Firefly Guitars Review (What You Need To Know)

Firefly guitars have recently become INCREDIBLY hyped up…….and for good reason.

In this article we cover the good, bad, and the ugly when it comes to these guitars.

Here are the things you NEED TO KNOW.

#1) YOU DON’T HAVE TO UPGRADE THE PICKUPS

Everybody’s go to upgrade…….is always the pickups…

BUT. It’s NOT true that the pickups that come stock with these guitars don’t sound good.

The stock pickups on these guitars are animalistic and POWERFUL.

Aggressive and VERY bright tonally. Trust me you will be surprised for a inexpensive model.

JUST LISTEN TO THIS FIREFLY BEAT A HIGH END FENDER TONALLY. ITS UNREAL.

(Firefly versus Fender)

#2) The MYTHS are WRONG

This is the first, and most important thing I’d like to say about these guitars.

These are NOT going to fall apart easily.

There are a lot of people online who think that over a few years these will have HUGE problems.

They say Everything from “the necks on these will warp” to “the electronics don’t work”

This is all complete nonsense. TONS of people have had these guitars for years without issues like this.

Take a look at this guy who’s had his for a couple years for instance.

After Two years of ownership………..his firefly still RIPS. Just Listen for yourself.

As you can see, the rumors are ridiculous….just internet pessimist that want to spread misinformation. I’ve spent an absolutely insane amount of time doing research on these guitars and I’ve never seen anyone with serious issues that have happened over a couple years of ownership.

I’ll even say this…….

There are plenty of people who in my opinion have abused these (traveling, dropping them, not carrying them in good cases)

And it appears they’re still holding up well.

These guitars aren’t cheap toys. They’re 100% great quality instruments.

Note: That’s not to say firefly guitars don’t have issues, we’ll talk about some of the issues they have in this article. Some have HUGE problems, but mostly just small stuff. An example of one of their huge problems was when they had a batch where the frets were incorrectly spaced. They corrected the issue quickly…….but still, imagine receiving a guitar with bad fret spacing. Pretty bad QC.

#3) FRET SPACING ISSUES PLEASE READ:

Fret spacing is not a common issue found on any guitar. Because it’s a not an incredibly hard process to put on frets correctly.

Here’s an oversimplified version of the process. – First you measure the distance between the nut and the saddle (the scale length). From there to figure out the spacing is a simple math equation. (Or you can just use a calculator like the one at stewmac https://www.stewmac.com/FretCalculator.html) and from there you put on your frets. (Yes, huge oversimplification)

Now why am I bringing up fret spacing issues?

On certain older models……sometimes they did end up with pretty serious fre spacing issues. But it was EXTREMELY RARE.

So, if you’re going to buy one used……..best to make sure you check that this is not an issue before purchasing the instrument.

#4) THERE ARE A LOT OF SCALPERS SURROUNDING THESE GUITARS

This is mildly infuriating, to say the least…..

But if you absolutely HAVE to get your hands on one of these right now……you can find these guitars on many different resale sites. But you’ll have to pay a premium. You should know: These are not upgraded and then resold……..they straight up buy them new and then resell them higher, virtually all over the internet. Infuriating.

It’s pretty ridiculous, I understand it’s hard to make money nowadays…….but it is sad to see this happening.

So, if you absolutely HAVE to get your hands on one ASAP. That’s the way to do it. Fortunately (most) scalpers aren’t charging that much more for them……but it’s still awful they’re doing it at all.

Now, there are people who buy and resell these guitars who do a proper set up and upgrades. These guys are different from the scalpers. The scalpers simply buy to resell without adding any extra value.

#5) YOU CAN BUY FIREFLY GUITARS PRE-UPGRADED

Please Read: Not all people who are buying the guitars to resell them are bad. In fact, some of the people who do this do an INCREDIBLE job of doing a proper set up to the guitar and adding some seriously cool mods as well.

(If you’re interested in mods that’ll seriously give you goosebumps……..scroll down to my section on mods. I promise you won’t be disappointed)

The people who do this are great for people like me who don’t like setting up every aspect of a guitar when they buy them. Plus, you don’t have to worry if you’ll mess up or not……..since they’ve already done the work.

Understand there is a LOT of stuff resellers do to their guitars before they’re sold. They’re not at all like the scalpers.

There’s a lot of differences between scalpers and resellers that I haven’t been able to mention.

Here’s a GREAT reseller I personally like explaining more about what they do below:

Note: The other brand he’s talking about in the video is called IYV. They’re on their way to BLOWING UP currently. The hype is huge on them.

#6) POORLY POTTED MICROPHONIC PICKUPS – FIXABLE

This is only a problem in certain models. Poor potting is a VERY common thing in guitars that aren’t great quality. Poor potting is the number one cause of microphonic pickups.

Don’t know know what pots are? https://www.artisanluthiers.com/blog/understanding-guitar-pots-caps/)

(Microphonic simply means that your pickups will be able to pickup the sound of your voice and other noises that it shouldn’t)

Thankfully, fixing microphonic pickups is usually very simple.

Basically what you do, is a simple process called waxing. If you’re interested in learning how to wax the pots in a guitar watch this video:

You’ll be surprised how microphonic they can be. I was cracking up. Really microphonic!

Listen below at 4:27

CHECK OUT THIS HACK: I haven’t been able to try it, but many people claim that you can get rid of the microphonic issue simply by taking off the pickup cover. Would be much easier than waxing the pots for sure.

#7) THE MOD OPTIONS ARE ENDLESS

Not only that……but a modded firefly guitar will put some higher end guitars to SHAME. Seriously they sound absolutely incredible.

I’ve listened to almost every single modded video I could find when it comes to firefly guitars (and other cheap guitars really) and I was SHOCKED with this one, just because he was able to get his upgrades EXTREMELY CHEAP and they sound REALLY good. Just as good as other people who’ve spent WAY more for their upgrades. It’s also nice being able to watch him set everything up.

Seriously the tone is so good it’s like your frozen in time. Ugh, I love it. Listen below:

Seriously, there are SO many options for mods for your firefly. I also suggest watching this video if you’re into really inexpensive mods that cover the basics as well.

#8) THIS (super cheap) MOD WILL GIVE YOU GOOSEBUMPS

This is my absolute favorite mod I’ve seen done on a firefly……..and it’s still RIDICULOUSLY cheap. Seriously just listen to that tone………it’s absolutely insane……

For the mods, he’s using dragonfire gate bucker and a noiseless dragonfire as well. Plus a couple other small mods you can read about in the description to the video. Dragonfire pickups are a steal FYI in case you didn’t know. Great pickups.

My opinion…….this is the BEST tone I’ve ever heard out of a firefly hands down.

Also, if you’re interested in modding your firefly with dragonfire pickups……..or any guitar with them definitely check out this video. Super informative.

#9) PRICES MIGHT BE GOING UP SOON.

I’m not 100% certain on this. But I’ve seen post saying that in the future they’ll be charging more. Wether that’s true or not, is uncertain…..

But I do believe, that with the current prices of their guitars…….that they could easily double their price and still sell the guitars like hotcakes. They already FLY out of stock now, so what’s from stopping them from raising the price?

And people say that’s greedy, but I disagree. Guitars of this quality are definitely worth about double what they’re priced at currently for sure. Even at that price I’d still say you’re getting a bargain. Not a HUGE bargain like people are getting now, but a fairly decently sized one still.

#10) YOU CAN GET UPDATES ON WHEN THEY’RE RESTOCKING MODELS – CHECK THE FACEBOOK GROUP “Firefly Guitars Fans” for info

If you haven’t checked out the group, it’s definitely worth joining and seeing all of the stuff they post when it comes to mods and different things they’ve done with their firefly guitars. They also keep people informed with updates from the factory (the admins contact them) so you can find out when releases are happening. Pretty cool.

There’s a wealth of information on those groups…..they’re EXTREMELY helpful. Seriously, any question you have they’re also super responsive. Pretty cool group. There’s also quite a few guitar techs in there so if you’re thinking of doing an upgrade they can set you down the right path.

#11) LOOK AT ALL FINISH OPTIONS

Simply put, they have more options than you might think. Some of the options are absolutely STUNNING. So you might want to wait a little while for the option you want to come back in stock.

My personal favorite is the orange creamsicle (not called that) that you can get for the tele. It’s probably my favorite finish I’ve ever seen before. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.

#12) IS QUALITY ALL OVER THE PLACE?

This is something that I’ve tried to figure out for awhile now.

If you look on YouTube, you can find people EVERYWHERE just GLOATING about these guitars…..

And on reviews…….anywhere really.

I mean the fact that there are MULTIPLE FAN GROUPS…….

Tells you how much people really do love these guitars.

So, why are there haters? What is the deal with that?

While one person gloats and loves these guitars……..another will BASH them and talk about how much they dislike them.

When I first started seeing hateful reviews…….I was honestly just mind blown.

But I’ve come to the conclusion that firefly guitars quality is just all over the place.

If you go and look at reviews and post on some of the fan groups…………….you’ll see some people just simply had issues others didn’t have. They back it up with solid proof (pictures) as well.

Now……you may or may not agree with me…….but personally I think they’re crybabies.

All the issues they have with this ABSURDLY cheap guitar…..

Are all just very very insignificant issues. We’re talking microscopic here.

Now SOME of the issues. SOME were a big deal, like for instance they at once had a problem with fret spacing. There have also been others who’ve received broken necks.

THESE issues I understand being upset about. But they are VERY few and far between. Also, firefly will IMMEDIATELY make it right and send a replacement.

I’m not talking about those issues.

I’m talking about the minor cosmetic issues that many of their guitars have.

It’s all kind of laughable. Guys complaining about things about tooling marks and problems with paint…….

Now, I should tell you this.

I do SLIGHTLY understand where they’re coming from.

Just because every once in awhile someone will get a firefly with absolutely almost NOTHING wrong with it.

And yes, I’d rather have gotten the perfect one than the one I have to do a little work on…..

But still, complaining about it? Straight up negative reviews?

That’s just unrealistic.

So in conclusion: Yes, it is true that some guitars come out perfect and some come out slightly less than but still great………but it’s not something you should be worried about. Worst comes to worst you can always get another guitar sent from firefly.

#13) THERE ARE SOME GREAT REPUTABLE RESELLERS.

I know I said earlier that there were scalpers that simply buy the guitars to sell for more….

But, there are some great people out there who resell the guitars.

The difference between them and the scalpers, is they’ll upgrade your guitar for you and do a proper set up. Rather than just selling you the same thing you could’ve bought yourself at a marked up price.

They do some pretty cool upgrades as well.

Here’s a GREAT reseller I personally like talking about it.

Also, the other brand he’s talking about in the video is called IYV. Honestly, they’re going to blow up bigger than Firefly in my opinion.

#14) THE TONE ON THE STOCK PICKUPS IS WAY BETTER THAN YOU THINK.

At first thought when I saw the price of these guitars………I thought there was no way they could sound good.

BUT, after listening to them I was blown away.

But……..what REALLY BLEW ME AWAY……was that they sound BETTER than other budget models which frankly cost more.

In the video below: This guy Rick does an absolutely awesome comparison of a firefly versus an epiphone and an ibanez……and he doesn’t show you which one he’s playing at what time so it makes it that much better. Really great demonstration of the tone between these models. You’ll be surprised which tone you like more. True comparison.

So, can you hear the difference between a firefly and Ibanez? Comment on this post if you could!

Like the firefly?

Then check out these:

#15) OTHER INCREDIBLE AND CHEAP GUITARS (That will give you goosebumps)

This guitars tone is absolutely mind blowing. Honestly one of the best tones I’ve ever heard from an inexpensive guitar……..if not the best. And I’m seriously not exaggerating either. The tone from these pickups is INCREDIBLE. It’s one of the only inexpensive guitar options that you most likely won’t consider doing a pickup upgrade.

Apart from this…..this is obvious but……man is this guitar beautiful. The inlays especially are seriously just gorgeous. I’m majorly impressed with this guitar in so many ways.

LESS than firefly’s version of a tele and sounds just as good………this particular model is absolutely incredible. It’s honestly mind blowing that guitar options like this are out there to me.

I will say this though……..not as pretty as the firefly. While it does sound as good, they just don’t look as nice. Some people disagree with me however, so if you like it definitely check them out!

This guitar is an absolute steal and is INSANELY versatile. The quality is absurdly good.

I debated on adding this one, just because the HYPE on these is so huge basically everyone’s heard about them now. But in the off chance you haven’t, they’re definitely worth checking out.

#16) ITS BETTER TO BUY THEM IN PERSON THAN ONLINE – here’s why

There’s a lot of reasons for this, the quality varies from guitar to guitar…….and even the way each guitar is built from each manufacturing run can be slightly different.

It’s simply a cheap guitar so……there will be minor flaws on each one, and you’re going to want to feel/see/hear those for yourself when you pick yours up.

A lot of people tend to disagree and say that it’s no big deal, because you could just send it back if there are any major issues…..but I’d personally rather not deal with that.

Surprisingly, as hard as these are to find people do sell them locally. Gotta keep your eyes peeled to snatch them up.

Craigslist has their own alerting system so you can set up alerts pretty easily for certain search terms. There’s even an app if you’re interested. Here’s some links if you’re interested. Great way to find deals on guitars in general.

#17) THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OLD MODELS AND NEW MODELS

I touched on this a little before, but if you watch the video below you can see there is a HUGE difference just in the tone.

Listen to the difference in tone between old and new models below. HUGE difference between old and new models.

Listen Below and You’ll DEFINITELY be surprised at how much they’ve changed tonally. Really impressive for just a few year difference between guitars.

#18) SO WHY ARE NEW AND OLD MODELS SO DIFFERENT

Basically, and I touched on this earlier slightly……. this company puts a lot of work into the research and development of these guitars. It’s no secret that they pay very close attention to what their fans want to see in upcoming models……….. they also pay very close attention to what people did not like about their models.

This is what companies should be doing, many times when a company finally pivots and starts listening to their customers it’s usually to late.

#19) LOTS OF PEOPLE HAD PROBLEMS WITH FRET BUZZ. IT’S NOT FRET BUZZ…..

Basically, if your style of firefly comes with a tunomatic bridge……..you’re likely to run into common problems they have. Not a big deal at all.

A few common problems with these:

Sometimes not everything is tight. You might have to screw in a few screws.

Retainer wire might be loose. Some people use a little glue or wax to hold in place. Others simply make a kink in between the screws.

Saddles not slotted deep enough. For this you will have to file them down slightly.

These are really just common problems with these types of bridges. Unfortunately nothing that firefly really could do to solve this. It’s just a problem with the bridge.

NOTE: This issue is NOT a big deal at all. It can be easily fixed in a matter of a couple minutes. (Or minute really)

#20) Frets are slightly gritty

Frets just feel kind of gritty and sandpaper like. That’s okay, that’s honestly to be expected at this price range. Nothing to be upset about really.

Plus, you get to learn how to polish them off yourself (as a guitar geek I love this).

If you REALLY don’t want to polish them yourself. They’ll play fine no worries. Overtime though, they’ll just polish themselves from you bending the strings over them anyway.

#21) TOOLING MARKS ON FRETS

I mean………they’re there. Not really a big deal for me at all, it’s just not.

#22) PROBLEMS WITH E STRING SLIPPING OUT.

This isn’t a big deal……in fact I’ve had this happen with a TON of guitars

Sidenote: the worst offender of high e slippage was a rogue I got to travel with for 20$. You should DEFINITELY check these guitars out. (I assume since you’re reading this you’re probably into cheap guitars……) You can find them for next to nothing if you get them used and generally while the quality isn’t the greatest….they’re still sound surprisingly good for what they are.

So how do you treat the problem of the high E slipping out?

Basically, you get a fret file and file away. Not very difficult at all. You can also use needle files or a piece of e string as a file……but doing it with your e string is a slight pain because it takes…..forever. Especially since these guitars use a bone nut.

#23) THERE ARE SMALL ISSUES WITH THE FINISH

These guitars all have small finish problems. Nothing serious really, but you’ll see parts that weren’t sanded down properly…….or parts with to much paint that ended up dripping. Even spray being sprayed where it’s not supposed to be.

But none of this is very serious, basically all of it is just minor and you really have to take a very close look at the guitar in order to notice this.

Sidenote: I have to say, that the paint job on the tele……the orange one……beautiful. Like a creamsicle. I love it. Definitely check it out if you haven’t.

#24) VERY RESPONSIVE COMPANY

You don’t have to be worried that if something goes wrong with your model that they won’t make it right.

This company is VERY responsive, which is a breath of fresh air when it comes to guitar manufacturers to be honest. I’ve had really rough times in the past trying to get guitar companies to answer even the simplest of questions for me.

This is not the case with firefly at all, in fact their response times are quick and they their customer service is EXCELLENT. Look through any of the posts in the fan groups and you’ll see just how fast and excellent their support is.

Not only is their customer service excellent, but they also listen to complaints that their customers make as well……..those and tips for how they can improve their guitars.

Every time there’s a complaint about their guitars, it seems that on their next run they fix the problem almost no matter what it is. Pretty cool.

Over the years as the company improves…….firefly guitars get better and better. Just listen to this newer model versus the same model just a few years back.

NEW firefly models sound WAY better than the old ones. Listen below.

#25) THEY GO THE EXTRA MILE IN SMALL WAYS – FOR INSTANCE THEY HAVE BONE NUTS

Pleasant surprise seeing this on the guitars. Some people did have to file down their bone nuts slightly however, only seen a few people that have had this issue……but it’s still something to be aware of.

#26) YOURE NOT GOING TO FIND ANYTHING ELSE THIS GOOD IN THIS PRICE RANGE

Personally, I find these guitars to be the absolute best of this price range out there.

While there ARE tons of new inexpensive guitars out there…….the firefly is ridiculously hard to beat. There are only a few that come close to the Firefly when it comes to the ridiculous value.

I put these in the section titled: OTHER CHEAP GUITAR MODELS (That will give you goosebumps)

In that section I do reveal some of the guitars that are currently exploding similar to how the firefly exploded. Thankfully, if you can get in on these deals now you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to buy them.

Fun fact: Several well known guitar brands became that way from selling budget models and getting in the hands of many people that way. I’d like to think we’re witnessing history with firefly guitars right now.

#27) CNC MACHINES AND WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THEM –

Simply put, these guitars are made with CNC machines…..and for some reason I see people getting upset about this online……which is ludicrous.

CNC machines are used by SO many different guitar manufacturers……yes…..even high end brands use CNC machines. Why wouldn’t they? It’s cost efficient…..and most importantly more precise than a human could ever do. As unfortunate as that is, because skilled labor is becoming more and more a thing of the past……that’s a great thing for us buying guitars.

Because of these machines we can have incredible deals like the firefly.

Watch this CNC machine craft a fender body. Mesmerizing……if only they were affordable I’d have to get one.

#28) EXTREMELY RESONANT

This isn’t accurate for the tele, but their other models are INSANELY resonant. Kind of just an interesting fact, not necessarily a need to know. I love a really resonant guitar. They sound incredible.