Sound Pure's Take
Condition: Used, Excellent
SP Luthier Notes:All frets were leveled, re-crowned, and polished. 3 frets were replaced. A complete setup was performed. The fret ends were smoothed and polished. The hardware was polished. No further work was needed.
The Deering John Hartford Banjo is a beautifully crafted tribute to one of bluegrass music’s most beloved innovators, built for players who want depth, clarity, and unmistakable character. Its violin-grade maple rim and Hartford Grenadillo tone ring deliver a warm, articulate voice with rich note separation and plenty of punch. The quartersawn curly maple neck and ebony fingerboard feel smooth and fast, while elegant Steamboat Scroll pearl inlays add timeless visual flair. Finished in a dark walnut satin, this banjo feels refined yet ready for the stage. A serious, heirloom-quality investment, it’s designed to inspire for a lifetime and only grow more rewarding with age.
From Other (Miscellanous Used/Vintage/Consign)
People ask why we have a non standard inlay pattern on this banjo. It was once the standard pattern and fairly common to just have the inlays grouped right in the middle and out on the ends of the fingerboard. Some of the old banjos like the Farland, and some of those old banjos made before 1900 had this, so John asked us to do that. John was a licensed river boat captain and wanted us to put some sort of a riverboat theme into his banjo. And again, we were kind of stumped a little bit, not wanting to just put inlays of riverboats in the fingerboard. Then we had a really neat opportunity because when Chuck, our head craftsman at the time, was growing up and learning to play music his main banjo hero was John Hartford. Chuck grew up in Minnesota and when John Hartford would come to town to play he would never miss a concert and he thought John Hartford was the coolest musician. The idea that he would someday be making a banjo for John Hartford was beyond his wildest dreams so I gave the job of designing the inlays to Chuck.
Chuck started studying riverboats and reading a lot. He went to the library and found all the books he could about riverboats. He discovered that there is a whole classic architecture of riverboats that's significantly different than the architecture that goes into houses. People think that the gingerbread on a riverboat is the same as on the house but it is actually distinctly and identifiably different. The ratio of the length to width and the style of the scrolls that go into the riverboat architecture are different than what is on a gingerbread house, a Victorian period house. So Chuck took the riverboat architecture and used that classic form to develop inlays for the Hartford banjo. It ended up having a very riverboat type of flavor because it uses that architecture and that art form without having to have pictures of riverboats on it. We accomplished a really classic design for John and Chuck was able to have a wonderful time working with John on the inlay.
When John Hartford passed away we changed the nameplate on the fingerboard from mother of pearl to abalone in the fingerboard. So if you find a Hartford with a white mother of pearl name plate it was built before he passed away. If it has abalone it was made after his passing.
Specs Neck
- Neck Wood
- Quartersawn AA Grade Curly Maple
- Neck Shape
- Slender "D" Shape
- Stain
- Dark Walnut
- Finish
- Satin
- Nut Material
- Bone Nut
- Tuners
- Deering Planetary Tuners
- 5th String Tuner
- Deering Gotoh Geared 5th String Tuner
- Frets
- 22 Glued In Nickel Silver Frets
- Fingerboard
- AA Grade Ebony
- Inlays
- Steamboat Scroll Mother of Pearl Inlays
Specs Pot
- Rim
- 3-Ply Violin Grade Maple
- Rim Diameter
- 11"
- Tone Ring
- Hartford Grenadillo Tone Ring
- Head
- 11" Top Frosted Medium Crown
- Tension Hoop
- Notched Brass Tension Hoop
- Hooks & Nuts
- 24 Round J-Hooks and ¼″ Hex Nuts
- Flange
- Deering One Piece Cast Zinc Flange
- Armrest
- Deering Armrest
- Hardware Plating
- Nickel
- Bridge
- 5/8” Deering Smile Bridge
- Tailpiece
- Deering True Tone Tailpiece
- Finish
- Hand Finished Satin Polyurethane
Specs Resonator
- Resonator Wood
- 3-Ply Poplar/Poplar/Curly Maple
- Resonator Finish
- Satin
- Resonator Sidewalls
- Tapered
- Resonator Diameter
- 13 7/8"
- Resonator Stain
- Dark Walnut
Specs Dimensions
- Neck Width at the Nut
- 1 1/4"
- Scale Length Nut to Bridge
- 26 1/4"
- Rim Diameter
- 11"
- Overall Instrument Length
- 38"
- Weight Approx.
- 9 lbs 10oz
Warranty
This item is sold without the Sound Pure 3-year warranty (used / B-stock / dealer-exempt). Coverage terms for items in this category live in Terms & Conditions, Section 27.
Returns
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