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| Moderated by: Richard Hefner |
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| Ahhh...the tenor FLUKOA | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16th, 2004 06:22 pm |
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1st Post |
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bellamira Approved 
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Well, Ive gotten enough questions and comments about my custom tenor FLUKOA that I figured I better share a bit of history, and about my designing and custom building them. I borrowed a concert Fluke ukulele off the wall at Artichoke Music here in Portland, where I was taking lessons about four months ago, and fell in love with the sound. Big sound with lots of range. Then I saw a tenor and tried it. The sound was fantastic! It’s bigger than most typical ukes, and of course the Fluke’s body isn’t really shaped like a typical uke. I loved it. I highly recommend any Fluke for the “strum for the buck”, and Dale & Phyllis are fantastic people. I do product design among other things, and I am always looking at how I might improve things or make them unique to my tastes. I am also very fond of the traditional Hawaiian materials such as the koa wood for it beauty and tone. So, I called up Dale at Magic Fluke and asked if I could do a custom tenor, with me providing all the customized components, and them doing the assembly and setup. That's where it started. I found a great ukulele luthier supplier for the koa soundboard wood from Hawaii. The wood is unique, and called curly tiger stripe koa. It is air-dried, quarter-sawed, with book-matched the grain. I wanted it to unique, so I designed, cut, and reinforced the hibiscus flower sound hole. Then I got some ebony and custom made the bridge, inlaid it with Paua mother of pearl dots, and made the Corian “wing style” bridge nut and saddle. Sent those parts off to Dale & Phyllis Webb at Fluke, and they finished it for me with a custom rosewood fretboard on a walnut neck. After I got it back, I added Paua mother of pearl fret markers and side markers to the fretboard to match the ones on the ebony bridge. Once I got it back it was strung up with a “Low G” set of strings, which I like the sound of a lot, but I restrung it with Aquilla “High G” strings for the sake of my lessons. I am pretty sure I will eventually restring it back to the “Low G”, or make another one for that set up....and get it set up with Flukes internal electric pickup as an option. I call it my Flukoa, and we spend a lot of time together. She sounds as sweet as she looks. Everywhere I go I get stopped and asked, "Holy @#*.! Is that a Fluke? Can I hold it? Can I play it?" It is not only very beautiful, but the tone is incredible. I've been getting e-mails from all over the world about my FLUKOA by word of mouth. Even got pages up on a French website dedicated just to ukulele's. Yes they are more expensive than a typical Fluke, but the value is all there. If you are interested in a FLUKOA, contact me directly. Keep strumming. Mark in Portland Attachment: Flukoa_combo.jpg (Downloaded 237 times)
____________________ Mark in Portland "Spank that uke!" |
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| Posted: Tue Nov 16th, 2004 08:24 pm |
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2nd Post |
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Richard Hefner Administrator 
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It's a beauty Mark... thanks for the close-ups. Is it a tenor or the regular concert size like most Flukes? So is it one of those things that if we ask how much it costs we can't afford it? 
____________________ Richard Hefner Webmaster, ezFolk.com MP3 Page: http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/richardhefner Running Blog: http://old-runner.com |
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| Posted: Wed Nov 17th, 2004 07:10 am |
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3rd Post |
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bellamira Approved
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Hi Richard - Thanks for the comments. This curly koa FLUKOA is a tenor. You can string it up in "high" or "low" G tuning, or go for the "D" tuning if that's your preference. Sounds incredible both ways. I can build the custom components for the soprano, concert, or tenor. For my play, I just really love the voice and color that the tenor offers. There's no right or wrong, just what your ear....and eye, likes. I am interested in creating beautiful well appointed instruments, that produce beautiful music. Oh, and they are desirable too. Well, let's remember that value is a relationship to cost. Affordability is really not related value, only to what we have saved. I know the FLUKOA's value is greater than the cost. Final cost would depend on the model, tonewood, fretboard, bridge style, and extras. It's all in the details. Thanks for your interrest Richard. Mark in Portland
____________________ Mark in Portland "Spank that uke!" |
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| Posted: Wed Nov 17th, 2004 08:40 am |
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4th Post |
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UkeForever Approved 
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Well, just throw it out there, would ya? What would it run us for a Fluke like yours? How about a concert Fluke with a wooden fretboard, koa top, and just a hole instead of an hibiscus or whatever that flower-like thing is. (I'm a guy who does better with one hole.) E-mail me: ocaptain@hoaryhead.com
____________________ Don't let the door hit 'ya where the good Lord split 'ya. John Rockwell's Crazy Songs 
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| Posted: Thu Nov 18th, 2004 04:21 am |
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5th Post |
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bellamira Approved
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Hi Jef - Thank you for your comments. I am doing more of them. The interest has become great in the past month. Pricing is definitely based on a one-of-a-kind custom piece, and all of it's components. For pricing consideration, start off with the basic current price of any model of Magic Fluke "Flea" or "Fluke" in either soprano, concert, or tenor + $100.00 for the custom assembly, setup, and tuning. The additional assembly, setup, and tuning, completed at Magic Fluke, is due to the FLUKOA's having a completely different bridge, bridge plate, nut, and saddle than an off the wall Flea or Fluke. It is all done one-off by hand for that instrument. Add to that the costs for my custom work and all accrued shipping costs. My custom work is based on design, materials, and time. Currently, my custom work includes: • Solid "finewoods" soundboards (ex: mahogany, koa, spruce, cedar, redwood, rosewood, maple, Englemann Spruce, etc.) • Soundhole Design (custom cut-out, round, rosettes, purfuling, etc.) • Bridge (traditional design ebony or rosewood ) Bridge pins to come* • Bridge Inlay Dots (Paua Abalone or Mother-of-Pearl) • Saddle & Nut (Corian, bone, or faux ivory) • Fret Dot Markers (Paua Abalone or Mother-of-Pearl) • Side Dot Markers (Paua Abalone or Mother-of-Pearl • Upgraded Grover friction tuners ........and more to come. Additionally, Magic Fluke offers other options such as the rosewood fretboard w/ nickel silver frets for $75, which I highly recommend, a walnut neck, and Aquilla strings. If you want to electrify it, you can go from a $60 K&K soundboard transducer pickup to a Fishman pickup with preamp, tone and volume control for an additional $215. Bottom line is, I need to know what parts you want to make the whole. If you are looking for a ball park price for a FLUKOA set up exactly like mine you're look at around $800.00. Is that more than an off the rack Fluke? Sure. Does it sounds and look like an off the rack Fluke? No. Not at all. A "Solid" finewood soundboard, will have it's own distinctive tone quality. Hearing is subjective, just like taste. I hear a fuller sound at the high, mid-tone, and bass levels with my koa FLUKOA. Go to a good guitar shop and pick up most well known brands under $300-400 and most are a laminate tonewood. Strum it. Pick up a "Solid" tonewood top for around $800 by the same maker and strum it. You'll hear the answer. It's all about value. Buy any Flea or Fluke off the wall and it is a fantastic value in my opinion. Look on eBay under ukuleles and you are likely to see @ 600 ukuleles there every day. How many "used" Fleas or Flukes will you find? Hardly any.....ever. People don't want to part with them. They are a great value. I believe my FLUKOA is a great value too, compared to other ukuleles I have seen, and especially played. It is one of a kind....and I love it. If you are interested, or know someone that is, please contact me. Keep strumming! Best regards, Mark in Portland
____________________ Mark in Portland "Spank that uke!" |
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27th, 2008 02:57 pm |
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6th Post |
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thinduck Approved
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Absolutely gorgeous Fluke! Have you ever had a chance to try out one of Magic Fluke Co.'s own koa-topped Flukes? If so, how did it compare to your custom Fluke's tone, sustain, etc? John K.
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27th, 2008 06:32 pm |
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7th Post |
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Neal Approved 
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Thinduck, I think your post may fall on deaf ears. The last time he posted was almost 4 years ago. Ah well, get one and you tell us! We're all ears. EDIT:, yep, email returned.... Last edited on Sun Apr 27th, 2008 06:35 pm by Neal ____________________ http://ezfolk.com/audio/NealPaisley http://www.youtube.com/nealpaisley http://www.myspace.com/nealpaisley |
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| Posted: Sun Apr 27th, 2008 08:13 pm |
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8th Post |
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thinduck Approved
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Thanks, Neal. Wasn't paying attention to the date on the post. Guess holding my breath would be a bad idea. I've played one of the Magic Fluke Co.'s "Surf" Flukes with rosewood fretboard and walnut neck -- pretty nice. Fast, easy action and great tone & volume for the price. If I ever find one of their koa-topped models, I'll drop you a line. John K.
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