Well I have been playin this one at the store for a few weeks now, I wanted to get a solid wood Mahogany Soprano for a while and I have read/heard good things about Pono's from other soruces and figured why not just get it, also I want a Uke I had played and not sight on heard/played that is hard for me to do...
Especialy after they sold the Mango Tenor I posted about.
I like the voice of the Mahogany and I like playing Sopranos, to me Soprano's sound like a Ukulele. Don't get me wrong I really do like playin my Tenors too.
I am just not a fan of the Concerts they are to close to Soprano's, so I choose Soprano's.
And it was a gift to myself for finishing Uke 2 class.
I think after Uke 3 class I'll get that Koaloha Soprano I've been lookin at.....
Well after playin it for a few hours straight now the things I notice…
The nut needs to be taken down a little the first fret fingering is alittle high but I should expect that, easier to lower than replace. No stock Uke I have played is like my plastic fretboard Flea for ease of first fret stuff.
When I was playin it in the store for short periods I never noticed how close the outer strings are to the edges, I can’t be sloppy with finger placement on this Uke or the strings roll over the edges, guess this will help me get better.
As far as sound goes a lot smoother/even/mellow sounding than my Kala Mahogany Soprano’s even with the same strings on the Kala. It took a while of side by side playing to notice the real differences in the sound. The Kalas are louder/tinnier and have more of a bark to them.
Comparing the Johnson to the Kala to the Pono you can hear the $$$$ in the sound difference between each one as you go up in $$$$.
No comparing the sound of the Pono to my Flea, the Flea just has it’s own sound.