Pono Baritones - Tonewood Differences

frets alot

frets alot

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I'm considering a Pono Baritone, but can't quite decide on the tonewood. I know the mahogany and acacia are available from HMS, but I've also heard that mango might also be available (although, I don't see it on their website). I'm looking at the AB and MB, NOT the deluxe versions.

Can you describe the differences in these tonewoods for sound (volume, bright vs. warm, etc.)? Thanks.
 
From feedback I've read here, differences seem to be minimal.
 
Mahogany is normally slightly mellower than acacia. There is a Mahogany Pono Bari for sale now on the Marketplace.
 
In terms of anything measurable or provable or objectice, it probably does not matter which tonewood you get.

However, I've had several Ponos at various price points. I think the Pono builders do very well with mahogany.
 
Those Pono Baritones are the best value out there. You can't go wrong with any of them. From what I can tell, differences are minimal. Mahogany or Accacia might be a bit warmer than Mango.
 
From the sound samples the Mango Baritone sounds more bright to my ears. I can tell a difference between the various tone woods. I prefer the Pono MBD over the Pono MB, but like the Pono MGB better than the Pono MGBD. This is just personal preference. You have to pick the one you like best. I always ask myself, will I get tired of this tone. The best thing to do is put on a set of good headphones and listen to the samples over a weeks time.

Listen with focused attention and you'll be able to hear the differences. A very good musician told me one time about listening. It's stuck with me. When you play your instrument, you listen to the tones it's making. It takes energy but it's a very good skill to develop.

The good news is that no matter what wood choice you pick, you'll get a well built instrument.
 
Last edited:
JustinJ said:
From the sound samples the Mango Baritone sounds more bright to my ears. I can tell a difference between the various tone woods. I prefer the Pono MBD over the Pono MB, but like the Pono MGB better than the Pono MGBD. This is just personal preference. You have to pick the one you like best. I always ask myself, will I get tired of this tone. The best thing to do is put on a set of good headphones and listen to the samples over a weeks time.

Listen with focused attention and you'll be able to hear the differences. A very good musician told me one time about listening. It's stuck with me. When you play your instrument, you listen to the tones it's making. It takes energy but it's a very good skill to develop.

The good news is that no matter what wood choice you pick, you'll get a well built instrument.
Click to expand...

I like the MB and the MGB (I expect the Acacia's great too, as I have that in Concert size and love it, but haven't tried the Acacia Baritone) and tried both: I came away with the MGB. The MB I tried had that typical mahogany bark and a little boom (might just have been my playing) whereas the MGB sounded more even and a little sweeter, yet husky voiced - for that reason I call it my Nora Jones ukulele! I can't find a link to the HMS sound sample now, but if you can it should give you a good idea of the tone.
 
wayward said:
I like the MB and the MGB (I expect the Acacia's great too, as I have that in Concert size and love it, but haven't tried the Acacia Baritone) and tried both: I came away with the MGB. The MB I tried had that typical mahogany bark and a little boom (might just have been my playing) whereas the MGB sounded more even and a little sweeter, yet husky voiced - for that reason I call it my Nora Jones ukulele! I can't find a link to the HMS sound sample now, but if you can it should give you a good idea of the tone.
Click to expand...

http://www.theukulelesite.com/pono-mgb-mango-baritone-1166.html :shaka:
 
https://vimeo.com/search?q=pono+baritone

HMS puts many of their video on Vimeo. You can just put Pono MGB in vimeo and it'll pull up a video of the mango baritone. So if you're interested in a certain model, put it in the search. I just did a search for Pono Baritone.
 
A lot of great feedback so far. Thanks! Keep it coming, if you would like to share your thoughts. Looks like Pono is the way to go....just have to decide on which one.
 
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