Lanikai LU21C vs Concert Flea

RatherBeInCabo

Active member
Joined
Feb 10, 2012
Messages
32
Reaction score
0
Location
Southern California (Ventura County)
After using my cheap Lanikai LU21C for a few years, I decided to get a new Flea. Ordered the Concert Flea with Rosette, Hardwood Fretboard and Geared Tuners. Needless to say, it cost quite a bit more than the Lanikai.

The Flea sounds tinny and has much lower volume then the Lanikai. I have Aquila's on the Lanikai and the Flea came with D'Adarrio's. Another thing about the Flea is the stings make a lot of squeaky noises when I pick them.

Do you think the D'Addario strings are the weak link on the flea?
 
I own a Lanikai LU21C as well. Short answer to your question, I'd try different strings before blaming the sound on the uke.

I've no experience with a Flea but I can share my experience with the Lanikai. My Lanikai came with Aquila strings and almost from the very start, I was not especially happy with the sound. I thought it sounded kind of dull and muddy and I blamed it on the uke because it was a cheaper starter uke. Thinking it may be due to old strings, I put a new set of the much acclaimed Aquilas on it with the same results. The next set of strings I tried on it were D'Addarios. They were even worse! I didn't like the feel of them and they were even more dull and muddy than the Aquilas. The D"Addarios are the only string I've ever taken off my uke before it was time to change strings. I didn't like them at all. I then tried some Martins. Wow! What a difference! My Lanikai sounded like a whole different uke! It was louder, crisper and cleaner, a much better sound! I've also tried Oasis strings and they might be a bit better than the Martins. Try some different strings before blaming the Flea. Based on my experience, I'd recommend either Martin or Oasis. (On your Lanikai too!)
 
I have a standard concert Flea with the plastic fingerboard. Mine is strung up with Aquila Reds and it's pretty loud and chimey. I'm not a huge fan of D'Addario's uke strings so I may be biased when I say it's the strings.
 
I have a new concert Flea (red), and, while I don't know how loud, loud is, it seems loud enough to me. It is loaded with Aquilas, and I'm satisfied with its sound.

It does make a lot of mistakes though. :eek:ld:
 
I don't like the stick D'Addario strings either. I thought they felt sticky too! I usually use Worth browns on my Flea/ Firefly
 
Another Martin M600 fan here. I have them on my concert Flea and find them very pleasing. They're often available at local music stores where other strings must be mail ordered. They will take about a week to play in and stabilize, but they sound good from the start.
 
Top Bottom