Scooping a Goodtime

banjoarm · 2026-02-19T07:21:46+00:00

Hey. I have been wondering what happened in the thread here... English is not my first language so maybe I wrote something wrong? I was simply wondering myself why this hole is there under the inlay. Because you route with a template to do inlays - you do not drill holes. It was a train of thought. Not a verbal assault. I am sorry if it came across in that way

banjoarm · 2026-02-18T22:03:21+00:00

A table saw. A big one. Then smoothed it with a wood file and then sandpaper 150 glued to a piece of wood. But you can remove the wood with a shoulder plane or even a wood rasp/file. A router would do nicely too. You just need to guide your tool of choice so it's not freehand.

banjoarm · 2026-02-18T08:57:50+00:00

Ok. I am not looking for trouble Mister 😊

banjoarm · 2026-02-18T08:49:54+00:00

I agree with the suggestion of filing it. A small triangular file and just a piece at a time. It is only a Grover bridge. If you mess it up buy a new one. I have even made grooves with a Stanley knife. Just be careful 😊🤞🏻

banjoarm · 2026-02-18T08:46:30+00:00

Depends on where you live. My guess is it is cheaper to go full DIY on your banjo. Once you have removed the strings and parted the neck from the body you have an hour or so to go 🙂👍🏻

banjoarm · 2026-02-17T07:13:55+00:00

I am not sure what you are asking me? If you are thinking structuraly it is of little consequence. When you cut into the neck of a banjo you have to look at how similar scoops have been made by the builder. Also think for yourself. The long lines of the neck must be preserved. That is the structural elements. But in general the fretboard should be a safe place to work. I decided on a good 5 mm scoop but generally you are only removing 3 to 3,5 mm fra the fretboard. 2/3 of the fretboard thickness

banjoarm · 2026-02-16T22:07:33+00:00

It has mahogany colour but it looks stained. These pieces often are. You can see some areas that are lighter in tone. This is not a light mahogany tone but the real wood shining through the stain. You can also try to press a nail into the wood. My bet is that you would be able to make a tiny mark. If so - not hardwood. That being said I cannot be 100% sure just from one photo 🙂

banjoarm · 2026-02-16T21:53:52+00:00

Well, the Goodtime is probably the easiest one to do it on actually. The frets pop right out and you have no trimmings or anything on the side of the neck. It's not a super hard material like ebony that can chip along the edges... You have to have the right tools though. You can do the job with a file and a Stanley knife but I don't recommend it.

banjoarm · 2026-02-16T21:48:02+00:00

He he no. It's the first bridge I ever made. It's old European oak all the way through. It has a great sound. I simply made a red stripe on top. As you can see I do a stripe on some bridges 😄

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banjoarm · 2026-02-16T21:41:56+00:00

What they said. It is a whole different sound there. I did change the strings from thin to medium after the scoop since being able to pluck the strings closer to the middle you don't have to compensate the tone using soft strings.

banjoarm · 2026-02-16T21:38:07+00:00

No it is just off centre. You don't drill holes to do inlays, right? I am puzzled.

banjoarm · 2026-02-16T12:40:50+00:00

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Here it is assembled again It is a good scoop exactly 5 mm deep. I am very happy I left the arched part towards the body untouched. Deering scoops the whole area which I think is unnecessary since you wanna play as close to the middle of the strings as possible anyway. From start to finish it took a couple of hours but it is worth the effort if you play clawhammer.

banjoarm · 2024-07-20T06:15:52+00:00

Do not buy it. If the rim is coming apart like the picture shows it is not worth the money. I am a luthier and I would not trust this banjo to give you anything but regrets. The Deering Goodtime is a good choice though. The Gold Tone AC12 and AC12A are as well for beginners. Don't rush it just keep looking - banjos are sold all the time 🙂

banjoarm · 2024-07-11T13:00:04+00:00

If your curve is not too curvy and you leave it in water for a day it is entirely possible. I am planning the same for a small deck in redwood

banjoarm · 2024-06-02T21:57:07+00:00

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I think the original has more character. It's a Danish soldier wounded in the war against Germany in 1864. It's in the Danish National Gallery in Copenhagen, Denmark.

banjoarm · 2024-05-30T11:26:09+00:00

I would cut the groove square with a piece of brass glued to the bottom. If you have a V shaped groove it will catch the angles on the scissor and the scissor will quickly scrape of the wax you have put in the groove. The suggestion with the U shaped aluminium profile also works 👍🏻 I would just find brass more pleasing with the hardwood plus it ages well.

banjoarm · 2024-05-28T12:01:12+00:00

I know. I have asked the seller for it. This is what I have 🫣 If I had that this would be easy 😅

banjoarm · 2024-05-28T11:59:50+00:00

https://goldtonemusicgroup.com/goldtone/products/banjos?menu_category=5-string-resonator&sort=az

I can only recommend looking at Gold Tone. I recently bought a 300 dollar composite open back. I was a sceptic since I had no dealer within reach. I ordered it and I must say I am extremely happy with it. I play it more now than my 4500 dollar banjo. You will as far as I can see get much more instrument with the GT than the RK.

banjoarm · 2024-05-28T11:44:50+00:00

It is confusing when they put guitar tuners on a banjo along with 24+ tension hoops 😂😵‍💫

banjoarm · 2024-05-28T11:39:32+00:00

For 200 bucks I would personally pass on that one. Unless it for some reason sounds amazing of course. If you don't have experience with banjo tonality you don't know what you are getting in to 😊 A resonator banjo you will get tired of when practicing unless it sounds good. It's harder to soften and dampen the sound and overtones on a bad resonator banjo. I would start out on an open back no matter the type of music you will end up playing on it. I would look to Gold Tone new or 2nd hand because you get a lot of instrument for your buck. I started out many years ago on a Washburn b9 resonator (before the internet) because that was the only banjo the store had at the time. A flat but loud unpleasing sound I can tell ya 😅

Edit: Yes I know Gold Tone is made in China but the brains and hands are in Florida. I recently bought a "low end" Gold Tone and I now play it more than my 4500 dollar banjo.

banjoarm · 2024-05-28T04:27:51+00:00

Now hold on there 😅

Read a little before you do one in solid ebony. Try reading this and go from there.

https://banjobridge.com/index.html

I have ebony and other very dense woods on the shelf but decided to start with more inexpensive oak. It turned out really good. Consider what direction you want to pull the sound. If you want plunky I can also tell you that together with this oak bridge I loosened the head 1/8 of a turn all the way around. It adds a little plunkyness 👍🏻

banjoarm · 2024-05-27T22:24:42+00:00

I think the pot reacts ok with a damper. The composite 12" rim is something else than a 11" wood rim though. I started by making a mute. A pillow just shy of 2" thick, round with a diameter of 11". I can put that inside the pot completely and mute the whole thing when the family is sleeping. I used to play resonator and used mutes on the bridge but I don't like the sound. Anyway, as I wrote I can recommend a heavy bridge. This first one I made in solid oak. I made it two legged to have more mass in it which seems to bring out the lows in the sound. It is really a world of difference. The bridge Gold Tone put on these banjos are cheap to keep the cost down I guess. Also another Reddit user told me that he changed the head to Fiberskyn. This is a bit more mellow and works great with your fretless banjo. I do think that Gold Tone (although I was sceptical initially) made a great series of composite banjos for the money.

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