Deering Goodtime A/E Banjo

It’s electric!

This banjo is light and easy to play. It’s got simple construction but feels secure. The acoustic sound is effective and through an electric guitar amp it still sounds like a banjo because the skin has a stronger influence on the string vibration than an acoustic guitar soundboard would. I’ve played this in stage using a silent jack into clean valve amp and swapping back and forth between this banjo and a single coil guitar and the level is pretty similar (as the pickup in the Goodtime banjo is a little further from the strings and presumably a bit stronger since it’s a humbucker). All in a great experience and feedback well under control.

Great pickups sound system. Not the best choice for acoustic sound but for the price more than acceptable. The neck is quite comfortable and playable.

Was expecting more from the pickup. Was let down a little.

Awesome Budget Banjo

This is a great instrument for blues and bluegrass banjo. Great quality, sharp sound and stays in tune and just the right loudness to be able to play unplugged with a guitar and washboard.

The mic is great as well, for the price that is. On my other banjos I've installed mics myself. Transducers. They sometimes sound better but you easily get strong feedback when playing with effect pedals. On this banjo, on the other hand, you won't have to install anything yourself and you can play with lots of effects on stage without experiencing feedback.

It's also light and robust. It's very clean in its design and it looks quite cheap and boring until you notice the intarcia on the fretboard. But if you're used to playing budget banjos (less than 1000 Euros) for whatever reason, you'll love this thing.

I can't give it a 5 for sound since the isn't awesome, but the best one I've used with effect pedals and bottlenecks.