Fluke Ukulele - advice from present users, please

[scgc.om]

I apologize for posting this here at MandoCafe . . . however, I do not know of the Ukulele equivalent forum - and I think there are probably some Uke players here who will be able to help me.

I'm a complete novice, so I need the basics.

I thinking about getting a Fluke Ukulele for our household. My questions are:

1) Am I right that a Fluke is a Quality Instrument (i.e. decent sound, good intonation, good value, AND USA made :mandosmiley:)?

2) If I'm reading the Flea Market website properly, the Fluke is available in both Concert and Tenor - a Tenor having a longer scale length and thus capable of both GCEA and DGBE tuning. I am leaning towards a Tenor, for the versatility. Am I right to think this way? Is there an Up-Charge for a tenor model? [The website doesn't seem to say.] If there is an UpCharge, what is it and is it worth it?

3) I think I'm reading between the lines correctly: the tops are all laminate - right?? If this is right, I'm thinking of just going for an Entry Level model - probably Hibiscus red. Seems to me that paying more for graphics on the same top is $ wasted.

4) There does seem to be one model that has a solid top - The Koa model. It's a lot more $ - nearly double the entry models' price. It also has special fingerboard and bridge woods, special tuners, and adjustable bridge. Is the Koa model worth the extra $?? Mainly, does the solid top sound better than the plywood models??

Thanks for all help!

ps - What is the MandoCafe equivalent in the Uke World??

[Tim2723]

I'm not exerienced with the Fluke instruments, although I've seen them a lot and they seem very popular. I tried the trick of re-stringing a tenor into DGBE tuning but wasn't happy with the result. I needed to use thick, loose strings and lost all the tone. For DGBE tuning I would personally stick with the baritone ukulele.

A good uke discusion forum to check out is UkeTalk.

http://uketalk.com/index.html

Is there ay particular reason you're looking at the Fluke? There are lots of traditional instruments available in that price range.

[Jeff Hildreth]

Opinion alert

Flukes, in spite of their merchandising and cutsieness, simply aren't ukes.

I personally find them offensive. Any product is subjected to three basic pinciples:
design, materials and workmanship

Design is hideous
Materials are synthetics and or cheap by "design"
workmanship is mediocre mass production

I don't like looking at them
listening to them or playing them

but thousands of owner/users may have standards other than mine. Bless them for their choice.
( voice of free enterprize) yay for "marketing genious"

For the same money you can get a real uke

Just my opinion.

[JEStanek]

I have a Fluke (concert) and a Kamaka all Koa one (cost $400 more too!). The Kamaka sounds better. However, the Fluke is fun and easy to play and I think it has a nice tone. There was a guy on the Café who sent me an e-mail explaining their serial numbering as he worked on them!

If you had more money, I would recommend the Kamaka. For less the Fluke or maybe the Bushman Ukes would be nice. My wife brought back the kids some Uke shaped objects from HI ($20 tourist models)... now those, aren't ukes! Or at least not playable ones.

Jamie

Edit: Flea Market Music (http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/links/view.asp?ID=1) is a good uke resource.

[allenhopkins]

I do not know of the Ukulele equivalent forum...
ps - What is the MandoCafe equivalent in the Uke World??

Closest thing I've found is Flea Market Music, (http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/bulletin/default.asp) which has a lively discussion page, many postings with questions similar to yours.

Of course -- full disclosure -- Flea Market Music is run by Jim Beloff, who is the guy behind Fluke and Flea ukuleles. But the bulletin board is full of honest evaluations of Beloff's ukes, as well as many many others.

Visit it yourself -- but let me summarize what I've read there (and I own neither a Fluke nor a Flea): ukulele players seem to agree that Flukes are good instruments for the money, not competitive with the best Hawaiian products, small builder ukuleles, or high-end domestic builders like Martin (though the Mexican-made Martin SO ukes get generally panned). There is also general satisfaction with manufacturer service.

Because of the plastic back-&-sides, Flukes and Fleas are sturdy, but hard to fix. Many come with plastic fingerboards, and there's a general opinion that paying the extra to get the wooden fingerboard with metal frets is worth it.

My suggestion would be to get on the Flea Market Music board, and ask the same questions you've asked here. Predict you'll get a bunch of useful info in return.

[Jude Reinhardt]

quote<What is the MandoCafe equivalent in the Uke World??

Do a Google search for The 4th Peg and for Ukulele World.

Jude

[Pez D. Spencer]

Ukulele Cosmos and Flea Market Music are the uke equivalents to Mando. Cafe. I had a Fluke which I gave to my niece after I got a concert neck Flea. Didn't care for the kind of tubby tone of the Fluke and hated the plastic finger board and the hard to see molded on frets. I recomend a concert neck Flea with the wood finger board upgrade. Plays nice, sounds pretty good, and they are rugged so you won't worry about taking it with you to where ever. UAS exists, so you will buy more ukes later. I have a Glyph tenor, a Beltona resonator concert, and a Larrivee soprano. I play the Flea the most, partly because I always have it sitting out, and I like it better than the Beltona and the Larrivee. My Flea has the Koa top, not worth how much extra they charge for that, but that does include the wood finger board upgrade and better tuning machines.

[TomTyrrell]

The Fluke tenor can indeed be used for either GCEA or DGBE tuning but you really need to use different strings for each tuning so using the one uke for both tunings isn't practical. I prefer the standard long-scale concert model over the tenor Fluke.

The non-Koa Flukes are very consistent. They really are very nearly all the same. They sound OK, play OK, pretty much do everything OK. If you like the neck profile you really can't do much better for $200. You can leave it sitting around, take it where you go and not have to worry about it much.

[catmandu2]

I'm another NON-Fluke/Flea-er. Although I hear they are quite functional. Personally, I'd go for the Bushman Jenny.

[Ken Olmstead]

I owned a Fluke once and it was a fun starter. However, I have recently strummed the Bushman Ukes and they are really great! I must disclose that I am not much of a Uke player but the tone of the Bushman's that I played were the real deal! As with any low cost instrument, you may need a little set-up work. The Flukes are very durable and sound good but was a little hard to hold for me. Have fun!

[Paul Kotapish]

We have several ukes around the house, including a Pineapple Flea for our young kids (3 & 4), and it's a wonderful instrument for that purpose. It holds its tuning, sounds pleasant and is reasonably loud and clear, plays easily and in tune, and is fairly rugged. To my ears and hands, it plays better, sounds better, and is more accurately in tune than most of the wood instruments in that same price range (< $170). And I think they look cool, too.

And I know at least one truly fine ukulele player who frequently plays a Fluke and always sounds just great.

But hey, it's plastic, and it is no substitute for a real quality instrument, but I think you'd need to make a modest price jump (to $350 or so) to improve on your R.O.I. on the Fleas and Flukes. The all-wood models in the starter range look a little nicer, but I've found that the frets, fingerboards, and tuning machines are often very funky on those cheaper models. If you are willing to go up to $750 or more, the Turner Compass Rose uke is a quality instrument, and there are many traditional all-wood ukes that would be fine in that range.

YMMV. Good luck.

[luckylarue]

I love my Flea. Good tone & plenty of volume, imo. When I had some questions, I called the company and talked directly to Jim's partner who was very friendly, accessible and helpful. Now, I really want a concert Fluke - just waiting for the right custom color/design to come along.
For more uke fun check out the ukehunt.com website. Good luck!

[Bob DeVellis]

I've got a couple of Fleas, a spruce-on-koa Kanilea concert, and an all-koa G-String 8-string tenor. The two wooden ukes are better than the Fleas, but the Fleas are, to my mind, very good for the price. I think they're excellent instruments to start on because they're not hard to play, like some cheap wooden ukes, and they sound good. They're not in the same league as the Kanilea or G-string but they only cost a fraction as much. They're worry free, durable, and kind of cute. If you get serious about ukulele and decide to move on to a more expensive instrument, the Flea is still a nice instrument to have when you don't want to drag a more expensive uke along, at least in my opinion. I should add, though, that I'm not a really serious ukulele player and I can understand why those more steeped in the instrument might find the Flea or Fluke a bit off-putting.

[WireBoy]

i think i will echo the general Fluke opinions above. they have a pleasant tone, are durable, have a unique form factor (flat bottom lets you stand it up on end!), cute assortment of colors. very easy playing neck shape, very consistently manufactured (very few klunkers- they all play/sound the same).

for all this, they are a great value. once UAS kicks in, this becomes your allweather, even let the neighbors kids play it uke. Once you get a uke in your blood, you will want the traditional shape and tone woods and inlays etc. to get the same value with a wood uke, your price goes up a bunch. but when you have that expensive uke, you won't want to take that to the beach, camping etc; that's when you take the Fluke.

If you need the wood, may i suggest Mele Ukulele (http://www.meleukulele.com/ ). i own a couple of these; mahogany concert and koa 6-string tenor w/cutaway. they have several product lines to choose from.

I don't own a Fluke/Flea, but have played many. Jim Beloff used to have uke gatherings at McCabes in Santa Monica for several years. it was a blast having 40 ukes playing together. Flukes were a large percentage of the group. You won't be disappointed making your first uke a Fluke.

[WindinBoy]

I own a Bushman Jenny which is just fine. Lyle Ritz played some great music on a Fluke, and many people swear by them, totally playable, that's the main thing. I'd say Bushman Jenny or a Fluke is no problem with either, although I went with the Bushman personally.

i believe the Bushman will have a somewhat more traditional tone, but the Flukes I've tried or heard were very good and have a wider fretboard, which really makes it a flip of the coin imo

[B. T. Walker]

The few flukes I've played at Guitar-Tex in San Antonio were pretty okay. It's going to be tough as nails, and that is a real plus with kids banging it around. No stand needed. The price i remember seemed fair for what you were getting. I nearly went with one, plastic fretboard and all. Instead, I opted for a more traditional Bushman Concert Jenny with which I'm very pleased.

[scgc.om]

Thanks to all who responded.

Sometimes you put it out to the Universe, and the Universe responds . . . !

I was all set to order a new Fluke from our National Music Chain Store (similar to Guitar Center). My cost would be well over $250 (with taxes and upcharge for tenor neck). Then I saw a used Fluke on craigslist. Yesterday, I picked it up. Paid $95 - with tenor neck and some added goodies (e.g one of Jim Beloff's great books - Camp Uke - which cost $20 plus tax here).

It's a little dusty and the strings need to stretch out - it sat in a closet, detuned, for two yrs. But it just needs a cleanup to be as new!

And it sounds and plays GREAT!

Only problem . . . I've now got some serious UAS . . . ! I stopped at a store on the way home from buying the Fluke. The had several Mele ukes - a lot more uke and a LOT more $$$.

Here's hoping I can score another craigslist deal for a MUCH better uke . . .

BTW: I'm still a mando player, 1st & foremost :)

[EggerRidgeBoy]

When shopping for a ukulele a couple years ago, I found the ezFolk ukulele forums to be very helpful: http://www.ezfolk.com/forums/. Just another resource to use when that UAS kicks in.

[ApK]

I had a Fluke, and unfortunately sold it before I learned to play! It was decidedly non-traditional, but according to my research at the time, ('99 or '00) it was the best sounding, best playing thing I could find for the money. A year or so ago a friend from our jam group got a Fluke from Mandolin Bros. and he loves it. Their popularity is certainly not just due to hype. My opinion of them hasn't changed, though my tastes do run more traditional now.

You might want to check out the Four String Farmhouse section on the UMGF...it had active uke talk last time I was there.

ApK

[thistle3585]

I own a Bushman Jenny which is just fine. Lyle Ritz played some great music on a Fluke, and many people swear by them, totally playable, that's the main thing. I'd say Bushman Jenny or a Fluke is no problem with either, although I went with the Bushman personally.

i believe the Bushman will have a somewhat more traditional tone, but the Flukes I've tried or heard were very good and have a wider fretboard, which really makes it a flip of the coin imo

I started building ukes last fall. I had never made one before but a friend of mine introduced me to a local fellow who built the Bushman Homegrown ukes. He built about 30-40 instruments for them under the Bushman name until they dropped him because he wouldn't get his prices more in line with what they were paying for their imports. He started building under his own name and makes a really nice uke for a whole lot less. After having met, and talked at length with the Bushman owner, I wouldn't buy a bag of popcorn from him.

[johnbaxter]

I did a guide to the uke on UkeFarm. There is other info there that may be helpful.

http://www.ukefarm.com/ukebook/

[Dan Krhla]

I own a Tiki Flea and a tenor Fluke. My 3 yo plays with them and I play them. These are two instruments in my stable that are definitely *not* fair game for trade. As it stands right now, I these are 2 permanent pieces of the family. They are sturdy, sound great, and, if anything happens to them I can send or bring them back to FMM (I live in CT) and have them fixed / upgraded / etc.

very happy with them.

[dave_in_ri]

I just had to jump in and say that the Fluke and the Flea, while made by the same company, with the same materials, and in a similar form factor, do not - in my opinion - both rate equally. The Fluke was the original instrument produced by the Magic Fluke Company in CT. It is a tenor scale instrument made with a molded plastic back similar to an Ovation guitar. With a flat butt end, it can stand on its own. It has a deeper/bassier tone than most tenor ukuleles. The plastic fingerboard is actually well made and intonation is very good. The only criticism I have of it (besides the fact that I don't prefer the tenor size) is that the rounded plastic back makes it very difficult to hold comfortably.
When the company came out with the Flea, a soprano version with the same plastic fretboard but a flattened back, I knew that this was what the Fluke wanted to be! The Flea gets it all right! It sounds much brighter and more "ukey" than the Fluke (it is tuned to higher key, of course), but it is also very comfortable to hold because of the flat back.
I have been buying, collecting and playing ukuleles and guitars for 30 years and have played hundreds of instruments from the cheap to the most expensive vintage ukes by Martin and Gibson, etc. I count myself as a "traditionalist" when it comes to the ukulele: I prefer the standard soprano size over the larger, more guitar-like variants of the uke; I insist on the traditional tuning; I prefer friction to geared tuners. Having said that, I DO consider the Flea to be a ukulele. Furthermore, I consider it to be the best value in a ukulele that you can find today. For a basic model at under $200, you get an instrument that sounds and plays as well as the best ukes I've played--by which I mean it is well intonated, holds its tuning, has good action and a comfortable feel. People may have different preferences for tone, but there is nothing bad about the tone or volume on a Flea. It's an instrument you can keep for life. They don't often come up for sale used. To get the same build quality, in my opinion, you would have to pay close to $1000 for a luthier-built ukulele. None of the wooden ukes made in Asia--whether they cost $150 or $550--have the quality of the Flea. And on top of that, you are buying an American made instrument that is backed up fully by the wonderful people who make it! It may look non-traditional, and it may not be quite what you think of when you think "hand made," but it delivers on sound and durability, and its unique shape is not unattractive! It is the instrument I recommend without hesitation to people who are serious about playing and want something better than a starter uke.
By all means, try the Fluke, too. But my vote goes to the Flea.

[JEStanek]

Welcome to the Cafe... In case you didn't notice, this particular thread was from late 2008. I still have and enjoy both my Fluke Concert Scale and Kamaka Concer Ukes.

Jamie

[8ch(pl)]

I am playing a lot of Ukulele lately, started at Christmas of 2011, when I got a Kala Plywood Concert as a gift. I now play a Kala Thin-line Tenor whih I have tuned to Low G, using an Aquila Wound Low G String. It is a really nice and loud instrument.

In my case, the Fluke Tenor would not be for me. The Moulded Plastic Fretboard would probably be grooved by the wound string in no time. My Mid Missouri Mandolins had fret grooving within a couple of months for the unwound strings. I am a self taught Mandolin Player and I believe I have taught myself to clamp down too hard on the strings. I like Ukulele because the nylon strings don't groove the metal frets, the wound Low G string doesn't seem to either.

I have seen a few Harmony Ukes that Have had plastic fretboards. They are a bit fragile and I have seen where the plastic frets are badly chipped, almost level with the board surface. It would not be easy to repair this. I don't know if the plastic used on the Fluke is as delicate. I prefer a wooden fretboard in any case.

Just my thoughts.

[Stamper]

I found a used Flea for my daughter when she was four and we still have it. The plastic fretboard never thrilled me but she was four, and the top was pistachio! I always thought the design of the thing was pretty groovy. It was a great thing to have around the house and now all three of my kids have their own ukes so the Flea really seemed to serve its purpose --

Plus it's just fun to say --

For my kids when they were small the guitar was tough on the fingers, and the mandolin was tougher, so the uke for us has been a reliable gateway into music especially for my youngest son. Meanwhile my two eldest kids (16 and 12) play other instruments now as well: mando, flute, guitar. And we all love our ukes!

As an aside: I drove up to a lazy quiet mountain town yesterday, and once there I stopped at the Safeway for a coffee on the way back, and there was this high school kid hanging out in the coffee part of the grocery store playing a uke. He was so happy, strumming away, completely blissed out, and the cute girl making the lattes was doing a shuffle to the rhythm, and this old geezer couple picking out the dog food was suddenly a whole lot less grumpy with each other -- What's that? A little guitar? -- No, Dear. It's a Ukulele! --

Pretty cool --