I like Dean's idea of a banjo building workshop. I would appreciate a one day class on banjo maintenance and setup tips.

Hi Janet,

I have a question and several comments.

I am fortunate enough to own a 1999 Golden Era, and a 2006 Tenbrook Legacy. I have noticed that on my GE the distance between the last fret and the head is about twice as long as on my Tenbrooks. Did you change the scale of the fretboard, and how does that affect the bridge placement, tone, etc?

My comments:
1. I recently had the tone ring on my GE swapped out at the factory for the newer 06 ring. The difference is astonishing! I would highly recommend the new tone ring to anyone. It sounds ALOT like my Tenbrooks tone ring.

2. I am one that really likes the shape of the Tenbrooks neck. Will the new neck alter the tone of the Tenbrooks in any way?

Thanks for taking the time to come online and answer questions. Your company is outstanding in every way.

Bob

Edited by - Bob Murphy on 10/16/2009 05:49:05

Are their any improvements planned to the Maple Blossom line?

We have made a great improvement on the Maple Blossom this year - we have changed the rim to our new violin grade maple which greatly improves the response and tone of the Maple Blossom. This change started in November 2008.

Right now, I have one Maple Blossom banjo made of walnut that we can sell at no extra charge.

We are experimenting with offering some choice on woods without an upcharge - for instance we are making Sierra banjos of maple and these have been very popular.

Love my Goodtime Special!! You should consider a aftermarket armrest,you would probably sell as many of them as you did banjo's.

Yes, we do plan to make a new armrest for the Goodtime banjos that is more comfortable. It is another item on the long list of new tooling to do.

At this point we are selling an armrest that works well as an aftermarket armrest called a Banjo Mate Thinline Armrest and sells for $59.95.

It fits the Goodtime banjo because the attachments go onto the banjo hooks and can slide in a groove in the underside of the armrest to anchor in alignment with where the hooks are and so it can fit any banjo.

This can be ordered on our website part # AR-BM at DeeringBanjos.com

(As Janet starts her fifteenth cup of coffee....Wondering what she got herself into....)


:-)

][ Grey Dog in NH

I could also see a future shop class, where the project would be assembling Goodtimes (instead of birdhouses or something). Had I been involved in something like that as a teenager, my life might have been totally different musically.

Dean,

It's funny you should mention that. We have been donating our reject banjo parts to a wood shop class at the West Hills High School in Santee, CA for the past 4 years. The woodshop teacher came here and took some lessons on banjo building after hours and we set him up so he could help his students build their own banjos.

The guitar teacher in their music department came here on one of our Saturday factory open house days for free banjo lessons that we offer periodically and so he started an after hours class teaching banjo at the high school.

At the end of each semester the shop teacher, has the kids final event of class be to play a song for the class. We have videos of some of these kids and their banjos. It is quite something to see what they are able to do. Talk about modified Goodtimes! It can get wild!

I ran into one of these young adults last summer at a Boy Scout event and he thanked Greg and I for the banjo and the wood shop class. He said he was still enjoying playing his banjo. It is very rewarding to see kids make better projects in woodshop than what I made at my high school back in the '70s.

There are now only 11 shop classes still in high schools in San Diego area. We and Taylor Guitars are both supporting these classes with parts and materials so kids can learn the joy of wood working and also the benefit from making their own instruments. In some cases it revitalizes their interest in learning so that they don't drop out of High School.

I want to be young again and attend West Hills High School in Santee, CA!!! Thanks for influencing young lives!

Dean

Yes! It's almost lunch time. Lots of coffee later!

I'll sign off for now and pick it up tomorrow morning.

quote:

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Originally posted by tombriarhopper

I am asking this not to be mean but to clarify...can instrument makers make similar posts onto this site? I never asked the question before. Thanks

Tom Briarhopper
wbtbriarhoppers.blogspot.com
myspace.com/tomwarlick

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Very cool that you're doing this. Like someone said earlier, it shows a level of dedication not really shown by many companies at all.

I've been looking to buy a deering goodtime special for my next banjo, so I have been doing a lot of web research on the deering site. Some of the links don't go where they say they do, (the Goodtime Special "Buy now" link goes to the same page as the "more" link etc), and some of the stuff is a little out of the way, (it would be nice if there was a clip of the banjo playing in the description), but none of this stuff is major.

That being said, Deering is a banjo company, not a website company. And again, thank's for coming here and asking for responses.

Paul

"But who indeed are you, a human being, to argue with God? Will what is molded say to the one who molds it, 'Why have you made me like this''? Romans 9:20 (NRSV)

Thank you, Janet, for your time!
We met in '94 in Owensboro, where I showed you my GDL.
Just a few words to let you know the baby (it's an adult, now!) is still a really terrific banjo!

Ciao from Italy.

Jack ོ
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I think that Goodtime Banjo is the best first banjo. (I don't understand the price of Midnight Special and the Classic).

The Midnight Special and the Classic line have been a work in progress and you may have seen them before they reached their current status. What they have come to is quite an upgrade from a regular blond Goodtime banjo.

The Midnight Special is a Goodtime Special with the beautiful fiddle peghead shape, planetary geared tuners, painted black with white inlays and white detailing complimenting the black. The difference in price is wrapped up in the extra work of the painting and detailing, the planetary tuners, and the spikes at 7,9, and 10.

The Classic Goodtime Banjos are the same basic structure as the Goodtime banjos with the added features of planetary banjo tuners, and spikes installed, along with the fiddle peghead, white inlays and logo, and with a dark brown stain.

One added benefit of these banjos is that in the process of putting on this extra stain and finish, they go through the curing process in our UV oven and we have found that this extra step has quite an effect on the sound. They have a more distinctive tone that is slightly louder.

The added cost is both in the labor and materials.

I do not own a Deering. All three of my banjos were purchased before Deering existed as a company. (You and Greg did build the neck on my California-made Staghorn, I believe.) I do want to say, though, that I really admire the way you have grown your company, and your involvement with the playing community. The fact that you show up with a manufacturer's booth at Grass Valley every year is great.

Eastbay George,

Thanks. Yes, Greg and I probably did build your Staghorn neck. We made the first 600 Stelling necks when we were first in business as subcontractors selling parts to Stelling after the partnership split. So even though you play a Stelling you are still a part of the bigger Deering family! Like Alan Munde.... He is part of the Deering family too and what a great player and a wonderful person.

Now I have switched to Clawhammer and recently purchased a Deering Vega number 2.
I absolutely love it. My dog is very upset because now my lap is never open for her.
Sometimes I just look at it. I clean it all the time and can't stop playing it.

Thanks for the craftsmanship that goes into your banjos.
Thanks also for your willingness to join this forum.

One question, I wish I had gotten the banjo with a scoop. What would be the cost to return it to the factory and have the scoop added?

Yes, you can return your Vega No. 2 for a scoup. The cost includes disassembly, reassembly and set up at $120 plus adding the scoup is $50. If you send it in December over the holidays at the end of the month or in January, it will be after our Christmas rush of shippping and we can get it back to you fairly quickly. Plan on it being here for about 2 weeks. If you want anything else done to it while it is here like spikes installed, write it all down in a letter and put it in the case with the banjo and we will make sure it all gets done while it is here.

Thanks Janet for the answers, this contact is an added value for yours fantastic products.
A special thanks to the workers in Deering Banjo Company.
Bruno

I've seen several posts regarding the price of a Deering compared to foreign made banjos, but I reject the comparison. A buddy of mine plays a Maple Blossom and I think it is comparable to and at a better price point to my Gibson. At the lower end of the price scale, I don't think there's a starter banjo that can compare to the Goodtime 2.

A good banjo is going to cost some money, so I appreciate the great quality you produce and will continue to support American Made. At least I know your banjos are made here by free people, not offshore, and not subsidized by a crooked government.

Thanks. You are right. A good banjo does cost money to make especially paying American labor and health insurance like we do.

Some people have assumed that we do work in Mexico because San Diego (Spring Valley) is 20 miles North of the boarder but we don't. We hire and train real Americans to make our banjos because our purpose is to be part of the backbone of America and manfuacture here in the USA.

If we were in it just for the money we would be making guitars, and if we only wanted to make a profit from banjos we would make them in China like almost all the other brands.

The problem I have observed with companies that bring them in from China is something that no company can get away from in the nature of doing business overseas. They have challenges with their labor force wanting higher wages naturally, with the pennies they are paying them, and companies in China are hiring the trained workers away from one plant to another with a lack of continuity of knowledgeable workers making the products. They may get it right at one time, but then the workers who know what is needed get a higher paying job somewhere else and since the executives don't know banjos, the knowledge goes away with the worker and the quality goes back in the toilet. Unless banjo experts want to live over there, which most don't, you can't count on the quality one day to another.

I talked with one very knowledgeable banjo player who had visited one of the two factories in China mass producing the banjos and he told me how frustrated he was because everytime he visited them and told them the importance of the placement of the nut when he went back six months later they didn't keep the nut in the right place, they thought that if it was within a quarter inch it was fine. He could not get them to continue to do it right and so the whole scale was off.

It amazes me how many American name brands come from Asia now either in the full banjos or in necks and parts coming in to be assembled here.

Hi Janet. I love the new Sierra inlay. I think it looks fantasitic. Sounds like these several improvements are a real nice step for Deering. I want one of those Sierras. Now for the question. I have seen a few pictures of the new maple sierra with black binding and white binding. I know one can order whatever they want from Deering but what will most likely be in the dealers hands, white I presume?

I would be curious which you would prefer.

When we started making the maple Sierra banjos about a year ago we make the first ones with black binding because it had continuity with the neck's ebony fingerboard and the black on the resonator.

Recently, within the last month, we changed to white binding on the maple Sierra banjos to stay in keeping with the model as shown in the catalog.

Which would you prefer? Black binding or White binding on the resonator of maple Sierra banjos?

We can do either. But at this point all the new ones being made now are being made with white.

I am fortunate enough to own a 1999 Golden Era, and a 2006 Tenbrook Legacy. I have noticed that on my GE the distance between the last fret and the head is about twice as long as on my Tenbrooks. Did you change the scale of the fretboard, and how does that affect the bridge placement, tone, etc.

Thanks, Bob. Good questions!

No, we did not change the scale of the fret board. We did change the amount of wood left at the end of the fingerboard where it attaches to the pot. What this does is affect the placement of the bridge on the head. The scale is the same.

Yes, any difference affects the sound. John Hartford once told me that the more toward the center the bridge is placed the the more the head will resonate and so the sound becomes a bit rounder.

My comments:
1. I recently had the tone ring on my GE swapped out at the factory for the newer 06 ring. The difference is astonishing! I would highly recommend the new tone ring to anyone. It sounds ALOT like my Tenbrooks tone ring.

Yes, the new '06 tonering is an astonishing improvement especially on stage. The original tonering we used for the past 30+ years was also a good tonering in most circumstances was really great. It performed well in regular settings, jam sessions etc. yet when you amplify the banjo or record with the banjo the '06 is a much better tonering for this purpose as it has less overtones.

2. I am one that really likes the shape of the Tenbrooks neck. Will the new neck alter the tone of the Tenbrooks in any way?


Any part that is made differently will alter the tone in some way. The heavier the neck will generally give you more sustain. Since we have made the neck more slim and comfortable it has a bit less sustain. You would have to listen to see if you even notice it.

If you compare a new Tenbrooks to Tony Trischka's larger Saratoga Star neck on his website you can judge the difference. If you google Tony Trischka you will find his wonderful new banjo lesson website. He plays his Saratoga Star all the time. You can hear it there.

Edited by - Janet Deering on 10/16/2009 07:36:02

I own a Fender Deluxe. It is so painfully obvious that there are quality issues. Inlays are badly aligned. While taking the head off, the nuts move roughly on the hooks. The thumb screws for the resonator are impossible to turn let alone line up. It's as though everything is just not machined quite right. (or something) The banjo sounds nice. It plays nice. But it is not what I would call a quality instrument. (it's pretty much a BLO)

I don't know where I get off saying this as I own an asian banjo but, we need to tax products (imports) that are being made with little or no regard to human and environmental (to only name two) elements. Most of us are guilty of choosing the cheaper object at one time or another (especially when the object is expensive). Eventually, this will bite us in the behind.

Love my Goodtime!!

Brian

Thanks for taking our questions. Mine is regarding the Tenbrooks neck. Bought a used one about two months ago and still not sure how I feel about the neck, somedays like it better than others. Past posts on this site have speculated that a thick neck was chosen because of tone characteristics. I was wondering if that is true, and if so, does the thinner neck Tenbrooks have the same sound. Can you share with us the considerations that lead to the original neck shape? Thanks

John, Yes, it's all a work in process. The original neck shape was not intended to be as thick as it became. We were fairly new at programming the neck shapes to be cut on the CNC machine. For the previous 26 years we had carved all our necks on a shaper and sculpted the heel and thumb stop by hand using a flexible arm shaft with a 60 grit sanding sleeve. Our neck shapes varied a lot in the size and shape of the heel and thumb stop.

So when we began the complex process of writing tool paths to shape necks on the CNC machine with 3 dimensional carving there was a learning curve that took place from 2001 to 2008. It is highly advanced programming to make all the neck shapes we make. Something changed in the Tenbrooks program that made it thicker than intended on some necks. If you would like to have us make your neck more slender you can send it in and we can reshape it.

The cost to have it reshaped is $125, plus disassembly, reassembly and set up $120, plus shipping. After Dec. 20th is the best time for something like this. When we reshape it you will get the slim comfortable Deering neck shape that our master craftsman has hand shaped for years. Yes, it will be done by hand as once a neck is built we cannot reshape it by machine.

Edited by - Janet Deering on 10/16/2009 08:02:51

What is the chance of Deering offering a Whyte Laydie tonering in the Vega line?

David,

Greg and I have discussed this. There is a very good chance of us offering a Whyte Laydie tonering in the Vega line. You are the third person to ask us about that and previous to this year no one ever asked for it so we did not put any attention on doing it.

Is there a certain Vega model you are interested in?

The thing that pushes new products like making a Whyte Laydie tonering to actually become a front burner project for us is customer requests and especially an order for this type of banjo. Until there is a specific order with a customer interested in having it a project like this is on the "Someday List."

Dear Janet,

No questions here, just positive comments! I have always held Deering in very high regard; infact the highest concerning 5-string resonator banjos. I own several Deerings, and currently one very special banjo is being constructed by you (this is my real name). Carolina does an incredible job, and she handles my requests very well. I must also express my excitement for the new violin maple rims, and the redesigned Sierra and Deluxe (they are perfect)! I would say, to stay the way you as a company have always been, trying to improve and tweak further, striving for perfection and the finest sounding, playing and looking banjos.

One question I do have is that, I own a MB6 and although the tone is great and so is playability it does resonate too much (with or without resonator) and weighs rather heavy. It might be an idea to try a bigger head and put in a wooden tone ring instead (fortunately I own a Hartford too). The amount of resonance it causes (it is a guitar-banjo after all, 6 strings is a lot for your typical banjo construction) is its only flaw.

Stay who you are! :-)

Edited by - Viktor Velthuijs on 10/16/2009 08:33:42

Janet,

Thank you very much for doing this on the hangout. I have a Calico. I love everything about it - the sound, the ease of play, thin neck, and especially the beauty. My Calico is the light tiger maple - which has the beautiful 3D look in the maple grain. I have seen some darker versions that appear to be a stained version? Is this an option? Did you stop making the lighter version? Thanks again.

Rick

quote:

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What is the chance of Deering offering a Whyte Laydie tonering in the Vega line?

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I would be curious which you would prefer.

When we started making the maple Sierra banjos about a year ago we make the first ones with black binding because it had continuity with the neck's ebony fingerboard and the black on the resonator.
Recently, within the last month, we changed to white binding on the maple Sierra banjos to stay in keeping with the model as shown in the catalog.
Which would you prefer? Black binding or White binding on the resonator of maple Sierra banjos?
We can do either. But at this point all the new ones being made now are being made with white.


Just my .02 - I think the black binding looks better only because the neck is not bound at all. Plus the front edge of the reso is black already and this sticks out more on the deerings to begin with. The white binding just throws it off (on this model only) for me.

- Tommy