New Uke Day / Buyers remorse

Just got a brand new Pono MT. It is a gorgeous instrument and the online store I bought from was great to work with. The thing I'm struggling with is that I think I misjudged my purchase.

The tone is beautiful, clear and powerful, but it doesn't have the warmth or depth that I was expecting. How much of this is likely due to the strings that came on the instrument, and how much is me making a mistake on getting the mahogany instrument instead of the acacia version?

Hmmm... probably all in the interpretation but I hear mahogany as warmer and deeper that koa/acacia in general. Strings will make a world of difference. What strings do they ship with? Try some Worth Clears or Living Water.

I believe it came with Ko'olau strings - I think they are either the alohi or the mahana with the wound third. I've got a set of living waters that I intend to use once the existing strings get some wear.

Strings will make a difference. Also if it is brand new it could change/open up after you play it for awhile. It so sucks not being able to try before you buy and then deciding whether to give it a chance or not and loose your ability to return it. Good luck and sorry you are disappointed with your purchase.

roxhum said:

Strings will make a difference. Also if it is brand new it could change/open up after you play it for awhile. It so sucks not being able to try before you buy and then deciding whether to give it a chance or not and loose your ability to return it. Good luck and sorry you are disappointed with your purchase.

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Thanks for your kind words - I have wondered if it would open up with time. I think my main problem is that I don't have enough experience on what to expect, and I had a different sound in my head than what I actually hear in person.

There are several online guys who will do you right when buying an instrument. Sometimes that is your best/only option.

I contend that an instrument needs to be held and played a bit in order to make a better decision. You will be holding this thing right up close to your body for hours on end. It's a good idea to test drive it first.

That said, RoxHum has a solid point. A new instrument needs to have a chance to acclimate before it settles in. From experience in my store-next-door, I try to play each of the ukes at least twice a week (we don't carry a lot of ukuleles) to keep them in tune. Even my tin ear can detect them warming up and sounding better.

Also, buyer's remorse is a very real thing. Don't be so hard on yourself. It sounds like you did some research ahead of time, found a reputable dealer, selected a well-reviewed instrument, and made a decision. You should congratulate yourself for getting this far. Give that ukulele a chance to win you over.

I'd say above all just don't be hasty. As you've said, the tone is clear and powerful it's just not what you had in your head. Give your head a few days to adapt to the difference and you may find that you end up really loving it.

I've had ukes that I loved gradually go out of favor and others that I was kind of "meh" about initially become my favorite ukes. What I'm saying is that even buying in person doesn't always guarantee that a uke will be your "final answer."

And, as others have mentioned, don't panic until you've tried a number of different strings (and give each set about a week to settle in before you judge them - brand new strings are often not at their best). I've found that intonation up the neck changes significantly (and generally for the better) from when strings are new until they stretch in to the point that they will hold tune for several hours.

The good news in all of this is that the Pono instruments are much more respected then say, a Kala or Lanikai. That means that if you just never warm up to this uke (and that does happen, sometimes) you will probably get most of your investment back when you sell it to buy another.

John

PTOEguy said:

Just got a brand new Pono MT. It is a gorgeous instrument and the online store I bought from was great to work with. The thing I'm struggling with is that I think I misjudged my purchase.

The tone is beautiful, clear and powerful, but it doesn't have the warmth or depth that I was expecting. How much of this is likely due to the strings that came on the instrument, and how much is me making a mistake on getting the mahogany instrument instead of the acacia version?

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I had the same experience when I bought my Pono MT-E. Give it some time to open up. Also I didn't like the original strings and I got rid of them. I put some Worth Clears with a nonwound lowG and the improvement was tremendous. When it'll open up the sound will become much richer!

My first upgraded uke when I started playing was the Pono and it had the Ko'olau strings which were just horrible for me. They were the golds that were like tree trunks and extremely tight tension, I mean really high tension. I pulled them off and put on a nice set of Savarez Tenor strings with a Fremont Low G and the sound difference was amazing. I eventually sold it merely for the $ and got my Kanilia K1 Deluxe which I still have and is an amazing all Koa uke. Try some new strings for sure and give it a few months. The recommendation for Living Water strings I think is a good one as well. I use Ken's strings on several of my ukes and they provide a much more mellow sound (nice tension) but are bright enough to have nice but not extremely loud volume like an Aquila would or the Koolau golds which were way too bright for me. The Worth's are also good strings and I have used them a well. They were not as bright and had a little less tension than I like so experiment with strings. They do make a massive difference in many cases and it's all personal preference.

As to the wood, every wood sounds different and has different characteristics...even two Koa ukes will sound different. Generally speaking both M and K woods are a richer and mellower on the sound spectrum as a general statement, . Both are warmer sounding. Of all my ukes the Koa Tenor I have is the deepest, richest, mellow sound with my Mohagany Tenor right behind that, but again it could be because of the quality of the wood, different manufactures in how they brace the top, etc. Change those strings and you may be pleasantly surprised. It's that dramatic sometimes. Good luck and don't beat yourself up. It's a learning experience.

PTOEguy said:

Just got a brand new Pono MT. It is a gorgeous instrument and the online store I bought from was great to work with. The thing I'm struggling with is that I think I misjudged my purchase.

The tone is beautiful, clear and powerful, but it doesn't have the warmth or depth that I was expecting. How much of this is likely due to the strings that came on the instrument, and how much is me making a mistake on getting the mahogany instrument instead of the acacia version?

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I have an MTD that I got from HMS a while back and mine has the Mahana strings on it. I pretty sure it's the strings your not liking as they are quite mellow. I've found fluorocarbon strings sound best on my other solid mahogany ukes and would suggest you try Worth Clears or Freemont strings, they're what I plan to try on mine next.

Like everyone said... change the strings.

Yeah, I have had 2 new Pono mahogany ukes.
Fluorocarbon strings (martins in my case) sounded much better on them than the Mahana strings that came on them.

Does anyone like the strings Pono ships with?
I know, I didn't

Paul December said:

Does anyone like the strings Pono ships with?
I know, I didn't

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I guess I'm one of the few here that like Ko'olau strings. My Pono AT came with the Mahana strings, which I eventually changed to the golds, which are a little brighter and I think are awesome. I prefer the higher tension strings in general, so that isn't a problem for me.

As everyone said give it time, change the strings and see if that helps for you. It took me about a month before I finally decided I liked my Big Island mango. It really helped when I got rid of the Aquila strings it came with, I didn't care for them at all.

It looks like you have a Pono MB, so your Mahogany tenor is going to sound completely different then that. Could that be why your unhappy with the missing warmth or depth (bass) of a tenor scale now?

Is there a brand you played and liked? This is important as that sound could be somewhat unique to that brand and not the wood.

When buying online, you can always call the dealer and let him/her play it for you on the phone...not the best, but certainly helps....
Yes Change your strings it will make alot of difference...I'm sure you want more brighter tone with punch...good luck and happy strummings

Just spent an hour playing, and I'm warming up to the ukulele quite a bit. Don't know if it is just in my head, but it seems to sound a little better after playing for a while. I do think strings will make a difference - the ones on it seem to be fairly high tension. Will probably change them out in a bit.

Also, as Hammer40 pointed out, I've been playing back to back with a baritone and may be part of the problem - maybe I should play the flea a bunch and then go to the tenor.

Thanks again to everyone for your encouragement.

I love my Pono concert but it does not "bark" like a soprano with a thinner top. It is smoother. So I would call it "smoother" and "deeper" than my sopranos. Since you are coming from a baritone I understand your surprise.

PTOEguy said:

Just got a brand new Pono MT. It is a gorgeous instrument and the online store I bought from was great to work with. The thing I'm struggling with is that I think I misjudged my purchase.

The tone is beautiful, clear and powerful, but it doesn't have the warmth or depth that I was expecting. How much of this is likely due to the strings that came on the instrument, and how much is me making a mistake on getting the mahogany instrument instead of the acacia version?

Click to expand...

I just got a Mya Moe Honduran Mahogany tenor..i took off the Worth clears and put on a set of Savarez 520R classical guitar strings..use the top 4 strings and the D string for your LowG..these sound deeper and more mellow..

you got to give the Mahogany some time..keep playing it..hopefully you get better too..

I bought a Pono AT a little over a year ago and it shipped with the Mahana strings with a wound C string. I was expecting an all nylon set, so I was somewhat surprised by the C string. I decided to give them a chance, figuring the folks at Pono/Ko'olau knew a bit more about it than I did. once I got used to the sound, I was okay with them although I'm not sure what strings to try next. I'm way overdue for a new set but just haven't ordered any yet (the ukulele string selection available locally is extremely limited). give it a little time and see how you feel in another month.

I have purchased maybe a dozen <$500 ukes online and my two Ponos are by far the best of the bunch. I have sold most of the others. I have also been disappointed with ukulele and bass guitar purchases I've made online before. But as long as the seller ships me the new and as stated item that I purchased, then no way in hell would I ever return it for a refund no matter how much I didn't care for it. Matter of fact, I think online stores are often too generous with their return policy, unless something is wrong with the item purchased. If we buy an item unplayed and that item is good, we just don't "care for it" for whatever reason, then I say that is our problem. I'd then sell it used and no way the seller needs to take the hit for my mistake. That is called personal responsibility.

With that said, I do agree with others that sometimes it takes time to love an instrument. And sometimes an instrument we love at first gets old and unloved down the road.