Ohana SK-38 - Neck Thickness ?

Hi everyone. I'm a new uke player. I recently bought a Pono MS soprano. It has a micro blemish (which I found after a week, very tough to notice) so it went for a bargain price. Its a very nice instrument. The only problem is that, as a new player, I find the neck to be very thick and much more difficult to play. The only other ukes I have to compare it to are a Makala Dolphin and a relative's vintage Kamaka concert from the 1980s. The latter two instruments have much thinner necks than the Pono and are easier for me to play.

I've been looking at online reviews/videos of the Ohana SK-38 soprano. I would appreciate anyone's comments on how thick the neck is of that model - - - especially in comparison to the Pono. Thanks in advance for your comments

I haven't played the 38, but I have played the 35, which I believe is the same instrument structurally. And yes, the neck is thinner/faster than a Pono.

If you like the look of the 38, I'd also keep an eye out for a Hamano; I think they're a touch lighter and have a bit more bark than the Ohanas.

If, however, it's a clean, fast neck you're after, Loprinzi is worth a look. (Plus they're just beautiful instruments in general.)

Cheers.

connor013 said:

I haven't played the 38, but I have played the 35, which I believe is the same instrument structurally. And yes, the neck is thinner/faster than a Pono.

If you like the look of the 38, I'd also keep an eye out for a Hamano; I think they're a touch lighter and have a bit more bark than the Ohanas.

If, however, it's a clean, fast neck you're after, Loprinzi is worth a look. (Plus they're just beautiful instruments in general.)

Cheers.

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Thank you, I appreciate it. That's what I wanted to know.

I've both the sk38 and the Pono ms.
The sk38 neck is not as thick as the Pono's neck. So you might like that feature. But the 1st and 4th string tuners are very close to the nut - too close - and my hand bumps against those tuners when playing certain 1st position chords. I find that extremely annoying and have experienced nothing like that on any of my other sopranos. However, if your hands are not wide it may not be relevant to you. The sk38 has a great bark and I recommend it with that one caveat.

Bill Mc said:

I've both the sk38 and the Pono ms.
The sk38 neck is not as thick as the Pono's neck. So you might like that feature. But the 1st and 4th string tuners are very close to the nut - too close - and my hand bumps against those tuners when playing certain 1st position chords. I find that extremely annoying and have experienced nothing like that on any of my other sopranos. However, if your hands are not wide it may not be relevant to you. The sk38 has a great bark and I recommend it with that one caveat.

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Thanks Bill Mc -- my hands aren't real wide so I decided to order an SK-38 and try it out to see how I like it. With those models of ukes (Pono MS and SK-38) if a person decides to move on to something else later, finding a buyer for these ukes shouldn't be a problem. They seem to be well thought of.