History

A Look At 20 Years Of Innovation

By Joe Falletta

BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED Oct '95

In all walks of life you'll find people content to rest on past accomplishments, fame or glory. Two years ago or twenty, they remind you incessantly of what they did. Ask them what they've done lately, though, and you find yourself facing a blank stare.

Then there are those who are never satisfied; who are continually perfecting and innovating, experimenting with new ideas and trying to improve on the old. So it is with the folks at Deering Banjo Company in Lemon Grove, Cal.

Twenty years ago Greg and Janet Deering started out with a dream to build a quality instrument a beginner could afford. Back then, inexpensive beginners' banjos were cheaply made and sounded that way. The plastic or aluminum pots just didn't have the ring of the ones professionals played. Consequently, students quickly became discouraged and gave up shortly after trying to learn to play. (And anything that sounded good cost more than a beginner wanted to shell out.)

So, in 1978, after three years subcontracting banjo parts for a high-end brand the Deerings developed and marketed their Basic and Intermediate banjos featuring a steel pot and a mahogany neck. Their rich tone and easy action still amaze listeners and pickers alike; yet the price was affordable for someone just starting out.

The Deerings could have been satisfied there. Their place in that market was secure; why mess with success? But they weren't. Over the years, they went on to develop a whole line of professional quality instruments from the Sierra and Deluxe models that features a three-ply maple rim and mahogany neck to the Gabriella that features a Brazilian rosewood neck, a mother-of- pearl fingerboard and vine peghead inlay.

The Making of an American Dream

How do you distil 30+ years of dedication to a dream and a promise to "never give up" to one page of text? The answer is you can't! But what I can do is give you a glimpse through a colorful kaleidoscope filled with the events in the lives of Greg and Janet Deering who created what is known to us all as The Deering Banjo Company, makers of the Great American Banjo.

It really does start with "boy meets girl", but the story continues on to include a series of individuals, most you will know by name like, Bob Taylor (of Taylor Guitars), John Hartford, and Jens Kruger; all important markers along the journey to becoming the largest banjo manufacturer in North America.

Greg Deering grew up in San Diego, California. In 1968, while going to college at San Diego State, he became part of a group of like-minded individuals who called themselves The American Dream. This group included a young Bob Taylor, Kurt Listug, Sam Radding, and customer, Geoff Stelling, and friend, James Goodall. San Diego fostered many craftsmen who went on to become some of the top acoustic instrument makers in the world. Everyone shared the qualities of perseverance, dedication to a goal, fortitude, love of crafting acoustic instruments, and just good old American hard work. Participation in "The American Dream" gave Greg his repair experience and proved his banjo building skill as he made his first handmade Deering banjo.