Can't decide...Pono tenor Acacia or Mahogany ukulele? Big difference in sound?

Saw a Pono the other day and fell in love with it. A friend had it and showed it to me. It was mahogany.

I have been looking at the acacia models also because I love the look of the wood.

Is there a big difference in the sound of an all mahogany and an all acacia tenor uke?

Does it depend on the strings?

Thanks in advance for all your words of wisdom!~
Teena

Have only heard them compared online. A matter of preference....I prefer mahogany, but not sure abut a "big" difference. GEt whichever one you like and work with some different strings to fine tune the sound. I just got one of the Pono tenor 6 string refurbs....going with Southcoasts.

I own three Ponos, and one is an acacia concert. I gave Hawaii Music Supply cart blanche to put any strings on it they felt best. I came with KoOlau Golds. My new favorite string is...drumroll..Koolau Golds.

Man, this thing is awesome awesome! I reeeeally like the sound and the instrument. These Ponos are all superbly made. I don;t have a mahogany, but I have had other ukes in mahogany. I don;t know why, and I know it's just me, every mahogany ukes is sort of standard to me. No bling in terms of sound or looks. I know, Martins and stuff are great ukuleles made in mahogany. I just view it as middle of the road, something that everything else is compared to. It's hard to beat, again, in my mind, koa for a ukulele...be it Hawaiian or acacia.

Good luck in your shopping, Teena. And if you have any questions, let me know. Cheers! -- Steve

P.S. Many of these have a sound sample from Hawaiian Music Supply. They're awesome folks.
http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-by/brand/pono.html

coolkayaker1 said:

I own three Ponos, and one is an acacia concert. I gave Hawaii Music Supply cart blanche to put any strings on it they felt best. I came with KoOlau Golds. My new favorite string is...drumroll..Koolau Golds.

Man, this thing is awesome awesome! I reeeeally like the sound and the instrument. These Ponos are all superbly made. I don;t have a mahogany, but I have had other ukes in mahogany. I don;t know why, and I know it's just me, every mahogany ukes is sort of standard to me. No bling in terms of sound or looks. I know, Martins and stuff are great ukuleles made in mahogany. I just view it as middle of the road, something that everything else is compared to. It's hard to beat, again, in my mind, koa for a ukulele...be it Hawaiian or acacia.

Good luck in your shopping, Teena. And if you have any questions, let me know. Cheers! -- Steve

P.S. Many of these have a sound sample from Hawaiian Music Supply. They're awesome folks.
http://www.theukulelesite.com/shop-by/brand/pono.html

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Yup, it's just you!!!! A Martin mahogany uke middle of the road!!!!! LOL, lots of us feel the same way about acacia! I have a mahogany Pono with Ko'olau Alohis and a pre-war mahogany Martin O...too bad we can't have a "uke out." I also have acacia and koa ukes. All have theirown character. This is the point I was making about using strings to fine tune your sound. Get the one you like, regardless of what it's made of and go from there unless it's unlikely the one you like won't give you the tone you want........then it's decision time.....come on, you know sooner or later you will want one or more of each. It's just too subjective an issue to suggest one sounds "better" than the other....just different. PS: Ko'olau Golds sound great on some ukes, not so great on others. Ko'olau put some Ko'olau Mahanos on my Pono mahogany refurb......way too mellow, will get them off ASAP.

My wife has a beautiful Pono MHC concert (pro deluxe) I think it sounds sweeter than other mahogany ukes I've played. Unlike others I really didn't like the Ko'olau golds and she has been playing Worth clears. That was until she put some Living Water strings on it. Man, now it has really come alive!

I just heard a demo of a new model of the Pono Acacia, and it sure does sound sweet....as much as I like my mahogany Pono's, sure like to have a pro-classic Pono, but I'd settle for a "lesser" model (read lower price, LOL) You can't loose either way, it's WIN WIN! Nice dilemna to be in. Check out Pono AT5 demo on this page if you haven't already: http://theukulelereview.com/2012/07/07/so-what-new-with-uke/

Thank you so much, all of you, for all your imput. ohhhh, that AT5 is sweet!!!!

Does anybody know when Pono stopped making their ukes with koa and went to acacia? There is a PKT 1-E, that is koa on ebay and the seller says it is "under 10 years old" or in other words, "I don't know"!! The price seems so high for a used, "older" uke. It is here:] Pono PKT 1-E Acoustic Electric Tenor Ukulele w/ Hard Case on ebay. Sorry, I don't know how to make a link. The seller is a music store and they want $599, and I think these new were about $679, or something close to that.

What do y'all think???
thanks,
Teena

I have 3 mahogany ukes and have had an acacia and a monkeypod. The tone of the acacia [a kala] and the monkeypod [ Lanaiki] sounded dull. I prefer koa , cedar, mahogany,or spruce. of course, the maker has a lot to do with the tone.

I'm with Phil USA, acacia koa (which is koa) sounds sweet. Owning several Hawaiian koa instruments, I can't tell any difference between it and the acacia koa. If there is a tonal difference, it must be the build.

The acacia koa Pono is sublime.

I dropped in at HMS a couple weeks ago and met up with Aaron and Andrew (awesome folks to deal with). Aaron showed us a few of the Pono ukes and I have to admit, the acacia one sounded real sweet.

strumsilly said:

I have 3 mahogany ukes and have had an acacia and a monkeypod. The tone of the acacia [a kala] and the monkeypod [ Lanaiki] sounded dull. I prefer koa , cedar, mahogany,or spruce. of course, the maker has a lot to do with the tone.

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Have you tried Ko'olau Alohis or Fremont Blacks on that monkeypod? w/low g?

Trinimon said:

I dropped in at HMS a couple weeks ago and met up with Aaron and Andrew (awesome folks to deal with). Aaron showed us a few of the Pono ukes and I have to admit, the acacia one sounded real sweet.

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Yep, that's the one I have-- a concert Pono acacia from HMS. Thank you, Andrew!

I prefer the sound of the Acacia...you can always change strings to taylor the sound to your taste... plus the Acaia looks much nicer...

Teena, no one has addressed your question about the one on eBay. I looked it over, and although the seller looks excellent, the price is high. It's a used ukulele, and with the $29 shipping, it's $528.

Hawaii Music Supply has such a selection of Pono tenors, most less pricey, by far.
http://www.theukulelesite.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=pono+tenor

For instance, the Pono gloss acacia tenor ATD is $469. Free shipping! Case is $35 (the canvas hard case is lovely), and you have to ask yourself "how many times am I going to plug this in and go electric, anyhow?" If you want, it's $100 at HMS. Honestly, I have two electric ukes -- no wait, three -- and I plug them in to play about once a month. Cables and feedback and volume and such is just overrated. But, good if you are playing "live", I suppose.

Many on here like the mahogany, and that, too, is fairly priced at HMS.

Anyhow, it's hard to beat new, with warranty. G'luck, and please do tell us what you buy. You can't go wrong with a Pono. I adore mine (I have three Pono "babies")

This topic has been useful for me because I'm choosing between Pono's Acacia and Mahogany baritone deluxe models.
On the HMS website, the sound sample of the Mahogany has me believe that the Mahogany has a deeper and possibly louder tone. But then again, recordings can be misleading if not in the exact same environment.

I'm meaning towards the Acacia because it looks a lot prettier... but if the Mahogany has better volume and richer tone, I don't want to compromise. If only.. if only I can try in person..

Acacia baritone deluxe:
http://www.theukulelesite.com/pono-abd-acacia-baritone-deluxe.html

Mahogany baritone deluxe:
http://www.theukulelesite.com/pono-mbd-mahogany-baritone-deluxe.html

I think they both sound equally great, but with different tone. Comparing an apple and an orange is always difficult. I think the acacia is a bright, sweet, and soulful in it's own way. The mahogny is deeper, more mellow, equally sweet and soulful. It may have to come down to that delicate balance between aesthetics (not to be discounted) and tone for you. For ballads, jazzy and bluesey number, I think it's the mahogany, hands down, but if it's for everything else.......that acacia is nice. I think the difference between mahogany and acacia in this case is maginified with the size of the uke....baritone. In some smaller ukes (like my Martin soprano and my Pono concert, I'd probably prefer mahogany, but I don't like to have ukes that all have the same tonal profiles. For me it would come down to ....what kind of music do I play the great majority of the time (unless all those bases are covered), then it's a crap shoot. LOL

I think I'm also haunted by the fact that HMS describes the Mahogany as such:

"This ukulele is all solid Mahogany with a beautiful grain and gloss finish. The tone is amongst the best you will find in baritone size

...

Many were surprised that the Mahogany series from Pono was more expensive than the Acacia series. This because it is a very high grade mahogany and ends up being more expensive than Acacia wood. The sound, clarity, and sustain are very impressive on this instrument. It is not at all muddy at all like some baritones. It's deep and rich in tone but bright with a sparkle to the high frequencies. We were captivated with the sound and think you will be also! "


Which to me seems like ultra, super duper flattery as though the writer is truly amazed at the ukulele's tone.



The Acacia's description is the more typical "it's a very nice ukulele" description..



I know this is probably stupid >_< But it's going to be my last high quality uke purchase in a while

I have an acacia Pono tenor and a mahogany Pono soprano and concert. My opinion is that the tenor acacia is OK. It's a well made uke; has a nice sound. However, the mahogany and soprano are more "special". From this limited perspective I've formed the opinion that where Pono's really shine is their mahogany instruments. The Acacia is not the same as a good Koa, Hawaiian made, uke.

I bought the Pono baritone deluxe in mahogany. It's great. I changed the strings to Southcoast heavys for re-entrant tuning so that it sounds like a ukulele rather than a small guitar. I guess that there are baritone ukuleles that sound better, but I'm completely pleased. As my friend Vince said after he played it the other day, "it makes me sound better than I can play."

Acacia used for Pono is not koa. Koa, as everyone knows, it a type of acacia but most acacia is not koa I appreciate the Koolau company for their honesty in flatly stating that the mahogany models are of a higher quality wood.

BTW, Southcoast strings are great. Everyone should try at least one set. The thought that goes into the selection of the individual strings is impressive and has impressive results. No affiliation...I'm on Kauai and Southcoast is in Louisiana, but the strings have the sound of Hawaii.

kauaijim said:

I appreciate the Koolau company for their honesty in flatly stating that the mahogany models are of a higher quality wood.

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Please help direct me. Where did Koolau say that the mahogany models are of a higher quality wood? It's not that I don't believe you, it's that I'd like to read it myself. Link? Thanks. PS Oh, i get it. High quality than other Hogs, not higher necessarily than acacia. I got it, thanks.

And kissing, that's interesting, the quote you have below about cost. It implies that many are surprised that the cost of mahogany, a more common wood, is more than acacia. It's justifying that cost as this particular mahogany is special. I guess (???)

PhilUSAFret's most recent comment below is really "spot on" about tone and baritones and aethetics and all being part of it. Well said.

I listened to the videos that you linked from HMS, kissing, and honestly, I like the sound of the acacia more than the mahogany. It is subjective, and like you say, has to do with recording environment, etc. Hell, Corey's playing two different songs, and even that makes a difference. lol I think, with a lower toned instrument like a baritone, I'd want wood that allows higher pitch brightness, so that I can select low or high brightness based on string selection. A low, bassy deep tone is harder to brighten when inherent in the ukulele, as opposed to a brighter (not overly bright, just brighter) uke being made more subtle (e/g with Worth Browns). I know, some might debate me on that, but everyone has an opinion. lol

It's almost universally acknowledged (even on this thread) that the acacia looks better. And, it's $30 cheaper. lol Hey, the acacia ad on HMS emphasizes gloss finish, the mahog does not. It looks gloss in the photos, but no mention of it on the 'hog ad (like on the acacia ad). You might want to be sure of it if you order 'hog, kissing, and like gloss rather than satin or oil finish.

Cheers! Fun!