Welcome To The Flea Museum!

The fantastic Flea Ukulele is a major hit with ukulele players world-wide, and some folks are so enamored with their instruments that they've gone the extra mile and customized them! If you're not already familiar with the Flea (and Fluke) ukes, click the link to see a nice little video review of them!

The Flea Museum is a fun collection of some fine examples of these fantastic pieces of "folk art," plus a few limited-edition Fleas, too, and if you've customized your very own Flea (or Fluke), too, just let us know, and we'd be honored to add it to our little collection for the whole ukulele world to see and admire!

And, in response to popular demand, just like the Flea uke it's named for, The Flea Museum has a big brother, too: The Fluke Museum, which is all about those fabulous Fluke ukes!! Go check it out, we guarantee you're gonna like it!

(NOTE: Don't forget, as you browse through The Flea Museum, just click the pics to see 'em BIGGER!)

The Cape Cod Flea

When amateur luthier Mike Gillihan found an old well-worn Blueberry Flea ukulele for sale online he grabbed it, knowing that with his instrument repair skills he could surely customize "This Old Flea" to make it something special, and we think he was right!

Here's what Mike said when we asked him to tell us about it:

It all started when I purchased a used Blueberry Flea ukulele online. As evidenced by the well-worn paint, this Flea had obviously had a long history of making wonderful music, and I felt sure that if I just performed a little "Flea.P.R." on it I could resurrect it and rescue her from the ukulele scrapheap.

My first step was to carefully scrape all the old Blueberry paint off and sand the soundboard smooth. My original intent was to repaint the soundboard, but when I saw what it looked like after sanding, I changed my mind. You see, some of the blue paint had remained in the grain, and it looked so good that I just finished off the soundboard with two thin coats of clear polyurethane, which I then polished with super-fine 0000-grade steel wool. The poly, if you've ever used it, cures smooth and hard, and the Flea sounds great now.

So, if I do say so myself, I think the results turned out great! The new look is a little subtle though, so photos just don't do it justice. [Click the pic to see it bigger] The wood now has a beautiful creamy color and a visual texture that resembles old ivory, or perhaps driftwood. In fact, it somehow reminds me of the northeast New England coast, and so therefore I’ve christened her the "Cape Cod Flea."

You'll find her posted on my webpage, along with a few of the other instruments I've built, too, including my latest creation, the ZZ Flea, which you'll find elsewhere in The Flea Museum!"

The Celtic Flea

Here is the famous Celtic Flea ukulele, with its beautiful laser-etched Celtic Knot designs.

This very special limited-edition Flea ukulele was designed by Dan Frank for Maude's Music, and was produced in a limited edition of only 20 to commemorate the second International Ukulele Ceilidh (say: "KAY-lee"), which was a big ukulele music festival held in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada, in October of 2007.

(NOTE: If you prefer the Fluke to the Flea, good news, there's also a Celtic Fluke ukulele, too, as seen on our Fluke Museum webpage!)

The DZ Flea

This is the limited-edition DZ Flea, by Dan Zanes.

Who the heck is Dan Zanes, you may ask? (Don't worry, we did, too!) Well, it seems that, aside from being an ex-member of "The Del Fuegos," Dan's now doing hugely popular folk-tinged children's music albums as "Dan Zanes & Friends," featuring such notable "friends" as Sheryl Crow, Suzanne Vega, Debbie Harry and Lou Reed, to name just a few!

He's a huge hit in the world of family and children's music, touring constantly, and now, to top it all off, he's designed his very own special limited-edition autographed "DZ Flea" ukulele in his favorite color, "Limón" (say: lee-MOAN) that you can buy right on his website, but you'd better hurry, the first run of these sold out overnight!

UPDATE: We're told by Karl, a reader in Belgium, that to celebrate the release of his latest CD, "Nueva York!" Dan Z. has now released the brand-new limited-edition Fiesta Flea which is covered with a fun flower print and some cool Nueva York! graffiti! But, once again, if you'd like to own one of these fantastic Fleas, you'd better hurry, there's only 100 of these babies available!

The Felted Flea Bag

When we saw the incredible hand-knit Flea Bag gigbag carrying case Mike Hushnel got for Christmas from his loving sister Betsy for his Tiki Flea ukulele, we knew we just had to add it to The Flea Museum, and Mike was kind enough to let us do just that!

Here's what Mike said when we asked him to tell us all about it:

Well, I don't know about you, but this Christmas was one of the best ever! Why? Because of the incredible felted "Flea Bag" that my sister Betsy made for me and gave me as a gift!. I was actually stunned when I opened it. She made it so I could carry my Flea ukulele around in style, and I think it’s really great, and that she matched the colors of my Tiki Flea very nicely, too. It’s just too cool!

She even needle-felted my company logo onto the flap, too! It's kind of a silly logo but I've had some fun with it, and it cracks me up that my sister put it on the bag. You can see the B&W original in the corner of the picture, and also on my company web page, where we make hand-crafted leather items for motorcyclists.

The way in which she made this fantastic Flea Bag is called "felting," and it's very popular in knitting circles, and has been for the last several years. In fact, after animal skins, felt is the oldest of fabrics, and, ancient though it may be, the felting process is still in use to this day in the making of fine hats, coats, carpets and a myriad of other products, too.

Anyway, my sister has simply amazing knitting skills, and her work, as always, is just superb! In fact, if you’re interested in having her make a custom, one-of-a-kind, handmade Flea Bag like this one for you, too, please contact either my sister or me at the addresses below."

So, if you would like to have one of these fantastic Flea Bags for your own ukelele, your own special unique Flea Bag can be made up in your choice of colors, to match or contrast with your own personal Flea ukulele, and she can even add your company logo (or any other design you want, like a ukulele, or a moon, a star, your initials, or whatever else your little heart desires), right on the flap to personalize it and make it your very own!

And, Fluke owners, don't feel left out, 'cause a one-of-a-kind handmade "Fluke Bag" can be made to fit your uke, too! Betsy can be contacted at: jbsauls@aol.com, and Mike can be contacted at: hushnel@bellsouth.net

The Flea Flea

In addition to being everyone's favorite ukulele, as well as the subject of the indispensable phrase "My Dog Has Fleas," without which few ukuleles could be tuned, let's not forget that in real life, Fleas are also known as: "Siphonaptera: External parasites, living by hematophagy off the blood of mammals and birds," and here's a kooky Flea ukulele that combines both!

Yep, that's a big ol' bug, alright, and this incredible custom Flea uke was submitted by reader Keith Blackwell, who writes:

An artist-buddy of mine wanted to give me a Christmas present this year, and offered to paint something for me, and I immediately thought of my Flea uke. He's studying to become a biology teacher, so here's what he came up with! I like it; it's fun, if a bit creepy, and it still plays just great!"

The Graffiti Flea

When reader Scott Bailey wrote in to tell us about the well-travelled, graffiti-covered Flea ukulele he took with him on a troubadour's tour of Europe for his 40th birthday, we said, "Tell us all about it!" and this is what he wrote:

For my 40th birthday, I booked a trip to Ireland, Spain and France to see some good friends, and just before I left, my wife bought me a black "Lava" Flea, and a metallic-silver Sharpie marker pen to go with it, to take with me on my birthday voyage.

And what a great experience travelling with that ukelele was! I played it in the pubs of Ireland, in the Pyrenees mountains of Spain, and on the streets of Lyon, France, too. And, as I travelled, I had all my friends sign my Flea, and draw on it, too, so now it has English, Spanish, Catalan, Polish, Gaelic, and French "graffiti" all over it!

What does it all say? Well, here's a few of my favorites:

• Polish: "Zimno? Gloony? Zapraszam zawsze!" (Cold? Gloomy? We always!)
• Gaelic: "Go neiri an bothar leat" (May the road rise with you)
• French: "Pour mon pote, de toujours et pour toujours, ton frere Francais" (For my buddy, Always and forever, Your French brother)
• English: "I always promise to smell special and enjoy beautiful poetry"
• Spanish: "Guindillas, Croquetas, Calamares, Tortilla De Patata, Sardinas, Cerveza, Sobrasada, Cortado, Choricillos, etc., etc., etc." (This is a giant list of all the things I ate in Spain written on the side of my Flea, which is especially cool, because, unbeknownst to me, for the whole three days I was in Spain, my friend wrote down every single thing I ate, and then, on the very last day, she pulled out her list and grabbed my silver marker and wrote them all down on the side of my Flea for me!)

A lot of folks have asked about how delicate the writing is, but don't worry, I have since clear-coated it with a coat or two of Krylon Clear Acrylic, so the signatures and artwork will be preserved forever, sort of like a time capsule souvenir of my incredible, unforgettable, 40th Birthday trip!"

The Ivy Arch Flea Bag

When Daniela Gargiulo, aka "Ivy Arch," wrote to us all the way from England to tell us about her wonderful handmade quilted "Ivy Arch Flea Bag" gigbag, we immediately asked for her permission to include it on the Flea Museum webpage! She readily agreed, and when we asked her to tell us all about it, this is what she wrote:

I live in the seaside town of Worthing, in West Sussex, in the UK. I’m a major ukulele enthusiast and I set up Brighton Ukulele Sundays and Wukulele Uke Jams, too, and last year I even organized the three-day International Wukulele Festival, right here in Worthing!

I was taught to embroider and sew as a child by my mother, and went on to study fashion design at Middlesex Polytechnic, too. For my birthday I bought myself a large piece of Sanderson’s beautiful Hayward fabric in turquoise. The print is inspired by the textures and patterns used to decorate 1950s Poole pottery, and it's from Sanderson’s lovely collection of reprinted iconic 50s designs. I wanted to make something quite special from this special fabric, but it also had to be something I could use every day, so I decided to make a new quilted gigbag for my beloved Flea ukulele!

I added a side panel to the classic gigbag pattern to give the bag more structure and shape, as is standard on all those dreary black uke carrying cases. Then I channel-quilted the bag to give it a more "deluxe" feel, using curved lines to echo the shapes of the vases in the fabric and also to echo the Flea's curves, too. I also put a shorter zipper along the bottom of the bag as I thought it looked neat, and sewed a strap adjuster with a D-ring onto the strap so that I can either sling it across my back when I’m cycling, or shorten it up into a handle for hand-carrying, too.

Needless to say, I’m very happy with the end result, and I already have orders to make two more bags for friends, and now my daughter is also begging me to make one for her, too!"

So, you can read the full details of the making of this wonderful Flea Bag, and see some "how-to" photos of the whole process, too, on Daniela's lovely "Ivy Arch Blog" page, and if you think you'd like to have one of her fabulous Flea Bags for your own precious Flea, be sure to visit her charming "Ivy Arch Shop" on the Etsy website, too, where everything in the shop is individually handmade by Daniela herself at her seaside home in Worthing!

UPDATE: Daniela has written in to bring us up to date with the latest news on her Ivy Arch Flea Bags, and she tells us that there's now a whole bunch of them available on her excellent UkeBag.com website, and, best of all, it's just in time for all your Christmas shopping needs, too... hint, hint!

The Keenan Flea

This gorgeous custom Koa Flea ukulele that was specially custom-made for Bob Keenan, was the very first Flea in The Flea Museum, and, when we asked him to tell us all about it, Bob wrote:

As an owner of a Deco Fluke ukulele with a rosewood fretboard, I was already a big fan of the Fluke and Flea instruments, and I liked the look of the koa-topped Flea, but was looking for something really extra-special.

So, I contacted the manufacturer directly and asked if I could order a Koa Flea but with a custom top made of highly-figured Koa. They then put me in touch with the luthier who supplies their Koa tops, and after communicating directly with him, explaining what I had in mind, he found the incredible piece of wood you see here. Then, after giving the thumbs-up to this gorgeous top, I ordered an undersaddle pickup as an additional option and it all went through their normal assembly process.

I really couldn't be happier with the look, sound, and overall quality of this Flea ukelele, it's definitely a "keeper." And, best of all, just as one would expect, the manufacturers' owners and staff were the epitome of professionalism throughout the whole process, and my thanks really go to them for a thoroughly enjoyable experience."

The Pimped-Out Flea

When reader Pat Klopich wrote in to see if we'd be interested in adding his customized "pimped-out" Hibiscus Flea ukulele to The Flea Museum, we took one look at the pictures he sent and said: "You betcha!"

Here's the story behind this beautiful little customized Flea:

I sell Flea and Fluke ukuleles, but for some reason I just couldn't sell this bright-sounding Hibiscus Flea... except to myself! But, in order to justify keeping it, I felt I had to personalize it so it would stand out as: "Not for Sale!"

So, I thought about it for a while and came up with a design, and sent it down to my brother-in-law Robert Portillo in LA, who's a noted musical instrument builder and conservator, and an avid ukulele player, to boot!

First of all, I really wanted to change the standard friction tuners on the Flea to geared tuners, so I can get a more precise tuning. We set out to find a good replacement geared tuner and surprisingly, because of the tight spacing on the Flea's head, we had trouble finding a tuner small enough to fit. But, with a lot of internet searching, we finally found the Sperzel Ultra-Lite Open Back Tuners in black. Then, with "just a little" modification to the head: like removing the old tuners and plugging their holes, and then drilling new holes for the new tuners, they work perfectly, although the tuning pegs stick out towards the back now!

Then we inlayed MOP (Mother Of Pearl) dots on the rosewood fretboard at frets 3, 5, 7 and 12 and, in honor of the fact that it's a Hibiscus Flea, we added a beautiful MOP hibiscus flower inlay to the fretboard, too. And, finally, we also added tiny little MOP dots to the side of the fretboard at frets 3, 5, 7, and 10, too. This much-needed inexpensive little fix is a wonderful helper when playing, especially for the beginning to intermediate player, and I would highly recommend everyone get this done, especially since it's fairly cheap and easy to do.

There's also a "B Nood" sticker inside now, too. Why? Well, I travel up and down the west coast during the summer visiting various nudist (yes, nudist) resorts where I sell Fleas and Flukes out of my canopied booth, and teach beginner-level ukulele classes to the natives, both clothed and unclothed. In fact, truth be told, almost all my Flea and Fluke ukulele customers are nudists! As nudists, also known as naturists, we're comfortable with who and what we are, and we don't need something of the size of a guitar to hide behind. So, the "B Nood" sticker inside my Flea is just a smaller version of the bumper sticker I sell: "B Nood" = "Be Nude."

So, that's the story... except to note that the autographs you can see on the side of the Flea in the picture are from Daniel Ho, Herb Ohta Jr., Lyle Ritz and Lil' Rev., and next in line is Jake Shimabukuro, who's coming to Seattle in October! I got the Daniel and Herb autographs at the ukulele workshops that the Seattle Ukulele Players Association and Dusty Strings music store have held in Seattle, and I got Lyle Ritz and Lil' Rev. while attending the Portland Ukulele Festival, one of the best festivals on the northwest coast!"

If you'd like to contact Pat Klopich directly to tell him how groovy you think his "pimped-out" Flea is, visit his website, and be sure to check out "The Naked Flea" his terrific clothing-optional ukulele newsgroup on Yahoo, too! And, if you'd like to have luthier Robert Portillo customize your Flea (or Fluke) ukulele, too, you can contact him directly at: midcitymusic.com

The Quick-Fix Custom Flea

So, you say you wish you had a custom Flea ukulele, but you can't do it yourself, and you just don't have the big bucks to have someone customize one specially for you? Well, here's a quick and affordable customization option brought to you courtesy of MusicGuyMic, the well-known and much-beloved ukulele dealer.

You see, Mike carries some beautiful multi-color replacement friction tuning pegs made by Lucy's Ukulele that can make any uke look mighty groovy, but the secret is that if you're a Flea (or Fluke) owner and you ask him real nicely, he'll split up a multi-color set for you and send you a set that's all one color, and you can easily make the switch on your Flea in about ten minutes!

So, just imagine how cool your Mango Flea is gonna look with a set of all-Orange tuning pegs! Or, how about a set of all-Blue pegs for that Blueberry Flea- wouldn't that look special? And, dude, you have just got to put a set of all-Red pegs on that Hibiscus Flea!

In fact, my very own Green Celtic Fluke (shown here) now has a set of all-Green tuners, plus a set of Crystal Green KoAloha strings (which Mike sells, too), and it just looks amazing! Of course, now my wife calls it "Kermit The Ukulele" but that's her problem, I love it!! (sigh) It's not easy being green!

The Sage Flea

This is the limited-edition Sage Flea ukulele, by Tribal Ukes. It seems that way back in 2004-05, artist John Gonzalez was making custom Tribal Fluke ukuleles with tribal tattoo-style designs on them, and selling them on his tribalukes.com website, which is now, sadly, shut down.

And, in addition to those marvelous Tribal Flukes, he also sold some Flea ukuleles in his own custom colors, too, like "Sage," seen here, plus "Electric Blue" and "Midnight," too! So, if you're one of the lucky few who got to own one of these very rare limited-edition Flea ukuleles, then you've got a true collector's item there!

The Showgirl Flea [NEW!!]

The amazing Showgirl Flea ukulele is completely covered in pink and clear Swarovski crystals, and was custom embellished for Bette Midler’s use during performances of "The Showgirl Must Go On," the Divine Miss M's Las Vegas extravaganza performed February 2008 through January 2010 before a packed house at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in fabulous Las Vegas.

Her two-hour-plus cavalcade of a show featured an exhilarating tour de force of some of Ms. Midler’s colorful and classic stage characters, and joining her on stage was an entourage of talented performers, including the staggering Harlettes, 16 dazzling dancers she calls The Caesar Salad Girls, and a 13-piece band! Thrilling audiences with her captivating performances, Ms. Midler’s superstar power continues to shine as she belted out show-stopping renditions of her biggest hits including "The Rose," "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "From a Distance," "Hello in There," "Wind Beneath My Wings," and, accompanying herself on a custom jewel-encrusted Flea ukulele, "The Glory Of Love"

What's an incredible custom uke like that doing here on the little old Flea Museum webpage, I hear you ask? Well, it seems that after the show's incredible record-breaking run in Las Vegas ended, Ms. Midler auctioned off a lot of the show's props and costumes and baubles for her New York Restoration Project charity, including the incredible bejeweled Flea uke that she played in the show, and when the auction's winner, Frank Barella, contacted us to ask if we'd like to include this legendary uke in The Flea Museum, needless to say, we said "Yes, please!" and when we asked him to tell us all about it, Frank wrote:

When I travelled all the way from my home in Allentown, PA, to Las Vegas expressly for the opening night of Bette Midler's show, "The Showgirl Must Go On," in February of 2008, I never imagined for a moment that almost four years later I would wind up the proud owner of the incredible custom bejeweled pink ukulele I saw her playing that night!

How did that happen? Well, I've been a huge fan of Bette's since forever, so I purchased tickets nearly a year in advance when the shows at Caesar's Palace Colosseum were first announced, and, needless to say, for that whole year in advance, I was very, very eager for that date to come! This was my first time in Las Vegas, and it turned out to be one of the best vacations of my life, ever. "The Showgirl Must Go On" was just drop-dead spectacular with so much color, energy, music, costumes, props, and staging, and Bette proved once again that she is one of the last in that great category of great American entertainers who can truly use an amazing variety of song, dance, comedy and characters to thoroughly entertain an audience!

Our seats were great, almost in the front row and level with the floor of the stage, so our view of the entire stage was just perfect, and when Bette moved over to "Stage Left," well, she was literally within an arm's reach! During the show, after telling her infamous "Soph" jokes ("Soph," short for "Sophie," and loosely based on Sophie Tucker, is Bette's alter-ego, the oldest living showgirl in the world), Bette sat down on the edge of the stage right in front of us, in full showgirl costume, holding that incredible ukulele, and she talked to the audience about her preparation for the show, and how "Soph" had appeared to her in the middle of the night, and how she picked up this dazzling, bejeweled ukulele from the foot of the bed and showed her how a real headliner closes a show! Then Bette proceeded to play and sing "The Glory Of Love" to an audience that was very familiar with the song as one of her classic "standards." It was a truly magical moment, and that ukulele sure did sparkle in those lights on that stage. I was mesmerized by the sight, but it never even occurred to me for a moment that one day I would be the proud owner of that very ukulele! Me!

Fast forward to late October 2011... "The Showgirl Must Go On" had now premiered on HBO as a New Year's Eve Special, and I had just purchased a copy on Blu-Ray, and I thought that, surely, that would be the total extent of my "souvenirs" from that great time in Las Vegas with Bette. Then, one day I received an email announcing the auction of The Bette Midler Collection at "Julien's Live" auctions in Beverly Hills, California and, of course, my curiosity was immediately piqued, although I was a bit intimidated by the fact that the auction was being held in swanky Beverly Hills. Nonetheless, I rummaged through the auction catalogue of more than three hundred items and began to set my sights on one of the most recent things I had seen, that incredible jewel-encrusted pink ukulele, and, the more I looked at it, the more I was certain that I should have that ukulele. I deserved that ukulele! I must have that ukulele! So, I began checking the highest bid on the ukulele every day right up until the auction ended, and, as the price shown there rose higher and higher, I realized that there must be someone else out there who wanted it almost as much as I did...

When November 12th, the final day of the auction bidding, came, I was really in a funk because I thought that the current highest bid shown was too high, and there was going to be no way that I could compete with it. Not having had any experience with live auctions before, I went to my computer anyway, and when the ukulele came up for its final bidding, I was waiting and ready to pounce like a tiger. It was a split-second decision, and I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, said a little prayer, and clicked my mouse. Then my computer screen flashed at me, and I thought that meant that I had lost the bid and that MY ukulele had gone to someone else because the final sale price shown there was higher than my final bid! Disgusted, I shut my computer down and went off to console myself with a large piece of chocolate raspberry cake, but as I thought about it, something just didn't feel right, so I went back to my computer, and by the time I got there, lo and behold, there was an invoice from the auction house in my inbox waiting for me. It was me! I had done it! I had won! Bette Midler's incredible jewel-encrusted ukulele, the very one I had seen her playing on stage that incredible night in Las Vegas, was mine, mine, mine, all MINE!!

While I won't say exactly how much I paid for it, I will say that I spent more, a lot more, than I ever intended to, and the uke finally arrived at my house a month later, but I only wish that Bette had autographed it before it went up for auction. I am hopeful that someday that may still happen, and, in fact, Bette... Ms. Midler... if you're out there somewhere, and if, by some chance, you're reading this, I would be totally thrilled if you would be so kind as to autograph "our" ukulele! So, if there's any chance at all that you would do that, and that there could be an even happier ending to this incredible story, you can make it happen, so, please click right here to drop me a line, OK?.

In any case, the ukulele is simply fabulous and it has given so much joy to me, my family and friends who have seen it as well. Although I can only play about two chords so far, I see it every day and it's just plain fun to look at! I am still stunned, flummoxed and very proud to own it! According to an interview with Bette and Mr. Julien on The Today Show prior to the auction, she had had two ukuleles custom-made and encrusted with the pink and clear Swarovski crystals for the performances in Las Vegas. The other she gave to President Barack Obama for his daughters. Can you stand it? So, that's my story about Bette Midler's incredible "Showgirl" ukulele, and I don't regret a single thing about it! As Bette's character "Soph" would say, "I've had a hell of a time! And I'll never forget it!"

The Sinker Flea

Here's a beautiful "Sinker Redwood" topped Flea that was custom-made for reader Casey Morgan.

In case you were wondering (we sure were), Sinker Redwood is cut from logs that sank during transportation down river to the northern California sawmills in years gone by. Recently reclaimed from the depths, this wood has a unique beauty all its own. The mineral deposits and salts that have leached into the wood for the last 100 years or so from the river-bottom environment have caused the wood to become slightly petrified. Ten times harder than regular redwood, it is said that the partial petrification of the Sinker Redwood gives instruments made from it a brighter sound than a normal redwood-topped instrument, while still maintaining the bell-like high tone characteristic of cedar-topped instruments, yet with more of the complex characteristics of spruce.

Whew! In any case, when Casey sent in some photos of his beautiful Flea and asked if we'd be interested in featuring it in The Flea Museum, we eagerly agreed and asked him to write up a few lines about how it all came to be, and this is what he wrote:

I love the Flea ukuleles, and was really excited when I learned they are now making concert-necked Fleas. Then I bought a Concert Surf Flea at the SoCal Ukulele Festival and the scale length seemed a perfect fit for me. It was then that I knew for sure that I wanted a unique Flea! I also build instruments, too, so I had bought some "sinker redwood" tops. It's a true native Californian wood, and, as such, I had thought of gifting it to my good friend from Northern California.

I knew from reading descriptions of the Koa instruments on The Flea Museum website that a custom-made Flea may be possible, so I phoned the nice folks at the Flea company and discussed the idea with them. They asked me to send my Sinker Redwood top material to master luthier, Mike DaSilva, to be spec'd to his tolerances, so I mailed the top to him and then it was made into my Flea, with a walnut neck, rosewood fretboard, bubinga bridge, and strung with Aquila Nylgut strings, too. Surprisingly, it was much the same price as a regular Koa Flea, plus, of course, the extra charges for the upgrade for concert scale, etc. I also bought a hard case for it, which is beautiful and fits perfectly, too.

I believe it sounds unreal. My friends who have played it are all impressed. The sound is real crisp, or bell-like. The notes seem to ring a little longer than my other Flea, and it has a different sound when picked as well. It wasn't cheap, but it feels "just right" in my paws, so I think I'll keep the Flea and gift my friend something else!"

The Spish Flea

When ukulel-ist and natural latex rubber jewelry maker Rar Jungle (yes, that's his real name) sent in these terrific pics of his beautiful hand-painted Flea and asked if we'd be interested in adding it to the Flea Museum website, we eagerly agreed and asked him to tell us the story of the Flea, the story of the artwork that's on it, and the story behind that very odd sculpture it's resting on, and this is what he wrote:

How did the Elf artwork end up on my Flea? Well, I had been living for several months on the beach in Waipio Valley on Hawaii's Big Island, mostly just hanging out with my Flea ukulele and a talking drum, too, when my old friend, artist SpishElement (that's her with her baby in the picture, and that's me in the other picture), invited me to come to a party out in the back roads of Puna, in Orchidland.

We stayed up most of the night at this very wild and totally off the grid party. SpishElement is an amazing artist, and I had my Flea with me, so in the morning I asked her if she would do some artwork on my Flea. I asked her to do something with elves, I guess that's about all I said, and she sat down with some magic marker pens, which was all we had at the time, and did a magical depiction of two elves playing ukuleles on the beach at sunrise, with the Hawaiian volcanoes, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, in the background. In fact, speaking of playing ukuleles on the beach at sunrise, the song "Open Sky," on my music video page I made up and sang down on the beach in Waipio early one morning with that very Flea!

Then, later on, I sealed it with some clear spray paint and since then the artwork has been protected, and the sound is just the same as always. I'd already had the Flea for maybe a year or two before she did the artwork, and you might notice the armrest on the Flea. I built the armrest out of some strips of foam tape covered with clear packing tape! It's tricky though, getting the armrest to stick properly and stay on, and not be ugly. I definitely think the manufacturers should put armrests on Fleas and Flukes, to make them more comfortable to play.

Anyway, SpishElement is a local artist who makes really beautiful and magical art and grew up on the Big Island, in the town of Volcano. She has been creating art for most of her life, and currently she is apprenticing to become a tattoo artist in Hilo. She would really love to do more artwork on Fleas (or Flukes), and if you'd like to have her do your uke, too, she can be reached by emailing me at: rarjungle@hotmail.com

Oh, and that strange sculpture of the creature that's holding the Flea in the picture was made by an artist called Paula Nutter. It resides at the studio of my good friends, artists Anne Grgich and Kylie Waible, but I'm afraid I don't know much else about the sculpture except that it has a real monkey skull on it!"

The Tapa Cloth Flea

Though he's best known for the magnificent tikis he carves, surfer, artist and sculptor CC Rider is also a fine ukulele player, too, and now he's applied his amazing artistic aptitudes to customize a unique Tapa Cloth Flea Ukulele!

This incredible Flea has had a layer of exotic "tapa cloth" applied to its top, and then that thin layer was sealed in with a protective coating of polyurethane. What the heck is tapa cloth, you may ask? Why, it's a primitive, hand-made, hand-painted, paper-thin bark cloth made primarily in Tonga and Samoa, of course, and it's actually quite scarce and very highly-prized for its rarity nowadays. You'll find an excellent article all about it right here.

Say, even though it's paper-thin, doesn't all that cloth on the front of the Flea affect the sound, you ask? Well, judge for yourself: the ukulele music you'll hear playing when you visit CC Rider's tiki-carving webpage is him and his wife, painter Anne Rider, playing the surfer anthem "Endless Summer," and we're told that she's playing that very Flea, pictured here. How cool is that?

So, if you'd like to have the legendary CC Rider customize your Flea (or Fluke), too, with some tapa cloth, or tiki art, or whatever else your little heart desires, just contact him through his website, and we're sure he'll be able to make your uke unique!

Update: Reader Will Deuel was so inspired by the Tapa Cloth Flea that he created his own virtual "Kente Cloth Fluke" and sent it in to share with us, saying: "I've been to Ghana, West Africa, with a ukulele, where I got to visit a facility where tribal kente cloth is woven. Taking inspiration from the Tapa Cloth Flea by CC Rider, I would love to see a Kente Cloth Fluke or Flea. I'm satisfied with my ukes, but, if the Fluke company ever came out with one of these, I'd be all over it in a heartbeat!"

The ZZ Flea

Amateur luthier Mike Gillihan, who did the marvelous Cape Cod Flea ukulele, seen elsewhere on this site, has struck again, this time with his own original custom creation, the solid-body, all-electric ZZ Flea!

Now, although, technically speaking, it's not really a genuine, true, "official" Flea ukulele as made by the original manufacturers, it's nonetheless a totally terrific tribute to the fantastic Flea and, as such, we felt it definitely deserved a place right here in The Flea Museum! Besides which, we didn't have any custom Flea ukuleles that begin with a Z, yet, anyway!

Here's what Mike said when we asked him to tell us all about it:

I really love that Cape Cod Flea ukulele I worked on a while ago, but unfortunately, the robust sound the little critter puts out is sometimes a bit too much for my wife to handle. So, I decided that what I needed was a true solid-body electric ukulele that I could play through an amp or, to the delight of my long-suffering wife, through a headset in “stealth” mode. And, of course, once I decided to do that, I immediately decided to model it after the Flea!

The ZZ Flea, as I have christened it, is a neck-through-the-body design, and it's built with Imbuia (Brazilian Walnut) for the neck, Tiger Maple for the top, and Walnut for the body and back. I used a Shadow under-saddle pickup and onboard equalizer, and, except for access room for the electronics (the entire back of the instrument is removable for access to the 9V battery), the body is almost completely solid, and I am very pleased with the resulting sound.

This is a concert-sized instrument with 15” vibrating string length, and the mandolin-size frets were placed on the neck using the free online ExMI Fret-Placement Calculator, and the intonation is great all the way up and down the neck! I used a set of hi-tension Hilo soprano strings on it because, well, frankly, that was what I had on hand.
     So, now that it's done I can practice hard without bothering anyone else. The strings make a quiet but very pleasing sound without any amplification, and I do practice quite a bit that way. Then, if I want to check out the "real" sound of a song, I put on the headset; or if I want to play to a crowd, I plug in the amp and go crazy, and, believe me, the sound this thing makes when plugged into a full-blown tube amp is freakin' awesome!

In fact, my new uke is so inspiring that I've even posted my very first video on YouTube, a little video of me playing the ZZ Flea ukulele on my back porch."