Another thing for beginners. You are not going to find people who play an instrument friendlier to beginners than the banjo. I played the guitar for about 38 years before I ever bought a banjo and was a pretty good performing,, folk, old time, blues and bluegrass guitar player when I bought my first banjo. I was shocked at how helpful and friendly local banjo players of all types were to me, giving me lessons, giving me tips, helping me set up the banjo easuier, giving me good deals and advice on getting better b anjos. If you are a starter banjo player or have a child who is, I would not be shy about reaching out to local banjo players to get some help and support both about playing and about how to take care of the instrument. Banjos are a classic example of 19th century mechanical hand manufacutre design. Even the most inexpensive banjo can be adjusted to have a better tone or be easier to play or to suit the taste of its owner. But find other banjo players if you at all can Thanks dan
epiphone is making great instruments. they're owned by Gibson,and I played both, and I'll take an epiphone led Paul over a Gibson every day. I won't pay 1000 bucks extra for the name on the headstock
Yeah I think the same as you but in 2020 they’ve gone downhill to be honest, I don’t know if it’s cause of COVID or what but this year the fit and finish and even basic setup of their guitars has been a crap shoot, could get a good one or a bad one.
My advice would be save a little harder and longer and buy the Goodtime . It will stay in tune good and feel right & sound right without changing anything. The fact that Deering can make these things in the USA and I can still afford to buy one for only about £100 more than a Chinese knock - off in the UK is a wonderful thing. I have played guitar for 30+ years and these days you can get a surprisingly good ,cheap electric guitar. I have to say, this not the case with acoustic instruments including banjos. If you actually live in the USA- Buy American !! Deering deserve your custom !!
I have a Deering. That Epiphone sounded terrible. I would recommend to a beginner to buy a Deering. The quality of their entry level banjos are so much better than the cheap priced banjos that one might find on the internet.
How's the wood quality? Comparable? How accurate is the machining? Equal tension? Straight hooks? Any signs of sloppy workmanship? Do the tuners hold or slip? How even are the fret heights? Any noticeable gaps where the wood joins? You didn't tell us ANYTHING that isn't already a given... new strings, bridge, basic setup...
Nice comparison of inexpensive starter banjos instead of talking all about the more expensive models., If you are a beginniner and cannot invest a lot in a banjo or just a poor person these banjos are important. Most of the great traditioal old time banjo artists had cheap imported banjos the equivalent of these when folkies and old time music buffs came upon them in the 1950s and 60s. Often if I see ome of the old banjoists I study in a photo holding a quality boston banjo like a white lady or tubaphone, it ends up that the banjo was loaned to them by a banjo player or folklorist I know and it is a banjo I have played. One thing I would advise someone buying an inexpensive banjo like this or winding up with one like Dan did is to find someone like Dan who can do setup, that is adjusting the bridge, perhaps changing the string, and manipulating the head so it sounds better. I have seen amazing improvements in a good time banjo I had done when a great banjo player and collector came by our home and adjusted all of the banjos from my 19th century fairbanks down to the goodtime! Especially if you are aiming for an old-time sound, putting some kind of cushioning under the bridge and up where the neck joins the head (inside the head) will also muffle out some of the tiny sound such banjos can have. I started out on a Good time myself I have had about 7 banjos since, but the most important to me was that insxpesive one, it seems so magic that night years ago I took the thing home and felt like a little kid with the wonder of the banjo
I have the epiphone, good cheap banjo to learn with. Pain in the ass to restring. I can't stand the tailpiece. Hook AND a damn hole! so annoying. I need a new bridge too. The G(5th) string created a notch, so I had to take a thin sharp knife blade and made as small of a slit as I could to stop the string from slipping out. I like to think I can recognize a long island accent. Am I right?
+MaynardOwns NO, Not Long Island. I'm Originally From "The Bronx" Thanks for checking out the Vid. Deering is Definitely the way to go, I own 3 of them now.
Well, technically Bronx is one of the five boroughs. But the argument could be made about it being part of Long Island. I wasn't far off. When I get some more practice in and find it fitting to buy a more expensive banjo I will definitely consider Deering.
+MaynardOwns Not at all the Bronx is the ONLY PART OF NEW YORK CITY THAT IS NOT ON AN ISLAND BUT ON THE REGUL;AR NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT. In fact most of NY city if counted by population and area is on Long Island since Queens and Brooklyn are both located on Long Island
+Tony Thomas Yes, you are correct. Don't know why geographically I always think Bronx is part of the "Fish's head" I think I subconsciously connect it to queens for some reason all while forgetting about Kings.
Deering is overpriced junk. 1000$ and it doesn't even have a truss rod. Don't make recommendations when your experience is limited to 1 or 2 brands. You don't have the experience to do any recommendations.
"I don't play because I'm good, I play because I like to!" Thanks for the video! Thumbs up!
Keep Pickin' N' Grinin' ... Godspeed
Another thing for beginners. You are not going to find people who play an instrument friendlier to beginners than the banjo. I played the guitar for about 38 years before I ever bought a banjo and was a pretty good performing,, folk, old time, blues and bluegrass guitar player when I bought my first banjo. I was shocked at how helpful and friendly local banjo players of all types were to me, giving me lessons, giving me tips, helping me set up the banjo easuier, giving me good deals and advice on getting better b anjos. If you are a starter banjo player or have a child who is, I would not be shy about reaching out to local banjo players to get some help and support both about playing and about how to take care of the instrument. Banjos are a classic example of 19th century mechanical hand manufacutre design. Even the most inexpensive banjo can be adjusted to have a better tone or be easier to play or to suit the taste of its owner. But find other banjo players if you at all can
Thanks dan
This entire video made me smile, thank you.
"As good as any to screw up" you made my day :)
epiphone is making great instruments.
they're owned by Gibson,and I played both, and I'll take an epiphone led Paul over a Gibson every day.
I won't pay 1000 bucks extra for the name on the headstock
Yeah I think the same as you but in 2020 they’ve gone downhill to be honest, I don’t know if it’s cause of COVID or what but this year the fit and finish and even basic setup of their guitars has been a crap shoot, could get a good one or a bad one.
My advice would be save a little harder and longer and buy the Goodtime . It will stay in tune good and feel right & sound right without changing anything. The fact that Deering can make these things in the USA and I can still afford to buy one for only about £100 more than a Chinese knock - off in the UK is a wonderful thing.
I have played guitar for 30+ years and these days you can get a surprisingly good ,cheap electric guitar. I have to say, this not the case with acoustic instruments including banjos. If you actually live in the USA- Buy American !! Deering deserve your custom !!
Love my Deering Goodtime Special
I have a Deering. That Epiphone sounded terrible. I would recommend to a beginner to buy a Deering. The quality of their entry level banjos are so much better than the cheap priced banjos that one might find on the internet.
That cheered me right up 😁
How's the wood quality? Comparable? How accurate is the machining? Equal tension? Straight hooks? Any signs of sloppy workmanship? Do the tuners hold or slip? How even are the fret heights? Any noticeable gaps where the wood joins? You didn't tell us ANYTHING that isn't already a given... new strings, bridge, basic setup...
Epiphone was making banjos before Deering even started making them!!
So were a lot of other companies.... Most of whom are no longer in business.
Nice comparison of inexpensive starter banjos instead of talking all about the more expensive models., If you are a beginniner and cannot invest a lot in a banjo or just a poor person these banjos are important. Most of the great traditioal old time banjo artists had cheap imported banjos the equivalent of these when folkies and old time music buffs came upon them in the 1950s and 60s. Often if I see ome of the old banjoists I study in a photo holding a quality boston banjo like a white lady or tubaphone, it ends up that the banjo was loaned to them by a banjo player or folklorist I know and it is a banjo I have played. One thing I would advise someone buying an inexpensive banjo like this or winding up with one like Dan did is to find someone like Dan who can do setup, that is adjusting the bridge, perhaps changing the string, and manipulating the head so it sounds better. I have seen amazing improvements in a good time banjo I had done when a great banjo player and collector came by our home and adjusted all of the banjos from my 19th century fairbanks down to the goodtime! Especially if you are aiming for an old-time sound, putting some kind of cushioning under the bridge and up where the neck joins the head (inside the head) will also muffle out some of the tiny sound such banjos can have. I started out on a Good time myself
I have had about 7 banjos since, but the most important to me was that insxpesive one, it seems so magic that night years ago I took the thing home and felt like a little kid with the wonder of the banjo
I have the epiphone, good cheap banjo to learn with. Pain in the ass to restring. I can't stand the tailpiece. Hook AND a damn hole! so annoying. I need a new bridge too. The G(5th) string created a notch, so I had to take a thin sharp knife blade and made as small of a slit as I could to stop the string from slipping out.
I like to think I can recognize a long island accent. Am I right?
+MaynardOwns NO, Not Long Island. I'm Originally From "The Bronx"
Thanks for checking out the Vid. Deering is Definitely the way to go, I own 3 of them now.
Well, technically Bronx is one of the five boroughs. But the argument could be made about it being part of Long Island. I wasn't far off.
When I get some more practice in and find it fitting to buy a more expensive banjo I will definitely consider Deering.
+MaynardOwns Not at all the Bronx is the ONLY PART OF NEW YORK CITY THAT IS NOT ON AN ISLAND BUT ON THE REGUL;AR NORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT. In fact most of NY city if counted by population and area is on Long Island since Queens and Brooklyn are both located on Long Island
+Tony Thomas Yes, you are correct. Don't know why geographically I always think Bronx is part of the "Fish's head" I think I subconsciously connect it to queens for some reason all while forgetting about Kings.
mb100 is pure garbage not worth 1 dollar.. had one and it fell apart as u play it. epiphone is pure dumpster garbage.
Deering is overpriced junk. 1000$ and it doesn't even have a truss rod. Don't make recommendations when your experience is limited to 1 or 2 brands. You don't have the experience to do any recommendations.