sofamusician's Metal Studio Setup

The Platypus is a special incarnation of the Firebird, combining some aspects from the classic "reverse" model (body shape, and pickups) and other aspects from the later "non-reverse" model ( set-neck construction, flat six-on-top headstock design, and lack of banjo tuners).

The result is a modernized version of the Firebird that keeps the great classic looks and sound, while improving some aspects contributing to the neck playability, avoiding neck-dive, keep pickups parallel to strings, and improving tunning stability. I'd have appreciated the new model to still be nechk-through, but it was not a deal breaker for me since this has not much practical impact.

The pickups are true Alnico 5 Firebird pickups, and they sound great. Dynamic and great note clarity. The volume and tone knobs allow to get a wide range of usable tones, which makes the guitar really versatile.

Versatility was important in my case, since I want to keep my guitar collection quite minimal with just two guitars: an affordable Gretsch electrònic double jet (my first guitar, which being affordable I've been comfortable taking anywhere) and, the Firebird Platypus (to play at home).

I play mainly seated, and found the Firebird quite comfortable. The ergonomics of Firebirds have always been a mystery to me. The Firebird horn on the treble side helps to keep the neck higher (less horizontal to the floor) which makes it comfortable and facilitates fret access when playing seated. On more conventional guitars you may need to shift to "classic" position to achieve this. However, comments and reviews often describe Firebirds, as huge and "shifted to the left".

Interestingly, when I was finally able to try a Firebird in a store, it didn't feel that different from my Gretsch G5222 (for which you won't read such comments). So I guess it depends on which types of guitars you are used to play, in which position, and how it fits your body.

Being a less common model, it is priced a bit high. However, with some research you may find good opportunities for a discount (I got mine at a 24% discount of the official price).

As a beginner I wanted a guitar that facilitates my learning journey, and makes me excited to play with it. This guitar plays good, sounds good, is versatile, is attractive, and is quite affordable.

When looking for my first guitar, in this price range it is hard to find something that is not a direct copy of models from another brand (as it is the case with Squire or most of the Epiphone models). This "double jet" is part of the Gretsch history, and a relative to the higher-end models that can be seen in the hands of inspiring musicians such as Malcolm Young, Jack White or Jordan Cook.

Pros:

• Good build quality makes it easy to play. Has a comfortable neck, low action, and a double cutaway that facilitates access to all frets. It also stays in tune well. Some reviews report the jack connector to be a bit loose, but that was not an issue with mine (maybe it was fixed in recent models, or I was lucky).

• Good sound. Blacktop Broad'Tron pickups fall in-between P90s and PAFs, which provide good versatility for different genres. These pickups respond to picking dynamics quite well . The characteristic Gretsch configuration of a master volume and one volume control for each pickup allows to blend the bridge and neck pickups to taste, and use the master volume to clean-up your overdrive while keeping the balance between pickups.

• Nice details. The natural wood Finnish, thumbnail fret markers, V-stoptail and screwed strap buttons are distinctive features which I like (although this is subjective).

• Affordable. For under 500 $/€/£ you avoid the worrying that come with more expensive options. Being new to the guitar world I cannot compare to too many guitars, but trying a couple of guitars 2-3 times the price at the shop, I can say I was not missing anything significant.

Cons:

• Neck dive. When standing, the strap button position is not balanced and there is some neck dive. For playing seated (what I’m doing most of the time) it is not a problem at all. Using the right strap is enough to prevent the neck dive when standing up. For me, a wide leather strap, a Y-shaped strap (with one strap for each shoulder), using an anti-slip pad on a regular strap or an acoustic-style lace to the headstock have been useful options to avoid the neck dive.

• Pickup selector and electronics. At some point the pickup selector stopped working properly. Selecting the neck pickup was muting it. A bit of Deposit F5 fader lubricant was enough to fix it. I just had to unscrew the pickup selector and apply the spray there.

• Affordable bag/case is hard to find. There are not many options for a guitar case or bag. The official from Gretsch is expensive (about half the price of the guitar). Fortunately I found a used case at a good price. The only affordable alternative I found was the RockCase RC 10604, which seem to fit based on the internet comments and pictures but I have not checked it myself.

The looks of this orange amp in miniature are really cool, but don't think this is a toy or pure decoration. This little box provides many possibilities for very little price. I'm using the Crush Mini with a portable pedalboard, powered by the same Harley Benton battery power bank I use for the pedals.

The direct sound is limited by the speaker size, and too much distortion becomes unpleasing. However, the clean sound is good, and usable as a pedal platform. The cab output makes it go to another level. Connecting to a cab you can get a good loud sound with a totally portable solution. In comparison, the sound through the cab is not as full as with the Orange Micro Dark, but still sounds good with the Crush Mini.

The headphone output for the Crush Mini is quite usable (much better than the Micro Dark, which was a bit noisy).

The Vappeby (formerly Eneby) speaker is mainly intended as a portable Bluetooth speaker. However, it has an aux input without any latency. In combination with a battery-powered amp-like pedal (amp simulator, headphone amp, etc.), it enables a very portable setup.

Sound is good for home uses, and the internal design seems solid.

Being an Ikea product, it provides a nice design at an affordable price. Visually, it has its roots in a previous collaboration between Ikea and Teenage Engineering (whose products are often priced much more higher).

After playing with practice amp combos (with small speakers) for a while, I wanted to try a larger cab. Due to space constraints, a 1x10 was the largest I could get, and the Harley Benton G110 was a very affordable option.

This cab sounds full and provides enough volume for jamming. I don't have extended experience with other cabs, but I was happy to hear a smoother sound without the roughness I was getting at times with smaller speakers and headphones.

I tried this cab connected to different devices: the Orange Micro dark hybrid amp head (20W), the Orange Crush Mini combo through its 8 Ohm out (3W), and the EHX 5mm power amp pedal (2.5W).

The cab sounds best with the more powerful Micro dark, but the other options (combined with a battery-powered power bank) allow for a more portable set-up.

The cream tolex and the grill cloth look nice. To simplify the look I unscrewed the Harley Benton logo from the top, leaving only the Celestion logo at the bottom corner.

The build quality seems good, and it is quite lightweight. It is equipped with a 10" Celestion Tube10 (G10E-30) speaker in a closed-back set-up. This speaker is used in amp combos such as the Fender '68 Custom Princeton Reverb. For the average price of a pedal, you cannot ask more from a cab. This cab provides excellent value for the money.

The EHX 5mm is a simple and affordable power amp pedal. It has been useful to connect my practice pedalboard into a 10" cab (Harley Benton G110) to get a fuller sound compared to headphone practice or smaller combos.

The 5mm pedal provides more than enough volume in this context, and can work connected to the pedalboard battery (Harley Benton PowerPlant PowerBank+ mk2), which makes it a portable solution (with lighter cabs).

This pedal was also quite affordable. I was lucky to get it right before it was discontinued in 2025.

The only drawback is the lack of an on/off button, which requires to use the power connection as such.

Great tuner with big and clear display despite being compact. You can connect your instrument directly (for better results), or just place it nearby to use the incorporated microphone (supporting acoustic instruments). More precise than most apps, clip-on, and pedal tuners.

This is not in the pedal format, so it is not possible to silence the signal while tuning. If you really need that, Korg has a pedal tuner with a similar display, for twice the price.