Fluke advice

UkingViking

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 10, 2015
Messages
1,819
Reaction score
1,088
Location
Denmark
Hi ukers.

I am thinking of getting a Fluke. Since they are not easy to get in Europe, I will probably have to buy it online, and so I better ask advice first.

My reason for wanting a fluke:
Well, besides the good reputation they seem to have in this forum, it stands out.
Pineapples also stand out, and are easier to come by. I bought a Pineapple soprano last year, but the frets are too close for my fingers. Most Pineapples are soprano, so that is not the way to go for me.
Hence the Fluke.

From European online vendors they only seem to have the standard issue, so I might order directly and have to deal with overseas shipping, customs fees etc. But should I want something other than the standard?

I am going for a Tenor, though I haven't played those outside the music-shop. Gotta try it.

b)
Tuners
Standard Grover 2B tuners vs. Optional Geared Peghed geared tuners.
What is the difference for someone who likes the to be easy to use, and keep in tune for a while?

c)
Electronics.
It comes plain, with a pickup, or with a B-band pickup.
As I don't play gigs, I will probably not need those. I noticed that the head is a bit different from most, is it easy to clip on a normal tuner?
Otherwise getting the pickup with the integrated tuner might be smart.

d)
In this forum users give the precision of the frets high rating. A european vendor suggests that this is due to the plastic fretboard. So am I loosing the value point if I upgrade to hardwood fretboard?

e)
Gigbag: Owning a uke in a hard-case is something I want a some point, but if the fluke is as sturdy as they say, would it be smarter so save it for a more delicate uke? When bringing a uke for a hike, is gigbag og hard case easier to carry?

d)
Straps and the like. They dont suggest knobs for straps. It might ruin the stand-up ability of the fluke, unless it is put on the back of it.
Does anybody have straps on their flukes?

Hope you guys who know the instrument has some input :)
 
Strap: This is on a flea, so you might need to re-arrange it a bit for a Fluke, but UkeCan1 added a strap to hers using a tiny drill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2KTgLe9G1M

Fretboard: I have seen reviews from people who loved the plastic board and from people who upgraded to the hardwood. I've seen reviews that said getting a hardwood fretboard was defeating the purpose of the Flea/Fluke. I think the plastic fretboard may be better for precision, but I don't know enough to know whether getting the hardwood fretboard would be better or not. I think it's personal opinion.

ETA: I don't personally have one, but I was researching and considering saving up for a Flea.
 
Ive had my tenor fluke for six years. While beginners may have a hard time with the thicker neck, i got used to it
My tuners have always slipped, i suggest you get an upgrade but not the peg heads, but it dont bother me too
As for the plastic fretboard, its fine for me too, but dont use wound strings as it may wear out
Im happy i didnt get the hardwood fretboard and hard case as from a cost standpoint, it was expensive to me and unnecessary for me. The uke is very durable and a case might
Be nice for traveling to places and taking it around, but cumbersome on hikes.
My finish started to wear out after 5 years and in places, you can see bare wood, but the uke has stood up well
Outside its bag all the time as with squared side you can stand it upright..i still like the aquilas strings on mine too
Its a very durable uke and sounds above average and i do like it.. but it may not be for all..personal preference
For price wise, to me a great deal :)of course when i bought mine used, it was 160.00 way back then :) im sure prices
Have risen some after that :)
Hope it helps, happy strummings
 
Last edited:
Gigbag: Owning a uke in a hard-case is something I want a some point, but if the fluke is as sturdy as they say, would it be smarter so save it for a more delicate uke? When bringing a uke for a hike, is gigbag og hard case easier to carry?

The term "gig bag" can mean all sorts of different things. There are very flimsy gig bags that are little more than a piece of canvas, and there are expensive gig bags that are waterproof and that have layers of padding. There are also gig bags that have additional zippered bags, and straps so you can use them like a backpack. A good gig bag costs as much as a hardshell case, and sometimes more. I imagine for a hike, you'd find a nice (not cheap) gig bag more convenient than a typical hardshell case. Fusion makes superb gigbags that are available in Europe, too.

Where are you planning to get the Fluke from? I kind of would like one (a concert one), though it's something for down the road. The vendor I had settled on is Risa (ukulele.de), but I'm curious who else stocks them in Europe. :)
 
I just bought a Fluke for fun and changed to the red strings. Its very loud. A guy at my jam said the action is good because they come out of a mould therefore no room for error.
The only thing I wish I have are strap buttons. The strips they offered is $5 U.S. but shipping is over $12 to Canada. Luckily the same guy at the jam offered me his brand new unopened strips. It do the work if you are just strumming away but not too good for finger style. It still slide.
It holds the tune nicely.
Strings changing is easy even for me.
I don't think you need a hardcase for Fluke. These are traveling instrument. Light weight and also zero maintenance needed. You can pretty much throw it around, leave it in the car regardless of the weather.
 
It seems very strange to me, but, though many UUers rave about Fleas and Flukes, I don't like my concert Flea at all. It doesn't have much volume, the plastic frets are difficult to "see", the pegs are only okay, the lack of a good way to attach a strap is bad for some, standing them up can be precarious, and I think they're way overpriced for whatcha get. Other than those things, I guess they're okay.

I'm probably just out of step with everyone again though, so, All, enjoy your Flea/Flukes--Happy Strumming! :eek:ld:
 
It seems very strange to me, but, though many UUers rave about Fleas and Flukes, I don't like my concert Flea at all. It doesn't have much volume, the plastic frets are difficult to "see", the pegs are only okay, the lack of a good way to attach a strap is bad for some, standing them up can be precarious, and I think they're way overpriced for whatcha get. Other than those things, I guess they're okay.

I'm probably just out of step with everyone again though, so, All, enjoy your Flea/Flukes--Happy Strumming! :eek:ld:

i never really connected with any fleas or flukes I owned either. But knowing me its partly because they come playable out of the box and I didn't have to mess with the action (no initial bonding), which is on the high side. For strumming they are fine but I much prefer a lower action for picking.
 
I own both a tenor Fluke and a Soprano Flea. Both came as standard with plastic fretboard and standard Grover tuners and I have no complaints with either. They're the ukes I take out with me to any event that is acoustic only. They are robust so a decent padded gig bag is fine. I took my Flea in its gig bag to The Netherlands from the UK flying from my local airport to Amsterdam then onward by train with no problems.

Both Southern Ukulele Store and Omega music in the UK stock Fluke and Flea though I see the only Flukes that SUS have in at the moment is the solid electric and the Timber Bass. Omega Music have a tenor Natural Fluke. I see you are in Denmark so buying from the UK should be no hassle as there will be no extra duty or VAT to pay but you will need to check on shipping costs to Europe. (I've bought direct from Germany a few times)

I bought my Flea from SUS and Fluke from Omega. You do have to take what they have in stock, though it's worth contacting them to see if they'll get you one that you particularly want. I'm not particularly bothered and I ended up with a natural Flea and a Mango Fluke and am quite happy. Overall, I think it's easier buying from within the EU than direct from the USA as the importers have taken care of customs already and you'll end up paying pretty much the same whichever way you go. I did a rough calculation and once I had added VAT and customs duty to the original dollar price, it came out the same as UK retailers were charging.

To your question about pickup and tuners. My Fluke came with a separate saddle so it should be possible to fit an under saddle pickup should you want to but if you're not gigging it's not really necessary. Clip on tuners attach to the headstock just fine. My own preference is the Planet Waves Micro tuners which I leave permanently attached.

For a strap, I copied an idea from Booli of fixing a self adhesive cable tie mount to the Back (so you can still stand it up) then looping a cable tie through so you can tie on a strap. I actually use a uke leash which clips on. This thread shows what you do. http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...ting-a-strap-to-a-Fluke&p=1820336#post1820336
 
I don't remember when I got my Fluke, but I bought it before the Flea existed and Fleas were introduced in 2003. So it has been my almost-daily player for at least 13 years. It has the plastic fretboard, concert neck and standard tuners -- the only options available at the time. The bridge popped off after about 6 years and I sent it back to Magic Fluke, who said it was a bad batch and they repaired it for free. So the first and most important thing to say about Flukes is that the Webbs are great people to deal with.

Tuners: The friction tuners hold a tune just fine (you do know about tightening/loosening the little screw at the end, right?) I happen to prefer geared tuners because it's easier to make fine adjustments. However, for me it's not worth the extra $70 to get pegheads. Probably. I do wonder how much time I've spent all these years fiddling with the friction tuners.

Head: I've tried a half-dozen clip-on tuners and they all fit. I wouldn't bother with electronics unless you're playing gigs.

Fretboard: The plastic fretboard is actually very nice to play. Smooth and accurate. Sometimes with bar chords I wish the frets were a tad higher. After 13+ years my fretboard shows no signs of wear, but then I never use wound strings. The black-on-black frets are hard to see and the Fluke/Flea does not come with side markers, so if you're playing up the neck or otherwise in the habit of looking at the frets, you'll want to add stickers or draw lines with a Sharpie marker or something. If you want to see the frets and/or prefer higher frets, consider the wood fretboard. I chose wood for my Firefly, mainly for looks, and the intonation seems as accurate as a banjo uke can get. As always, best to buy from a vendor who does setups.

I use a gigbag around town because I like the backpack-style straps. However, I bought the hard case for packing in the trunk of a car or a luggage compartment since I don't have to worry about what might get piled on top of it.

I don't use a strap, but if I wanted one I would definitely use the cable-tie mount.

I think about getting a new Fluke with all the trimmings -- Koa top, Pegheads, wood fretboard, electronics -- but I wonder if the improvements in sound or playability are worth it for me. You might consider whether you're looking for an enjoyable knock-about uke (in which case go with the standard model) or a uke that will be your main player (in which case upgrades might be worth it).
 
Fancy tops, wood fretboard and peghead tuners add quite a lot to the base price of either Fluke or Flea and after adding it all up once, I decided it wasn't worth it. That is purely a personal choice and I am quite happy with my basic Fluke and Flea. They are excellent instruments and the reaction I've had from others (non ukulele players) has been uniformly positive. The comment on the tone is always positive so as far as I'm concerned the basic instrument is just fine and certainly gets positive feedback from listeners.
 
I have a tenor fluke now for over a tear and a half. Very rugged. I replaced friction tuners with pegheds after a month I could not live with them. Pegheds make Fluke much nicer and stays in tune very well. Still can't find a good strap solution. No need for a case. It fits in my small back pack. For the price, if I were to do it all over I would have gotten a good laminate like the KoAlana laminate with Grover tuners but KoAloha.
 
Hey Folks!

If you look at my forum avatar, you will see 3 Fleas and a Fluke in the photo. I have one concert and two tenor Fleas, and a tenor Fluke. The details of which are in the threads linked below.

You might say that I have quite a bit of experience with these instruments. They are my daily players out of the more than dozen ukes that I own.

Many, if not all of these concerns raised by UkingViking, and other contributors to this thread have been discussed previously here in the forum. Some older threads, and even some newer, as recent as the beginning of March 2016.

Rather than retype a tome of information in a wall of text that seemingly will forever escape being found by both the forum's built-in search function or via a google search of 'site:forum.ukuleleunderground.com', I will offer you direct links as per below.

You might want to grab your favorite beverage, and hunker down for some reading, for just like in the 'X-Files', The Truth Is Out There...

Here are a few of the previous discussions where I have participated with my own recommendations, photos and links to the solutions that I currently use.

1. The Magic Fluke Company Appreciation thread
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?93637-The-Magic-Fluke-Company-Appreciation-thread

2. Pure Blasphemy! Geared Tuners-Fluke & Flea-installed-photos & explanations
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...ke-amp-Flea-installed-photos-amp-explanations

3. Flea Question: difference between the standard Flea and the designer Flea?
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?119264-Flea-Question

4. Solution for frets and neck same color on plastic fretboard
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...olour-What-would-you-do&p=1820972#post1820972

5. Fitting a strap to a Fluke
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?119062-Fitting-a-strap-to-a-Fluke

6. and
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com...-anyone-changed-strings&p=1820246#post1820246

7. Fluke strings discussion
http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?119058-Fluke-has-anyone-changed-strings

Hope this helps...

Happy Reading!

I hope you decide to get a great Fluke or Flea!

(no, I do NOT work for, nor am I compensated in any way by The Magic Fluke Company, I just love the company, the people who work there, and the instruments that they make - yes I AM a fan of The Magic Fluke Company)

Mahalo,

Booli
 
Here is my opinion, and the reasons.

-Get the pegheads.
I had an ukulele with friction tuners, and it nearly drove me insane. And yes, they were high quality grover friction tuners.
I used to have a Flea with the pegheads - they work very well and is definitely worth the extra charge.
Heck, I think Flea/Fluke should phase out the friction tuners and just have pegheads as standard!


-Get the wooden fretboard with the metal frets.
Flea/Fluke plastic fretboards are great, but their wooden fretboards with the metal frets are even better!
They're simply better quality, stronger materials, and you can't use wound strings with plastic fretboards, which is a severe limitation for someone who prefers low-G tuning.


-If you like pickups, get the passive pickup, not the B-band active pickup.
I think a pickup is a very useful feature for any ukulele if your budget allows.
Even if you don't plan to perform in front of a crowd, you never know what the future holds right?
Maybe there will be an occasion for you to perform, and you'll be ready.

Pickups are also fun for playing around at home with. You can plug it into an amp and have fun with the different sounds and effects.

I am not a fan of the B-band active pickups for ukulele though. I have owned 2 that had this system in the past (a Flea, a Kala electric travel tenor uke), and in my opinion, they all sounded horrible compared to other ukulele pickup systems. The tone was brittle and didn't give a very big output.. and it was also prone to having volume imbalance between the strings.

After so many bad experiences, I just steer clear of B-band. The other day, I was at the music store, and there was a really nice looking new Mahalo Hano Elite ukulele. It looked great, and it sounded great acoustically. But when I saw that it had a B-band pickup, I wondered how good it would sound plugged in.
The shop clerk allowed me to plug it into an amp.... lo and behold, there was terrible string balance through an amp. All you could hear was the C-string booming more loudly than the other strings, and it was awful.
http://ronleighsmusicfactory.com.au...tric-concert-ukulele-includes-heavy-duty-bag/

Sorry B-band, but I don't think you know how to make ukulele pickups.
In the case of the Fluke, I think the K&K passive is the better option (costs less too).


(I even thought of improving the B-band system by replacing the undersaddle piezo element... but alas, you can't, because B-band uses proprietary connections between the piezo and the pre-amp. Overpriced too!)
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all the advice.

I am going to study Boolis links and costum fees, and make up my mind. I am going on a trip, so it might be a while before I order something, but advice is nice to have.
 
I am not a fan of the B-band active pickups for ukulele though. I have owned 2 that had this system in the past (a Flea, a Kala electric travel tenor uke), and in my opinion, they all sounded horrible compared to other ukulele pickup systems. The tone was brittle and didn't give a very big output.. and it was also prone to having volume imbalance between the strings.

Geez I hope that isn't the case with the SB Fluke! ~ Because I just bought one, in part to avoid potential problems that may accompany cheaper electronics that tend to come with budget electric ukes. It does seem that a lot of people like and recommend the B-Band though, from what I've been reading here on the forum. Guess I'll find out in about a month when it gets here. :eek:

Oh and I got the Pegheds too :)
 
Last edited:
Upon further reading, I found this in the B-Band FAQ:

Q: Why is the signal output low and / or the string balance uneven (some strings louder than others)?

A: Mostly, low output and uneven string balance is caused by the saddle not fitted correctly on the UST undersaddle pickup.

A good saddle fit on the pickup is essential for good output and even sound.

If there is a issue with the output or string balance these items should be checked:

Check that the saddle cavity floor is free of debris and paint, and is smooth and even. Check that the bottom of the saddle is straight and even (check with the edge of a metal ruler).

The saddle should be fit in the saddle cavity loose enough that it goes all the way down on the pickup. But the saddle should be tight enough in saddle cavity that is does not tilt with the tightening of the strings or fall out when the strings are loosened. The saddle fit is also important to lessen the movement of the saddle on the pickup that can lead to undo wear.

The above issues are the most common and if issues continue if all checks out, it could be a deeper development that needs professional consutation.

B-Band recommends that, if possible, the guitar be inspected by the dealer it was purchased from (if the pickup system came factory installed) or a professional luthier as they usually have the experience to find the issues and resolve them quickly.

Please note that older B-Band preamps have lower overall output compared to the more recent preamps that have the HzzLess circuit.

HzzLess circuit preamp models include: A1.2; A2 (after 2010); A2.2; A3 (after 2010); A3T, A5T, A6T; A11; all T-series."
 
Q: Why is the signal output low and / or the string balance uneven (some strings louder than others)?

A: Mostly, low output and uneven string balance is caused by the saddle not fitted correctly on the UST undersaddle pickup.

A good saddle fit on the pickup is essential for good output and even sound.

This applies to every pickup. I have tinkered with several pickups, and found the B-band is a bit hard to work with.

Im sure the Flea company would have set their's up correctly to sound good. I have no doubt that their Solid-Body electric has a great balanced output. But I dont think it's a highly versatile pickup for general applications.

At least compared to other pickups.

Its not a case of "the saddle needs to be right".. its a case of B-band pickups being more finicky about installation conditions than others. Why would they have such a specific Q&A dismissing the issue as incorrect installation? Probably because there have been a considerable number of complaints that they needed to address it. Many inexpensive, mass produced ukes that come with the B-band probably sound unbalanced.
 
Last edited:
I have a Concert Flea, standard tuners, plastic fretboard, denim gig bag, Uke Leash Strap:D
I usually hate friction tuners, but these have been OK. Uke stays in tune most of the time, especially with the Living Water Strings.
The plastic fretboard has been fine. If you expect to use wound strings, get the wood fretboard.
Denim gig bag is hardly any protection at all. No padding, but lightweight. The fitted hard case looks like it would be heavier/ bulkier that I would like. If you go with one of these for travel, wrap a sweatshirt around your uke for a little extra protection.
If you don't need the amplification, skip it. A loose wire can cause a buzz (from vibration, not power).
Headstock handles the tuners fine.
My Uke Leash® needs no buttons, and steadies the neck. Best for sitting, because the back is pretty slippery.
There is a lanyard loop at the bottom of the neck at the body. It is another good option.
I played a Koa top Fluke once, and it did sound a lot nicer than the standard birch top.
–Lori
 
Top Bottom