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Pono is making ultra high-quality ukes for this mid-price range. This ukulele is all solid mahogany with a beautiful grain and gloss finish. The tone is among the best you will find in baritone size! Tobias gives us a "raw" sound sample.
A key feature in all of the Pono tenor and baritone models is the dual-action adjustable truss rod. This is used to stabilize and adjust the lengthwise forward curvature (also called relief), of the neck. It can be adjusted from right inside the soundhole with an allen wrench provided. This is something you will probably not need to adjust. But over time and with humidity changes, it is a very useful option to have, and a very easy thing to adjust with little room for error.
Many were surprised that the mahogany series from Pono was more expensive than the acacia series. This because it is very high-grade mahogany and ends up being more expensive than acacia wood. The sound, clarity, and sustain are very impressive on this instrument. It is not at all muddy at all like some baritones. It's deep and rich in tone but bright with a sparkle to the high frequencies. Of course, these get double set up from Ko'olau and then us, so the action and fretwork are right on point. If you wanted a great baritone, the Pono MBD could be just right.
The baritone is a fun and relaxing instrument that any guitar or ukulele player should feel right at home with.
Top customer reviews
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Loved it enough that I want it's "cousin" ABD, too! 1 people found this helpfulMine is a second that I purchased a few weeks ago. It took me quite a while to figure out what made it a second, and of course it didn't affect the playability or sound. So, how is the uke? This is an excellent ukulele and I would have been quite happy with it even at the regular price, let alone the deal I got on the second. If some ABD seconds don't show up soon I will probably have to break down and purchase an ABD at full price. I want to string the ABD reentrant (high-D) and keep this one in standard baritone tuning. That speaks a lot for how good this ukulele is, that I want to keep it in standard tuning - usually I am not satisfied with the tone on the low-D string of baritones but this body manages to resonate down there quite nicely. I bought this expecting to restring it reentrant. The best way I can describe this uke is that the response is balanced even down to the open low-D - without getting "sloppy" there the way some baritones do. As a guitar player I tend to think of this as my "little, comfortable guitar" because it is in that linear tuning. LOL (Actually, it sounds much better than my classical guitar, now that I think about it.) The Ko'Olau strings that came on it I am not quite as enthusiastic about. Actually, the low-D is not bad aside from being typically squeaky. The G seems even squeakier than usual for a wound string but to be fair it could be my imagination and my disdain for wound strings and the fact that I know a wound string really isn't necessary for the G. Interestingly, the unwound strings exhibit some of the same temperature sensitivity that I've noticed with the Ko'Olau Gold strings (going sharp as they warm up the first few minutes of playing). On the Ko'Olau Gold strings I live with that because I adore the tone but I am not especially fond of the tone of these unwound strings. Also, since only two of the four strings are changing the tuning drift shows up much more obviously on the baritone than it does on my Ko'Olau Gold-strung sopranos. I will probably end up using the fluorocarbon strings on the G,B, and E that I've used on other baritones and that leaves me needing only the single wound string for the D.
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Super value 0 people found this helpfulThis is a stunningly beautiful sounding baritone which far exceeds its price point. I've played several other higher priced ukuleles and would have difficulty concluding that they sound better. And the build quality of this reasonably priced Pono is excellent. Count me very satisfied.
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Excellent Baritone! 1 people found this helpfulI have always played the Tenor but I found myself craving a baritone after playing a friends one day. I have a few Pono ukes and a Koolau and I rate the company very highly so I decided to invest in the MBD. On receiving the uke I was initially impressed with the aesthetics of the intrument. The best and most important thing about this uke is the sound. It has a rich chime to it and strung with some Alohi strings really brought this out. I always turn to the Baritone if I've had a stressful day as the sound always chills me out! To sum up, very nice looking Ukulele with an excellent tone for a reasonable price. Superb!
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An excellent mid-range Baritone! 0 people found this helpfulI own a factory second of this uke, and seeing as through HMS you're getting a better item and a second set of eyes and ears checking and running setup on this you're getting a heck of a deal! This uke is beautiful and has a wonderful sound! The finish is excellent as well. If you want a baritone in this price range, this is THE one to get! (Assuming you like a gloss finish.)
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Beautiful tone--you can't go wrong 1 people found this helpfulI was a little shy about taking the plunge to spend over $600 (with the electronics) on this lele, but I'm so happy I did. The mark of any good instrument, for me, is how much time the instrument spends in your hands. I couldn't put this beautiful baritone lele down after it arrived. It's got a sweet, mellow sound, beautiful resonance and came set up just right, no adjustments needed (also a rarity). I'm primarily a guitarist and thought this would be a bit easier to get into because of the tuning; I wasn't disappointed and I absolutely love the sound of the instrument. It's got a very nice glossy finish and is well constructed. The folks at Hawaii Music Supply also spent as much time on the phone as I needed to answer my questions and kept me posted about when the order was being sent. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase from them again.