We consider the Deering Boston to be a perfect instrument for the talented amateur, or perhaps a fine choice for one’s second banjo (the first banjo chosen is often a Deering Good Time or perhaps a Gold Tone). Until 2010, when it was upgraded cosmetically, the Boston had a white decal headstock logo and no other headstock decoration, and it had dotmarker fingerboard inlays. Structurally, though, it hasn’t changed – the description provided by the maker that follows still applies:
“A great jamming banjo that records well, uniquely Deering, The Boston Banjo breaks with tradition and provides a professional quality sound at a lower price point by creating the drum from 3/16” rolled steel which rings like a tone ring. "The interesting thing about the steel rim is that when we first started making it we went to the San Diego Bluegrass Club. When we got out of the car we could hear the parking lot picking going on and there would always be one banjo that I could hear all the way across the parking lot. We made a game out of going and finding out whose banjo that was, and over a period of time we started to notice that, almost every time, it was a Boston. That steel rim has a really good clarity of tone. It carries well and will project beyond banjos that cost a lot more. We call it the Boston because of the banjo heritage of the city of that name. Over a hundred years ago the whole Mecca of banjos and the banjo world was centered around the city of Boston.” - Greg Deering
About its unusual metal rim, Deering says that it’s “a steel rim with a very pleasant uniform sound that is surprisingly loud. You will find this rim very convincing. Even though the Boston is not one of the highest priced banjos, there are quite a lot of players who just love its distinct sound.”
Our workshop has just cleaned this instrument, provided and installed a new white frosted Mylar head, performed a fret dress, and supplied an appropriate bridge and strings and set it up to perfection. We have installed a new case handle on the original hard shell case. Although the condition is overall very good, and the instrument shows much less in the way of “normal signs of use and wear” than expected, there are areas of chipped binding on the side of the resonator. All five of its geared tuners are Gotoh brand, the headstock tuners being guitar-style. The black bound resonator and the back of the fully adjustable neck are mahogany, and extremely good looking mahogany it is. That 3/16th” thick metal rim produces a sound that is crispy, clean and clear the way any player would like a banjo to sound. Its resonator and neck are each finished in matte (satin) and the fingerboard is ebony. The action is low, comfortable, and the neck shape is inviting and agreeable. Its neck is lithe and limber; you can play it comfortably for hours. New ones list for $1979 – this one can be a welcome member of your immediate family for only:
Our Price WAS $1129 BUT NOW: