Deering Goodtime 5-String Banjo Review
I agree with all the reviews. I decided to try learning banjo at age 53, after playing guitar for 30 years and mandolin and fiddle for 2 years. I took classes at the Old Town SChool of Folk Music in Chicago, and rented a Goodtime from them through a couple class terms. My family wanted to buy me a good banjo for my birthday and I said I'd rather just pay the rest of the cost and keep the Goodtime. I'm no master player, and I'm still learning, but this is a good solid banjo and sounds and plays great.
Pros:
* It's light and well balanced so it's a pleasure to hold and play.
* It has good solid feel and quality construction, with heavy nickel plating on the hardware, nice light laquer, and clear maple in the neck.
* The neck and frets are dead on balls accurate so the notes sound good all the way up the neck.
* The tuning machines (open gear guitar style) are modest, but don't slip and work fine. Fifth string has a good geared tuner.
* The tone is surprisingly loud for an open back banjo, so I get plenty of volume doing Scruggs style, and even have to damp it a bit with some folded foam behind the head for clawhammer style.
* There's a nice harmonic point right where your hand falls for clawhammer, which gives a nice meaty "pop/ring" sound for clawhammer.
* It's relatively humidity- and cold weather- tolerant without needing a lot of retuning.
Cons:
* No arm rest! I didn't mind it so much for Scruggs style but got bruises from the brackets when I switched to clawhammer, until I bought an armrest (They have them at Elderly Instruments for , and it's easy to attach with a small wrench by loosening two of the brackets and sliding it through them.)
* The already-mentioned cheesy peg head design, which some have called "Art Deco" but I call Ronco. But what the hell. You could always go for the Special model that has a more traditional shaped peghead.
* The nut has sharp corners which can make for sore hands when you hit it a lot with the pad of your index finger. But maybe that's a sign of poor form on my part.
All in all, I see no need for a fancier banjo for quite some time. I did fine with a Sears Silvertone guitar for ten years, so maybe I'm easy to please. But maybe I'm unimpressed by showing off wicked instruments too. (My mom had a pre-war Gibson five string but my grandpa donated it to the USO during WWII. So people bragging about their Gibsons just stirs up pain from before I was even born, and I slowly back away.)
By the way, I agree that it's best if you can to buy a banjo from a friendly neighborhood music store, where they can help you get it set up and adjusted. The Different Strummer at the Old Town School beat the price here by quite a bit, cause they sell a ton of these things for Deering, to their students.
Deering Goodtime 5-String Banjo Feature
- Low-profile, 22-fret rock maple neck with hardwood bow tie inlays
- Sealed, geared tuning machines, including fifth string
- 5/8-Inch maple/ebony Goodtime bridge with adjustable Deering tailpiece
- Six-year warranty
- Three-ply, 11-inch maple rim with steel tension hoop and high crown head
Deering Goodtime 5-String Banjo Overview
The American-made Goodtime banjo features a slender, rock maple neck, 3-ply maple rim, sealed geared tuners, and an adjustable tailpiece. The natural, blond maple is finished in elegant satin and the metal parts are nickel plated. The single coordinator rod makes adjustments easy and positive. The maple and ebony bridge sits on an easy to adjust 11 inch, top-frosted head.
Deering Goodtime 5-String Banjo Specifications
The Deering Goodtime is a great banjo at a competitive price, constructed in the U.S. The Goodtime is an open-back banjo, weighing in at just four pounds, so it's ideal for traveling, camping, hiking, or taking to the beach. It provides a vibrant, singing banjo tone, and makes a great "starter" banjo, since it's well-fretted and plays easily.
Slim Neck Profile
The Goodtime banjos have a slender, low-profile neck that is easy to finger and comfortable for large and small hands.The fret work is accurate and precise to ensure correct intonation over the entire fingerboard.
Satin Deering fiddle-shaped peghead with sealed, geared tuning machines.
Three-ply maple rims are standard on all Goodtime banjos.
Adjustable Action
You can adjust the action (string height) on the Goodtime banjo by adjusting the single coordinator rod in the pot easily and effectively adjusts the playability so that the strings are close to the fingerboard and are easy to press down.
Three-Ply Maple Rim
The Rim is the round wood drum part of the banjo: In 2009 Greg Deering finished new tooling to make all Goodtime rims in the higher grade 3-ply maple design. Prior to that they were laminated birch and maple rims. This standard 11-inch diameter rim provides a top quality sound that out performs all other banjos available in this price range. Thanks to this new upgrade, Goodtime banjos sound like they should cost far more they do.
Goodtime Tailpiece
The patented Goodtime tailpiece is extremely strong and easily adjustable to maximize tone by raising or lowering it.The standard 11" diameter rim is a 3-ply violin grade maple rim provides a top quality sound that outperforms many banjos available in this price range. The 16 brackets and standard rim diameter make head adjustments easy and replacement heads are readily available since the heads are the same size as most modern banjos (11" high crown).
Made in the U.S.A.
Deering manufactures the Goodtime Banjo in America at the Deering Banjo Company in Spring Valley, California.
Goodtime Specs
- Neck: Blond Slender Rock Maple
- Frets: 22 Pressed In Nickel Silver
- Inlays: Hardwood Bow Tie
- Tuners: Sealed Geared (Incl. 5th String)
- Neck Finish: Satin
- Peghead: Satin Deering Fiddle Shaped
- Rim: Blond 3-ply Violin Grade Maple
- Tension Hoop: Steel
- Head: 11-Inch Frosted Top High Crown
- Bridge: 5/8-Inch Maple/Ebony Goodtime
- Tailpiece: Deering Patented Goodtime
- Finish: Satin
- Back Style: Openback
- Neck Width at Nut: 1 1/4 Inches
- Scale: 26 1/4 Inches
- Rim Diameter: 12 Inches
- Overall Instrument Length: 37 1/2 Inches
- Weight: Approx.4 lbs
- Warranty: 6 Years
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 19, 2010 18:43:04
