Here is a gorgeous, terrific-sounding, and easy-playing 2005 Stelling Sunflower up for sale.
Cosmetics: I do believe you'd be hard-pressed to come upon a cleaner version of a Sunflower from the Tony Pass thin-skirt rim era - which many Stelling afficianados consider to be one of the most-desirable eras of Stelling banjos. Yes, the head is dirty, but that's because it's been on there for over 7 years. Slap a new head on and this banjo would look like it just came off of the showroom floor. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the wood, from top to bottom, front and back, is in mint condition. There is not a single scratch, ding, scuff, cloudy spot, or any kind of imperfection anywhere to be found on the neck, the headstock, or resonator. The ebony fretboard has no divots, scratches, or gunky build up. One area I am "anal" about with my banjos is keeping the fingerboard clean. I'm not particularly "anal" about keeping the metal parts shiny all the time, but the metal is still pretty darned clean - except for the small spot on the armrest where my forearm always came in contact with it. As you can see from one of the photos, the frets are (amazingly) free of fretwear. This banjo has been played, believe me, and I'm kind of astounded at how well the frets have held up. As you can see the second fret has just a tiny bit of wear, but the third fret looks mint - and that's how the rest of the frets look all the way down the neck.
Sound: The Tony Pass thin-skirt era rims have become favored with players because of the increased bass response they provide. Many folks didn't like the earlier Stellings because they were too bright and strident-sounding. The thin-skirt rim is a much thinner rim than the thick 3-ply rims Stelling used to use. Tony Pass discovered that a thinner rim produces a richer, bassier sound because the air chamber inside the pot is increased. Thus, these rims (in tandem with the Stelling wedge-fit tone ring), offer the best of both worlds - you get the crystal clear Stelling sound with lots of volume up and down the neck, but with a healthy dose of sweet bass added into the mix. This banjo has the "crack" and "power" you'd expect from a curly maple banjo, but when you play it further away the from the bridge, you get a different kind of beautiful tone. Here's a video of me sitting in with a couple of musicians last fall. I can remember that I was just barely hitting the strings on this song. The video captures the acoustic sound of the banjo quite well. I come in at the 40 second mark. http://youtu.be/wbLAJEPehN4
Setup: The action is just a tiny sliver above 1/8 above the 12th fret. I put a Kat Eyz (maple/ebony-topped) 11/16 bridge on there a few years back, and have liked the sound of it. There are no buzzes anywhere - even when capoed to play in A, Bb, or B. I still have the original 11/16 Stelling (birch ebony/topped) bridge that the banjo shipped with back in 2005, and will include that in the case so you can decide which one you like better. I don't know what the head is "tuned" to, but I'd guess it's on the looser side, F# or G. It's a standard Remo Weather King, top-frosted head. Of course, it has factory-installed spikes at 7, 8, 9, and 10. This banjo is ready to come out of the case and be played with no issues.
Why am I Selling?: As I've gotten older, I've gotten away from playing straight-ahead bluegrass and have gravitated toward the darker sound of open-back banjos. I also appreciate how light they are. In many ways, the Sunflower is now just "too much banjo" for me. I play in a small trio that does Indian Music, New Age Music, Jazzy instrumentals, and old-time Appalachian Fiddle Tunes. My open back is suiting me just fine, so I've decided to let this guy go to someone who will play it the way it's meant to be played. I don't like having really good instruments just sitting around in their cases. That's why I'm selling it.
Speaking of selling, I do believe I've got the banjo priced to sell - given the condition it's in, and the era it comes from. I will also pay for shipping the banjo anywhere in the contiguous 48 states. The banjo ships in it's original Stelling case which is in perfect condition. If you have any questions at all, please respond to my ad. Thank you!
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