Comments on: Flea Ukulele Review

By: jay

jay — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 05:22:08 +0000

The sample sound provided by the site above did not sound good compared to my wood TGM concert. And mine cost less than USD50. So i wonder why is this site “promoting” the Flea instead of others…

By: Bruce

Bruce — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:39:28 +0000

I don’t understand why these plastic ukes are so expensive, when a plastic Makala is 39 bucks which comes with a rosewood fingerboard and has dots on 5,7 & 10

Seems like they would sell 10 times more ukes if the price were half. I don’t care how cool they look, 218 dollars for a stamped plastic uke is outrageous.

By: Joanney

Joanney — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:49:46 +0000

The flea has been in my life for many years now. I saw these while randomly window shopping at a music shop in Perth. Picked it up and loved the tone so much and the look is funky too. I travelled with my flea all around Australia playing gigs and events and caught everybody’s eye.
Easy to cart around, handy, beautiful and it certainly is an instrument to have if a uke fan like myself and I shall keep playing my flea for as long as I can.

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:20:08 +0000

I have played a Flea for several years. Three things I don’t like: First, the rounded plastic body is slippery and I can lose control of the instrument. I compensate by using my forearm to hold it tighter to my body, but this causes the edges of the uke body to dig into my forearm too much. When wearing a Tee shirt it can be rather painful, especially when playing for a long amount of time, and I get welts and inflamed skin. Long sleeves help but it is still necessary to hold the uke’s rounded plastic body very tightly to keep it under control. Second, the plastic frets and fretboard are, like the body, too slippery. The nylon strings slip every so often against the board and the frets, sometimes causing inaccurate fingering. Annoying. And third, one day the bridge popped off and flew across the room! The bridge is also made of plastic, and is two pieces: the top piece is held by snapping it into place on the base piece, which is glued to the top of the uke. When mine popped off, one of the snap thingies broke so I couldn’t simply snap it back together. Contacting Fluke, they recommended crazy-gluing it back together. I did so, and it worked. All that said, I still enjoy playing it for the looks, the good loud tone, and the moderate price.

By: Oliver González

Oliver González — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 11:17:20 +0000

I have recently ordered a Flea Concert, and I´m willing to have in my hands.
Thanks for all the good detailed photos, and the review.

By: Ukulele Dad

Ukulele Dad — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:36:46 +0000

I bought a Tenor sized Fluke for myself and I’m just about to buy my son a Flea for his Xmas present (I know I’m early). We tried it out in the music store and he loved it. I like the design of both the Fluke and the Flea and being able to stand it on a table means that my Fluke gets a lot of use in my home office.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:01:41 +0000

I too have been bummed out by lack of fret dots so I just took a bottle of white out and put small dots on the side of the neck at 3, 5, 7, & 10. It doesn’t hurt the finish or the fretboard & can easily be redone when the dots flake off. Works for me!

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:50:18 +0000

they will replace the whole fretboard – I think it’s cheap or free – call the Magic Fluke Company and talk it over

By: Maggie's_Uke_Circus

Maggie's_Uke_Circus — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:22:55 +0000

Duh… sorry … make that fret “bars” which are indented from wear.
(not fret board. Shouldn’t type so quickly.

By: Maggie's_Uke_Circus

Maggie's_Uke_Circus — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:19:30 +0000

Ok… so I’ve had a flea for a little over a year and LOVE it. Crisp, vibrant sound, easy entry-level Uke. HOWEVER, I recently noted that the string are buzzing -not fun while doing a gig.
So… wondered it I needed new strings -but but noticed that the plastic fret boards have worn down where the string hits the fret, and have left little indentations in the plastic. A bummer, because I love my comfy flea and I don’t think this can be repaired. -Or can it? Does anyone know? The buzzing strings can’t be eleveated at the bridge because the bridge is one molded piece.
On another note, Yes, it would be great to have more fret markers – not only on the fretboard, but fret indicators inlaid into the side of the neck as most models offer, for quick at-a-glance fret advancing for more complex chords.
I would still highly recommend a flea as an entry-level uke. It just sings and I do appreciate the self-standing flat bottom feature. So…what say ye all?

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:46:17 +0000

Anyone selling a used Flea?
I prefer one in soprano, with rosewood fretboard, and K & K pickup.
Please post offers here if so and I’ll reply.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:23:31 +0000

To Crystal: most solid koa ukes are made in the USA: in Hawaii. Buying an all solid koa uke such as a Koaloha, Kamaka is buying a USA made uke.

By: Crystal

Crystal — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:06:02 +0000

Personally, I would buy a Flea with a solid Koa top before a solid Koa ukulele. But that’s because I want my uke entirely USA-made, and as far as I know, Flea Market Music’s are the only ukes like this. But then again, as long as I have little ones around, the basic Flea is perfect and there’s no point to upgrading anything.

By: John Shepherd

John Shepherd — Fri, 22 May 2009 08:51:00 +0000

Julie,

The standard Fleas are good value and are durable to say the least. To compensate for the volume, try some Worth brown strings. They tone it down a bit and improve the sound. The rosewood fret board option improves things as well. For the ultimate Flea experience, Flea Market Music offers a solid Koa sound board Flea with better tuners, rosewood fret board and Aquilla strings. This is not sold through their dealers but only direct. This is a wonderful instrument. I have two of these with the 15 fret concert necks. They are simply in another league from the standard laminate-top Fleas. These are really fine instruments. I looked a long time for a premium instrument and I am very happy with these.

There is a fellow on U-Tube from Europe who plays a number of pieces, both popular tunes and classical music with his Koa concert Flea. Check it out.

They also offer a Koa Fluke as well. There is an example of one of these being played on U-Tube as well.

All in all, I am very pleased with my koa Fleas and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a premium yet different instrument.

By: Mainland Ukuleles - A New Shop in Nashville, Indiana

Mainland Ukuleles - A New Shop in Nashville, Indiana — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:37:09 +0000

[...] far as instruments, they have a few Fluke and Flea ukuleles for [...]

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:31:37 +0000

Ron,

I also like to have fret markers on the 3,5,7,10 and 12th frets. I think it’s just a matter of what the luthier likes as to what you get with non-custom instruments.

As for the size of the Flea, it is available in 2 different neck sizes. Either soprano or concert (15 frets).

No, I’ve not played a pineapple uke yet. I really do prefer the traditional shape over the more exotic variations.

By: ronhale

ronhale — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:49:45 +0000

Hello, Julie. Some Flea comments: The noise fingers make on the Flea can be annoying, & may be simply a function of the strings. My other uke, a Kala Hawaiian mangowood soprano, is strung with different strings than the Flea & it is noiseless. I’ve simply gotten used to it. So you’re not being too picky here… Now it’s my turn to be picky. Why are uke makers so stingy when it comes to incorporating position markers on the neck? My Kala has dots on the 5th, 7th, & 10th frets, which to me is an improvement over the Flea’s dots on frets 5, 7, & 12 (it’s a long stretch of open unmarked space from 7 to 12). But still, why no marker on the 3rd
fret? Why not on 3, 5, 7, 10, & 12. Picky, yes, but there are times when it does make a difference, & I cannot think of any reason not to have more markers. Esthetics? Cosmetics? Economics? Just how much is saved by cutting back on position markers? Guitar makers are more considerate in this regard…My day-in-day-out uke for practice & thrashing-about on is my Flea, so it’s volume has become my standard & the Kala (described by its maker as having a “sweet” sound & by me as having a sound which brings to mind cracking ice) sounds quieter than I prefer. It’s all a matter of perspective…I love the Flea’s neck which has more room between frets & more up-&-down room than my Kala, so not all sporano necks are created equal. But then, although advertised as a soprano, is the Flea really a soprano like other sopranos, or is it something else? Have you ever played a pineapple uke? I haven’t, but perhaps the Flea is really a variant of this sort of instrument…I don’t really like the way the Flea “fits” into the Flea hardshell case; I suppose it’s OK, but the fit is a little off-center for my taste. However, the Flea case & the Kala (smaller than the Flea) are a perfect combination…Random non-Flea comment: My favorite uke act of the moment is the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. As much a visual act as a musical one, UOGB must be seen as well as heard. Get their DVD, Anarchy in the Ukulele (from their website).

By: DaveW

DaveW — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 20:25:04 +0000

Bought my first Flea this week from Germany. Being in the UK, Germany is a little closer and no export fees to pay – wey hay…

Anyway, it was the cheapest model Flea with the same fretboard and strings as above. In fact the only difference was the color – mine is a sort of yellow. It came with a gigbag which is pretty good.

Can’t add anything to what Julie has said except maybe that if you want to splash out you can get them with a Rosewood Fretboard and Koa top. I can see the point of Rosewood Fretboard, but can’t see why anyone would bother getting one with a Koa top for virtually the same price as you can get an all solid Koa Uke.

Anyway, I was more than pleasantly surprised at the action, sound, and overall quality from this Flea. It is easy to play and once it was tuned in (it came loose) I was a bit shocked to find that the sound is far better than I ever thought it would be. I have heard them on youtube but have never ever seen them in the flesh so to speak. No, they are not as good as a $500 all solid wood model, but they are pretty dam good.

I would recommend them to anyone, and as they are set up to be mass produced, you would be very unlucky to get a bad one. If you wanted to upgrade it a bit you can put a better quality strings on, but in all fairness the ones they came with work very well.

By: And the winners are….

And the winners are…. — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 11:49:59 +0000

[...] contest down to just 3 winners. I sure wish that I had a lot of money, because I would gladly buy a FLEA ukulele for everyone that entered. As it is, I have decided to donate the FLEA that I purchased for myself [...]

By: r-albert

r-albert — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 03:03:35 +0000

I have a Flea and agree with your comments. As to the sound and volume, I have found that this problem may be correctable by covering the sound hole. Yes, that sounds stupid. I tried plastic and wood; the plastic seemed to work better than the wood. The notes seemed to be more crisp and the volume reduced, but not muted. I personally believe that the Flea’s body capacity is too large esp. since it’s material is so reflective. It would sound better if it was an inch wide, maybe.

By: Play it forward video contest entries

Play it forward video contest entries — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 23:07:37 +0000

[...] are the entries for the Play it forward video contest to win one of three FLEA ukulele [...]