Bunker Touch Guitar

The Bunker Touch Guitar is a double-necked touch guitar developed by Dave Bunker.

Bunker Touch Guitar
String instrument
Classification String
Hornbostel–Sachs classification321.322
(Composite chordophone)
Inventor(s)Dave Bunker
Developed1985
Related instruments
Dave Bunker

Development

Dave Bunker developed and patented the first double-necked tap/touch-style guitar,[1] which he called the Duo'Lectar.[2] Bunker introduced this new instrument nationally in 1955 on the Ozark Jubilee television program,[3] and demonstrated it for the Portland Oregonian newspaper in 1960.[4] With the addition of patented refinements,[5][6] the Duo'Lectar became popularly known as the Bunker Touch Guitar.[7]

Play
Twin necks define the Bunker Touch Guitar.

Except for its twin necks, the Bunker Touch Guitar is similar in appearance to a typical guitar. However, it is dissimilar in its style of play. Strings on the Bunker Touch Guitar are not strummed or plucked, as in the traditional, single-necked guitar. Instead, all strings respond to touch or tap. On the Bunker Touch Guitar, a note sounds when a string is held down and stops when it is released. The left hand plays bass lines on the lower neck, while the right hand simultaneously plays lead lines on the upper neck. It has no head at the top end of the necks (as on conventional guitars) because its tuning keys are located at the base-edge of the instrument.

Use
The left hand plays bass and the right hand plays lead, simultaneously and by touch.

The importance of the early Touch guitar to the standard single-neck guitar's evolution was acknowledged by its display at Seattle's Experience Music Project Museum (now called Museum of Pop Culture) when it opened in 2000. Dave Bunker detailed the development of his invention in a videotaped interview conducted by the museum.[8] His uniquely designed touch guitar[9][10] continued to mature,[11] and was featured in headline shows at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas from 1964 through 1974.[12]

Selected patents incorporated specifically into the Bunker Touch Guitar have also been used in other contemporary guitar designs.[13] The touch technique has been popularized by guitarists Eddie Van Halen, Stanley Jordan, Steve Vai, and Jeff Healey.[14]

References
  1. Blecha, Peter (August 16, 2013). "Dave Bunker submits patent application for his dual-necked Duo-Lectar electric "Touch Guitar" to U.S. Patent Office on September 16, 1957". Historylink.org. Retrieved May 3, 2019. Bunker's uniquely designed twin-necked Duo-Lectar guitar will ultimately become the very first such instrument to be granted a patent.
  2. WADE, GRAHAM (2012-02-27). A Concise History of Rock Music. Mel Bay Publications. ISBN 9781619110168.
  3. Graham Tichy (2008-02-29), Dave Bunker - Duo-Lectar, retrieved 2019-05-02
  4. "New Guitar Tickles Ears When Touched By Maker". Portland Oregonian. April 24, 1960. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  5. Blecha, Peter (August 16, 2013). "Dave Bunker submits patent application for his dual-necked Duo-Lectar electric "Touch Guitar" to U.S. Patent Office on September 16, 1957". Historylink.org. Bunker's patented mute was an ingenious, if seemingly simple, invention.
  6. Dickerson, Deke (2013-06-10). The Strat in the Attic: Thrilling Stories of Guitar Archaeology. Voyageur Press. ISBN 9780760343852.
  7. Roberts, Jim (2003). American Basses: An Illustrated History & Player's Guide. Backbeat Books. ISBN 0879307218. The contemporary Bunker Touch Guitar is a vastly refined version of the DuoLectar.
  8. Dave Bunker (2019-05-11), Dave Bunker Touch Guitar Interview with Museum of Pop Culture, retrieved 2019-05-11
  9. Objects for use : handmade by design. Smith, Paul J., 1931-, Busch, Akiko. New York: H.N. Abrams in association with the American Craft Museum. 2001. ISBN 0810906112. OCLC 46385863.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. KoolKlipsFromDeke (2010-03-02), Dave Bunker and his Touch Doubleneck Guitar #2-GUITAR GEEK TV!, retrieved 2019-05-03
  11. Seven, Richard (June 25, 2000). "Why Dave Bunker Is Not Singing the Blues". The Seattle Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  12. VALANIA, JONATHAN. "FINE-TUNING AN INNOVATION AFTER 39 YEARS, NEW GUITAR DESIGN IS CATCHING ON". themorningcall.com. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
  13. Seven, Richard (June 25, 2000). "Guitar Dreamer". Pacific Northwest Magazine. Over the years Bunker came up with a series of patents - for muting the strings, for a guitar without a conventional head, and with tuning pegs on its body, for neck and bridge designs. He came up with ideas that others took and ran with.
  14. "Dave Bunker submits patent application for his dual-necked Duo-Lectar electric "Touch Guitar" to U.S. Patent Office on September 16, 1957". www.historylink.org. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
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