The Artisan Goodtime Special has the look of an older banjo with the rich brown stain, Deering fiddle shaped peghead and planetary banjo tuners. The Artisan Goodtime Special can be heard with a sweet voice with sustain that complements all the instruments in a band. Tuned to an open G Chord, with the spikes already installed, you can easily play in other keys.
The stunning new Artisan Goodtime banjos epitomizes Greg Deering’s lifelong vision for the Deering Banjo Company – to make the best sounding, best playing, best looking, and best value U.S.A. made banjo that he possibly could. Pearloid vintage artisan style inlays pop off the new Midnight Maple fingerboard, while the peg head is adorned with a beautifully engraved design.
The Artisan Goodtime Special banjo is an achievement in keeping the cost down while providing an instrument that will stay in tune and perform reliably because it is made with precision by skilled American craftsmen. Made efficiently at our factory in Spring Valley (San Diego area of California), this is a comfortably playable banjo with a wonderfully bright tone. It is a solid dependable instrument that is immensely playable with excellent tonality and clarity.
Neck Wood: Rock Maple
Neck Shape: Comfortable "D" Shape
Stain: Dark Red Mahogany
Finish: Satin
Nut Width: 1 1/4"
Nut Material: Lexan Polycarbonate
Tuners: Goodtime Planetary Tuners
5th String Tuner: Goodtime Geared 5th String Tuner
Frets: 22 Pressed In Nickel Silver Frets
Inlays: Vintage Artisan Style Inlays
Rim: 3-Ply Violin Grade Maple
Rim Diameter: 11"
Tone Ring: Patented Goodtime Special Steel Tone Ring
Head: 11" Top Frosted High Crown
Tension Hoop: Beveled Steel Tension Hoop
Hooks & Nuts: 16 Flat J-Hooks and 9/32" Hex Nuts
Flange:
Armrest: Goodtime Armrest
Hardware Plating: Nickel
Bridge: 5/8" Goodtime Smile Bridge
Tailpiece: Deering Patented Goodtime Tailpiece
Finish: Hand Finished Satin Polyurethane
Resonator Wood: 3-Ply Poplar/Poplar/Maple
Resonator Finish: Satin
Resonator Sidewalls: Straight
Resonator Diameter: 13 7/8"
Resonator Stain: Dark Red Mahogany
Neck Width at the Nut: 1 1/4"
Scale Length Nut to Bridge: 26 1/4"
Rim Diameter: 11"
Overall Instrument Length: 38"
Weight Approx.: 8 lbs
The trust and pride we share in our product gives us the confidence to grant every owner of a Goodtime banjo a Six Year Warranty ensuring the quality of our materials and workmanship.
Click below for more information.
Comes strung with Deering Light Gauge Strings
String gauges: 10, 11, 13, 21w, 10
Comes tuned: G, D, G, B, D
Can easily be tuned in other tunings as well.
Gig bags and hardshell cases available below
1. DEERING GOODTIME SMILE BRIDGE
The responsive sensitivity of the maple, with the hard, dense ebony top contributes to the Goodtime banjos clear, resonant responsiveness.
2. QUIET TAILPIECE
Specially selected metal is used to prevent the tailpiece from making “its own sound” and muddying up the banjo’s tone. The violin maple rim is supposed to sing, not your tailpiece.
3. STABILITY ENHANCING J-HOOKS
The proprietary Deering J-hooks are wider at the top to prevent twisting off the tension hoop when tightening the banjo head.
4. QUIET COORDINATOR ROD
Made of special alloy that is strong and does not interfere with the singing resonance of the violin maple rim.
5. 3-PLY VIOLIN GRADE MAPLE RIM
The maple in the Goodtime rim is the exact wood used in the finest violins in the world. Only Deering puts this professional grade 3-ply maple rim in a banjo in this price range.
6. SEALED GEARED TUNERS
Five high quality geared tuning machines make tuning the Goodtime banjo easy, accurate and fun. Too many student banjos are cursed with poor quality tuners, so the students blame themselves for an out of tune banjo when it’s the tuner that is at fault.
7. ROCK MAPLE NECK
This fine grained, dense, extremely hard, wood creates a stable neck, and imparts a bright, crisp quality to the Goodtime banjo tone.