Budget 335 style guitar

snarf

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
I think 60 Cycle Hum reviewed the FireFly and Grote and Harley Benton semi-hollows all side by side and ranked them HB, Grote, and then Firefly. It may not've been 60CH, but, if it wasn't, it was another one of those guitar podcast/youtube channels. You might check out the HB guitars. You would have to buy them from Thomann over in Europe, but it seems that plenty of folks have done so with no problem.
 
Rancid Rumpboogie

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
If your intent is to use the guitar for a potential mod platform, either the GFS or Firefly would be excellent.

I have a blue Firefly that I dearly love. It looks gorgeous, plays REALLY well, and doesn't sound bad at all with the stock pickups. I have a set of Bare Knuckle Mule pickups ready to put in it, but haven't done so yet. I thought well enough of it to spend the $$ to put a Bigsby B5/Vibromate on it. The Firefly is not a 335 knock-off, it is about midway in size between a 339 and a 335.
AAA - FIREFLY 335 02.JPG AAA - FIREFLY 335 01.JPG

I also have a GFS XV-500 that also plays exceptionally well and that I likewise put a Bigsby B5/Vibromate on, along with a set of Jim Wagner (JWP) American Steele pickups. This guitar will more than hold its own against any LP out there!
PIC 1.jpg
PIC 3.jpg

And I have a GFS XV-845 that also plays exceptionally well that I got expressly to try a set of GFS Gold Foil pickups in.
ALNICO V GOLD FOILS.jpg
 
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S

Slofinger

Blues Junior
Look closely at the guitarfetish ones in their clearance section. I only looked at one but what most were priced at and the bridge did not line up properly with the neck. At least it certainly appeared not to. eBay, the last time I looked had quite a few Fireflys. Although at a marked up price from what amazon was selling them for.
 
MikeR

MikeR

Guitar Challenged
Staff member
TwoNotesSolo said:
Now I remember, it was a Firefly guitar. The only one I can find is in gold. Looks great but not what I'm looking for.
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You just missed a batch of other colors of FF338 (Firefly's designation). They do have the gold one now and a spalted maple one is due to arrive soon on Amazon. They don't have any 338s at the moment, but they also sell them on their own website, www.guitarsgarden.com.
 
TwoNotesSolo

TwoNotesSolo

Student Of The Blues
I didn't realize the Firefly was smaller than a 335, the web site called them full size.

I'm too scared about import duties to buy from Thonman. We recently shipped a quilt to France that my wife handmade for a niece there, and the niece had to pay $90 in duty and other taxes for a declared insurance value of $150

Otherwise that would likely be my first choice otherwise.
 
snarf

snarf

making guitars wish they were still trees
TwoNotesSolo said:
I'm too scared about import duties to buy from Thonman. We recently shipped a quilt to France that my wife handmade for a niece there, and the niece had to pay $90 in duty and other taxes for a declared insurance value of $150
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Totally get that! I've had a shopping cart with a couple of those Harley Bentons and some other stuff I haven't seen on this side loaded up for probably 9 months. The thing that keeps me from pulling the trigger is the horror stories I've heard about things crossing customs. Some like yours where the price ends up doubling because of taxes and others where they didn't have to pay anything else, but it took them 6 months to finally get it because it sat in a warehouse somewhere.
 
MikeS

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
TwoNotesSolo said:
Now I remember, it was a Firefly guitar. The only one I can find is in gold. Looks great but not what I'm looking for.

Best Choice is in that price range but reviews are mixed:

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-Products-All-Inclusive-Semi-Hollow/dp/B08CS2TWLY

GROTE seems to have better reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/product-GROTE-Electric-Guitar-Hollow/dp/B07CRTCXDV

But I would prefer to get something some of guys had vetted already :)
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Don't know if the Firefly come in red. Mine is black with ivory(Colored) binding. Looks, plays and sounds great.
 
Rancid Rumpboogie

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
TwoNotesSolo said:
I didn't realize the Firefly was smaller than a 335, the web site called them full size.
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This is where I got the case for my Firefly "335".
This case was specially designed for the Ibanez Artcore AM77T and AM73 guitars. As you can see, the Firefly fits the case perfectly (and I mean PERFECTLY ... nice and snug), so the guitar is modeled after an Ibanez AM77T or AM73 guitar (specificaly the AM73), not an ES335. It is too big for the case for my Epi 339 Pro and is loose in the case for my 335.
https://www.samash.com/ibanez-am100c-hardshell-electric-guitar-case-iam100cxx
I busted my buns trying to find out exactly what this guitar is modeled after in order to find a case for it ... I forget where I finally found out, but it is modeled after an Ibanez Artcore AM73. As for quality, of course all I can attest to is mine. But mine has an absolutely flawless finish, great neck, very decent fret work. I replaced the bridge with a roller bridge when I put on the Bigsby, along with locking tuners. It plays every bit as nicely as any of my 15 other electrics.
AAA - FIREFLY 335 02.JPG

 
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blackcoffeeblues

blackcoffeeblues

Student Of The Blues
TwoNotesSolo said:
I'm open to other suggestions
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By the time you mod it---you would probably be further ahead to just buying what really want...A Epi-would probably be your best deal.-(Gibsons are WAY to over priced.) You might be able to pick up a Fender Coranado--(I had one of those and someone stole it.) I don't think Ibanez makes the red- or wine color but they might? If you just have to have a 335 style-- I got a Ibanez AS-93 I will sell you CHEAP-great / beautiful guitar just never play it. P.M. if interested :thumbup:
 
S

Slofinger

Blues Junior
When I looked this morning the honeyburst was there. I’ve already got a tobacco sunburst one, but man that one was tempting.
 
TwoNotesSolo

TwoNotesSolo

Student Of The Blues
I checked this morning and they had the transparent red in stock. I decided to give it a try, even though it's not a full size 335. At that price I can probably resell it at cost without trouble.
 
TwoNotesSolo

TwoNotesSolo

Student Of The Blues
Hmm, did I get scammed? I searched for ff338 in amazon and the link at the top is to the Firefly store reviews but it looks like this is not the Firefly store:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B075FW24C5

And they say:
Please note: We don't supply the belt and we changed the nut to bone and used Nickel strings according to the customer's requirement

Edit:it says it's returnable so hopefully all is fine
 
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