Firefly "335" - Crazy Cheap, but is it ACTUALLY Good?? 

FINALLY GOT A FIREFLY!!!!

I need one of those as my "backup guitar". My fifteenth backup guitar.

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 ;)

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!

So you reviewed my exact Firefly and everything was dead on. I love it!!!

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!

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

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!

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.

9:11 Is he playing Smoke on the.... oh nevermind

That dark blue is mesmerizing and beautiful! Way too smooth of a hollowbody if I must say!

Your hardwork deserves a thumbs up!

Love the pick up talking 😁

You make any damn guitar sound amazingly well :) you are a gift to the guitar community... Great job Darrell!

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

Great review, thank you. And a big thank you to Phillip!

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!!!

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).

Thank you for this review . I was trying myself to purchase one of these. And you helped me make up my mind on if I really want one.

Finally reviewed it! I was waiting for this a long time!

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.

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!

Darrel this was stellar!!!!! Cannot wait to one day be able to make half as killer videos.

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.

i wonder how "affordable" guitars 10 years from now would perform, today's bang for the buck guitars are awesome!

Darrell that was a really good honest review of the Firefly Hollowbody guitar. Especially nice was your overall evaluation and recommendation for young people just starting out in guitar lessons

I have that exact same model color and all. I absolutely love it. No problems whatsoever.

Love that you managed to squeeze in a Gibson neck angle comment lol

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.

I loved that you actually spoke into the PUPs!!

That minute solo on that guitar was fire! Been looking for a good cheap guitar and this looks awesome!

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.

That speaking into the pickups made my day! 😂

I subbed in 3 other accounts! You channel is the best one about guitars! keep doing what you are doing!

Nice jam at the end there DB!

9:12 come on Darrell don’t do that to me

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!

Darrell, Thank you. excellent review. Love them. Great solo too..❤

Hey, thanks for rolling the tone off when demoing the neck pup clean..us pseudo jazz guys are always looking for that!

2:35 that AT-AT on the window though...

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.

Cool review. I’m planning to get a Firefly down the road. You have some great chops, homes!

Love your guitar reviews! Great job.

Finally. What about Harley Benton 335 Plus doe 😳

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!!

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.

Best firefly guitar review I have ever seen. I have been waiting for a long time for a DBG review.

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.

I like they that a mic comes with the guitar and it should match my voice too.

a great review and awesome playing, dude! :)

I love this video! Thanks for chasing down these lower price options. Maybe in the future you can upgrade 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

Mine arrives tomorrow! Have the thinline tele firefly already and it is amazing.

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!

Hey Darrell your evaluation is spot on! I got mine off of Amazon last year for 135 bucks in natural wood tone and I just love the thing. I followed it along with your assessment right down the line and found it exactly what I found with mine with the exception of my binding and fitment was actually quite good and I didn’t see exactly the issues with yours however for $130 can’t think of anything I’d rather have for a semi hollow body guitar.

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

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.

Once again a very nice review.

Good review. A Pal of mine bought one, needed a slight neck adjustment. For two kids who started playing in the 60s & who started on Dime Store junk the FireFly would've been a treat to have. Wonderful starter & backup.

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’m not even mad at the microphonic lmao I’m already thinking how to use it with my looper

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 think that's my favorite solo you've ever played. Bravo

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

How about a guitar review on a Nick Johnston Schecter Signature Guitar... Not the USA Models though.

Cheers to Phillip- folks need to see this content. Well done!

Went on Amazon and saw they are now in stock!.Bought the Black E355 can't wait till it gets here.!

That fretboard is "compound" for sure, as seen on 6:09

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

great video, darrel

Darrell, excellent, thorough review, thank you! Yes, I could hear the fret scratch on your recording. And when you weigh a guitar, could you mention the result in both pounds and kilograms, please? Good work!

whoever is reading this, I hope you're having a great day today

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 is a beautiful rig. Love the Tele thinking as well.

Thanks Phillip. That was very cool 🙂

She sure is pretty for $135!

"Play Authentic" Sorry, had to say it for the lulz

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.

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!

$150 for a good quality guitar= zero cons

8:52 Fog on the liquid.

Darrell love your show. I recently bought four of these, and sent 3 back due to anomalies. The fourth is incredible. The finish flaws they completely solved in the Dec 15, 2019 mfr date batch. The fit and finish are flawless. I agree with you when bending strings it makes a sandy scratchy sound. Hard to figure out because the top of the frets are smooth shiny gloss mirror like. The tone is fantastic. The neck pickup sounds like a deep jazz guitar which is witnessed by your demo. The bridge pickup is great also clean. The middle position rings like bells. The fret ends on mine are all finished really nice also. I think Firefly listened to the comments and upped their game. The pickups have ceramic magnets which are warmer than the alnicos. (one of the reasons I wanted the guitar to round out my collection) The one thing I have to get critical of; the frets are all fine, nice and straight, no high ones, but the nut was installed slightly off on two out of four I received. The other two had the lower string part of the nut .20mm closer to the frets than the bass side. So when playing mixed chords with open and closed strings it is a tiny bit and irritatingly off. The one I kept does not have that problem, and the other one I sent back had a good nut also, but the bridge pickup did not work. My advice is to buy one from Amazon when they are available. They give you free shipping, and free returns for up to 30 days. So that way you can cherry pick with armchair convenience. I have a really nice guitar collection, but recently I can't stop pickup this guitar. Great fit, finish, sound, playability. It is absolutely insane for the money.

Mine will be here Monday!! I got the Sunburst. I can’t wait to get it cleaned up and playing right. For the price I think it’s an amazing starting point when you are on a budget.

4:20 sounds like the opening for Cult of Personality.

I cured the microphonics on mine by taking the chrome covers off the pickups. No more microphonics!

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.

I can't believe how good it sounds!

7:43 Are you playing Stevie T's Ed Sheeran song?

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?

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.

Very cool video!👍🏼😎❤️❤️

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...

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.

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!

You are a good Dude!!!! Thanks for sharing , Cheers from USA !!!

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.

As usual, Darrell makes a cheap guitar sound like a million bucks. No surprise there. It's 95% player and 5% equipment..

Finally someone is doing a review of a firefly guitar!!! It’s about time!

I had an ES 335 once. I loved it. The right amp and --- WoW!!!