If you are interested in commissioning a banjo from Eric, or discussing his work, please send him an
email eric.pat-luths@orange.fr - and if you do so, please mention this site to him.
Scroll down for videos and photos...
Eric now has a website: http://www.ericstefanelli-banjos.com/
Buying a period instrument is a great way to get started with the classic style, but there are pitfalls which are difficult to avoid. Most of the necks, for instance, are warped, requiring new fretboards and frets; very often the pegs and tuning machines are not fitted well or working properly; and a whole raft of minor things here and there can cause upset. Plus it is very difficult to the untrained eye to know for sure if what you are buying is original.
With this is in mind, I commissioned a new banjo by Eric Stefanelli, from Burgundy in France. We settled on a 12'' Tubaphone Fairbanks #9 - the tubaphone tone ring was made by Bill Rickard, who is currently manufacturing exact copies of original tu-ba-phone tone rings. It is a stunning banjo, which the photos and videos do not do justice to.
I recommend a Stefanelli banjo for classic-style playing for the following reasons:
1. Eric is a first-class luthier, and has for many years made lutes of the highest quality
2. Eric is one of the finest classic-banjo players alive today. He knows the demands of the repertoire and the techniques required,
and he tests all his banjos himself before sending them off to the customer.
3. Many banjo makers just put nylon strings on their steel-string banjos and claim them fit for classic-banjo playing.
Eric's banjos are built from the ground up precisely for the classic-banjo style.
Here he is playing my #9 with his wife, Pat, on a banjo he made for her:
and me playing it the day it arrived:
and soon after:
...and pictures of my #9:
Here are a few photos of banjos made by Eric Stefanelli for other customers.
If you are interested in commissioning a banjo from Eric, or discussing his work, please send him an
email eric.pat-luths@orange.fr - and if you do so, please mention this site to him.
http://www.ericstefanelli-banjos.com/