First step up --UAS-- From Dolphin to Fluke Concert

Hello UU'rs.

I read this forum regularly but dont post, but hopefully this might help another totally new person who is pretty sure they are going to stick with it after thrashing out their 40.00 training uke.

Like everyone else, I started with a Dolphin and became immediately hooked. I LOVE my Dolphin and played it all the time. But, as I started to be more comfortable playing and working out songs, some if it's ummmmm . . . . "unique" tuning challenges became more noticeable. Walking past Guitar Emporium in Louisville yesterday, I saw they had some Flukes on the wall, so in the interest of being patriotic and stirring the economy, I ended up with a Fluke Concert and a few "are uke crazy" type jokes . . .
The only ukes I have ever heard or held are mine, so I have nothing comparable to reference the Fluke to, but this uke is amazing to me. Its LOUD, plays in almost perfect tune up and down the neck and has a great ringing tone on certain chords and open stuff. The neck is nice and fat and feels great. I am really happy with the tone, tuning and playability. The only issue that might be of concern to some people as it is to me--old man with lo-vision-- is that the black fingerboard is hard to see in low-light situations. I'm sure this wont be an issue as I get more comfortable with it, but if you require side-dots or prefer seeing frets it might be uncomfortable to you. There are many types of paint/marker pens that could fix this too, if you are so inclined. In summation, I am very happy with this uke and would not hesitate recommending it to a person in a similar situation as mine. Thanks for reading !
:cheers:

Congrats on the new fluke, but we have a saying here. It didn't happen unless you have pics to prove it!

I'd love to see some pics if you have the time.

Enjoy

vanflynn said:

Congrats on the new fluke, but we have a saying here. It didn't happen unless you have pics to prove it!

I'd love to see some pics if you have the time.

Enjoy

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Here they are !

Thank you for asking !


:music:

Congratulations neighbor!! I've got a fluke also tho I don't play it. One of these days I may travel or play outdoors where I can use it vs the wood ukes I have.

Congrats on the Fluke!! Its little sibling, the Flea, is my love - I know what you mean about playability, intonation etc. It's really a great uke and I bet it will last darn near forever. As it settles in I bet you'll tune less often too - I rarely need to tune my Flea, though I always check to make sure we're in tune anyway.

Maybe as you play more, you'll play by touch and not need to see the frets. Playing by feel is more intuitive and faster once you know where/what all the notes are. Plus you can stare at people while you play which really freaks some people out. LOL

Enjoy that uke!

Thank you !

Happy strumming !

Ah hum, that is a Flea you got there my friend, not a Fluke. Either that or I just had some sort of memory lapse but looks like a flea. It also looks the same size as the Dolphin, which would make it a soprano Flea, not a concert Fluke. Congratulations though. Love new uke day.

roxhum said:

Ah hum, that is a Flea you got there my friend, not a Fluke. Either that or I just had some sort of memory lapse but looks like a flea. It also looks the same size as the Dolphin, which would make it a soprano Flea, not a concert Fluke. Congratulations though. Love new uke day.

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The hang-tag says Magic Fluke Concert but yepper, you are correct, it is a Flea with the 15 inch fingerboard according to this product info from their site:
http://www.fleamarketmusic.com/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=225

The fingerboard is about 1.5 inches longer than the Dolphin, and the tension on the strings is different, also.
Thanks for pointing out the obvious to me, ha ha :cheers:

That's a pretty flea, LM. Cheers on joining those with UAS.

(Living in perpetual anticipation is sweeeeeeeet.)

Congrats. Good choice! I just acquired a concert scale Flea myself.

I put Ken Middleton's Living Water Strings on it and it sounds and plays just great! I think Worth Clears would do well too. Just some un-asked for string advice. But you don't need to be in a hurry to swap the strings... just suggestions for when you do.

The Fleas/Flukes seem to be in their own little "genus" of uke taxonomy and play & sound well above their price point IMHO. And apparently, they're bullet proof! What's not to like?

Lovely family!

Congrats on your new Flea. Due to my poor eyesight I was not happy with the side markers either so I bought some 1/4" color stickers from Staples and put them on the back of the neck. They stick well but are removable if needed and a $3.00 package came with 768 of them in different colors. I just use the Yellow as they stick out nicely on the wood.
I put them on all my ukes including my expensive custom uke which came with large Fret Markers, but small side markers.

I am waiting anxiously to receive my soprano surf Flea this coming week. It will be the perfect little sister to my Mainland Concert.

I'm a girl that knows little,and all I have is a yellow Dolphin, but I can say your
new uke is very cute!

Congratulations on your new flea. I used to have a soprano tiki flea. Spent today sitting in my yard playing my pineapple tenor flea. I put living water strings on it. Feels a little nicer on the fingers, but I like the stock strings too. Enjoy your new acquisition.

I ❤ UU
:cheers:

Flea's are hard to put down once you get started on a new bunch of songs...Have fun!

You're right about the visibility issue. I thought that Flea was fretless. Now there's a thought... Are there any fretless ukes (apart from the U-Bass ones)?

ukemunga said:

What's not to like?

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Only one thing: the slippy back makes it sometimes difficult to hold w/o a strap. But fortunately there are adequate remedies available - e.g. I have a magnetic strap on my Flea.

Besides that: congrats to the new acquisition! Coming from the Dolphin it's really almost another league regarding intonation and playability (action)....

Congrats on your purchase! I love my tenor Fluke, which I bought after my daughter "adopted" my concert Fluke. I own a few different Ukes, and i will say that the Fluke is a great reliable instrument, with a beautiful sound. I actually keep it at my office so I can pick it up throughout the day, and also have it available for "emergency" jamming!

The fret markers are a problem to me as well, but like others, I've invested in a roll of red stickers to mark the side.

Happy strumming!