John Rigsby playing Silverangel A

[kyken]

nobody plays like John. Any style. One of the best.

[kyken]

John dropped by my shop today. Here's a youtube link:

https://youtu.be/cFQ4HESpHNQ

[Luna Pick]

Another beauty Ken, very tasteful. Birdseye and ? red spruce or redwood top? Is that a James tailpiece?

[kyken]

Another beauty Ken, very tasteful. Birdseye and ? red spruce or redwood top? Is that a James tailpiece?

That's a hybrid top. It is old redwood on the bass side and Italian spruce on the treble side. Makes for a pretty unique sound. James, yes.

[Skip Kelley]

Ken, that mandolin sounds great! John sure picks fast too!

[Mark Walker]

My wife and I were vacationing with our RV in southern Ohio and Kentucky this past week, and camped at Grayson Lakes, not too far from Elliottville, KY. We met Ken and Laura for breakfast in Morehead, KY and went back to his beautiful home and workshop after eating. I'd had my Silver Angel (#231) with me on vacation, and brought it along. I'm in a Bluegrass band, and we practice 2-3 hours a week and spend a lot of time playing multiple sets at festivals and so on all summer long. So I've spent a LOT of time wearing in my Angel - which Ken crafted for me in 2005. Ken noodled on it a bit, and then spent a couple hours dressing the frets, re-stringing it and setting it all back up after noticing a slight buzz on a couple of strings and some flat spots on the frets.

I was able to check out the mandolin John Rigsby was playing, as well as spending about an hour playing a new El Fantasma he's got currently strung up 'in the white.' He's got some great sounding mandolins waiting for a new owner! Ken and Laura couldn't have been more accommodating and gracious! My mandolin plays and sounds great, and I'm very pleased with the effort Ken put into tweaking it during our visit! Thanks Ken!