What Makes A Great Banjo?

A great banjo is defined by the artistic/musical desires and requirements of banjo players.  

At Deering, we would no more tell Michaelangelo what brushes to use to paint the ceiling of Sistine Chapel than tell Bela Fleck or Jens Kruger  what kind of banjo to play.  We might make brushes for Michaelangelo, or build a banjo for Bela or Jens, but after that, our job is done.... It’s up to YOU, the artist, to create the beautiful art and music we all love.

Some banjo companies are so focused on “their idea of tone”, that they dismiss what the players think and they advertise to consumers ideas like “only their brand is good enough” or theirs is like driving an expensive, British luxury car.

Deering doesn’t label any one banjo design as “the best in the world” and then arrogantly hype it to the players of the world. We make many superb banjos, that are quite different from each other, to work for the many, many, wonderful styles of music and each one requires very specific design requirements to work for that style. 

Deering is the most popular American made banjo in the world, because we build what players want. But, the question remains, what makes a GREAT banjo?  

The DESIGN of a banjo, is the “idea” or “the recipe” for a banjo’s tone and playability.  The fit of the parts, the material and shape of the neck, shape, fit and material of the tone ring etc, are specified in the design.

The materials used to build a banjo like the material in the tone ring, the rim, the tailpiece, the neck, the flange etc are the “ingredients” for the recipe. The quality of craftsmanship is the “magic” that brings together the banjo’s design with world class materials to create a great banjo. In the next series of articles, we will look at the design, materials and quality of craftsmanship that makes a truly great banjo.