Goodtime Banjo Breakdown

Carolina Bridges
Public Relations

No, I have not written a new version of Earl’s Breakdown for the Goodtime banjo. What I am aiming to do today is give you a brief Goodtime model comparison. I’ll break them down for you so that you can decide which model is best for you.

Goodtime/Goodtime Crow/Classic Goodtime/Goodtime Special Openback/Classic Goodtime Special Openback:

The models in this section are openback, maple, 5-string banjos. Openback banjos are traditionally played in the clawhammer/frailing style but can be played in whichever style you prefer. The Goodtime and the Goodtime Crow are exactly the same tonally. They only vary in peghead design with the Crow getting the additional words “The Crow” and the bird included in the peghead design while the Goodtime banjo bears the Goodtime banner and a star that says, “Proudly made in the USA.”

The rims on both are made of our new violin grade maple which has improved the sound of all Deering banjos to allow you the maximum brilliance from the pot assembly. The necks on the Goodtime and Goodtime Crow are both made of maple with housed, geared guitar style tuners, a geared 5th string peg, nickel/silver frets and hardwood bowtie fingerboard inlays.

The Classic Goodtime is a rich brown stained Goodtime banjo. This banjo comes standard with an armrest and spikes at the 7th,9th, and 10th frets.  These spikes act as a capo for the 5th string and you would use them while using a or for alternate tunings other than open G.
There are white dot inlays on the fingerboard and a white peghead design with traditional geared planetary peghead tuners and a geared 5th string peg.
The banjo itself is stained in a lovely, rich chocolate brown, per customer requests for a more traditional appearance. This staining procedure requires the banjo to spend some further time in our UV oven, speeding up the drying process for both the stain and the maturation process of the wood. This is the reason why this banjo has just a bit more brilliance of sound than the natural finished models.
A new feature to the Classic Goodtime banjos is side dots on the fingerboard for increased ease of play.

The Goodtime Special openback (GTSOB) does sound quite different from these other openback banjos. The addition of our new steel tone ring to this banjo’s pot assembly gives it a decidedly brighter, more sparkling tone, with greater power and sustain due to the additional weight from the tone ring. For the brightest sounding openback in the Goodtime line you would want either the natural maple Goodtime Special openback with housed geared guitar style tuners or the Classic Goodtime Special Openback with geared planetary tuners, dark brown stain, side position dots, and spikes at 7,9,10. All Goodtime Special banjos in the natural finish or stained get side position dots.

All of these openback banjos come in the tenor style as well; 17-fret or 19-fret. Tenor banjos have heavier gauge strings and are traditionally used for Traditional New Orleans Jazz or Irish/Celtic tunes. They arrive with standard tenor tuning (C, G, D, A) which is exactly the same as a viola or mandola.  Most Irish players tune their tenor banjos to the same notes as a fiddle or mandolin, but an octave lower (G, D, A, E).  Tenor banjos can also be tuned like the top four strings of a guitar or a ukulele (string gauges must be changed in order to accommodate these alternate tunings).  This makes the tenor banjo ideal for the multi-instrumentalist.

There is a new Goodtime tenor model called the Drop Kick Murphys that comes in 19-fret only. These have a special peghead logo and inlay pattern. These come in a natural stain and have side position dots as standard features. They are available in openback, resonator, and acoustic/electric models.
Check them out here:

Goodtime 2/Goodtime 2 Crow/ Classic Goodtime 2/Goodtime Special/Classic Goodtime Special/Midnight Special:

The banjos in this section are resonator, maple 5-string banjos. (the resonator is the back of the banjo body or pot.) They all have the new violin grade maple rim found in the openback banjos with the addition of a maple resonator and steel flange. The Goodtime 2 and the Goodtime 2 Crow have a wonderful natural brightness and a touch of warmth because of the maple wood used in the construction of the neck, the rim, and the resonator.
The function of the resonator itself is to make the banjo louder, focusing the sound projection forward, towards the audience. There is a slight increase in sustain on a resonator model due to the modest addition in weight from the resonator and flange. The Goodtime 2 and Goodtime 2 Crow sound exactly alike. The Crow model differs only cosmetically by the addition of the words “The Crow” and the image of the crow in the peghead. Both banjos come with an armrest for additional playing comfort, maple necks with hardwood bowtie inlays, nickel/silver frets, housed and geared guitar style tuners, and a geared 5th string tuning peg.

With the Classic Goodtime 2, you will have a dark brown stain, spikes at the 7th ,9th ,and 10th frets for capoing and alternate tunings, planetary tuners, white fingerboard inlays, and a white peghead design. The staining procedure requires the banjo to spend additional time in our UV oven; speeding up the overall drying process of the wood and giving this banjo just a bit more brilliance of sound. This banjo includes side position dots for playing ease.

Because of the addition of the new style steel tone ring, the Goodtime Special, Classic Goodtime Special, and the Midnight Special banjos will be the brightest of our resonator banjos in the Goodtime line. The steel tone ring does give them all a very easily discernable increase in brightness, power, sparkle, and sustain. The Classic is stained  a lovely chocolate brown and the Midnight Special is made with a black, penetrating stain which, combined with the white head, makes the banjo look like it is wearing a tuxedo!
I just love the look and have one of these because of it. Both the Classic and the Midnight Special will have spikes at 7th ,9th , and 10th frets, planetary tuners on the peghead, and the new addition of side position dots for playing ease. The natural finished Goodtime Special has housed, geared, guitar style tuners on the peghead, a geared 5th string peg, and also comes with the side dots as standard.

These resonator models also come in 17-fret and 19-fret tenor styles like the openback banjos. Tenor banjos have heavier gauge strings and are traditionally used for Traditional New Orleans Jazz and Irish/Celtic tunes. They arrive with standard octave mandolin tuning (C, G, D, A) but can be tuned like a guitar or a ukulele with some diligent string gauge changes and this makes the tenor banjo ideal for the multi-instrumentalist.


The Choice Is Up To YOU!

Whatever the style of play or type of music, the Goodtime banjo line offers you the widest variety of choices among any modestly priced banjo in the world! I have tried to distill the features down for you but I know there are questions you will want to ask.
So, ask away! Contact me at info@deeringbanjos.com for any specific needs regarding these and above all, know that YOU CAN PLAY THE BANJO!