StacyAZ
Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2015
- Messages
- 24
- Reaction score
- 0
Why is it NUD for me? I am a new uke player (since January) but already in love with the instrument. I play with a local uke group, and I have goals of playing a ukulele in duet with my guitar-playing husband. While my Luna Honu soprano is great for the uke group, for playing other material, and learning fingerpicking I found I need a uke with a larger fretboard, bigger sound, and strung with low-G. I live in a dry climate so I was looking for a sturdy uke that did not require special humidity care. I chose the Fluke because a couple people play Fleas and Flukes in my uke group and give them as rave reviews as you do here on UU. In deciding between concert and tenor fretboard, I went into my local music store and tried both out and was delighted to discover that the tenor was not such a big stretch for my hands as I feared.
First impressions:
Looks: I am so glad I ordered the hardwood fretboard, not only to give me the option of using a wound low-G string, but also because it looks so beautiful! It perfectly complements the beautiful (to my eyes!) purple of the "Amethyst" top. Also a lovely aesthetic to my eyes is the length of the tenor neck against the Fluke body--wonderfully balanced. IMHO the concert neck looks a bit squat on the Fluke body.
Handling: As you can see, I immediately felt like I needed a strap so I fashioned one from the strap of a purple deerskin purse I no longer use. Of course the nature of the Fluke requires creative strapping if one is to retain the ability to stand on its own. We'll see if I come up with a better solution, but this is fine for now. I did order the grip strips installed, and that is a very nice addition, preventing the otherwise slippery uke from sliding across my body. The tenor-scale fretboard will take some getting used to after the soprano, but I do appreciate the roomy feel for sure!
Sound: Aside from a short time I had the opportunity to play a friend's low-G Martin OXK soprano (which sounded great I thought), hearing the sound of chords strummed with the low-G is new to me and I am not falling in love with it as quickly as I expected. It's nice, resonant, and deep, but a different sound than the re-entrant soprano I am used to. But I am determined to have a low-G uke and I think I will get used to it just fine. There is a nice amount of resonance and sustain to this uke overall, which I am really enjoying. I did order with the K&K soundboard transducer and I plugged the Fluke into my Roland KC-300 keyboard amplifier (the only amp I have, as I have played keyboards for 20 years). Very nice! First impression as the sound is more pleasing, warm, and natural compared to my Risa soprano solid when amplified.