reasonable price for a Deering Goodtime

[rossco]

I've got my eyes on one that is two years old. If it is in good time, what would be a good price to pay for a Deering Goodtime Spesial Open Back (maple)? I've seen it for 275 GBP ono.

[phil]

My worthless advice:

Well, its available new for £459 from Eagle Music Shop, they don't seem to be very often for sale in the UK, and they are made in the USA, so if your one is in good condition I would humbly and tentatively suggest that it is a reasonable, but maybe not a fabulous deal.

I have heard it said (though maybe by Deerings!) that people often buy the Goodtime as a first banjo but keep it when they upgrade cos they like them so much.

I will leave it for others much better qualified than myself to comment on whether your money would be better spent on a different banjo. {Just noticed Danny's comments elsewhere regarding the Goodtime - he rates them highly - so maybe that answers that question.}

Anyway, good luck and let us know your decision.

Phil

[PeteG]

It might be a good idea to try an Ozark 2109G banjo first - These can be found for under £200 new and are played and recommended by none less than John Dowling - do a youtube search for him and there are plenty of examples of him playing one. I think they are basically the same banjo as a Goodtime but considerably less.

Hope that helps

Pete

[karaokeb]

Hi Rossco,

It is difficult to advise on a S/H instrument but as a rule of thumb I would want to know where it was originally purchased from as set up for the Goodtime is important. If it came from Eagle music and has not been abused too much during its life then it is a possibility. Personally I do not like the way the head stock is attached to the neck, used to work for Swish the curtain rail and wooden pole manufactures and we used to join our poles in the same way - only difference being you could hardly see our joints but the examples of the neck joints I looked at eagle music were terrible you could see a 2 to 3 mm line of glue. Having said that Derring give a life long Guarantee on the neck but you would need to find out if that would be transferable to you.

If you look on Banjo hangout you will see a lot of comment on the Goodtime and I believe I have seen some people who have had neck problems warping etc in the majority of cases they were the original purchasers and Deering replaced the necks FOC so it is vital that you get written confirmation that the guarantee is transferable and transfer it to your name.

Hope this helps you to make the correct decision.


Brian

[karaokeb]

Hello folkies,

I have done a review of a Rally California which is the same instrument as the Ozark 2019g on this site. Whilst they look similar to the Deering Goodtime instruments there is no connection what so ever. The Ozark/rally instruments are made in the far east have a different neck construction and as a general rule heavier components - depending where they are purchased in this country there may be some hand finishing done on them prior to sale. In addition they have two adjusting rods in the pot against the Goodtime which only has one.

Deering Goodtimes are made in the USA the pot and neck being made there - the metal components however may well be sourced from the far east.

Taking into consideration that the Deerings are double the price of the Rally/Ozark instruments I think the far eastern offering represent very good value for money if they are set up correctly.


Brain

[bublnsqueak]

If you are just starting, one option is to could buy a real cheap and nasty banjo to see if you like it!

Thats what I did. The cheap chinese banjo was £70 on ebay. An old german Kay would also fit the bill.

I upgraded later. The cheapy now lives on my boat (where it may get wet / trodden on) and I now own six banjos of varying quality.

A friend of mine says that "life is too short for cheap instruments but his boat is drier than mine and his pockets deeper.

Paul

[rossco]

Thanks for all of the replies guys. I do think that I'll get a Deering Goodtime - Eagle Music has the basic model online for 279, which is great value. I'm pretty set on getting a higher spec model and I'm happy to wait a little while if that's what it takes. I know that if I get a cheap model, I won't end up upgrading for years to come. I'd rather make the investment now.

I don't have any worries about whether or not I'll end up 'liking it'. I've been playing fingerstyle country blues guitar for a few years now and I've been watching the daily frail for about as long. Pretty weird that it's taken me this long to get a banjo actually. I've just found Pat's friendly manner and great teaching addictive, even if I haven't been playing along.

Whatever I end up getting, I'll be sure to post here. Thanks for all of your thoughts and suggestions, I really appreciate folks taking the time.

[banjorob]

I'm probably too late with this piece of advice , but here goes anyway.. My first 5 string started life as a 1920's Clifford Essex Mandolin banjo, but because the neck was damaged , I asked Andybanjo what he could do with it. His advice was to convert it to a 5 string frailing banjo, so I sent it to him, and few weeks later it returned, I was more than impressed, Andy did a superb job, and it cost me in total about £250 including original purchase price,

[Danny]

Sounds like a nice banjo Rob.

I got my 1st banjo from him, he's a good straight honest fella.

Does your banjo have a smaller pot size than the standard 11 inches seeing as it started out life as a mando?

Also we have a new review section now, why not give us all the gossip in their?

[banjorob]

Hi Danny
It's 11" 20 brackets, it's a lovely banjo, but I don't play so much now I have a GoldTone WL250, and that has much more volume to cut through when I'm playing a folk club etc. I am buying a 1920's Washburn style 17 fret tenor at the momenent just put a deposit on it. Looking forward to that. I like to play the tenor, but sssssold my last one a while back.
When I have the tenor I will comment on it in the review section..

[banjorob]

I made one or two mistakes on that last post, and I can't see where to edit it, I meant to say Washburn style c tenor , and I don't play the Clifford Essex much 'coz I have the GT now,

[Danny]

EDIT

Hey Rob

Sounds like you've got a nice collection of banjo's going on their. If we're both real lucky we might be able to compare banjos some day

Danny

P.S. To edit a post you made, make sure you're logged in, then at the top right hand side of the post you want to edit, click MODIFY. Hope that helps

[banjorob]

Cheers Danny, I will look for that in future, yes I do tend to collect, but then I have to sell the odd one to raise cash for the next one.
I only keep the the ones I really love...
Rob

[scanbran]

The Goodtime is a great banjo.

I just bought one from Eagle Music as a back-up/alternative, and I have been playing it non-stop since Christmas.

You won't regret getting a Goodtime - mine is the 'Special' with the new 2010 steel tone ring, and the other good thing is that they seem to hold their value quite well.