Welcome To The Fluke Museum!

The fabulous Fluke 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!

The Fluke Museum is a fun collection of some fine examples of these fabulous pieces of "folk art," and if you, too, have customized your Fluke (or Flea), uke, 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 Fluke uke it's named for, The Fluke Museum now has a little brother, too: The Flea Museum, which is all about those fantastic Flea ukes!! Go check it out, we guarantee you're gonna like it!

(NOTE: As you browse through The Fluke Museum, just click the pics to see 'em bigger!)

The Amoeba Fluke

This is the limited-edition Amoeba Fluke, a custom ukulele produced for the Amoeba Record Stores of California, with the Amoeba Music logo and the words 'Peace Through Music' laser-etched on the front.

One of these very cool Fluke ukuleles was donated by the nice folks at Amoeba Music Hollywood, and was won by one very lucky young lady in Covina, CA, who made a special pledge during the Global Village Fund Drive for LA public radio station KPFK in June of 2006!

The Buller Fluke

This is a beautiful custom-painted Fluke ukulele by reknowned children's book author and illustrator, Jon Buller, who writes:

     "I ordered a tenor Fluke ukulele by phone a few weeks ago, and when I mentioned that I intended to paint it, they offered to send the top separately. This made the painting a lot easier!
     I started with a Blueberry Fluke top, which I roughed up a little bit with #600 sandpaper to provide a surface that the paint would adhere to. Then I applied a few coats of acrylic white gesso, followed by a few coats of acrylic metallic gold paint, and, finally, some acrylic black for the linework. I went over all this with a few coats of Stewart MacDonald Colortone Aerosol Guitar Lacquer in a clear satin finish, and then I sent it back to be attached to the body of the instrument."

Visit Jon's charming website, bullersooz.com, for more info about this custom ukulele, and to see Jon's marvelous children's books.

The Celtic Fluke

Here is the legendary original Green Celtic Fluke, with its beautiful Celtic Knot designs. This special limited-edition Fluke was designed by Dan Frank for Maude's Music, and only 20 were produced to commemorate the very first International Ukulele Ceilidh (say: "KAY-lee"), which was a big ukulele music festival held in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada, in October of 2005.

And, in the other pic, we see the brand-new Natural Celtic Fluke with the same beautiful celtic knot design, but now it's been lasered on to the surface of this beautiful custom ukulele!

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

The Cool Hand Fluke

With the Oscar ceremonies on TV this weekend (2/24/08), the Fluke Museum is proud to present the latest in our ongoing series of totally silly, movie-themed ukuleles, the Cool Hand Fluke!

The incredible 1967 movie it celebrates contains one of the greatest-ever quotes in movie history: "What we've got here is... failure to communicate," but the film had no trouble at all communicating with audiences; it was a hit at the box-office, and it was a hit with the Oscars, too. Nominated for four statuettes, it won the "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar for George Kennedy's terrific performance as "Dragline."

Named as the "Sweatiest Movie Ever" by the gang at "Cheers" in that classic TV series' pilot episode, it also features a poignant scene of Paul Newman playing and singing that old folk song, "Plastic Jesus." OK, OK, maybe he's playing a banjo, not a ukulele, but, what the heck, it's Paul Newman, so we're not complaining. And, speaking of not complaining, you won't hear us complaining about the film's incredible soaking-wet car wash scene, either.

Of course, copyright restrictions would prevent the Cool Hand Fluke from ever being made in real-life, but we thought it would be fun to see what it might look like if it were.

The Donovan Fluke

Well, we're not sure if this one qualifies as a true "custom Fluke," but, come on, how cool would it be to have your very own Fluke ukulele autographed by legendary psychedelic hippie folk-singing icon Donovan himself?

At a recent music festival, John Graziano played a few bars of Mellow Yellow on his Fluke for Donovan, who then returned the favor and drew a “Flukedelic” scene on his Fluke for him!

The Fluke Skywalker

OK, we just couldn't resist playing around in Photoshop, and then, next thing you know, we came up with the "Fluke Skywalker" ukulele!

Due to copyright restrictions, we don't think it could ever be made, but wouldn't it be cool if it were? And, hey, as the inventor of the "Fluke Skywalker" uke, we get to say, in our best Darth Vader voice: "Fluke, I am your father."

(For even more Star Wars silliness, check out the custom "C-FleaPO & R2-Flea2" model seen on our Flea Museum page.)

UPDATE: OK, we were just being goofy when we wrote all this and made up that "Fluke Skywalker" graphic, but it turns out that there really is a CD of the music from Star Wars played on the ukulele, called "Ukulele Force" which includes James Hill's cool version of that famous "Star Wars Cantina" song. And, here's a YouTube video of a medley of Star Wars music played on the uke by a guy named Duke! Will wonders never cease?

The Flukester

OK, since it's no longer play-able, this one's not really a "custom Fluke," per se, but we thought it was so charming and delightful that it definitely deserved a place here, anyhow!

Based on a Fluke ukulele, "The Flukester" is a wonderful, whimsical sculpture by "Carvin' Marvin" Beloff, who's a sculptor, author, and proprietor of the International Wooden Bow Tie Club, too!

The Flukoa Fluke

Here we have a beautiful custom Koa Fluke by artist Mark Roberts, who says:

     "I borrowed a concert Fluke ukulele off the wall at Artichoke Music here in Portland (Oregon), and fell in love with the sound. So, I called up the folks who make the Fluke and asked if I could do a custom tenor Koa Fluke, with me providing all the customized components, and them doing the assembly and setup.
     I wanted it to be 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. I sent those parts off to the manufacturer, and they finished it for me with a custom rosewood fretboard on a walnut neck.
     I call her my 'Flukoa,' and she sounds just as sweet as she looks."

You can read a lot more about this fantastic Fluke by clicking right here.

The Hair-Raising Fluke

Well, here's a weird one for you. We recently received an email in Spanish with a picture attached, seen left, from a Señor Abril Engañar in Barcelona, Spain, who wrote (well, at least this is how Google translated it):

     "I have for many years of playing the ukulele, often so often the Fluke, and one day it came into my mind to make a ukulele Fluke hair. Therefore, starting the collection of all hair from my bath every day and put on the wall of my house, and every day my "Fluke Hair," as I called him, I might add a small portion. Slowly, slowly grew, and I used the grey hairs and the black hairs on the body part of the Fluke. Then one day, many two years have gone by passing, I have beautiful Hair Fluke so that everyone sees my wonderful instrument devoted to the music, and now I want to share it with him."

So, awkward though the translation may be, I think we can get the gist of it: Sr. Engañar has been gathering hair from his drains for years and using it to paste up a sort-of "Hair Fluke" ukulele mural on his wall in an attempt to show the world his utter devotion to the ukulele, especially the Fluke, and now he wants to share it with us.

Now, while we certainly applaud Sr. Engañar's efforts, bizarre though they may be, and we're certainly very grateful that he contacted us, we're also more than a little creeped out by it all and, well, frankly, we're just darn glad he sent in a picture and not the actual hairy ukulele itself! Eeeew!

The Humuhumu Fluke

This is the gorgeous custom Humuhumu Fluke that was specially custom-painted for Mike Ballen, who writes:

     "I really wanted my Fluke to be a one-of-a-kind custom ukulele, and to reflect that laid-back island feeling I get whenever I play. Since the tenor Fluke is already sort of fish-head shaped, I asked local artist Arthur Decker to paint it like the legendary Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (What?) which is the official State Fish of Hawaii. I feel his painting is truly spectacular, and I feel happy whenever I look at and play my Humuhumu Fluke."

If you'd like to have artist Arthur Decker custom paint a Fluke (or Flea) for you, too (with a fish or whatever else your little heart desires), give him a call any evening at: (831) 726-9564.

The Kazoo Fluke

This weird thing is a "Kazoo-kulele," which is really just a customized Poi-ple Fluke uke with a kazoo stuck on the side, and, believe it or not, it's actually available from a music store in Ashland, NH, for $149 bucks!

Unless, of course, they're pulling our leg, and this "custom" ukulele is just some sort of April Fools' Day type of prank, like the Sand Flea, as seen on our Flea Museum webpage! Who knows?

You should definitely let us know if you buy one of these, though. We promise not to laugh... really!

The Koi Fluke

Here we have a beautiful Koi Fluke custom ukulele belonging to Jay Sztuk, that was painted for him by his daughter Della, who writes:

     "We were living in Japan when my dad got a Fluke ukulele, and I had been doing a lot of tattoo-inspired artwork at the time (since I was too young to get a real tattoo), so we decided to "tag" his Fluke with a little Koi fish. It was done in acrylic paint, with a few coats of clear spray paint over the top to protect it. Nowadays, I still paint when I have the time, but professionally, I'm a cake decorator for a bakery that does very special custom cakes in Maryland."

The McFluke

In honor of McDonalds' recent west-coast commercial for their Angus Burger, in which we see a guy (ably played by actor/ukulelist Skip Stellrecht), playing a Fluke ukulele while his wife plays the kazoo, and at the suggestion of a sharp-witted reader, we proudly present The McFluke!

Unlike the actual Angus Burger, the McFluke has zero calories and zero trans-fats, and no sodium or cholesterol, either- just tons and tons of uke-y goodness all dripping on down your chin!

Of course, due to copyright restrictions, the McFluke ukulele could never be made in real life, but we just thought it would be fun to see what it might look like if it were!

The Mother's Day Fluke

Mother's Day is upon us once again, and some folks might get their Moms a nice bunch of flowers, or some nice perfume, or maybe they'll take her out for a nice dinner in a nice restaurant, but we think "nice" is kinda boring, so we've found an even better way — the ultimate way, in fact — to honor Mom on her special day:

(Click the pic to see it bigger!)
Yes, that's right, it's a "Mom" tattoo! Go ahead, don't be a big chicken, go for it! Show her you really love her, and just how much you really care! It'll only hurt for a few minutes, and, hey, it'll last for a lifetime!

No? Not quite ready to get "inked?" Aw, come on, what's the matter, don't you love your mother?

Oh, alright, then how about the next-best thing, the Mom Tattoo Fluke ukulele? Yeah, that's it, and then you can strum your way into her heart as you play her a rousing chorus of "M-O-T-H-E-R" as sung by legendary country crooner Eddy Arnold, who, sadly, just passed away this past week:

M is for the million things she gave me,
O means only that she's growing old,
T is for the tears were shed to save me,
H is for her heart of purest gold,
E is for her eyes with love-light shining,
R means right, and right she'll always be!

Put them all together, they spell MOTHER,
A word that means the world... to... me!
[Click for: mp3, chords]

Of course, this is all just for the fun of it, and, of course, there's no such thing as the Mother's Day Fluke, but we just thought it might be fun to see what it would look like if there were!

The Mystery Fluke

In our never-ending quest to find new and different Flukes for this page, we spotted this nice customized electrified Fluke ukulele on one of the interweb's many image search websites. Apparently the photo is online because this custom ukulele was sold, or was at least listed for sale, online at some time in its history, but other than that it's a total mystery as to what it is, where it is, or who owns it. So, if you're the owner of this terrific tenor with twin tortoise-shell pickguards, or even if it just looks familiar to you, won't you please put us out of our misery and email us and tell us the story of this fabulous Fluke?

UPDATE: Mystery solved!! We actually managed to track down the story behind our Mystery Fluke, and it turns out there's a ukulele celebrity involved!! It seems that, yes, it was, in fact, listed online in January of 2006, by none other than Curt Sheller, the famous jazz guitarist, ukulele-ist and publisher of music books, chord charts and instructional DVDs, etc., who wrote: "Great uke, I just don't use it. Sounds and records great. Save $200 from a new one. Bought new (Nov 2005) (Number: M22 12790). Includes original gig bag. I added the pickguard to keep from scratching the top. Has the top of the line Fishman pickup. I'm just not using it as much as it deserves. Needs a good home." And, sure enough, by mid -September it had been sold for $300 bucks to some lucky buyer out there!

So, now we finally know the story behind our Mystery Fluke... we're gonna sleep a whole lot better tonight, how about you?

The Quick-fix Custom Fluke

So, you say you wish you had a custom Fluke, 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 custom ukulele option brought to you courtesy of MusicGuyMic, the well-known ukulele dealer on eBay.

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 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 Fluke in about ten minutes!

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

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 Spalted Curly Mango Fluke

Everybody's favorite eBay ukulele dealer, MusicGuyMic, is proud to announce the arrival of his very own custom limited-edition Fluke ukulele, the Spalted Curly Mango Tenor Electric Fluke, or S.Cu.M.T.E.F., as we like to call it!

Produced in a limited edition of only ten, count 'em, ten, custom ukuleles, each one has a gorgeous solid top made from an incredible one-of-a-kind piece of spalted curly mango wood.

What the heck does "spalted" mean, you may wonder? Well, we did too, and it turns out that it means: "a disharmonious or antagonistic interaction between two fungal mycelia of the same species." Huh? Well, to make a very long story short, in the case of woods used for instrument-making, this is a very good thing, because the end result of all those teeny-tiny little fungi fighting it out with each other is that the wood is left with incredibly beautiful patterns and grains and swirls that are almost psychedelic-looking, like a head-shop poster, only made out of wood!

These ukuleles are tenor-sized with a rosewood neck and the newest B-band pickup system, and they will come with Aquila strings as a standard option. Plus, you'll also get a free gigbag and a hardshell case, and, to top it all off, the shipping on these babies is free, too!

So, remember, there's only ten of these available, and when they're gone, they're gone, so, if you're thinking of treating yourself or a loved one to, like, the best present in the whole world ever, you'd better grab one fast! As always, click the pic to see it bigger, and be sure to visit MusicGuyMic's terrific eBay store if you want one, and, hey, let's face it, who wouldn't? Besides, like all Fluke ukuleles, they're "Made In The USA," so if you don't buy one, the terrorists win!

The Tattoo Fluke

Here is a one-of-a-kind custom-painted Tattoo Fluke commissioned as a Christmas present for Paul Yarnold by his loving wife! (Jealous? Me, too!)

This incredible custom ukulele was painted freehand using One-Shot Lettering Enamel by famed tattoo artist Hubba of the Seattle Tattoo Emporium, and if you'd like him to custom paint a unique tattoo-style graphic on a Fluke (or Flea) ukulele for you, too, just send him an email!

Of course, this is the sort of Fluke tattoo we'd really like to see on somebody... any volunteers?

The Tribal Fluke

Here is the legendary Tribal Fluke by artist John Gonzalez. Apparently, he was doing them for the public at one time, but, after a rather limited run, his tribalukes.com website shut down in 2005, and now, sadly, they're no longer available.

When we asked him to tell us about it, John replied:
     "I had just started to learn to play the ukulele on a Hibiscus Fluke that I loved, and at some point I thought it would be really cool to paint some sort of designs on the soundboard. Since I had some experience with painting guitars and working with an airbrush as a graphic artist, I wondered if I could paint and sell some customized "tribal" Flukes.
     So, I called the manufacturer and spoke with them about the idea, and, after some persuasion on my part, we reached a great agreement, whereby they would send me the unfinished soundboards, which I would prep and paint and send back to them for assembly. Then I would buy those assembled custom Flukes and Fleas back from them and sell them on my tribalukes.com website.
     They sold quite well for a while, but eventually it became clear that Fluke ukes with hand-painted tribal designs was really only a "niche" market, and eventually it became harder and harder to make it worth my while to go on painting them.
     Since then, I've gone through a handful of different ukuleles, and after being Fluke-less for over 3 years, I am happy to report that I've come full circle and now play exclusively on a Tenor Fluke! I only wish I had kept one of those Tribal Ukes for myself. Hmmm... now, where did I put that airbrush?"

So, if you're one of the very lucky few who got to own one of these very rare custom Fluke ukuleles, then you've got a true collector's item there!

The World's Largest Fluke?

This is "Resonating Bodies," a new bronze sculpture in New York City's Robert F. Wagner Park, by sculptor Tony Cragg.

All the literature about it on the interweb refers to it as either a lute, a mandolin, or a guitar, but we all know what it really is... it's just the biggest darn Fluke ukulele in the whole darn world, right? You betcha!

Hey, you know what's the best kind of music to play on it? Heavy Metal, of course!

Will The Real Fluke Museum Please Stand Up?

As anyone who's ever done an interweb search for the word "fluke" knows, in addition to being the name of everyone's favorite ukulele, "fluke" is also the name of several other things, too, like: a cute movie about a dog, a fish, a whale's tail, a liver parasite and it's also the name of a very large corporation that makes bright-yellow industrial electronic testing equipment!

Well, you can imagine our surprise and chagrin when we discovered that the Fluke Corporation of Washington State keeps an ongoing archive of all their old electronic testing gizmos (it's a technical term), and it's called... drum roll, please... The Fluke Museum!

Just to make 100% sure that there's no confusion about all this, we'd like to state categorically, for the record, that this Fluke Museum has no affiliation whatsoever with that other Fluke Museum, and they have no connection with us!

So, if you've somehow stumbled in here accidentally on your search for vintage electronic test equipment, flat fish, parasites, whale tails or cute movie dogs, please be advised that this Fluke Museum is all about the ukuleles, ma'am, and nothing else!

Visit The Flea Museum, Too!

We hope you've enjoyed your visit to The Fluke Museum, and we encourage you to visit our sister-site, The Flea Museum, where you'll find all the info you could ever want or need about the other "best-little-ukulele-in-the-whole-darn-world," the fabulous Flea!

Check it out, we guarantee you're gonna love it!