FIREFLY Anyone?

jporzelius

Blues Junior
jmin and rancid made another sale. I ordered the black one. I had my sights set on a black epi 335. When this string started I almost caved but decided the positive reviews on Amazon could be ringers (yes, I can be that cynical). When trusted BGUers give this kind of feedback, I'm ready to jump in. I described the deal to my wife (who has previously asked why I "need" any more guitars) and she said, "go for it". Even more better, when I hopped on Amazon we had a 25 dollar credit. She said it was from something she had returned and I should use it. So for 114 bucks, I have a guitar on the way. Should get here Thursday.

jahmer
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
I just hope the Firefly's don't sell me and Jmin down the river and Wildwood's and Slofinger's and jahmer's guitars turn out to be just as nice as ours!! But man, that blue one of mine is just GORGEOUS!
 

Wildwood

Playin' Blues
jmin and rancid made another sale. I ordered the black one. I had my sights set on a black epi 335. When this string started I almost caved but decided the positive reviews on Amazon could be ringers (yes, I can be that cynical). When trusted BGUers give this kind of feedback, I'm ready to jump in. I described the deal to my wife (who has previously asked why I "need" any more guitars) and she said, "go for it". Even more better, when I hopped on Amazon we had a 25 dollar credit. She said it was from something she had returned and I should use it. So for 114 bucks, I have a guitar on the way. Should get here Thursday.

jahmer

Exact same story for me...

I told my wife that I didn't really NEED another guitar but...

She ordered it on her account that day. It's supposed to get here Thursday as well.
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
My Black one came today. Just unboxed it.
Neck feels comfortable, finish is beautiful. As RR said, all i had to do was tune it and play. the intonation was spot on. It even came with a 10' braided cord, a stick-on-pick holder and 10 picks of various thicknesses. This would be a great started pack for a new player.

If I HAD to add some negative comments, they would be:
- I THOUGHT (My problem not theirs) that it was going to be flat black, it's not it's glossy
- tuners are cheap
- the strings are awful
Really nit picking...
- a 339 sized gig bag would be nice
- the free cord should have ONE right angle end
 

jporzelius

Blues Junior
Sounds good. My black one should arrive Thursday. I thought the photos looked flat black but I prefer glossy so I am good with that. What do you think of the pickups? Tuners and strings are very easy to upgrade.

thanks,

jahmer
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
I'm not a pickup person, so I'm probably not the best one to answer this. Though I have a set of Gibson PAFs that I COULD swap in.
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
Yes, I've played it a bit today and, to me, it sounds great. Again, my ear isn't as discerning as some of the other folks around here though.
 

jporzelius

Blues Junior
Yes, I've played it a bit today and, to me, it sounds great. Again, my ear isn't as discerning as some of the other folks around here though.
Thanks, that's really what I'm looking for. If you feel like you can get great tones out of it, that's what really matters. I've been listening to some youtube comparisons of different pickups. Invariably, some commenters HATE the same pickups that others LOVE. I'm mostly just eager to see what the firefly is like.

jahmer
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
I am notoriously anal about pickups … a pickup-swapping junkie. And all "PAF" pickups, which are NOT all the same! But many of them are VERY GOOD. The differences are usually subtle. But to some like me, those subtle differences can be huge. I have 17 electrics now after getting this one, and 14 of them have had their pickups changed. One of those which is still stock and which will remain so because the stock pickups are so good is my EPI 339 Pro. And as I said earlier, the stock pickups in my Firefly are almost as good. I could gig with it box stock and play great blues. Those Bare Knuckle Mule pickups I am going to put in it are $320.00 a set! And to me it will be a quantum leap better. On the other hand, you might not even notice the difference. Just depends on who you are and how refined your ear is. I have gotten other really inexpensive guitars that had cheap ceramic pickups in them that literally made me grind my teeth. These pickups are NOT like that. They sound like alnico pickups.
 

leftymike01

Blues Newbie
Just found a Firefly seller on Ebay Edealer Canada ,Has a es Sunburst
Item number
eBay item number:
26388330304
for sale for a right Handed player ,
was looking for a lefty o well maybe down the road
thought to pass this on for anyone interested
leftymike
 
Last edited:

Slofinger

Blues Junior
I am notoriously anal about pickups … a pickup-swapping junkie. And all "PAF" pickups, which are NOT all the same! But many of them are VERY GOOD. The differences are usually subtle. But to some like me, those subtle differences can be huge. I have 17 electrics now after getting this one, and 14 of them have had their pickups changed. One of those which is still stock and which will remain so because the stock pickups are so good is my EPI 339 Pro. And as I said earlier, the stock pickups in my Firefly are almost as good. I could gig with it box stock and play great blues. Those Bare Knuckle Mule pickups I am going to put in it are $320.00 a set! And to me it will be a quantum leap better. On the other hand, you might not even notice the difference. Just depends on who you are and how refined your ear is. I have gotten other really inexpensive guitars that had cheap ceramic pickups in them that literally made me grind my teeth. These pickups are NOT like that. They sound like alnico pickups.
I just bought a used set of Gibson '57 Classic and put them in a solid body Strat style guitar I made and they have no soul at all in them. Just loud and really kind of annoying. They allegedly came out of a '99 ES335 and I thought before they arrived that I might put them in the SX335 that I have. No way I would do that now.
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
I just bought a used set of Gibson '57 Classic and put them in a solid body Strat style guitar I made and they have no soul at all in them. Just loud and really kind of annoying. They allegedly came out of a '99 ES335 and I thought before they arrived that I might put them in the SX335 that I have. No way I would do that now.
Well, if they are just loud and kind of annoying, either they aren't really Gibby '57 Classics, or your idea of great tone is way off the charts. :whistle: Loud and kind of annoying (as in makes me grind my teeth) is how I would describe a cheap set of ceramic "PAF" pickups.

I have a set of Gibby '57 Classics in an all Koa solid body and they sound fantastic. I know they are real '57 Classics because I bought them new. I also have a set of GFS "Classic II" Alnico II pickups in another guitar. https://www.guitarfetish.com/KP--GF...Humbucker-Chrome--Kwikplug-Ready_p_21911.html They are nearly identical in sound. Really. The Classic '57s are around $300.00 a set, the GFS only around $70.00 I would suggest getting an inexpensive set of the GFS pickups for your SX335. That's what I have in mine and I love the tone of that guitar. Unlike these Fireflys, the stock pickups in the SX335 leave a lot to be desired.
24641022751_69cbfb43dc_o.jpg

 
Last edited:

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
I just bought a used set of Gibson '57 Classic and put them in a solid body Strat style guitar I made and they have no soul at all in them. Just loud and really kind of annoying. They allegedly came out of a '99 ES335 and I thought before they arrived that I might put them in the SX335 that I have. No way I would do that now.

Going way out on a speculative limb here, but do you think there’s any chance they rely on the added resonance of a hollow body to come to life? I rather like how those sound in my 335 but the Burstbuckers in my 339 sound notably richer.
 

Slofinger

Blues Junior
Going way out on a speculative limb here, but do you think there’s any chance they rely on the added resonance of a hollow body to come to life? I rather like how those sound in my 335 but the Burstbuckers in my 339 sound notably richer.
That is certainly possible. Then again these might be counterfeit. I don't know if Gibson stamps their name on the back like Seymour Duncan does, but these do have the PAF stickers. I do intend to put them in something else and see how they sound. Not my 335 though. Way too frustrating of an install.
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
Way too frustrating of an install.
I took the quick and dirty approach putting the pickups in my cheap SX335. I simply snipped the old pickups out and spliced the new ones in, never removed a single pot or the switch. And those GFS pickups in it do sound GREAT. It transformed that guitar from "barely OK" to "Wow".
 

MikeR

Guitar Challenged
Staff member
I replaced the 490 and 498 pickups that came in my Les Paul with a '57 Classic and '57 Classic Plus. Did the 50's wiring as well. It's my go-to for blues jams now. Really sweet sounding PAFs to my ear.
 
Last edited:
Top