Scooter1552
Active member
I am fortunate to own a vintage Martina T1 and a 7 year old Pono RT-E and would like to share some of the differences between them. Both instruments are fine examples of craftsmanship and are a pleasure to play. The Martin is fine boned and fragile feeling. Very light and delicate. The Pono is chunky and more robust feeling in the hands but only compared to the Martin. The Martin neck is thinner and narrow feeling but still easy to play and tends to be more forgiving than the Pono. Both have wonderful but unique sounds. The mahogany Martin is warmer and more mellow, the Pono brighter but very balanced with the rosewood and cedar. The Pono is much easier to tune due to modern tuners but that inconvenience is the price of admission to vintage instruments and actually becomes enjoyable over time. I love both of these ukes and enjoy being able experience both the old and the new.