NUD Down Under: Pono ET(C)-PC

It has been a couple of weeks now, but I finally managed to get some photos of my new (and first) Pono. It certainly won't be the last!

Ordered from HMS, it took longer to get through customs and sent internally in New Zealand than it did getting here from Hawaii! All of the praise for HMS is well deserved.

Now, I am definitely just a learner, and so I count myself very lucky to have three wonderful instruments now. The Pono really is something else. What a sound! And that Macassar/Cedar combo is out of this world to look at. I am now seriously considering adding a baritone to the family in the form of an ABC-PC.

Now, can anyone tell me what the (C) in the name is all about? I haven't seen that on other Ponos, and assumed it was for a cutaway version which mine isn't. But now I assume it is the cedar?

Anyway, I'm loving the instrument, and I'm loving all the information on this forum. You guys rock!

Now, to try adding photos for the first time.....if I succeed, I will also put a photo of my three 'babies' together.

Congratulations on a great instrument. That piece of macassar ebony on the back is just stunning, some of the nicest I've seen.

You asked about the (C) in your model name, I guess it stands for Cedar but I have the very same model and my label says ET-PC. Sometimes Pono will change the name if they are coming out with another similar model. My bet is they will offer it with a spruce top and that will be ET(S)-PC. Just a guess.

Enjoy it for a long, long time, because they sound and play as good as they look

Thanks Dave. Your review on your one went a very long way towards me deciding on this one! I now look forward to getting good enough to do this lovely instrument justice.

Kiwiohana said:

Thanks Dave. Your review on your one went a very long way towards me deciding on this one! I now look forward to getting good enough to do this lovely instrument justice.

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Great to hear, glad I was of some help. As you get better your uke will sound even better.......win win :shaka:

Congratulations Kiwiohana, what a great looking instrument, very nice choice.

Great looking uke. If you do buy another one don't expect Customs to be any quicker. I have had phone numbers and email addresses on the package but no, they post a letter - but they take a week or ten days to get around to it.

pritch said:

Great looking uke. If you do buy another one don't expect Customs to be any quicker. I have had phone numbers and email addresses on the package but no, they post a letter - but they take a week or ten days to get around to it.

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Thanks Pritch. Thanks to a tip from Chefuke with the phone numbers for NZ Post and Customs, I did make getting it a bit quicker. The NZ Post guy was quite helpful; Customs were useless. But I managed to get the GST paid a few days before the letter arrived so all good.

Very nice addition to your Ohana family!

Congratulations. Lovely Ukulele.

I kind of feel a little responsible. Lol.

When Dave tried mine, he had to have one as well. They are wonderful instruments.

I bought a RBSH C Spruce top. Just love it.

Congratulations, great Uke! I have the version with the slotted headstock and the cutaway, and it's my favorite player.

As for the model names, they are confusing sometimes, as the C can stand for Cutaway, for Cedar, or for Pro Classic (in PC). Same with S for Spruce or Slotted Headstock (in SH). I think this is why Pono is trying to establish a new labeling system with the top wood in parentheses, (C) for Cedar and (S) for Spruce.

pritch said:

Great looking uke. If you do buy another one don't expect Customs to be any quicker. I have had phone numbers and email addresses on the package but no, they post a letter - but they take a week or ten days to get around to it.

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Having recently imported a uke myself, I found a way round this wait.

If you have a tracking number, you'll see when it goes through customs and is then forwarded to your local depot "awaiting payment of charges". After staring at this for two days, I called my carrier (Parcelforce) and asked when I could expect notification from customs. They of course had no idea but gave me the option to pay the charges over the phone, which I did. My uke was delivered the next day. The notification of charges came two days after that!

Something to consider.