NUD: Pono AC Acacia Concert

jollyboy

jollyboy

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"I've got a Pono... I've got a Pono... I've got a Pono..."

You're lucky you can't see my "I've got a Pono" dance :p

I have ascended to UAS level 3 (level 1 being 'entry level laminate' and level 2 being 'step-up instrument').

First impressions - it's really nicely made and just so woody. It's quiet - the quietest uke I've owned to date. The tone is honey sweet and almost shimmering (lots of overtones I think I mean). Atm it's strung with a standard gCEA set of Fremont blacklines Hopefully wounc c and wound low g strings will show up tomorrow. I'm still not mad about re-entrant tuning and impatient to hear how it will sound with my preferred string configuration.

It's got a relatively thick neck, as I was expecting that it would. This has proven to be absolutely fine. Can't really see why some people consider this problematic.

It has been really nicely set up by Southern Ukulele Store, so a big thankyou to them :)
 
Very cool! Congrats! Can we see some pics soon?
The reason I don't like thick necks is they hurt my hand. My Kala had a neck like a baseball bat, so I took it to my luthier and had him reshape it and now it plays like a dream.
That's the only reason I can think of.
Anyway, play that Pono into dust!
 
Aloha JB,
Congratulations on your beautiful Pono, happy strummings. . :) and the pono ohana
 
jollyboy said:
"I've got a Pono... I've got a Pono... I've got a Pono..."

You're lucky you can't see my "I've got a Pono" dance :p

I have ascended to UAS level 3 (level 1 being 'entry level laminate' and level 2 being 'step-up instrument').

First impressions - it's really nicely made and just so woody. It's quiet - the quietest uke I've owned to date. The tone is honey sweet and almost shimmering (lots of overtones I think I mean). Atm it's strung with a standard gCEA set of Fremont blacklines Hopefully wounc c and wound low g strings will show up tomorrow. I'm still not mad about re-entrant tuning and impatient to hear how it will sound with my preferred string configuration.

It's got a relatively thick neck, as I was expecting that it would. This has proven to be absolutely fine. Can't really see why some people consider this problematic.

It has been really nicely set up by Southern Ukulele Store, so a big thankyou to them :)
Click to expand...

Awesome, congrats.
Please try some PHD low G strings on this Pono.
I have tried PHD on a few Pono and they always bring out the best in the instrument.
Worth the 9 bucks for sure.

Why trust me?
I have tried a multitude of strings.
Where most people go through UAS I went through SAS, String Acquisition Syndrome.
At the end of the day, PHD are the best strings I have ever put on a Pono.
Period.
Bonus: They are all fluorocarbon, no squeaky wound string sound. And good tension, not like the flaccid worth brown low g string set.
 
jollyboy said:
"I've got a Pono... I've got a Pono... I've got a Pono..."

It's got a relatively thick neck, as I was expecting that it would. This has proven to be absolutely fine. Can't really see why some people consider this problematic.
Click to expand...

Me too, a Pono ATD! Re: neck thickness, I was a bit wary at first when in my extensive research before buying, I found several people commenting that they didn't like the thick neck on Ponos. Some of them made it sound like it felt like a strung baseball bat. Andrew at Hawaii Music Supply was very patient in answering my questions and sent me the neck thickness measurement before I bought my Pono. I had a set of calipers and compared the measurement to my Ohana and my Lanikai. They were the same or barely larger. I don't understand the thickness complaints either. I didn't find a noticeable difference between Pono and my ukes or any of the many I've tried out in music stores.

Enjoy your Pono!

Pono: A Hawaiian word commonly rendered as "righteousness"

Pono: Language is the window through which fundamental foundational precepts of a society can be examined. There is not a word in the English language that [truly] expresses the meaning of "pono" in the Hawaiian language. The Hawaiian-English dictionary devotes one half page in the attempt to convey these layers of meaning in English. So, what does it mean to be pono?

In the Hawaiian thought, being pono means being in perfect alignment and balance with all things in life. It means one has the perfect relationship with the creative energy of the universe, however you might describe that energy: God, Goddess, prana, mana, chi - whatever that appellation is for you. Your every thought word and deed are in complete harmony with that divine energy. Pono means you are in complete harmony and alignment with your custodial relationship with the earth. That you operate on the earthly plane as one who is the caretaker of the land during your lifetime. That your stewardship of the land leaves it as good or better than you found it so that succeeding generations can enjoy the resources that were gifted to you in your lifetime and during your stewardship.

Pono means that you have a proper respectful relationship with your parents, with your spouse or significant other, with your children, with your extended family members and with your co-workers. Pono means that your relationships with others are just and fair and untinged by anger, jealousy, resentment or any negative energy. You are in harmony and in integrity. Discord is resolved with ho'oponopono - the setting right of bad feelings. Ho'oponopono must be entered into with a sincere desire by all parties to resolve differences - not an opportunity for "right fighting". A mutually respected arbitrator manages the process of making right so that all parties feel the matter is resolved and no longer exerts any negative energy on the parties involved. When the process is complete, the parties are pono with one another again. Harmony is restored.

In truth, every action in life is either pono ... or not. And humankind's assignment is to be pono in all things. An ali'i, or chief, who was not pono would not be tolerated for very long. The ali'i's job was to provide the best possible life for his people. If he consistently failed in his duty to do so, the people would find a way to dispense with him. Individuals who choose to be other than pono would find themselves outcast from the society as a whole.

Pono is a concept worth adopting in our own life. If each of us really aspired to be pono, if we accepted our implicit agreement to be a pono spiritual being, a pono guardian of the earths resources, a pono daughter or son, a pono spouse, friend, co-worker, employer, government servant - what a different world we could live in. I think it's a concept worth working for. (realhula.com)
 
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I really do want to see your "I've got a Pono" dance. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.

Your enjoyment is contagious, and is brightening my day.
 
jollyboy said:
"I've got a Pono... I've got a Pono... I've got a Pono..."

You're lucky you can't see my "I've got a Pono" dance :p
Click to expand...

I can visualise your joy. Congratulations.
 
Thanks for all the kind words. It's very cool how folks here are so supportive of each other :) (*cough* UAS enablers *cough*)

johnson430 said:
Please try some PHD low G strings on this Pono.
Click to expand...

I will! Always happy to get a good tip. I'm firmly in the strings-maketh-the-uke camp - I don't understand why someone would spend money on a decent instrument and then not spend a little extra to get the best strings for it.

mikelz777 said:
Re: neck thickness, I was a bit wary at first when in my extensive research before buying, I found several people commenting that they didn't like the thick neck on Ponos. Some of them made it sound like it felt like a strung baseball bat.
Click to expand...

I was absolutely the same. Some people really made the thicker neck sound like an absolute dealbreaker. I'm glad to say I have not found this to be the case.

Nickie said:
The reason I don't like thick necks is they hurt my hand.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, a bit of a lack of empathy on my part - my bad. Of course there are entirely valid reasons why some people don't want an instrument with a thick neck. Different strokes... :)

Nickie said:
Can we see some pics soon?
Click to expand...

Atm the only camera I have is the one on my phone - which is not great. However, I am hopefully going to be getting a new phone soonish so will try to post some pics then.


Quick update: as the strings have continued to settle and get closer to their optimum tension the volume of the instrument has increased noticeably.
 
Congratulations on your new Pono.

I was torn between the acacia and the mahogany but as a second hand 3 month old MCD came up, that was decision made.

It's now over a year old and I've got to say the sound is not only louder it is a lot fuller as well.

I wish I had recorded it when I first got it and then the same tune every month, would have been interesting.

Anyway, hope you will fall in love with it as I have with mine.
 
The Pono dance contains elements of other traditional dances, including the Tongan war dance, English Morris dancing, and the funky chicken.
 
So, I got a new phone, with what I hoped would be a better camera - but it doesn't seem much of an improvement over the last one. It's hard to get an in-focus shot and you either get glare or deep shadows depending on how much ambient light is around. Anyway, here finally is a pic...

DSC_0006.jpg
 
Thanks for the pic. I really like the splash of color in the fretboard. I think that is becoming the norm these days. I sure like the contrast in the fretboard of my new uke. At first it was a little confusing looking for chords, but it's making me a better player. Happy pickin'!
 
What a fine looking instrument. Enjoy and strum away, Pono love is something to behold. But, still no tube of the dance?
 
My Pono is nearly ten years old and quiet is not a word I would use to describe it at all. It is currently strung with Worth Brown strings. One thing that always surprises me is the projection my Pono has. It might seem to be not as loud as some of my other ukuleles while I am playing it, but if I hand it to someone else and they play it, much louder. It is like the sound is very directional out of the soundhole.

Congratulations, I am sure you will have many happy years together.
 
Congrats on getting a great ukulele! Ponos are sweet ukes, and IMHO the Acacia ones sound the best, with lots of volume, resonance, and sustain. :cool:
 
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