Ohana or Pono or maybe mainland

nukulele0

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So been looking at a lot of ukes and basically narrowed it down to an ohana tk-50, solid cedar top, solid rosewood back and sides or a "higher" quality pono (haven't heard the greatest things). The pono would either be ebony and spruce top or rosewood and cedar top. Or the thought of a mainland mango tenor has popped into my mind, does anyone have a concert they can review? So the main point is should i save the money and go with an ohana or spend a little more, (i can get pretty good deals on both), on a pono or....wait for a mainland mango tenor, any input appreciated
 
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Ohana and Mainland are very similar. Pono's in its own world. Here are some general tips.

With Pono, make sure you actually play in your own hands and check the build quality beforehand.
With Mainland, you'd be supporting our pal Mike here on UU and I believe he sets it up as well.
With Ohana, make sure it gets a proper setup from whoever you're buying from (without extra charge of course).

My bottom line: Unless you can physically inspect and play a Pono ahead of time, you're much saver with Mainland or Ohana.
 
I would be able to play the ebony and spruce pono, but not the rosewood and cedar, so that one's out of the question and it was a little out of my price range anyways, the ohana would be from MGM so thats always good, and does anyone know when the mainland mango tenors are to come in, and what does mango sound like anyway...?
 
So been looking at a lot of ukes and basically narrowed it down to an ohana tk-50, solid cedar top, rosewood back and sides ...

Bear in mind that the Ohana TK-50G has got SOLID rosewood back and sides and really nice mahogany binding.

This makes it really very good value for money.

As an aside, Jan Yalego will be playing this instrument next year all through the Bosko and Honey OZ tour. He is a wonderful jazz player and this is the tenor he has chosen.


KEN
 
Bear in mind that the Ohana TK-50G has got SOLID rosewood back and sides and really nice mahogany binding.

This makes it really very good value for money.

As an aside, Jan Yalego will be playing this instrument next year all through the Bosko and Honey OZ tour. He is a wonderful jazz player and this is the tenor he has chosen.


KEN
Is that wood combo normally used for jazz? the only thing holding me back is that i could get the pono for a really good price, and i love the rope binding on the mainlands and the mango is really beautiful
 
Is that wood combo normally used for jazz? the only thing holding me back is that i could get the pono for a really good price, and i love the rope binding on the mainlands and the mango is really beautiful

A jazz guitar would normally have a spruce top and maple or rosewood back and sides. It would be arched to aid projection. There is no such thing as a traditional jazz ukulele.

If you want the ukulele to project well, buy one which uses a classic combination of woods: spruce, cedar or mahogany top and mahogany, rosewood or maple back and sides. Good tone woods help to make the ukulele sound great, even if sometimes the wood doesn't look that pretty.
 
So been looking at a lot of ukes and basically narrowed it down to an ohana tk-50, solid cedar top, solid rosewood back and sides or a "higher" quality pono (haven't heard the greatest things). The pono would either be ebony and spruce top or rosewood and cedar top. Or the thought of a mainland mango tenor has popped into my mind, does anyone have a concert they can review?, any input appreciated

I'm not convinced Pono is any higher in quality than Ohana or Mainland.
Why not a Mainland solid Rosewood with solid Cedar top? They are awesome, I have a pineapple version which I love, And HoosierHiver Mike is an awesome dude. And you can order it RIGHT NOW! :D
http://shop.mainlandukuleles.com/product.sc?productId=13&categoryId=3
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A jazz guitar would normally have a spruce top and maple or rosewood back and sides. It would be arched to aid projection. There is no such thing as a traditional jazz ukulele.

If you want the ukulele to project well, buy one which uses a classic combination of woods: spruce, cedar or mahogany top and mahogany, rosewood or maple back and sides. Good tone woods help to make the ukulele sound great, even if sometimes the wood doesn't look that pretty.

Ohana's new maple/spruce ukes with cut-away body style are as close to that traditional jazz sound that you will find with Ohana's ukulele line. I'd love to see those with the UK-2000 pickup, which would perform well without the expense of the higher-priced pickup options.

What do you think, Ken?

http://www.ohana-music.com/conc/ck75cg/master.html
 
Ohana's new maple/spruce ukes with cut-away body style are as close to that traditional jazz sound that you will find with Ohana's ukulele line. I'd love to see those with the UK-2000 pickup, which would perform well without the expense of the higher-priced pickup options.

What do you think, Ken?

http://www.ohana-music.com/conc/ck75cg/master.html

Yes. I recorded something recently on a TK-75CG. I love it. It has a bright sound and, because it is very light with solid woods, it is very load too. Great projection and tone.

I think it would sound great with that pickup.
 
A jazz guitar would normally have a spruce top and maple or rosewood back and sides. It would be arched to aid projection. There is no such thing as a traditional jazz ukulele.

If you want the ukulele to project well, buy one which uses a classic combination of woods: spruce, cedar or mahogany top and mahogany, rosewood or maple back and sides. Good tone woods help to make the ukulele sound great, even if sometimes the wood doesn't look that pretty.

I'm still relatively a newbie to this, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt, but rosewood has or promotes lasting sustain, and maple, not so much. It's my understanding that most jazz musicians tend to prefer the latter rather than the former. Less sustain tends to equate to greater clarity of individual notes--you leave the old ones behind more quickly.
 
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