USED Echo Soprano Ukulele - Made in Hawaii 1925-1933

Well, what do we have here? A piece of Hawaiian history.

Many of you will have heard of Echo Ukuleles as one of the early 1920-1930's Ukulele brands that were sold in large numbers throughout Hawaii and under various other names throughout the west coast of the USA. But for people new to the brand - The Echo brand was owned and operated by the 'Hawaiian Mahogany Company' as a means to make use of a lot of the Koa that was being stockpiled when clearing land to make room for livestock and developing farmland. Also, a fascinating bit of trivia to be taken from this is that 90-100 years ago Hawaiian Mahogany was a very common nickname for Koa among timber merchants.

So are they any good? Yes, these Ukuleles are lovely, they have all the visual charm and appeal something like a vintage Kamaka would have and are made of the same woods. They do lack a little bit of the Kamaka sound and consistency but it's impossible to tell with these things just how much time has been a factor in how the instrument has aged. 80 years after being made this Ukulele has a bright bubbly sound and retains its original structural integrity whilst having plenty of bumps and scrapes in the finish to tell you where it's been and the life it has lived as it found its way here to the south coast of the UK for sale now.

The original tuners have long broken and have been replaced with some decent white button friction tuners. The neck has no wear or rough patches but a 3cm x 2cm patch on the back has grown to be quite worn down over time. The original wooden nut remains intact and the saddle is built into the bridge making it impossible to get intonation completely spot on.

This is a bargain, a perfect stepping stone onto the vintage market for somebody that wants a Ukulele older than them but doesn't want to play something worth more than a car. Condition is 7/10. No cracks but plenty of wear and tear.

Hawaiian Koa Top, Back and Sides

Fluorocarbon strings

35mm nut width

Friction Tuners (Non original)

Koa Fingerboard and Bridge with integrated saddle

Hard wood nut

Made in hawaii nearly 100 years ago.

No gigbag included with this Ukulele.