T2. (TELE TUESDAY) Another beautiful guitar from my collection. HAND BUILT BY Joseph Kovacic J.K. LADO TL-80 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. 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 more of them on my 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. Tthis 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. This guitar is a superb musical instrument and a compelling choice for professional guitarists. It is simply perfect in its design, construction, tonality, and playability. Look at the photos of this guitar to see the “clean” and “sharp” joinery work, the precision fit of the hardware and components to the guitar body and neck, and the quality of the wood and other components used in building this incredible guitar. But, until you play it, you can only anticipate its greatness. MORE ABOUT THE TL-80. BODY: African mahogany. TOP: This amazing TL-80 has the 3 piece exotic top consisting of 2 pieces of MACASSAR Ebony, with a Brazilian Rosewood (pre 1973) center. NECK: 3 Piece Hard Rock Curly Maple. Joe has always stood by this technique as being the absolute best way to insure neck stability and sustain. (Slim neck profile). FRETBOARD: EBONY. FRETS: 22 SCALE: 25 ½” TUNERS: Lado. PICKUPS: Duncan JB in the bridge position and a blade style Lado pickup in the neck. Twang but carries along with it a much thicker tone with great depth-and to me, it just seems to resonate much better than my other Teles). Joe is quitting so prices of his guitars will go up pretty quickly since the demand for used ones is still high-with prices increasing-and demand is low and no more will be built. 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 emigrated 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 Joes 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 its legacy of craftsmanship until Joes 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.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 10:25:55 +0000