Clara vs. Flea - Pros, cons, feedback please

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm mostly asking this because I'm blind thus can't see the Clara's shape, and don't have the chance to play one.

So, regarding care, volume and tone, how does the Clara compare to the Flea? And would someone mind describing the Clara shape?

I wonder too, does it get hot, i.e. would playing in the sun for say a half hour mean you couldn't touch the uke for a while?

I'd appreciate any thoughts from Clara or Flea owners on these aspects, esp. if you've played both. Not necessarily in this order...

Tone?
Volume in general?
Resonance and sustain up the neck?
Playability/action?
Intonation?
Feel, how is it to hold?
Scale/nut width differences?

I'd really love to get my hands on one! I've played enough Fleas to know what to expect, but the Clara is intriguing and seems pretty everything-proof!

Thanks UU!

As you probably already know, the Clara is the new Blackbird ukulele made out of Ekoa, which Blackbird describes as a "proprietary, first of its kind, renewable, bio-based material that provides warm, 'vintage' sound and feel with the toughness of carbon fiber."

The Clara is shaped something like a the Flea's cousin, the Fluke, except the edges are round and the body is a little wider and probably not as long. If you've never handled a Fluke, then the Clara's body is shaped something like a pear without all the curves - wider at the bottom and more narrow at the top.

Because the Clara is a lot more expensive (at $1,100) than the Flea or Fluke, comparing the Clara to the Flea is a little like comparing a Kamaka to an Ohana. The Clara has, in my opinion, better tone, volume, and intonation than the Flea, but that's to be expected from an instrument costing three times as much as a Flea. I prefer the Clara's fretboard, too, but that's mostly because my Flea's fretboard is plastic and feels like it. I didn't get a chance to compare the two side by side, so I don't know about the specifications of the scale (the Clara's only a concert, for now) or nut widths.

I think choosing between them depends on why you want one or the other. I own a tenor Flea which I consider to be something of a beater uke because of its durability in the face of possibly adverse conditions, like camping, and I think it's great for that purpose. If I had unlimited funds and wanted to buy the better sounding uke, I'd buy the Clara, but it's value in the world of $1,000 ukes is its durability. If I were going to spend $1,000 on an ukulele that I didn't intend to use in adverse conditions (like the beach, extreme cold or heat, camping, exposure to water), I'd buy something else. So for me it comes down to whether I am in conditions where durabilituy matters enough that I would want to spend a lot of money on a better sounding uke for its durability. For the few times a year when I'd be reluctant to take a Kamaka with me, I'm not sure I mind the sacrifice in sound characteristics enough to buy a Clara instead of a Flea.

This was posted in another thread, one about the possibility of an Ekoa tenor: "Clara comes with an endpin for a strap. Because of the rounded back shape holding Clara is a challenge. OK when sitting, but standing, a strap is a big help."

Here's a link to that thread: http://forum.ukuleleunderground.com/showthread.php?97107-Ekoa-tenor

I hope that helps.

I own both a concert scale Flea and a Clara. They are two different animals. About all they have in common is four strings and their tuning. Clara's volume and sustain all exceed that of the Flea. The back is rounded to a much larger radius than that of the Flea. Overall the Clara body is larger than the Flea. Remember that the Flea is a soprano; when ordered in other scales only the length of the neck changes.

Tone? - Very bright.
Volume in general? - Very loud. Louder than either of my tenors.
Resonance and sustain up the neck? - Notes up the neck are clear. Sustain is as expected for a high quality uke.
Playability/action? - I find it to be an easy player, barre chords especially. The frets are higher than my others.
Intonation? - Very good.
Feel, how is it to hold? The back is very slick. It's fine sitting. I need a strap to play it standing.
Scale/nut width differences? - The scale is normal 15 inch concert. Don't know about nut width. Bridge is compensated.

I am very pleased with my Clara. I do need to find strings which suit me better. The Oasis strings accentuate the brightness of the sound. I would like it to be warmer.