Flea and/or Fluke Ukuleles

I am considering picking up either a Flea or Fluke Ukulele and I was wondering what everyones take is on these instruments? I understand they are injection moulded plastic body and was wondering how are they compared to a "standard" Uke (sound, playability, tone, etc)? If you have one, are you happy with it? Any up/down sides? Do you prefer the Flea over the Fluke or visa-versa? Any information is appreciated, thanks in advance.

I've had a tenor Fluke for about 4 years now and I've been really happy with it since the day I got it. I ordered it online when I was in Colorado, mainly because it's dry there and humidity is an issue with most ukes. Not with the Fluke. The top is made of pine, which resists contraction and expansion pretty well and the plastic body keeps it rigid. It's a tough instrument that's stood up well, even in the face of all the carelessness I constantly throw at it.

Sound-wise it's a little bright, but as long as you've got decent strings on it, the thing stays in tune really well and has really nice projection and volume.

Another great thing about it is the flat bottom. When I'm home, it's usually standing at arms distance from my computer ready to be played when I need it, and I really like using it when I teach because I can put it down anywhere at any time to help students.

Downsides ... like I've written in other posts, the pickup I got with it is a little soft plugged in, because it's not active. (But now, it looks like you can order it with a Pickup w/preamp, but it will cost you another $165). And finally, Flukes have kind of a stigma. At least in Hawaii, I've noticed that because it doesn't look like a traditional ukulele, people tend to take you less seriously if they see you with a Fluke. They usually think it's a toy. But that just makes it even more impressive when they hear how good it sounds.

flukes are too bright for me ,but i still want one just want one to keep in the car so i can jam any where and not have to baby it like how i baby all my other ukes.

Flukes.. to uke or not to uke.

I have a Fluke Concert, wouldnt be without it.
It as has been said a little bright. But if you load it up with a Low "G" set of strings it will add a little low end. Overall great to have, flat bottom.. stands anywhere.. very durable... heat resistant.. not terribly expensive.
I have vintage concert Kamakas, and they are far superior in sound quality, but not good with the "falling off the counter" test.
My fluke has been rained on.. frozen.. baked... kickeded.. dropped.. and still she is there..
Even uke players.. "who are in general "the coolest peeps in the land" can be a bit arrogant. "People in hawaii think a fluke a toy" imagine that, since most of the people in the world think the uke in itself is but a toy..

"My reputation exceeds me" Kharmachanic

when i first saw a fluke, i thought it was just one of those novelty ukes. the plastic fretboard was funny to me. then i played one. i was suprised to say the least. but when i found out how much they cost, i still couldnt bring myself to get one. but thats just me. durability factor is big with me, since im such a clutz. but not for over $100 IMO.

Fluke rounded back

I played on a fluke a few days ago and found that the plastic rounded back was very distracting. It kept slipping against my sweatshirt and I couldn't walk around or even stand while playing. Not sure if that is a consideration or not in buying a fluke.

I've got my fluke for 7 years now.
I've been touring with it, jamming anywhere, lend it to my sons...
This is the "cross country" version of the ukulele.
You can even walk with it ;-)
Yes it's a bit bright, but it's really loud. It's not the best sounding uke but with proper strings you can get a good result. And it keeps the tuning !
The only bad thing is that the plastic frets can be damage after several years of use. If you got enough budget, I would advise you to choose a rosewood fretboard.

Bump.

So what strings would you guys recommend for a Fluke/Flea? The Hilo strings that came with my Flea (concert neck) seem a little small and have to apply quite some pressure when fretting those complicated chords.

I'm teetering between Aquila Nylguts or Ko'olau Golds.

I use Aquila they realy changed the sound. more low end. I would pay a little more and get the rose wood fret board.my fluke has bad fret wear. I got a message for a nother uu member NotoriousMOK he told me to contact the flea/ fluke that they might fix it . So I did and they will no charge. Or I can up grade to a rose wood board for 85$. I think I will up grade.

I've had three fleas/flukes. They are an excellent value. The sound always reminds me of a resonator guitar, loud, a wee bit harsh, but cool. Two of them have rosewood fret boards and I would go with that. For one thing, the intonation is spot on all over the neck. For another, you can use wound strings, which is not possible on the plastic fret board models (they chew up the plastic). However, for the money you pay for the fretboard, you can also buy a pretty decent wooden uke.

I have Aquilla strings on all of my ukes and it made a big difference in the sound.

I've got both a Flea/soprano and a Fluke/concert and have been really happy with both. The both have the molded(polywhatzit) fretboard. My first buy was the Fluke, because it was middle ground size-wise and the durability of these was and is reputed to be fantastic. I'm a campfire guy and a desert rat, so I knew whatever I bought would take it's share of tumbles no matter how careful I was (sober). It was a good pick and if I had a regret today it would only be that I did not get the rosewood fretboard, but this is a minor one as if/when they wear the mfg will replace for free (and the additional cost at the time was a deal-breaker for me).

I also have the Flea, which I got a little less than 2 years after the Fluke, because I wanted a more 'toyish' or soprano sound. Plus I thought the Tiki design was really cool.

I play and enjoy them both for different styles and sounds. Put a gun to my head and make me choose one over the other, I'd be screwed. I love 'em both. They have both been dropped counter-high nearly half a dozen times and have survived with only a nick or two and still sound as good or better than day one.

As far as the poly vs. rosewood fretboard thing, I would go rosewood if you are willing to part with the upgrade cost and/or you plan to play with WOUND Low G strings. Otherwise, the polywhatzit (both of mine have this) will be fine, just use Worth strings if you choose to go LowG. On the con side of the poly, a few YEARS later both of mine have developed a little wear at the molded 'nut' if you must call it that, and when I bend the C or E string I hear a faint, but annoying 'tick' as the string pops out of a tiny groove that the string has worn in the nut/fret (the poly board has a weird 'zero' fret right next to the nut). Now, I just recently purchased a new traditional style uke, which will occupy my attention exclusively for a while anyways, so I am sending my flea and fluke in to get the poly boards replaced with new poly boards free of charge. I am electing not to upgrade to the rosewood first because the $170 it would cost to upgrade could go towards my next UAS fix, and since I routinely take them both to 'hazardous environments' I want to keep the investment low. One last note on this point, the difference between getting it now and later is only $10, so you could save the money now and decide later.

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Okay, somebody else asked about strings on these also, so here's my take;

My Flea came stock with Hilo's which were a little on the dead side for me. I switched out to Aquilas and that really opened the little guy up -- more volume and the higher string tension felt good. This was great for a quite some time, but after playing them for some time I found that they were too bright, even a little raspy (to me) when you really start jammin' on them. I realized that I leaned towards a more gentle strum to keep the sound sweet. Also, their texture was a little noisy when sliding up/down on the fretboard.

I recently switched to the Worth CM's (Clear, Medium Tension) and I think this is a really good fit. I still have the volume I had with the Aquilas, and they are a smooth finish, so no more finger noise. I can strum gently or hard and they still sound good.

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On to the Fluke -- again I did not like the Hilo's, but on this one I like the LowG tuning, and since Aquila only carries these with a wound LowG, I tried the Worth CM-LG instead (Clear, Medium tension, Low G) so I would not have to use a wound string. The overall volume was a bit weak in this case, also the LowG and C had an unappealing 'thunky' sound.

I switched to the Worth CD-LG (Clear, Denser Tension, Low G) and found my happy place. Good volume, no thunk, a really good fit, so my search is over.



Have fun!

Thanks! I just ordered the Worth CM.

The warranty provided with the Fleas/Flukes is 3 years (customer support seems really good too). Plus I got a great deal on this Flea ($120 brand new). I guess the demand for Lava Fleas isn't that great? My only complaint are the tuning pegs. Should be a non-issue if the strings can stay in tune.

good lord!

i just dropped my fluke from table height to the hardwood floor, and other than going out of tune, there's not a dent or scratch. thank god for plastics!

haha, i'm such a klutz...

I just put on the Worth CM stings. Boy do the Hilos suck compared to these. It also seems easier to play now

I use the same on my flea -- they will take a couple days to settle in. Glad you like 'em -- have fun!

Ukeguy510 said:

Bump.

So what strings would you guys recommend for a Fluke/Flea? The Hilo strings that came with my Flea (concert neck) seem a little small and have to apply quite some pressure when fretting those complicated chords.

I'm teetering between Aquila Nylguts or Ko'olau Golds.

Click to expand...

the aquillas have more of a bright sound while the ko'olaus have a more deep resonating sound.
i would recomend the ko'olau golds cuz the plastic and pine (or whateve hardwood they use) has more of a twangy sound
so with the ko'olau strings should balance it out enough

and about how people are saying that people from hawaii consider this toyish
yes i agree that a lot of people do think that
but i think its pretty good bring made out of plastic

So let me get this straight, is there only 1 type of flea ukulele? just in different sizes??

I typed in flea ukulele and they all same pictures, just different colors.

So im assuming - the flea ukulele that you can win, thats the flea ukulele??

thanks

Thats right

oh ok thats cool, im really considering buying one.

They don't have different brands do they? Or are they all the same? I see that most of them average bewteen $150-$300. I want to buy this tiki one, looks nice


I mean brands by, for example, lanikai, kamaka, kala etc... i see they got different pictures.

I don't want to buy a cheap one for $300 thinking its 300 when its really worth 30