The Magic Fluke Company Appreciation thread

Which Magic Fluke Company instruments do you own?


  • Total voters
    260
Thanks for the kind words brother Steve :)

Yes, me too, nice to hear from you.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
Just an FYI in case you all had not seen it yet - fellow UU brother BazMaz has a review on the Fluke SB solid body electric uke with the full write-up on his web site and video demo as well...

Review (don't miss the video, at the end of the written review):
https://www.gotaukulele.com/2019/07/magic-fluke-sb20-solid-electric-ukulele.html

UU thread:
https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...ic-Fluke-SB-Solid-Body-Electro-Tenor-REVIEWED

I wish I had the money to buy one, it's beautiful and sounds gorgeous.
 
Just an FYI in case you all had not seen it yet - fellow UU brother BazMaz has a review on the Fluke SB solid body electric uke with the full write-up on his web site and video demo as well...

Review (don't miss the video, at the end of the written review):
https://www.gotaukulele.com/2019/07/magic-fluke-sb20-solid-electric-ukulele.html

UU thread:
https://forum.ukuleleunderground.co...ic-Fluke-SB-Solid-Body-Electro-Tenor-REVIEWED

Thanks for that. All too often, when I read his reviews, I'm tempted to buy. The solid body electric doesn't tempt me, though.

EDIT: I also have to agree that charging $15 for the side dots is not a good idea. When I had a fretboard replaced, I had them add the dots. I could have done the same thing with a black Sharpie.
 
Last edited:
When I was looking for a plug in uke the MF SB caught my attention. They were just beginning to bring the new version out. Listening to online video's I thought the Pono's and Godin sounded better and that the Fluke SB sounded better than the UFSO's. The price of the Fluke SB was in the middle of these. I opted for the Godin.
I already had Fluke concert that I do really like, but wanted something different. Have to agree MF should just put the side dots on the neck and be done with it. I used a paint pen on mine to make small dots.
 
I had a few extra bucks this Spring and was thinking about buying a LoPrinzi. Then I ran across this thread and spent most of an afternoon reading through it. Some will regard this as heresy, I guess it is heresy, but I ended up getting the solid koa top concert Fluke with most of the options, which added up to about $700. I absolutely love it. Best $700 I ever spent. Maybe I'll still get a LoPrinzi sometime.
 
It's all right to get a Fluke with all the options. I went with a spruce top and most all the other options but the side markers. Even went with a case. I play my Fluke weekly. Money well spent! Mine is in my avatar photo. Enjoy your new Koa Fluke!
 
I had a few extra bucks this Spring and was thinking about buying a LoPrinzi. Then I ran across this thread and spent most of an afternoon reading through it. Some will regard this as heresy, I guess it is heresy, but I ended up getting the solid koa top concert Fluke with most of the options, which added up to about $700. I absolutely love it. Best $700 I ever spent. Maybe I'll still get a LoPrinzi sometime.

I got a nice koa concert Fluke on eBay with PegHeds for $350. It doesn't have a pickup, but that's fine with me.
 
Good find, Jerry. I probably would have bought that one if I had seen it before ordering mine. I watched eBay and here for a couple of weeks and didn't find one. Also, I had decided I didn't mind supporting the company by paying full price for one prepared to my specifications.
 
Good find, Jerry. I probably would have bought that one if I had seen it before ordering mine. I watched eBay and here for a couple of weeks and didn't find one. Also, I had decided I didn't mind supporting the company by paying full price for one prepared to my specifications.

Yes, dealing directly with the company is the way to go if you want something specific. Most of what I see for sale online has the standard plastic fretboard. Some people don't mind that, but I do. I was lucky to find two on eBay with wooden fretboards.
 
Tenor Fluke.
I bought it on a whim which is really not like me. In Australia they are not easy to come by.
I like how light and loud it is.
 
Dunno if this was posted already, but saw this vid comparing 3 concert Fleas: 1 with standard hoop pine top, 1 with solid koa, and 1 with spruce. What differences, if any, do you hear?
On my PC speakers (which are the limiting factor here) I'm getting more sustain and warmer tone on the koa. Brighter initial attack but a quick falloff on the spruce. And a comparatively muffled sound on the laminate. However, that confirms my prejudices going in, so perhaps I am hearing my expectations more than any actual differences.

Can't tell anything for sure unless you hear it in person. But until I can get my hands on all of these, the video is useful for fueling my UAS. Thanks (?) for posting it. ;)
 
Dunno if this was posted already, but saw this vid comparing 3 concert Fleas: 1 with standard hoop pine top, 1 with solid koa, and 1 with spruce. What differences, if any, do you hear?



Wow. Quite interesting. Liked the Koa the best. I wonder if a sound comparison with plastic vs wooden fretboard would show a difference. I've heard, though I do't know f it's true, that the wood on a fretboard affects tone, so plastic vs wood should too. Since only the laminate has a choice, it would be nice to have that included in the comparison so that all 4 options would be represented.
 
Dunno if this was posted already, but saw this vid comparing 3 concert Fleas: 1 with standard hoop pine top, 1 with solid koa, and 1 with spruce. What differences, if any, do you hear?



Thanks for posting this!

I think that the Koa top has a more even balance to the tone, meaning equal parts bass, mid-range and treble, than the Hoop Pine top, and that the Spruce top has a slightly brighter tone, with a little more "sparkle" and has a little more shimmer and is a bit more 3-dimensional in the overall sound.

Having said that, I am still playing my basic Lava concert Flea, strung with Oasis bright high-g fluoro strings and I am very happy with it's sound for many many years now. :)
 
1.) What do I have: 1. The standard hoop pine natural concert Flea with plastic fretboard. 2. The laminate walnut concert Fluke with wooden fretboard. 3. The Koa tenor fluke with wooden fretboard and Peghead tuners

2.) Why did I buy it: 1. I live in very arid climate and had several wooden ukuleles that were taking too much time keeping "watered" regularly. Had an Ovation guitar that I loved. Decided to venture into Flea and Fluke territory after playing a friends. Bought all of mine used for good pricing. Plus gotta love "made in the USA"

3.) What do I like/hate: Hate the plastic fretboard on the Flea. Hard to see the frets. Got old eyes!! Problem solved with the Neck Illusion vinyl fret covers. Added a vinyl sound hole Madela and now it rocks! Sound is not as sweet as the Flukes - may be due to body shape, sound board material and/or plastic fretboard. As to the Flukes, love the sounds!!! Both are really sweet to my ears with Worth Browns and low G Fremont Soloist. Down side is the neck and sharp corners of the body. Width and spacing of the strings at the neck a bit too wide for comfortable chord melody with my smaller hands. Plus is not as standard as other ukuleles so going back and forth between instruments challenging. Sharp edge of the body compensated by wearing a wrap on my forearm to blunt the effect. As for straps, I use a clear command hook on the back of mine so they still stand up alone. The strip hold pretty good but even is it comes loose the darn ukuleles are so tough it doesn't seem to harm them when they hit the floor!

4.) Would I buy another: Probably not at this point unless one were lost or stolen. If so, I would get a Koa top concert Flea. It's neck size works just a tad better for me and the sharp edge issue is not there. That said, I would be concerned the smaller body size of the Flea might change the sound compared to the Koa tenor Fluke and the mahogany concert fluke. That Fluke body size makes a difference I am sure.

Would post pictures if I knew how!
 
Hate the plastic fretboard on the Flea. Hard to see the frets. Got old eyes!! Problem solved with the Neck Illusion vinyl fret covers.

I did the same. Impressed with how durable they are too.

IMG_20191110_181041-01.jpg
 
I genuinely miss my Flea that I sold to a UU member. The reason was that it just didn't get enough play time so I don't regret it as such but I really love the design of Fleas and Flukes. Perhaps someday I'll get one with some upgrades, maybe a hardwood fretboard and/or solid top.
 
What do I like/hate: Hate the plastic fretboard on the Flea. Hard to see the frets. Got old eyes!! Problem solved with the Neck Illusion vinyl fret covers. Added a vinyl sound hole Madela and now it rocks!

Yes, I agree about the plastic fretboard. They should standardize on wood. I replaced three of the plastics and covered some others with Neck Illusions or my own designs. Is a madela that backward-S cutout?
 
Top Bottom