The Twelfth Fret
Thirty-two years ago a small shop specializing in fretted instrument repair,
Their workshop, manned by 6 full time luthiers with an impressive combined experience of over 200 years in guitar building, “was immediately swamped with work and has remained so for the past 32 years.” Dan Charman retired in 1984, and Dave Wren joined Grant as a full partner and remains so today. The 70’s and 80’s kept the workshop bustling with repairs and custom orders. During that time Deering banjos became the chosen line carried by this knowledgeable, industrious store. “It was the acoustic renaissance of the 1990’s that pushed us to become dedicated full stocking Deering Banjo dealers in 1992.” In 2000 they moved to a new building and where they now had room for large selection of Bluegrass instruments.
Twelfth Fret has become Canada’s premier source for banjos and a Master Dealer for the Deering Banjo Company. Why Deering Banjos? Here is what Grant MacNeil had to say.
“From a luthier’s point of view, Deering woodwork, joinery, build quality and hardware fit is superb. Deering constantly strives to improve and over the past decade we have seen many subtle changes in finish, tone rings, and hardware plus spectacular new models such as the Tenbrooks series. Greg and Janet Deering have early roots as a custom banjo shop. They are now a world-class, large scale manufacturer but that said, their ability to work directly with the professional players, skills developed in their early years, helps them constantly improve and innovate. Recent changes in the Deering tone ring , tailpiece, tuners, inlays, and finishes illustrate Deering’s efforts to be the best that they can be.
Greg Deering has worked closely with Jens Kruger in creation of the new Tenbrooks series of banjos, built around the amazing Swiss Ruetschi Bell Foundry tone ring. The new Tenbrooks tone ring and flange combined with the ne-plus-ultra inlay appointments gives us a banjo that is truly unique in tonal complexity and overtone partials.
At the same time, Deering Banjos has not forgotten the beginners need an affordable starter banjo that is easy to play and has great tone. The Deering Goodtime banjos are simple, no-frills instruments, built by Deering in the USA that remain in our opinion, the sweetest sounding beginner banjos available anywhere! Here at Twelfth Fret we are thrilled to carry Deering banjos and every month we eagerly anticipate each and every shipment of new Deering banjos.”
Twelfth Fret’s genuine enthusiasm for the Deering banjo line, their unique focus on customer education and a full line of services, as well as a large and varied selection of banjos have made Twelfth Fret a success.
“A full understanding of the complex effects of maple vs. mahogany, tone ring construction, flange, tailpiece, head tension, head thickness, bridge height, and neck angle has on the overall tone of a banjo is an essential skill that we use daily when recommending banjos to our customers,” said Grant. With this wonderful knowledge and over 30 different models of Deering banjos and a varied selection of Goodtime banjos, it is no wonder that his customers return again and again.
Twelfth Fret ships world-wide on a daily basis, specializing in remote locations! They welcome emails and phone calls and are ready with a thorough list of questions to ask their customers to help them make the right selection for their playing needs.
Make Twelfth Fret a “must see” if you are in Toronto! Travel the world-wide web if you can’t make it to them in person at www.12fret.com
Whatever you do, don’t miss the opportunity to communicate in some way with this Masterful Deering Dealer!
