FIREFLY Anyone?

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
Well, let's wait and see what quality oneLOCOman's and Brent's Firefly guitars turn out to be. From a different batch. If they turn out to be right in line with those received so far, this has to be a deal of the century. As for mine, after the upgrades I'm making to it with the Bigsby and locking tuners and roller bridge and Bare Knuckle Mule pickups, it is definitely going to be one of my most favorite go-to guitars. But those upgrades put it into the $700.00 range. Rest assured that there is no way I would do that unless the overall workmanship quality and playability are both top-notch! And as I have said before, it really doesn't need a pickup swap because the stock pickups sound really good, I just happened to already have the Bare Knuckle pickups with nowhere to put them. And although the stock tuners are cheapies, mine did hold their tune pretty darned well. I don't think you have to worry about the pots or switch ... the switch looks like a good Switchcraft switch, probably isn't but it's built like one ... and the pots are not those small pots usually found in inexpensive guitars and feel and work just great.

With just the Bigsby, roller bridge and locking tuners, it would be in the $400.00 range. I would say just try to find another good guitar with those accoutrements for $400.00! Even an Epi Wildkat is $500.00 and it lacks a roller bridge and locking tuners.

With that said, if the quality continues to be consistent, I can't think of any member on this forum who shouldn't grab one! If you are a newbie and on a tight budget looking for a great-playing blues guitar, GRAB ONE! If you are an accomplished player but don't have a semi-hollow, GRAB ONE! If you have a stable of expensive guitars and want one you don't have to worry about getting dinged at a jam or such, GRAB ONE! If you are kind of like me and prefer to "roll your own" by upgrading an inexpensive guitar to accoutrements of your choice, this is a GREAT platform for upgrades, so GRAB ONE!
 
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steve o

Student Of The Blues
Well, let's wait and see what quality oneLOCOman's and Brent's Firefly guitars turn out to be. From a different batch.

Great advice as always Jim!

So, Onelocoman and Brent, how does the new batch look? Any concerns, problems, etc?
 

steve o

Student Of The Blues
So, Onelocoman and Brent, how does the new batch look? Any concerns, problems, etc?

Well? Hello?:cautious:(n)
 

brent

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
Sorry for the slow reply, there steve o. I worked a 12 hour shift today, then had to run my daughter back downton to meet her friends. I believe I stated earlier in this thread that mine will be here Wednesday. Believe me, as soon as it gets here and I have a chance to give her the once over and few strums, I will update this thread with my opinion. As stated before, for $140 bucks, it would have to be pretty flawed for me to be disappointed. Basically unplayable, even after a set up. Or damaged in some way. Minor blemishes and the like won't bother me at this price.
 

steve o

Student Of The Blues
Sorry for the slow reply, there steve o. I worked a 12 hour shift today, then had to run my daughter back downton to meet her friends. I believe I stated earlier in this thread that mine will be here Wednesday. Believe me, as soon as it gets here and I have a chance to give her the once over and few strums, I will update this thread with my opinion. As stated before, for $140 bucks, it would have to be pretty flawed for me to be disappointed. Basically unplayable, even after a set up. Or damaged in some way. Minor blemishes and the like won't bother me at this price.

Great points Brent. You all broke me down, the order has been placed:eek: My nice blue guitar should arrive next Monday or Tuesday:D
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
Well, Brent, sometimes we just throw caution to the wind. I did. About five minutes after I hit the "Buy" button, I said to myself "Self, what the hell did you just do?". I almost canceled the order, but watched the two videos at the start of this thread again and held off doing that. I am so glad I did. I sincerely hope your new Firefly is as nice as mine!!
 

brent

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
Well, Brent, sometimes we just throw caution to the wind. I did. About five minutes after I hit the "Buy" button, I said to myself "Self, what the hell did you just do?". I almost canceled the order, but watched the two videos at the start of this thread again and held off doing that. I am so glad I did. I sincerely hope your new Firefly is as nice as mine!!

Thank you, sir. I hope so, too. But, I'm not going to get bent out of shape if there's a couple of minor blemishes either. Like I said as long as it's playable or can be made to be playable without herculean effort. I have an Epiphone Les Paul Special II that I got on an Easter sale from Guitar center a few years back for $89. The action was a little bit high, but fixable. And now it's actually a quite playable guitar and something I can take to open jams and not worry if it gets knocked over or someone spills their beer on it. I'm thinking the Firefly will be another one in the same category. Something I can take to a jam and not worry about it constantly.

I brought one of my Carvin's to an open jam once and every guitar player in the bar wanted to play it. After the third (and drunkest one up till then) haphazardly set it down and if almost fell over face first, I put it in its case and haven't taken it out in public since.
 

oneLOCOman

Blues Newbie
Well, Brent, sometimes we just throw caution to the wind. I did. About five minutes after I hit the "Buy" button, I said to myself "Self, what the hell did you just do?". I almost canceled the order, but watched the two videos at the start of this thread again and held off doing that. I am so glad I did. I sincerely hope your new Firefly is as nice as mine!!
What color did ya get? I really liked the red ones too. I am a prime member so if mine has any major flaws I can return for free. Mine is out for delivery so it will be here when I get home. I will put in a review. I don't get off till 7:00 pm ct.
 

chemeagle

Blues Newbie
What color did ya get? I really liked the red ones too. I am a prime member so if mine has any major flaws I can return for free. Mine is out for delivery so it will be here when I get home. I will put in a review. I don't get off till 7:00 pm ct.

I too belong to Amazon Prime. Two years ago my wife got me an Epiphone Dot (red/cherry) for Christmas. It was in the box for two months before we opened it. The neck was broken. Called Amazon and they had a replacement on its way before I'd even boxed up the broken one. I like Amazon for that reason - easy returns. Scott
 

brent

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
Mine is so purty and plays so well I can't imagine what I would do if that happened. This might be one of my top three favorite gits. But then again I think I say that every time I buy a new one :cool:


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If mine turns out to be as nice as RR's, I may grow to be more protective of it. As of right now (mine comes tomorrow), I'm looking at it as a cheap guitar that I can take out to an open jam and not worry (as much as if it was one of my Carvin/Kiesels).

We do also have prime, thus free shipping and great return policy. Only was disappointed with the process once. Bought a David Bowie record that was unplayable, it skipped every where. Sent it back and the next one was only marginally better. Decided it wasn't worth the effort to send back the next one at less than $20.
 

Rancid Rumpboogie

Blues Mangler
So many have gotten these Firefly guitars now that it might be a good idea to find a suitable hard case to fit one. The first video at the start of this thread says they are the same body shape/size as an Ibanez AM50. But Ibanez hasn't made the AM50 since the 80's. I spent several hours trying to find a case for an Ibanez AM50 with no luck. I have a pretty nice hard shell case that came with my SX EG5 335 knock-off. It fits in there but with a good inch of space all around the body, so not the best solution. It won't fit in the case for my Epi 339 because it's bigger than the 339. When a suitable case is found, it will likely cost more than the guitar.
 
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MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
If mine turns out to be as nice as RR's, I may grow to be more protective of it. As of right now (mine comes tomorrow), I'm looking at it as a cheap guitar that I can take out to an open jam and not worry (as much as if it was one of my Carvin/Kiesels).

Yeah, I'd treat one (if I were to get one. Must...resist...) as a foundation for a major modding project.

Yikes, I gotta go easy on justifying having one. :confused:
 

brent

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
I was thinking about that last night. I guess I'll wait until it gets here before I start looking for a case. If someone else finds one that is a good fit, it would be great to share it here.
 
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