Deering introduces Goodtime Blackgrass

Deering Banjos has introduced a new model, the latest in their growing line of Goodtime banjos.

The Goodtimes were specially designed some years ago to allow the company to offer an American-made student instrument at a price attractive to new pickers. When it was first introduced, the single model was an open back banjo, made entirely of maple, with no fingerboard, and painted fret markers instead of inlays. They were immediately popular with consumers, and requests started coming in for other options. Soon there was a resonator version, and before long Deering started making fancier models which they call the Artisan Goodtimes.

Now there are more than 30 different models available, including tenor banjos, longneck banjos, electric banjos, and more, all falling into this lower priced category. The most basic start under $400, with some more ornate instruments running up to $1,000. While that may not sound inexpensive, it is a good bit less than what you would expect to pay for a professional banjo.

The latest from the desk of Deering’s design team is the Goodtime Blackgrass. It is an all maple banjo, like the rest of the Blonde Seies, but with all the wood stained black, and the metal parts given a matte black powder finish. They even install a black mylar head and a black bridge! The end result is a nearly all black banjo, excepting the tuners.

Otherwise the Blackgrass is a standard 11” pot banjo, with a 26.25” scale length. The headstock has a special Blackgrass logo, imprinted in gold. It carries a retail price of $1199 for either a right or left handed version.

Deering offers a 6 year warranty on this model, which is available from dealers all over the world.

You can find more information and additional photos online.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.