I bought this banjo from a guitar shop in Washington state. What I received was a lot worse than what was described. I should have sent it back but I didn’t. It was in rough shape.
Full disclosure, there was binding falling off the rim, the resonator, and the heel cap was coming off.The glued center joint of the neck was separating, the finish was severely checked and the metal was corroded and some portions turning green. The tailpiece is a Kershner and not Stelling stamped but not all his parts were back then. This banjo is 47 years old. That’s all the bad news.
Now the good news! I decided to give the banjo to Chris Sorenson at Companion Banjos. He had it for about 8 months. The wood was stripped, the damaged binding replaced, the metal put in an acid bath and cleaned but still retains its patina, and the center joint in the neck reglued, clamped and a new heel cap put on and the hole thing refinished. The rim, while getting new binding, has its original finish. Chris also installed some new gumdrop tuner buttons, new head and bridge/strings.
The banjo is now in fantastic looking and playing shape. Walnut wood, ebony fingerboard, remo head, and comes in the original Stelling case. The pictures tell the tale. The banjo has that Stelling tone with its no hole ring and its loud. You will be heard! It’s setup and ready to go. All it needs is your strap!
Oh, I replace the nuts on the original hooks with standard size so you can use a normal wrench. The original nuts and tuner buttons are included.
Soundbite- youtu.be/n_LH9VfbH7M?si=BiLbvUgbyuUo6Ykp
