Great sound! So glad I picked this banjo! I’ve been wanting to learn to play for years! So happy to have this awesome banjo to play! Love it!

Came in a box on time. Was amazed that the banjo was practically in tune and very happy i didn't have to set up the bridge. sounds great, banjo itself is kind of heavy but it's exactly as i've ordered.

As a new player, I had seen the ads for the goodtime as I grew more familiar with the banjo. I finally hit the point where it was time to move up from my pawn-shop, $100.00 banjo to the goodtime. The only objection I have is that it took so long to make the change. A good reminder to always purchase the best you can, the ability will grow into it.

Beautiful and sounds great. It's my first banjo. It came completely set up and nearly in tune! I read hours of reviews and it must be true--- Deering banjos are the way to go! I chose this model, the Americana, because of the larger head (12" instead of standard 11") and the open back. I wanted a warmer tone with more bass. It's exactly what I hoped for.

I own an Ome Wizard, a custom Ome Phoenix, a Reiter Roundpeak, a Reiter fretless, a Mike Ramsey workshop banjo, and now this Goodtime. The Goodtime can hold its own. I have actually been reaching for it more than others. I did swap out the light strings for some D’Addaro mediums. Janet Deering said to do so was just fine. I love the radiused fretboard. I highly recommend this banjo!

I play an OME which cost about 4 times the price of this banjo. The OME is better of course, but this is a great banjo for travel. It plays almost as easy as the OME and sound respectable for the price. It sounds like a banjo and like rubber bands on a shoe box.If you want to learn some claw hammer - this is the right sound and banjo. You may want to get the scooped version - that's my only regret.

I play in a gospel band. last January (2017) I gave up my heavy Gibson banjo, for the Goodtime Americana. The Goodtime is perfect. Very light, and the sound works even better with the band. The Gibson has only been out of it's case once since I got the Goodtime. And probably never will again.

Deering's US made introductory level banjo is perfect for the new string player looking for a casual instrument. It's highly recommended by instructors and players in online forums such as banjo hang out (dot) com. It's easy to see why... solid maple pot (the round wooden part) and solid maple neck are aesthetically pleasing and feel solid to hold. Lovely rosewood inlays mark the appropriate frets. The action is set well at the factory and to my hands, I feel like I'm playing an electric guitar with these light strings and reasonably low action. The three-ply maple pot is as good as in any higher end banjo. The guitar style tuners are easy to tune and hold notes reasonably well. The 12" size gives decent bass when playing on the low D string (fourth string). The Americana was designed to be used as an accompaniment banjo for the singer-songwriter.On the down side...Corners were cut to keep the price friendly. The neck and head are joined by a finger-joint which may not be appealing to everyone (just an aesthetic issue). The neck is a one piece unit with the fretboard being built directly into the neck; the neck lacks a truss-rod for adjusting bowing/straightness. This really shouldn't be a problem, IF you are content with only using light gauge strings. A heavier string gauge could warp the neck with time, and all around, it's obvious that this banjo was designed to be light and easy to play but not loud or resonant. While it has exceptional playability and tonality/set up, the higher you play up the neck, the less oomph the strings have, as they just can't drive this instrument. It sounds quite sweet when strumming open notes or in the first position, but it loses its magic as you advance up the fret board. The harmonics are great, it just lacks power on the higher notes (I've never played the regular GoodTime 11" but it would be interesting to see how much of this is due to the larger pot as opposed to the overall build). You really need to be careful to keep your hand from resting on the body, in order to give these higher notes the best chance of vibrating and being heard with anything beyond a light plunk... certainly not bell like.So, all around it's a great instrument and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to the true beginner... especially ordering sight-unseen from Amazon or another online vendor. It's set up and ready to play. It's very light and easy to hold. It looks good if you like the natural maple look. The hardware is quite reasonable for the price and I don't doubt that it would last a lifetime if properly cared for and the appropriate light gauge strings are used. It has a nice warm woody sound and there are lots of great videos on you-tube that accurately portray the sound.If you are already an accomplished string player, as I am (mandolin and guitar) then you may find that the strings are just a little bit too easy to bend (and as stated above, medium gauge strings are not recommended, although people have reported using them for years without any problems). I find the lack of clarity disappointing on the higher frets, despite being really impressed with the overall sound and intonation. I'm considering returning mine and trying out one of the Asian imports with a more solid neck such as the Gold Tone Bob Carlin BC-120 Banjo which would be a direct competitor which includes a brass tone ring and a sturdy maple&rosewood neck with a truss rod... but still has that simple and basic look of an instrument meant to be played rather than looked at (which I prefer, part of what drew me to the Deering GoodTime Americana in the first place). I can't personally vouch for the BC-120, because I haven't played it. In fact, everything that I say needs to be taken with a grain of salt as the Americana is the first and only banjo that I've spent hours playing and have really gotten a feel for it. That said, I hope to get my hands on the competition ASAP in order to determine if it's a better option for my playing style and needs.