EspressoDan
Active member
Just ordered my first MFC...Hibiscus Concert. It is going to be a long week until it gets here.
Dan
Dan
The Magic Fluke Company Appreciation thread
- Thread starter Booli
- Start date
Croaky Keith
Well-known member
Ditto Booligans - that's got just the right feeling of reverence to it...... :smileybounce:
Ctmpwrdcamry
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About one year ago I picked up a cheap penguin ukulele. It was orange. I played on that for a few weeks as I realized I could learn to play music, but wanted a better instrument. I found the pineapple shape and began my search. I found MFC and sent them an email. It also happens to be around my birthday and i ended up with some cash. So, at MFC recommendation I got a Flea with a Concert Neck. I loved it, but always wondered if i should have gotten the soprano.
5 months later we were in San Jose area visiting friends and found ourselfs in a music shop. it may not have been unitentional, as a i knew from MFC’s site they were a dealer and happens to have a Firefly. After playing with that I started saving. A few months later they had sold the one I had played with, but Elderly had another. About the same time I also acquired a Fluke that recently found a new home. I got the Soprano Flea I wanted to check out. BEfore it heads to work so I can practice at breaks, I thought I would add my story hear, as well as a “family photo.” I am not sure how long the Soprano Flea will stay at work. Our 3 year old is already trying to claim it.
5 months later we were in San Jose area visiting friends and found ourselfs in a music shop. it may not have been unitentional, as a i knew from MFC’s site they were a dealer and happens to have a Firefly. After playing with that I started saving. A few months later they had sold the one I had played with, but Elderly had another. About the same time I also acquired a Fluke that recently found a new home. I got the Soprano Flea I wanted to check out. BEfore it heads to work so I can practice at breaks, I thought I would add my story hear, as well as a “family photo.” I am not sure how long the Soprano Flea will stay at work. Our 3 year old is already trying to claim it.
OhioBelle
Well-known member
Pineapples! Love them! Do you find the sound much different from soprano to concert neck?
maki66
Well-known member
Hello everyone, my name is Maki and I am a Booligan.
Hey Tobydog, how do you like the Fluke as a low G?
Hey Tobydog, how do you like the Fluke as a low G?
TobyDog
Well-known member
I don't have a low g Fluke yet, I really like my low g Flea
. I think my next purchase might be a Fluke with an upgraded fretboard so I can do the low g thing with it.
maki66
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Sorry I got that wrong.
Ctmpwrdcamry
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Thanks me too! I think they are fun.
I do not. By chance, tobydog can correct me if I’m wrong, but they both have m600 and sound very similar. Keep in mind I’ve only been at this a year.
It will be worth the wait. I have a Hibiscus Red tenor Flea, that I got from Gryphon in Palo Alto, CA and it is very nice to play and sounds great.
Was yours the 'red' hibiscus or the one with the hibiscus-flower shaped sound-hole?
Thanks Keith!
Congrats on your MFC acquisitions! If the little one is eye-ing it, then I have to say that I think he has very good taste for one at such a young age!
I guess it's official now that a few folks have said that they like 'Booligans' is the name of our group. LOL.
Welcome to the club maki!
maki66
Well-known member
I often go back and reread some of your threads Booli, this one and the string thread in particular.
Seems like I'm always learning something by doing so.
Thank you, and to those like you who help us n00bs.
Seems like I'm always learning something by doing so.
Thank you, and to those like you who help us n00bs.
EspressoDan
Active member
Does any one have the solid wood spruce/koa fluke? Does it sound different/better than the laminate flukes?
Do the laminate fluke sound different for the different colors/laminate wood types?
Do the laminate fluke sound different for the different colors/laminate wood types?
Has anyone here ever thought of putting a Flea/Fluke neck on a different body?
I recently found a concert flea with a wood fretboard and fell in love with the feel of the neck. Every chord I played felt perfect. I'm not a big fan of these bodies though, especially the thermoplastic back and sides. It's the same reason I never bought an Ovation guitar.
Anyway, I was wondering if it would be possible to just take the neck off and have someone attach it to a different body. Or is the neck joint different in a way that would make it incompatible?
I recently found a concert flea with a wood fretboard and fell in love with the feel of the neck. Every chord I played felt perfect. I'm not a big fan of these bodies though, especially the thermoplastic back and sides. It's the same reason I never bought an Ovation guitar.
Anyway, I was wondering if it would be possible to just take the neck off and have someone attach it to a different body. Or is the neck joint different in a way that would make it incompatible?
Jerryc41
Well-known member
Someone in our group has the tenor koa Fluke, and it sounds very nice. I have a concert Fluke, and I can't tell the difference in sound, but I imagine someone could. As for the sound of different woods and colors, I think you would need expensive scientific equipment to detect any differences.
Jerryc41
Well-known member
Yes, the Flea/Fluke has a very nice neck - the wooden one. It's wide and comfortable. I don't like the composite neck. As for taking the neck off, I'm sure it's possible. I asked Magic Fluke about swapping the composite neck for a wooden one, and they said it's no problem. I would begin by somehow removing the top and seeing how the neck is attached.
You would have more success in using a flat spokeshave to carve the back of the neck and then a hole saw of appropriate diameter and rasps to shape the headstock of a different uke than to transplant the neck of a Fluke or Flea...
The neck on a Fluke or Flea is screwed into the polycarbonate body, and then the soundboard is on top of that, and then the fretboard is on top of that....
so to the remove the neck, you have to sacrifice the Fluke or Flea pretty much, unless you use great finesse in removing the fretboard as well as the top. This requires some skill, the proper tools, and LOTS of patience.
TO me, that's a lot of money to spend just to extract the neck.
Also, most traditional ukuleles use some form of dovetail joint, tenon dowels, or bolt-on method, so if you are going to use something like a Kala or Ohana to recieve the neck, you will have to do some serious modifications to the neck block inside, which involves removing the top (soundboard) of the recipient instrument.
Seems like too much work.
If it were me, I'd reshape the neck of another instrument and just leave the tuners as they are in the headstock on that instrument.
A spokeshave, rasps and files are not complicated to use and can be had for cheap (less than $50 US), and you will also need several different grades of sandpaper to do a smooth finishing on the neck, and likely also some sealant or stain to match the rest of the instrument and protect the wood...
1. What do I have? Soprano Flea in Pistachio Green, SN: 167 (approx. 2004), Strung low G.
2. Why did I buy it? Honestly it was because of an EBay coupon that was going to expire. I started scrolling through the Buy-It-Now’s and spotted this lightly used instrument. I didn’t have a soprano and the green color just spoke to me.
3. What do I like/hate?
Likes: I like being able to just leave this uke sitting out (this is currently my office uke). It plays and sound good, was not expensive and is semi-rugged. As a bonus it has the flat end so that it sits there just waiting to be played.
Hates: None. The friction tuners aren’t great but don’t bother me enough to go through the effort of changing them.
4. Plan to buy another? I don’t currently plan to, but would definitely consider buying another, maybe a concert. I’m more of an opportunist when it comes to buying.
5. Replace? I would definitely buy another to replace it. I don’t know of anything better for the office than a flea.
Additional Comments:
Shortly after purchasing my flea I realized it had the older Connecticut label with a low serial number. I was curious about the year of manufacture and what they called the light green color (it was discontinued). I emailed the Magic Fluke Company for information and Beth responded the next day with the answers. That’s some great customer service considering I’m not even the original customer!
2. Why did I buy it? Honestly it was because of an EBay coupon that was going to expire. I started scrolling through the Buy-It-Now’s and spotted this lightly used instrument. I didn’t have a soprano and the green color just spoke to me.
3. What do I like/hate?
Likes: I like being able to just leave this uke sitting out (this is currently my office uke). It plays and sound good, was not expensive and is semi-rugged. As a bonus it has the flat end so that it sits there just waiting to be played.
Hates: None. The friction tuners aren’t great but don’t bother me enough to go through the effort of changing them.
4. Plan to buy another? I don’t currently plan to, but would definitely consider buying another, maybe a concert. I’m more of an opportunist when it comes to buying.
5. Replace? I would definitely buy another to replace it. I don’t know of anything better for the office than a flea.
Additional Comments:
Shortly after purchasing my flea I realized it had the older Connecticut label with a low serial number. I was curious about the year of manufacture and what they called the light green color (it was discontinued). I emailed the Magic Fluke Company for information and Beth responded the next day with the answers. That’s some great customer service considering I’m not even the original customer!
Attachments
Thanks for sharing your story and the photos of your now-rare color soprano Flea.
For the past few years all of the greens are called 'Eucalyptus' and a more dark green, sort of like a forest green color.
For the past few years all of the greens are called 'Eucalyptus' and a more dark green, sort of like a forest green color.
maki66
Well-known member
I was playing my concert Fluke yesterday and it still amazes me how much I love the sound.
One thing I plan to do soon is to change the tuners to Grover geared machines. Since I started playing
last June I am getting a better ear for notes only slightly out of tune,
One thing I plan to do soon is to change the tuners to Grover geared machines. Since I started playing
last June I am getting a better ear for notes only slightly out of tune,
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