Review Details

Pono Electric Acacia Gloss Tenor w/Case (TE-D 9543)

Product Rating:

Product Review (submitted on September 27, 2014):

Got my Pono chambered body uke in Acacia wood after already owning KoOlau tenor CEs. These ukuleles rock! The unamplified, chambered body is much louder than one would imagine from the appearance--I use mine unplugged most of the time. It's lovely sounding and has a unique feel; I can hold it intimately close to my body where it has a certain heft and feel that is unique compared to acoustic-bodied instruments, and I find it particularly comfortable when playing both seated and standing with a strap. It would also be easy to hold and handle for a young child who is starting the instrument. I cannot stress enough how perfectly intoned and adequately loud these ukuleles are when unplugged.

The electronics are impressive, and coupled with any quality amplifier, there are none of the hums, feedback or odd echoes that are typical for a traditional ukulele. Playing amplified, with a comfortable to hold and lovely sounding instrument, has made me a better player because I can hear, and adjust to, any fretting errors or buzzes that I may produce by inaccurate fretting. Also, subtle techniques, like vibrato, slides, pull offs, etc., are superbly heard on an amplified instrument.

My KoOlaus are Koa and Myrtle, and my is Acacia, and they all sound great and similar. I think the wood varieties do not make quite as much difference in these ukuleles as they would in a traditional uke, so my advice would be to pick the TE or BE that you enjoy most visually, and it will be acoustically to your liking, too (but playing in person if you are at HMS is still ideal).

Pono has knocked the ball out of the park for such a lovely instrument at this price point. The included custom thin case protects the investment well, and is the ideal travel ukulele. I'm super happy with my purchase.

Highly recommended.