The Deering Goodtime Fretless banjo is fitted with modern head, tuners and bridge, having none of the quirky setup and tuning issues of the 19th century banjos. For those players who want an authentic old time banjo sound and understand the idea of a fretless instrument, this one is for you.

Deering Goodtime Fretless Banjo	Deering Goodtime Fretless Banjo
Deering Goodtime Fretless Banjo	Deering Goodtime Fretless Banjo

The Goodtime Fretless banjo offer rock-solid tuning and are structurally built to handle steel strings.

Deering Goodtime Fretless Banjo with Gut String Conversion:

Banjo players are fascinated by Fretless banjos of the 19th century. These banjos were strung with gut strings and had a smooth, bare fretboard much like a violin.  Converting a fretted banjo to gut-string offers that old-time, Civil War era tone and plunkiness without the tuning grief of playing fretless banjo. It’s perfect for players looking for a classic 19th century tone, and for finger-stylists who require the intonation that one expects in a modern banjo.

The nut is shimmed to raise action in the first position; soft nylon strings need higher action to clear the first fret. The slots are re-cut to accommodate the thicker nylon strings. A bone 5th string nut is fabricated and installed to get adequate open-string height on the 5th string. We restring with nylon strings and setup at action appropriate for gut strings. Our results are with Aquila Nylgut classical Banjo strings.

Deering Goodtime Options:

No charge for Tenor, Plectrum and left handed versions.

Watch More From Grant On The Goodtime Fretless Banjo