Tenor Fluke Sound Options

I'm reading about and trying to listen to Flukes. I like the feature set - low action, great intonation, comfortable neck - but not sure I'm sold on the sound yet. Most of the YouTube samples seem pretty bright and plinky for my tastes. Would any of the following "mellow out" the sound of the standard Fluke? Worth (or other) strings? Low G and/or Low Bb tuning? "Deluxe" soundboards (mahogany, koa, walnut)?

It is hard to judge sound on YouTube videos. So much depends on the speakers, and the mic they used and how much it was compressed so it could stream...

I think the Fluke tends to be more mellow and guitar-like, so I would wait until I got mine before buying other strings and tunings. Low G is nice, but if you want to use wound strings, you need to get the upgrade to a wood fretboard. Worth Brown strings will mellow out a bright uke.

–Lori

Lori's right, you really can't go by YouTube. I have a Koa Tenor Fluke and it's warm, woody and punchy all at the same time. I have mine in standard tuning but plan on trying low G soon.


Scooter

Actually I saw one vid of the koa and one of the Mahogany that do sound warmer than the others. But prices start getting kinda steep for the "deluxe" ones, especially koa. I know, I know, you get what you pay for.

My tenor Fluke sounds nice and warm with the Brown Worth strings on it. I wanted to try low G, but I would have had to file out the nut to accommodate the fatter G string. I was feeling lazy, so I stayed with the regular tuning.

The action is nice and low, and it's easy to play.

I've got a Fluke Tenor with the original Nyglut strings - not plinky at all, pretty warm and mellow in fact.

There are some vids of me playing it on my YouTube channel, if that helps.

I did a review of a fluke about 3 years ago
I said it was loud and punchy. that still holds true. I have played many of them and they are not plunky at all
http://ukeeku.com/2009/07/18/mango-fluke-full-review/
Unfortunately I did the review just before I started doing sound samples

Kurt,
Those vids are great. I watched a bunch of 'em! Dare I say that Fluke holds its own pretty well against the KoAloha Sceptre?!? Or maybe that's just crappy YouTube audio.

The Fluke and Sceptre are different- some songs sound better on one, some on the other. Unless the sound and feel just hit me right off, I usually play each song a couple of times on each of my primary instruments (Can you have 5 primary instruments?) before I decide which to use. One example is the "I Believe In Music" video - I played it probably a dozen times, before I gave the Waverly Street a shot, and after one chorus, I knew that was the instrument for the song.

The Sceptre has more resonation in my chest when I play than the Fluke - I really can feel the sound better. And the neck on the Fluke is wider and feels thicker. But they are both great, each with their own sound and quirks.

I do use the Fluke almost exclusively when I travel, though. Great sound, gets a lot of comments, and nearly bulletproof. Looking forward to see how the Outdoor Uke compares - I may start carrying 2 ukes when I travel.

Jim Hanks said:

Kurt,
Those vids are great. I watched a bunch of 'em! Dare I say that Fluke holds its own pretty well against the KoAloha Sceptre?!? Or maybe that's just crappy YouTube audio.

Click to expand...

I have a concert Fluke with a walnut sound board and fretboard. When I had it made, I asked them to string it low G and the only strings they had like that were the black Fremonts. I think it has a really warm and mellow sound but I haven't ever used any other kinds of strings on it so I don't know how much of the warmth is from the strings and how much is from the walnut.

Nix