Deering (new) John Hartford with pop off resonator

Tag N^o 78-7214 New

#K737, with Grenadilla tone ring and hard shell case.

This model comes factory-equipped with the famous Granadilla tone ring – a wooden tone ring made of the same type of material as xylophones or marimbas use – except that with those instruments the player strikes the bars with mallets while banjo players are driven away from bars with mallets. This wood, which everybody agrees is handsome (at least its got its good looks) is also used for making flutes and other wind instruments. Other names for this wood include red ebony, or Grenada cocos. It is known, as well as for being handsome, for its old-timey, traditional response while retaining considerable tonal complexity. Volume is additionally enhanced by the addition of the “Pop-On” Resonator – a curly maple veneered dish with a one-piece back, five-ply black-white purfling around said back, two-ply on each side, held in place by four plush-covered metal receivers that hug the hollow tube through which all 24 brackets pass, so that, by just gently pulling the resonator back at an angle, it will “pop off” in a most delightful way, right into your waiting hand. By this manner you can instantly play open-back or, by pressing it back on, resonator-back, five-string banjo, just as John Hartford intended. The headstock is considerably yet delicately inlaid with mother of pearl scrollwork including the “Deering” name in stylized block letters. There is, as well, a black, wraithlike, plastic truss rod cover held in place by two screws so that the neck’s orientation can always be straight. The first fret is a flourish of stately pearl with two f-hole shapes facing one another; the 8th and 9th frets are more mirror image f-hole shapes and another separate but equal scepter, the next to the last fret says “Hartford” and a vine that’s inlaid at the 22nd fret extends up to border the etched block with our namesake’s moniker. All tuners are geared with pearloid buttons, the fingerboard and resonator are bound in ivoroid (that’s a lot of oid) and the inside of the rim is mahogany with twin nickel-plated coordinator rods running through it. It is also quite light in weight for a resonator banjo, weighing in with resonator on at only 8 pounds 2.5 ounces. The sound is sweet and highbrow, a banjo this beautiful will raise many an eyebrow. This versatile instrument puts the “hot” in “Hartford.”
The Deering List Price is $5,063

Our Price is $3,797.00.

Purchase Now!
Add to Cart Inquire
about purchasing Add this to your
Want List Tell a Friend
about this instrument