A folkster's special
Deering Long Neck
© Frank Ford, 2000; Photos by FF

Early in what some people have called the great folk scare of the 1960s (which actually started somewhat earlier) Pete Seeger figured that a banjo with an extra long neck would allow him to use low tunings to accommodate his singing voice. He had a banjo constructed with an extra three frets. Because of his popularity, and later the popularity of the Kingston Trio, this extended neck banjo became very much the "thing." In fact, most of them were actually sold to folkies who wanted the look of the long neck, but didn't need the low tunings. So, these days, it's really common to encounter an old long neck five string with an elastic capo rotting in position at the third fret.

Deering is the only American banjo company that takes a serious view of the less popular styles of banjo, making a 6-string guitar banjo, and electric banjo, and this fine replica of the original Vega long neck Pete Seeger model. Bravo!

Availability, and More Info


Back to New Instrument Gallery Main Page


Back to Index Page