Whenever you see the word "Special" on the peghead of a Goodtime banjo, it means that the banjo has a Patented "Goodtime Special" tone ring under the hood!
The Goodtime Special Tone Ring, all of which are rolled and finished in-house at our San Diego factory, produces a powerfully crisp, bright, sparkling tone. The volume of tone is a wonderful surprise to players who hear each note ring out beautifully, and project forward thanks to the combination of the tone ring and the 3-ply maple resonator, cutting through the mix.
In keeping with the Goodtime Blonde Series, the Goodtime Special features a natural blonde maple finish, 14:1 guitar-style tuners, hardwood inlays quiet metal, and US Bronze powder finished hardware.
If you're looking for a professional-grade banjo with serious volume and tone, and you are looking to keep the cost as low as possible, then this is the banjo for you. The Goodtime Special banjo will perform well in a jam session, band setting, or in a recording studio. It will feel comfortable, fret correctly, and be a stable instrument you can play for years to come.
This is a fantastic banjo for bluegrass banjo playing.
Neck Wood: Rock Maple
Neck Shape: Comfortable "D" Shape
Stain: None
Finish: Satin
Nut Width: 1 1/4"
Nut Material: Lexan Polycarbonate
Tuners: Sealed Geared Tuners
5th String Tuner: Goodtime Geared 5th String Tuner
Frets: 22 Pressed In Nickel Silver Frets
Inlays: Hardwood Art Deco Inspired 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: Two Piece Goodtime Series Flange
Armrest: Goodtime Armrest
Hardware Plating: US Bronze Powder Finish
Bridge: 5/8" Goodtime Smile Bridge
Tailpiece: Deering Patented Goodtime Tailpiece
Finish: Hand Rubbed Polyurethane with Carnuba Wax Finish
Resonator Wood: 3-Ply Poplar/Poplar/Maple
Resonator Finish: Satin
Resonator Sidewalls: Straight
Resonator Diameter: 13 7/8"
Resonator Stain: None
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.: 5.5 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.
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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.