Magic Flea sound

[aremick]

I'm very happy with my flea, but I only paid $60 for it and I upgraded the tuners ...

 

[KohanMike]

I bought a tenor all plastic and just didn't like the feel of the neck at all, too thick and the flat area was very uncomfortable for me. I did change the tuners to the all black GraphTech ones, which I thought did a very good job.

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Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
8 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 10 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 36)
•Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
•Member The CC Strummers: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

 

[M3Ukulele]

REVIVED thread…..so Sporky did you get a Fluke Or Flea? It interesting looking and , reading old comments by myseof and others………I’ve had a love and sometimes hate the relationship with my Fluke but you know in ten years I have never solid it.
Some revalations as of late…….

1. I found Aquila REDS in low G concert set on my tenor sounds wonderful.
2. I now have in tuned down half a step to B flat, learning from comment above about flea concertshaving just the right amount of tension…..and a sweet sound. This tuning down has certainly renewed my interest in playing my Fluke. Tension is great, it sounds clear and well rounded in strumming. I’ve always found MFC sounded good finger picked but now it sounds good both ways.
3. No question, upgrading to wooden fretboard is way to go. This would be a must on future MFC ukulele purchases. For now I use paint on the poly frets. I still may drop off my Fluke when traveling near MFC and get the wooden fretboard. For now, I am living with poly and new string set up and enjoying The Fluke.
4. I really have come to appreciate the Pegheds that I self upgraded on my Fluke. They are light, work well, look excellent on this instrument. I am considering a Flea, concert ( to try the tension and see about sweet spot mentioned above) but think of this proposed purchase I’d stick with friction as I have a set of black button Grover’s which I can use, face back and upgrade tuner. I just could not liive with a any ukulele with friction tuners
5. I’ve learned to appreciate the neck profile. I like 1.5”, flat spot in OK……. I did see pics of a guy who rounded the profile and it looked great. I really appreciate the bullet proof nature of the poly body, laminate soundboard and ease to just set my Fluke anywhere!
6. Finally, I’d love a Fluke, sold soundboard, pegheds, wooden fretboard, side sound port, grip strips…….ya you get the idea ….LOADED……but given exchange to Canada, amount of ukuleles I have…..I can’t justify it.

This wouldn’t be my only ukulele but if it was with wooden fretboard, upgraded tuners…..I could learn to live with it cause it sounds good and is so robust!

YMMV My .02 cents worth….enjoy and keep playing?

 

[Chris.]

Hi all, I've perused the magic fluke company appreciation thread but I'm still not quite sure. I'd really like to get one - something very portable, resilient, well made, frankly cool design too. But I am very reticent because of the fear of plastic sound. I would like your thoughts on this. I'm in Canada and trying one is not possible.
The one plastic instrument I tried was a Flight travel soprano. It definitely did not sound good to me because of the plastic tone. I also couldn't stand the plastic neck and fret board - to be honest I could hardly believe all the good press it got. Granted they are very differently priced instruments and the fleas have an amazing reputation. I could and would also get the wooden fretboard.
At the same time, doesn't getting the fancier options of wooden fretboard and especially solid top somewhat negate the durability aspect afforded by the ABS body?
Oh yeah, I also wanted to ask if any of you replaced the tuners for rear pointing ones? If I got a Flea I would love to put Gotoh stealth tuners on it.

Thanks for your input!

I swapped the cheapest supplied friction heads to geared tuners as I could not fine tune the ukulele easily quickly. I wanted to play rather than tune but otherwise loved the uke. The sales person discounted my ukulele by 30 percent so it was a good buy. The plastic fretboard seems fine to me and I have no problem with the back of the neck. I find it smooth and have long enough fingers for profile of the neck. Sound is great.

 

[Chris.]

Hi all, I've perused the magic fluke company appreciation thread but I'm still not quite sure. I'd really like to get one - something very portable, resilient, well made, frankly cool design too. But I am very reticent because of the fear of plastic sound. I would like your thoughts on this. I'm in Canada and trying one is not possible.
The one plastic instrument I tried was a Flight travel soprano. It definitely did not sound good to me because of the plastic tone. I also couldn't stand the plastic neck and fret board - to be honest I could hardly believe all the good press it got. Granted they are very differently priced instruments and the fleas have an amazing reputation. I could and would also get the wooden fretboard.
At the same time, doesn't getting the fancier options of wooden fretboard and especially solid top somewhat negate the durability aspect afforded by the ABS body?
Oh yeah, I also wanted to ask if any of you replaced the tuners for rear pointing ones? If I got a Flea I would love to put Gotoh stealth tuners on it.

Thanks for your input!

I replaced the original pegs with geared tuners, bit of a late reply. My geared tuners fitted in tuner peg holes exactly and the turners are rear pointers now. Probably $30 all up to replace tuners with help. Definitely not as good as proper instruments repair person but still pretty good and I learnt a lot.

 

[badhabits]

I replaced the original pegs with geared tuners, bit of a late reply. My geared tuners fitted in tuner peg holes exactly and the turners are rear pointers now. Probably $30 all up to replace tuners with help. Definitely not as good as proper instruments repair person but still pretty good and I learnt a lot.

What tuners did you use? Does the baseplate/housing overhang, i.e. is it wider than the headstock?

 

[Chris.]

What tuners did you use? Does the baseplate/housing overhang, i.e. is it wider than the headstock?

Just standard geared tuners very slight overhang the tuners fitted straight into holes. There is a YouTube clip of it. Little bit messy but so much nicer tuning it and trim up end to get tuners turning in same direction.

 

[Chris.]

Just standard geared tuners very slight overhang the tuners fitted straight into holes. There is a YouTube clip of it. Little bit messy but so much nicer tuning it and trim up end to get tuners turning in same direction.

Tried attaching a photo but if you want to give me email address I can send you a picture.

 

[Chris.]

Tried attaching a photo but if you want to give me email address I can send you a picture.

 

[ookooleilei]

Well, I wouldn't go as far as saying the Magic Fluke Co has been around for a century, but a bit more than 20 years sounds right.

I was lucky to find a used concert Flea with a hardwood fretboard. I am very happy with it, play it every day. It is my only uke with Low-G, and I keep it next to my rotating High-G uke(s) in the living room.

I don't think you will regret getting a Flea or Fluke. I don't think it sounds like plastic at all. I recorded a Fingerpicking piece a year ago, if you want to check it out, look at

https://soundcloud.com/user-837891883%2Fvincent-starry-starry-night

to get an idea (playing is so so, but good enough to get an idea of the sound).

Let us know what you decided, curious.

Addit: Strings in the Sample are Worth Browns (BM-LG).

This sounds great -- really nice.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

I replaced the original pegs with geared tuners, bit of a late reply. My geared tuners fitted in tuner peg holes exactly and the turners are rear pointers now. Probably $30 all up to replace tuners with help. Definitely not as good as proper instruments repair person but still pretty good and I learnt a lot.

Learning to service your ukulele is such a great feeling and experience for overall comfort and knowledge of the instrument. Really helps you learn!

 

[SleepyheadRooster]

I don't understand the interest in these Fleas and Flukes. The prices are right up there with nice laminate wood Ukuleles, which I think sound a lot better. At least the good ones do. I think people may be more attracted to the colors and odd shapes than they are to the musical qualities of the instruments. If so, that detracts from the image of the Ukulele as a serious, bona fide musical instrument, and tends to bolster a public perception of the Ukulele as a toy or novelty instrument. If that's the case, I don't like it.

I don’t think it’s just the odd shapes and colors of these ukuleles. I think what you’re saying is actually true of a lot of instruments chosen with visually stunning tonewoods or novel designs - even the really expensive ones. I don’t mean to be overly critical of that. It’s fine by me. People do love pretty woods and fine craftsmanship. Sometimes those elements are chosen over playability and tone. I’ve been on guitar forums long enough to know that there are a lot of trophy hunters out here active in the forum classifieds, and that’s ok too. I like a pretty or fun looking instrument as much as the next person.

I ordered a standard Fluke concert just last week in part to use while teaching. I’ve owned one before, and I find them pleasing to play. Mine had good volume, balanced tone, and easy playability. I picked a green one this time because how else am I going to get a decent quality green uke?!!! That’s fun!

It’s probably going to have more volume than my Pono tenor. That will be helpful teaching groups.

I see a lot of entry level ukuleles in the classes I teach. In my opinion, the Fluke is head and shoulders better than almost all of them. It does cost more, but it’s worth it. I wish all my beginning students had access to a ukulele of this quality.

Plus, the company seems like good people.

2 cents. 😀

 

[badhabits]

Whatever it is, it seems to keep the owners from selling. There are few on the used market nowadays, and when one does show up it's often old and/or beat and not priced at a huge discount.

 

[Oldscruggsfan]

To convey due respect to the OP and his opinion, I'll start with context qualifiers. I'm: (1) habitually and necessarily frugal; (2) still a uke newbie; (3) a member of two different UU minorities in that I own only one uke (no UAS) and it's a soprano.
When I eventually upgrade in the future, I won't hesitate to shell out $350-$450 for a Magic Fluke Flea with wooden fret board as opposed to a traditional laminate uke. If I can find a decent used Flea for half that, so much the better. Why? (1) US-made; (2) Affordable but well made & unique; (3) Company's family ties to Jumpin' Jim Beloff, who has done so much to popularize and de-mystify ukes during the past few decades; (4) As @SleepyheadRooster said, the MF owners seem like good, hardworking people.
For the record, I'm not opposed to any other US-based uke manufacturer, just not interested in 100% molded plastic or in spending thousands. If priced similar to a Flea, I'll consider a Bruko, Flight, Bonanza, Teton, Mainland or any Japanese-made laminate uke.

 

[badhabits]

I've watched the used flea market and $175 isn't likely, even with the polycarbonate/abs fretboard. $225 is possible, would be a great deal (if in good shape) but will likely still have the plastic fretboard. These just don't come up on the used market all that often anymore.

 

[Patty]

Whatever it is, it seems to keep the owners from selling. There are few on the used market nowadays, and when one does show up it's often old and/or beat and not priced at a huge discount.

I’ve noticed that too. They must be keepers.

 

[ookooleilei]

I have to agree on the Magic Fluke folks -- they're wonderful to deal with, and they make wonderful, unique instruments.

 

[gustophersmob]

I've watched the used flea market and $175 isn't likely, even with the polycarbonate/abs fretboard. $225 is possible, would be a great deal (if in good shape) but will likely still have the plastic fretboard. These just don't come up on the used market all that often anymore.

I see what you did there!

 

[badhabits]

so good they are mentioned by name... both the fluke and flea! (click on 'view larger image')

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