Primo amalgamation of old and new from Professor Douglas Unger's private collection, a builder's choice instrument never offered for sale before. Unger is responsible for some of the finest engraved pearl inlay and banjo making in the last 50 years, and we've been proud to work with him over the years. Utilizing a 10-1/2" diameter Fairbanks-Vega Style R rim assembly (original stamps faintly visible beneath pearl maker's plaque), with removed bracket band and added veneer with Cole style black paint, tiny triangles and semi-circles were inlaid in pearl on the exterior beneath ivoroid binding; metal parts and hardware include old and new (decades old Rickard stock), with lovely decorative ferrule. Better-than textbook No. 7 style neck, with flamed maple construction, delicately carved heel with large flare, long ebony backstrap with multiple laminations, ebony heel cap, fully bound 26-1/4" scale ebony fingerboard with authentic V profile, with scalloped bone nut; intricately engraved decorative pearl inlay present on heel cap, peghead overlay & backstrap, fingerboard; equipped with original Champion friction tuners with grained ivoroid buttons; 1-5/16" nut width. Some light fret wear present with surface scratches on back of neck.