Deering vs Gold Tone
Dan M
musical adventure I've been wanting to take for a long, long time.
Actually, it was this year's Topanga contest that cinched it for me.
I've seen a lot of talk about many of the Deering models in this group.
I am looking at a couple of Gold Tone models... the Bluegrass Specials
(BG-250F) and the Orange Blossoms (OB-250). Can anyone offer any
insight or comparison between these two companies and their work?
robin
it. For the money, the Gold Tone's may be the best value out there. You
will pay substantially more for a Deering but they are considered to be
"professional grade" in the same category as Gibsons, Wildwoods, etc. My
banjo was around $750 including hard shell case and the Deering Sierra (a
lower end model by their own admission) is around $1200. If you want the
'quality' woods in the Deering you get close to and over $2K.
The Gold Tones also seem to retain their value. I saw a used Orange
Blossom at Elderly's for around $650.
others may have very different opinions,
robin
A O Trey
is an inherent problem but besides thqat I am happy with it. Tony Trishka and
Pete Wernick both played it and were impressed at the sound/quality for the
price.
John McCarty
I have owned and played a Deering Maple Blossom for the past 4 1/2 years and
love it, especially the neck. I just recently purchased a Gold Tone White Lady
and have been very pleased with the tone, workmanship, and overall value.
I played the Gold Tone BG 250F and liked it, but I am getting into some old
timey things and thought it better to have an open back for my second banjo.
You cannot go wrong with either. I got the Gold Tone from Janet Davis Music
and was quite pleased with the price and service.
John
Elkins Park, PA
To reply via E-Mail, please remove the "nojunk" from my address
wygyg
the deerings are wonderful machines when set up correctly......and no one
would bad mouth a gold tone.....they are also good buys for the money.
as far as the necks.....the maple blossom is killer....i have set up a dozen
or so of them......very mastertone like....except a faster neck.....
the sleeper in that line is still the calico.....that banjo rocks.....
roger
"John McCarty" <johnw...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20010527183100...@ng-fz1.aol.com...
John McCarty
I never played the Calico. My Gold Tone neck is a little thick for my taste,
but perhaps it is just in contrast to the Maple Blossom. I should have my
Deering set up by someone who knows how to do it. It has a softer tone than I
would like. I have switched to medium strings, installed a Snuffy Smith
bridge, and tighted up on the head, but it still is pretty soft in tone. I am
looking for a little more of a plinky or perhaps a metalic sound.
wygyg
wished i had taken some of my set up tools.....
i bumped into janet v......who i had promised to set up hers........we had
to use make shift tools to do it....but it came out nice......a stelling
white star.....
lovely wood.....
at any rate....i ended up setting up a number of machines for people.
my advice would be to find someone within striking distance who has set up a
lot of machines.....if the maple blossom is set up correctly.....it is
wonderful.
roger (seemingly the only banjo instructor in central illinois)
"John McCarty" <johnw...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20010528135636...@ng-fp1.aol.com...
John McCarty
anything about banjos. I have both of the Seminoff book and have tried to do
the best that I can, but I am not sure that the set up is as good as it can be.
I am not afraid to tinker around with it. I have had is apart to polish up
the nickle parts last year, but did not mess with the neck.
John
Lynn Oliver
Sosebee bridge (http://members.aol.com/fyvestring/sosebee.htm). I've used
them before with excellent results when setting up Deerings.
L.
Bsharpe
read Lynn Oliver's post I do think the sound is a bit soft. I like the sound
but I would like it to be louder and have a bit more "crack" to it.
Also, I have no idea if my banjo is set up like it should be. I took it
down, changed the head (weather king) and polished everything. I read every
set up info guide I could find and have a lot of experience with stringed
instruments, but not banjo. I live on the Central Calif. coast where there
are no qualified banjo tech's that I know of. I was wondering if the best
thing to do would be to send it back to Deering and let them work it over? I
hate to do that because I just got this thing 3 weeks ago and gave my other
one away. But I need to hear it optimized so I have a fresh set up that I
can reference to. Plus I worry that I may have done something that could
cause problems. I don't think so but as this is my first real banjo, I don't
know.
I live close enough to Palo Alto that I could take it to Gryphon Music
but they seem to be more of a guitar store so I don't know how well they do
setting up banjo's. OR, does anyone know of a killer banjo guy in central
Calif.? I live dead in the middle between SF and LA so driving to either is
no biggie if I can get it done that same day. Anyone banjo guys in these
area's?
Thanks, George
John McCarty
Perhaps you can get to a BG festival where they may have a setup person there
who can check or set it up for you. I did not notice much difference in tone
when I changed from the stock Deering bridge to the Snuffy Smith bridge.
John Lawless
johnw...@aol.comnojunk wrote on 5/28/01 8:38 PM:
> My banjo was never set up p[roperly. The place that I bought it did not know
> anything about banjos. I have both of the Seminoff book and have tried to do
> the best that I can, but I am not sure that the set up is as good as it can
> be.
This is exactly why AcuTab produced the banjo setup video that has just
recently been released. The idea was to help both provide the basic info
and expel the fear and uncertainty that comes with early attempts at banjo
set up.
http://www.acutab.com/killertone
----------------------------------------------------------
John Lawless, AcuTab Publications resp...@acutab.com
http://www.acutab.com P.O. Box 21061 Roanoke, VA 24018-0108
540-776-6822 540-776-6827 (FAX)
Steve Huber's banjo set up video: http://www.acutab.com/killertone
robin
wygyg wrote:
<some snippage>
and no one
> would bad mouth a gold tone.....they are also good buys for the money.
except for Peter Roehling who hates them for some reason.
robin
Mike
You might want to think about trying out a Moon bridge on your Golden
Era. They are available from Stew-Mac. When I first got my old RB3
archtop, the sound was so piercing it woul make your ears bleed, but I
knew it could be balanced out. The guy I bought it from is a good
friend, and I played the banjo many times before I bought it. At one
time, he had it set up very well, but he eventually replaced the head
and got things out of whack when he did it. I tinkered with the head
tighteness until it sounded pretty good again, but it took trying out
all of my 20 bridges until I finally settled on the Moon, which gave it
snap and crispness while still keeping the rich mid and bottom that
attracted me to the banjo in the first place.
The Moon bridge gets criticism from some players because it's not
straight. It is curved like a smile, and I know a lot of folks who think
it is compensated the wrong way for the second string. I understand
their ciriticism, but the intonation on the Gibson is just fine- as good
as any of my other banjos when I checked it with a strobe tuner, and the
design sure makes a very rigid bridge- no flex to it whatsoever. Since I
put it on, I've never had a second thought of replacing it with
something else. When I'm happy, I really leave the banjo alone and never
mess further with it.
Stanger
John McCarty
Looks like a great tape! I will hve to put it on my Father's Day gift
suggestion list.
Brittles
<some snippage>
<<<and no one would bad mouth a gold tone.....they are also good buys for the
money.>>>
<< robin thom...@spammersdie.muohio.edu >>
<<except for Peter Roehling who hates them for some reason.>>
I don't think Peter hates them. He was simply being honest about his opinion
based on almost 40 years of messin' 'round with these silly things we all
cherish.
"FOR THE MONEY" is the key term. Most dealers haven't a CLUE how to set up a
good banjo. On an inexpensive one, they wind up loosing money! (Unless they
are doing it to build a long-term client relationship.)
I heard a great Gold Tone BG (probably the high end - An Orange Blossom?).
"For the money" - it was great sounding.
But don't take a shot when Peter talks of craftsmanship. He KNOWS what good
craftsmanship is. He's seen a ton of banjos, at ALL price levels.
Try checking out some Boston-made banjos from 1895 - THEN we can discuss
"craftsmanship" in a knowledgeable way.
The real issue is how to get the appropriate quality of materials,
construction, and finsh, for an appropriate amount of money. Gold Tone does it
pretty well. So do others.
Compromise is involved - it's always a tough call.
Peter was also pointing out the common misconception that they are TOTALLY made
in the US. They aren't (and most products these days aren't!)
The truth is a strict teacher - sometimes pain is involved.
Ed Britt
(Whew! Boy, that came perilously close to rantage!)
Please Remove *UNSPAM* from my address, to e-mail me.
Bsharpe
player at the Camp Rude festival had one on her R&T. They look odd and it's
difficult to comprehend how a curve like that could work. But they must or
the company would not be in business.
This week end when I attend the first meeting of the newly forming Central
Coast banjo club If possible I plan on getting with someone who can really
light it up and hear what my banjo sounds like. Hopefully there will be
someone there who knows there stuff and can help me out. I may hear, "What
the Hell did you do to this poor thing?", or preferably, "Wow, who did your
set up work? this thing kills!" haha. But as I said, I'm happy with the
sound but it could be a bit louder.
Oh, BTW, praise to Janet Davis, my Tail piece and strap arrived today, 5
days earlier than expected. So I'll be busy for a little while. I'll write
a report of how it goes in case anyone may be interested.
Take care ya'll George
wygyg
unfortunately, there are a lot of variables that could be causing your
issues.....
i would go back to the deering heads....they are just right for most
deerings......you may have over stretched yours.....and then went off to the
other brand.
if you want more crack......try the gibson bridge....and sand it thin....you
will get all the crack you want....but, the bridge will not be as
stable.....
the sosobee bridge is pretty good.....try the compensated one.....on
yours.....gary will also do crowe spacing....which most of the deerings seem
to like.....
there is no real perfect set up....after all.....i had geoff stelling set my
bellflower up.....and then i changed it the first day......it is much a
matter of taste.....
hope this helps.....roger
"Bsharpe" <sunny...@myworld.com> wrote in message
news:iYHQ6.7023$X4.11...@nntp2.onemain.com...
Bsharpe
Actually I bought the Golden Era used, it is about 5 years old and looked
to still have the original head on it. I changed it because it looked old
and grungy, I just wanted a new fresh white one. I did want to go with the
Deering head if for nothing else I wanted to logo. But I was trying to get
it set up before the Topanga festival and didn't have time to wait for one.
Unfortunately the salesman gave me an 11.2 head instead of a 11.0 and it was
several days before I could make the 100 mile round trip to exchange it so I
missed competing anyway lol. (as I've mentioned before there is NO banjo
stuff in my area).
But one thing I noticed with the Weather King is that I can't get the
tension ring flush with the head as it was with the Deering head. I did buy
a high crown but the Deering head is noticeably higher. It could be from age
and having stretched but it just looks different and has a much sharper edge
where it falls over the tone ring.
And as for getting it flush, that was one of the things I worried about if
I had over tightened, but I tuned it to about the same pitch as when I got
it. I also used to be a drummer so I know how to tap tune heads. But I have
been keeping a close eye on the flange to make sure it's not warping or
anything.
I guess I will just have to check out all the bridges that have been
suggested and see what works best for me. Oh yea, this Snuffy that I have is
a compensated model, I may have gotten the number wrong but it is
compensated on the 3rd string.
Thanks for your input
Roger,
George
robin
I'm not sure you read the same message I did when he responded in another thread.
He was very damning of them. I think he even said they were the 'worst
craftmanship he ever saw' describing his impression after NAMM. I am no expert but
I thought it was fair to say that not all have the same opinion regarding them as
was suggested in a previous post.
The thread clearly indicated that value was the principal issue, no one claimed
that they were in the league with stellings, wildwoods, etc and even said so. It
was also clear that folks in the thread knew that the parts were made overseas and
imported to be assembled at their factory in Fl. It was in this context that his
(Peter's) very harsh review was given. If folks are considering these, they should
be aware that there are differing views. I am not arguing with his opinion as I
have no basis to do that; I am merely pointing out that it differs from wygyg's.
robin
Brittles wrote:
> <<except for Peter Roehling who hates them for some reason.>>
>
> I don't think Peter hates them. He was simply being honest about his opinion
> based on almost 40 years of messin' 'round with these silly things we all
> cherish.
>
> "FOR THE MONEY" is the key term. Most dealers haven't a CLUE how to set up a
> good banjo. On an inexpensive one, they wind up loosing money! (Unless they
> are doing it to build a long-term client relationship.)
>
> I heard a great Gold Tone BG (probably the high end - An Orange Blossom?).
> "For the money" - it was great sounding.
>
> But don't take a shot when Peter talks of craftsmanship. He KNOWS what good
> craftsmanship is. He's seen a ton of banjos, at ALL price levels.
>
> Try checking out some Boston-made banjos from 1895 - THEN we can discuss
> "craftsmanship" in a knowledgeable way.
>
> <snip>
wygyg
have it.....
roger
"Bsharpe" <sunny...@myworld.com> wrote in message
news:L9VQ6.443$C64.4...@nntp1.onemain.com...
wygyg
i should have qualified myself......i think the gold tones are great
values.....for the price they are asking.....
having said that....i think the goodtime (with the proper set up......) can
hold their own.....and only out $300.
i have one with the accuracy of any gibson.....and i have owned a number of
mastertones.....
it is quiet....but, accurate.....
i have heard the ome open backs are wonderful....but, have not played
one.....
thanks.....roger (wygyg)
"robin" <thom...@spammersdie.muohio.edu> wrote in message
news:3B15017B...@spammersdie.muohio.edu...