The Journal of the ʻUkulele Hall of Fame
Unusual Ukuleles
Echo Ukes and the "Echo Device"
by Tom Walsh
right were taken with a mirror placed inside the
ukulele body to show the reflection of the echo device.
(Click to enlarge)
"Echo Uke" was a brand name of the Hawaiian Mahogany Company, a Honolulu ukulele manufacturer in the 1920s. Their ukuleles were sold in Hawaiʻi as well as distributed on the mainland. Jules M. Sahlein of San Francisco sold Echo Ukes under the Y'Ke'Ke brand name, and Schireson Brothers of Los Angeles sold them under the Mai Kai brand.
Some Echo Ukes include a special device apparently intended to add to the instrument's tone. This "Echo Device" was one or two strips of thin metal attached to the inside of the top of the ukulele, directly opposite to where the bridge is mounted.
The photograph on the left shows the echo device on a piece of the top from a badly damaged Y'Ke'Ke Echo Uke. The top and bottom photographs on the right are from a concert-sized Echo Uke and a soprano "Pele" model Echo Uke. These photos were taken by laying a small mirror inside the ukuleles and catching the echo device's reflection through the soundhole.
The labels of some Echo Ukes contain the claim "Echo Device Patented," but they list no patent number. Searches at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have yet to locate the patent.
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