1980s Deering Folk Era Longneck 5-String Banjo

It's been raining (snowing?) gorgeous instruments lately. This one is an absolute beaut and built to a very high spec. Its owner tells me that it's one of a handful of this type built in the early '80s and that checks-out per its original 1980 Deering care manual and case candy bits found in the case. It has a 3072 serial number at the back of the headstock but that appears to be mostly meaningless as far as I can tell.

What makes this special are a number of factors -- first, it's a longneck! I have not seen a Deering longneck from this era before. Have you? Second -- its trim level is both refined and elegant but also lush. There's pearl side-purfling bordering every bit of ivoroid binding you can find on this instrument. The fretboard inlays are clean, light, and pretty as well -- with contrasting white/yellow pearl types.

The rim is a multi-ply maple affair in standard "bluegrass Gibson" style -- complete with a flathead tonering, round bracket-band, and dual coordinator-rod setup. The rim hardware is all high-quality and rugged -- including the adjustable tailpiece. This rim design gives the banjo some real "dig" and outward push and clarity that really suits the lowered (E-tuning) pitch of the un-capo'd extra-long scale length.

The neck is where it's at, though, beauty-wise -- it's a single, dang-long piece of highly-flamed maple. It's also stable in service and bound on every edge. I mean -- it's pretty plush.

As far as I can tell, the instrument is also entirely original. After doing some minor work, it also plays perfectly and effortlessly. It has a sliding, bluegrass-style 5th-string capo that's extremely useful for getting into various keys. There's also a G7 banjo capo in the case pocket.

Repairs included: a very light fret level/dress and a setup.

Rim wood: multi-ply maple

Tonering: flathead

Bridge: ebony/maple (now compensated)

Fretboard: ebony

Neck wood: flamed maple

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast) with 5/8" bridge
String gauges: seems to be 10, 24w, 14, 12, 10 or similar

Neck shape: medium C

Board radius: flat

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium, lots of height

Scale length: 32 1/8"

Nut width: 1 1/4"

Head diameter: 11”

Depth overall at rim: 3 1/8"

Weight: 9 lbs 4 oz

Condition notes: it's all-original and pretty clean throughout. There are very, very minor scratches and scuffs to the finish here and there but you can't see them, really. The head shows the most wear -- with playing-wear evidenced to the sides of the string path.

It comes with: an original hard case, Deering instructional manual, and branded polishing cloths. There's also a G7 banjo capo in the case pocket.