tm3
Well-known member
I was attracted to the Flea/Fluke at one point in time. I had a chance to try a Flea in a music store and the sound was pretty nice. There were several things I couldn't get past. I didn't like the plastic frets/fretboard. The frets seemed very low. I was able to play it and get a good sound but I had to wonder how plastic frets would hold up over time. Another thing, I don't think I'd buy a uke with friction tuners. I'm not sure in the long run that I'd like that plastic back with the rounded edges either. It might be a bit slippery. Last time I looked, the base price was $250. If you want to upgrade to geared tuners and a wood fretboard with metal frets you're adding $150 or so to the price. When you start looking at what other ukes you could buy for $250 or $400, the Magic Flukes don't look so attractive.
Yes, when they caught my interest I browsed around here to see what others thought of them. Most seemed to say that the upgrade to the wood fretboard and the geared tuners were "must haves." As you said, that pushes the price to over $400 and I can't justify spending that at this time.