Why Mango?

I've always found it a bit weird that Mainland mango ukes are so orange. Not that they look ugly but they certainly don't look like most other mango ukes I've seen. I wonder if they stain them somehow.
 
My Pono has been described in this thread, and it is different and sounds nice. Compare it to a Citroen DS19. I had somebody choose it for me with the following brief: 1 sounds nice, 2. nice neck 3. solid wood. sorry no photos.
 
I have a KoAloha Mango Concert which I love. It has very mellow bass yet sweet treble. It even smells mango sweet. I sniff the sound hole now and then.

Here is a video I did about a 18 months ago using the mango uke. Excuse me about the misspelling of the Song title on the video.

 
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My wife just got a Mango Pineapple Tenor from the Southern Ukulele store - one of their Manako range.

I’ll leave the looks aside as I know that’s divisive (even though I love it).

The tone is unlike anything I’ve heard before.

The mids are incredibly complex - it makes me listen to the notes even closer than I normally do. I find myself just playing a single chord or note and just letting it ring - just to listen to it.
The notes seem to add depth to the midrange. It’s quite intoxicating to listen to.

There is an incredible amount of sustain as well to the notes. They just ring on and on and on. Admittedly some of this may be down to the pineapple shape I guess.

It’s a tone that really grabs me - I find myself now browsing Mango Ukes :)
 
IslandSounds said:
My wife just got a Mango Pineapple Tenor from the Southern Ukulele store - one of their Manako range.

I’ll leave the looks aside as I know that’s divisive (even though I love it).

The tone is unlike anything I’ve heard before.

The mids are incredibly complex - it makes me listen to the notes even closer than I normally do. I find myself just playing a single chord or note and just letting it ring - just to listen to it.
The notes seem to add depth to the midrange. It’s quite intoxicating to listen to.

There is an incredible amount of sustain as well to the notes. They just ring on and on and on. Admittedly some of this may be down to the pineapple shape I guess.

It’s a tone that really grabs me - I find myself now browsing Mango Ukes :)
Click to expand...
I love the sound of a nice mango uke. My spalted mango Tiny Tenor is a beautiful one, but not all mango appeals to me visually. I would agree with Barry Maz that some mangos look "dirty", with black blotches that look like smeared ink. I'm presently looking for the right mango uke in a particular model, one that visually pleasing to me.
 
Cadia said:
I love the sound of a nice mango uke. My spalted mango Tiny Tenor is a beautiful one, but not all mango appeals to me visually. I would agree with Barry Maz that some mangos look "dirty", with black blotches that look like smeared ink. I'm presently looking for the right mango uke in a particular model, one that visually pleasing to me.
Click to expand...
Sam Muir recently got a mango Tiny Tenor, she said she's nuts about it.
 
Love both of my mangos tenors. They have a great rounded tone with very good volume. I know that looks are subjective but some of them are really nice looking.

untitled-18.jpg
 
I like Mango because it rhymes with Tango, and I love Latin dance! So there! :cool:

But seriously, saying "Mango" really doesn't tell you anything about its appearance. With Spalted Mango, it can look like anything. And, most of it is butt ugly. There are, however, happy coincidences in nature that produce a spalting that has a unique appearance that's pleasing to the eye and stirs the imagination. Think Rorschach Ink Blots here. I recall seeing one that looked so much like a butterfly! But, that one went to someone else.

My Mango Ukes all have a warm tone, only slightly brighter than Mahogany. It's very pleasing to my ear.
 
Mango wood is rather sustainable in comparison, and some trees produce interesting figures that you may or my not like. If you're not into the look, then I wouldn't bother thinking about getting one because in terms of sound, there are enough other wood options that are more interesting, in my opinion.
 
What am I missing? It just looks like wood.
 
My Mango Pineapple from Pono has a unique soft and dreamy sound unlike anything else I've ever played. I would never sell it. The grain and colour of the wood is very even and beautiful to look at but the sound is unmistakable.

pono_mgtp5.jpg
 
I bought my first really nice ukulele, a mango tenor, from Dennis Lake of PoMahina Ukuleles at the 2004 UkeFestWest. I tried just about every instrument in the entire vendor area before deciding on this lovely instrument. It seemed a little quieter than other instruments but had such a lovely tone. It has gotten much louder over the years as it opened up and the sound has just gotten sweeter.

2 Side profile 2 copy-min.JPGBackside profile copy-min-2.JPG
 
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