My Surfboard Flea

david e

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Carolina Beach, NC
Well, inspired by some very nice custom Fleas and Flukes on these boards,(and congratulations to Skottomon for his very cool Graffiti Flea!), I figured I'd show you my Surfboard Flea. (Note that while I live near the beach I am not much of a surfer).

I recently got a used Ukeberry Flea, sanded the soundboard, taped and painted the different colored sections, used automotive detailing tape for the black lines, left the center stringer sections natural, then clearcoated it. I also switched out the black strings for some Kala Reds (which give more contrast to the fingerboard). The result is a sort of retro surfboard look:

ps: the thumbnail looks tiny but seems to enlarge ok when I click on it
 

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Looks awesome, great job! :shaka:
 
I love it! Maybe you could call it the Little Kahuna!

I'm beginning to become a huge fan of the Fluke/Flea line. I got to play a few of them at a Jim Beloff workshop. While they don't have the tone of my Hawaiian uke, they have their own great sound and just have fun written all over them! I thought I wouldn't like the plastic fretboards but I am at a loss to find fault with them. They sound fine and I almost think that my chord changes are smoother over that surface.

In any event... great job!
 
Very nice looking and thanks for the congrats!

I think you did a great unique design, the red strings compliment it well!
Love the Flea. In fact I just stopped playing my Tiki Concert Flea to type this...

I think buying and customizing fleas could become addictive. I already have 2 (one with factory graphics), and can see myself with another in the future. They are a perfect palette for painting and drawing on! GO FLEA!

Cheers,
Skottoman
 
Thanks for the kind comments, it really was a fun and gratifying project!

Brother Uke, I think "Little Kahuna" is a perfect name, and so it shall be!

Skottomon, thanks also, the sentimental and commemorative value of your uke is very special. I also love my Flea, it's my 3rd after about 6 months of playing and group lessons. I first had the basic Maholo that I upgraded to Aquilas, was gonna be my beach/beater but a friend ended up buying it. Then I got a Mainland Cedar Soprano, which is beautiful and sounds amazing, and I play it often--just too nice for those beach nights and knocking around. I doubt I'll ever get rid of it, in fact right now I can't imagine needing a better soprano (I know, I know, UAS is already obviously in my system!). The Flea to me is the perfect mix between sound quality and durability, and I figure now that I've customized it once I'm not worried about letting it live a little.

Thanks again for the kind words--
 
Really like the design. Great Job! :cool:
 
That is a swanky-lookin' Flea!

:shaka:

JJ
 
I'm normally a fan of the solid-colored Fleas, but that's really cool!
 
my name is pink flamingo and I approve this flea.

that's a real beauty; sweet job david e
 
You should get a set of RED tuners from MGM! That would really set it off!

GO FLEAS!!!
Cheers,
Skottoman
 
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