It's been a while since I looked at a Pono ukulele, a brand I have always admired, and we go straight to the top of the pile with this one. This is the new Pono Master Series AT C MS Tenor ukulele, exclusive to the Ukulele Site in Haleiwa.
Showing posts with label pono. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pono. Show all posts
18 Sept 2022
31 Dec 2021
31 Dec 2021T14:18
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Pono MGC Solid Mango Concert Ukulele - REVIEW
It's been a while since I looked at a ukulele from this brand, so it's good to be looking at Pono once again. This is the Pono MGC Solid Mango Concert Ukulele.
7 Oct 2018
7 Oct 2018T12:40
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Pono ACD Concert Ukulele - REVIEW
Back again with a ukulele brand that I have featured numerous times before on Got A Ukulele reviews. And they have always been a pleasure to talk about as they've never disappointed. This week I am looking at the Pono ACD Concert Ukulele.
14 May 2016
14 May 2016T13:30
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Pono ATDC Tenor Ukulele - REVIEW
I am a lucky boy. Sometimes I get a ukulele on loan that genuinely makes me gasp when I first open the box. And this Pono musical instrument hit that right on the button with this new model in the shape of the ATDC Tenor. I mean, just look at it.
4 May 2015
4 May 2015T12:46
First things first, let's not pre-judge this review, but it is fair to say I am a big fan of Pono instruments. They represent to me the link between the upper end of intermediates from China (these too are made in the far east in Indonesia) and the higher end handmade instruments from Hawaii and elsewhere in the USA. Pono are a far eastern subsidiary of the Hawaiian 'Ko'olau' brand of instruments and are made over there to Pono's standards and with their wood supplies. They haven't failed me and are played on stages by many professional musicians.
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Pono MB-e Baritone Ukulele - REVIEW
I guess it says something about a certain brand when I now own three of them. Not ukuleles loaned to me on test, three I actually bought for myself. So to compliment my Concert and Tenor models, a Baritone scale instrument has joined the fold. The Pono MB-e.
First things first, let's not pre-judge this review, but it is fair to say I am a big fan of Pono instruments. They represent to me the link between the upper end of intermediates from China (these too are made in the far east in Indonesia) and the higher end handmade instruments from Hawaii and elsewhere in the USA. Pono are a far eastern subsidiary of the Hawaiian 'Ko'olau' brand of instruments and are made over there to Pono's standards and with their wood supplies. They haven't failed me and are played on stages by many professional musicians.
19 Nov 2013
19 Nov 2013T07:32
The written review can be found at http://www.gotaukulele.com/2013/04/pono-mtd-e-tenor-ukulele-review.html
As an edit - I refer in this to the woods on the faceplate as being rosewood. I am told they are ebony - don't look like it to me, but that is indeed what Pono say! Sorry..
( DIRECT LINK )
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Pono MTD Video Review
Still playing catch up with my ukulele video reviews, so here is another one for you. The Pono MTD Tenor. Lovely instrument.
The written review can be found at http://www.gotaukulele.com/2013/04/pono-mtd-e-tenor-ukulele-review.html
As an edit - I refer in this to the woods on the faceplate as being rosewood. I am told they are ebony - don't look like it to me, but that is indeed what Pono say! Sorry..
( DIRECT LINK )
23 Apr 2013
23 Apr 2013T13:36
I have been after a new tenor for playing with The N'Ukes for a little while to compliment my Kala ASAC Tenor, but with a passive pickup for a more natural acoustic tone when picking. A scout around the stores suggested to me that this could fit the bill. I have been mightily impressed with the Pono Pro Classic Concert that I thought I would give this brand another go.
I effectively had a choice of the Pono MT - which is a straight up mahogany tenor, or this one, the MTD for which the D stands for 'deluxe'. In reality that means a gloss finish, but I chose that on advice from the good guys at Southern Ukulele Store who felt that the gloss model had a bit more of a chime to the voice. It comes with an under-saddle passive pickup (more on that later) and runs to £500. The 'E' tag refers to the pickup, but it's essentially just a Pono MTD.
The first thing you will notice is that this is a relatively plain instrument. Those who read this site regularly will know that I don't really go in for too much 'bling' on a uke, and prefer them to look a little more understated. In fact, for me, going for gloss was actually a concession!
The MTD-E is an all solid mahogany instrument, built by the Pono line which is the far eastern line of the famous Hawaiian maker Ko'olau. As such it is made in Indonesia, but to Ko'olau's exacting standards, and have become respected as one of the highest quality far eastern ukes around.
Let's take a look at the body. As I said, pretty plain, and understated. The grain is nice and clear - there is no real curl or flame at this price point, but the gloss really sets it off nicely, and there is some 3 dimensional shimmer under lights. I have seen darker mahogany, but it has a nice orangey glow which to me looks closer to a Koa colour than a mahogany. The top is made from two pieces of mahogany and book-matched perfectly. The only concession to bling on this instrument is the thin rope marquetry around the sound-hole which I think looks great. It's also inlaid - no transfers on this instrument.
The sides are made from two pieces of mahogany and are also book-matched perfectly to the joint at the butt. It's also nice to see that the grain runs completely parallel with the sides, something you often see going awry with the grain on one side being at an angle, and not on the other. A nice attention to detail. Where the sides join at the but is the jack socket for the pickup fitted with an integral silver strap button.
The back repeats the pattern on the top, also nicely book-matched and is also slightly arched to assist with sound projection. One other thing that struck me - this is a deep instrument - those sides are pretty fat at the lower bout end of the uke, especially compared to my Kala Tenor. Will that help the tone and volume?
The bridge is nicely shaped from rosewood and is a tie bar affair. The saddle is cut from bone (as you would expect at this price). The whole body is covered in a nice mirror finish gloss which, on the whole is very nicely done with no 'orange peel' ripples whatsoever. There is a tiny bit of pooling of excess gloss around the top where the neck heel joins the body, but I have seen much much worse.
A quick look inside and all is relatively tidy, with a serial number stamped on the neck block, notched kerfling and the Pono label. There is a little bit of glue seepage on the kerfling, but nothing major. All looking good so far.
On to the neck, this too is made from mahogany, and topped with a rosewood fingerboard. The neck is made from five pieces of wood (five, count them...) with a joint at the headstock and the remaining joints stacked at the heel. This is over the top in my opinion, but not something that will affect the sound. You can see the joints though. The heel of the instrument is capped with a rosewood finish which is a nice touch. The whole back of the neck and headstock are finished in the same nice gloss finish.
The rosewood fingerboard has a moderate amount of orange stripe in it, which I would prefer to have been a little more even, but nothing compared to some instruments I have seen. The edges are bound in what looks like ebony, thus hiding the fret ends and give the instrument a more professional finish.
There are twenty nickel silver frets, with 14 to the body. I had read several comments online about these Ponos coming with rough fret edges. Nothing could be further from the truth on this model and the edges of the fingerboard are like butter. The frets themselves are also quite chunky which I prefer. Fret markers are provided by pearloid inlays at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th, and these are repeated as side markers as well. Full marks Pono.
Another word about the neck - its extremely chunky with a really rounded C shaped profile at the nut. For someone with big hands this pleases me. The neck width is not wide like, say a Kanile'a K1, but it is thicker in the profile and that makes it fit my hand profile just perfectly. If you don't get on with wide nut ukuleles (and as I say, this isn't) then that deeper profile 'may' affect you the same way.
Past the bone nut to the headstock, and this is faced in a glossy mirror finish rosewood which looks just fantastic with a nice stripe to it. The Pono logo is inlaid in mother of pearl and looks very classy.
Tuning is provided by Pono branded sealed geared tuners with small and classy ebony buttons and silver hardware. I would, I suppose, preferred to have seen my geared tuners of choice here (open geared USA Grovers) but these work just fine. The have the right amount of resistance and no sloppy action at all. Those small buttons are also a plus.
Then, on to the pickup - it comes with a Shadow under saddle piezo pickup that is completely passive. That is to say, there is no onboard battery or controls on the instrument. In order to get a decent sound from it therefore you will need to ideally run this through a DI or Pre-Amp box to get a nice fuller tone. I chose a passive deliberately for reasons I will go into further below. I suppose the other benefit of a passive is that you will never have that horrible moment where batteries start to fade mid set!
Completing the package were a set of D'Addario Titanium strings fitted by SUS. I've actually changed them since as I experiment with strings as soon as I get any new ukulele, and currently have Living Water Low G strings on it. The D'Addario's sounded great, but I am not really a huge fan of the way they feel on the fingers. With a shop like SUS though they will fit whatever you like.
So looks and build wise I think this is an absolute winner. It oozes 'quality instrument' and I am very taken with it. But on to playing...
First up, acoustically - not what I primarily bought it for, but obviously a very important part of this review! This is a loud instrument! It has bags of volume, no doubt helped by that body size, and really makes its presence known. But it also has a ton of sustain and a harmonic chime in chords that, to date, I have only seen matched by my Kanile'a K1 which I love so much. Tone wise though, they could not be more different. Where the K1 has a woody earthy tone, the Pono has a punchier and brighter tone (different woods of course), but a tone that I absolutely adore. In fact, I wasn't expecting to say this, but tone wise I have this on a par with my K1, and perhaps because it is new, I am actually preferring it at the moment. Strummed it sounds bigger and thicker than the sum of its four strings, and picked the clarity is just beautiful.
The playability is top notch also. I love the feel of the neck, making it a joy to play fast up the neck with no trouble whatsoever. It feels balanced and solid in the hands and is comfortable. I can't speak highly enough about it in this regard.
On to that pickup. I do like playing my Kala Tenor, but I have recently found it sounding somewhat 'electric' in tone. That may sound like a stupid statement considering it is plugged in, but it was sounding more like an electric guitar, and less like an amplifed acoustic instrument. For some of our rockier numbers that was fine in the mix, but I was less impressed with the performance when fingerpicking something softer. The piezo in this is essentially the same thing, but what it lacks is the onboard circuitry which I think lets the active pickups down. This is literally a single wire running from the piezo strip to the output jack.
It needed to work for my live playing so I decided to really put this Pono through and played a whole set with it at our last gig - and, I was mighty impressed! I ran this through an acoustic pre-amp pedal, then into our mixing desk and was extremely pleased with the sound. The sustain was really evident, but as much as I said above it had a brighter sound, it sounds equally warm and smooth when plugged in, and very much like an acoustic instrument and not an electric. In fact it has delivered exactly what I wanted. It never sounded muddy in the mix, and the high notes in particular rang through extremely sweetly.
So in short, it's leagues above the Kala in my opinion, and closer to the quality of the Kanile'a than I ever expected. As such, this is one happy ukulele player and I would highly recommend one of these, acoustic or electric.
SCORES
Looks - 9
Fit and finish - 9
Sound - 9.5
Value for money 9
OVERALL - 9.1
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Pono MTD-E Tenor Ukulele REVIEW
A new one in the stable at Got A Ukulele Towers... The Pono MTD-E Tenor electro acoustic ukulele.
I have been after a new tenor for playing with The N'Ukes for a little while to compliment my Kala ASAC Tenor, but with a passive pickup for a more natural acoustic tone when picking. A scout around the stores suggested to me that this could fit the bill. I have been mightily impressed with the Pono Pro Classic Concert that I thought I would give this brand another go.
I effectively had a choice of the Pono MT - which is a straight up mahogany tenor, or this one, the MTD for which the D stands for 'deluxe'. In reality that means a gloss finish, but I chose that on advice from the good guys at Southern Ukulele Store who felt that the gloss model had a bit more of a chime to the voice. It comes with an under-saddle passive pickup (more on that later) and runs to £500. The 'E' tag refers to the pickup, but it's essentially just a Pono MTD.
The first thing you will notice is that this is a relatively plain instrument. Those who read this site regularly will know that I don't really go in for too much 'bling' on a uke, and prefer them to look a little more understated. In fact, for me, going for gloss was actually a concession!
The MTD-E is an all solid mahogany instrument, built by the Pono line which is the far eastern line of the famous Hawaiian maker Ko'olau. As such it is made in Indonesia, but to Ko'olau's exacting standards, and have become respected as one of the highest quality far eastern ukes around.
The sides are made from two pieces of mahogany and are also book-matched perfectly to the joint at the butt. It's also nice to see that the grain runs completely parallel with the sides, something you often see going awry with the grain on one side being at an angle, and not on the other. A nice attention to detail. Where the sides join at the but is the jack socket for the pickup fitted with an integral silver strap button.
The back repeats the pattern on the top, also nicely book-matched and is also slightly arched to assist with sound projection. One other thing that struck me - this is a deep instrument - those sides are pretty fat at the lower bout end of the uke, especially compared to my Kala Tenor. Will that help the tone and volume?
The bridge is nicely shaped from rosewood and is a tie bar affair. The saddle is cut from bone (as you would expect at this price). The whole body is covered in a nice mirror finish gloss which, on the whole is very nicely done with no 'orange peel' ripples whatsoever. There is a tiny bit of pooling of excess gloss around the top where the neck heel joins the body, but I have seen much much worse.
A quick look inside and all is relatively tidy, with a serial number stamped on the neck block, notched kerfling and the Pono label. There is a little bit of glue seepage on the kerfling, but nothing major. All looking good so far.
On to the neck, this too is made from mahogany, and topped with a rosewood fingerboard. The neck is made from five pieces of wood (five, count them...) with a joint at the headstock and the remaining joints stacked at the heel. This is over the top in my opinion, but not something that will affect the sound. You can see the joints though. The heel of the instrument is capped with a rosewood finish which is a nice touch. The whole back of the neck and headstock are finished in the same nice gloss finish.
The rosewood fingerboard has a moderate amount of orange stripe in it, which I would prefer to have been a little more even, but nothing compared to some instruments I have seen. The edges are bound in what looks like ebony, thus hiding the fret ends and give the instrument a more professional finish.
There are twenty nickel silver frets, with 14 to the body. I had read several comments online about these Ponos coming with rough fret edges. Nothing could be further from the truth on this model and the edges of the fingerboard are like butter. The frets themselves are also quite chunky which I prefer. Fret markers are provided by pearloid inlays at the 5th, 7th, 10th, 12th and 15th, and these are repeated as side markers as well. Full marks Pono.
Another word about the neck - its extremely chunky with a really rounded C shaped profile at the nut. For someone with big hands this pleases me. The neck width is not wide like, say a Kanile'a K1, but it is thicker in the profile and that makes it fit my hand profile just perfectly. If you don't get on with wide nut ukuleles (and as I say, this isn't) then that deeper profile 'may' affect you the same way.
Past the bone nut to the headstock, and this is faced in a glossy mirror finish rosewood which looks just fantastic with a nice stripe to it. The Pono logo is inlaid in mother of pearl and looks very classy.
Tuning is provided by Pono branded sealed geared tuners with small and classy ebony buttons and silver hardware. I would, I suppose, preferred to have seen my geared tuners of choice here (open geared USA Grovers) but these work just fine. The have the right amount of resistance and no sloppy action at all. Those small buttons are also a plus.
Then, on to the pickup - it comes with a Shadow under saddle piezo pickup that is completely passive. That is to say, there is no onboard battery or controls on the instrument. In order to get a decent sound from it therefore you will need to ideally run this through a DI or Pre-Amp box to get a nice fuller tone. I chose a passive deliberately for reasons I will go into further below. I suppose the other benefit of a passive is that you will never have that horrible moment where batteries start to fade mid set!
Completing the package were a set of D'Addario Titanium strings fitted by SUS. I've actually changed them since as I experiment with strings as soon as I get any new ukulele, and currently have Living Water Low G strings on it. The D'Addario's sounded great, but I am not really a huge fan of the way they feel on the fingers. With a shop like SUS though they will fit whatever you like.
So looks and build wise I think this is an absolute winner. It oozes 'quality instrument' and I am very taken with it. But on to playing...
First up, acoustically - not what I primarily bought it for, but obviously a very important part of this review! This is a loud instrument! It has bags of volume, no doubt helped by that body size, and really makes its presence known. But it also has a ton of sustain and a harmonic chime in chords that, to date, I have only seen matched by my Kanile'a K1 which I love so much. Tone wise though, they could not be more different. Where the K1 has a woody earthy tone, the Pono has a punchier and brighter tone (different woods of course), but a tone that I absolutely adore. In fact, I wasn't expecting to say this, but tone wise I have this on a par with my K1, and perhaps because it is new, I am actually preferring it at the moment. Strummed it sounds bigger and thicker than the sum of its four strings, and picked the clarity is just beautiful.
The playability is top notch also. I love the feel of the neck, making it a joy to play fast up the neck with no trouble whatsoever. It feels balanced and solid in the hands and is comfortable. I can't speak highly enough about it in this regard.
On to that pickup. I do like playing my Kala Tenor, but I have recently found it sounding somewhat 'electric' in tone. That may sound like a stupid statement considering it is plugged in, but it was sounding more like an electric guitar, and less like an amplifed acoustic instrument. For some of our rockier numbers that was fine in the mix, but I was less impressed with the performance when fingerpicking something softer. The piezo in this is essentially the same thing, but what it lacks is the onboard circuitry which I think lets the active pickups down. This is literally a single wire running from the piezo strip to the output jack.
It needed to work for my live playing so I decided to really put this Pono through and played a whole set with it at our last gig - and, I was mighty impressed! I ran this through an acoustic pre-amp pedal, then into our mixing desk and was extremely pleased with the sound. The sustain was really evident, but as much as I said above it had a brighter sound, it sounds equally warm and smooth when plugged in, and very much like an acoustic instrument and not an electric. In fact it has delivered exactly what I wanted. It never sounded muddy in the mix, and the high notes in particular rang through extremely sweetly.
So in short, it's leagues above the Kala in my opinion, and closer to the quality of the Kanile'a than I ever expected. As such, this is one happy ukulele player and I would highly recommend one of these, acoustic or electric.
SCORES
Looks - 9
Fit and finish - 9
Sound - 9.5
Value for money 9
OVERALL - 9.1
To understand my review scoring and see this result in context - visit my review page at
2 Jun 2012
2 Jun 2012T11:06
Enjoy - click on photo for larger image.
Back row L-R - Makala Dolphin soprano, Mahalo U50 Soprano, Pono MHC Pro Classic concert, Kanile'a K1 Tenor, Brüko No.6 soprano, Koaloha Pikake soprano, Magic Fluke Firefly banjolele, Mainland concert, Vintage VUK20N soprano.
Front row L-R - Magic Fluke Flea soprano, Magic Fluke Fluke concert, Clifton (Lidl) soprano, Mahalo Flying V, Antonio Lemez Canarian Timple (ok, the last one isn't a uke, but let me off!)
No doubt over the years ahead, the collection will change, but most of these are keepers.
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The current ukulele collection
Ukuleles come and ukes go, and whilst I have owned others in my time, I thought I was overdue taking a photograph of the current crop.
Enjoy - click on photo for larger image.
Back row L-R - Makala Dolphin soprano, Mahalo U50 Soprano, Pono MHC Pro Classic concert, Kanile'a K1 Tenor, Brüko No.6 soprano, Koaloha Pikake soprano, Magic Fluke Firefly banjolele, Mainland concert, Vintage VUK20N soprano.
Front row L-R - Magic Fluke Flea soprano, Magic Fluke Fluke concert, Clifton (Lidl) soprano, Mahalo Flying V, Antonio Lemez Canarian Timple (ok, the last one isn't a uke, but let me off!)
No doubt over the years ahead, the collection will change, but most of these are keepers.
25 Sept 2011
25 Sept 2011T14:43
I did a tally and figured that there have been about 15 or 16 ukes in my possession over the last couple of years. Not all stayed with me and some have been sold or traded, but I thought I'd share with you the current crop from cheap to pricey.
First up in the cheap category is my uke of choice when recommending an instrument to a beginner with a limited budget - the Makala Dolphin Soprano. I actually gifted the red one in the review to my Nephew, but this purple one is technically my daughters, though I love playing it!
(above - Makala Dolphin Soprano)
With a proper setup and Aquila strings, I really don't think that these can be beaten (for the price). I've owned plenty of other ukes in the bargain price range, like a Mahalo and a Vintage though the least said about those the better! I did however own a Lanikai LU21 which I would also highly recommend to beginners.
Moving on, I got hold of a Flea Soprano from the Magic Fluke Company. These are unusual ukes in many ways, their shape, the plastic bowl back, the plastic fingerboard. What they do deliver though is great sound and zero issues with setup due to the nature of their construction. If you are fed up with instruments that buzz or have dodgy action I would highly recommend these.
(above, Flea Soprano in Purple)
I soon decided that I both wanted to move up a ukulele size and try a concert, but also wanted a solid wood uke. I had dabbled with my first solid wood uke which was a soprano by Brüko (highly recommended) but wanted a bigger size. This led me to the fabulous Mainlandbrand of ukes and I purchased an all solid mahogany concert model with a divine slotted headstock. Mainlands start their lives being put together in the far east to keep costs down, but are hand finished and setup by Mike in the USA. The sound is super sweet with a bell like chime and it has looks to die for. A google search or forum search for mainland ukes will show you that Mainland owners are a real community, and rightly so, they are marvellous instruments and in my opinion about as good as you can get for the price.
(above - Mainland Mahogany Concert)
I then took a diversion into a type of uke that I think every player should try at least once, a Banjo Uke, or 'Banjolele'. You can pay some serious money for a banjo uke but I wanted something cheap with a good reputation and went with the Ozark 2035. It's a no frills banjo uke but is very well made and has a great tone. I do, however find it uncomfortable to play due to it missing the more traditional wider resonator on the back and a tone ring, but it does sound good. I don't get to play it as much as I would like though as my friends play traditional ukes, and strumming this is overkill on the volume front!
(above - Ozark 2035 Banjolele)
My love for the Flea ukulele I mentioned above soon had me hankering after a big brother in the shape of the Fluke Tenor ukulele. I say tenor, and thats what it is billed as, but to me the size feels more like a halfway house between a concert and a tenor. The increase in size of this uke over the Flea really shows in the sound which is richer and warmer. It is on equal terms with the Flea in setup and playability, and that larger flat base makes this the perfect uke to always have on hand, standing up beside by sofa!
(above - Fluke Tenor)
I write so much about ukes that it wasn't long before I came to the scary realisation that I really needed to own a hand made Hawaiian ukulele, known as the K Brand Ukes. I also figured I didn't own a traditional tenor scale instrument so settled on a Kanile'a K1 tenor uke. Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy. It's buying a uke of this quality that really shows where that extra money goes. The sound and looks are out of this world, it really is so beautiful. This has become my go to ukulele for fingerpicking.
(above - Kanile'a K1 Tenor, satin finish uke)
The Hawaiian bug bit and this was soon followed by a purchase of a K brand soprano in the shape of a Koaloha Pikake soprano. I wanted a bright, loud, traditional sounding soprano and this uke has it in spades. I remain to be amazed at the volume from this tiny thing (easily the loudest of all my ukes) and it's my choice of uke now for gigging with friends as it provides a sharp clear sound that cuts through our mix of instruments perfectly.
(above - Koaloha Pikake Soprano)
The latest uke in the house is not actually mine, but it's worthy of a mention. Fairly recently my wife decided to start playing uke and her progress was astounding. She is now playing with us live and as an anniversary present / a 'well done', I bought her her own ukulele as she had been playing my Mainland. I think I made a good choice in the Pono MHC Pro Classic mahogany concert. This is one pretty instrument, impeccably made and with a fantastic sound.
(above- Pono MHC Pro Classic Concert)
So there you have it, a snapshot. There will be more I am sure, and perhaps some of those above will be sold or traded (though I doubt I'll ever be saying goodbye to the Hawaiian ukes), but that is part of the fun in playing uke - the addiction to buying them!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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The current ukulele collection
It struck me that new readers of this blog won't have seen the very earliest reviews and news about ukes in my household... And who the heck searches back over years of blog posting?
I did a tally and figured that there have been about 15 or 16 ukes in my possession over the last couple of years. Not all stayed with me and some have been sold or traded, but I thought I'd share with you the current crop from cheap to pricey.
First up in the cheap category is my uke of choice when recommending an instrument to a beginner with a limited budget - the Makala Dolphin Soprano. I actually gifted the red one in the review to my Nephew, but this purple one is technically my daughters, though I love playing it!
(above - Makala Dolphin Soprano)
With a proper setup and Aquila strings, I really don't think that these can be beaten (for the price). I've owned plenty of other ukes in the bargain price range, like a Mahalo and a Vintage though the least said about those the better! I did however own a Lanikai LU21 which I would also highly recommend to beginners.
Moving on, I got hold of a Flea Soprano from the Magic Fluke Company. These are unusual ukes in many ways, their shape, the plastic bowl back, the plastic fingerboard. What they do deliver though is great sound and zero issues with setup due to the nature of their construction. If you are fed up with instruments that buzz or have dodgy action I would highly recommend these.
(above, Flea Soprano in Purple)
I soon decided that I both wanted to move up a ukulele size and try a concert, but also wanted a solid wood uke. I had dabbled with my first solid wood uke which was a soprano by Brüko (highly recommended) but wanted a bigger size. This led me to the fabulous Mainlandbrand of ukes and I purchased an all solid mahogany concert model with a divine slotted headstock. Mainlands start their lives being put together in the far east to keep costs down, but are hand finished and setup by Mike in the USA. The sound is super sweet with a bell like chime and it has looks to die for. A google search or forum search for mainland ukes will show you that Mainland owners are a real community, and rightly so, they are marvellous instruments and in my opinion about as good as you can get for the price.
(above - Mainland Mahogany Concert)
I then took a diversion into a type of uke that I think every player should try at least once, a Banjo Uke, or 'Banjolele'. You can pay some serious money for a banjo uke but I wanted something cheap with a good reputation and went with the Ozark 2035. It's a no frills banjo uke but is very well made and has a great tone. I do, however find it uncomfortable to play due to it missing the more traditional wider resonator on the back and a tone ring, but it does sound good. I don't get to play it as much as I would like though as my friends play traditional ukes, and strumming this is overkill on the volume front!
(above - Ozark 2035 Banjolele)
My love for the Flea ukulele I mentioned above soon had me hankering after a big brother in the shape of the Fluke Tenor ukulele. I say tenor, and thats what it is billed as, but to me the size feels more like a halfway house between a concert and a tenor. The increase in size of this uke over the Flea really shows in the sound which is richer and warmer. It is on equal terms with the Flea in setup and playability, and that larger flat base makes this the perfect uke to always have on hand, standing up beside by sofa!
(above - Fluke Tenor)
I write so much about ukes that it wasn't long before I came to the scary realisation that I really needed to own a hand made Hawaiian ukulele, known as the K Brand Ukes. I also figured I didn't own a traditional tenor scale instrument so settled on a Kanile'a K1 tenor uke. Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy. It's buying a uke of this quality that really shows where that extra money goes. The sound and looks are out of this world, it really is so beautiful. This has become my go to ukulele for fingerpicking.
(above - Kanile'a K1 Tenor, satin finish uke)
The Hawaiian bug bit and this was soon followed by a purchase of a K brand soprano in the shape of a Koaloha Pikake soprano. I wanted a bright, loud, traditional sounding soprano and this uke has it in spades. I remain to be amazed at the volume from this tiny thing (easily the loudest of all my ukes) and it's my choice of uke now for gigging with friends as it provides a sharp clear sound that cuts through our mix of instruments perfectly.
(above - Koaloha Pikake Soprano)
The latest uke in the house is not actually mine, but it's worthy of a mention. Fairly recently my wife decided to start playing uke and her progress was astounding. She is now playing with us live and as an anniversary present / a 'well done', I bought her her own ukulele as she had been playing my Mainland. I think I made a good choice in the Pono MHC Pro Classic mahogany concert. This is one pretty instrument, impeccably made and with a fantastic sound.
(above- Pono MHC Pro Classic Concert)
So there you have it, a snapshot. There will be more I am sure, and perhaps some of those above will be sold or traded (though I doubt I'll ever be saying goodbye to the Hawaiian ukes), but that is part of the fun in playing uke - the addiction to buying them!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
6 Sept 2011
6 Sept 2011T10:28
After much research, we settled on the Pono MHC Concert ukulele in Mahogany, complete with a hard case. Thanks again to the wonderful Southern Ukulele Store in the UK for supplying. This instrument is from their "Pro-Classic" line of Pono ukes, which represent the top end for the brand. Pono ukuleles are made by the Ko'olau ukulele company of Hawaii, one of the leading K Brand ukes from those islands. The Pono ukes are however put together under Ko'olau control in the far east before shipping back to Hawaii for a final check over and setup. This allows costs to be kept lower, but Pono claim that they insist on the highest level of quality control and that the place of origin should not be obvious to the player. So how does it fare?
Before we get into the detail, its worth a word or two as to where the Pono sits in the range of ukes available out there. This is NOT a handmade Hawaiian uke, and it's price reflects that (£379). That said, that price is considerably higher than other decent far eastern ukuleles such as Kala, Ohana and Mainland. As such, I see the Pono as aiming to sit between the more common brands and the K Brands. That would suggest they should be about as good as you can get without getting a luthier built uke or a K Brand. This review will aim to look at whether that is true. I will use my Mainland uke as a point of reference.
The Pono is certainly a pretty instrument with some extremely pleasing finishing touches. It is of all solid mahogany construction in the body and neck, and finished in gloss. The shape is traditional with quite a wide lower bout to the body and a slightly arched back to assist with sound projection. The grain of the mahogany is quite, quite stunning to look at. I cannot take a photograph to show this properly, but there is a real flame in the grain that glimmers when it catches the light. The top and back are nicely bookmatched and the grain in the sides runs parallel to the top and back also, something you dont see on my Mainland uke. The top and back have an ebony binding bordered with a thin strip of white which is perfectly finished with no flaws whatsoever. Turning the uke over and there is a similar ebony strip down the back and on the base of the uke which adds a very classy touch to the look of the instrument. The sound hole is surrounded by a genuine abalone ring. I am not normally a fan of too much "bling" on instruments, but this is about as blingy as the Pono gets, and I think it looks just right. The real bone saddle is housed in a small and delicate looking ebony tie bar bridge.
Moving on to the neck we have a three piece construction, something that differs from K Brand ukes which will tend to use a single piece of wood. The neck profile is comfortable and ends with a nicely finished headstock which is faced with a piece of piano shiny ebony in which the Pono name is inlaid in mother of pearl. The fingerboard is in beautiful dark ebony also, although it looked a little dry and washed out when it arrived. A very thin application of Fret Doctor oil soon sorted that and it now looks beautiful. There are 19 nickel frets, all dressed perfectly with NO sharp edges at all. The fret markers are small and circular made of mother of pearl, and are repeated on the top edge of the fingerboard. The edges of the fingerboard are also trimmed with an ebony strip to hide the fret edges
The ukulele tuners are geared and enclosed, and bear the Pono name on the back of each one - another nice touch though if I am honest, I would have preferred open geared tuners. That said, these are not heavy. They are finished in gold with very small ebony buttons which pleased me too - other uke makers take note - if you are putting geared tuners on your ukulele, please choose small buttons - otherwise the ukes look like Mickey Mouse! These tuners are smooth and accurate and present no problems. The nut is also natural bone and is set and finished very neatly.
Looking inside the body, I see the top and back are secured with standard looking kerfling. The bracing too looks traditional and also very delicate - these are not rough chunks of wood, but nicely carved to size aiming for the minimal amount of wood whilst maintaining structural integrity, making for a more resonant ukulele.
So to summarise the cosmetics - the ukulele is absolutely flawless in every respect. The differences from, say, the Mainland ukulele, are clear in the little details. The arched back, the real mother of pearl and abalone, the dressed edges to the fingerboard, the use of ebony and oh, that wonderful grain pattern. The gloss is applied perfectly, with no pooling or small bubbles in crevices as I see on the Mainland. There are no glue drops inside the body either, and the only smell coming from the soundhole is the smell of wood. This level of finish on a high end K Brand ukulele would easily push the cost of your instrument over £1000, so it's extremely pleasing to see that level of quality at this price.
But what does it feel like to play? Well it feels good in my hands, is light and nicely balanced. The fretboard is wonderfully finished allowing fast play, comfortably. Tuning and intonation all over the neck were spot on when I checked with an accurate tuner and as such I have zero issues in this respect. The finish is not "sticky" and the back of the neck is smooth to hold and move around on.
So, the biggie. Sound. Well its VERY nice. Sure, it doesnt have the absolute bang on clarity and sustain of a Hawaiian ukulele, but I never expected it to. Volume wise, its on a par with the Mainland but there is more harmony when strumming, more seperation between the notes and a much more chimey sound. It really does have a fizz to it when strumming, yet when picked it sounds really warm and full, meaning its a very verstatile instrument to my mind. This model has been fitted with Worth clear strings by the store as I am not a fan of the Ko'olau gold strings that Pono ship this uke with which will have some bearing on that. The sound is clear, and has good sustain. In comparison, the Mainland, whilst still a wonderful sounding ukulele sounds a little more "boxy" than the Pono, slightly more one dimensional. It's worth adding too that the Mainland I own is about two years old, so the wood will have opened up a little more. As such I can only expect the Pono to improve further with age.
How would I summarise? Well on sound alone I can't say there is a £200 uplift in sound over a Mainland ukulele, but that would be unfair on both instruments. Sound quality is subjective and does not improve pound for pound on a straight line graph. A £1500 Hawaiian ukulele will not sound twice as nice as a £750 ukulele - that would be ridiculous. But pricing is about more than sound, but also looks and finish and in that respect, as pretty as I think the Mainland is, this uke is leagues above it in that respect. In fact it's easily the prettiest ukulele in our household now. If you find the price a little steep, there are Pono ukes available with less "bling" and finish that I would expect to be nice sounding also, so would certainly suggest looking at those.
Do I have any gripes - not really. I have mentioned the tuners, but that is just personal preference, and bear in mind that I paid extra for Worth strings as I am not convinced Ko'olau should ship these with their own strings. I suppose a single piece neck would have been expected for the money, but this is a factory built instrument and I understand the reasoning. Those are, however minor gripes - the instrument looks great, plays great and sounds great.
In summary, I would consider this uke to be in the range of "as good as you will get without going to something handmade". I'm extremely pleased with it and so is she!
As a final word - it is worth me mentioning the hard case. These ukes come supplied with a Ko'olau branded hard case of really nice quality. The case has distinctive red stitching around the lid and is clearly not a cheap case with quality fittings, interior and handle. I would suggest that such a case would probably cost around £40 to purchase, so that £379 ukulele is probably better considered a £339 instrument.
UKULELE PROS
Looks
Excellent build quality
Chiming tone
UKULELE CONS
Not many, would prefer different stock strings
UKULELE SCORES
Looks - 9.5
Fit and finish - 9.5
Sound - 8.5
Value for money - 8.5
OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9 out of 10
UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW
SOUND SAMPLE
Read More »
PONO MHC Pro Classic Series Concert Ukulele - REVIEW
It had to happen I suppose, but the ukulele bug has been biting my good lady wife over the last few weeks! She has been playing all the time and is really improving, so with a big (ish) anniversary coming this year I thought I would treat her to a ukulele of her own.
After much research, we settled on the Pono MHC Concert ukulele in Mahogany, complete with a hard case. Thanks again to the wonderful Southern Ukulele Store in the UK for supplying. This instrument is from their "Pro-Classic" line of Pono ukes, which represent the top end for the brand. Pono ukuleles are made by the Ko'olau ukulele company of Hawaii, one of the leading K Brand ukes from those islands. The Pono ukes are however put together under Ko'olau control in the far east before shipping back to Hawaii for a final check over and setup. This allows costs to be kept lower, but Pono claim that they insist on the highest level of quality control and that the place of origin should not be obvious to the player. So how does it fare?
Before we get into the detail, its worth a word or two as to where the Pono sits in the range of ukes available out there. This is NOT a handmade Hawaiian uke, and it's price reflects that (£379). That said, that price is considerably higher than other decent far eastern ukuleles such as Kala, Ohana and Mainland. As such, I see the Pono as aiming to sit between the more common brands and the K Brands. That would suggest they should be about as good as you can get without getting a luthier built uke or a K Brand. This review will aim to look at whether that is true. I will use my Mainland uke as a point of reference.
The Pono is certainly a pretty instrument with some extremely pleasing finishing touches. It is of all solid mahogany construction in the body and neck, and finished in gloss. The shape is traditional with quite a wide lower bout to the body and a slightly arched back to assist with sound projection. The grain of the mahogany is quite, quite stunning to look at. I cannot take a photograph to show this properly, but there is a real flame in the grain that glimmers when it catches the light. The top and back are nicely bookmatched and the grain in the sides runs parallel to the top and back also, something you dont see on my Mainland uke. The top and back have an ebony binding bordered with a thin strip of white which is perfectly finished with no flaws whatsoever. Turning the uke over and there is a similar ebony strip down the back and on the base of the uke which adds a very classy touch to the look of the instrument. The sound hole is surrounded by a genuine abalone ring. I am not normally a fan of too much "bling" on instruments, but this is about as blingy as the Pono gets, and I think it looks just right. The real bone saddle is housed in a small and delicate looking ebony tie bar bridge.
Moving on to the neck we have a three piece construction, something that differs from K Brand ukes which will tend to use a single piece of wood. The neck profile is comfortable and ends with a nicely finished headstock which is faced with a piece of piano shiny ebony in which the Pono name is inlaid in mother of pearl. The fingerboard is in beautiful dark ebony also, although it looked a little dry and washed out when it arrived. A very thin application of Fret Doctor oil soon sorted that and it now looks beautiful. There are 19 nickel frets, all dressed perfectly with NO sharp edges at all. The fret markers are small and circular made of mother of pearl, and are repeated on the top edge of the fingerboard. The edges of the fingerboard are also trimmed with an ebony strip to hide the fret edges
The ukulele tuners are geared and enclosed, and bear the Pono name on the back of each one - another nice touch though if I am honest, I would have preferred open geared tuners. That said, these are not heavy. They are finished in gold with very small ebony buttons which pleased me too - other uke makers take note - if you are putting geared tuners on your ukulele, please choose small buttons - otherwise the ukes look like Mickey Mouse! These tuners are smooth and accurate and present no problems. The nut is also natural bone and is set and finished very neatly.
Looking inside the body, I see the top and back are secured with standard looking kerfling. The bracing too looks traditional and also very delicate - these are not rough chunks of wood, but nicely carved to size aiming for the minimal amount of wood whilst maintaining structural integrity, making for a more resonant ukulele.
So to summarise the cosmetics - the ukulele is absolutely flawless in every respect. The differences from, say, the Mainland ukulele, are clear in the little details. The arched back, the real mother of pearl and abalone, the dressed edges to the fingerboard, the use of ebony and oh, that wonderful grain pattern. The gloss is applied perfectly, with no pooling or small bubbles in crevices as I see on the Mainland. There are no glue drops inside the body either, and the only smell coming from the soundhole is the smell of wood. This level of finish on a high end K Brand ukulele would easily push the cost of your instrument over £1000, so it's extremely pleasing to see that level of quality at this price.
But what does it feel like to play? Well it feels good in my hands, is light and nicely balanced. The fretboard is wonderfully finished allowing fast play, comfortably. Tuning and intonation all over the neck were spot on when I checked with an accurate tuner and as such I have zero issues in this respect. The finish is not "sticky" and the back of the neck is smooth to hold and move around on.
So, the biggie. Sound. Well its VERY nice. Sure, it doesnt have the absolute bang on clarity and sustain of a Hawaiian ukulele, but I never expected it to. Volume wise, its on a par with the Mainland but there is more harmony when strumming, more seperation between the notes and a much more chimey sound. It really does have a fizz to it when strumming, yet when picked it sounds really warm and full, meaning its a very verstatile instrument to my mind. This model has been fitted with Worth clear strings by the store as I am not a fan of the Ko'olau gold strings that Pono ship this uke with which will have some bearing on that. The sound is clear, and has good sustain. In comparison, the Mainland, whilst still a wonderful sounding ukulele sounds a little more "boxy" than the Pono, slightly more one dimensional. It's worth adding too that the Mainland I own is about two years old, so the wood will have opened up a little more. As such I can only expect the Pono to improve further with age.
How would I summarise? Well on sound alone I can't say there is a £200 uplift in sound over a Mainland ukulele, but that would be unfair on both instruments. Sound quality is subjective and does not improve pound for pound on a straight line graph. A £1500 Hawaiian ukulele will not sound twice as nice as a £750 ukulele - that would be ridiculous. But pricing is about more than sound, but also looks and finish and in that respect, as pretty as I think the Mainland is, this uke is leagues above it in that respect. In fact it's easily the prettiest ukulele in our household now. If you find the price a little steep, there are Pono ukes available with less "bling" and finish that I would expect to be nice sounding also, so would certainly suggest looking at those.
Do I have any gripes - not really. I have mentioned the tuners, but that is just personal preference, and bear in mind that I paid extra for Worth strings as I am not convinced Ko'olau should ship these with their own strings. I suppose a single piece neck would have been expected for the money, but this is a factory built instrument and I understand the reasoning. Those are, however minor gripes - the instrument looks great, plays great and sounds great.
In summary, I would consider this uke to be in the range of "as good as you will get without going to something handmade". I'm extremely pleased with it and so is she!
As a final word - it is worth me mentioning the hard case. These ukes come supplied with a Ko'olau branded hard case of really nice quality. The case has distinctive red stitching around the lid and is clearly not a cheap case with quality fittings, interior and handle. I would suggest that such a case would probably cost around £40 to purchase, so that £379 ukulele is probably better considered a £339 instrument.
UKULELE PROS
Looks
Excellent build quality
Chiming tone
UKULELE CONS
Not many, would prefer different stock strings
UKULELE SCORES
Looks - 9.5
Fit and finish - 9.5
Sound - 8.5
Value for money - 8.5
OVERALL UKULELE SCORE - 9 out of 10
UKULELE VIDEO REVIEW
SOUND SAMPLE
30 Apr 2010
30 Apr 2010T21:19
Nice clip - works very well on the uke - thats a Pono uke too - very nice!
Read More »
Evelyn Evelyn - Love Will Tear Us Apart video
Nice clip - works very well on the uke - thats a Pono uke too - very nice!
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