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The Maple Blossom is an excellent banjo with a crisp, clear tone. The Eastern hard rock
maple neck and resonator are stained a walnut color, and trimmed in
white binding with a decorative black stripe. The feel of binding
provides a more comfortable neck. Flower shaped mother-of-pearl
inlays are set in an ebony fingerboard. The three-ply maple rim, sand
cast virgin bell bronze tone-ring and zinc flange construction generate
an excellent tone in the Maple Blossom. These features and price
make the Maple Blossom one of the favorites.
"I recently received my Deering Maple Blossom. I am delighted! I'm
impressed by not only that Deering tone, sound clarity, and ease of
playing, but also by the feeling I get in my bones from its resonance.
You make great banjos! Thanks."
Dino Costanzo,
Wallingford, CT
"Just a note to let you know that the Deering reputation has reached
the town of Sonip, Turkey. I presently own a "Maple Blossom" and
really find it to be an instrument of superior quality. To see what else is
available on the market at half the quality and double the price, it's not
hard to realize that my investment in a Deering banjo was a wise
decision."
Jim Green
APO, NY
The JOHN HARTFORD
The John Hartford model has two very special advantages. First -- it
is lighter weight than most other bluegrass banjos, and secondly it has
an amazing tone. It sounds like a vintage pre-war banjo. But the
unusual thing is that as it ages, it "plays-in" like a violin and gains in
volume and presence the more it is played. We've seen it out-do
even the best bronze tone-ring banjos in jam sessions.
The Hartford is made of flamed maple and stained to a warm brown. It has the look of a vintage instrument, not glossy, but hand rubbed to create a smooth, fast feel. The "steamboat gothic" inlay pattern reflects John's enthusiasm for steamboats.
Greg's years of experience with various woods combined with John's
research into the design of vintage banjos culminated in the idea of
using a "Granadillo tone-ring" made from a wood used on marimbas.
This unique tone-ring is mounted on a three-ply maple rim with a zinc
flange to create a wood-rim, lighter weight (8 lbs instead of 11 or 12)
banjo a very good choice for bluegrass as well as other styles!
With the custom option of a pop-on resonator, and assembling the banjo with a light weight tube for open-back playing, you can have a banjo which is easily convertible from open-back to bluegrass style, weighing 6 lbs with the resonator and only 5 lbs without -- the same as a guitar! (shown on page 2 & 3).
More expensive to produce than a bell bronze tone-ring, the Hartford tone-ring comes standard on the John Hartford model and can be ordered as a custom option on other models from the Sierra on up the line.
The Hartford has the most surprisingly wonderful tone. You can listen
to it on John Hartford's "Down the River" and "Hartford & Hartford"
albums. Other models featuring the Hartford tone ring can be heard on
recent albums by David Holt, John McCutcheon, Tom Chapin, Elmer
Bird, and The Kingston Trio.
THE 24 FRET JOHN HARTFORD BANJO
We have continued to develop new ideas with John Hartford and Dave
Dick and are producing a Hartford design that is new in banjos. John's
new albums and performances feature what looks like the regular
Hartford model but with two new features.
We added two extra frets at the 23rd and 24th position which only add about 1/2" in length to the neck so it still fits into a regular banjo case. And the delightful thing is that it moves the placement of the bridge closer to the center of the head and brings out the full sound of the banjo. With this improvement in the design of his banjo John is now able to play two complete octaves up the neck.
The second new feature is a 20 hold bell bronze tone-ring (like the Golden Era) and maple rim construction on this new Hartford banjo. To order, simply specify the "24-fret Hartford" banjo. You can hear John's new banjo on his albums "Going Back to Dixie" and "The Walls We Bounce Off Of" and in concert. You've got to hear it to believe it! It's truly astounding.
