2010s Deering Goodtime 5-String Banjo w/Pickup

A customer of mine has gone banjo-crazy and is accumulating nice old banjos left and right. This was one of the rigs he learned-on, so it's now excess for him. Goodtimes are extremely popular in our neck of the woods and I see them here all the time for setups and adjustments throughout the year. They're sturdy, no-frills, practical instruments and they look good and sound good doing it.

This one's no different and it's quite clean and only shows the mildest use-wear here and there. Tone is warm and mellow and a coordinator rod setup for the neck attachment and a multi-ply maple rim gives one confidence in the ruggedness of the overall build. The neck's fast and easy, too, with enough width at the nut that you don't choke-out when playing complicated passages.

And, yes, this is the version that comes with a pickup (K&K-style but not K&K) installed under the head so it's ready-to-go for live work.

Repairs included: fret level dress, cleaning, restring, bridge compensation, setup.

Made by: Deering
Model: Goodtime
Made in: USA

Rim wood: maple
Tonering: none
Bridge: maple/ebony
Fretboard: none
Neck wood: maple
Tone: warm, mellow, sweet, relaxed

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast/low)
String gauges: 9, 20w, 12, 10, 9 (lights, go no heavier)
Neck shape: slim C
Board radius: flat
Truss rod: none
Neck relief: tiny relief at pitch (under 1/32" overall warp)
Fret style: medium

Scale length: 26 1/8"
Nut width: 1 1/4"
String spacing at nut: 1"
String spacing at bridge: 1 11/16"
Head diameter: 11”
Depth overall at rim: 2 3/4"
Weight: 4 lb 4 oz

Condition notes: it's very clean -- looks like it's just been hanging in a shop for a year or two. My one complaint with Deering Goodtimes is that there is no reinforcement in the necks and no truss rod, so they're prone to developing warp or twist when abused that can't be "dialed-out" by the layman. This one hasn't been abused, but the neck still gains a light upbow (under 1/32" overall, so it's basically "straight" but I'm obsessive so I mention it) when the strings are tuned to pitch. Because of this I always suggest 9s as the heaviest strings to put on Goodtimes. Every Goodtime I've seen strung with 10s or heavier has always had neck trouble. I lightly leveled and dressed the frets on this one before setup to ameliorate some of this.