![]() Overall, I was very, very pleased with the ukulele initially at least. It is also heavier than my other ukuleles (also a nice, comfort-inducing feeling though). The neck is a little wider than than my other ukes but that was fine by me (almost the width of a Fluke, wider than Kala). I personally did not like the Ko’olau strings (but that’s just my opinion) and opted against my usual Aquilas to maintain the natural mellow sound of the Pono. Rich and mellow, it was a wonderful instrument to play, listen to and sing to (reviews on my singing are on another forum – you’ll have to search for that yourself). I quickly re-strung it with Worth Browns (high tension) on recommendation from other ukulele players – this Pono has a very mellow sound and the Worth’s would augment that sound nicely.Īnd then (after letting the strings settle for a little bit), I played it. I almost hesitated to play it because I didn’t want to defile the instrument with my hands. When I received the uke all I could do was stare at it for awhile – it was that beautiful. Based on the reputation of the Ko’olua name, I, without hesitation dumped out my piggy bank for the PKT-2 (an ukulele with and embellished binding, purfling and rosette almost at the top of their line of produced ukes). Ko’olau instruments are painfully beautiful instruments usually with painfully expensive price tags – but well worth the price. It shipped with a gorgeous fitted hard case and was strung with Ko’olau Golds (low G) – for those who are unfamiliar with the Pono brand, Pono is the mass-produced line of ukuleles from the Ko’olua ukulele and guitar company. This was my first and (since I’m currently awaiting the arrival of a new Kanile’a) only high-end ukulele. ![]() Ken Middleton’s review of his Pono PKC1-E ukulele. Sophie Madeleine plays her song Stars on a tenor Pono ukulele. Recently, Pono have picked up some very high-level with them being played by Dent May ( see here) and Amanda Palmer ( take a look-see). Still, if you go with a Pono and you’re in an at risk region, make sure you have a humidifier. There are a few stories on the net of problems with cracking (such as here) but Pono do accept this and have a sturdy warranty (the ukulele in that thread was replaced without fuss). To keep down the production costs, Pono ukuleles are made in Java, Indonesia and set up in Ko’olau’s Hawaiian factory. They are still solid wood and made with quality materials – they state on their website that they only use the top 20% of the wood they test. There’s not much corner cutting with these instruments. Affordable being a relative term here – Ponos are not cheap by any means. The Pono range is their more affordable range. ![]() Their Model 500 ukuleles sell for up to $9,000. Ko’olau are one of the highest quality ukulele makers around.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |