Deering: Old Tyme Wonder

Submitted by dfitz on 7/10/2007

Where Purchased: The Homestead Pickin' Parlor

Year Purchased: 2004
Price Paid: 895 ($US)

Sound

I play a pretty eclectic range of music and this Banjo seems to do justice to them all. I use HEAVY gauge strings and go for a full-bodied sort of sound out of this open-backed Banjo. I have the traditional cloth diaper inside as a damper and I have mounted a minature condenser mic on the stablizer rod for micing the instrument from the inside. I usually use external mics, but in high noise situation I add in the internal mic into the mix with the external mic. Love the sound.

Sound Rating: 10

Setup

The Banjo came setup perfectly for my tastes except that I replaced the medium strings with heavy and tensioned the head a little tighter than they had it at the store. The Banjo is easy to adjust and once setup requires very little adjusting other than to allow for the changing seasons effect on head tension

Setup Rating: 9

Appearance

The Banjo is nicely finished, It is made out of flamed Maple but is stained darker to look a little like walnut or a very dark Oak. This is a plain instrument with the traditional frailing scoop out of the fretboards where the neck joins the rim. The plating is all high qulaity and the finish looks real nice. There were no flaws in any of the construction hardware or finish elements of this instrument. I get lots of comments about the appearance and the sound of this instrument even though it isn't very flashy.

Appearance Rating: 10

Reliability

This is a rugged Banjo. I gig with it regularly without a backup instrument and it has been played hard for the last 3 years with no signs that anything is wearing thin or wearing out.

Reliability Rating: 10

Customer Service

I haven't had to deal with Deering directly at all since I purchased this instrument. Prior to the sale they were extremely helpful and responsive. I really pound on this thing and it holds up beautifully. This is a very well-made Banjo. I'll give 'em a 9 only beacuse I haven't needed any warranty work so I don't know how they are post sales.

Customer Service: 9

Components

I particularly like the Deering bridges and the neck on this thing is spot on for intonation. As to replacing or upgrading I'm still debating about replacing the arm rest (a very small rolled metal thing) with a wider (and wooden) arm rest but I haven't gottent around to it in 3 years of ownership so you can see it isn't that big a deal with me.

Components Rating: 9

Overall Comments

I would recommend this banjo to old-time or folk players without reservations. The price today for these things has risen to around $1200 new which may make it pricey for some folks but all-in-all I think it is a lot of banjo for the buck. If it was stolen I would cry and go out and replace it with another Old-Tyme Wonder.

Overall Rating: 9