Aleyas Instruments are handmade in West Virginia by Lee Chapman. Aleyas mandolins are revered for their high-level build quality and well-voiced tone. As an independent luthier working by hand, Chapman can only produce a limited number of instruments per year. Because of that, Aleyas are hard to find, and most players lucky enough to have one hang onto theirs.
This LA-5 was made in 2011. It is a well-constructed A-Style mandolin that shows the obvious Lloyd Loar influence. It features a hard-carved Red Spruce top and figured Maple back and sides. On the inside, you'll find carefully hand-voiced tone bars, which help this A model produce a well-rounded sound. It's sweeter with softer attack than an F-Style, but its tone is not lacking in treble content and there's plenty of chop.
True to Chapman's reputation, this Aleyas mandolin is an excellent player. It has a 1-1/8" nut width, and the radius fingerboard plays smoothly all the way up the fingerboard. Unlike most prewar-inspired mandolins, this Aleyas doesn't have the elaborate fingerboard extension that often gets in the way of your picking. Also, it has a "speed neck" with the finish stripped from the back of the neck. All of that amounts to a mandolin that plays every bit as good as it sounds.
This 2011 Aleyas shows some minor playwear and signs of use, but it's in decent shape all around with no history of repairs or issues. It shows some signs of fretwork, possibly a refret. Most importantly, there's plenty of fret wire to work with and no deep divots causing buzzing or issues. Also, the "speed neck" was probably done by a previous owner, not Chapman.
This 2011 Aleyas LA-5 is a good-sounding mandolin that shows impressive build quality. It is set up with all the right parts—engraved James tailpiece, adjustable ebony bridge, bone nut, and Grover tuners. This Aleyas mandolin includes a hardshell case that is cut for an F-style body.