sooooooo worth the wait! NUD Pono ETSCH(C)-PC

As so many who commented on my thread awhile back mentioned, it has been completely worth the wait to get my wonderful new ukulele.

The first thread mentioned that I was struggling with the wait time when I ordered my uke from HMS. They do a nice job with the setup, and when it came in it looked very nice and sounded great... except it had a small flaw :-( I corresponded with Chris and Andrew at HMS, sending them a photo of what I noticed.

Their response was timely and professional. They did not have this model around, but were expecting a new shipment in early March. Andrew offered to let me play my current one (the flaw is not structural, and the instrument sounded very nice) while I awaited the replacement. Very kind of him. I offered to take a different model without the cutaway or the slot head, instead, but ultimately decided to wait for the cutaway and slot head in the new shipment.

I thoroughly enjoyed the time with the loaner, and my playing has improved to approach mediocre doing some chord melody stuff, as well as a little strumming and singing. Fun, fun, fun!

Of course, impatient me was ready pretty soon for the replacement - and it arrived yesterday! Beautiful in every way, and the setup was even better than the first one that they shipped me - or, I guess I should say it survived the shipping better. I think it is a little more balanced, and slightly warmer than the loaner - but they are both fantastic. The top on the loaner was absolutely beautiful, the replacement still very nice. Back and sides go to the replacement - gorgeous! Of course, the loaner was also nice, so I am really just being a picky snob.

Anyway, to the pics! I will attempt some sound clips in the next few days, if all goes as planned. Apologies for the crappy iphone pics, I will try to get good camera versions at some point soon. Gotta play for now, though!











ps - thanks to all who post here about different topics - it has been fun to learn a little about this cool instrument, and I look forward to many years of fun and learning!

Niiiiiiice. Did you know there's a special dance you have to do when you acquire a new Pono?

As a matter of interest how is it strung? Looks like maybe wound low-g and wound c?

Jollyboy is correct......The Pono Pairing Dance. It does require taking off your clothes so no need to film it.

Congratulations they are fantastic instruments. My first high quality uke was a Pono ET-PC, same woods but no cutawy or slothead. Many ukes have come and gone but that one is still here. They sound and play great and it has seen action out and about in many locals.

Congratulations Jim, a wonderful ukulele and great service from Andrew and the team at HMS!

Congrats! Pono Tenors are magic, and so are the gang at HMS! :shaka:

Congrats on the new Ukulele Jim. It is a beautiful Pono!

For me, working with HMS and Andrew is the only way to buy a Uke at the distance ... tremendous care and service.

Very nice!!!!! Love the reflections in the photos!

Steedy said:

Congrats! Pono Tenors are magic, and so are the gang at HMS! :shaka:

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Agreed! My first "good uke" was a Pono mango tenor. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Congrats on your beauty. That back is gorgeous.

DownUpDave said:

Jollyboy is correct......The Pono Pairing Dance. It does require taking off your clothes so no need to film it.

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I knew there was a good reason I've avoided Pono all this time.

Congrats! Looks great. Also, lovin the reflection pictures. Nice touch.

Congratulations Jim, what a gorgeous instrument! I own the very same model (in fact, the one featured in HMS's video), and to me, it's the absolute best you can get in a production line uke. Enjoy!

I guess one day all of us happy Pono owners need to get together and perform our Pono dance.

jollyboy said:

Niiiiiiice. Did you know there's a special dance you have to do when you acquire a new Pono?

As a matter of interest how is it strung? Looks like maybe wound low-g and wound c?

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You know, I was wondering why I had the sudden urge to jump around and act silly right after opening the box - now I know! It was Mother Nature pushing me into the dance!

It's low G, w a wound C. Gonna play these for awhile then consider other string choices, too.

Thanks for the kind comments and support, folks. Rakelele, the pic of yours on the website helped push me over the top to get this, it's gorgeous!

When trying get a few quick shots, it was tough to do with the beautiful gloss finish , so I just gave in, lol. Then the little girl came over to help, and gave me my new fb profile pic!

That's excellent news! What a lovely ukulele.

How long did it take for it to arrive after ordering?
I'm waiting on two Pono's from HMS too and the wait is absolutely killing me.

I know that I need to be patient, but I can't help but worry that I'll die before the ukes come. Having the ukuleles rock up at my door step seems nearly too good to be true. I wish I can fast-forward to the NUD.

kissing said:

That's excellent news! What a lovely ukulele.

How long did it take for it to arrive after ordering?
I'm waiting on two Pono's from HMS too and the wait is absolutely killing me.

I know that I need to be patient, but I can't help but worry that I'll die before the ukes come. Having the ukuleles rock up at my door step seems nearly too good to be true. I wish I can fast-forward to the NUD.

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I can't remember the exact wait time, but they were right in the window of time that they were saying for expected delivery time. I think it was a little short of three weeks, but don't recall exactly.

I feel ya, the wait was killing me, too - but quite worth it in the end!

Absolutely lovely. I bet it really sings. Congratulations!
Joe

Can't go wrong with a Pono! Lovely uke! Congratulations!

Here are a couple of quick samples. Not a very quiet room, apologies. Also, I forgot to remove the reverb and light echo, so I will adjust later and try to make a little better performance effort, too.

REALLLLLYYYYY liking this Pono!!!!

https://soundcloud.com/jim-niemann/annies-song-crap-ending

https://soundcloud.com/jim-niemann/reindeers

Great sound sample, and nice singing, too! The uke sounds really open already. Gotta love that cedar top.