(Discontinued) Deering Goodtime Solana Six Nylon String Banjo

Please Note!  This instrument is discontinued, and we are out of stock.  This post is maintained for reference purposes.   Contact us for information on other related instruments!

The Deering Goodtime Solana Six nylon string banjo is Deering’s response to repeated requests from its customers to create a 6-string Goodtime banjo. The Solana Six stands out from the pack with its nylon strings, offering a sweet, mellow tone and touch response akin to a classical guitar, with the bright undertones of a banjo. It uses the new Deering 12 inch Grand pot, which adds to the warmth of the instrument.

Six string banjos can be quite harsh sounding due to the high tension of heavier gauge metal guitar strings. But by using Nylon Strings, the Solana Six drops the loading on the bridge down to roughly where it would be on a 5 string banjo. The result is increased response, sustain and a more woody bass tone.

The versatility of the Solana Six is rounded off with a piezo pickup that sits directly under the Deering – patented East Indian Rosewood bridge plate. Acoustically the Solana Six sounds “Old Tyme” but add the Piezo pickup and it cuts well enough to suit Irish Tenor or Trad-Jazz stylings. The pickup and a small amplifier give the banjo a whole new sonic angle, multiplying the useful musical applications.

Designed to be tuned and played much like a standard guitar, the Deering Goodtime Solana Six can be used nearly immediately by anyone familiar with the guitar.

Like other Deering Goodtime banjos, the Solana Six is built using hard rock maple for the neck and violin grade maple for the rim. Because it’s a six-string nylon instrument, standard classical guitar tuners are used on the head; a rosewood tailpiece accommodates the strings, and you can either use the standard classical ‘tie a knot’ methods or use ball-end classical strings.