MK Firefly Owners

[mandonewbie]

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on a used MK Firefly Flame.....Like to hear from owners with opinions...

Thanks

[SteveW]

I love mine. It sounded very good when I bought it -- better than any of the other MK's at the store and as good or better han several higher-priced mandos. It sounds even better now that I have had an ebony Sullivan bridge installed. I may add a new nut at some point, but it's all the mando I need for the foreseeable future.

My only caveat would be that there seems to be a wide range of variablity in tone from one MK to the next, so one Firefly Flame might be head-and-shoulders better than the one hanging next to it on the wall. If possible, I would recommend playing several different models and comparing before buying.

Steve

[johnwalser]

My Firefly Flame is set up for jazz/pop (Allen tailpiece, TI strings and a special sustain bridge) and I could not be happier with it's tone and playability. It has been played by one of the very top jazz players and he said he hadn't played anything better in years. Now, can it be set up to play bluegrass and chop? I don't know, but I would think a change of strings, bridge and tailpiece could make it suitable to play percussion for bluegrass.
John

[Dioptase]

My experience was a bad finish, a leaden, clunky body, and thin tone. It wasn't a terrible instrument, but I think good used instrument could be found for only a little more investment.

[sandcastlefaith]

I got one used and I love it. I have a Gibson F-9 also, and I like the tone and feel of the MK better. Of course, that could be because I really like the soft acoustic jazz type of tone better than loud choppy bluegrass.

[steve in tampa]

I recently bought a Dragonfly 11, and am very happy with it. I will be getting a set up on it, and will put Gibson Sam Bush strings on it at that time. Plays and sounds good now, but i think it can be tweaked a little.

[Professor PT]

I've had mine over a year now, and it sounds great. The only thing I'd do differently is get one with bigger frets; they didn't have that option when I got mine. Also, play the mando before buying if possible; as we've all said many times, each mando is different, and the consistency of imports is questionable. I've played other MK's( not Fireflys ) that sounded like ####. If you look a little, you should be able to find one that sounds good.

[mandonewbie]

Thanks for the feedback.....I decided to hold off until I can play some as suggested.