Flea Ukulele's

mhorn73

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Hey Guys,

Just wondering if the flea ukulele's are reliable. I am buying a ukulele and wondering what to buy. I have narrowed it down to the electric one by OscarSchmidt by washburn and the Flea Tiki Soprano one. That's if I don't order one offline.

I don't really know what ukulele's are reliable or worth the couple hundred you spend.

Thanks for any help!
 
I just got my first Fluke Tenor uke. It's the Fleas' big brother. I am actually considering a Flea for my oldest daughter now. I am really impressed with the sound quality and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one. Other than that, I don't think I've ever heard anything bad about them.
 
Plainsong is really the person to tell you about Fleas, but I have one also and it's great. I really like the brightness of the sound. I'm not very hard on my stuff, but it seems to be almost indestructible. I got the UAS bug (ukulele acquisition syndrome) a while back and the flea is what I purchased. I bought mine used for $100 -- a heck of a deal, but I think fleas are well-worth the higher price -- if only for the sturdiness... I'm not familiar with the Oscar Schmidt uke but you seem to have 2 very different types picked out. Good luck. Any uke is a fun uke.
 
Yeah, they are def. different. The Flea is a soprano and the other is a tenor. I think I enjoy the sound of the soprano alot more.
 
Fleas (and Flukes) also come with a concert neck, which is what I have. I'm not Flea expert! ;) I just likes my koa Flea. Not everyone likes the sound of them. Local ukester Juha is trying to convince me that his walnut Brüko can beat up my koa Flea. ;) Brükos are great, but not easy for folks in the US to come by.

I just think that they're easy to play, no intonation problems, and you can play baseball with them if you turn them around. The koa topped one has this über-Flea sound of a very bright natural intitial attack, but then a nice loud ring to it that's all Flea... the plastic back. You can just make this thing go so loud and it won't think of buzzing or going off-pitch.

I like mine. The koa one is finished off in a way that says it's their flagship instrument, but what got me interested was the tenor Fluke, which is to this date the only tenor I can play. I don't have much experience with the plastic fretboard. A local uke player has one, and I don't remember much about it, only that it got me wanting a Fluke.
 
I have a Tiki Flea (Soprano) that I bought about 4 years ago and I love it. Compact and rugged with flat-bottom convenience. Mine just has the standard plastic fretboard which works just fine (I have a hard time justifying the additional cost of the rosewood fretboard). And yeah, I've dropped it . . . alot. It survived remarkably well, though I don't recommend the practice.

I also have a Fluke, and had to send it back to the factory for a small problem, which they cheerfully resolved right away (this is biggie important to me). They even touched up some of my dings and scratches while they had their hands on it.

FYI the Flea is available as a soprano or concert, and the Fluke is available as a concert or tenor scale. I don't think they were available at the time, but if I had to do it again, I would get the Flea in a concert scale for just a tad more room on the fretboard. The flea body is the same either way, so I imagine the concert sounds the same as the soprano.

Have fun!
 
I got a Concert Flea lastnight and I think it plays real nice.
Got it on a whim, had some money burnin a hole in my pocket and it looked real pretty...
 
"Got it on a whim, had some money burnin a hole in my pocket and it looked real pretty..."


I know the feeling. That's what happened to me...but I don't think you'll regret it at all.

Wonder what mhorn73 has decided?
 
Flea

My 2cents worth, Have a Flea Tiki King and do love it. Since I once had a Flea with plastic fretboard, sold it and now have Rosewood, Which I strongly suggest. Makes playing so much nicer and easier I think.

I have many more expensive ukes, but the Flea seems to get played the most.
 
I also got the rosewood fretboard, and I've been very happy with my flea. I was a little stunned when they sent it to me, it was inside its cloth case and then in a box, no extra padding or anything. I mean, this is an expensive, precision instrument! But clearly it didn't need the padding because I've done much worse to it since then, and haven't managed to break it yet. So that's a pretty good advantage.

I also really like the sound, though I've never played any other ukulele to compare it to. It's a pretty little instrument, durable, good sound, and in my opinion, really affordable. Quite lightweight for traveling too!
 
I have a soprano Tiki Flea. I'd recommend them anyways but if your choice is between the Flea and an Oscar Schmidt it's a no brainer. The Flea is a much better instrument.

I agree! I had an Oscar Schmidt soprano for about two days before I returned it-- very disappointed. The Flea on the other hand... :rock:
 
I don't think you can go wrong with a Fluke! They're consistant for sound and they're pretty durable and a really fun instrument.
 
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