SteveZ
Well-known member
Deering Goodtime Banjo Ukulele.
This gem (first photo)arrived yesterday, so there has been not a lot of time to examine, play, restring, etc.. First impression - well worth the money!
Appearance: It's typical "Deering Goodtime" and follows that style. The second photo is of the Banjo Uke beside my Deering Goodtime Tenor Banjo. I like the look, especially with the eleven-inch head. In person it looks better to me than the advertising photos.
Playability: As smooth as silk (after a fix*). The neck is slick and easy to go up and down the fretboard. The Banjo Uke came tuned GCEA (high G) with Aquila NylGuts. I swapped out the GC with low-C and low-G, detuned the E to D, so now its CGDA (fifths), just like my Tenor Banjo. It almost seems like Deering (long-time banjo maker) really wanted to make a good sounding nylon-string tenor banjo in "travel" size, more so than a ukulele that looks like a banjo. Setting up a tenor banjo to ukulele concert length gave the best of both musical worlds.
The overall build of the Banjo Uke seems as solid, construction and material-wise, as the Tenor Banjo. The wood is the same, the neck dimensions (except for length) seem the same. Ditto for the number of hooks, screws, tuners, the connector rod and all. While Deering hasn't said so, the Banjo Uke appears sturdy enough to handle steel strings. Sometime in the future I may put GDAE or CGDA mandolin strings (with a loop end) on the Banjo Uke just to hear how it sounds.
*the fix - The nut is cut flush with the neck, but it is squared off to a sharp top edge. When playing up on the first three frets, the edge of the nut jabbed into the base of my left index finger. The jab was sharp enough to be a bother, so I got a small file from my toolkit and rounded the edge. That solved the problem completely.
Sound: It sounds like a banjo with nylon strings, very bright and cheerful. The Aquila NylGuts really work well with this design. That may be impacted somewhat by the tuning (having a low-C string really makes a difference). It definitely is much more "banjo-ee" than my Gretsch 9470. I think the EZ resonator on my tenor banjo will fit, should I want to make the instrument louder. A sound sample of this instrument is at https://soundcloud.com/steveztv/deering-banjo-ukulele-hotel
Uniqueness: This is indeed a banjo with uke-like tendencies. It has a five-string banjo tailpiece with hooks for connecting strings. As a result, it's necessary to knot the strings in a "bowline knot" to connect them to the tailpiece hooks (see the third photo).
Bottom line: Am glad I got it. It's fun, sounds great and easy to play. Deering really got it right with this gem.
This gem (first photo)arrived yesterday, so there has been not a lot of time to examine, play, restring, etc.. First impression - well worth the money!
Appearance: It's typical "Deering Goodtime" and follows that style. The second photo is of the Banjo Uke beside my Deering Goodtime Tenor Banjo. I like the look, especially with the eleven-inch head. In person it looks better to me than the advertising photos.
Playability: As smooth as silk (after a fix*). The neck is slick and easy to go up and down the fretboard. The Banjo Uke came tuned GCEA (high G) with Aquila NylGuts. I swapped out the GC with low-C and low-G, detuned the E to D, so now its CGDA (fifths), just like my Tenor Banjo. It almost seems like Deering (long-time banjo maker) really wanted to make a good sounding nylon-string tenor banjo in "travel" size, more so than a ukulele that looks like a banjo. Setting up a tenor banjo to ukulele concert length gave the best of both musical worlds.
The overall build of the Banjo Uke seems as solid, construction and material-wise, as the Tenor Banjo. The wood is the same, the neck dimensions (except for length) seem the same. Ditto for the number of hooks, screws, tuners, the connector rod and all. While Deering hasn't said so, the Banjo Uke appears sturdy enough to handle steel strings. Sometime in the future I may put GDAE or CGDA mandolin strings (with a loop end) on the Banjo Uke just to hear how it sounds.
*the fix - The nut is cut flush with the neck, but it is squared off to a sharp top edge. When playing up on the first three frets, the edge of the nut jabbed into the base of my left index finger. The jab was sharp enough to be a bother, so I got a small file from my toolkit and rounded the edge. That solved the problem completely.
Sound: It sounds like a banjo with nylon strings, very bright and cheerful. The Aquila NylGuts really work well with this design. That may be impacted somewhat by the tuning (having a low-C string really makes a difference). It definitely is much more "banjo-ee" than my Gretsch 9470. I think the EZ resonator on my tenor banjo will fit, should I want to make the instrument louder. A sound sample of this instrument is at https://soundcloud.com/steveztv/deering-banjo-ukulele-hotel
Uniqueness: This is indeed a banjo with uke-like tendencies. It has a five-string banjo tailpiece with hooks for connecting strings. As a result, it's necessary to knot the strings in a "bowline knot" to connect them to the tailpiece hooks (see the third photo).
Bottom line: Am glad I got it. It's fun, sounds great and easy to play. Deering really got it right with this gem.
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