Just as a car needs the oil changed, and the engine tuned up now and then, so your banjo periodically needs to be tightened up and adjusted.Greg Deering remembers what it was like to want a good banjo and not be able to afford one, so he created the Goodtime banjos. Some background info from Deering The Boston has quite a history behind it.Now that you own a Deering banjo, you will find that banjo maintenance will become a big part of your banjo-playing career. This is a well-cared for instrument exhibiting little if any wear. This beauty produced in September of 2002, is in excellent condition as the photos show. Offered for sale, 2002 Deering Boston 5-string banjo serial number 09422102 B347.If you want your banjo to retain it's value, you must maintain it. It can't be left out in the sun, or in a hot car, or taken out in freezing weather without considerable harm coming to it. Realize that your banjo is a delicate instrument. If you were to play your banjo without doing anything to maintain or adjust it, you would find that soon it could be losing it's original sound, picking up rattles, and becoming less enjoyable to play. With the exception of the Grand Ole Opry, the NAMM 100 th Anniversary model, or today’s Midnight Special, you will not find a serial number anywhere on a Goodtime banjo. To clear up a big confusion for many of you let me start by saying that most Goodtime banjos do not have serial numbers.
Deering Banjo S Serial Number 09422102 B347Since the rim is stamped 'PAT.APPLD FOR', and the Patent application was in September, 1925, it must have been made. The first number is the lot number, and second is the bin number. The serial number is 8104-10. The exact date of manufacture is unknown, although it seems to be in late 1925. Gift of John McNeill, Springfield, South Dakota, 2008.My banjo started life as a tenor banjo Granada. Tenor banjo by Ludwig & Ludwig, Chicago, ca. This maintenance manual will provide a thorough outline of what you can do to keep your banjo as nice as it was the day you bought it.Extension Nut: 10/24" x 3/4" x 5/16" Coupling Nut (Boston banjos only)Coordinator Rod Nut: 15/16" Hex Nut National Fine, Use a 1/2" wrench There are things that you need to do after each playing and things that only need doing every few months, depending on how much you play. For several years, the Vega Martin banjo was an amalgam of parts from Massachusetts and Nazareth, PA.It isn't difficult to maintain your banjo, if you understand what needs to be done. By the Deering Banjo Company. Paralucent font download freeIf you don't wipe the metal parts off, the acid from your skin will react with the metal and tarnish or eat it away as time goes by. Wipe the fingerprints and smudges off the metal parts with a clean cotton rag then run the cloth up and down the strings and fingerboard. It is best to develop a routine to do every time you put your banjo away. Don't worry - you'll just need new frets. This will protect it from being knocked around and insulate it against changes in humidity and temperature.Both wood and metal parts should be cleaned and polished every three to six months or more often if needed to keep your banjo looking it's best.To clean the fingerboard, rub it down with Fast Fret, then with a clean cloth rub the oil into the wood, not leaving any excess on the fingerboard.If you practice 8-12 hours a day you will wear the frets out within a year. After several bumps the fifth peg might suddenly fall out.The most important daily maintenance is to store your banjo in a hardshell case or delta case. Set your banjo in the case carefully so that you don't bump the fifth peg. The pressure of the capo against the back of the neck for long periods will eventually mar the finish. (If you want a banjo that won't tarnish, have your banjo Chrome plated, the Chrome is resistant to the affects of the acid from your skin.)Remove the capo, if you used one. Does ms office for mac 2016 allow split screenUse the Deering Wax Cloth which has wax in the cloth and is much neater and easy to use.Very light scratches in the finish can be rubbed out using either "Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Auto Polish" or toothpaste, and a cotton cloth. Try using a lighter touch.Waxing the finish of the neck and resonator protects as well as shines it. Keep the fingernails on your fretting hand clipped short.If you notice grooves in your frets, this is normal wear and tear, however if it happens within a year you may be pressing harder than necessary when you fret the neck and may be creating more fret wear than normal. ![]() Made largely of wood, the banjo is easily affected by changes in temperature and humidity. If you get a gold plated banjo, plan to have the armrest re-plated periodically.The survival of your banjo depends greatly on the environment you put it in. Gold plating is easily worn off the armrest with normal use. You can use the Deering polish cloth to wipe fingerprints off daily without harming the plating.Do not polish gold plating wipe it off periodically with the grey polishing cloth only. If you use an automotive polish don't use it more often than every 6 months to a year, and wipe off fingerprints daily in the meantime. So, we recommend that you use the Deering polishing cloth which has the polishing agent in the yellow inside cloth along with the preservative in the outer gray cloth which will protect the metal after you clean it. A gradual increase in humidity won't generally do permanent damage but high humidity in combination with high temperature can weaken glue joints or even open them up.A skin head tends to expand or loosen when the humidity rises, and tighten when the humidity drops, considerably affecting the sound of the banjo. Heat, as is often found in a closed car on a hot day, can soften or blister the lacquer and change the contours of the wood, causing the neck or resonator to warp.Humid weather increases the moisture content of the wood, causing it to expand or swell. When you bring it inside, let it sit in the case so that it can come up to room temperature slowly.Allowing your banjo to become too cold or hot invites a crack or warp in the wood. A rapid change in temperature, or exposure to cold can create cracks in the finish called "lacquer checks" that are not repairable under the warranty.If you must take your banjo out in freezing temperatures, keep it in the case. See the section on Truss-Rod adjustments.Sudden drops in local humidity are the most dangerous weather changes for a banjo. A truss-rod adjustment will compensate for this. It will arch back when the weather is dry and bow up when the humidity is high. For this reason, it is best to tighten the head under average weather conditions for your area.Humidity will also affect the curve in your banjo neck. Plastic heads, as usually found on banjos today are only affected by heat, which softens the plastic and causes it to stretch or loosen easily. You can control the smaller body of air within a good case much more easily than the air in the entire house.A trick guitar players use to maintain the humidity in their guitar case is to put half a potato in the string compartment, wedging the compartment open slightly, so that the potato will give off a slight amount of moisture as it dries out. Don't hang it on the wall, leave it leaning against a couch, or set it next to a source of dry heat. It is to your advantage to become proficient at making adjustments from the start.PROTECTING AGAINST TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITYThe easiest way to control the humidity is by storing a banjo in a hardshell case or delta case when you're not playing it. General use and weather changes will cause your banjo to need a good tune-up now and then. You should keep a case humidifier in the case.As you become adjusted to adjusting your banjo, you will find that a couple of minutes now and then, making the needed adjustments, will improve the sound immensely. Watch the weather reports and guard against dry spells. Both cases have their unique advantages. This will protect it from the dents and bruises it might get in a less substantial case. Potatoes get a bit ripe and we don't recommend them - but it makes a good story.If you plan to take your banjo with you on a trip, there are several precautions to ensure its safe arrival at your destination.The first and most basic precaution is to take it in a hardshell case or delta case. A case humidifier is best. A neater way is to place a plastic soap container with holes drilled in it and a damp sponge inside it in the string compartment in place of the potato or purchase a humidifier for your case.
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