not sure if they still do.
@anthonystark54123 жыл бұрын
After seeing a number of positive reviews, I made the mistake of buying one of their thinline tele knockoffs. The only decent part of that guitar was the neck pickup.
@jloiben123 жыл бұрын
I would love to see you review the new Harley Benton Aeolus (if you haven’t already done so). It is a fairly low-cost semi-hollow that has a lot of bells and whistles
@jloiben123 жыл бұрын
@@Mark-OutWest Oh damn. That’s unfortunate. Is that a common complaint online or do you have personal experience in this area?
@PaulCooksStuff3 жыл бұрын
@@jloiben12 plenty of HB unboxing vids on KZbin. The packing isn't their strong suit. The outer boxes are often holed and torn, sometimes through to the inner box. It's a common raised eyebrow point even when the guitar itself arrives in one piece. Though technically it's double boxed, the inner box is rattling around in the outer (not enough padding), and the guitar rattles around in the inner box (a couple of pieces of polystyrene). Within the EU it's easy enough to return transit-damaged deliveries - Thomann do free returns, but it's not packed in a way that inspires high confidence for non-EU orders where the customer pays return shipping.
@ozboomer_au3 жыл бұрын
The thing I note is the sound... I do like the brighter sound, so p'raps not so much a 335... but I wonder if we'll ever see these guitars down in Oz (end of the universe at the mo for any shipping, really)
@captaintony12273 жыл бұрын
I own 2. I ordered the original spalted maple in natural. And before I even got it the got a flamed maple in that was purple. I figured id sell one. But I cant part with either . maybe one day I'll pick my favorite. But till then I'll enjoy them both.
@Russell_Optics3 жыл бұрын
I have the original spalted finish also that I got about 8 months ago and like it, but I think the purple one looks awesome. Cool thing is at only $200 you can easily afford to keep both.
@srtamplification3 жыл бұрын
I don't like where the output jack is located, for sure.
@sneifert19683 жыл бұрын
I drive my semi hollow Crafter guitar a lot. Have you not heard of the Foo Fighters. I takes overdrive very well BTW.
@TheDrunkenScoundrel3 жыл бұрын
Damn, it even SOUNDS good.
@procrowd88463 жыл бұрын
What I don’t know about this price range is mid/long term reliability, I had a cort about that price, it was very well review but I had numerous electronic and entonation problems in the long run, I loved as a starter guitar but didn’t last a lot, my opinion
@johnl.donofrio24413 жыл бұрын
I wish entry guitars were this good when I got my first guitar in 1964 at 13.
@cmet82803 жыл бұрын
So true, too bad we did not have the insight to buy up a bunch of tiesco, airline or silvertone guitars and amps, we would be sittin pretty right now
@NeoRichardBlake3 жыл бұрын
@@cmet8280 I have a feeling that this though process is probably why Firefly guitars are kind of hard to get your hands on. I wonder if folks are buying a bunch to hang on to for 20 years to sell as new vintage or something...to say nothing of the obvious scalpers that are so prevalent on Reverb already. I don't know why someone would pay over $300 for one of these. I think jacking up the price reduces their value, since it takes them to a bracket with more competitors... just my opinion though. If these end up going for $500 or $600 in 20 years, I'm totally selling mine. 😋 Then I'll get two or three of the new nice cheapies of that time.
@courier11sec3 жыл бұрын
Phil please get a hold of an IYV. They are in this same price range and really good. Some ways better, some ways the same.
@PhillipMcKnight3 жыл бұрын
I've heard cool things about those guitars
@robertyork25373 жыл бұрын
They really do make some great stuff. The best are the neck through models.
@gary.vondran3 жыл бұрын
Picked up the spalted natural a few months back. Surprisingly all was really nice on the one I got. The pickups are a bit hot, that made the neck pup a bit muddy. But lowering the pups fixed that right up. The one funny thing I found was when I went to adjust the poll piece height, they just spun. Discovered they’re just slugs with no thread and don’t even go thru the baseplate. Anyone else found this on their Firefly 338 pickups? Will likely swap with a JB + Jazz pickups at some point, but haven’t found anything else needing changed on my guitar.
@frededberg68933 жыл бұрын
Same experience with the pole pieces here too! I swapped the neck PU as that is most critical for me. But, probably the bridge PU will get swapped later also.
@gary.vondran3 жыл бұрын
I''ll add that mine came with a Metallor branded bridge and tailpiece. Early reviews of Fireflys had recommendations to swap out the stock bridge with a Metallor to fix the rattle, so it was nice mine came with it stock.
@philipatoz3 жыл бұрын
Man, it looks, sounds and plays so good, and it's so cheap, that you almost CAN'T not buy one!
@jeramym95063 жыл бұрын
@@Ottophil unfortunately, there are real people on the other side of your sarcasm.
@MiikeyLawless3 жыл бұрын
It's called self control.
@PaulCooksStuff3 жыл бұрын
@@realtruenorth now equalise the pollution by dividing by population to give you a meaningful comparable measure. USA at 15.52 tons per capita. China half that at 7.38. If you're going to use pollution in your buying decisions, boycott American products too. They're twice as bad on like for like figures.
@philipatoz3 жыл бұрын
@@realtruenorth, are you not able to distinguish between Chinese companies and their workers and China's government. And that factory's jobs would otherwise disappear to those people desperate to have them (and no, they aren't paid like they are here, but their cost of living is FAR less).
@elsienova42693 жыл бұрын
@@realtruenorth let's shame people for buying the only instruments they can afford.