Today I received my new Pono MT, the overall feeling is soooo good. I will give a very simple update on how I feel, after I played it for a bunch of minutes.
I don't have other similar level Uke to compare with, I only have a cheap Uke, which costed me $70, made in China by a China brand. The Pono costs me more than $500 (it's fair price because I buy it from a China dealer, not the U.S).
Overall feeling: The Pono is a real instrument. The cheap one is not, it's noise maker. I have just bought me the correct Ukulele for me, if it's not the best. Though Pono is 7 times more expensive than the cheap one, the value is not 7 times more. It maybe 70 times, 700 times, or more.
Build: I can't see any flaw with my eyes. I don't know if I can find any flaw if I use X-ray . If I show it and my cheap Uke to a person who never saw a Uke before, I believe he will immediately realize which one is cheap.
Looking: The Mahogany body wood and the Ebony fingerboard and bridge look so beautiful. The satin finish looks so smooth and so enjoyable. I'm happy I didn't choose the gloss deluxe model, I like the satin finish more.
Play-ability: It was painful to play my cheap Uke. Now it's enjoyable on Pono. The hand feeling is so smooth. Barre and partial barre is much easier (note I didn't master barre yet), even though this model doesn't have radius fingerboard.
Sound and tone: I like the tone. Though I'm not sure whether the tone matches the words I used to describe my requirements. Indeed I can't describe sound properly even in my native Chinese language. The sound on the high frets is good too. On my cheap Uke, the sound is just noise after 12th fret (or after 7th, 8th fret).
Volume: No comparison, but I think the volume is a little low. However, I like the low volume, so I won't worry about disturbing the neighbors.
Weight: I heard Pono is heavy, but I didn't expect it's that heavy. But since I always use a strap, even when I sit, the weight is not a problem.
Fingerboard thickness: It's thick. I'm comfortable with it because I always put my left hand thumb behind the fingerboard, not wrap on it.
Truss rod: I know all Pono models have truss rod. I know pro classic model has adjustable truss rod. But I didn't know the truss rod in the standard MT model is also adjustable. That's so nice.
To the beginners like me, it's fine to start with a cheap and low quality Uke when you don't know much about Uke and don't know how buy a good Uke, like I did before. But after you have some experience, you'd definitely go with a decent Uke (not only Pono, any Uke with decent quality). Low quality Uke will destroy your ear and your interesting!
Thanks for all guys in this thread, you helped me to choose a really good (in quality and value) Ukulele.
I don't have other similar level Uke to compare with, I only have a cheap Uke, which costed me $70, made in China by a China brand. The Pono costs me more than $500 (it's fair price because I buy it from a China dealer, not the U.S).
Overall feeling: The Pono is a real instrument. The cheap one is not, it's noise maker. I have just bought me the correct Ukulele for me, if it's not the best. Though Pono is 7 times more expensive than the cheap one, the value is not 7 times more. It maybe 70 times, 700 times, or more.
Build: I can't see any flaw with my eyes. I don't know if I can find any flaw if I use X-ray . If I show it and my cheap Uke to a person who never saw a Uke before, I believe he will immediately realize which one is cheap.
Looking: The Mahogany body wood and the Ebony fingerboard and bridge look so beautiful. The satin finish looks so smooth and so enjoyable. I'm happy I didn't choose the gloss deluxe model, I like the satin finish more.
Play-ability: It was painful to play my cheap Uke. Now it's enjoyable on Pono. The hand feeling is so smooth. Barre and partial barre is much easier (note I didn't master barre yet), even though this model doesn't have radius fingerboard.
Sound and tone: I like the tone. Though I'm not sure whether the tone matches the words I used to describe my requirements. Indeed I can't describe sound properly even in my native Chinese language. The sound on the high frets is good too. On my cheap Uke, the sound is just noise after 12th fret (or after 7th, 8th fret).
Volume: No comparison, but I think the volume is a little low. However, I like the low volume, so I won't worry about disturbing the neighbors.
Weight: I heard Pono is heavy, but I didn't expect it's that heavy. But since I always use a strap, even when I sit, the weight is not a problem.
Fingerboard thickness: It's thick. I'm comfortable with it because I always put my left hand thumb behind the fingerboard, not wrap on it.
Truss rod: I know all Pono models have truss rod. I know pro classic model has adjustable truss rod. But I didn't know the truss rod in the standard MT model is also adjustable. That's so nice.
To the beginners like me, it's fine to start with a cheap and low quality Uke when you don't know much about Uke and don't know how buy a good Uke, like I did before. But after you have some experience, you'd definitely go with a decent Uke (not only Pono, any Uke with decent quality). Low quality Uke will destroy your ear and your interesting!
Thanks for all guys in this thread, you helped me to choose a really good (in quality and value) Ukulele.
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