J. K. LADO SUPER FALCON II 1981 Natural. SOLID WOOD BASS. Incredible Sound. HANDBUILT. Beautiful.

LADO

J.K. LADO

Custom Bass

SUPER FALCON 2

“Thunder Bass”

SN:  SF-02-90

HAND BUILT BY

Joseph Kovacic

THE ULTIMATE ELECTRIC GUITAR.

FROM MY PERSONAL COLLECTION. (acquired in 2000)

I have a lot of guitars in my collection.  Many are “mass brands” but my favorites are “personal brands”. 

Personal brands are those unique guitars that have been built by the hands of an independent builder, many times working alone, who is building with his/her hands what his/her mind has already created. And as it is being built, the guitar becomes a “personal brand” because it is the person who is building it.  And for me, I just hear more depth in the sound and tone these guitars produce.  They are special.

 THIS PERSONAL BRAND.

JK LADO GUITARS.

As many of you know already I collect vintage and custom guitars.  And I am an avid advocate and supporter of individual builders-many of whom have been “overlooked” by guitar buyers and players.  That is sad.

Joe Kovacic is one of those builders.

You can read about him below and you can visit his website.

I own a lot of LADO guitars (regular and bass).  I will be posting some of them on here on EBAY and on my FACEBOOK Timeline over the next few weeks.  When I bought my first LADO, a “FALCON” bass, I was amazed when I opened its case.  It was incredible.  Solid and majestic.  Joe is a “woodworker extraordinaire”.  He uses woods that are beautiful, exotic, and tone full. 

Among my collection guitars I own some of the ultimate bass guitars built by ALEMBIC, Warwick, Fender, Gibson, et al but none can compare with the quality of this LADO SUPER FALCON 2 and its workmanship.

It is the perfect bass guitar.

I have personally nicknamed it the “Thunder Bass” not only for its incredibly loud and deep sound and tone but also for its personality.  It is a bass instrument as one should be.  It is massive and well tooled machined.  It weighs close to 13 lbs.  And much of that weight comes from its solid brass hardware.  Look at the close up photos of the headstock where you can see the intricately machined brass nut and truss rod cover along with the gold plated Grover tuners. Tailpiece is hand crafted solid brass.  And the knobs which are finely machined solid brass (one knob has been replaced).  The control cavity plate on the back is solid think brass weight close to a half pound itself.  Total weight of the guitar is 12.5 pounds.

The woods are magnificent. 

The NECK is comprised of 7 (SEVEN) pieces of MAPLE and WALNUT laminated together and is through body.  Attached to the NECK are two wings of sandwiched WALNUT layers with MAPLE in the center forming the body of the guitar. And the lower horn is recessed to allow for ease of access to the lower frets.

The fretboard is beautiful Brazilian Rosewood with intricate pearl inlay and perfectly rounded frets (24) that make this bass guitar a joy to play.  What I find most intriguing about this bass guitar is the speed of the fretboard.  The combination of the neck carve and the well-dressed frets allow you to slide smoothly up and down the neck. 

A photo of the control cavity is attached showing the intricate active electronics that make this bass so versatile.

So what other bass guitars does this LADO Super Falcon remind me of?  Certainly it is of Alembic appearance and high quality but sounds more like a strong Warwick and has that low slung feel of a very early Rickenbacker.

I would recommend this bass to professional players and to collectors.  It came from a builder at a time that quality was taken seriously and every small detail became a large responsibility.  This is a trait of true professionally handmade guitars- the lines are straight and the cuts are smooth with hardware that is absolutely finely machined for each guitar and fitted to that guitar.  

Yes, this is a finely crafted professional musical instrument that is rarely seen these days and I fully believe that all LADO guitars of this era are destined to become highly valued collection pieces and with Joe’s anticipated retirement, the era of these superb guitars built by his hands will come to an end. 

Here’s more information on Joe and his company, LADO.

JK Lado & Company

"A legacy of innovative craftsmanship"

Joseph Kovacic, the founder and CEO of J.K. Lado & Company, was born in Croatia in 1945. After serving in the Yugoslavian army, he began training as a professional luthier at the Zagreb School of Guitar Making in Zagreb, Croatia. Following his studies in Zagreb, Joe completed two years of additional training at Crossman Guitar Works in Vienna, Austria.  In 1968 Joe immigrated to Canada and accepted a position with Turner Musical Instruments, a division of Gibson Guitars. Following two years with Turner Musical, Joe relocated to Hagstrom Guitars as product inspector for one year. After developing a strong skillset in English, Mr. Kovacic launched Joe's Strings in 1971 from a Toronto basement shop on Gerrard Street. In 1973, Joe incorporated Lado Musical and opened a retail shop located on Kingston Road, in Toronto. In addition to building custom guitars under the Lado name, Joe had an exclusive repair contract with C.F. Martin Guitars for all Canada based customers. During 1976, the international demand for Lado Guitars prompted a relocation and Lado moved to a larger production facility in Scarborough, ON. 
By 1981, Lado had again expanded into a new, larger facility on R.R. #1 in Uxbridge, ON. Increasing support of the Lado brand called for a production and administration staff of 13 employees.
Lado entered the Guinness Book of World Records in 1987 for building a 14’ 3” tall, 309 lb “Earth” model guitar. After producing the “largest built and presumably loudest playable electric guitar" , Lado maintained status as a record-holder from 1987-1991.  The 1988 Lado catalogue shows Lado Guitars again moved into a larger and better equipped operating facility on Warden Avenue in Scarborough, ON. 
During 2003, Mr. Kovacic launched the Lado School of Lutherie. Approaching retirement, Joe wished to pass on his passion for guitar making, unique craftsmanship, and trade secrets to younger generations of luthiers. The Lado School of Lutherie will continue to pass on it's legacy of craftsmanship until Joe's final retirement. Today, Lado Musical Inc. produces selected models of Lado guitars and basses on a limited basis from a private production facility in Ontario, CA.

Steve Harris of IRON MAIDEN has long been a LADO player.

CONDITION.

Overall, this guitar is in GOOD COSMETIC condition based on the finishing checking and the numerous dings, dents, scratches, holes on its body (see photos for more detail). . Frets do not show much wear.

It comes with a heavy duty case.

 Please look at my other listings for more guitars from my private collection of over 1,500 custom and vintage guitars.  I only bought the best so I only sell the best.  I am always interested in obtaining more guitars so if you have something you would like to offer in exchange for this guitar, please let me know.

I have been a member of the Ebay community since 1999 and currently have 4300+ positive feedbacks. 

I am also on FACEBOOK with a Page titled:  TUNE YOUR SOUND VINTAGE GUITARS AND AMPS.

#596

ALL TRADES CONSIDERED.