Uploaded April 2010 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Greg Deering and Joe Falletta picked a tune or two at the 2010 Scout Fair at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. They were warming up - and having a good time. Deering makes banjos. He and Falletta have played together for more than 25 years. (Greg's the guy in the Scout uniform, strumming the guitar; Joe is picking away at his banjo.)
Here's what Joe Falletta had to say about Greg Deering and his wife, Janet, and the Deering Banjo Factory:
A Look At 20 Years Of Innovation
By Joe Falletta
BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED Oct '95
In all walks of life you'll find people content to rest on past accomplishments, fame or glory. Two years ago or twenty, they remind you incessantly of what they did. Ask them what they've done lately, though, and you find yourself facing a blank stare.
Then there are those who are never satisfied; who are continually perfecting and innovating, experimenting with new ideas and trying to improve on the old. So it is with the folks at Deering Banjo Company in Lemon Grove, Cal.
Twenty years ago Greg and Janet Deering started out with a dream to build a quality instrument a beginner could afford. Back then, inexpensive beginners' banjos were cheaply made and sounded that way. The plastic or aluminum pots just didn't have the ring of the ones professionals played. Consequently, students quickly became discouraged and gave up shortly after trying to learn to play. (And anything that sounded good cost more than a beginner wanted to shell out.)
So, in 1978, after three years subcontracting banjo parts for a high-end brand the Deerings developed and marketed their Basic and Intermediate banjos featuring a steel pot and a mahogany neck. Their rich tone and easy action still amaze listeners and pickers alike; yet the price was affordable for someone just starting out.
The Deerings could have been satisfied there. Their place in that market was secure; why mess with success? But they weren't. Over the years, they went on to develop a whole line of professional quality instruments from the Sierra and Deluxe models that features a three-ply maple rim and mahogany neck to the Gabriella that features a Brazilian rosewood neck, a mother-of- pearl fingerboard and vine peghead inlay.
Greg Deering and Joe Falletta picked a tune or two at the 2010 Scout Fair at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. They were warming up - and having a good time. Deering makes banjos. He and Falletta have played together for more than 25 years. (Greg's the guy in the Scout uniform, strumming the guitar; Joe is picking away at his banjo.)
Here's what Joe Falletta had to say about Greg Deering and his wife, Janet, and the Deering Banjo Factory:
A Look At 20 Years Of Innovation
By Joe Falletta
BLUEGRASS UNLIMITED Oct '95
In all walks of life you'll find people content to rest on past accomplishments, fame or glory. Two years ago or twenty, they remind you incessantly of what they did. Ask them what they've done lately, though, and you find yourself facing a blank stare.
Then there are those who are never satisfied; who are continually perfecting and innovating, experimenting with new ideas and trying to improve on the old. So it is with the folks at Deering Banjo Company in Lemon Grove, Cal.
Twenty years ago Greg and Janet Deering started out with a dream to build a quality instrument a beginner could afford. Back then, inexpensive beginners' banjos were cheaply made and sounded that way. The plastic or aluminum pots just didn't have the ring of the ones professionals played. Consequently, students quickly became discouraged and gave up shortly after trying to learn to play. (And anything that sounded good cost more than a beginner wanted to shell out.)
So, in 1978, after three years subcontracting banjo parts for a high-end brand the Deerings developed and marketed their Basic and Intermediate banjos featuring a steel pot and a mahogany neck. Their rich tone and easy action still amaze listeners and pickers alike; yet the price was affordable for someone just starting out.
The Deerings could have been satisfied there. Their place in that market was secure; why mess with success? But they weren't. Over the years, they went on to develop a whole line of professional quality instruments from the Sierra and Deluxe models that features a three-ply maple rim and mahogany neck to the Gabriella that features a Brazilian rosewood neck, a mother-of- pearl fingerboard and vine peghead inlay.
