Flight Peter Moss Signature Concert Ukulele - REVIEW

A return for a ukulele brand that's been 'one of' the most featured on this site (on account of their huge range and popularity). This is the Flight Peter Moss Signature Concert Ukulele.

I don't need to say too much more about Flight to my regular readers or those well versed in the ukulele community but if they are new to you, check out my full review list here and have a work through the reviews I've done for this Slovenian brand - they've all been pretty good. I don't think I need to say too much more about Peter Moss either, and that goes for my readers right round the world too. In fact Peter has been performing and teaching uke longer than most and has performed around the world himself. Flight may find it interesting to know that I have actually known Peter longer than I have known the Flight brand so it's kind of a 'double header' of uke heritage this week!

SUMMARY VIDEO REVIEW

I can see the sense in Flight partnering with Peter too (or is that vice-versa) in view of both of these being 'brands' that are very well known in uke circles Signature models are nothing new in the musical instrument world either, and whilst I shy away from some (when gaudy), some work very nicely and are not too in your face (like the Enya Taimane series).  We'll see how they got on with that later on, but this is immediately an attractive looking, modern shaped concert ukulele with some 'Flight staple' similarities yet enough I can see to set it apart.

 
It's an all solid wood double bout concert affair with wood pairing chosen by Peter using solid spruce for the top and solid mahogany back and sides (that's actually African Mahogany which is Khaya wood, but it's commonly called mahogany). In fact the scale is Peter's preferred option too, though they are now making a tenor version as well (not that I sure how that is a 'signature' bearing in mind Peter plays concerts..). It's that common wood pairing that puts the bright snappy projection into the soundboard and uses the darker, woodier mahogany to rein things back in and round off the tone. The shape is modern and once again goes with the concave cutaway used on a number of Flight ukes.

The bridge is the common Flight shape made of rosewood, but rather than a pin bridge which they've used a lot, it's a through body style. I'm a fan of these myself as they make for great string anchoring into the body with less fuss than dealing with pins. It's very smooth and tidy and fitted with a bone compensated top saddle. Spacing here is 41mm.

Decor wise this one is ticking boxes for me in a big way, in what Flight are calling a 'Moonburst stain' under a gloss. When these first launched (about a year ago, but.. you know.. i've been busy..), I since saw people calling similarities to the Flight Nighthawk. I'm not sure which came first, but I am not seeing that myself. OK, they are two darker finished instruments with cutaways, but that Nighthawk is laced with a LOT of blue.. I prefer this myself. The 'moonburst is mainly on the top, created by staining the spruce black and then buffing out the central section to create a ghostly grey. I love it. The sides have a touch of the  black / grey colouring whereas the back is more of a natural walnut colour which provides a nice contrast. Around the top and back are cream binding strips, together with one on the tail joint. The sound hole gets an abalone ring which blends nicely with the burst finish and the cutaway is glossy black (which looks far nicer than the blue on the Nighthawk I think). The body is finished in a well applied gloss which makes the burst sparkle. I think the whole thing looks subdued yet still striking. Nicely done.

Inside is tidy enough (bar the mass of wiring for reasons explained below!!) with notched linings and fairly thin braces. The top braces in particular are drilled through, Kanile'a style to reduce weight but maintain rigidity.

The neck is made from mahogany with an attractive black skunk stripe running down the middle. Aside from that lengthways joint there are joints at the at the heel and headstock but both are well hidden. It's finished in  satin rather than gloss which is another plus. That tapers to a fairly standard sort of profile and average nut width of 36mm and about 28mm G to A.

The fingerboard is in rosewood and in great condition. It follows a number of Flight ukes with the more modern offset position dots and the only nod to the 'signature' element being the neatly inlaid 'MOSS' at the 12th. When I first saw press shots of these I reverted to my normal 'I don't like names on fretboards' stance, but it's actually fairly subtle and not gaudy. In fact, at a distance you wouldn't know it was a signature model at all. I think I would still prefer the signature name on the back of the headstock like on the Enya Taimane, but this isn't too bad. The markers are in the usual places of the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th and are paired with side dots. It comes with 19 frets joined at the 14th and, like one or two other Flight ukes are dressed with rounded semi-hemi ends so are wonderfully comfortable.

Beyond the bone nut is the common open frame headstock used on many Flight ukes, faced in shiny black and carrying the Flight logo at the top. It's all very tidy and a shape loved by many.

The tuners are open gears facing backwards on what is essentially a slot-head. They are made by Prowel and in black and gold. Good quality too and look great.

Finishing things off are a set of Worth Brown BM strings (Peter's personal choice) and an active pickup by Double, though thankfully with a sound hole control panel rather than an ugly box on the side. (Yes.. I'd still prefer a passive or an acoustic option though!!). You also get the now famous claret coloured padded gig bag from Flight. And the UK shop RRP on these is at £379, though often with a bit of discounting. That's pretty decent for this level of appointments though I am a little unsure why the list is a more than the Nighthawk which is also an electro, solid spruce top, solid mahogany instrument with similar appointments like semi-hemi frets, and cutaway. It loses a fraction of a point to the Nighthawk for that reason, though gains that back on the looks element of the score as I much prefer this! Horses for courses.

So not much wrong here so far, bar my subjective gripe about the pickup. The build and finish is as good as i've seen from a Flight (and bear in mind I had a couple of 'issues' with models recently despite them coming direct from the brand themselves). This is extremely tidy and quite the looker. It's not heavy at 610g and balances ok.

Volume is good although not the loudest bark from a concert I have heard. I am not saying it is quiet though, it's far from that. Sustain though is really wonderful and long which will help with more expressive playing techniques.

Tone wise, with a spruce top you will want the darker wood sound of mahogany on the back and sides to mellow that out a little, particularly on a concert body which are naturally a bit zingier in any case. Whether the wood is doing that here or the choice of the mellower Worth Brown strings (probably a bit of both) I can confirm that whilst this is a chimey, bright sounding instrument there is a background warmth that is keeping it in check and stopping it being strident. It's rounded off nicely for a concert.

Strummed it sounds just like a concert should for me - zingy, peppy, jangly and very rhythmical, more akin to the soprano sound than the tenor. It's all very clear played this way too and doesn't seem to trip itself up. Really bouncy and fun. Fingerpicking is where concerts can offer more than sopranos with more sustain (and, usually, frets!) and this is a lot of fun to play that way too. It's a bell like chime all over the neck, extremely clear and that longer sustain make adding in things like vibrato a breeze. A very pretty sounding instrument indeed however you play it.

So really not a lot wrong here at all. I think it's one of my favourite looking Flights as there is something about that ghostly grey that has grabbed me. Thankfully this example is in very good shape too and it sounds great too. I'd shop around on price though and ensure you buy from a dealer that will check setup.

Easy to give this one a Got A Ukulele recommendation! 

https://flightmusic.com/

https://www.patreon.com/petermossukuleleshortcuts

UKULELE SPECS ROUNDUP

Model: Flight Peter Moss Signature

Scale: Concert
Body: Solid Spruce top, solid African Mahogany back and sides
Bridge: Rosewood, through body

Saddle: Bone, compensated
Spacing at saddle: 41mm

Finish: Moonburst stain under gloss
Neck: Mahogany
Fingerboard: Rosewood

Frets: 19, 14 to body. Semi-hemi dressed

Nut: Bone

Nut width: 36mm, 28mm G to A

Tuners: Prowel open gears, black and gold
Extras: Flight 'red' gig bag, Double soundhole controlled pickup

Strings: Worth Brown
Weight: 610g

Country of origin: China

Price: £379 RRP

UKULELE PROS

LOVE the looks

Good build and finish

Very nice frets

Great sustain

Clear pretty tone with a rounded edge

UKULELE CONS

At least the pickup isn't in the side, but would prefer to choose my own passive
Why is it more than the Nighthawk?

UKULELE SCORES

Looks - 9.5 out of 10

Fit and finish - 9 out of 10

Sound - 9 out of 10

Value for money - 8.5 out of 10

OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9.1 out of 10

UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW

© Barry Maz
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