The Guitar neck: a 24.5 inch scale neck which is 3.5 inches wide allows you to freely move your fingers up and down the fingerboard in slides, bends and taping without any unwanted string noised produced by the motion of the fingers.
The Bass neck: a 32 inch scale, Electronic Muted bass, with dynamic EQ range far outreaching any other bass on the market today.
Another standout of the Touch Guitar is the fact that because you are playing a bass and a guitar at the same time you have almost two full octaves of harmonic overlap which develop some exciting overtones.
What is a Touch Guitar?
With the Touch Guitar you can play Guitar and bass, both at the same time. If you play guitar now the transition is natural and easy.
The Touch Guitar is a bass and a guitar in standard tuning (EADGBE guitar) and (EADG bass) which is turned off until you touch the string to the fret, only then does that string sound. You can play the right hand on the wide (guitar) neck and the left hand on the bass neck. Because only the notes you actually Touch or pick will sound.
History of the Touch Guitar
This is the very first Double Neck touch type musical instrument ever patented.
Notice the date in the script below the photo (1956). This first Touch Guitar I patented as the Duo-Lectar™ and was built by my father, Joe Bunker and myself in 1955. We didn’t have money to buy fret wire so we made the frets out of an old chain saw stinger (blade).
Dave was convinced the touch guitar was going to be the next thing. In 1960, he demonstrated it on the national TV program “Jubilee U.S.A.” in Chicago and accompanied a 10-year-old Barbara Mandrell.
This picture of Jimmy Schuster with his father Art playing one of my early Touch Guitars (Duo-Lectar) is one of my favorites. Jimmy was one of the best.
The Touch Guitar (Duo Lectar) was only the beginning of many more of Dave’s innovations and patents that followed.
Barbara Mandrell, very early in her career, that is my friend Irby, her dad leaning forward, and I think Brian Lobeck reaching around.
The upper neck was a 24.5″ Guitar neck and the lower neck was a 30″ six string bass neck, later Irby Mandrell, Barbara’s great father talked me into making the bass neck into a four string 32″ scale, Irby even helped me build that model, also notice the first ever string mute on the upper guitar neck, this actually was the basis for the first patent #2,989,884 which was granted on June 27, 1961.
Jimmy Webster
Lots of controversy exists over who did what and when on the Touch/Tap Method of play, well here it is” and this is right, actually, Merl Travis was one of the first artist to play using two hands on the fingerboard. The first artist to really bring it out and do something with was Jimmie Webster, who wrote the first touch System method book for a single neck type electric guitar played with two hand tapping.
Dave Bunker with his second Touch Guitar
I was the first to build and patent one you could tap on both necks which was made possible by damping each neck at the nut as referred to in patent #2,989,884 filed in 1957 and issued in 1961 and also wrote and copyrighted the first double neck Method Book. One of the earlier great contributors has been Emmett Chapman with the Stick design, which is probably the best known of the touch/Tap type instruments. Some great Artists followed like, Edward Van Halen and others. Most of the touch/Tap style instruments incorporated my manual mute (Duo-Lectar ™) into there instruments. One Gentleman who pursued the history of Touch style play was Traktor Topaz.
I have copies of the original Jimmie Webster book and of my own method book if anyone is interested.
The Touch Guitar Creates Amazing Sound
The Electro-Mute™ is at the center of the Touch Guitar dynamic Muting System. This patented technology keeps each string turned-off 100% until you touch or pick it, thereby completely eliminating all unwanted noise.
The Electro-Mute™ device enables the strings to be off at all times, which eliminates all Hum, Hiss and other noises.
There is no unwanted sound when fingers remove from the strings, especially, going from note to note. You also do not get the pick noise or the sound of your finger touching a live on string. The string is only on after it touches the fret and is off when the finger leaves the fret, making it the purest sound you could ever get. The system also adds over forty percent more high and low frequencies.
Touch Guitar Frequently Asked Questions-
What is a Touch Guitar?
With the Touch Guitar you can play Guitar and bass, both at the same time. If you play guitar now the transition is natural and easy.
The Touch Guitar is a bass and a guitar in standard tuning (EADGBE guitar) and (EADG bass) which is turned off until you touch the string to the fret, only then does that string sound. You can play the right hand on the wide (guitar) neck and the left hand on the bass neck. Because only the notes you actually Touch or pick will sound.
The Guitar neck: a 24.5 inch scale neck which is 3.5 inches wide allows you to freely move your fingers up and down the fingerboard in slides, bends and taping without any unwanted string noised produced by the motion of the fingers.
The Bass neck: a 32 inch scale, Electronic Muted bass, with dynamic EQ range far outreaching any other bass on the market today.
Another standout of the Touch Guitar is the fact that because you are playing a bass and a guitar at the same time you have almost two full octaves of harmonic overlap which develop some exciting overtones.
How does it do all of this?
The strings are all electronically separated from each other and have a very small DC voltage fed to them and the frets are a common ground (the same as your Jack output). When you touch the string to the fret that string turns on its own amplified Hex-Hum Pickup™ and you get only the pure sound of the string vibration without any unwanted scraping, sliding, hum, hiss thumping or ambient sounds normally associated with electric guitars and basses. As soon as you remove your finger the string is off and no manual muting is required. You can move any place you wish as fast as you want and will get absolutely no unwanted string noise. From all of this comes a range of tone never before capable on an electric type musical instrument. Over 40% more tonal range is acquired using the Electronic Mute technology ®. The design purpose behind the Touch Guitar has been to create the most far ranging and dynamic string instrument ever built, we have now reached that goal.
Why would I play a Touch Guitar™?
Probably the most enticing feature of the Touch Guitar is that it is far easier to play than a standard Guitar or Bass. Try playing open F-chord for the first time on a regular Guitar, then on the Touch Guitar where you will play it the first time. The Touch Guitar can be played in many different ways and is great with all other instruments, as a solo instrument where you want to have a full band sound of Bass and Guitar plus or as a lead musical instrument using both necks for lead sounds. You can play the Bass as a regular bass or flip a switch and it is the most dynamic taping bass you’ve ever played. Play it before a crowd and you will have everyone’s attention and more!! Because of the extreme tonal range of the Touch Guitar you can make the Bass sound like a guitar and get great full sounding chords on the bass neck and the Guitar (wide) neck can actually simulate the lows of the deepest Bass and the highs that would make a tele player weep, and if you do not buy all of this come by and play it or hear it, you will be amazed.
How is it made?
The Touch Guitar is the result of over forty years of development in guitar and bass design. More than 6 granted US patents and over 30 claims have issued on this idea.
The Touch Guitar main body is built in chambers, much like honey cones out of selected hardwoods for strength and tone. The neck backs are hard rock eastern maple and the fingerboards are combinations of ebony, maple and rosewood materials. Both necks incorporate the Tension Free™ neck design which eliminate dead spots and enhance sustain above the 12th fret on both necks.
Many people until they actually play it the first time wonder why the upper neck is 3.5 inches wide. This is so the fingers can move easily past one another when played across the neck in chord fashion, otherwise you would always have to play with the fingers at right angles to the frets. The tip of your finger is about .6 inches wide, normal string spacing is .38 inches. Try it on your regular guitar you cannot move one finger past the other on your guitar. (Note) you can on most basses because of the increased string width.
For more information about some of Dave Bunker’s Inventions Click Here
