Flea soprano/concert

Is the Flea soprano fretboard spaced out the same way as on the Flea concert? Is the concert the same fretboard just longer with one more fret? Thanks. I couldn't find the information on their site.

wawakelvin said:

Is the Flea soprano fretboard spaced out the same way as on the Flea concert? Is the concert the same fretboard just longer with one more fret? Thanks. I couldn't find the information on their site.

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Like the Risa stick the flea body doesn't change size only the scale length does. This means a slightly longer "concert" length fretboard so a quick answer is no its not "the same" as a soprano fretboard but then again the difference in fret spacing is minimal so in a very basic way yes it is pretty much the same with more frets.

So many say a soprano is cramped that a concert or tenor is easier to play. When I put them side by side the difference besides overall length is minimal if body size is not part of the equation.

Found this picture from someone here on the site. The black flea is a soprano the one to the right a concert.

So the concert fretboard is wider? EDIT: Thanks for your reply with the picture. Sorry, I'm not understanding. So even though they're the about the same size fretboard, the soprano could be cramped and the concert not cramped?

No.

Looking at the picture the soprano has 13 frets and joins the body between the 11th and 12th fret. The concert has 15 frets total and joins the body at the 13th fret. They are both the same width the concert is slightly longer with a couple of extra frets. Technically each fret is slightly further apart if you were to measure them. Neck length is much more noticeable here than fret space.

So compared to a regular concert ukulele, how does the Flea concert compare in terms of space for fretting chords?

maybe what you want to know are nut widths or string spacing at the nut.
Most ukuleles have 1 3/8" wide nuts. the flea/fluke models are slightly wider. some few tenors have wider nuts. I think kamaka (?) has a few 1.5" tenors. then there's the oscar schmidt ou6w which has as 1.75" wide nut.

here's a growing list of measurements:

http://ukenut.com/comparison-of-ukulele-nut-widths/

A concert neck will give you more room between the frets than a soprano neck. For some people, that extra space is especially helpful, especially when playing above the 7th fret. If you intend to play on frets 7 and higher, you will appreciate more room. If you have small hands, and have a problem playing chords with long stretches, and normally play on frets 1-7, a soprano size might be more comfortable. Width of neck is more of a manufacturer's choice, with a few brands offering slightly wider necks (Kanile'a). Oscar Schmidt offers the widest neck on one of their models.

–Lori

wawakelvin said:

So compared to a regular concert ukulele, how does the Flea concert compare in terms of space for fretting chords?

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Same fret spacing. But the Flea has some added width. I.e. if you hold the uke in playing position, the Flea adds width to the fretboard, the same way the fretwires run. In scale length and fret spacing, it's like most other concert ukes, with a scale length of 15.5". If you want to choose between soprano and concert Fleas, concert is a middle ground.