My Flea Travel Uke!

Skottoman · Jun 26, 2009

For my 40th Bday I booked a trip to Ireland, Spain, and France to see some good friends. My wife bought me a black Flea, and a silver and black sharpie to take on my trip.

What a great experience travelling with a uke is. I played in the pubs of Ireland, the Pyrenees mountains of Spain, and the streets of Lyon France. I had all my friends sign it, and draw on it. It has English, Spanish, Catalonian, Polish, Irish, and French on it.

I will remember and treasure it. Anyone else done something like this? Great momento. Sorry for the bad pix...

Cheers,
Skottoman

ritzer012 · Jun 26, 2009

that is an awesome idea and i couldnt think of a better souvenir!

iamsam · Jun 26, 2009

1st of all your wife is awesome.
2nd your trip sounds equally if not more awesome.
3rd I'm envious of both.

RevWill · Jun 26, 2009

That is awesome! What a memento!

Ukulele JJ · Jun 26, 2009

That's brilliant!

If you keep playing it, I suspect the stuff on the back of the neck might rub off.

I wonder if there's some sort of protectant you could use that wouldn't affect the playability?

(Or you could just "retire" that one and get yourself another Flea for playing!)

JJ

Skottoman · Jun 26, 2009

Yeah, some of the sharpie on the neck has already started rubbing off, but I think that adds to the character. I already have a concert flea, so I really don't need to play this one much.

I thought about spraying it with some sort of fixative, but would be afraid to ruin it. It's just perfect as it, with smears and all. And more smears would give it even more character. I would have left food spilled on it if it happened, because i want it to show where I was. heh.

At first I thought it would be a pain to travel with because i travel really light, (1 backpack), but it was pretty easy, and a joy to just play in the streets and see what people did.
Cheers,
Skottoman

Skottoman · Jun 26, 2009

These are the only photos of the Travel Flea on it's adventure.... Kinda wish I had more...
Cheers,
Skottoman

haole · Jun 26, 2009

That's amazing! What a great idea for travel! I need to do this.

iamsam · Jun 26, 2009

quickly spray a clear coat on there before it fades any more!

Skottoman · Jun 26, 2009

Well, as long as I don't really play it, it won't fade any more. But I'll look into a clear coat at some point. For now, it's retired from it's journey, and will be pulled out for show and tell.

Cheers,
Skottoman

Ukulele Jim · Jun 26, 2009

What a brilliant idea! I do believe I might steal that idea someday...

Skottoman · Jun 26, 2009

Please do steal the idea! :shaka: I think everyone who ukes should do something like that if they travel. Could be a different uke, but I think the basic soprano flea is the best for it. If I did it again, I would probably get the natural wood color flea, and use multicolored sharpies. I thank my wife for the idea, it was a great 40th bday present I'll always remember. Plus it gives a good conversation piece and is fun to get people to sing along with. I was in the Pyranees mountains playing Bob marley songs with Spanish friends singin... "One love.... One heart... Let's get together and feel alright".

Hard to beat that!

Cheers,
Skottoman

Pueo · Jun 27, 2009

That is a wonderful idea! I wished I had thought of that (or my wife had thought of that) when we went to Europe, it would have been a lot of fun. I definitely will steal this idea on our next trip.

CoffeeMate · Jun 27, 2009

Very

Sounds like an amazing trip. The idea is brilliant, your married to one smart cookie

KC8AFW · Jun 27, 2009

That is so awesome. I would definately protect it...sharpies will fade and wear over time (even if you don't play it). I recomment this:

http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic/

Skottoman · Jun 27, 2009

I guess if I were to "coat" it, I should de-string, and mask off the fretboard. Also just mask off the tuners, and spray the whole thing... plastic and all...
Cheers,
Skottoman

cocohonk · Jun 27, 2009

It looks amazing, and a great idea! Must have been loads of fun to travel with a uke.

I think the silver sharpie looks great against the black. But then again, I'm also a bit biased.

micromue · Jun 27, 2009

Great Idea! I always take a different uke for travelling. Most times I am carrying one of the basic Bruekos with me, especially the flat ones. Right now I am thinking about buying a black flea and pimp it with some cool stickers for my trip to japan this autumn. Tré cool!

Never forget: Ukes are made for traveling!

Skottoman · Jun 27, 2009

Yeah, I thought about getting a Kala Travel Uke, but the flea is pretty indestructible, and stood up well to being tossed around. The black was great for writing on, and got a lot of looks everywhere I went. The wife did a great job on the present!

Highly recommended!
Cheers,
Skottoman

Ahnko Honu · Jun 28, 2009

Skottoman said:
I guess if I were to "coat" it, I should de-string, and mask off the fretboard. Also just mask off the tuners, and spray the whole thing... plastic and all...
Cheers,
Skottoman

Definitely remove the strings, and restring after clear coat dries. I'd want to preserve the signature as they were first written without wear.
This is a great idea but for those on a budget like myself, and you plan on it being a hall-hanger after your return maybe a more economical alternative might me a Black Makala.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MAKALA-sparkle-...s=65:10|66:2|39:1|240:1318|301:0|293:1|294:50

Another option too to the silver paint pen would be gold, nice contrast on the black body.

My Flea Travel Uke!

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