{{short description|Double-necked touch guitar}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Infobox instrument | name = Bunker Touch Guitar | image = The Dave Bunker "Touch Guitar" Concept.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | background = string | names = | classification = String | hornbostel_sachs = 321.322 | hornbostel_sachs_desc = Composite chordophone | inventors = Dave Bunker | developed = 1985 | timbre = | volume = | attack = | decay = | range = | pitch = | related = {{bulleted list|Warr Guitar|Chapman stick|Megatar}} | musicians = | builders = | articles = }} thumb|Dave Bunker The '''Bunker Touch Guitar''' is a double-necked touch guitar developed by Dave Bunker.

==Development== Until guitarist Jimmie Webster first popularized his ''Illustrated Touch System'' in 1952,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Illustrated "Touch System" for Electric and Amplified Spanish Guitar|last=Webster|first=Jimmie|publisher=Wm. J. Smith Music Co.|year=1952|location=New York NY}}</ref> all guitars had been strummed. But with Webster's single-neck touch-style guitar and then Dave Bunker's headless,<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Strat in the Attic: Thrilling Stories of Guitar Archaeology|last=Dickerson|first=Deke|publisher=Voyageur Press|year=2013|location=Minneapolis, MN|pages= 120}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Blecha|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Blecha|date=August 16, 2013|title=Dave Bunker submits patent application for his dual-necked Duo-Lectar electric "Touch Guitar" to U.S. Patent Office on September 16, 1957.|url=http://historylink.org|journal=History Link|volume=Essay 10454}}</ref> double-neck, DuoLectar touch guitar, these new instruments, while appearing similar to traditional strummed guitars,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Objects for use : handmade by design|date=2001|publisher=H.N. Abrams in association with the American Craft Museum|others=Smith, Paul J., 1931-, Busch, Akiko.|isbn=0810906112|location=New York|oclc=46385863|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/objectsforusehan0000unse}}</ref> actually employed an innovative tapping technique.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20000625/4028640/why-dave-bunker-is-not-singing-the-blues|title=Why Dave Bunker Is Not Singing the Blues|last=Seven|first=Richard|date=June 25, 2000|work=The Seattle Times Newspaper}}</ref>

Dave Bunker developed and patented the first double-necked tap/touch-style guitar,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/10454|title=Dave Bunker submits patent application for his dual-necked Duo-Lectar electric "Touch Guitar" to U.S. Patent Office on September 16, 1957|last=Blecha|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Blecha|date=August 16, 2013|website=Historylink.org|access-date=May 3, 2019|quote=Bunker's uniquely designed twin-necked Duo-Lectar guitar will ultimately become the very first such instrument to be granted a patent.}}</ref> which he called the Duo'Lectar.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nW2-7BrEUOEC&dq=duoLectar&pg=PA314|title=A Concise History of Rock Music|last=WADE|first=GRAHAM|date=February 27, 2012|publisher=Mel Bay Publications|isbn=9781619110168|language=en}}</ref>

===Duo'Lectar=== {{Listen | filename = America the Beautiful on DuoLectar.flac | title = "America the Beautiful" performed on the DuoLectar }} The '''DuoLectar'''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nW2-7BrEUOEC&dq=duoLectar&pg=PA314|title=A Concise History of Rock Music|last=WADE|first=GRAHAM|date=February 27, 2012|publisher=Mel Bay Publications|isbn=9781619110168|language=en}}</ref> was conceived, built, and played by Dave Bunker in 1955.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20000625/4028640/why-dave-bunker-is-not-singing-the-blues|title=Living {{!}} Why Dave Bunker Is Not Singing the Blues|website=community.seattletimes.nwsource.com|access-date=October 1, 2018}}</ref> At the suggestion of Irby Mandrell (father of country singer Barbara Mandrell), Bunker changed the tuning configuration of the lower neck to conform to a standard bass.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Angels, aliens & guitars|last=Douglas|first=Bunker, David|isbn=9781614630586|location=Marysville, Washington|oclc=893575670|date = January 31, 2014}}</ref> It was introduced to a live, national TV audience on the Ozark Jubilee, hosted by Eddy Arnold and Red Foley,<ref>{{Citation|last=Graham Tichy|title=Dave Bunker - Duo-Lectar|date=February 29, 2008|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAstqXR4QTc|access-date=October 1, 2018}}</ref> and then in 1960, Bunker demonstrated his double-necked instrument for the Portland Oregonian newspaper.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives/Archives?d_viewref=doc&p_docnum=-1&f_docref=v2:11A73E5827618330@HA-ORGB-12C55885A0A8B874@2437049-12C556B968B5FE0D@0&toc=true&p_docref=v2:11A73E5827618330@HA-ORGB-12C55885A0A8B874@2437049-12C05B8DD9AA2FA2@23|title=New Guitar Tickles Ears When Touched By Maker|date=April 24, 1960|work=Oregonian|access-date=December 27, 2018}}</ref>

With the addition of patented refinements,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/10454|title=Dave Bunker submits patent application for his dual-necked Duo-Lectar electric "Touch Guitar" to U.S. Patent Office on September 16, 1957|last=Blecha|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Blecha|date=August 16, 2013|website=Historylink.org|quote=Bunker's patented mute was an ingenious, if seemingly simple, invention.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MzLQpZ2066sC&dq=duoLectar&pg=PA120|title=The Strat in the Attic: Thrilling Stories of Guitar Archaeology|last=Dickerson|first=Deke|date=June 10, 2013|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=9780760343852|language=en}}</ref> the Duo'Lectar became popularly known as the Bunker Touch Guitar.<ref>{{Cite book|title=American Basses: An Illustrated History & Player's Guide|last=Roberts|first=Jim|publisher=Backbeat Books|year=2003|isbn=0879307218|quote=The contemporary Bunker Touch Guitar is a vastly refined version of the DuoLectar.}}</ref>

The DuoLectar was later seen in headline shows at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas from 1964 through 1974.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mcall.com/1993/01/10/fine-tuning-an-innovation-after-39-years-new-guitar-design-is-catching-on/|title=Fine-tuning An Innovation After 39 Years, New Guitar Design Is Catching On|work=tribunedigital-mcall|access-date=October 1, 2018|language=en}}</ref>

Because of its influence on the guitar industry, Seattle's EMP Museum (now called Museum of Pop Culture) displays a DuoLectar guitar and features a video interview with Dave Bunker.<ref>{{Citation|last=Dave Bunker|title=Dave Bunker Touch Guitar Interview with Museum of Pop Culture|date=May 11, 2019|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_BHrkF7YRM&feature=youtu.be|access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref>

===Bunker Touch Guitar=== In 1985, Bunker developed a specialized electronic mute for the instrument, later patented.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?PageNum=0&docid=05162603&IDKey=FC81D2DCB04D|title=Patent Images|website=pdfpiw.uspto.gov|access-date=October 1, 2018}}</ref> This new configuration became known as the Bunker Touch Guitar.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Objects for use : handmade by design|date=2001|publisher=H.N. Abrams in association with the American Craft Museum|others=Smith, Paul J., 1931-, Busch, Akiko.|isbn=0810906112|location=New York|oclc=46385863|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/objectsforusehan0000unse}}</ref>

==Play== 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 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.<ref>{{Citation|last=Dave Bunker|title=Dave Bunker Touch Guitar Interview with Museum of Pop Culture|date=May 11, 2019|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_BHrkF7YRM&feature=youtu.be|access-date=May 11, 2019}}</ref> His uniquely designed touch guitar<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/objectsforusehan0000unse|title=Objects for use : handmade by design|date=2001|publisher=H.N. Abrams in association with the American Craft Museum|others=Smith, Paul J., 1931-, Busch, Akiko.|isbn=0810906112|location=New York|oclc=46385863|url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=KoolKlipsFromDeke|title=Dave Bunker and his Touch Doubleneck Guitar #2-GUITAR GEEK TV!|date=March 2, 2010|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L6wzWolI00|access-date=May 3, 2019}}</ref> continued to mature,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20000625/4028640/why-dave-bunker-is-not-singing-the-blues|title=Why Dave Bunker Is Not Singing the Blues|last=Seven|first=Richard|date=June 25, 2000|work=The Seattle Times|access-date=May 2, 2019}}</ref> and was featured in headline shows at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas from 1964 through 1974.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1993-01-10-2908445-story.html|title=FINE-TUNING AN INNOVATION AFTER 39 YEARS, NEW GUITAR DESIGN IS CATCHING ON|last=VALANIA|first=JONATHAN|language=en-US|access-date=May 3, 2019|website=themorningcall.com|date=January 10, 1993 }}</ref>

Selected patents incorporated specifically into the Bunker Touch Guitar have also been used in other contemporary guitar designs.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Guitar Dreamer|last=Seven|first=Richard|date=June 25, 2000|work=Pacific Northwest Magazine|quote=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.}}</ref> The touch technique has been popularized by guitarists Eddie Van Halen, Stanley Jordan, Steve Vai, and Jeff Healey.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/10454|title=Dave Bunker submits patent application for his dual-necked Duo-Lectar electric "Touch Guitar" to U.S. Patent Office on September 16, 1957.|website=www.historylink.org|access-date=May 3, 2019}}</ref>

==Similar instruments== Some contemporary artists have gone forward to utilize the tapping method with their own touch-style guitars, including Emmett Chapman, Eddie Van Halen, Stanley Jordan, Steve Vai, Jeff Healey, Markus Reuter, Trey Gunn, Chuck Churchman,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2W5TNlnKoY|title=The Biaxe|last=Churchman|first=Chuck|date=1980s|website=YouTube|access-date=January 4, 2009}}</ref> and Sergio Santucci.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4-EYfUXDOk|title=Santucci TrebleBass|last=Santucci|first=Sergio|website=YouTube|access-date=November 24, 2009}}</ref> Despite this, the touch guitar genre is still a small segment of the industry. Manufacturers that produce the specialized instruments include Bunker Guitars,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bunkerguitars.com/products/bunker-touch-guitar-tg-2001|title=Bunker Touch Guitars|website=BunkerGuitars.com}}</ref> Warr Guitars,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://warrguitars.com/|title=Warr Guitars|website=Warr Guitars}}</ref> and Mobius (Magatar).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.megatar.com/|title=Mobius Megatar|website=Megatar.com}}</ref>

<gallery> File:Bunker Patented DuoLectar 1961.jpg|1961 Bunker Patented DuoLectar File:Museum of Pop Culture "DuoLectar Touch Guitar".jpg|DuoLectar displayed at the Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle File:Dave Bunker's Personal "Touch Guitar".jpg|Twin necks define the Bunker Touch Guitar File:Bunker Touch Guitar Double Necks.jpg|The left hand plays bass and the right hand plays lead, simultaneously and by touch </gallery>

==See also== * List of string instruments

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20230607145650/http://www.bunkerguitars.com/ Bunker Guitars] official website (archived) * [https://web.archive.org/web/20231031041903/http://davebunkerguitars.com/ Dave Bunker Guitars] official website (archived) * [https://www.vguitarforums.com/smf/index.php?topic=18797.0 VGuitar Forums] * [http://www.historylink.org/File/10453 Dave Bunker and his electric "touch" guitars] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20181215221922/http://traktortopaz.com/history-of-touchstyle/touchstyle-method-pioneers/ Touchstyle method pioneers] official website (archived)

Category:Guitars Category:Instruments of musicians Category:1985 in music