Pono Concert

kkimura

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Time to bid this one good bye. It's 2017 model MC, mahogany concert Pono originally from Penny Lane Emporium Musical Instruments in Florida. I bought it used from the original owner in Nottingham, NH a couple of years back. This early model concert (serial number 1711726) has a mahogany faceplate with ebony inlay. The original owner had a gold strap button added to the tail block.
It's wearing a set of Worth brown low G strings and will be shipped in a Oahu hard case to CONUS for $250.00, PayPal.

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Is the fret board chipped on the second fret? Or is that just the camera angle?
 
Is the fret board chipped on the second fret? Or is that just the camera angle?
Made me look at the fretboard. :) What's showing in the first and second picture is where the edge of the fretboard at the second fret is rounded by finger pressure. Probably from barring the second fret. (Bm, D7, etc)
 
Realizing that my Pono has five years of playing time, I'm open to any serious dialog leading to a fair purchase arrangement.
 
Bump and an offer to anyone living in or near Lebanon, NH. Local pickup for $210 cash.

(The online $250 price includes $40 to cover packing, shipping, insurance and PayPal fees.)
 
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I was just requested to post better photos of the wear at the second fret. Couldn't figure out how to do that in a conversation so I'll post them here. (Not the easiest thing for me to photograph so apologies in advance.)

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I was just requested to post better photos of the wear at the second fret. Couldn't figure out how to do that in a conversation so I'll post them here. (Not the easiest thing for me to photograph so apologies in advance.)

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Wow! Thanks for the very clear pics. That indeed indicates lots of 2nd fret barring. Such a thing would never happen with a plastic fret board, which (IMHO) makes it far more of a positive attribute than a flaw.
 
Wow! Thanks for the very clear pics. That indeed indicates lots of 2nd fret barring. Such a thing would never happen with a plastic fret board, which (IMHO) makes it far more of a positive attribute than a flaw.
Thanks for your positive comment! Normally I'd be keeping this Pono but Have been thinking of getting a dulcimer so a sale will help defray dulcimer acquisition syndrome cost. (DAS) Anybody have a dulcimer they'd like to trade?
 
It looks to me like it was sanded. The edges are just too sharply defined to have been from wear of skin against the fretboard, especially when compared to the first fret (no wear visible) and the third fret (some wear with rounded edges). I’m not sure why someone would do that except to repair damage like a chip or ding in the fretboard. Just my opinion.
 
It looks to me like it was sanded. The edges are just too sharply defined to have been from wear of skin against the fretboard, especially when compared to the first fret (no wear visible) and the third fret (some wear with rounded edges). I’m not sure why someone would do that except to repair damage like a chip or ding in the fretboard. Just my opinion.
You are entitled to your opinion wetwater. I see that all of your nine posts have been opinions about ukuleles for sale in the marketplace. Are you shopping or trolling? Just my opinion.

Make me a reasonable offer if you're interested in buying a ukulele. This Pono is a really good sounding instrument and I think you would like it.
 
Sorry if my previous post sounds harsh. I have no problem discussing the merits of anything I'm selling here on the marketplace with anyone interested in buying.

That said it's annoying to see people post who aren't actual buyers.

Okay, that's off my chest. I'll try to be good now. ;)
 
It looks to me like it was sanded. The edges are just too sharply defined to have been from wear of skin against the fretboard, especially when compared to the first fret (no wear visible) and the third fret (some wear with rounded edges). I’m not sure why someone would do that except to repair damage like a chip or ding in the fretboard. Just my opinion.
Yeah, you made me look. I gotta say, if it was sanded, whoever did the job was a highly skilled craftsman. Look how the sanded binding has that prefect radius right up the frets and fret board without touching the fret ends or the edge of the fret board. I wish I had that kind of skill. My guess is that a person with that kind of skill set would just replace the binding. What do you think wetwater?
Okay, enough of that. I'll be good. Promise.
 
It looks to me like it was sanded. The edges are just too sharply defined to have been from wear of skin against the fretboard, especially when compared to the first fret (no wear visible) and the third fret (some wear with rounded edges). I’m not sure why someone would do that except to repair damage like a chip or ding in the fretboard. Just my opinion.
I'm no wood expert, I have no skin in the game here, and I don't barr that much, but if you look at the side profile picture it doesn't look like that it's been sanded, had a chip repaired, or had a chip in general. It seems to me that the side profile view would reflect that.

Even if there was, at the end of the day the question is really does the rounding from barring or perhaps some sanding impact the playability or how it sounds. From my PMs with the seller it sounds like it plays fine. I have no reason to doubt him, especially because he's posted the additional pictures.

Just my 2 cents FWIW.
 
Sorry if my previous post sounds harsh. I have no problem discussing the merits of anything I'm selling here on the marketplace with anyone interested in buying.

That said it's annoying to see people post who aren't actual buyers.

Okay, that's off my chest. I'll try to be good now. ;)
kkimura,

Like you, I'm a ukulele lover. I've been playing for 15 months now and am dreaming about buying a ukulele better than the ukulele I currently own. I hope that I can use this forum to find a good ukulele at an affordable price but I haven't made a purchase yet because even $250 is unaffordable.

I commented on your ukulele because I have read comments on this forum that it's important to develop credibility with members by posting comments and being active in the forum. I've been trying to do this and hope this will help me when I find a ukulele here that I can afford. I've seen many members of this forum comment about the beauty of a ukulele and/or offer good luck with a sale. I've tried to follow this model to build credibility, although I did not do that in the case of your ukulele. I should've wished you luck because I honestly do wish you the best of luck in the sale.

To the point that I made about the fretboard: I have quite a bit of experience in furniture woodworking; admittedly much less experience in ukulele playing. The detailed photos you posted certainly look like a sanded fretboard (more accurately, ground or filed) to me because a fretboard rubbed down from fretting a barre chord at the second fret would likely be smoother and not with edges that define the rubbed-down area at the second fret...in my opinion. Even looking at older, well-played ukuleles from previous decades, I've never seen fretboard wear like this--always smooth edges. And the wear on other frets does not match the second fret. I believe this might be useful information to you as the seller, not because I think you'd deceive a buyer, but because knowing how the fretboard edge was changed in shape (if I'm correct) could indicate that the ukulele might have had damage that you're not aware of at first glance.

Kkimura, you wrote to me: "Are you shopping or trolling?" and "...it's annoying to see people post who aren't actual buyers." Clearly you are put off by my comment. I certainly didn't mean to annoy you and I sincerely apologize that I caused you to feel this way. I hate that I've now been caught in the same circumstance as other members new to the forum who've unintentionally made comments that offended more experienced and well-known members on this forum. I'm still learning the lay of the land in this forum and will take your comments as a lesson. However, I stand by observation and previous comment about the fret shape.

I hope this PM helps you to understand where I was coming from when making my comment. I also hope this helps mend a fence.

wetwater
Yeah, you made me look. I gotta say, if it was sanded, whoever did the job was a highly skilled craftsman. Look how the sanded binding has that prefect radius right up the frets and fret board without touching the fret ends or the edge of the fret board. I wish I had that kind of skill. My guess is that a person with that kind of skill set would just replace the binding. What do you think wetwater?
Okay, enough of that. I'll be good. Promise.
Yeah, you made me look. I gotta say, if it was sanded, whoever did the job was a highly skilled craftsman. Look how the sanded binding has that prefect radius right up the frets and fret board without touching the fret ends or the edge of the fret board. I wish I had that kind of skill. My guess is that a person with that kind of skill set would just replace the binding. What do you think wetwater?
Okay, enough of that. I'll be good. Promise.
kkimura,

Like you, I'm a ukulele lover. I've been playing for 15 months now and soon I will buy a ukulele better than the ukulele I currently own. Times are hard but I'm trying my best to be able to purchase the best ukulele I can, and this forum seems more trustworthy than Reverb, Craigslist, FB Marketplace, etc..

I've read comments on this forum that it's important to develop credibility with members by posting comments and being active in the forum. I've been trying to do this and hope this will help me when I find a ukulele here that I can afford. I've seen many members of this forum comment about the beauty of a ukulele and/or offer good luck with a sale, so I've posted similar comments to build credibility. However, the fact that I did not wish you good luck in the sale of your ukulele, as I have in previous comments, was an oversight: In fact, I honestly do wish you the best of luck in the sale.

To the point that I made about the fretboard: I have quite a bit of experience in furniture woodworking; admittedly much less experience in ukulele playing. The detailed photos you posted certainly look like a sanded fretboard (more accurately, ground or filed) to me because a fretboard rubbed down from fretting a barre chord at the second fret would likely be smoother and not with edges that define the rubbed-down area at the second fret...in my opinion. Even looking at older, well-played ukuleles from previous decades, I've never seen fretboard wear like this--always smooth edges. And the wear on other frets (especially the first and third) does not match the second fret. I believe this might be useful information to you as the seller, not because I think you'd deceive a buyer, but because knowing how the fretboard edge was changed in shape (if I'm correct) could indicate that the ukulele might have had damage that you're not aware of at first glance. In retrospect, I suppose I should've shared this with you privately.

Kkimura, you wrote to me: "Are you shopping or trolling?" and "...it's annoying to see people post who aren't actual buyers." Clearly you were put off by my comment. I certainly didn't mean to annoy you and I sincerely apologize that I caused you to feel this way. I hate that I've now been caught in the same circumstance as other members new to the forum who've unintentionally made comments that offended more experienced and well-known members, like you, on this forum. I'm still learning the lay of the land in this forum and will take your comments as a lesson. However, I stand by observation and previous comment about the fret shape.

I hope this PM helps you to understand where I was coming from when making my comment. I also hope this helps mend a fence.

wetwater
 
No worries wetwater, Consider the fences mended if they were ever broken in the first place. I do understand where you're coming from. Please know that until I posted the Pono for sale and it was called to my attention, I had not seen it. A more devious person with prior knowledge would have tried to hide it in the photos. Full disclosure is the best policy so thank you for helping me present the Pono with all of it's "features" to the Marketplace.
 
So let me get this straight...to me, it looks like the full size/structure of the black binding is still there, but only some of the shine/gloss is missing, for whatever reason, is that right, or is there a slight scallop to only the top of the binding in that spot? If so, it doesn't seem that would affect playability or tone in any way, purely cosmetic. Great pics, and I'm sure a nice uke!
 
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Time to bid this one good bye. It's 2017 model MC, mahogany concert Pono originally from Penny Lane Emporium Musical Instruments in Florida. I bought it used from the original owner in Nottingham, NH a couple of years back. This early model concert (serial number 1711726) has a mahogany faceplate with ebony inlay. The original owner had a gold strap button added to the tail block.
It's wearing a set of Worth brown low G strings and will be shipped in a Oahu hard case to CONUS for $250.00, PayPal.

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I love the library sticker! (I work in a library)
 
So let me get this straight...to me, it looks like the full size/structure of the black binding is still there, but only some of the shine/gloss is missing, for whatever reason, is that right, or is there a slight scallop to only the top of the binding in that spot? If so, it doesn't seem that would affect playability or tone in any way, purely cosmetic. Great pics, and I'm sure a nice uke!
Had to look at again. Goes to show I spend more time playing than inspecting. :)
Yes, the full size/structure of the binding is there as the full side view shows. That said, eyeballing closely from the top, you can see a scallop effect caused by what looks to me fretting wear. (ymmv)
Cosmetic to my apparently uncritical eye. No affect on tone but playability may be better when barring. (But I don't notice it one way or another.)
 
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I love the library sticker! (I work in a library)
Thank you, The "Richard's Free Library" in Newport, NH lets us play in one of their meeting rooms a couple times a month. Hats off to librarians everywhere!
 
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