What do you think of the Pono Ukulele?

Alot of the people on this board, myself included, are playing pono's or have them in their collection. the consensus seems to be that they are some of the best ukulele's in their price range, because they are solid wood, have very good craftsmanship and tend to be a good in between from starter uke, to hand made in hawaii multiple thousand dollar ukes haha. But for the money, you are hard pressed to find a nicer uke!

I have the pono PTE, the deluxe mahogany tenor with pickup and its great.
 
Alot of the people on this board, myself included, are playing pono's or have them in their collection. the consensus seems to be that they are some of the best ukulele's in their price range, because they are solid wood, have very good craftsmanship and tend to be a good in between from starter uke, to hand made in hawaii multiple thousand dollar ukes haha. But for the money, you are hard pressed to find a nicer uke!

I have the pono PTE, the deluxe mahogany tenor with pickup and its great.
Awesome cuz! Thanks! I'm thinking bout getting one for my birthday and I've played it once or twice and it sounds beautiful!
 
Anyone have a Mango or Koa Pono? I'm thinking of picking one of these up but not sure about the sound. I believe these have maple tops with mango or koa back and sides. What is the difference in sound between these two?
 
koa and mahogany are similar sounding. dunno about mango except it's delicious. Maple's only used for back and sides in the acoustic guitar world but is known for it's clear, fundamental tone.

I bought a mahogany Pono Tenor recently and it's pretty nice but also very mellow without much punch - should probably switch out the strings that came with it.
 
I have a Koa Pono and love it. Like the last post, my koa pono is also mellow in sound. i have Aquilla strings on it. Its the only strings I had changed to from the origiinal Ko'olau Golds that were originally on it. I don't know what worths would be like, but back to the Pono. Its a great ukulele for the money. The mahoganny will be little cheaper than the koa. Mango might be around same price as the Mahoganny. I like the mango wood. Really nice....if you like light colored woods.
 
The Pono ukes have been getting lots of love lately. The bang for bucks factor seems to be the biggest draw. I passed one up for the Kanile'a but am thinking of picking up a Pono as well.
 
I own a PTO Mahogany.
It's realy good... for the price.
Perfect crafting, plain wood, shell logo dots and rosace.
It sounds good with Ko'olau or Aquila strings.
 
I have a cedar top (I don't think they make them any more) and I love it. It sounds beautiful. I recently spent big bucks for a Maui Music concert and frankly, I like the Pono better.
 
I ahve curly Koa Tenor and it is a good piece of hand craftmanship
 
I wanted to love pono, but...

Honestly, at first I was sold on Pono. Lately, I feel like their quality control has totally fallen apart. I think they might just be growing too fast. I have owned 3 Ponos and the last 2 have been "lemons"! On one, I had to pay my local luthier $75 to make it right (fixing a rattling pick up, that by the way didn't even work until fixed and a split in the tail wood!! next to the pick up)

I just got a koa cut away and man....it is a joke as far as workmanship goes on a $600 uke!!:mad:.
1. The pick up rattles really loud at the lightest movement AGAIN!
2. The pick up wire is super long and sits loose inside the uke and vibrates when it touches the soundboard
3. The rosette is TOTALLY off center from the fretboard by almost 1/4"
4. The "A" sting tuner barely even turns
5. There is a large overspray lump of gloss coat on the fretboard....
** This one is going to be returned for sure. No more Ponos for me. I have the one I had to fix that I like and the old original that is nice...just to be fair.

I ordered my first Pono when they had just started making them and it was perfect. I just think they are growing too fast and they can't control the manufacturing because the owner is in Hawaii and they Ponos are made in Java. I know the owner goes out there to Java a lot, but being there and visiting a two totally different things.

If you get one that is not a lemon, I think you will love it. Just a gamble in my opinion right now.... I hope for Ko'olau (Pono) that they are just experiencing "growing pains" and will return to a higher quality control.
 
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Honestly, at first I was sold on Pono. Lately, I feel like their quality control has totally fallen apart. I think they might just be growing too fast. I have owned 3 Ponos and the last 2 have been "lemons"! On one, I had to pay my local luthier $75 to make it right (fixing a rattling pick up, that by the way didn't even work until fixed and a split in the tail wood!! next to the pick up)

I just got a koa cut away and man....it is a joke as far as workmanship goes:mad:.
1. The pick up rattles really loud at the lightest movement AGAIN!
2. The pick up wire is super long and sits loose inside the uke and vibrates when it touches the soundboard
3. The rosette is TOTALLY off center from the fretboard by almost 1/4"
4. The "A" sting tuner barely even turns
5. There is a large overspray lump of gloss coat on the fretboard....
** This one is going to be returned for sure. No more Ponos for me. I have the one I had to fix that I like and the old original that is nice...just to be fair.

I ordered my first Pono when they had just started making them and it was perfect. I just think they are growing too fast and they can't control the manufacturing because the owner is in Hawaii and they Ponos are made in Java. I know the owner goes out there to Java a lot, but being there and visiting a two totally different things.

If you get one that is not a lemon, I think you will love it. Just a gamble in my opinion right now....
wow that says a lot. i hope my pono doesnt turn out to be a lemon. i dont think we were too far apart in terms of when we ordered ours right? awe man.
 
Honestly, at first I was sold on Pono. Lately, I feel like their quality control has totally fallen apart. I think they might just be growing too fast. I have owned 3 Ponos and the last 2 have been "lemons"! On one, I had to pay my local luthier $75 to make it right (fixing a rattling pick up, that by the way didn't even work until fixed and a split in the tail wood!! next to the pick up)

I just got a koa cut away and man....it is a joke as far as workmanship goes:mad:.
1. The pick up rattles really loud at the lightest movement AGAIN!
2. The pick up wire is super long and sits loose inside the uke and vibrates when it touches the soundboard
3. The rosette is TOTALLY off center from the fretboard by almost 1/4"
4. The "A" sting tuner barely even turns
5. There is a large overspray lump of gloss coat on the fretboard....
** This one is going to be returned for sure. No more Ponos for me. I have the one I had to fix that I like and the old original that is nice...just to be fair.

I ordered my first Pono when they had just started making them and it was perfect. I just think they are growing too fast and they can't control the manufacturing because the owner is in Hawaii and they Ponos are made in Java. I know the owner goes out there to Java a lot, but being there and visiting a two totally different things.

If you get one that is not a lemon, I think you will love it. Just a gamble in my opinion right now....

I also have that problem with the rattling pickup wire, but its not nearly as bad as your problem. i only notice it every once in a while.
 
wow that says a lot. i hope my pono doesnt turn out to be a lemon. i dont think we were too far apart in terms of when we ordered ours right? awe man.

I knew right out of the box. You are fine I think if nothing shows right away. You probably got a "good" one...and the "good" ones are great. Just never know now.... I mean 2 out of 3 = "lemons" for me.....makes you raise your eyebrow a bit...hmm??

I am a very fair person, and I really did not want to even mention this, but I feel an obligation to be honest....

Again...these are only my opinions..
 
i got a PTC, cedar top mahogany sides. I love it. no electronics fo me, and da sound wit da ko`olau golds is loud and mellow. really sweet sounding. Ukestar, sorry to hea da you got 2 lemons. Regardless, for a mass produced, solid wood uke, noting can beat it.
 
i got a PTC, cedar top mahogany sides. I love it. no electronics fo me, and da sound wit da ko`olau golds is loud and mellow. really sweet sounding. Ukestar, sorry to hea da you got 2 lemons. Regardless, for a mass produced, solid wood uke, noting can beat it.

I agree, for a mass produced uke, there really isn't any other company that offers competition for the 400-600 dollar Pono uke. Pono better capitalize on this time while they have the market cornered. It is just a matter of time before other great companies step up to compete..

I am looking forward to seeing companies such as Koaloha and Kamaka and Kanilea's "answer" to the Ko'olau's Pono....
 
About a month ago when I walked into the only store around here that's got a decent selection of ukes I was excited to see they were now selling Pono's. They had a tenor, concert, and soprano.

I was disappointed. When I first saw them hanging on the wall I was thinking, oh no...there goes my bank account again. They were beautiful. But when I played them they didn't have true tone up the neck, a serious no-no. And their tone was simply nothing special. I've played $148.00 Kala's that outshined Pono's tone and clarity.

I think the Uke makers are so used to thinking that paying $500 or more for a ukulele is "normal", they simply take advantage. I was a little relieved that I wasn't even tempted to buy a Pono that day. I'm beginning to think that some Uke makers know how to make their ukes appealing to the eye, but that's about it, and if a person doesn't know the difference....
 
ooo wow, makes me wanna think twice about getting a pono now... its honest and informational reviews like those that are important to consider about companies. thanks guys
 
I have the pickup problem too.
 
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