I have played the Pono many hours since I got it Wednesday...I ordered some uke logic low tension strings and am taking it to my local tech when he gets back home next week. If I am not happy with it then, I will put it up for sale and maybe go the route of a custom made uke with a thin neck and low string action baritone. Its a beautiful looking and sounding instrument, just not easy enough to play for my taste, especially up the neck doing a lot of chord melody stuff. thanks
Contact HMS, if you are not happy you can return it. Just don’t wait too long before making that decision.
As far a strings go I like a wound 4th and 3rd, Martin M630 with florocarbon 2nd and 1st gives a bright sound. D’Addario Titanium with monofilament 2nd and 1st give a warmer tone but still articulate.
I have played the Pono many hours since I got it Wednesday...I ordered some uke logic low tension strings and am taking it to my local tech when he gets back home next week. If I am not happy with it then, I will put it up for sale and maybe go the route of a custom made uke with a thin neck and low string action baritone. Its a beautiful looking and sounding instrument, just not easy enough to play for my taste, especially up the neck doing a lot of chord melody stuff. thanks
Nothing worse than getting all the excitement build up and then being disappointed in it. I had a recent experience where I bought Imua concert uke, looked great but as soon as I started playing it I knew it wasn’t for me, just no resonance to the body at all. Fortunately the dealers accepted the return with no problem at all (shout out to World of Ukes in the UK BTW, Matt is a great guy).
But don’t hang on to it if you are not happy, but like the other poster said - return it sooner rather than later.
Someone posted a great comment on the marketplace recently (it was the post about the Moore Bettah) something along the lines of - don’t buy an instrument hoping it’s going to sound good later. If it doesn’t sound and okay good for you now, it probably won’t change that much in the long run.
Good advise guys...yes I know I can return the uke but it would cost me about $120 to do so...10% deduct because I had strap buttons installed and probably 50 or so to ship it...since I have only 7 days to return it and my tech guy wont be back for another week, I would rather see what he can do with it and if the string change makes a difference to me....its not that it is that hard to play, its just not as easy as I had hoped...my expectations may have not been realistic in the first place. I figure I can eventually sell it and move on to some other brand...the Kanile'a has a thinner neck they told me at HMS and I may go that way, but its another $900 to upgrade. I certainly wouldnt knock this uke or HMS, its definately "user" error on my part. Its hard to buy not knowing exactly what you are getting and not being able to play the instrument in person and around here there isnt a uke shop that would carry enough instruments for me to try out, so its kind of a trial and error method for me. I only have one other uke and thats a tenor Opio and it plays fine, but its a tenor not a baritone, so probably not a fair comparison. I have only been playing uke about 2 years but I have had 57 years of guitar experience and I know what I like and wont I dont, and the most important thing to me is the neck profile. Thanks again for taking the time to read and respond.
This week I had my Pono baritone tweeked by my tech guy in Wichita, and tada...its great now ! I did have the strings replaced with low tension uke logic strings and he did a little filing on the bridge for the 2nd and 3rd strings to lower them, and what a difference it made...I dont know which part had the most impact, but I am a very happy camper now and will definately keep it. The neck is still a little deeper than I like and I may have him sand it down at some point, but I am going to wait on that. He is building a baritone uke for my wife and so I will wait to see how I like his neck profile, which he says is thinner.
This week I had my Pono baritone tweeked by my tech guy in Wichita, and tada...its great now ! I did have the strings replaced with low tension uke logic strings and he did a little filing on the bridge for the 2nd and 3rd strings to lower them, and what a difference it made...I dont know which part had the most impact, but I am a very happy camper now and will definately keep it. The neck is still a little deeper than I like and I may have him sand it down at some point, but I am going to wait on that. He is building a baritone uke for my wife and so I will wait to see how I like his neck profile, which he says is thinner.
My Pono baritone had its first string change recently. I put D'Addario Nyltechs on (only because that's what I could get hold of easily). The Nyltechs were noticeably smaller gauge and much easier on the fingers. Also, the two wound strings are a much thinner, smoother wind, so easier on the fingernail when strumming.
However, for me it robbed my bari of a bit of depth and resonance so I will be looking for a thicker, higher tension option next time.
I did notice some loss in volume and perhaps tone, but thats ok...i would rather have it play easily call me a wimp 
