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Bill Anderson - Posted - 06/21/2015: 11:23:03
We have started a new group that will be of interest to players, collectors and luthiers alike.
Truely Doug has been an important figure in the design, history and construction of open back banjo.
Please join this group and contribute pics, stories, etc. for our viewing pleasure.
Thanks, Bill
jbalch - Posted - 06/21/2015: 11:39:09
I'm not an owner...but definitely a fan. Doug's banjos are truly special.
frailin - Posted - 06/21/2015: 15:40:07
Another fan and admirer.
banjot - Posted - 06/22/2015: 07:55:29
Please count me in. I'm a big fan and owner! Besides being a great builder and possibly the best engraver ever, he's a heck of nice guy and a good player. I also know that Doug is incredibly generous and has shown several builders all he knows about engraving technique and is also very quick to share a bad joke.
Tom Mylet
Viper - Posted - 06/22/2015: 08:33:37
A big fan, and hope to someday be an owner.
Bill Anderson - Posted - 06/28/2015: 08:05:34
Thanks for joining guys. Before I started this group, I asked Doug if he was ok with it. He quickly said no. I do not think he knew what it was. The next time we talked , he brought up the subject and said his wife said to tell me yes. Isn't that the way it works.
Let's contribute some photos, stories, etc......but probably none of Doug's jokes.
Viper - Posted - 06/29/2015: 13:59:28
Two of the attached photos were from a 2011 visit to Doug's workshop. I was there to interview him for an article I was pitching to a local lifestyle magazine. The other photo is from a small performance at his local library. I learned a lot from Doug in my brief encounters.
I also thought I'd link to this great video from Our Ohio.
Andy FitzGibbon - Posted - 06/29/2015: 16:51:15
Those are mandolins, not fiddles.
Andy
Viper - Posted - 06/30/2015: 07:23:09
quote:
Originally posted by Andy FitzGibbon
Those are mandolins, not fiddles.
Andy
Crap, you're right. I'm an idiot for not looking closer. I was relying on my apparently bad memory of our conversation and not my eyeballs.
I fixed it.
Edited by - Viper on 06/30/2015 07:24:37
R. Blakeslee Gilpin - Posted - 06/30/2015: 08:30:32
I have tons to say on the subject of the illustrious Mr. Unger but per Bill's instructions, I'll try to avoid the jokes and just post some pics of some of the projects he's done for me. I may be in the minority, but I actually prefer his work to Consalvi - I truly think he is the greatest traditional pearl engraver that's ever come along. Part of that is his attention to tradition but no slavish imitation of the originals. I think his pearl work is completely alive - infused with his wit and spirit - I've also spent many pleasurable hours in Doug's company (as well as with his wonderful wife Lois). He is one of those guys who just does so many things so well it can make you feel a bit jealous! Anyway, Doug's currently doing an SSS Presentation for me, but in addition, I will proudly (or guiltily in earshot of my wife) admit to owning the following Unger creations:
11" Bacon FF with Unger Chubby Dragon neck
11 13/16 Tubaphone X9 with original Chubby Dragon overlay on Unger Style 9 neck
7" Fairbanks Spunover with Unger Piccolo/Giraffe neck
11 13/16" Whyte Laydie with Unger partial fretless neck
Unger 12" Dobson Slothead
SSS 12" with Unger presentation neck (in progress)
1 Amish watercolor
1 Unger Style 2 Koa/Adirondack Guitar (in progress)
Pics to follow!
R. Blakeslee Gilpin - Posted - 06/30/2015: 12:25:33
Here are pics, at various stages, of a bunch of them. I forgot the vine peghead Style 9 Tubaphone!
Greg Galbreath - Posted - 07/01/2015: 06:33:59
I agree, I think Doug's pearl engraving is the most incredible that I've ever seen...even better than Consalvi (sorry, Icilio). When you really start studying his work you realize that even though the inlay shapes are traditional and the same on many of his banjos, he always varies the engraving designs he uses, and his precision and touch are astounding. In my brief visit to his shop he made me truly appreciate what an art form engraving is and opened up a whole world of possibilities of what could be done with it. Thanks Doug!
R. Blakeslee Gilpin - Posted - 07/01/2015: 07:41:46
Thanks for mentioning this Greg (and Tom Mylet earlier in the thread)! One of the many things I really admire about Doug's singular craft is how much he enjoys sharing his knowledge and methods with others. I don't think he works like any other banjo maker - when I've shared in-process pics with Jason Romero for instance, Jason marveled at Doug's order of operations. But he certainly doesn't try to keep his process a secret. Nearly every time I talk with him (and the one time I visited Peninsula for a couple days), some builder is visiting and getting a free apprentice style workshop. When I visited Doug in person, a ukulele builder from Japan had just spent a week there. Doug keeps a little board on one of his work benches where he glues botched engravings and there were a bunch of blank spots. I asked him what had been there and he told me it was a double griffin and a gryphon that didn't meet his standards. The uke builder had taken them back to Japan to work from as reference. The number of folks who have passed through Doug's shop in this capacity included pretty much anyone known for pearl engraving working today. I also love that they're not all banjo builders!
Consalvi's work, much as I admire it, has a certain flatness in the engraving. I love the width and cut of the lines, but I've only seen a few examples with MOVEMENT/MOTION. By that I don't just mean emotionally move, as good art should, but that the engraved shapes in concert with the pearl, seem to move. I think much of this comes from Doug's training and career as a fine artist. Also, I don't think it's a diss to Consalvi to say Doug's better!
Also, I think it bears mentioning that Doug learned this in a total vaccum - no mentors or instructors - he figured it out through trial and error. I'll attach a few images of his earlier stuff so you can appreciate how much he's learned in 40 years of doing this - all because he wanted a fancy Boston banjo and couldn't afford an original!
Edited by - R. Blakeslee Gilpin on 07/01/2015 07:54:50
R. Blakeslee Gilpin - Posted - 07/01/2015: 07:58:56
Hey Tom M. - any chance you can post pics of your Ungers? I love seeing more examples of his work...
Here are some early banjos that showed at Smakula's a few months ago. Doug built the violin scroll 6 string against his will for his first banjo teacher, the legendary Peter Hoover. You can see the real elementary engraving on the inlays. The flowerpot is also an early 1970s example but his work on the peghead already shows the signs of that singular touch. The board engraving reminds me so much of Kevin Enoch's early stuff with Goose Acres. I also included a couple pics from a 1977 article from Banjo Newsletter on Doug. Compare the Chubby Dragon to the one he did for me - pretty dramatic evolution to my eyes. Finally, I think the heel carving on the Hoover violin scroll is just dynamite - one of the coolest carvings on a Dobson style heel I've ever seen.
banjot - Posted - 07/01/2015: 11:54:12
I will try to post some photos. At present I have a great example of a flowerpot/tubaphone and one of Doug's mandolins. In the meantime, you may want to check out the Unger "Electric" for sale at the Music Emporium. It began life as a an old original Whyte Laydie rim with an inverted scalloped ring. Doug thinned the rim and more or less made it an "Electric." I mention this for viewing purposes only as I have a financial interested in it. Editor: Please feel free to remove this post if it's inappropriate.
Bill Anderson - Posted - 07/01/2015: 13:26:09
Tom that one listed with the Music Emporium is beautiful. I am sure it will find the right home. You know that is what these instruments do, they find us.
R. Blakeslee Gilpin - Posted - 07/01/2015: 17:47:20
Tom - I've ogled it a few times man - that's a beauty! The peghead in particular is just gorgeous. I LOVE Doug's flowerpots.
Bill Anderson - Posted - 07/14/2015: 08:19:44
Just talked to Stu at Music Emporium. He said that a collection including 5 or so Unger banjos will be coming up for sale soon. I think they are in transit now.
Mark Johnson - Posted - 07/14/2015: 09:11:35
I'm kind of obsessed with this Electric for sale at Bernunzio's:
bernunzio.com/product/douglas-...ic-19831/
I think the root of my obsession is the odd mix of really truly ugly faux tortoise shell on the fretboard, funny kid drawings on the head, and Mr. Unger's stunning inlay. It's so ugly and so beautiful at the same time.
R. Blakeslee Gilpin - Posted - 07/14/2015: 09:54:15
Hey Mark - Doug LOVES that banjo. He was very proud of it when it was done - I think he told me to check it out nine times or so!
Viper - Posted - 07/14/2015: 12:10:55
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Johnson
I'm kind of obsessed with this Electric for sale at Bernunzio's:
bernunzio.com/product/douglas-...ic-19831/
I think the root of my obsession is the odd mix of really truly ugly faux tortoise shell on the fretboard, funny kid drawings on the head, and Mr. Unger's stunning inlay. It's so ugly and so beautiful at the same time.
I have a thing for tortoise shell, so I think the fingerboard is kind of awesome, but I agree the incongruent drawings on the head really do something for the overall appeal.
Mark Johnson - Posted - 07/14/2015: 12:26:04
Yeah, I regret calling the faux tortoise 'truly ugly'... I'm not sure what the right words are. Funky? Tacky relative to the inlay? I need a poet to help me. But whatever the words are, I love it too, Viper. And "incongruent" is a great word for not only this banjo, but what I love about it.
I have sent this link to a few folks I hope will buy it so I don't have to.
davidwigal - Posted - 07/14/2015: 22:11:30
I thought it was camouflage at first
R. Blakeslee Gilpin - Posted - 07/16/2015: 04:58:50
Doug loves all these vintage celluloids - tortoise-oids, etc. Personally, I think the one at Bernunzio's is too much but I'm not a huge fan of the milky tortoise! If it was clear I'd be obsessed! There's a funny related story about the 2-27 style Martin guitar he built that I'm having finished by a very respected Martin style guitar builder. The builder called me to talk about the various steps to take it from Doug's unfinished state. Neck shims/fit, tuners, etc. Then he says, "I'm gonna replace all the bindings because Doug used cheap black plastic, it just doesn't fit such a nice guitar." I'd only seen the guitar once in Doug's workshop so I said ok. He wrote me back the next day: "had a chance to work on the 2-27 today and much to my surprise I discovered the binding isn't black plastic, it's dark tortoise celluloid!"
I'll post some pics when it's done. Engraved snowflake inlays a la Martin OM-45...and plenty of celluloid!
Viper - Posted - 09/28/2015: 10:10:16
quote:
Originally posted by Mark Johnson
Yeah, I regret calling the faux tortoise 'truly ugly'... I'm not sure what the right words are. Funky? Tacky relative to the inlay? I need a poet to help me. But whatever the words are, I love it too, Viper. And "incongruent" is a great word for not only this banjo, but what I love about it.
I have sent this link to a few folks I hope will buy it so I don't have to.
Saturday, I had the great pleasure of seeing this "funky" banjo in person while attending a workshop in Unger's hometown. The drawings on the head are just hilarious. He also showed off a neck that was nearly complete and one in the rough with a chubby dragon inlay in progress, which I think he said was bound for California. Anybody here the recipient?
Also, here are a few photos. The tortoise shell neck/illustrated head banjo is standing up on the left in the background. I think the one standing on the right is this one (or one very similar).
hschwartz - Posted - 10/22/2015: 22:25:21
I have some pages of pics of 4 Doug Unger Fairbanks style banjos here, and a sort of Cole style banjo here.
They are all gorgeous, feel wonderful in the hand and play like a dream.
