Hoffman Amplifiers Tube Amplifier Forum
Other Stuff => Guitars => Topic started by: reidgw on September 18, 2021, 07:01:20 am
-
Hey folks,
Anybody out there ever heard of/bought a Firefly guitar? I was trying to get a fix for my G.A.S. a few days ago and started out looking for a strat as I haven't had one in the stable in decades but somehow ran across all these video reviews screaming about Firefly. So I went and took a look at https://guitarsgarden.com/collections/fflg
For years in my youth, my favorite guitar was the SG but I could never afford a real one and I had the mindset that it HAD to be a Gibson. Flashback to circa 1997, I finally scraped up $800 and bought an SG (that's around $1,300 today and I was making a whole $13/hr!)
It was the WORST guitar I have ever owned. My Teisco Del Rey and Alamo Fiesta both stayed in tune better. I never found out why it was so awful. Maybe a bad truss rod or crack in the neck - but it was like getting sick on Goldschlager: the mere thought of owning another one left me queasy for years :laugh: So I got rid of it and never bought another.
But these Fireflys look pretty danged nice and what the hell is $190? I watched the site over the last few days - they post a dozen and sell out by the evening. I've got one on its way and I'd be happy to post pics and opinion if anyone is interested. They have 335 copies and Les Pauls but the latter is apparently nigh on impossible to get your hands on. They sell out instantly as people are buying them up and reselling them on Amazon. I won't buy scalped concert tickets so I definitely ain't buying a scalped guitar!
Now I'm no dummy and I don't expect this thing to be perfect, but I will say this: The BEST fiddle I ever bought was a cheap Korean made Ibanez RG270 floor model. The only change I ever made was to add a Rio Grande Tex-Mex pickup to the bridge. It is sitting next to me right now and I wouldn't part with it for anything in the world. Perhaps I'll get lucky again :m8
-
I coughed up the money for a FFLPS in the orange spalted finish. Have been sitting on it for a couple months now. I look at it as an investment guitar. It is quite incredible what you can get delivered to your doorstep for $220 including tax and shipping.
My impression...
Sounds great after a bit of setup work. There are a few finishing issues but they are rather picky things considering the price.
Here are my criticisms:
Bridge has some play in the string seats
one fret is slightly high in the middle and causes occasional fret buzz
The knobs had some molding sprues that were rubbing the body and keeping the knobs from turning smoothly
The headstock inlay is slightly off center
There are a couple spots where they polished a bit to much and went through the finish.
There are two tiny black spots in the finish where it looks like there was some contamination or debris.
And the cover plates for the cavities on the back looked like they were cut out by a 5 year old with kindergarten scissors. Pretty hideous fit on those.
Pots have a bit of a strange taper. could be better.
Here are my compliments:
The wood used for the top is incredible. Mine has a one peice top that combines flame, quilting, and a bit of birdseye. The back is also very nice. It also has some flaming to it. The neck fit is great. No sharp frets. Intonation was not far off. The fretboard wood is very nice. Pickups sound great. Wiring job is not bad.
None of these are so bad an issue to prevent me from buying another at the same price.
I think the Rondo/Agile LP copies were slightly better from a QC standpoint and they sound really good. These sound really good as well and with a few minor tweeks, will hold there own with guitars costing 3x the coin. I think they will appreciate in value with time similar to Agiles which sold for a similar price and now ar bringing 300+ on a regular basis with some much more.
IMHO, the best bargain guitar out there right now, is the Kramer Baretta Special. $179.00 new if you can find them in stock. My son just bought a Kramer Baretta Special in "ruby red" which is actually a hideous pinkish color. He repainted it in metallic gray and it looks and plays awesome. Great sustain, maple neck and fretbord and a mahoghany body.
Back to the firefly FFLP. If you can manage to grab one when they have them posted up, I wouldn't be afraid to pull the trigger.
-
Thanks for the input.
Unfortunately, my order has turned into a nightmare. The SG model they released was brand new and apparently from a different factory than the hollow bodies and LPs. From my quick math, it looked like 3 out of 10 were arriving with issues like overdrilled post holes, delaminated neck, missing parts, misaligned nuts and on and on.
I tried to cancel my order and found that - SURPRISE! - they have no phone and only one person to handle correspondence. In short, my guitar was shipped after I cancelled it, rerouted to Texas before it ever reached me and I still have no refund. After a week, I finally had to file a dispute with my card company, which I really did not want to do but they would not answer my emails.
It is sad because I heard such great things about the other two lineups. If they had handled my cancellation properly, I might have even considered buying one when they got all the kinks worked out. Now, I am not so sure.
On the bright side, I am really enjoying my new strat :m7
EDIT:
Oh, I almost forgot! I found out they don't sell out of guitars. They take them down every evening and list them again in the morning. Never heard of anyone doing that before!