I began playing the ukulele seven months ago. In that time I have purchased a “few” ukes including Kala, Cordoba, Kamaka, Mya Moe and others. I have looked at and read about the Pono brand many times. I really wanted to play one. Unfortunately, we have very few music stores in our area of Northern Virginia and they carry a limited selection of ukuleles. My Kamaka was purchased from Hawaii Music Supply (HMS) and the Mya Moe was purchased from the Ukulele Underground Marketplace. There is nowhere locally to play a Pono.
After looking at the HMS site dozens of times I decided to take the plunge. I prefer the soprano or concert scale. I have plenty of soprano ukes as well as long neck sopranos but only one Kala concert. I decided a Pono concert was in order. I purchased the Mahogany Deluxe, had strap pins installed and upgraded to the Oahu hard case.
The ukulele arrived a few days ago so we have spent time getting acquainted. Here are my first thoughts:
It is a beautiful instrument, well-built with attention to detail.
The gloss finish is fantastic. I love the rosette around the sound hole and the tuning keys work perfect.
It plays and sounds just as I had hoped. It is a very nice instrument that I would not hesitate to recommend. I plan on purchasing a soprano in the future.
The Oahu case is on par with the HSC I got with my long neck Mya Moe. It is really high quality with heavy-duty latches.
As far as HMS goes this is the third ukulele I have bought from them. I choose to buy from them, and wait a few days before the instrument is shipped, because I want my uke to be set-up properly. They do a great job with that. I have only had good experiences with them. Check out HMS if you haven’t already.
Should you consider a Pono ukulele? Definitely.
Would I buy another one? Yes!
Vic's Ukulele Blog 