psesinkclee
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2008
- Messages
- 458
- Reaction score
- 0
Features
Made on the island of Java and finished on Ohau. This uke has 14 frets to the body, extending to 19 over the top with pearl markers on 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, and 15. Is has solid Mango wood top, sides, back and neck and bone nut and saddle. The tope has a simple rope rosette inlay. The fingerboard and tie-bar style bridge are made of ebony. It has Grover open-back tuners with chrome finish and small buttons. It also came with an included Ko'olau deluxe case that fits very well and is extremely sturdy.
Sound
It suits my music style very well since I normally play acoustically. With those Ko'olau gold strings it has a 'boom' when you strum hard that fills the room. When I do plug it in I play it through a Behringer Ultracoustic ACX450 and it sounds great without a preamp. It has a full rich mellow sound without losing volume.
Action, Fit & Finish
Factory set up was superb. The frets are smooth with no sharp edges. I see no excess glue on the inside of the body. The action is nice and low far up the neck and plays very easily. The front and back are nicely book-matched with an amazing looking grain. There are no problems with this ukulele straight out of the box. I was nervous with some things I've read about people's Pono ukuleles being poor quality, but this one is a gem.
Reliability/Durability
This will be my main gigging uke from now on. It feels really sturdy, and all the hardware is held on fuss and doesn't seem like it will fall off any time soon. I wish it came with a second strap button, but I've yet to see a production uke that has this feature.
Customer Support
The uke is under warranty for 5 years after its purchase and covers things that happen to the uke due to its construction. I sent an email to Pono's generic customer support email address asking why they have the same model with some being a tie-bar bridge and others using bridge pins. John Kitakis himself emailed me back after only a few hours explaining that they swapped over to the tie-bar bridge because people had trouble with the pins shooting out all over the place because of string tension.
Overall Rating
I've been playing for just over 2 years and have played guitar and piano for going on 12 years now. I own ukuleles from Kala, Ohana, Cordoba, Waverly Street Ukes, Flea, and Lankikai. If this uke were lost or stolen I would buy a new one of the same type in a heartbeat. One of its most striking features is the grain of the wood, and its cool to know that other ukes have completely different looks because of the grain of the mango wood; with hues of brown, yellow, and amber throughout. As someone living on the east coast, I had to order it online as there are no stores nearby that keep high quality ukuleles, so I purchased this on the sound bits I've heard online and the assurance of the seller (Mike of UkeRepublic.com).
Last but not least.... PICTURES!
Made on the island of Java and finished on Ohau. This uke has 14 frets to the body, extending to 19 over the top with pearl markers on 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, and 15. Is has solid Mango wood top, sides, back and neck and bone nut and saddle. The tope has a simple rope rosette inlay. The fingerboard and tie-bar style bridge are made of ebony. It has Grover open-back tuners with chrome finish and small buttons. It also came with an included Ko'olau deluxe case that fits very well and is extremely sturdy.
Sound
It suits my music style very well since I normally play acoustically. With those Ko'olau gold strings it has a 'boom' when you strum hard that fills the room. When I do plug it in I play it through a Behringer Ultracoustic ACX450 and it sounds great without a preamp. It has a full rich mellow sound without losing volume.
Action, Fit & Finish
Factory set up was superb. The frets are smooth with no sharp edges. I see no excess glue on the inside of the body. The action is nice and low far up the neck and plays very easily. The front and back are nicely book-matched with an amazing looking grain. There are no problems with this ukulele straight out of the box. I was nervous with some things I've read about people's Pono ukuleles being poor quality, but this one is a gem.
Reliability/Durability
This will be my main gigging uke from now on. It feels really sturdy, and all the hardware is held on fuss and doesn't seem like it will fall off any time soon. I wish it came with a second strap button, but I've yet to see a production uke that has this feature.
Customer Support
The uke is under warranty for 5 years after its purchase and covers things that happen to the uke due to its construction. I sent an email to Pono's generic customer support email address asking why they have the same model with some being a tie-bar bridge and others using bridge pins. John Kitakis himself emailed me back after only a few hours explaining that they swapped over to the tie-bar bridge because people had trouble with the pins shooting out all over the place because of string tension.
Overall Rating
I've been playing for just over 2 years and have played guitar and piano for going on 12 years now. I own ukuleles from Kala, Ohana, Cordoba, Waverly Street Ukes, Flea, and Lankikai. If this uke were lost or stolen I would buy a new one of the same type in a heartbeat. One of its most striking features is the grain of the wood, and its cool to know that other ukes have completely different looks because of the grain of the mango wood; with hues of brown, yellow, and amber throughout. As someone living on the east coast, I had to order it online as there are no stores nearby that keep high quality ukuleles, so I purchased this on the sound bits I've heard online and the assurance of the seller (Mike of UkeRepublic.com).
Last but not least.... PICTURES!