A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Posted: **Wed Jul 17, 2024 2:42 pm**

Title says it all...
I just bought a Firefly FFLX in HoneyBurst for $219.
It says sold by Firebird Music....

I had seen in months past that even cheap guitars like FF were being copied....

On a side note....on guitarsgarden dot com - they list the explorer shapes as FFVX (X shaped...)

@LightWingStudios I'm assuming you'll be the first to answer as I imagine you as the resident Firefly expert....

Posted: **Wed Jul 24, 2024 7:21 pm**

thepezident wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2024 2:42 pm Title says it all...
I just bought a Firefly FFLX in HoneyBurst for $219.
It says sold by Firebird Music....

I had seen in months past that even cheap guitars like FF were being copied....

On a side note....on guitarsgarden dot com - they list the explorer shapes as FFVX (X shaped...)

@LightWingStudios I'm assuming you'll be the first to answer as I imagine you as the resident Firefly expert....

Sorry folks for my significant amount of inactivity as of late...lots of health issues going on which I've managed to
subdue and or get under control thank God.

To the Post!....

AVOID Firefly guitars on Amazon! That is where their RETURNS ARE DUMPED!

OK...Firebird Music is the Chinese company based in California that contracts out their products to various factories
and imports them to the U.S. under the brandname "Firefly".

[url]https:/www.guitargardens.com[/url] is their sales website in Calif.

I have yet to see a FF sell and be shipped off their website for more than $275 other than their Double Necks.

All that said their quality has VASTLY improved over the last 18 months while managing to keep their prices fairly stable.

Hell you can get a damn fine SG off their site, shipped, for less than $225! If nothing else they make great "MOD" platforms
with the usual PUP swap out high on the list and even those have gotten alot better the last 6 months and also including
Locking Tuners. They ALL need a set of new strings and a setup out of the box. The ones with Stop Tailpieces I usually
replace with a TP-6 Fine Tuning one off Amazon for $25-30 a pop depending on Chrome or Gold finish.

Question is given the imminent collapse of the Chinese economy, how long can they keep this up if the manufacturing
sector there implodes along with their housing/banking/real estate sectors. 90% of foreign companies have closed shop
there and reports recently stated over 350 MILLION people unemployed. That's the ENTIRE POPULATION of the U.S.

Check out YouTube videos...farking unbelieveable what's going on.

Methinks there's BIG TIME Trouble In Beijing City!

Anyhoot I look at it this way, I can always unload them for 2X what I paid for them. They may even become..."Collectible".

Almost forgot...the UPS guy and I are on a "First Name" basis at this point. LOL!

Here are SOME pics of the ones I "Snagged" over the last 18 months....reminds me of...

"The Heady Days Of Rondo"!

Posted: **Thu Jul 25, 2024 9:45 am**

Imminent collapse of China...

China has an economy that was in many ways driven by the state. There are open questions about how much it's going to prop up it's economy to keep it from collapsing. But yes the housing market in China in particular is INSANE and very problematic.

Posted: **Thu Jul 25, 2024 11:54 am**

LightWingStudios wrote: ↑Wed Jul 24, 2024 7:21 pm
Sorry folks for my significant amount of inactivity as of late...lots of health issues going on which I've managed to
subdue and or get under control thank God.

++++
Here are SOME pics of the ones I "Snagged" over the last 18 months.

Thank God. Hoping you´re on the mend, Patrick. I'm recovering from surgery myself.

Does this "shaving" really helps upper fret acces?

These are the ones I really like of your estable. Would be great if that Tele copy would come in other finishes.
The double cut would be great with block inlays and other finishes and with humbuckers.
What´s the nut width? If it's 1 11/16" would be great, or 1 3/4" even better, and not the too narrow 1 5/8" width. It´s not especified in the website.

Posted: **Fri Jul 26, 2024 10:10 pm**

Way back at the beginning of Firefly they were selling exclusively via Amazon - which was a good thing because every one that I bought back then needed to be sent back. I have been out of the loop on them for a long time but apparently the quality has improved and their official site ( guitarsgarden ) seems to be up to date. Hope your FFLX is a good one!

Posted: **Sat Aug 10, 2024 12:57 pm**

Sorry for the late reply...business is BOOMING and I'm still a bit wobbly healthwise.

Yes, the Carved Neck Joints do help alot in the upper end. Not sure of Neck Widths. FF leaves ALOT to be desired on "Specs."

They use a shitty Spotify website for direct sales and I often told them about Shift4.com which we use but it took significant effort to get our site to where it is. I THINK their site is Administered out of China tho don't quote me on that. Considering their prices I don't think they want to invest the time or effort in giving customers a more professional look or impression. Tho if they sold $500 in product each month their hosting costs would be ZERO and they can still process payments thru Paypal. As has been often said.."Go Figure."

Those folks run a low overhead and low headcount operation so none of that surprises me. They're also at the whim of their Contract Manufacturers since they don't purchase large number of any particular model..whatever they are churning out at the time...and the new monthly offerings shift from Drop-To-Drop.

Patrick

sabasgr68 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 25, 2024 11:54 am
LightWingStudios wrote: ↑Wed Jul 24, 2024 7:21 pm
Sorry folks for my significant amount of inactivity as of late...lots of health issues going on which I've managed to
subdue and or get under control thank God.

++++
Here are SOME pics of the ones I "Snagged" over the last 18 months.
Thank God. Hoping you´re on the mend, Patrick. I'm recovering from surgery myself.

Does this "shaving" really helps upper fret acces?

ff1.jpg

ff2.jpg

These are the ones I really like of your estable. Would be great if that Tele copy would come in other finishes.
The double cut would be great with block inlays and other finishes and with humbuckers.
What´s the nut width? If it's 1 11/16" would be great, or 1 3/4" even better, and not the too narrow 1 5/8" width. It´s not especified in the website.

ff3.jpg

ff4.jpg

Posted: **Wed Aug 14, 2024 9:05 am**

Thanks @LightWingStudios Hope you're feeling moar better.
My Firefly does have a ding in the bottom of the neck binding...So I can see that it was most likely a return.
I decided to keep it though.
It does feel nice and I like the stock pickups.
I thought these had locking tuners but I guess they got rid of them to maybe save on price?

Anyhow.....yeah....Really nice instrument for the price.

Posted: **Sat Aug 17, 2024 3:32 am**

golem wrote: ↑Thu Jul 25, 2024 9:45 am Imminent collapse of China...

China has an economy that was in many ways driven by the state. There are open questions about how much it's going to prop up it's economy to keep it from collapsing. But yes the housing market in China in particular is INSANE and very problematic.

Holy sh-t! I had no idea how crazy bad it is over there.

Watching this one now:

Posted: **Sat Aug 17, 2024 6:23 am**

peskypesky1 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 17, 2024 3:32 am
golem wrote: ↑Thu Jul 25, 2024 9:45 am Imminent collapse of China...

China has an economy that was in many ways driven by the state. There are open questions about how much it's going to prop up it's economy to keep it from collapsing. But yes the housing market in China in particular is INSANE and very problemati
Holy sh-t! I had no idea how crazy bad it is over there.

Watching this one now:

Not only in China, they built small cities in other countries and much development is rotting away. Forest city in Malaysia is one of many:

Posted: **Sun Aug 18, 2024 10:28 am**

@Tonray's Ghost the ones in China were at least useful to the CCP because it let them game an economic metric to show success to the outside world and maybe encourage investment. Many people have pointed this out, yet there were still corporations willing to invest to some degree to get a foothold in the growing Chinese economy. The Malaysian example is more interesting and while I have thoughts about it really is hard to prove why that's done since you can't tell to what degree the Chinese corporate investment is driven by CCP goals.

Posted: **Thu Aug 22, 2024 1:29 pm**

LightWingStudios wrote: ↑Wed Jul 24, 2024 7:21 pm
thepezident wrote: ↑Wed Jul 17, 2024 2:42 pm
Here are SOME pics of the ones I "Snagged" over the last 18 months....reminds me of...

"The Heady Days Of Rondo"!
Totally the rondo days feeling.

That's what scares the crap out of me. I'm already full up.
Well maybe a nice pj ash black block bass
(Bad nomad! Stop it!)

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