Magic Fluke Instruments

Jerryc41

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Jim Beloff was at "Spring into Uke" in Voorheesville, NY yesterday, and he had his new koa Fluke concert. Beautiful! This one has a pickup, so he can plug into a sound system.

If you're in the market for a Magic Fluke instrument, don't forget eBay. Online stores buy in bulk and sell at lower prices than the main Fluke store. You're not cheating The Magic Fluke because they already sold the instrument, and the eBay dealer will buy a replacement after you buy from them. The savings can be significant. Of course, if a dealer doesn't have exactly what you want, you'll have to buy from the store.

Everyone should have at least one of these instruments.
 
I spent Saturday afternoon at the Magic Fluke facility. Bryan Tolentino was holding a workshop for about 25 ukulele enthusiasts. It was fun and interesting. Bryan played a couple of pieces at the end of the afternoon. He played one selection on one of the koa flukes that Jerry mentioned. I was surprised that Jim Bellof was not at Bryan's workshop but I guess he had already made plans to be at the Spring Into Uke event.
Jim Bellof's sister and her husband are the owners of Magic Fluke.
 
I spent Saturday afternoon at the Magic Fluke facility. Bryan Tolentino was holding a workshop for about 25 ukulele enthusiasts. It was fun and interesting. Bryan played a couple of pieces at the end of the afternoon. He played one selection on one of the koa flukes that Jerry mentioned. I was surprised that Jim Bellof was not at Bryan's workshop but I guess he had already made plans to be at the Spring Into Uke event.
Jim Bellof's sister and her husband are the owners of Magic Fluke.

Jim's wife used to work in the movie industry. She created the white winged horse for TriStar Pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYpTcSJDgJI
 
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Actually, I am pretty sure it was his wife Elizabeth who created the winged horse. She and Jim were both in the movie biz.
 
I have walnut Fluke with laminate soundboard that has just gotten better sounding with age. Go anywhere Uke. I would like to try solid soundboard. And I wish the upgrade was cheaper. I’d like to see them standardize with better tuners like say the pending new tuners by Graphtech. They would seem to be the right cost for a big upgrade over the friction tuners. I immediately ordered pegheds for my tenor Fluke a month after it was mailed to me. Anyways cool company for sure. They get pricey in Canada with out exchange though.
 
Actually, I am pretty sure it was his wife Elizabeth who created the winged horse. She and Jim were both in the movie biz.

Jim worked for Billboard Magazine for many years.
 
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I definitely agree that every Ukulele player should have at least one Magic Fluke instrument!


Scooter
 
I spent Saturday afternoon at the Magic Fluke facility. Bryan Tolentino was holding a workshop for about 25 ukulele enthusiasts. It was fun and interesting. Bryan played a couple of pieces at the end of the afternoon. He played one selection on one of the koa flukes that Jerry mentioned. I was surprised that Jim Bellof was not at Bryan's workshop but I guess he had already made plans to be at the Spring Into Uke event.
Jim Bellof's sister and her husband are the owners of Magic Fluke.

Ah I was there to interview Bryan but sadly couldn't stay for the workshop. I have to head back in the future to get Phyllis and Dale on the show. Hopefully I can catch Bryan's next tour through the area.
 
I bought a used tenor walnut Fluke here in the Marketplace, but it had the wrong saddle and the tuners were difficult. I contacted Magic Fluke and they sent me three different depth saddles for $10, good on them. I ended up getting a set of the new Graph Tech Ratio Tune-a-leles for evaluation, which work very well, but are slightly wider than the thickness of the Fluke headstock, which doesn't bother me at all. For the list price of $29.95 for a set, they're a great deal. The only thing I don't like about the Fluke is the shape of the neck, which fatigues my hand and thumb.

Fluke 600.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
Kohanmike,
I have same Fluke but put pegheds on shortly after getting it. I did not like friction tuners. Can you post picture of headstock close up with the graphtech tuners. I think I’d like them. I’d like to see how far they stick out past headstock thickness. Great price.

Also curious if you could post pic of saddle. What material did you settle in.

Finally, I agree 100% on neck shape and fatigue. There was a thread where a fellow in Oregon reshaped the next so contour was same as his Martin Mexican tenor. So, I’m sure neck could be reshaped. I may consider doing it if I can get someone with talent to do it for less than an arm and a leg.

My tenor, walnut Fluke just seems to sound better with time. I think the laminate soundboard is drying out.

I’d like to see MFC thicken their headstock to accommodate the graphtech tuner width. and change to those tuners. I’ve followed all threads and I think they are great. My local guitar dealer was supposed to look into getting me a set but they didn’t. I read there were going to be improvement in design.

Thanks for posting. If possible would love to see more close ups!

Pegheds are great on my Fluke but for the price you should be able to buy, direct, with better tuners. IMHO...
 
I've not had my Fluke for very long at all (3 or 4 weeks maybe?) but I've not played anything else since getting it. The neck is obviously a love / hate affair - I find it really comfy. I've got nicer sounding ukes, for sure, but this one seems to always be within reach and my two daughters can't hurt it too much. Think I'll order some Pegheds for it.
 
Kohanmike,
I have same Fluke but put pegheds on shortly after getting it. I did not like friction tuners. Can you post picture of headstock close up with the graphtech tuners. I think I’d like them. I’d like to see how far they stick out past headstock thickness. Great price.

Also curious if you could post pic of saddle. What material did you settle in.

Don't forget about Gotoh tuners. I put them on my Firefly, and I put regular geared tuners on my Fluke.

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Nice job jerry. Gotoh UPTL will be on some Uke I have, in future. I have to try them. Pirate Jim, the pegheds installed easy. I got a $20 reamer. Key is take very very little wood out of hole when doing it. That said, I think on the basic Fluke/flea with poly fretboard, the match of the new graphtech tuners seems like a natural. I hope MFC are watching and reading. They have a great product and after this many years maybe a slight design tear would he in order.

I agree that when I leave Fluke out, it’s gets picked up and played. So easy and no maintenance.

Perhaps,graphtech tuner on thicker head stock is one style. Should cost about the same or minimal upgrade. The neck carve or profile could be another option. Bit more time consuming.

Guess we will see. I will ask graphtech what their plans are on these tuners. Thanks for posting
 
For using a strap on my concert Flea, I installed an adhesive cable tie base holder, then threaded through a piece of leather bootlace, which gets tied to the strap. Bootlace to strap at headstock too. The strap is tied on permanently, always ready to go.

BTW Jerry, I like the look of the modified Grovers better, no ears, and I prefer tuning from the back, as opposed to the sides.

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For using a strap on my concert Flea, I installed an adhesive cable tie base holder, then threaded through a piece of leather bootlace, which gets tied to the strap. Bootlace to strap at headstock too. The strap is tied on permanently, always ready to go.

BTW Jerry, I like the look of the modified Grovers better, no ears, and I prefer tuning from the back, as opposed to the sides.

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Nice job. I've seen quite a few people with "stick-on" strap buttons. I prefer to drill a hole. I'm also leery of wrap-around straps/cords in the headstock area. It's probably a false concern, but I'd hate to see the finish worn away. As I said, there's probably no reason to fear using either technique.

I will say that using a strap does make it easier (for me) to play. It also helps to keep it in place when I'm not playing.
 
Here are photos of my Ratio tuners. One shows how little the tuner hangs over the edge.

I also added strap buttons, at first near the upper end of the flat bottom, but the Fluke rotated, so I moved the button to the lower part of the flat bottom and it worked much better.

Fluke Ratio strap.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
Here are photos of my Ratio tuners. One shows how little the tuner hangs over the edge.

I also added strap buttons, at first near the upper end of the flat bottom, but the Fluke rotated, so I moved the button to the lower part of the flat bottom and it worked much better.

Fluke Ratio strap.jpg



This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

Two nice modifications.
 
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