Hi all, My A style was made by Laura under Ken's guiding eye. It is number 00600 which I think translates to "6", made in 2002. According to Ken, it has an Italian spruce top, and one piece slightly off slab cut back. It is lacquer finished, and shows the odd nick, chip, or uneven scrape of an early instrument by a new builder. I bought it from Charles Johnston, who had originally sold it, then took it back on a trade, from former (?) Mandolin Cafe member "moose". When I first got it (Winter NAMM 2004 if I remember correctly), I immediately turned it over to the late Larry Brown for a full setup, and played the heck out of it. It was an upgrade from my Kentucky 150S, and my instructor Bob Applebaum commented "that's a REAL musical instrument!". It has a really nice voice, so even though I've fussed over the neck shape (1 3/16" broad V) and have even taken steps towards trading it, I can never pull the trigger. (Recently I had it refretted and the fretboard planed by Michael Heiden, and since then I've been a little happier with its playability.) I've had the pleasure of hearing it played briefly by Bob, Mike Marshall, Joe Craven, and John Reischman, who all made comments on how nice it sounded (but they just could have been polite!). John in particular said he liked the extra room on the fretboard.
