Deciding on a first uke, anybody tried Flight Iris or Juliana?

[blue_eyed_son]

Hi guys and gals, I'm a long time guitar player that always liked the sound of the ukulele, but hesitated on buying one for 10+ years, finally decided to pull the trigger. I enjoy rhythmic playing and I'm looking for a concert size. I don't have any shops available locally, so it's most probably going to come down to researching videos, reviews, ordering online and returning if there are flaws. I know it's not ideal, but it is what it is. I'm looking to spend less than 200 euros.

I narrowed it down to three choices that are available to order:

1 Flight Iris - 140 €

Flight Iris BK

There’s a new princess in town! Meet the Flight Iris, a solid spruce top concert ukulele sporting a painted top in black, blue, or red, pick guard, and laminate mahogany back and sides. The Iris is Flight’s take on a painted-top ukulele, offering a host of features with Flight’s recognized qua

flightmusic.com

The specs seem great (solid spruce top, laminated mahogany sides, slotted headstock) and it looks just GORGEOUS, there is a SUS video where it sounds great, but there are now real reviews of it and information is scarce. Is there anyone with experience with one of these? The Flight UC10 killer?

2 Flight Juliana - 180 € (rsp 260 € andaround 290 in other stores)

Flight Juliana Acacia Concert Ukulele

Juliana was the second ukulele introduced as part of the Flight Princess Series. The solid acacia top and the laminate acacia sides and back gives this ukulele a full, rich tone which reflects the dark, stunning color of the wood. With premium features such as the ebony fretboard, Japanese fluoroc

flightmusic.com

This one has good specs (solid acacia top, laminated sides), sounds great on the few videos I found, there is sparse information about the model but the few people I've found mentioning they had one like it a lot. It also seems a great value considering the price in other shops. There are a lot of reviews of either Flight travel and entry models or their high end, but the princess models seem to be mostly overlooked.

3 Anuenue UC10 - 180 €
I guess there's no need to introduce this one too much, there's a lot said on the internet, including receiving high praise from Baz in review. It's also often mentioned in connection with finishing flaws and cloth pickguard ungluing. I like the sound, the looks are a bit too "hip" but ok I guess, and will likely be able to try one of these in person. I know it's a pretty good choice, but I really like the looks of the Iris and Juliana might be a better value at this pricepoint.

Any experience with these models or advice?

 

[ploverwing]

Welcome to the UU forum! I'm glad to see you've already looked at Baz's reviews. I'm sure someone will chime in with some useful information. Not me (only because I'm this case I have none to offer). I just wanted to say hi and welcome!

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

Go with Baz's recommendations. His reviews are spot-on. Lots of folks speak well of Anuenue but nothing wrong with either of the Flights.

 

[tensen]

I'm a fan of the Flight ukes. I should see if they will make me an artist.

Personally I liked the Iris more than the Juliana. Both played nice. So I'm not sure if that is more the liking spruce over Acacia, or whether it was just those two particular instruments. The store didn't have anymore of either for me to compare.

 

[blue_eyed_son]

Thank you for the warm welcome. Yeah, Baz's site is a real treasure trove, and I value his opinion very much, but he hasn't got the two Flights on his list. Thank you all for the input, I still find Iris the most attractive. I'm going to try out the UC10 locally today, if it doesn't amaze me, I'll most likely order the Iris. Also, although spruce over mahogany isn't the most traditional uke build, I love the combination on my acoustic guitar, don't know how it carries over.

 

[don_b]

I'm a fan of the Flight ukes. I should see if they will make me an artist

Artist Application

flightmusic.com

Let me know if you need references, I’m happy to say whatever you want.

 

[Dohle]

The Iris models are the newest models from Flight, and since Flight seems to continually improve on their designs I'm sure those will be really nice ukes as well. They seem like a stripped down version of their Nighthawk model which has reviewed well. Of course since it's a newer model there aren't many reviews around at least yet. I've tried a number of Flight ukes and even a few years ago they were really nice. The Iris will most probably be a safe bet.

Then again, the aNueNue Colour series is probably the safest bet. Loads of positive reviews around, quirky looks, loud and bright sound, what's not to like. I own and have owned some of the more expensive aNueNue models and they are brilliant but even their more affordable models are supposedly excellent quality. I wouldn't hesitate getting one at all.

If you want suggestions for other brands (even though you didn't ask) in your price range I'd suggest you take a look at Uma. They are on-par regarding price-to-quality compared to the two brands mentioned above, if not even better. I haven't tried one myself but I've seen and heard some very established uke people rave about them nonstop.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Hi guys and gals, I'm a long time guitar player that always liked the sound of the ukulele, but hesitated on buying one for 10+ years, finally decided to pull the trigger. I enjoy rhythmic playing and I'm looking for a concert size. I don't have any shops available locally, so it's most probably going to come down to researching videos, reviews, ordering online and returning if there are flaws. I know it's not ideal, but it is what it is. I'm looking to spend less than 200 euros.

I narrowed it down to three choices that are available to order:

1 Flight Iris - 140 €

Flight Iris BK

There’s a new princess in town! Meet the Flight Iris, a solid spruce top concert ukulele sporting a painted top in black, blue, or red, pick guard, and laminate mahogany back and sides. The Iris is Flight’s take on a painted-top ukulele, offering a host of features with Flight’s recognized qua

flightmusic.com

The specs seem great (solid spruce top, laminated mahogany sides, slotted headstock) and it looks just GORGEOUS, there is a SUS video where it sounds great, but there are now real reviews of it and information is scarce. Is there anyone with experience with one of these? The Flight UC10 killer?

2 Flight Juliana - 180 € (rsp 260 € andaround 290 in other stores)

Flight Juliana Acacia Concert Ukulele

Juliana was the second ukulele introduced as part of the Flight Princess Series. The solid acacia top and the laminate acacia sides and back gives this ukulele a full, rich tone which reflects the dark, stunning color of the wood. With premium features such as the ebony fretboard, Japanese fluoroc

flightmusic.com

This one has good specs (solid acacia top, laminated sides), sounds great on the few videos I found, there is sparse information about the model but the few people I've found mentioning they had one like it a lot. It also seems a great value considering the price in other shops. There are a lot of reviews of either Flight travel and entry models or their high end, but the princess models seem to be mostly overlooked.

3 Anuenue UC10 - 180 €
I guess there's no need to introduce this one too much, there's a lot said on the internet, including receiving high praise from Baz in review. It's also often mentioned in connection with finishing flaws and cloth pickguard ungluing. I like the sound, the looks are a bit too "hip" but ok I guess, and will likely be able to try one of these in person. I know it's a pretty good choice, but I really like the looks of the Iris and Juliana might be a better value at this pricepoint.

Any experience with these models or advice?

I know there are reviews of the flight iris on youtube and it indeed get a thumbs up generally. I suspect as these are laminate ukes in a certain price range they will perform about equally. I've never known Anuenue to produce ukes of poor workmanship or design flaws. Whichever you choose will be a great uke so go with your instincts and have fun!

 

[HappyTurtle]

Go for it. Order the one that catches your eye the most. If the first one doesn’t work out move on to uke #2.
You got this.

 

[UkeOkay]

If you wait another week or two, don’t be surprised if Baz posts a review of the Iris. Flight seems to send him a new uke to review about once a month.

 

[blue_eyed_son]

Ok, so I have an update. I visited the local music shop and they had the Anuenue UC10 (in blue) and I liked it very much. I don't have experience with ukes, but have with acoustic guitar and as soon as I held it I could see it was a top quality instrument. There were no production flaws, the bracing looked clean and very light, the action right, intonation fine and the sound was really nice, bright but still very warm. Tried some (much cheaper) laminate Flights as well, but they felt as blocks of wood compared to the UC10, which simply feels "alive". The bag is top notch, as well (don't really like the Iris bag on the pictures, looks a bit cheap). I still like the looks of Iris a bit more (although the blue UC10 is a very attractive instrument), but will most probably buy this one in the next couple of days. It's more sensible to skip buying unseen, and buy a well-reviewed, locally available instrument that I like very much. It's well priced as well, at around 150€.

Also, the experience of actually playing an ukulele felt like "trying to play ukulele". Despite having much experience with guitars and understanding the theory and the design of the instrument, I really fumbled on the uke, playing weird chord shapes and probably sounding horrible. Don't know if it's the usual music shop stress or simply adjusting to a new environment (four very soft strings). Still, I had fun. The instrument feels like a toy, but I mean that in a really good way: it felt (and looked) like it wants to be played with. Like something you can pick up, just relax and have fun, but with enough range to have really broad capabilities. The guitar often feels like a strict mistress, the uke feels like a little pal full of surprises, if that makes sense.

 

[ploverwing]

Ok, so I have an update. I visited the local music shop and they had the Anuenue UC10 (in blue) and I liked it very much. I don't have experience with ukes, but have with acoustic guitar and as soon as I held it I could see it was a top quality instrument. There were no production flaws, the bracing looked clean and very light, the action right, intonation fine and the sound was really nice, bright but still very warm. Tried some (much cheaper) laminate Flights as well, but they felt as blocks of wood compared to the UC10, which simply feels "alive". The bag is top notch, as well (don't really like the Iris bag on the pictures, looks a bit cheap). I still like the looks of Iris a bit more (although the blue UC10 is a very attractive instrument), but will most probably buy this one in the next couple of days. It's more sensible to skip buying unseen, and buy a well-reviewed, locally available instrument that I like very much. It's well priced as well, at around 150€.

Also, the experience of actually playing an ukulele felt like "trying to play ukulele". Despite having much experience with guitars and understanding the theory and the design of the instrument, I really fumbled on the uke, playing weird chord shapes and probably sounding horrible. Don't know if it's the usual music shop stress or simply adjusting to a new environment (four very soft strings). Still, I had fun. The instrument feels like a toy, but I mean that in a really good way: it felt (and looked) like it wants to be played with. Like something you can pick up, just relax and have fun, but with enough range to have really broad capabilities. The guitar often feels like a strict mistress, the uke feels like a little pal full of surprises, if that makes sense.

I'm delighted that you got a chance for some hands-on uke time, specifically to try one of the ones you were interested in, and that it was a successful trial.

Don't be fooled: the ukulele can be as complex and challenging as a guitar. But it certainly feels a lot easier when you've got it in your hands and comparing to a guitar. I think it's easier to get started on the uke than on a guitar, and easier to sound pretty good quicker than on a guitar, since the basic chord shapes, for the most part, are a lot easier than typical chords on the guitar (IMO in a beginner's experience).

 

[HappyTurtle]

Have you tried playing a Tenor size ukelele? Just check it out and see how it feels.

Guitar to Concert Size is a significant change. From playing style, form, posture and all that good stuff.

 

[merlin666]

Welcome to UU forum. I also came to uke from guitar background and knew nothing about ukes until I tried one in a music store and I liked the small size and fun factor. Then for some years I also treated the uke like a partial guitar and only played a low G tenor. You can get a uke experience by putting a capo on the guitar fifth fret and ignoring the E and A strings. However I now prefer concert size with high G and treat the uke as unique instrument rather than as a partial guitar.

As for the flight just by looking at the pictures, the Iris looks like a cheap uke to me with added unnecessary feature like slot head. The Juliana definitely looks like it is in a higher class and I would not hesitate to pay a bit more for it as it may last a few years longer until you desire an upgrade.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Ok, so I have an update. I visited the local music shop and they had the Anuenue UC10 (in blue) and I liked it very much. I don't have experience with ukes, but have with acoustic guitar and as soon as I held it I could see it was a top quality instrument. There were no production flaws, the bracing looked clean and very light, the action right, intonation fine and the sound was really nice, bright but still very warm. Tried some (much cheaper) laminate Flights as well, but they felt as blocks of wood compared to the UC10, which simply feels "alive". The bag is top notch, as well (don't really like the Iris bag on the pictures, looks a bit cheap). I still like the looks of Iris a bit more (although the blue UC10 is a very attractive instrument), but will most probably buy this one in the next couple of days. It's more sensible to skip buying unseen, and buy a well-reviewed, locally available instrument that I like very much. It's well priced as well, at around 150€.

Also, the experience of actually playing an ukulele felt like "trying to play ukulele". Despite having much experience with guitars and understanding the theory and the design of the instrument, I really fumbled on the uke, playing weird chord shapes and probably sounding horrible. Don't know if it's the usual music shop stress or simply adjusting to a new environment (four very soft strings). Still, I had fun. The instrument feels like a toy, but I mean that in a really good way: it felt (and looked) like it wants to be played with. Like something you can pick up, just relax and have fun, but with enough range to have really broad capabilities. The guitar often feels like a strict mistress, the uke feels like a little pal full of surprises, if that makes sense.

Hah you have us all enjoying your experience! "a little pal full of surprises" Yes indeed!

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

I couldn't have said it better, nor agree more: "a little pal full of surprises".

 

[blue_eyed_son]

Have you tried playing a Tenor size ukelele? Just check it out and see how it feels.

Guitar to Concert Size is a significant change. From playing style, form, posture and all that good stuff.

Yes, the laminate Flight I tried out was actually a tenor and I tested it exactly to compare it to the concert. I didn't find the sizing any more preferable to the concert and couldn't find any advantages. Unfortunately, it sounded completely dead after the Anuenue, so it wasn't really possible to make a good comparison. The posture bit is definitely spot on, I actually requested to sit on a chair as I wasn't confident to play standing up, I probably approached it like a guitar and weirdly hunched over it, now that I think about it. I usually play a dreadnaught, so the difference in size is crazy. Also, I have long scale acoustics and a short scale electric guitar, but nothing could have prepared me for the uke strings which felt surprisingly soft and loose. I don't know if that's a feature of the size, the model or just a general fact.

Welcome to UU forum. I also came to uke from guitar background and knew nothing about ukes until I tried one in a music store and I liked the small size and fun factor. Then for some years I also treated the uke like a partial guitar and only played a low G tenor. You can get a uke experience by putting a capo on the guitar fifth fret and ignoring the E and A strings. However I now prefer concert size with high G and treat the uke as unique instrument rather than as a partial guitar.

As for the flight just by looking at the pictures, the Iris looks like a cheap uke to me with added unnecessary feature like slot head. The Juliana definitely looks like it is in a higher class and I would not hesitate to pay a bit more for it as it may last a few years longer until you desire an upgrade.

Thanks! I previously had much interest for ukulele and always wanted to get one, until some 10+ years ago I visited a friend guitarist who said he had one, he showed it to me and basically said it's boring and never as fun as it seems to be. For some reason I took his opinion to heart and always avoided the uke. Recently I noticed I really like the sound of having a capo up the neck, and started thinking about the ukulele again. I always liked the sound, but trying out a good one showed me that it's not just the chirpy pitch and staccato rhythm that makes this instrument. The tuning is definitely a big part of it, that high G creates a somewhat exotic and familiar impression at the same time. When I first tried picking the strings one by one, I was surprised that just doing that makes a lovely song.

I practically gave up on Juliana, other than it being a good deal nothing really attracts me to it. Yes, it looks more traditional, but I don't have a feeling it's got any advantage against the two contenders. The sound samples make both the Iris and UC10 sound better to my ears.

I suppose you don't like the look of Iris, but it doesn't look cheap to me at all. It reminds me of the 50s style guitars. The slotted head looks good, too IMHO. The tuners seem to be Der Jung, good quality. I'm a bit curious if the plastic pickguard affects the sound, with it being so big on a relatively small top. The design seems to be directly influenced by the UC10 (to put it mildly), but the UC10 design is more playful whereas Iris is more classy (and beautiful, for me at least, kind of reminds me of 50s guitars). It's probably a love it or hate it situation.

 

[Dohle]

Yes, the laminate Flight I tried out was actually a tenor and I tested it exactly to compare it to the concert. I didn't find the sizing any more preferable to the concert and couldn't find any advantages. Unfortunately, it sounded completely dead after the Anuenue, so it wasn't really possible to make a good comparison. The posture bit is definitely spot on, I actually requested to sit on a chair as I wasn't confident to play standing up, I probably approached it like a guitar and weirdly hunched over it, now that I think about it. I usually play a dreadnaught, so the difference in size is crazy. Also, I have long scale acoustics and a short scale electric guitar, but nothing could have prepared me for the uke strings which felt surprisingly soft and loose. I don't know if that's a feature of the size, the model or just a general fact.

Thanks! I previously had much interest for ukulele and always wanted to get one, until some 10+ years ago I visited a friend guitarist who said he had one, he showed it to me and basically said it's boring and never as fun as it seems to be. For some reason I took his opinion to heart and always avoided the uke. Recently I noticed I really like the sound of having a capo up the neck, and started thinking about the ukulele again. I always liked the sound, but trying out a good one showed me that it's not just the chirpy pitch and staccato rhythm that makes this instrument. The tuning is definitely a big part of it, that high G creates a somewhat exotic and familiar impression at the same time. When I first tried picking the strings one by one, I was surprised that just doing that makes a lovely song.

I practically gave up on Juliana, other than it being a good deal nothing really attracts me to it. Yes, it looks more traditional, but I don't have a feeling it's got any advantage against the two contenders. The sound samples make both the Iris and UC10 sound better to my ears.

I suppose you don't like the look of Iris, but it doesn't look cheap to me at all. It reminds me of the 50s style guitars. The slotted head looks good, too IMHO. The tuners seem to be Der Jung, good quality. I'm a bit curious if the plastic pickguard affects the sound, with it being so big on a relatively small top. The design seems to be directly influenced by the UC10 (to put it mildly), but the UC10 design is more playful whereas Iris is more classy (and beautiful, for me at least, kind of reminds me of 50s guitars). It's probably a love it or hate it situation.

Flight have been using Prowell tuners previously and I was sure that they'd be the same for the Iris but Southern Ukulele Store does mention them having Der Jung tuners. Definitely a step up, although the Prowell tuners are really nice as well.

I agree on the looks of the Iris. I don't think it looks cheap either. It may look a bit tacky with that scratch guard but it's pretty much the same as with the aNueNue Colour series (in fact, it's pretty obvious the Iris was made to directly compete with the Colour series). I honestly doubt you'd go wrong with either one but one advantage for the aNueNue is that you've actually tried it. If you like how it sounds, feels and plays that is probably the safest bet.

 

[Tin Ear]

The guitar often feels like a strict mistress, the uke feels like a little pal full of surprises, if that makes sense.

That's a good line. I like it. I'd take a sweet little pal thats full of surprises over a strict mistress any day of the week.

As to the topic : Don't know squat about Flight Ukes except from reviews by Baz. People like aNueNue. But I think there have to be more choices out there too. Good luck picking out a uke.

 

[blue_eyed_son]

Another update: I ended up ordering the Iris (looks preference + gut feeling), it will be delivered today. I will try it out and return if it shows any problems or compares unfavourably to the Anuenue. Wish me luck, I'll let you know how it goes.