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New owner of a 1984 Sunflower

From Porschefan on 4/8/2013 3:38:45 PM

Hello,

I'm totally new to the banjo world and was lucky enough to find this 1984 Sunflower, serial #: 2833 as my first instrument.  I started off looking for an "entry level" banjo, but when I went to my local shop (Banjo Bob's in Cedar Crest, New Mexico) to try instruments out I was very impressed by this Sunflower that he had on consignment.  So I stretched my budget out WAY past where it started and picked it up.   It's a beauty and I'm pretty sure one couldn't ask for a better instrument to start with.

That said I now have some newbie questions and observations and I think this is probably the best place to ask/comment.

First one.   Is  there any way to get any kind of history, based on the serial number from the Stelling workshop?   I'm figuring probably not, except possible for some of the more famous and collectible examples, but I thought I would ask.  I do have the consignor's name and since Albuquerque is a pretty small town, I'm sure I can, and intend to, get in touch so he can fill me on his time with the banjo.  He's a well-know (here) banjo player and I really want to pick his brain about how and why it's set up the way it is.    I'm NOT going to mess with the setup at all until I know a lot more than I do now.

The one thing that I would tend to change, is the head.   It has a black plastic head with a Deering logo on it.   I think the banjo would look better with a traditional white head and if I were to change it I would start with the Stelling-recommended Ludwig head.

I'm ordering the Field Service Manual, which includes the standard set up drill and I'll start studying that so I'll be ready when it's time.

When I first heard this banjo, having no real experience, about the only thing I could say about the tone is that it was the best that I was able to hear at the shop the day I tried it.    I was trying to compare it to a sound in my head that I had fallen in love with--Jen's Kruger playing a Deering Sierra (mahogany) on the Deering website (here).  (BTW, this was discussed at length in my thread in "Shopper's Advice" forum.   The consensus of the advice there was that using recordings is not a great way to judge anything about any instrument's tone and that the Sierra demo is recorded in a roomful of banjo's which produces significant recording artifacts.   The fact of the matter is that I'm not in any position to make any kind of informed judgment about any banjo's tone and that I would be kind of foolish to pass up such a nice instrument.   All of which is kind of a long-winded lead up to my question....after I purchased the banjo, I remembered that I had purchased a CD called the "Stelling Banjo Anthology" some time ago (maybe a premonition ;-)) and had enjoyed listening to it from time to time.   Now that I HAD a Stelling, I broke it out and listened more carefully and was a little surprised that, to my ear, there was a remarkable consistency to the sound of the banjo's over the CD's 21 tracks.   So I'm thinking that to a great degree, ALL Stelling have this "Stelling sound" that is so sought after.   Is that true that ANY Stelling is going to sound very much like a Stelling?    That's a very different approach to Deering, which seems to try and get a wide variety in their different lines.    In any case I'm looking forward to becoming much more familiar with the Stelling "sound."

A by-product of listening to that CD was my learning that Geoff S. is a heck of player himself!   That's got to be good !   I'm going to order the two CD's on the Stelling website and hear more.

Last and more prosaic question is can anyone recommend a high-quality strap that would work well with my Sunflower?   I see some discussion of cradle and "regular" straps.  For some reason the cradle sounds nice, but there are some questions about whether individual types of instruments work well with them.   I really don't care but would like to get a very high-quality leather strap that will complement the Sunflower.

TIA and happy to have such a fine banjo!

STP

11 Comments
	Ybanjo says: 4/8/2013 3:51:39 PM You need to change out the head for sure! Not sure what was going on by placing a black Deering head on that machine. If you go to Stellings website, they have almost all the setup data that you need to get started. I would do my best to try to bring it back to it most original point. Only thing that I would change would be the pot, unless it's already been changed. Tony Pass is much better and well worth the effort (expense) to change it. And that Stelling will easily blow those Deerings out of the water! You will not be dissappointed! If you are, just let me know. I'll take it off your hands if the price is right. That's the other good thing about Stellings, you'll be able to sell it for at least what you paif for it, and much more down the road. Kinda like getting a Harley! :)
	dpskala says: 4/8/2013 5:16:57 PM sullysstraps.com/ I have two of these straps, and I love them - no hardware at all; very well made. I highly recommend.
	banjogirl1980 says: 4/8/2013 5:51:05 PM i agree with Ybanjo, get that black head off asap, as far as a strap i use a Levy`s padded cradle strap! very nice, thay take alot of wight off of you and thay last for years and years! Jack Hatfield has came up with a killer banjo strap and he calls it a zero gravity banjo strap, check out hatfields music banjo supply.com he has alot of kool banjo stuff for sale... o yea congrats on the super sweet banjo!!! welcome to the world of the best banjos known to man!
	banjoman56 says: 4/8/2013 6:29:50 PM Well, you certainly entered the banjo world at a higher level than most of us...... You can go here: //google.com/search?q=ste...e&ie=UTF-8 and find some info about the date your banjo was made and possibly other info. I agree with the other posts, that the head should be changed for the best tone from your banjo. The Deering head is probably a Remo and to my ear, don't sound quite as good as the 5 Star (Ludwig) heads on a Stelling. You might want to get someone with experience to help you change the head though, as head tension plays a great part in the tone you get from your banjo. Congrats on owning a fine banjo!.....Enjoy!!!!
	Geoff Stelling says: 4/9/2013 7:15:43 AM Hi Porschefan, Welcome to the Hangout and the Stelling Owners Club. Your Sunflower was made on 7-24-1984 and sold to New Boston Banjo Co. in Avon, MA and then sold to its original owner, Jamie Welsh in Spartanburg, SC. How it got to Albuquerque, I don't know. Although the Pass rims are very nice, I don't encourage people with older, great sounding Stellings to go out and spend another $500 plus to "improve" their Stelling. A nearly 30 year old banjo has got to have a lot of good tone aged into it by now, plus it is all original (except fot that head...). I'm sure you'll be happy with a new Ludwig head tightened up to a 91 on a drum dial or roughly tap tuned to an A or A flat. All the best and good pickin.' Geoff
	Norand says: 4/9/2013 12:47:33 PM What a wonderful first buy! congratulations! I am sure it will serve you well for as long as you want. Very, very special instruments, Stelling.
	Norand says: 4/9/2013 12:47:54 PM #s
	Porschefan says: 4/9/2013 4:41:53 PM Thanks to all for the welcomes and the tips. On the strap issue, I researched around and since I couldn't really make up my mind I ended up ordering a "Neotech 8301062 Mega Banjo Strap" from Amazon: amazon.com/gp/product/B000P4FBPU /ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It's cheap, utilitarian and will do until I find something I really like. Also I found that Dave Hum, whom I discovered here on BOH, who made his living as a busker, recommended them also, as being very comfortable and easy to handle. Geoff: the previous owner of the banjo here in ABQ is a Wayne Shrubsall who performs around here and also teaches banjo. I intend to contact him and maybe he can fill in more about the travels of this Sunflower. There should, and maybe will be someday, a registry of Stelling banjo's ;-).
Ian Stuart says: 4/10/2013 2:06:13 AM Hi Porschefan If you are looking for CDs to listen to where you can hear the true voice of a Stelling Banjo TONY ELLIS is one of the best if not the best Quaker Girl .Dixie Banner .Farewell MyHome . Should be on your must have list .
	From Greylock to Bean Blossom says: 4/10/2013 3:55:37 AM Congratulations on your Stelling! You have a lot of fun ahead of you. Besides Tony Ellis, you also want to check out the great Alan Munde who also plays a Stelling. Enjoy. Ken
timacn says: 4/12/2016 9:39:48 AM Anybody know anything about The New Boston Banjo Company in Avon Mass? I bought a Stelling from a very nice guy at that store in 1991. Anybody know when the store shut down or any other information about it? Thanks.
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