My Pono just got loud and rich

I've had my Baritone Pono for about a month and have been playing it daily.

It was a bit quiet to begin with.

I picked it up to play today and man is it louder and so rich

I've had guitars open up before, but nothing like this

I am so digging the Uke, the poor guitars are being seriously neglected


peace,

david

cool ........

I reckon humidity plays its part too.

David, I got a Pono spruce top soprano about three weeks ago. It was so very quite that I was thinking about selling it.

Today I went to the park with my wife. She was working out with her team. I played for about two hours. Mine opened up too. Ive played guitar for years and have always heard about guitars opening up. I always thought it was very little and almost not noticeable until years of playing the guitar.

Today I noticed my Pono of three weeks opened up. Wow just like you said.

I can only imagine what it will sound like after years.

Dan

Spruce continues to open for quite some time...years.... After owning my Ko'olau (spruce with Brazilian rosewood) for 8 years, it's really, really changed in tone and clarity.

lefty dan said:

David, I got a Pono spruce top soprano about three weeks ago. It was so very quite that I was thinking about selling it.

Today I went to the park with my wife. She was working out with her team. I played for about two hours. Mine opened up too. Ive played guitar for years and have always heard about guitars opening up. I always thought it was very little and almost not noticeable until years of playing the guitar.

Today I noticed my Pono of three weeks opened up. Wow just like you said.

I can only imagine what it will sound like after years.

Dan

Click to expand...

I got my Pono spruce soprano at the same time and have noticed a change as well....I think

It's usually not something I notice when I start playing, but after 10 minutes it does seem to sound more pleasant.

Dan, have you tried other strings on yours yet? I still have the Aquilas on and have been curious about Worth browns and clears.

to me, the cooler... the brighter. yeah, put that gat down!! and possibly away for a while!

Bongo, I have not changed strings but I too thought about Worth strings . I like whats on it, but would like to try something different to see if it would get a little louder.
You might not like this idea but Im thinking about putting friction tuners on it.
Im a soprano guy and love the look of friction tuners on sopranos. Thats the only thing I didn't like about the Pono when thinking about buying it.
I was looking at the tuners that are on it now. One screw head is broken off and gone. One other screw is loose. I went to tighten it and notice that it was stripped and will not tighten.
I think at some the tuners may have been hit against something and thats what did it.
I cant say I remember hitting the tuners ever, but I could have.
So Ive looked at the holes for the tuners and see that they are big. About 3/8. They may be too big for me to switch to smaller friction tuners.
I also ordered a Shadow under saddle pickup for it. Im planning on playing it through my amp from time to time. I can have fun with the effects. I guess Im hot rodding it a little.
Sure hope I dont mess it up.

Let me know if you put strings on it and if it made any difference.
Dan

Don't you just love that when it happens? I think this is one of the reasons why solid wood is a good choice for ukes - it's interesting to see how the sound evolves.