Maybe. Deering was not the first bridge maker to use a little longer middle foot on a banjo bridge. I think you are best served going with a boutique bridge maker. Tim Purcell, Silvio Ferretti (scorpion), and Bryan Hooper (bone valley/lightning bolt) are the best bridge makers right now, in my opinion. There are a ton of other options too. Changing the bridge is a very low cost way of seeing what sounds you like/dislike.

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Originally posted by Ebake74

For anyone who uses a Deering Smile bridge. Looking for pros and cons using? Do they significantly improve tone?

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I am uncertain if the longer center leg is meaningful with quality hardwood (stiff) bridges; it definitely doesn't harm the tone. 

Making the center leg a little longer is a noticeable improvement with inexpensive 'maple' straight and stair-step bridges.  

note:  The inexpensive stair-step type are kinda-flexible and benefit from a 1-2mm shim on the center leg. I use a couple layers of the hot melt maple veneer tape and trim it flush with scissors.

Before the Deering smile bridge, I used to buy bridges a size larger than I needed, and sand the smile into them. Deering did come up with the Smile name. We just called it “dishing” the bridge. I didn’t do it for tone, I did it because it keeps the bridge from sagging, and I can play cleaner with a truely flat bridge, instead of a sagging bridge. And every standard flat bridge I’ve ever had on one of my banjos, or any other banjos I’ve ever seen or played, including new ones… sagged, without exception. That said, I have Deering smile bridges on all my banjos.

i don't really know if it effects tone, but I can say that I used to have a hard time taming the high d string, and dishing the old bridges, or using the smiles bridges, does give me a nice even balanced volume and tone. But that could also be my own playing progress, as I was working hard to get better, at the same time I learned about dishing bridges. 20 years ago, it was a common topic here, nowadays, not so much. The smile bridges came out about 10 years ago or so, and took care of that. 

I tried one for a little bit. I liked it, but for me and my banjo at the time it wasn't in the direction of what I was going for. One thing to note is the bridge is on the heavier side, so it'll tend toward dark and sustain-y sounding. I've played a few upper level Deerings with the smile bridge on and they sounded great! (but there's a lot going on there)

I had one and I liked it. I would say it’s on a par with any other quality bridge out there.
Whether it’s a good match with your banjo or tonal preferences is of course the real question.

Chris Cockrum with Cockrum studios is a member here and makes awesome bridges out of several different woods and exotic woods. He also does nice personalized truss rod covers .

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Originally posted by Dean T

Before the Deering smile bridge, I used to buy bridges a size larger than I needed, and sand the smile into them. Deering did come up with the Smile name. We just called it “dishing” the bridge. I didn’t do it for tone, I did it because it keeps the bridge from sagging, and I can play cleaner with a truely flat bridge, instead of a sagging bridge. And every standard flat bridge I’ve ever had on one of my banjos, or any other banjos I’ve ever seen or played, including new ones… sagged, without exception. That said, I have Deering smile bridges on all my banjos.

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I use 16" radius bridges on all of my banjos even the ones with flat fret boards, and if there is any sag it is not noticeable. 
Regarding Deering Smile bridges; only a test run will tell if one is suitable for a given banjo. 
 

I play a Deering Sierra. After playing it for two years I put on a Smile bridge. I loved it from Day 1.
Was there a “significant “ improvement? Maybe not, but it was noticeable to me.
Personally, I think they are a bit pricey, but I believe I’ve gotten my money’s worth in the past 4 years with it.
I would say the same thing about my Blue Chip thumb pick.

My Deering Sierra wears a Smile bridge and sounds good with it. I have tried other 'boutique,' bridges but they didn't work at all. I do have an old wood Sullivan that I put on it once in a while but keep coming back to the Smile.

Bobby

Hello. I bought a Deering Sierra (used) and based on what I read on a previous thread, I replaced generic bridge with a smile bridge. I thought the smile bridge improved it from the no name bridge.
I suffered a pretty serious back injury when I was younger and I couldn’t handle the weight so I sold that banjo with the bridge that came with it and purchased a lighter Deering that came with a smile bridge. I tried a Sampson bridge on it which mellowed it some. I ended up going back to the smile so I could hear myself better at jams. I’m not saying the I liked the smile more or less than the Sampson - just different flavors of ice cream.
I still have an extra Smile bridge kicking around in a drawer. If you’re interested in checking it out, send me a message. I’ll send it over to you so you can take it for a test drive.

My understanding is that this bridge design was intended to solve a perceived problem of bridges sagging in the middle because of the deflection of the head that's caused by string tension. I think that the primary design intention was not to improve tone. A claim of tone improvement seems to me to be marketing ballyhoo.

The reason I had asked about tone is I heard an interview with Tony Trischka were he was talking about using these and commented that they improved his tone. He could be hocking them for Deering through. I am sure a lot depends on type of head and many other variables too in conjunction with the smile bridge to effect tone

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Originally posted by paulhealey

Hello. I bought a Deering Sierra (used) and based on what I read on a previous thread, I replaced generic bridge with a smile bridge. I thought the smile bridge improved it from the no name bridge.
I suffered a pretty serious back injury when I was younger and I couldn’t handle the weight so I sold that banjo with the bridge that came with it and purchased a lighter Deering that came with a smile bridge. I tried a Sampson bridge on it which mellowed it some. I ended up going back to the smile so I could hear myself better at jams. I’m not saying the I liked the smile more or less than the Sampson - just different flavors of ice cream.
I still have an extra Smile bridge kicking around in a drawer. If you’re interested in checking it out, send me a message. I’ll send it over to you so you can take it for a test drive.

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I would like that.  I sent you a private message on your profile.

Here is a ten year old discussion about them Smilies you might find interesting: https://www.banjohangout.org/archive/318770/1

Wow, that old thread was a wild ride.

As a matter of efficiency and the quest for proffit, I would be inclined to speculate that the Deering company manufactures their Smile bridges in the same fashion and of the same materials their standard Deering bridges which are included as OEM on each new banjo the company sells. The only difference of course would be the design variant of the leg height profile. There is no doubt that performance could be improved for the picking hand but to state that the Smile bridge sounds better than the OEM Deering bridge is subjective at best. If in fact it does sound better, it might be a result of the unseen quality of the bridge materials, or the actual weight of the bridge. Also at play is the possibility that the weight distribution to the bridge legs could vary from the standard bridge which might affect sound.

Just cruising the Deering website… it looks like the smile bridge is now standard on all their banjos.