Flea Banjo Uke "FIREFLY" is now available online!

The banjo uke is officially available from fleamarket music:
http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/store/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=263

Many of us have had these on order for a while, so I expect a flurry of reviews shortly. For those of you out there who are tuning peg aficionados, you can upgrade yours to pegheds for an additional $69 if you call them and ask. Thanks to harpdog cc and kseigel for putting out the word about the possible upgrade.

I can't wait for this one. I love the idea of a super light banjo uke with the playability, durability, and low maintenance of a flea. I don't like the heaviness of some of the other models, and I definitely don't want to have to "mess with" the head all of the time, although many banjo uke and banjo players consider this part of the charm - masochists . I prefer simple light and fun, like a uke is supposed to be!

Aloha PepaMahina AKA Paper Moon,
Congratulations Girl, whoo wooo... Have fun and enjoy...let us know how it turns out....Happy Strummings, and "Keep Strummin' them Strings" MM Stan

That may have to be my first foray into banjo-ele's

I am tempted, but I am going to hold out for a tenor scale.

Can anyone answer a few questions please?
-Is there an advantage to an adjustable drum head?
-Any sound samples for the Firefly?
-Any opinions on how it compares to the Mainland?

If you youtube "magic fluke banjo uke" there's a video of James Hill playing one. That's all I've found so far.

soupking said:

If you youtube "magic fluke banjo uke" there's a video of James Hill playing one. That's all I've found so far.

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I'm now a senior member and I still don't know how to post links on here. Lol.

soupking said:

If you youtube "magic fluke banjo uke" there's a video of James Hill playing one. That's all I've found so far.

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Yes, I've seen that one. I was hoping to hear it played in less-skilled hands

I just received an email from Magic Fluke. I ordered a Firefly last night. They informed me today that, because of the high demand, it's gonna be a four to six week wait. A little bummed about this to say the least, but I guess they can only make 'em as fast as is possible. Just thought I'd give others a head's up that if they wanted to get their hands on one any time soon, better get your orders in.

Paul December said:

Yes, I've seen that one. I was hoping to hear it played in less-skilled hands

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I can provide a sound sample of this uke in no-skilled hands, but you're gonna have to wait four to six weeks. Haha.

soupking said:

I'm now a senior member and I still don't know how to post links on here. Lol.

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If you just go to the site you want to link to and copy the address that is at the top of the screen, you can then just "paste" that address into your post as text and it will be magically transformed into a link when it is posted. Oh, and you got a big belly laugh from me with the four to six weeks business!

Having a lot of experience with 5-string banjos, I recognize a lot of parts & build style on the Chinese banjo-ukes, and based on that, and the sound samples and pics I've seen of the Firefly, I think it'll blow the Chinese banjo-ukes out of the water for sound and playability. That's my bet anyway...I have one on order.

John

When I visited the MagicFluke shop on March 16, Dale showed me the new neck and tailpiece prototypes that he was going to incorporate in the Firefly. They are the same as shown in the photo on the MagicFluke web site, although the tailpiece I was looking at wasn't as shiny.

I have played both the prototype that James Hill was playing in the video, and the second version (darker neck and pot, different head) - both of these instruments are shown in a photo I posted earlier, in one of the other Fluke Banjo-uke threads. And trust me, I do NOT have the talented hands of Mr. Hill. I still think of myself as musically inept, uncoordinated, and just lucky that it isn't illegal for me to play an instrument or sing in public. (g)

I'm sorry that I had no way of making an audio or audio-video recording of the instruments, but I will say that they are light as feathers, have a wonderful punch, - the second version with the modified head has a louder sound - and they really do ring out. I've probably mentioned this a couple of dozen times, but I offered to buy either or both of the prototypes while I was standing there, even if I had to wait for delivery until the production models were shipping.

The only banjo uke I can really compare the Firefly to is my 75+ year-old Stella. I think the entire Firefly weighs less than the Stella's neck alone. The sound of the Remo synthetic head is as good as the skin head on my old one, but louder. I've opted for the Peghed tuners, after experiencing them on my Fluke tenor. (Purchase the same day I visited.) As much as I like the Fluke, I think that if I could have gotten the FireFly that day, I probably would not have purchased the Fluke.


-Kurt

(Oh, and I forgot to mention - the scale is slightly longer than a standard soprano - my hands did not feel cramped at all, while playing within the first 7 frets. I didn't try anything higher than that.)

WestPhillyUke said:

Having a lot of experience with 5-string banjos, I recognize a lot of parts & build style on the Chinese banjo-ukes, and based on that, and the sound samples and pics I've seen of the Firefly, I think it'll blow the Chinese banjo-ukes out of the water for sound and playability. That's my bet anyway...I have one on order.

John

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thanks for the comments John, that seals the deal for me.

Hmmm... The Firefly is open-backed, while the Mainland is sealed. Could I possibly justify buying BOTH? Yes. Yes, I think I can.

- Steve

Chris Tarman said:

Hmmm... The Firefly is open-backed, while the Mainland is sealed. Could I possibly justify buying BOTH? Yes. Yes, I think I can.

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Ha ha. Me too. But not yet, with a 4 week wait. I'll enjoy the Mainland for now. And it is FUN! (Did I mention banjo ukes are FUN)

Yeah... that gives me lots of time to squirrel away the money. It's a pretty low priority for a while.