Hope you like blue Les Pauls 😂 Let me know which guitar you liked the best!

'If you don't like blue' ... Who are those people??? We all know blue guitars sound better. It's science.

Having played a lot of guitars (and basses) over the years, both bolt on and glued… I think as long as the bolt on neck pocket is tight and has great contact between the neck heel and body, there’s really no difference between them.

The xaviere also has pickup splitting and quick plug pickup swapping for other Guitar Fetish pickups. I bought one after Darrell's review last year and I love it!

I've had a Xavier since September, and have been having so much fun with it. Recently I speced it out and once you polish the frets, it feels like a mid-top tier gibson.

Xaviere had the most clarity, best looking and the best sounding my opinion.

I have actually had all 3 and the Xaviere is hands down the best imo. In fact, it's the only one of the 3 I still have. It has more nicer features like brass saddles and coil taps on the neck and bridge pickups too.

I love my Epi LP Plus Top Pro, it's very well made and sounds great.

Personally I recommend getting an Epiphone Les Paul studio on the used market (~$250-$300), very good pick ups, set neck, grover tuners, can't go wrong

I have the Firefly 338, the Epiphone Les Paul Special (Korean model), and a Xavier XV-570. I've swapped the pickups in all but the Xavier. But, I've had it the shortest period of time, too. They are all great guitars!!

I have the same Epiphone. It's a 2013 and since has now faded more into a green/blue. Still love it. I threw on some locking tuners, replaced the plastic dots with abalone shell, replaced the pick ups with Seymour Duncan Whole Lotta Humbuckers with nickel finish, and a bone nut. It plays beautifully. I've had friends tell me it competes with high end Epiphones even some Gibsons. Bone nut was a nightmare. It doesn't have a traditional Les Paul size, so I had to hand carve a nut out of a bone block. Totally worth it. Great vid!

Loved the clean tone on the Xaviere! Need to get me one of those baddies.

I agree! So I have an update on my quilted green Firefly Elite FFLPS. After having it for a month, it still sounds great and stays in tune. The neck is straight as an arrow. I have went from 10-46 to 9-42 gauge strings and that tightened up the low end. Of course I replaced everything (bridge & tail piece, tuners, nut, all the electronics & wiring and the pickups) on the guitar to be able to get low action, stable tuning and great sound but it was worth it. The Firefly guitars are a great platform for someone who is into modifying and upgrading an instrument. The one thing I can add is with the Dimarzio Tone Zone and PAF pickups that I installed in it, you can play metal and hard rock with the guitar. I tune to E standard, so my metal and hard rock playing style is that of Boston, AC/DC, Dokken, Cinderella, Lynch Mob, Slaughter, Ratt, WhiteSnake, Anthrax, Black Sabbath, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, OverKill, Testament and Megadeth. How I love 70's and 80's music!

Darrell, I have been a customer of Guitar Fetish for a few years now, so I was able to spot a small error fairly quickly. The GFS Crunchy Pat pickups are propelled by CERAMIC magnets, not Alnico. Experience should show us all to listen with our ears, but the magnet composition might make a difference to some players. Enough said.

I like the tones on the Xavier the best. I would like to see a comparison like this with semi hollow guitars maybe using a low-end beginner amp.

I picked up my Epi LP Spc II off Craigslist for a hundred bucks. I love it.

Get the Firefly if you want the iconic look of an LP standard and are gonna immediately swap out the pickups anyway. Get the Epiphone if you want something a bit more stripped down aesthetically with hotter pickups (it also says Les Paul on the headstock if you care about that) Get the Xaviere if you want unique features plus good sounding alnico pickups right out the box.

I like the epiphone les Paul 2,very nice, and blue is alright brother. Thank you Darrell 😎 nice playing brother 😎

For me, it is the Xavier. I have one (green) with the push/pull feature. The balance and the sounds are great. I bought it last year. I also like the ability to swap out the pickups (Guitar Fetish) that simply plug in.

Mitchell MS450 on sale today $200 at Guitar Center. Fantastic value for the money.

I'm still a Fender preferer, but Les Pauls are cool.

The one thing I'm looking for in a cheap les paul is where the neck snaps. If not into 2, right at the neck joint then it's a no go!

Went for the Epiphone. Got a used 2014 model LP Special II plus top blue burst. Has a nice rosewood board unlike those made after 2017 CITES. All it needed was a set of Grover 133N tuners and a setup. Love the simple controls, light weight and flat top. Epiphone's are great for a stay at home hobby player like me that prefers Fender guitars but wants to experience playing a Les Paul without the weight or spending too much. Like the pre CITES 2011-2017 SG's as well. Cheers!

Hi Darrell, I loved the video. However, you mention that the Epiphone is the only one with ceramic pickups, but on the GFS site, it states that the Crunchy PAT pickups have "Isotropic ferrite ceramic magnets". Just an FYI.

I bought the epiphone les paul special 2, it was 219.00 at my local Guitar Center. It was like that guitar, but red.

I bought a guitar and I widely watched KZfaq videos. You are so on point for anyone who wants to get one guitar! Love these parts of what can and cannot do for guitars. Great jobs!

i would go with the epiphone . well i actually have one of those ebony black. so i might be bias. and today you can get one of em on the used market for as cheep as 60-100€. and if i would like a metal machine i would chose the the xaviere pro555 since it has a nice fr style tremolo system and coiltap and is just fun guitar to play. and not to forget the kwick plug system and the really cheep mics. i mean its hell alot of guitar for $300.

The best affordable les paul I've ever played was a Harley benton sc550 at €220. I've played the firefly and epiphone. It blows both these guitars out of the water.

Well, I got the Xaviere (in yellow) on the basis of your review, and I wouldn't trade it. Thanks for the recommendation, Darrell.

I think the Firefly has the most vintage "PAF" sound, but that said good sounding pickups can be had from GFS cheap. What a lot of (not so in the know) players don't know is the late, great Bill Lawrence used ceramic magnets in some of his most iconic pickups most notable the 500XL series and they sound phenomenal.

Definitely still a fan on my Xaviere that I bought after your first review of it. Didn't mention that it was the only on in this comparison with stainless steel frets, push pull splits too!

I have a Les Paul from AIO guitars, and it is absolutely incredible. ~$500 for the guitar, a pro setup, and a gator case.

Hi Darrell, any chance of demoing some short scale guitars, or a comparison video? The Musicman Sterling Cutlass is very interesting, and putting that against a Squier Mustang or an SG could be quite interesting! :)

All sound acceptable to me. Agreed that the Firefly needed more guts in the pups. For the loot I like the Slick SL52.

I really like the Epiphone, it looks really good, I personally have never found fault with bolt on neck’s as long as they fit well , also they have the added benefits of being easily replaced if you break the head stock.

1st Epi 2nd FF 3rd XV. They all are beautiful axes.

I've played LOTS of guitars. Darrell NAIL IT! All three guitars are SURPRISINGLY good and I would recommend to any NEW guitar player. And I love them Canadians!

I agree. Firefly has a great warm tone. I wouldnt use it to play Metal but, clean/semi dirty they are great on a budget. And the "low FI" vintage sound, Firefly matches. You have to search for a Gretch or Gibson, hollowbody or solid to match. Hard to do.

Hey, the GFS Cruncy PAT pickups are actually an isotropic ferrite (whatever that means haha) ceramic magnet. I believe toward the beginning you said they were Alnico. Not the case. They sound quite good though... I've actually got some in a few of my own guitars.

Bought my xaviere last March. Quilted maple top in tortoise. Put some clear speed knobs on it. Great guitar for the money.

To me the Xaviere had the best, most mature sounding pick-ups, but I personally preferred the tones coming out of the Epiphone, just really liked those sounds. But for $300.00 you seem to get a whole lot of quality with the Xaviere.

The XAVIER neck pickup, especially clean, sounded really clear and bell like. That's a nice pickup. I'd buy the XAVIER guitar over the other two.

Out of all the tones, the Epi had much more character , especially in the neck position both clean and with a little dirt. All sounded awful saturated, but I thinks that's more just me, I don't care for that super gain sound.

Darrell you should have tagged this the best BLUES compairison lol

I own the Xaviere XV-555. The main difference is it has a Floyd Rose tremolo. I love the tone of this guitar and the versatility. I can drive the hell out of the pups and they never lose clarity. Mine is gloss black and a real stunner!

My Epiphone Les Paul Modern arrived yesterday. Never played a Les Paul before so I'm very excited to have a blast.

I've always wonder this, I got the green burst model over a year ago and the tuners on the green firefly are not what I would say are as sturdy. Also the pickups are uncovered which appears to be the only color that have thse differences.If you go to their site and just look at the images you will see what I'm talking about. It's never really been an issue was more or less curious why that might be the case. Also I don't have the tools necessary nor the skill to level frets, 11-14 between E A and D had at least one frett that buzzed. I ultimately brought it to a luthier to make this thing sound like a dream. All in all 189 for the guitar and 120 for leveling fretts and a tune up. I'm so happy with it and love picking this guitar up. It's thanks to you Darrel that I found firefly and everytime I pick it up along with my Postive Grid modeling Amp, again thanks to you that I can zone out and feel satisfied with my playing 👍

Thanks Darrel, can you review a resonator some time this year?

I have the Xaviere Pro 500, and I used to own an Epiphone Les Paul Trad Pro. Each an excellent instrument for the price. I also had a Les Paul Special II (P90), which was unfortunately a bad one. I don't judge the LP Sp II model badly just because mine was garbage, but I doubt I'll be picking up another one any time soon. One thing I love about the Xaviere is the Kwikplug system. Haven't made use of it yet, but I definitely plan to.

I still like my Harley Bentons. I own 3 love all of them.

You usually get what you pay for. Xaviere sounded much more full to my ears. I want the two tones and volumes for stage use, so that seals it.

Hey! you should do one about affordable guitar modellers for gigging! or a gigging kit with cables, modeller, speaker and etc! something you would gig with

Firefly is the one I liked the most for clean tones. In general, Epiphone is the one that impressed me the less. I would say: 1- Firefly 2- Xaviere 3- Epiphone Besides the price, I could switch the first two just to have more possibilities with the Xaviere. Actually in Italy is only available the Epiphone, I don't think there's any distributor for the other two.

Great video! When I was agonizing over this decision a few years ago, I settled on "used PRS SE245", which really hit the spot for me. 🤘🏽🎸

I have a Xaviere and it has a walnut fingerboard, which feels just as good to me as my other fingerboards. I had a finish issue, but they exchanged it at no charge.

I think the price is inline with each guitar but I'm with you Darrell the firefly just makes sense and can easily be upgraded thanks for this great review 👍

I want all 3!The Xavier had the best of both worlds really.The great Epi sound AND the beauty of the Firefly for $100 more! Great review!

Have you ever reviewed a Mitchell MS450? They’re in this same price range right now and appear to have some additional nice features, locking tuners and split coils on paraffin-dipped alnico V humbuckers. Their headstock design keeps all strings running straight, too, and they run through the body at the bridge. Do you have an opinion of them?

I love my Firefly guitars. The pickups in them are also ceramic magnets though. I think GFS crunchy PATs might be ceramic as well. So they’re all likely ceramic magnets and they sound pretty close. You might also check out the IYV Les Paul with A5 pickups. It’s very similar to the Mitchell MS450.

Great video. I have a similar Epiphone that plays and sounds AMAZING.

Great comparison review. I have 8 firefly FFLPs and I have a Xaviere PRO510 quilted blue burst. I agree with your observations. The Xaviere is a better all around guitar with better pickups, hardware, kwik plug , and coil split. But there’s just something about the fireflies I really like. Although the pickups can be microphonic and lower output, they’re still really fun to play and are capable of some really nice tones. Especially with some light overdrive at the edge of breakup. You can get some great blues lead tones on the neck pickup with the tone rolled back 👍

Great comparison. A lot of guys on FB cheap guitar groups really like the IVY Les Paul (on amazon). Might wanna give that one a look. They have a green one that looks beautiful.

The blue is fine. The tone and playability of the Epiphone is far better. A little bit of work on my Epiphones and they sound near as good as my Gibsons.

Awesome, thank you. I know there are a 1000 one, but I would have loved to see a Harley Benton in there for comparison too.

It’s crazy how much different the Xavier sounds than the other two now I gotta look into that brand

Yes, I have! I have literally been scouring all previous reviews over the last week for a Les Paul specifically, so thank you for this head-to-head! Perfect timing!

I bought one of the Blue Firefly Les Pauls. I replaced the sub-optimal pickups with an a set of Epiphone Probuckers (Alnico 2) with the wiring kit so everything plugged together super easily. (Only $40 if you shop around on ebay, delivery only took 4 days. You can get some well respected modern pickups with coil splitting for a great price.) It all dropped in with very little work as I only need to unsolder the old pickup selector wires (You can cut those if you're lazy) and solder the single ground wire. Like I said, Easy. The neck needed just a few passes with a tiny file to smooth 2 frets ends from a little sharp to perfection. For the most part the frets were really done right. Overall the fit and finish is great. I threw away the crappy strings for some great D'addario NY XL strings. I'm happy to say it's a now a really nice guitar that now sounds great and is fun to play. Pros: Looks great. Fit and finish are nice. Much better than you'd expect for the price. Cons: Kind of Heavy. Stock pickups need to be replaced but that's not hard.

Always loved the LP sound but hated the weight. The special ii is SO much lighter so it’s my choice. I really like the special i with the p90’s too.

The bolt neck Epi really held its own. Impressive The last one Xavier was the best IMO

This comparison method is spot on, play the same thing on each guitar on the same pick up setting, that way the ‘ear’ really does get a good comparison, I wouldn’t have minded a bit of an opinion on the playability and weight/balance etc, but a great quick comparison all the same, thanks

While watching this, which is really one that did going to help me - love your videos, Darrel - I wish, Sire would have been part of the comparison.

I always thought Agile were the best Les Paul for the money .

You might have trouble getting your hands on one as they go out of stock as soon as a new batch comes in, but the best, most authentic accurate budget Les Paul Copy I’ve ever come across is the “Artist LP59”! Bone nut, locking tuners, coil splitting all as standard! It also has fantastic pickups, the Artist Bullbucker’s are clones of the SD JB/Jazz set and are worth buying the guitar for alone! It even has “fret nibs” like a genuine Gibson, something I’ve never seen on a copy! Artist are based in Australia but I bought mine from their U.K. website, delivered for £199! ($272). It’s the best sub £500 guitar I’ve ever played! Hell, it’s probably the best sub £1,000 guitar I’ve played! If you are prepared to be patient and grab one when they come in stock I promise you, you won’t be disappointed! In the U.K. the next shipment is due February 2022! Good luck

I liked the firefly.. it just has more life to me the epi sounded like a non resonating chunk of wood The X was slightly firefly but resonated also But I'm on my phone

Hey Darrell! I am a huge fan and have been for a few years now. I would like to suggest a thing where you also do it in a band mix. I would love to hear how these sound in a band mix, with everything on the amp at noon. I think clean sounds good, but even just adding bass and basic programmed drums would be nice. Stick it at the end of your demo takes, and time stamp it. I think it would be nice to timestamp when things are happening, such as when the clean sounds are playing, or the high-gain, or slight crunch tones. These are just minor things I would LOVE to see to improve these amazing videos! I think I might pick up the Epi, as it sounds the best for metal, but the Xaviere is also good, and sounds great for everything. Also IDGAF about bolt on necks being "inferior" or whatever guitar snobs say. If it works it works, and the Epi sounds the best to my ears. Also, I think it matters more about the player, and you can make anything sound good, and I can make anything sound bad haha.

All were nice. I think the Xaviere sounded best. They are all good sounding and good looking. Great vid.

I’ve had the epiphone for a couple of years and I’ve got to say it’s good

I don't know which one I like more than the other two, though I too picked up on something about them. The firefly was not doing something that the other two were on the high gain test, though I am not sure if it was feedback or Sympathetic ringing. I have had that issue before, but a little thread tape on the polls on the intonation part of the Tom bridges would likely fix it, as it worked for me. To be clear of what exactly I am talking about, I am not talking about where the polls and the adjustable part connect, as those usually seem pretty snug, but where the polls screw into the things you put into the body. Ever noticed before you put strings on a guitar that the bridge rattles a bit, well a little thread tape will fix that issue, and I think it might increase sustain a bit... There is a dirt cheap test you can do, take any guitar and test it out, then put thread tape on those polls and see what it does.. I am sure that would or could be a good video, as it would be a cheap thing to do for anyone, and could be done with a string change.. .. Okay, I am clearly tired and rambling a bit, so thanks for the vid, good day and good luck :)

Firefly with a pick up upgrade. Best to my ear was the Epi, but it could be my tablet.

I LOVE my Epi LP Studio E1 with zebra ceramics. I've played it against LPs 5 times more expensive and it, very closely, matches tone for tone. A blindfolded audience wouldn't be able to tell the difference. In fact, with pedals and a decent amp, there is no tell tale difference. Cheaper pickups, over the last two decades, have improved and can give their competitors a run for the money at a more affordable price.

It seems to me that firefly have brighter pickups and the tune pegs are not that good, they couldn't hold the tune in drop D and hey; you just tuned down the E string. And this Xaviere is beautiful and sounds great, I would either go for that one or get a Firefly and change the pickups. Thanks again for yet another great video! o/

I got the Grote 335 and I am blown away. $179 on Amazon. If I spend another $250 on pick ups and tuners (which it doesn't necessarily need) it will be as good as my Gibson 335. These are serious substantial guitars, really sweet chime, resonates great. All I had to do was lower the bridge a little. Action is super fast, frets are dressed nicely. No issues at all. I've been a working musician for 20 years and I am really picky. I was half expecting some kind of toy, but I was really surprised. This would be a great guitar at $1000 dollars. Big recommend.

Of these 3 I would choose the Epi, I thought it had a suggestion of the SG tone about it on the bridge and the neck sounded OK for clean tones. As a Gibson LP owner I expect that sounds odd!

I have Les Paul Special VE that is a great guitar for the money. The pickups are quite good

Would have liked to see the EART in the mix on this comparison. I bought the Tele style and love the neck and sound for the price.

I’ve never seen the Sire L7 review from you. I’m a diehard Fender guy but found a great deal on an L7. All I will say is I can not put it down. Amazing guitar…feel, sound…rolled fret board edges. Killer value!

I had been hoping for a video like this from you for a loooong time!

That Xavier literally turned me on to the path that eventually led me to buying my absolute #1 dream guitar (epi lea Paul 60 trib plus in aqua burst) so thanks!

The Xaviere has a 1" solid maple top, bound fretboard, long tenon neck and coil splitting. Not to mention excellent pickups. This model should have covered pickups so he may have switched them out with another GFS pickup. The Firefly is the cheapest but it will absolutely need a pro setup.

I had to check the date of this video because Epiphone discontinued the bolt-on Specials a while back. Now the lowest priced Epiphone is $400 new. Five years ago you could find the clipped-ear Epiphone Special IIs used for $25-$50 with some shopping patience, lol. With a good setup they are surprisingly great guitars. I have a Special Junior that has more hours of play time than the 'proper' Gibsons in the fleet, it's fun. Where is the Harley Benton SC450? I think Glarry has a LP version. Check those out and do a follow up video. Any of these guitars can be great if you check or do a fret level and a setup including pickup height setup. Microphonic pickups are always a fight between the players who want 'old clean tones' and those with 'super high gain shredding tones' because the first want unpotted and the second need vacuum wax potted pickups.

Crunchy PAT'S are also ceramic magnet pickups. Read the fine print. I own the XV-560 semi-hollow body. F HOLES ARE AWESOME!

I'd like to see (hear) you do an overview of the GFS Earl Slick pickups.

Great video as always. Wish you had added the Sire in the mix.

just found an old "Epoch" LP by Gibson/Baldwin for $100. heavy laminate body and decent neck... but the pickups are a wonder ...hotter than any newer premium Epi

Yooo, i have the same Epiphone.

I'm slightly biased my Epi 1960 Les Paul Tribute(in Black Cherry) made from 2012 -2015 is truly amazing! Friends who own Gibsons said it's outstanding it plays like a dream and sounds fantastic.comes with Gibson Classic 57 pickups and wiring!

There is also an LP style guitar from Guitar Fetish that I think might also be a competitor. That being said they are all beautiful

Such a fantastic guitar info channel, I just had to subscribe and like!!!!! ☮❤☮

I bought an Austin from the 90’s & it’s great. I’ve also played Greco’s and they’re great too, but heavy in weight.

I love that you don’t tell ppl to like and subscribe at the beginning of the video. Bonus points for me lol