Pono ATD-CR Tenor vs Kanile'a K1-TSF Tenor....

Halesowen Kid

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Hi Guys,

I know this is a difficult question to answer but I'm in no position to try out either ukulele so your feed back will be a great help to me.

Pono ATD-CR (All Solid Acacia Deluxe Tenor Ukulele with Solid Cedar Top) vs Kanile'a K1-TSF (Koa, satin finish)

Which one would you choose & why.

Thanks in anticipation.

Mike
 
Depends on what sound you're looking for, but personally if I had a choice between (blank) and a Kanilea, I'd almost always go for the Kanilea.
 
Cedar and koa sound differently, so like Kyle said, I'd make this dependent on the sound you'd like and, possibly, what other ukuleles you have. I would also favor a Hawaiian-built Kanile'a to an Indonesia-imported Pono, even though Pono is a great brand. If the prices are comparable, the Kanile'a is probably the better deal, too.
 
BMW:Maserati::pono:Kanilea.

If one has $$$ out the gazoo, buy the Maserati & drive it to where they sell Kanileas.

Otherwise -- dollar for dollar, I'd take the righteous Pono (with great relish!!!).
 
As weird as it sounds, I'm not a big fan of koa ukes, but if I could afford a Kanilea, I'd buy one any day over any (blank).
 
I still remember the day I played my Pono, laid it down, and picked up a Kanilea. Holy crap, never thought as highly of my Pono again. Pono's are very good ukes, Kanilea's are great ukes IMHO. No real comparison to my ears.
 
I have had two Pono and for the money they are worth it. But if you can find a good used K brand then snag it. It really depends on your tastes and what is on the market at the time. When I bought my first Pono new in 2014 the market was still warm but the used market is softening as we near the fall of 2016. I would look at some of the custom tenors that are available in the marketplace right now. You might get a better deal buying used, TBH.
 
I own both the Kanilea TSF and a Cedar top Pono, and honestly, I'd rather keep the Pono. The Kanilea is very good (and more prestigious due to the fact that it is made in Hawaii with Koa), but what you get in a Pono for the same amount of money is of much higher quality/value, IMHO. Your decision may depend on the sound you are looking for, though: Kanilea is more traditional, I woud say, lighter and more open, while the Pono sounds closer to a Guitar.
 
I like the sound of my cedar topped Kala, so that would be a very hard choice to make. :)

Cedar for the sound or Kanilea for the name? - I'm not that fond of koa sound personally, & like a warm mellow sound. ;)
 
I own both the Kanilea TSF and a Cedar top Pono, and honestly, I'd rather keep the Pono. The Kanilea is very good (and more prestigious due to the fact that it is made in Hawaii with Koa), but what you get in a Pono for the same amount of money is of much higher quality/value, IMHO. Your decision may depend on the sound you are looking for, though: Kanilea is more traditional, I woud say, lighter and more open, while the Pono sounds closer to a Guitar.

I agree with Rainer. I like get a Pono.
 
If you have both ukes in your hands at the same time. You will immediately notice Kanile'a is a much better built
There is no comparison
One is like a custom built quality. Another is factory built in Asia
Not sure if you realize their neck are very different. Pono has a thicker neck and the weight is much heavier
pono gives you the richer guitar tone if that's what you are looking for
 
If you don't like the kanilea, resale will be easier and you'll get a higher % of your money back.
On the otherhand, the pono... is already half the price of the Kanilea, so you'll lose less $$ on resale if you don't like it.

They will sound very different though, and "better" is as you can see from the opinions are really subjective.

The Kanilea will give you much more crisp bell tones.
I tend to like the sound of softwoods myself though. People that think pono's are made bad because they're imports... I don't know that I agree. My pono is flawless. Also.. Andrew/HMS will take care of any problems you have, if you somehow have one.

Here's the thing... between the two, the Kanilea is a better uke.
People are not just spending the money for nothing, or else Kanilea would go out of business.

But in the $1k range your options open drastically. Im not saying the Kanilea is not a good choice, but that there are alot of great choices in that range.

The two ukes you name are very apples and oranges, so it really depends on you.

If I had 1K burning a hole in my pocket, I'd get one of the rebel proto's. I really like their stuff... I think they are excellent value. Their stuff tends to sound more guitar like though... so, if you're looking for a more traditional uke sound... the Kanilea is probably more what you're looking for. I only throw it into the ring because you have the pono listed too.

[video]http://www.theukulelesite.com/ukulele-market/rebel-spruce-rosewood-tenor-n-e-o-sl-07-2246.html[/video]
 
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Kanile'a no question, it's head and shoulders above Pono...

plus, there's a gorgeous one on the Marketplace, that is a bargain! Better jump on it!!!
 
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If you have both ukes in your hands at the same time. You will immediately notice Kanile'a is a much better built
There is no comparison
One is like a custom built quality. Another is factory built in Asia
Not sure if you realize their neck are very different. Pono has a thicker neck and the weight is much heavier
pono gives you the richer guitar tone if that's what you are looking for

Yet, you kept the Pono and sent back the Kanile'a ... well ... the Pono you kept is a Pro Classic ... and come to think of it, you sent back both models in question ...
:p
 
I have a Kanile'a TSF and a cedar topped Pono PC. I absolutely loved the Pono - until the Kanile'a came in the house. The Kanile'a has much more volume and projection than the Pono and I just love the open organic woody tone of the Kanile'a. To my ears it just screams "Hawaii" "Ukulele" and "Joyful". I haven't been able to bring myself to sell the Pono, but if I had to decide between the two I'd keep the Kanile'a. As a matter of fact if I could just keep one uke, the Kanile'a would be the keeper. Good luck.
 
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