bynapkinart
Well-known member
Pono doesn't make these anymore, which makes me question whether this review is necessary or not...but I guess I wish I had a review before accepting it sight unseen, so hopefully this helps someone out there make a decision!
Just to preface, I got this uke a few months ago from another user on this board in a trade for a KoAloha soprano. The KoAloha was predictably perfect in almost every single way, but I wanted something more versatile and I'm really making a push to getting shows. I wanted something I could play as a go-to professional instrument.
So here's my review a few months on:
Looks: 10/10
I can't really say enough about how good this ukulele looks. Koa looks spectacular almost every time, but this board is very curly and figured in a way that makes it unique among Koa instruments I've seen. It's flamed and curled. One of the things that I wasn't thrilled about with the KoAloha was its plain Koa. It was beautiful, but a little bit more utilitarian-looking...it actually matched up well with the sound, which was a very beautiful and straightforward Hawaiian soprano sound.
This Koa looks much more like what I expect to see when someone mentions Koa. It's a unique look, and it's something that I'm really glad the Pono has. I haven't seen enough of these floating around on the internet to determine if this was typical quality wood for Pono, but if it was then the price point at the time ($695 for the E model) makes much more sense. It screams K-brand quality.
The nice wood is brought out nicely by the limited adornments. The rope rosette inlay is very understated and classy. I prefer less bling on a uke that has nice wood; it lets the wood stand out more. The Ebony fretboard stands out nicely from the Koa.
Finish: 10/10
No problems with the finish at all. I looked inside the body with a light and mirror and couldn't find any glue spots or rough bracing. In fact, the only thing I could find was that the sticker is ever so slightly crooked. I'm extremely impressed by the quality of craftsmanship, it is every bit as clean and well-built as an American ukulele.
Sound:
Now this is always the tricky part: describing the sound of an instrument without using too many clichés and metaphors.
No number value can be used because it is so subjective.
Well, the Pono sounds very, very similar to a Kamaka HF-3. I got a chance to play two of them with my Pono side-by-side a little while ago and they sounded so similar that I couldn't tell which one was being played with my eyes closed. I won't say that they sound exactly the same, but all three tenors (the two HF-3's and the Pono) varied by just a little bit and both of us consistently mistook the sound for one of the Kamakas.
If you know what a Kamaka tenor sounds like, then you've got a good idea for what the Pono sounds like. It is balanced, somewhere in between bright and mellow, and with the right strings on you can push it to get LOUD or you can back off and still have very clear string definition and balance. I hate using a cliché like woody, but it sounds very woody and organic and it has a free and expressive tone. Very Hawaiian, but more of a contemporary than a vintage middy sound.
It's so subjective and almost impossible to "rate" sound of an instrument, but for me as a songwriter and strummer who dabbles in fingerstyle, this is the perfect Koa tenor sound. It's exactly the sound that I was hoping that I would get in a few years when I could dish out over a thousand dollars on a Kamaka or Kanile'a. It's a real testament to Pono.
Setup: 6/10
I can't really blame anything on the trader or Pono for this, the neck is perfectly straight with no relief which caused a great deal of buzzing when I first got it. I reshaped a new saddle that sits roughly 1/3" above the bridge as opposed to the original saddle height of about 1/8", and that took care of most of the buzzing. Switching to high tension Savarez strings took care of the rest of the problem, but the action is rather high and at some point money will have to be spent on getting the neck back into order.
Value: 10/10
I was hoping I'd get a decent professional tenor ukulele with a pickup out of the trade, and got something entirely different. This is a K quality tenor and is reflected in everything except for the name and country of origin. The factory that they have (had?) in Java made a premium-quality ukulele. Yeah, there are some problems with it...the aforementioned neck issue, kind of a crappy passive pickup...things that I'm looking at fixing as I own it. It's also heavier than the Kamakas I compared it to, but not by much. When I read reviews about the weight I got worried that the sound would suffer, and with the original strings my fears that it was a quiet and heavy ukulele seemed to be confirmed. With the Savarez strings it just sings though, loud and clear. The build was only ever so slightly heavier than Kamaka as well. I think standing it up against a Kamaka was really beneficial and allowed me to see it for what it is. It is a wonderful tenor, and has the quintessential Koa tenor look and sound.
Just to preface, I got this uke a few months ago from another user on this board in a trade for a KoAloha soprano. The KoAloha was predictably perfect in almost every single way, but I wanted something more versatile and I'm really making a push to getting shows. I wanted something I could play as a go-to professional instrument.
So here's my review a few months on:
Looks: 10/10
I can't really say enough about how good this ukulele looks. Koa looks spectacular almost every time, but this board is very curly and figured in a way that makes it unique among Koa instruments I've seen. It's flamed and curled. One of the things that I wasn't thrilled about with the KoAloha was its plain Koa. It was beautiful, but a little bit more utilitarian-looking...it actually matched up well with the sound, which was a very beautiful and straightforward Hawaiian soprano sound.
This Koa looks much more like what I expect to see when someone mentions Koa. It's a unique look, and it's something that I'm really glad the Pono has. I haven't seen enough of these floating around on the internet to determine if this was typical quality wood for Pono, but if it was then the price point at the time ($695 for the E model) makes much more sense. It screams K-brand quality.
The nice wood is brought out nicely by the limited adornments. The rope rosette inlay is very understated and classy. I prefer less bling on a uke that has nice wood; it lets the wood stand out more. The Ebony fretboard stands out nicely from the Koa.
Finish: 10/10
No problems with the finish at all. I looked inside the body with a light and mirror and couldn't find any glue spots or rough bracing. In fact, the only thing I could find was that the sticker is ever so slightly crooked. I'm extremely impressed by the quality of craftsmanship, it is every bit as clean and well-built as an American ukulele.
Sound:
Now this is always the tricky part: describing the sound of an instrument without using too many clichés and metaphors.
No number value can be used because it is so subjective.
Well, the Pono sounds very, very similar to a Kamaka HF-3. I got a chance to play two of them with my Pono side-by-side a little while ago and they sounded so similar that I couldn't tell which one was being played with my eyes closed. I won't say that they sound exactly the same, but all three tenors (the two HF-3's and the Pono) varied by just a little bit and both of us consistently mistook the sound for one of the Kamakas.
If you know what a Kamaka tenor sounds like, then you've got a good idea for what the Pono sounds like. It is balanced, somewhere in between bright and mellow, and with the right strings on you can push it to get LOUD or you can back off and still have very clear string definition and balance. I hate using a cliché like woody, but it sounds very woody and organic and it has a free and expressive tone. Very Hawaiian, but more of a contemporary than a vintage middy sound.
It's so subjective and almost impossible to "rate" sound of an instrument, but for me as a songwriter and strummer who dabbles in fingerstyle, this is the perfect Koa tenor sound. It's exactly the sound that I was hoping that I would get in a few years when I could dish out over a thousand dollars on a Kamaka or Kanile'a. It's a real testament to Pono.
Setup: 6/10
I can't really blame anything on the trader or Pono for this, the neck is perfectly straight with no relief which caused a great deal of buzzing when I first got it. I reshaped a new saddle that sits roughly 1/3" above the bridge as opposed to the original saddle height of about 1/8", and that took care of most of the buzzing. Switching to high tension Savarez strings took care of the rest of the problem, but the action is rather high and at some point money will have to be spent on getting the neck back into order.
Value: 10/10
I was hoping I'd get a decent professional tenor ukulele with a pickup out of the trade, and got something entirely different. This is a K quality tenor and is reflected in everything except for the name and country of origin. The factory that they have (had?) in Java made a premium-quality ukulele. Yeah, there are some problems with it...the aforementioned neck issue, kind of a crappy passive pickup...things that I'm looking at fixing as I own it. It's also heavier than the Kamakas I compared it to, but not by much. When I read reviews about the weight I got worried that the sound would suffer, and with the original strings my fears that it was a quiet and heavy ukulele seemed to be confirmed. With the Savarez strings it just sings though, loud and clear. The build was only ever so slightly heavier than Kamaka as well. I think standing it up against a Kamaka was really beneficial and allowed me to see it for what it is. It is a wonderful tenor, and has the quintessential Koa tenor look and sound.
