Review: Flight Comet EQ-A Tenor Ukulele Delivers Tons of Tone in a Stunning Package
BY GREG OLWELL | FROM THE SPRING 2024 ISSUE OF UKULELE
With its vivid blue finish, my entire world seemed brighter when I pulled the Flight Comet EQ-A tenor ukulele out of its brick-red padded gig bag—it was a little like when Dorothy walked out of her Kansas farmhouse after landing in Oz. The Flight made a strong first impression with the stunning finish on its solid flame-maple top, its solid mango back and sides, pickup, and much more. Once I tuned it up, I dove into playing, and here’s what I found.
Kind of Blue
The bold blue top is an attention grabber, and it was quickly praised by players and non-players alike. (The Comet is also available in a vivid green.) I usually prefer plainer finishes, but I appreciated how the blue highlighted the wood’s rippling flame figure and gave the uke a custom look. When I showed it to a few persnickety uke buddies, they were all taken by the finish and features like the scalloped cutaway and integrated armrest, open headstock, and offset fingerboard markers.
But underneath the Comet’s colorful exterior, this tenor has a few unusual, if not unique, features worth discussing. The first is its all-solid hardwood body made from mango, with mahogany and koa options available as well—all great-sounding and common woods in the ukulele world. But I can’t recall ever playing a solid maple–topped uke before this one. Maple is often seen on the backs and sides of violins and archtop guitars, where the stiff, reflective wood offers a bright, clear sound.
Inside, the top’s two lateral braces are drilled with several holes, much like the bracing formerly used by Kanile’a, and they’re joined to fan braces. A bridge plate under the rosewood pin bridge helps strengthen the top and protect it from string pull.
The Comet’s back is pressed into an arch along its length and width. An arched back can do a few things to an instrument structurally and tonally. Just like it does with architecture, an arch increases rigidity, providing strength to the instrument, and is often credited with giving its sound more focus, projection, and sustain. Indeed, my test Comet had abundant sustain, with fretted and open notes ringing for much longer than I’m used to in a tenor uke. And an abstract, wave-shaped side soundport helps send some of the Comet’s sound to the player—a nice touch for style and sound.
Feels So Good
Let’s talk briefly about comfort, because this is an incredibly player-friendly instrument. The integrated armrest on the lower bass bout and nicely smoothed edges around the body’s top and back made playing the Comet very easy on my strumming arm. The African mahogany neck’s C-shaped profile added to the cozy vibe, and its sleek satin finish felt woody and never got sticky the way a gloss finish can sometimes get.
The 1-1/2–inch–wide bone nut is a little wider than most production tenor ukes and gave the Comet an excellent feel for my fretting hand. However, the nut on my review instrument was a little undersized for the slot at the end of the fingerboard—a fraction of a millimeter, but it still felt noticeable. The Comet is notably lightweight and well-balanced, so I never had to work to keep it in a good playing position.
Swinging Sounds
Speaking of lightweight instruments, I find light ukuleles often sound the best. It’s not a fixed rule, but a light instrument seems to show that the builder tried to straddle the line between strength and resonance. And this lightweight ukulele sounded especially good.
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Its woody sound immediately drew me in. I was enamored of its fullness and responsiveness throughout my time reviewing it. The Comet’s acoustic volume was solid, neither a screamer nor a timid-voiced uke. From fingerpicking a classical favorite to strumming wild Vaudeville tunes, it did everything well. Tones were plump and punchy, leaping out of the uke—right on the sweet spot of warm and clear, like an autumn afternoon. And, with its all-solid construction, I’d expect the Comet to continue to improve over years of playing as the wood opens up.
The fingerboard has 19 frets (14 to the body), and all were well-shaped and -seated with no sharp edges. The offset position markers are blue and stand out nicely against the fingerboard’s dark rosewood. Flight skipped the blue theme for the side position markers and went with a classic white inlay instead. The Prowell tuners were smooth and handsome and made it easy to tune. The Worth Brown fluorocarbon strings were a nice touch not often seen on a production uke, and something I hope to see more because these strings sound so good.
The Comet’s active electronics include an undersaddle pickup and a preamp mounted in the soundhole with the volume and tone controls. The controls remain accessible to reach and adjust, and it’s a much better look than when they are added to the side. Plugged in, the Comet was just what you’d you’d hope for from a ukulele—a nice acoustic tone made louder for a larger venue or a band setting.
With this uke, Flight offers a handsome and striking instrument with many custom-style touches. But the real winner here is the Comet’s sound and feel. It delivers punchy and warm tones, with plenty of richness and clarity, in an instrument that’s mighty comfortable to play.
BODY Tenor size with solid flame-maple top and solid mango back and sides (mahogany and koa also available); fan bracing with lightened lateral braces; side soundport; blackwood rosette; scalloped cutaway and armrest; rosewood pin-style bridge with compensated bone saddle; glossy finish with stained transparent blue top
NECK 16-7/8″ tenor-scale 5-piece African mahogany neck; open headstock with blue-stained maple faceplate; 19-fret rosewood fingerboard with offset stone dots; 38mm-wide bone nut; Prowell open-gear tuners; satin finish with glossy faceplate
ELECTRONICS Double C1U active pickup with endpin output jack
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OTHER Worth Brown fluorocarbon strings; humidifier; padded gig bag
MADE IN China
PRICE $719 (street)
