Not bonding with a pono nui

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I picked up a pono nui a few months ago. I immediately was taken with the rich sound and the sustain, amazing!

However I don't enjoy playing it. Not really sure why, I think I just prefer the sound and size of my smaller instruments.

Any thoughts from the community? Debating between just putting it away for a few months vs just selling or trying to trade.

Thanks!
Ben
 
Perhaps it's the size and shape of the neck. I have one ot their new UL's. Love the sound and size but really dislike the neck. I'm thinking of either getting the neck shaved or perhaps just having a custom made.
 
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I would put it away for a bit. Then if I still felt there was something off about it, sell or trade it.
 
Based on my own experience, I often seem to need a few days or weeks to warm up to a new instrument. There's always the initial excitement, which is then followed by some form of emotional sobering up, before the excitement will either return or remain absent. In case of my custom tenor it actually took me almost a year (where it mostly stayed in its case) to fall truly in love with it, and now it's one of the two ukes I would never consider letting go. I also went through a similar thing with the guitarlele, though much more quickly: excitement, reluctance, excitement, over the course of two weeks. Now that it's becoming more familiar, it grows on me very fast.

I've also noticed that my preferences for tone and size aren't always the same. I'm not sure what that depends on, but my solution for it is to have a soprano, a (now again) high-G tenor (plus a second one that doesn't need a case), and the guitarlele. This gives me three distinctive playing/sound experiences, so whatever sounds good to me on a given day or in a given week, that's what I'll play. No longer need a low-G uke since the Kanile'a GL6 covers that area for me.

I also had a Pono baritone that I loved, and that was a genuinely great instrument, but I felt the size needed more than four strings (hence the GL6; I loved the lower tones, but missed the higher ones, and I wanted to combine that), so I ended up selling it to someone who now loves it very much. I also let my Opio concert go because the size didn't do what I hoped it would for me. Likewise, after a year I sold my KoAloha LN pineapple because after an initial love affair, it didn't get played and I was relatively sure that I would not return to it. Was still hard, but I felt kind of uncomfortable having these sit around being unused when a) I could use the money on something that I would play and b) someone might really love them and let their voices be heard. I'm glad I didn't do that with the custom tenor, which really I wasn't ready for when I got it, but that is now a gem I am very grateful for. That fear of regret is sometimes a burden and sometimes beneficial.

You said you had the Nui for a few months. How much have you actively been playing on it? I'd say declare a week or two as your Nui Quality Time and play nothing but this instrument during the period. See how you feel at the end.
 
I like Pono in general, and I have played a Pono Baritone Nui, and my only thought while playing it was, "why am I not just playing a guitar right now?"
 
Maybe it is the big size, after all. I love my Pono Nui, as to me, it provides the full sound of a guitar, but without having to worry about two extra strings. I do pick it up a little less than some of my other ukes, however, and I think it's because with this size, I cannot just cuddle up comfy on the couch, which is one of the things I really like about ukes. I'd never sell mine, though: Despite owning a couple of nice custom ukes, the Baritone Nui is among my absolute favourites.
 
I picked up a pono nui a few months ago. I immediately was taken with the rich sound and the sustain, amazing!

However I don't enjoy playing it. Not really sure why, I think I just prefer the sound and size of my smaller instruments.

Any thoughts from the community? Debating between just putting it away for a few months vs just selling or trying to trade.

Thanks!
Ben

It might be best to let it go, either sell or trade for something you know you'll really like. You probably wouldn't take much of a hit financially and I reckon there would be plenty of interest here at UU for purchase or trade.
 
Is it the comfort and playability issue I guessing then. So is it the strings, neck, or size?
 
Put it away for a rainy day. :)

If you're not desperate for money, put it aside until you want that 'sound' again. I have a lot of ukes, (too many?), some don't get played regularly, but then one day I end up looking for a certain 'sound', & out it comes again, & then I play it for a while, before putting it back in it's case. ;)

Our tastes change with our moods, if you get rid of it you may well regret it.
 
Thanks all for the advice! I'm inclined to keep it but I figure I will see if a trade exists first, you never know. I played it last night and I love the sound of it so much... I may decide to have my luthier taper the neck if I keep it.

Thanks again!
Ben
 
Thanks all for the advice! I'm inclined to keep it but I figure I will see if a trade exists first, you never know. I played it last night and I love the sound of it so much... I may decide to have my luthier taper the neck if I keep it.

Thanks again!
Ben


For what is it worth I went through the same thing with a Blueridge BR-40 tenor guitar. I absolutely loved the sound but the big body and thin 1-1/8" nut width made it very difficult to play. I bought a Pono UL4-20 which is a small tenor guitar and the playability is so much easier I decided to sell the Blueridge. Funny thing was the Blueridge tenor guitar had my heart when it came to a pure steel string acoustic sound. I pulled the FS add off the marketplace and kept it. Best thing I did because I've played it enough to get use to it and I just love the sound. It was worth it to me to hang in there.
 
Which nui do you have?
 
I had a vintage Tenor Guitar once. It was entirely too big for me.
It felt like driving a boat!
Too big/ too uncomfortable. It didn't last long.
 
I have the acacia baritone.

The Acacia Baritone must weight a ton? I had a Pono Acacia tenor. My shoulder hurt after playing it for an hour. I finally parted that one although it has a very deep guitar sound to it that I like.
I also have a K brand concert that I paid a lot of money but never really bonded with it too so this is normal.
If I were you , I would sell it while it's still new so other can enjoy it.
 
This is a tough call. If it is the scale that is bothering you, I doubt that will change. Personally, I am a big fan of the Pono sound (I have two Pono pro classic tenors that I love: a cedar/rosewood strung low G and a mango strung high G) and I think they are marvelous value for money. The sound, construction, and resonance are fabulous, and you get a lot of custom-like features in the Pro classic series for much less cost. And the Nui sounds so majestic with thanks to its longer scale. How I wish I could manage a 23" scale. But I find even regular 19"-20" baritones feel big...

As someone else on this thread said, you might want to sell it sooner than later so you can sell it in "new" condition. How about giving yourself a firm deadline? Keep it for a month and play it as often as you can. If you still aren't convinced, sell. That's what I should do too. I find I have kept too many instruments with the thought that someday I would warm to them (autoharp, I'm looking at you!) Needless to say, it did not happen. Come to think of it, I should take my own advice. Okay, that autoharp is going up on kijiji this weekend. You've inspired me. :)
 
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