Fluke vs Koaloha

Icelander53

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Just kidding.

I have a fluke tenor that I just put new strings on and they do nothing much to improve things. I'm wondering what strings you like on your fluke??

I have on hand.
Aquila,
Worth brown reg and low g
LoPrinzi low g
Oasis bright low g
Living Waters low g

I'm hoping one of these can be given the nod by some of you.

And as to the Koaloha it's on it's way and will be here thursday. :drool:
 
several friends love Living Waters on their tenor Flukalohas...:shaka:

personally, I like Worth browns on anything I've put them on...
 
I foolishly sold my Fluke Tenor. I had put Worth Clear Mediums (low G) on it and it sounded very good.
 
Maybe I'll sell you mine. I don't play it hardly at all. I bought it for camping and then got neuropathy so bad that camping is out of the question for now at least and likely forever. So I don't play it often. It's got the hardwood fretboard and it's a black body and in perfect shape. I'm not much on selling ukes but if you are serious you can PM me and we can chat about it.

However if I put new strings on and it sounds wonderful the deals off.;)
 
I have liked Living Water strings on my concert neck Flea. I have that one tuned re-entrant.

–Lori
 
cool, I bought them and have never used them or heard them. So either these or the worth might be the way to go. I think Oasis would also be a good choice for these but I'd like to hear someone else agrees before using them.
 
Maybe I'll sell you mine. I don't play it hardly at all. I bought it for camping and then got neuropathy so bad that camping is out of the question for now at least and likely forever. So I don't play it often. It's got the hardwood fretboard and it's a black body and in perfect shape. I'm not much on selling ukes but if you are serious you can PM me and we can chat about it.

However if I put new strings on and it sounds wonderful the deals off.;)

I actually do not want the wood fret board. I had an all composite Tenor that I took to Australia when I went on a month long vacation. I'll be going to Africa this year and could use a Fluke for that trip as well.
 
It is not one of the strings sets you have listed, but I put Aquila Lavas on my Flea and absolutely love it! Prior to the Lavas I tried traditional Aquilas, D'Addario Nyltechs, and Martins. All were good, but the Lavas set it off IMHO
 
I have Lava's on my Walnut, tenor fluke with poly keyboard. Sounds good, tension is high. I also liked Freemont Blacklines. all re-entrant. think I will try Savarez next.
Have had Nyltech, Oasis, Worth clears...... and standard Aquila's. So, far, don't care for anything but Lava and the blacklines.
YMMV
 
Ok I'll try some Lavas on it. I can get some easily on Amazon I guess.

Edit: or maybe not. These lava are made from Aquila Super Nylgut material with some color thrown in. They are the same as Nylgut but for color it seems.

Where do you buy your Fremont?
 
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I haven't tried them yet, but I've heard and liked Living Waters on Flukes. I've tried and liked Fremont Blacklines especially with low G, but they're not on your list.

Are you going to keep the Fluke after the Holy Grail, I mean KoAloha arrives? :)
 
I've tried numerous strings on my Fluke and no improvement. I only play it now at the beach, or use it as a back-up paddle for my kayak.
 
Steve,
Improvement are small with strings on this unit. I got Fluke for travel and in the car. Its ok in a hotel room at low volume and it better than nothing. No matter what strings I use, as long as you play softly its OK sound. If you PUSH it........... the laminate top it booms. I knew what I was getting to and love its indestructible nature
but would love to hear a Fluke with solid wood top. I know they make Koa but that is limited and pricey. My search will continue even though Lava's and Blacklines are OK. I will try living water. Good starter Uke and very versatile. Love how it can just sit on a table or floor or by the couch. Sound wise, only so so in my books.
Post not meant as a slam to MFC or its product. Just my opinion......and MFC are great people with excellent service.........
 
Steve,
Improvement are small with strings on this unit. I got Fluke for travel and in the car. Its ok in a hotel room at low volume and it better than nothing. No matter what strings I use, as long as you play softly its OK sound. If you PUSH it........... the laminate top it booms. I knew what I was getting to and love its indestructible nature
but would love to hear a Fluke with solid wood top. I know they make Koa but that is limited and pricey. My search will continue even though Lava's and Blacklines are OK. I will try living water. Good starter Uke and very versatile. Love how it can just sit on a table or floor or by the couch. Sound wise, only so so in my books.
Post not meant as a slam to MFC or its product. Just my opinion......and MFC are great people with excellent service.........

Hey, I agree with your assessment. The kayak remark was meant as a joke..............though you have to admit that :eek:a major positive is that Flukes are seemingly indestructable.
 
Edit: or maybe not. These lava are made from Aquila Super Nylgut material with some color thrown in. They are the same as Nylgut but for color it seems.

Yes, my understanding is that they are made from the same material as the Super Nylgut with color added. I have not tried the Super Nylgut, so I cannot compare the two. I can say that they feel and sound MUCH different than the traditional Nylgut Aquilas. To me they are better, but to each their own.
 
Just kidding.

I have a fluke tenor that I just put new strings on and they do nothing much to improve things. I'm wondering what strings you like on your fluke??

I have on hand.
Aquila,
Worth brown reg and low g
LoPrinzi low g
Oasis bright low g
Living Waters low g

I usually like Worth Browns (BT) tenor set on lots of ukes, but on my tenor Koa Fluke, the Fremont Blacklines were even MORE of the dulcet tone with sparkle than the Worth Browns.

I also have Worth Browns (BT) on one of my tenor Fleas, but when I put the same set on my tenor Koa Fluke, it sounded too similar to my Flea. As did the Oasis and Living Waters when I installed them. I opted for a string set that had a thicker C and E string, and went for the Martin M620 tenor set in the new packaging (i.e., the white plastic instead of the brown box) and at GCEA as well as F-Bb-D-G tuning the tension was higher than I would like, and the sustain too short, so right away before the strings stretched too much, I set it and have had it for about 2 weeks now at E-A-C#-F# tuning, and somehow, these strings and this tuning really make the instrument sing out, and the Fluke body is perfectly capable of handling these frequencies without bottoming out.

I also liked the Aquila Super Nylgut at first, but 3 weeks after installation the C string seemed to just sound dead and tubby so I removed them. I found the Aquila LAVA re-entrant tenor set to be lacking depth on this instrument, and for a long time (for me anyway, like 5 months), I had the Aquila REDS on the Fluke tenor, and loved the sound but was always afraid of one snapping, and when it finally did, I decided to try something else...and after about a dozen or so string changes later (leaving them on for ~2 weeks at a time, each different set), I now have the M620 set on, and I really think these are the best set yet for me.

If I did not have 2 tenor Fleas (one with Worth Brown BT, the 'Hibiscus' model, and one with regular Aquila Nylguts, the Walnut top with birch rosette) and a concert Lava Flea, and both in Bb re-entrant tuning - I'd probably have the Fremont Blacklines or Worth Browns (BT) on the Fluke.

[edited to add] I wanted a different SOUND on the Fluke, this is why I did not use the same strings on it.

The concert Lava Flea has Living Water re-entrant concert set installed and is tuned standard C6 and these really have a bell-like tone with an added magical sparkle on this instrument. Neither the Oasis bright nor warm high G had this same tone, nor the Worth Clears (CL) nor Worth Browns (BL) had the same clarity, resonance and push-forward sound as the Living Waters. The Martin M600 strings sounded pretty dead to me on this same instrument.

For a low-g string my goto on tenors is the Thomastik-Infeld CF30 single classical guitar string. It is a CHROME FLATWOUND string and is smoother and has less finger-squeak noise than the Fremont Soloist polished wound low-g, less noise than the GHS 'Vanguard Classic' single classical guitar 'D' string and much less noise than the D string from the D'Addario EJ45LP 'lightly polished' classical string set.

The only thing that is a bit of a surprise with the Thomastik-Infeld strings is that they have a loop-end which you can very carefully cut off. I also put a dab of clear nail polish once I do that to prevent the string from unraveling, then after that you can tie them on or knot them as usual.

Just Strings and Strings By Mail sells the Thomastik-Infeld and GHS single strings, and the Worths and Fremonts can be found at most online uke dealers.

So, Ice53- what strings are currently on your Fluke? What do you not like about them? What kind of sound or feel difference are you looking for?
 
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I'm about to try Martin Flourocarbons on my couch necrotic Flea. I'll let you all know how they work out.


Scooter
 
I purchased a concert flea a few months back with hardwood fretboard and geared tuners, I was very disappointed with the sound of it. I tried several different sets of strings and the thing just sounded dead. Ended up selling it on eBay for a little more than half of what I paid for it but am glad it is gone. I went to a local uke shop and tried many brands and ended up getting a Kamoa 500C...Man, what a difference! It makes the flea sound like a toy.
 
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