We all have our heroes - folks we admire and want to imitate. Whether it is choosing their running shoes, their golf clubs, or their instruments, we feel that part of their success comes about because of the choices they have made. When it comes to professional musicians, their instrument is also their livelihood. This means the standards for a professional are particular, personal, demanding, and discerning - much like any person who wants to be at their best. So why would a professional choose Deering for his/her banjo?
The professional is usually looking for a particular sound, voice, or tone in his/her banjo because he/she wants it to fit the kind of music they play. While this may sound simple, it is actually a bit more complicated than you might think. The tone of a banjo is a delicate balance of all the components fitted together in a very exacting manner so that they all work together in concert to achieve a glorious sound. Creating this for a professional means combining tone rings, tonal woods, scale lengths, number of strings, amplification needs, and gauge of strings that combined will achieve that “perfect” accompaniment for his/her personal style. Deering is the only company with the ability to make this happen.
Deering endorsing artists come from all genres of music. Here at Deering we believe there is no music that cannot be played on a banjo and our endorsing artists prove that point for us. Certainly the Kingston Trio is far different from Mumford & Sons and they are as different as Eric Church is from Steve Martin. Yet all of these artists play Deering banjos and their banjos are uniquely created to suit their music.
Long neck banjos have been part of the American music scene since the day that Pete Seeger first introduced them to the music of the folk era. Deering is one of the few companies who still make a variety of long neck banjos including the Vega long neck made even more popular by the Kingston Trio.
While the 6-string banjo has been used since the days of Django Reinhardt, today the Deering Banjo Company makes 7 different models to choose from. With a variety of tonal woods and tone ring combinations they are chosen by folk, country music, jazz, and rock-n-roll artists. The beauty of the 6-string banjo is that a guitar player can take his existing playing skills and transfer them to a Deering 6-string and become an “instant” banjo player. The long list of Deering 6-string endorsees is proof that they appreciate the easy transition and new voice it adds to their performances.
The music of 4 and 5-string banjos is even more diverse. With lively Celtic tunes, flowing Irish ballads, and sparkling traditional jazz, the 4-string banjos at Deering can be made to create the right amount of sparkle and life needed to please any audience. The world is familiar with bluegrass and clawhammer music but classical music is equally as beautiful on a 5-string as those who have heard the original classical compositions of Jens Kruger will testify.
What does it come down to? Deering can create what an artist needs. And that means that Deering will take that same care to create the banjo you need. We all want to make music. Make 2015 the Year of the Banjo in your life. Let us build your dream banjo.