This Company Says We Are Paying Too Much For Brand Name Guitars

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[laurencehastings]

Here we have an excellent example of a company that wants to improve their guitars and aren't afraid of shipping another guitar for review, knowing that previous reviews by the same person, didn't present a good image of their product . That is serious ambition and 'bolas de acero', Qi gong, yes, balls of steel. Well done Phil for giving Firefly yet another chance. Clever move from Firefly too. They know you're fair and don't hold back with either praise or criticism while testing a product. It's free impartial advertising for the brand paired with a huge risk if it backfires but they do it anyway. Obviously the route works, their guitars are improving constantly by rectifying the deficiencies found by reviewers like yourself. This guitar is real bang for your bucks.

[tbs-one]

Thanks for the review Phil! $200 to tighten a loose pot and tap down a couple of frets is why we all need to learn how to do simple repairs ourselves.

[to_know_thy_self]

You aren't nitpicking you are protecting us, the consumers and your listeners. You rock Phillip

[DavidHBurkart]

Thanks Phil. Gotta give cred to FF for using you and other YT guitar channels who aren't afraid to pick apart and point out flaws. It saves them a ton of $$ in QC!!

[mtando]

I have 4 FF guitars. 3/4 have been flawless. Great mod platforms. The one that was “bad” was similar, it had a broken tuner and the tone knob just spun. Great value IMO

[twobarsfourstars]

Great review, thank you! Had the same experience with a 338 a few years ago, they did send me back enough of a refund to make it worth it to keep and then I paid about the $200 you quoted from a great tech to fix the fret work and get it set up as good as possible (had the super microphonic pups too). Added locking tuners and ended up with a really nice light guitar that scratches my semi-hollow itch and friends enjoy playing too for the price of a great deal on a used Sheraton. I like that they added the locking tuners, sounds like its the same situation it was then: if you're willing to fix it yourself or have it fixed you can get a really cool looking guitar that plays great for ultimately less then comparable Epiphone.

[rogereverett]

Thanks for the review. I now own four Firefly guitars and am happy with all of them.

[garyfox]

This guitar is a great first guitar that won't break the bank. It looks cool, sounds great, apparently is comfortable to play, and importantly: fits a demographic that is getting largely ignored as seemingly budget guitars are now kissing $1000 regularly. This was a great review: fair, candid, and thorough. I like it being nit-picky, I can decide for myself if the nits are deal-breakers or not, but I appreciate everything being highlighted, since it helps to make an informed decision. Thanks for putting in the effort to make this.

[DocArthurTX]

99% chance the guitar was NOT hand selected. They don't have a dedicated logistics solution. The fulfilment warehouse in So Cal serves other companies. They were told to send you a guitar (model and color) and some schmo went to the rack, pulled it, printed an address label, and put it on a UPS truck.

[NoJobRob]

My FFTL (Tele) is great! Locking tuners, ss frets, roasted maple neck, insane sparkle finish. Waiting impatiently for them to drop a 7 string with those specs! They have plenty of other niche guitars like baritones and double neck so come on Fireflyyy do it

[josephbrewer]

Isn’t “knit picking” kind of the purpose of these deep dive videos? You do a fantastic job.

[picksalot]

That is a lot of guitar for $200. Sounds good, looks nice, some minor flaws. Firefly just needs to tap in/seat the frets a little better.

[SupernaturalCreation]

Always press the like button. Always appreciate your passion, knowledge and attention to detail.
Next to Phil Collins... you're my favorite Phil

[chrisdurham]

I gotta admit - the black with red binding is pretty cool

[rick.reckage]

I liked and subscribed Phil.
I like the way you completely examine the guitar like a holistic doctor. When you show a video of something I'm interested in, the Geeky Stuff helps.

I bought a new Martin D-35 in 1974. Was saving up for a Martin D-28 and a Martin D12-28.
All from small dealer in Tidewater, VA. I was giving up on playing electric guitars and going all acoustic.
I then broke my neck and my playing days were over.
I now watch from the sidelines.
The 3 Martins I listed were affordable for this machine builder back in 1974.

[anthonylagnese]

I have 3 Firefly guitars
1.A 338 I bought on amazon about 3 years ago. The frets (non stainless) were perfect, the bridge was trash, tuners after a month seemed to wear out, the bone nut was not setup correctly.
2. A strat copy about 9 months ago. The frets ok (spot leveled a couple), then a month later frets started moving (had to glue them and level them), the tremolo bridge at first worked perfectly then about 6 months in started losing tune, removed it and was deformed/burrs on the knife edge(adjusted only with the springs relieved) can't find another with the same post spacing, the locking tuners are ok so far.
3. A tele copy about 8 months ago. There were 2 low frets in the middle of the fret board (had to level them all ) otherwise so far so good.
Bought these to substitute out my american fender and gibson guitars at gigs.

[mattskalicky]

I bought a stratosonic based on your review and I couldn't be happier. Love your honest in-depth reviews

[ScottJamesHicks]

All guitars are fun. I doubt “Firefly” will replace the brand recognition of “Epiphone” but, at impulse-buy prices, this is worth sticking in some pickups.

[taz]

So, I purchased a Fire Fly FFLPS Elite in emerald with a quilted top three years ago. It had major issues. The post holes for the bridge and tail piece were drilled over sized. Causing both to be loose. The saddles for the bridge were cut wrong and way too deep. The nut was nut wrong and the string spacing for the D&G string were not spaced evenly. The D&G string were too close to each other. The tuners would slip and the neck had a back bow. The guitar guitar would not hold tune. The back bow was so bad that I had to crank the truss rod in the counter clockwise direction way past the zero slack point to bring the neck straight. So thankful it had a double action truss rod in it. There were dead spots along the fretboard as well. The woods were not as advertised. The neck and body is all maple. The guitar is heavy. I was able to fix all the issues but I would not purchase one ever again. I replaced the nut, tuners, bridge and tail piece and all the electronics. I doweled the post holes and drilled to the proper size. I did a level and crown on the frets too. The guitar is ok for what it is. After a proper set up, it stays in tune now and plays and sounds great after all the repairs. The guitar looks beautiful with the emerald quilted top too. I didn't even talk about the finish issues which I was able to fix as well. I recommend not purchasing if you do not know how to fix the issues yourself. It would not be worth paying someone to fix a guitar that cost you anywhere from $189 to $240. You are better off purchasing an Epiphone Les Paul, Michael Kelly Patriot, Vintage V100 or any ESP/LTD Eclipse models. Hell, I purchased a Les Paul husk from Guitar Fetish for $150 and it is one hell of a guitar. I got all the hardware from their site as well to build it. The only major thing I had to do to the neck was set the string height at the first fret and polish the frets. I put Dimarzio's in that bad boy!

[scorchedearthdj]

you know phil is old school when he pulls out the zippo