Flea fretboard question

Hi folks,
I am newish player who is planning on buying a flea uke in the next couple of months and I was wanting to get some feedback about fretboards. I am debating whether or not to upgrade from the plastic fretboard. I had read that over time (a few years of heavy play) the plastic frets wear down. I also heard that it isn't easy to put a low g string on the plastic fret.

Does anyone have any input/experience with these issues?

I have had two fleas. Both with plastic fretboards. My tenor flea has unwound low G strings on it. You will get opinions for both options. I am quite happy with mine. I wanted my flea to be trouble free. If you are planning on wound strings the wood fretboard would definitely be the way to go.

I have a flea with a plastic fretboard and a firefly (the banjo version) with a wood fretboard. I prefer the plastic, but if you want to do wound strings, they recommend the wood.

If you're a new player one thing to consider is that the frets are easier to see on the wood fingerboard because there are actual metal frets in the board. The plastic fingerboard has frets molded into the plastic, and the frets are the same color as the board itself. I don't think it's a big deal but the best thing is to try out the uke before you buy, if you can.

You get a Flea because it is sturdy and perfectly set up as soon as you get it in your hands. I've no opinion on low G except that it is not to my taste. There are abundant string choices of unwound low G sets and a plastic fretboard Flea can probably handle most of them. A concert neck Flea is a great choice. They are nifty little ukes with a nice voice, they even have a nice upside for travel and play outdoors.

If you are wanting to experiment with high G/low G, wound/unwound you probably ought to rethink your choice of a Flea. If you are wanting a Flea as a step up in ukulele sound quality and versatility there are probably better choices.

No mistake, I love my Flea. It's just not the first uke I reach for unless I'm in the office or on the road with it.

Thanks for the feedback all.

I've been playing fiddle for the last year so I am fairly comfortable with not being able to clearly see the frets

The big reason I want the flea is because of its durability. I have a 10 month old son who has pretty much killed my cheap tanglewood soprano, so I don't want anything too precious (for the next couple of years anyways). Plus the flea is one of the coolest looking ukes I have seen

I have a mystery uke (I think it's a Kay, but it has no identifying marks anywhere so can't tell). It has a plastic fretboard and is at least 50 years old. There is some wear on a couple of frets. But it still plays perfectly.

omnivorous goat said:

Thanks for the feedback all.

I've been playing fiddle for the last year so I am fairly comfortable with not being able to clearly see the frets

The big reason I want the flea is because of its durability. I have a 10 month old son who has pretty much killed my cheap tanglewood soprano, so I don't want anything too precious (for the next couple of years anyways). Plus the flea is one of the coolest looking ukes I have seen

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I understand. I have four kids. My flea is always standing there ready to play. My kids can't wreck it. You will be able to see the frets.

Over 4 years, I had 4 Fleas. Not because of damage to any one of them, but because I like them. All had plastic fretboards. The one I played every day for 2 years did develop some ware in the fret finish. Strangely, when I changed strings, I could feel it more than anyone could see it. I.e. I ran my finger over the 2 frets (1st and 2nd on the middle strings) that showed ware, and I felt it. But if you looked at it, you couldn't tell. It also didn't affect playability or intonation. I had to pass on all the Fleas for financial reasons. But I suspect that eventually, that ware could make it necessary to upgrade the fretboard.

I had 2 Flukes with rosewood fretboards. Not worth it in my opinion. The frets themselves were rougher than the molded plastic ones by a lot, and I could feel the edges. And the action was higher. If you can deal with that and don't want to chance upgrading in the future, go rosewood to begin with.

As for low G strings, I always use them. Fremonts, Orcas, Worth browns and clears, Southcoast, La Bella... Just the nonwound options off the top of my head. I don't like the sound of wound strings on my uke anyway, so it was never an option.

Hope this helps!

Yeah, I think I am going to opt for the molded fretboard (concert length). I imagine in a few years time I will have developed UAS and will buy something with a little more wood in it.

Thanks again all.

The thing is they will replace a worn fret board at no charge if you send them back

I own both types, and I actually prefer the feel of the plastic. Yes, the frets do wear a little, but I've had mine for 4 years of heavy playing and it's not bad enough to need replacing yet. As Bluesuke noted, they will replace the fretboard if needed.

It is a little hard to see the frets, but you get used to it. Plus I put marks on the side of the neck for the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th frets using nail polish, so navigating the neck is pretty easy.

Low G is no problem. I've tried it and it worked fine; I just prefer to play high G re-entrant tuning.

Thumper said:

I own both types, and I actually prefer the feel of the plastic. Yes, the frets do wear a little, but I've had mine for 4 years of heavy playing and it's not bad enough to need replacing yet. As Bluesuke noted, they will replace the fretboard if needed.

It is a little hard to see the frets, but you get used to it. Plus I put marks on the side of the neck for the 5th, 7th, 10th and 12th frets using nail polish, so navigating the neck is pretty easy.

Low G is no problem. I've tried it and it worked fine; I just prefer to play high G re-entrant tuning.

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I use a silver sharpie for this. Perfect match for fret dot touch ups too.