FS: Magic Fluke Solid-Body Tenor in Walnut

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jimrex62

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Hello,

I am not playing much anymore due to thumb pain from arthritis and so this beautiful Solid Walnut Fluke Tenor needs a new home. It's setup low-G with Grover 2B friction tuners and of course the Mi-Si preamp coupled with an under-saddle Open-to-Source piezo pickup. Comes with the Soft Shell Navy Gig Bag.

I had a custom graphic laser-etched on the back, but I have subtracted the charge for that from the listing price of new lower price $340 with free shipping to US 48.

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Greeting James. Happy New Year. I am guessing that the Fluke did not find a new home for Christmas. Maybe it will as a birthday present to self... Can you tell me a little more about the Fluke. How long have you had it? What is it's condition? The pictures are a little dark and hard to see detail. Also, is it harder to play than your other ukuleles or otherwise more challenging with your arthritis? Thanks. Eric
 
Greeting James. Happy New Year. I am guessing that the Fluke did not find a new home for Christmas. Maybe it will as a birthday present to self... Can you tell me a little more about the Fluke. How long have you had it? What is it's condition? The pictures are a little dark and hard to see detail. Also, is it harder to play than your other ukuleles or otherwise more challenging with your arthritis? Thanks. Eric

Fleas and Flukes are great. I have seven Flukes and two Fleas. They're durable, easy to play, and they sound nice. If the top should ever go bad, it can be replaced by The Magic Fluke, although I've never heard of a top needing replacement. This one is a tenor, which is good, and it has the wooden fretboard, which is also good. Having the pickup and the turtle are bonuses.
 
As someone who also has a Fluke SB—in ash, although, with a solid body, the different wood should only makes a difference in looks rather than sound—I can say that this is a wonderful instrument. Excellent quality build. Not plugged in, I can play with people (read: teenaged children) around and it’s quiet enough not to be objectionable. Plugged in, the MiSi pickup is completely clean and takes amplification really well. Note: if you do get it, the MiSi is “live” whenever you have a cable plugged into the jack. Not realizing that when I first got it, I left the chord in overnight one of the first nights I had it, and next day wondered if I had broken it. Whoops. Of course charging it back up, only 60 seconds, solved the problem. Anyway, it’s a nice instrument to hold and play. You can pay twice as much for a Pono solid body, but—correct me if I’m wrong here, folks—I think the pickups are the same, so this is an excellent deal for what you’re getting.
 
Thanks for the comments, folks. My second uke purchase was a Flea and I love her to this day. I actually do have a 'wear' spot in the wood from exhuberant strumming. Proud to have caused that by playing enough.

Flea Market Music recently redesigned the Fluke SB and so my questions are really to learn about this particular uke. What I have read suggests that the Fluke SB is a good instrument. What I cannot see is whether there is any damage, whether it is the newly redesigned SB, whether the redesign changed the feel of it for arthritic hands, or whether it is even still avaiable.
 
Thanks for the comments, folks. My second uke purchase was a Flea and I love her to this day. I actually do have a 'wear' spot in the wood from exhuberant strumming. Proud to have caused that by playing enough.

You can put a piece of that non-adhesive plastic used to protect cell phones there. It's almost invisible, and it will protect the surface. I got the idea from another player. Just be sure you don't use anything with adhesive.

Did you ever see Jim Beloff's tenor? That area is well-worn on his, although I've seen him playing a newer uke lately.
 
Ah, now I understand. The "Solid-Body" didn't register with me. I have no experience with them. Does that need an amp to project any sound? I lightened your picture a bit. That might remove some confusion.

Fluke for Sale-2.jpg
 
Thanks for the comments, folks. My second uke purchase was a Flea and I love her to this day. I actually do have a 'wear' spot in the wood from exhuberant strumming. Proud to have caused that by playing enough.

Flea Market Music recently redesigned the Fluke SB and so my questions are really to learn about this particular uke. What I have read suggests that the Fluke SB is a good instrument. What I cannot see is whether there is any damage, whether it is the newly redesigned SB, whether the redesign changed the feel of it for arthritic hands, or whether it is even still avaiable.

Greeting James. Happy New Year. I am guessing that the Fluke did not find a new home for Christmas. Maybe it will as a birthday present to self... Can you tell me a little more about the Fluke. How long have you had it? What is it's condition? The pictures are a little dark and hard to see detail. Also, is it harder to play than your other ukuleles or otherwise more challenging with your arthritis? Thanks. Eric

Eric, Happy New Year back to you! Yes, I still have the Fluke SB available. I bought it brand new in the fall of 2018 - limited use and no damage whatsoever.
It is not harder to play by any means, and with a dropper of CBD oil, not an issue at all. ;)

The sound is very muted unplugged, and as mentioned above a quick charge to the MiSi pickup is all you need to power the internal pre-amp. I use mine with a VOX MINI 3G for amplification, and even though the effects work better with steel strings, you do get a variety of unique sounds out of it. There are quite a few threads to peruse for amp recommendations.

I had a hard time deciding to sell it, especially since my daughter and I worked on the laser-etched design on the back. It reflects upon my Cayman Island heritage and interest in ukes. But, I'm going a different route sound-wise.

James
 
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Sorry for the waffling on this offer - after getting it out of the case, tuning it up, and strumming it a few minutes, I revisited the laser-etched graphic on the back. It was an original drawing that I made and asked my son-in-law to clean up before emailing Dale at Magic Fluke. I am torn, but don't really need three ukes and could use some funds to buy an amp.
 
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