Seems like Flight are getting in on the high-end market

Dohle

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A couple of weeks ago I noticed these quite nice looking tenors listed on Flight's website

https://flightmusic.com/ukuleles/?orderby=price-desc

Then I saw Bazmaz hint at a review of a couple of these, and finally today I noticed that SUS had listed one of these for sale:
https://www.southernukulelestore.co...maple-tenor-ukulele-10th-anniversary-model-1/

I've had a couple of different Flight ukes in the past and have played several others, and I think they usually punch above their price point. It's nice to see them going for the really high-end stuff for the first time. According to the SUS listing, they partnered with some Chinese luthier to make these. Sounds to me like a similar venture to aNueNue, and if these are anything close to that quality they should fly (pun intended) off the shelves.

Luckily, these are all tenors which I don't play so I don't have any temptation to get one myself. :D
 
I'm curious to know how you would define 'really high-end'?
 
I'm curious to know how you would define 'really high-end'?

Maybe it's all relative to the OP....if he's used to playing "entry level" ukuleles, then a $Grand could be a lot to pay for one. What is high end to me, might be mid priced to you....someone had posted the price ranges that were considered low, mid, high end once, of course, I forgot them, I don't shop by price, but I do back off if I see a tag of over 1500.00
Also, he may not have delved very far into the site, they sell soprano and concert scale too.
 
I’ve got a Flight Phantom. A wonderful instrument and is the the one I pick up first for my daily practice. I just wish they would settle on one or two standard headstock designs. They just seem to be unsure of themselves when it comes to this one aspect of the ukulele. Then again, maybe that’s part of their brand identity - the ever changing headstock design!
 
Mim sells Flight and so does UkeRepublic. I think Mim took on Flight to replace Kala, which she dropped. Looks like "really high end" Flights are $400-$500...
 
I'm curious to know how you would define 'really high-end'?
Maybe it's all relative to the OP....if he's used to playing "entry level" ukuleles, then a $Grand could be a lot to pay for one. What is high end to me, might be mid priced to you....someone had posted the price ranges that were considered low, mid, high end once, of course, I forgot them, I don't shop by price, but I do back off if I see a tag of over 1500.00
Also, he may not have delved very far into the site, they sell soprano and concert scale too.

I don't really know why I wrote it quite like that. I basically meant that it's nice to see a properly high-end uke from Flight that's over a grand instead of those really nice mid-tier ukes around $500-600 like the Fireball. I wouldn't dwell on my definition, it was just an off the cuff comment.

That being said, these ukes are apparently been made by a single luthier instead of in a factory like some high-end models around that $1000 price point, however good those factories actually are. Everything I've seen and heard indicates that the build quality is right up there and justifies the price. Not sure about sound quality yet so interested in seeing Bazmaz's review on one of these.
 
It would be much more impressive if Slovenian based Flight found a local "master luthier" to construct the ten year model and could proudly stamp: "Made in Slovenia" or "Isdelano v Sloveniji (translation?)" on the instrument and sold it for $1000+. It might even keep a re-sale value if they did that.

To be honest, when I heard they were doing luthier built stuff I assumed they were contributing with a local luthier to them. I would've liked to see that as well. Then again, Slovenia is a really small country so I don't know what the uke scene over there is, let alone if they even have local builders that do ukuleles.
 
From the website: "solid wood ukuleles individually crafted by a master luthier" for their 10th anniversary.

There are four tenor models to select from. It is likely they are testing the waters to see if they should enter this $1k market. They appear to already have a good reputation for price/value in the low and middle range ukes.
 
Hum .... I don't have any experience with the brand. Never held one. I went to the link above and looked at them. I am shocked at how many models they have. The fact they have so many to choose from worries me. How could they pay enough attention to any one model to make sure it's really good?
 
Hum .... I don't have any experience with the brand. Never held one. I went to the link above and looked at them. I am shocked at how many models they have. The fact they have so many to choose from worries me. How could they pay enough attention to any one model to make sure it's really good?

Most of those different models are just colour variants of a single design. If you take that into account I don't think they have that many different models compared to Kala or Ohana. Obviously the cheaper ones are made in a Chinese factory so attention to detail is never going to be that high but every model I've tried is at least comparable to any Kala or Ohana I've seen. The slightly more expensive ones - starting maybe at around $250 - already start to punch above their price in my opinion.
 
I know this is a thread from last year but instead of making a new one I’d just thought I’d add to this one.

(Aloha City) has them available as far as I can see online in the states. In this groups opinion is this something I should jump on with preorder or wait until they are in stock and possibly way later when they *might* go on sale?
 
A couple of weeks ago I noticed these quite nice looking tenors listed on Flight's website

https://flightmusic.com/ukuleles/?orderby=price-desc

Then I saw Bazmaz hint at a review of a couple of these, and finally today I noticed that SUS had listed one of these for sale:
https://www.southernukulelestore.co...maple-tenor-ukulele-10th-anniversary-model-1/

I've had a couple of different Flight ukes in the past and have played several others, and I think they usually punch above their price point. It's nice to see them going for the really high-end stuff for the first time. According to the SUS listing, they partnered with some Chinese luthier to make these. Sounds to me like a similar venture to aNueNue, and if these are anything close to that quality they should fly (pun intended) off the shelves.

Luckily, these are all tenors which I don't play so I don't have any temptation to get one myself. :D
Funny that you should mention "high end." This probably doesn't apply to ukes as much as to things with electronics, but with Covid and the shortage of workers and supplies, many companies are making fewer products, but concentrating on more expensive models that generate more profit.
 
I know this is a thread from last year but instead of making a new one I’d just thought I’d add to this one.

(Aloha City) has them available as far as I can see online in the states. In this groups opinion is this something I should jump on with preorder or wait until they are in stock and possibly way later when they *might* go on sale?
I have mixed feelings about them (check my post history for details), but if you're set on one, you can order from Southern Ukulele Store in the UK right now. They have them in stock and will ship it to the US in under a week. Import duties are around $80. I don't think there will be that many made, so I'm not sure they will go on sale and buying one used may be the only way for a discount. Notwithstanding the issues with the one I had, it did sound lovely.
 
I have mixed feelings about them (check my post history for details), but if you're set on one, you can order from Southern Ukulele Store in the UK right now. They have them in stock and will ship it to the US in under a week. Import duties are around $80. I don't think there will be that many made, so I'm not sure they will go on sale and buying one used may be the only way for a discount. Notwithstanding the issues with the one I had, it did sound lovely.
I saw those and find them really tempting. For anybody else in the U.S. thinking about them, I've purchased two instruments from SUS and only have positive comments about the store. Between being on a waitlist and buying from SUS, I'd choose the latter of course!
 
Holy POOP. Those are beautiful.
 
I purchased a Flight Mustang tenor. God, the thing is amazingly beautiful. It’s flawless in its craftsmanship. I sure would like to know how they make that scalloped cutaway. I’m a woodworker and built one for my granddaughter. But it’s hard to figure how they cup it like that. Anyway my two cents are this. The frets are a larger gauge than I have been accustomed to on my other used, Lanikai, Cordoba etc. I play finger style and a lot of songs require up to the 14 th fret. The cutaway makes this easier. But since the fret wire is thicker it not only makes them higher they cramp the higher frets. It’s taken some getting used to for me with arthritic fingers. But the width between the 13th and 14th fret is noticeable.

Here’s another kicker. There is an off brand of the exact same line of Ukuleles on AliExpress. The similarity is so great it makes me wonder if they are the same company making them for Flight. They offer them in the same species and design as Flight, for over half the price dealerships are offering. I bought mine then a few days later found the others on AliExpress and I though OMG! Did I just pay an extra $300 for the logo?

Has anyone bought one of the off brand models? If so how do they compare to the real deal?
 
My dream is either this or one of the dark blue models.

 
My dream is either this or one of the dark blue models.

That particular one is soo beautiful. Wow
 
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