Icelander53
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Has anyone had a chance to compare?:drool: I'm thinking of springing for the solid electric and need a little advice. What's your pick and why? I'm open to all suggestions. Thanks. :
solid body tenor Godin vs Pono
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pritch
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There may not be too many qualified to answer. There will be a number who have one or the other but I suspect there will be few who have both.
For the record I have Pono withMiSi pickup and am happy with it. James Hill has what appears to be a Ko'Olau, similar but different.
For the record I have Pono withMiSi pickup and am happy with it. James Hill has what appears to be a Ko'Olau, similar but different.
I had asked this question just about a month ago: There were equal numbers of yay's for both Godin and Pono TE, and no nay's for either.
In the end, I went for the Pono cos I wanted something simple, which meant no needless tweaking of dials and knobs in order to get a good sound.
Having never laid hands on the Godin, I can say only that the Pono is simply great - literally, I plug in to my Yamaha THR5 amp and I get a good sound. Unplugged, it is plenty loud, enough for me to play along with my wife on piano (using soft pedals).
In the end, I went for the Pono cos I wanted something simple, which meant no needless tweaking of dials and knobs in order to get a good sound.
Having never laid hands on the Godin, I can say only that the Pono is simply great - literally, I plug in to my Yamaha THR5 amp and I get a good sound. Unplugged, it is plenty loud, enough for me to play along with my wife on piano (using soft pedals).
iDavid
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Played both back to back and bought the Godin.
I have a Godin and have owned a Koolau solid body. The Godin is chambered and to me sounds awesome plugged in. The Koolau not so much. Additionally, because it it is chambered it has quite a bit of volume unplugged as well.
kissing
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i used to have the Godin. The best electric uke I have ever played. The pickup system of the Godin is amazing and the Godin doubles as a decent (but not super loud) acoustic instrument.
The Godin is the more versatile out of the two; unless you want something that makes zero acoustic sound
The Godin is the more versatile out of the two; unless you want something that makes zero acoustic sound
Take a listen to them: http://www.theukulelereview.com/2013/06/14/20130614new-pono-ce-solid-body-tenor-review-comparison/
Btw, James Hill prefers the Koolau, which is like the Pono TE but made in Hawaii.
Btw, James Hill prefers the Koolau, which is like the Pono TE but made in Hawaii.
ichadwick
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Godin. Beautifully made, has fair uplugged volume, separate pickups for each string, and built-in equalizer... and sounds great plugged in.
Only thing I'd want is a separate volume control for each string to balance it even more finely.
Only thing I'd want is a separate volume control for each string to balance it even more finely.
coolkayaker1
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The KoOlau and Godin are both chambered-bodied instruments.
I agree, wholeheartedly, with both posts from Andy Chen below.
That said, I've never played a Godin chambered ukulele, and likely never will. Many reasons, one of which is the non-user-adjustable four-element saddle of the Godin (there have been threads, at least one here and many on the guitar forums, of the saddle adjustments, issues, etc. Strongly suggest a dedicated search on that saddle before buying Godin). Too complex for me--give me good old bone saddle with an under-saddle pickup made by a separate, dedicated pickup manufacturer. Plus, where the jack comes out on the Godin, knowing myself, I'd snap that baby off on my thigh in the first week; the Godin jack location is truly ideal for a player who stands and uses a strap. I much prefer the Pono jack location, which is more traditional for a ukulele.
Here's the NAMM 2013 video from when Godin first introduced the Multi-uke 2-years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY7lzuekvww
And the incomparable Pono TE (does Z sound like a young Dave Matthews, or what?). Watch entire video, and the Pono TE's details are discussed starting at 0:46 min. A great instrument.
Bonus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJXWOFRCFM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TpvFcFS7BA#t=13
I agree, wholeheartedly, with both posts from Andy Chen below.
That said, I've never played a Godin chambered ukulele, and likely never will. Many reasons, one of which is the non-user-adjustable four-element saddle of the Godin (there have been threads, at least one here and many on the guitar forums, of the saddle adjustments, issues, etc. Strongly suggest a dedicated search on that saddle before buying Godin). Too complex for me--give me good old bone saddle with an under-saddle pickup made by a separate, dedicated pickup manufacturer. Plus, where the jack comes out on the Godin, knowing myself, I'd snap that baby off on my thigh in the first week; the Godin jack location is truly ideal for a player who stands and uses a strap. I much prefer the Pono jack location, which is more traditional for a ukulele.
Here's the NAMM 2013 video from when Godin first introduced the Multi-uke 2-years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY7lzuekvww
And the incomparable Pono TE (does Z sound like a young Dave Matthews, or what?). Watch entire video, and the Pono TE's details are discussed starting at 0:46 min. A great instrument.
Bonus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJXWOFRCFM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TpvFcFS7BA#t=13
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I preferred the Pono when I listened to them both played: when plugged in (without any effects) through a Roland AC33, it produced a sound which was closer to an acoustic ukulele, to my ear. If you want something versatile & are happy with the "electric" sound and heavier weight of the Godin, then it could have advantages ... but personally I have always preferred the tone of the Pono as a clean sound - both live & in every recording I've heard of them.
Edited to add... I've just clicked on the link to a video comparison of the Godin & Pono (+ a Ko'olau) Andy Chen posted above, and read the review with it: I should have read that first and just said "I agree"!
Edited to add... I've just clicked on the link to a video comparison of the Godin & Pono (+ a Ko'olau) Andy Chen posted above, and read the review with it: I should have read that first and just said "I agree"!
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OP
OP
Icelander53
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Thanks for the feedback guys.
I think both would be very nice. Almost a tossup. And what about the Teton Electric? Anyone feel it gets into the ballpark with these other two?
I think both would be very nice. Almost a tossup. And what about the Teton Electric? Anyone feel it gets into the ballpark with these other two?
OP
OP
Icelander53
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I'm not a pro by any means and it could be several decades before I'm stage ready (I'm 62). But if the sound is close in quality I do like the earphone jack on that guy and it's not bad looking. But if the PONO and GODIN sound a lot better than I'd go that route. At this moment I'm leaning toward Godin. They are (teton) around $300 and the others are about twice that.
Doc_J
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To confuse the issue, my favorite electric uke is a steel string Monkey Wrench with 2 humbuckers. I had a Pono CE with a MiSi, but sold it after I got the Monkey Wrench.
OP
OP
Icelander53
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Those are beautiful ukes. I would love to hear one.
coolkayaker1
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kissing
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I can assure you that the Pono and Godin will sound a LOT better than the Teton.
I've opened up Tetons and done a bit of DIY on them. Basically, while they're not necessarily badly put together, the parts they use are quite cheap.
Quality control is rather hit and miss too.
I have never really found headphone plugins useful on an electric instrument. If you want to play silently, just play the electric uke silently. You can hear it. The headphone tone is always brash and unpleasant anyway - no idea why someone would want to damage their hearing with such crappy sounds. And I don't see multitudes of electric guitars come with a headphone feature, so it's mostly a gimmick.
If you *really* want to use headphones, just plug a headphone into your amplifier, which everyone with an electric ukulele will have anyway. It will sound better too.
The Pono and Godin are worth what you pay for. In some ways, you are getting a bargain. You have to spend a lot more money to get the top, professional quality electric guitar. At least with ukulele, you are getting the best quality that money can buy for well under $1000. These are instruments that can last a lifetime, and there are options to re-sell later on if you find that it's not your cup of tea.
ichadwick
Well-known member
Given the shortness of the scale compared with a guitar, this is really a non-issue. The likelihood that you will have to adjust the pre-set intonation is slight. And even if you did, the amount of adjustment would be tiny and likely not affect the intonation below the seventh or ninth fret.
The vast majority of ukuleles have a solid-bar, non-adjustable saddle. Do you refuse to own/play them? Godin's set up isn't any less adjustable.
I have never seen an adjustable saddle on nylon-stringed instruments, only metal-stringed. Has anyone got an example of this?
sam13
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Hey Hodge,
Just hit their site ... those look really impressive ... thanks for the tip. Any chance for a sound sample?
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