Stumbled upon one the other day... stringless, of course. Once we made it to my SIL's house, we rummaged for some dental floss and I strung it up. NOticed the friction tuners slipping just a bit, so I pulled it all apart, cleaned things up a bit, then re-assembled. Bang! Sort-of held tune overnight, so I picked up a set of Martin 600 flourocarbon strings and set it up the other day. Now, I either need to learn it or trade it for a bass geetar or baritone uke (grin).
Dental floss? That’s an interesting situation. I replaced the tuners with the new Graphtech Ratio Tune-a-lele tuners, which was a little tricky to do with the construction of the headstock, but an amazing improvement in functionality. I’d be curious how much you bought it for!
Thanks for the great review. It reminds me of my Ovation guitar, which was just a bear to play without a strap. It was like a bag of jello... just slip slidin' away. :) I wonder if you could put a strap around your neck, like a sax strap, and just have a single strap button at the heel area of the ukulele, if it is well balanced? What do you think?
They do sell a system; and some people even use 3M command hooks. I’m so used to 35mm nut set-ups with a C shaped neck that the Fluke wears me out. Don’t get me wrong-as I sell ukuleles here and there, the Fluke isn’t going anywhere. But it does offer some challenges with that body shape!
This is a great review! I have 2 Flukes and a Flea and my biggest complaint is the nut size and string spacing. I have struggled and I don't enjoy playing them BUT I love the look and the sound, especially my koa tenor Fluke. I have finally given up and am ordering a Blackbird. Sad to see them go but I have to enjoy playing them. But you don't know until you try them whether they will work for you. And I may keep them around just because they look so darn cool!
Great question: I don't have access to a Flea, only a Fluke, and I can't tell you if they are the same. I can say that the Fluke isn't as comfortable as other necks FOR ME, as it is very D shaped, mostly rectangular. Will I give up my Fluke though? Nope.
That’s a great question. The measurements allow comparisons between other ukuleles, such as the Flight TUS-35. If I review one in inches and another in millimeters, that becomes a mess.
Magic fluke make a Strap for Fluke or Flea Ukulele: www.magicfluke.com/product-p/strap_fluke_flea.htm how to apply: th-cam.com/video/_zh_vAuFTRE/w-d-xo.html
Has a nice clear sound
Nice and thorough review.
Thanks!
Stumbled upon one the other day... stringless, of course. Once we made it to my SIL's house, we rummaged for some dental floss and I strung it up. NOticed the friction tuners slipping just a bit, so I pulled it all apart, cleaned things up a bit, then re-assembled. Bang! Sort-of held tune overnight, so I picked up a set of Martin 600 flourocarbon strings and set it up the other day. Now, I either need to learn it or trade it for a bass geetar or baritone uke (grin).
Dental floss? That’s an interesting situation. I replaced the tuners with the new Graphtech Ratio Tune-a-lele tuners, which was a little tricky to do with the construction of the headstock, but an amazing improvement in functionality.
I’d be curious how much you bought it for!
Thanks for the review!
Thanks, Steve! I’ve been watching all your recent videos but haven’t left a comment. I’ll try to do better! 😀
$250 ? I played a similar Uke at our local jams 6 yrs ago . Cost $14 . Fluke player heard me play, asked about mine. She walked away so annoyed .
A $14 Fluke or a $14 imitation Fluke? And with inflation, I bet these are at least $300 now.
Thanks for the great review. It reminds me of my Ovation guitar, which was just a bear to play without a strap. It was like a bag of jello... just slip slidin' away. :) I wonder if you could put a strap around your neck, like a sax strap, and just have a single strap button at the heel area of the ukulele, if it is well balanced? What do you think?
They do sell a system; and some people even use 3M command hooks. I’m so used to 35mm nut set-ups with a C shaped neck that the Fluke wears me out. Don’t get me wrong-as I sell ukuleles here and there, the Fluke isn’t going anywhere. But it does offer some challenges with that body shape!
This is a great review! I have 2 Flukes and a Flea and my biggest complaint is the nut size and string spacing. I have struggled and I don't enjoy playing them BUT I love the look and the sound, especially my koa tenor Fluke. I have finally given up and am ordering a Blackbird. Sad to see them go but I have to enjoy playing them. But you don't know until you try them whether they will work for you. And I may keep them around just because they look so darn cool!
I’m a little jealous of your Blackbird. The Clara is my #1 wish list ukulele.
Is the nut width too large or too small for you?
What do you think of the neck on the Flea?
Great question: I don't have access to a Flea, only a Fluke, and I can't tell you if they are the same.
I can say that the Fluke isn't as comfortable as other necks FOR ME, as it is very D shaped, mostly rectangular.
Will I give up my Fluke though? Nope.
I like the USA plug, so why use metric measurements as a numerical reference.
That’s a great question. The measurements allow comparisons between other ukuleles, such as the Flight TUS-35. If I review one in inches and another in millimeters, that becomes a mess.
I want a flea
I like the shape of the Fluke, but the Flea is nice, too!
Magic fluke make a Strap for Fluke or Flea Ukulele: www.magicfluke.com/product-p/strap_fluke_flea.htm
how to apply: th-cam.com/video/_zh_vAuFTRE/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for sharing that!