Earnie Bailey: Tribute To Dave

Earnie Bailey Photo

Earnie Bailey, one of America’s most celebrated guitar techs and head technician for major groups and individuals, talks about his contacts with Dave Bunker.  https://youtu.be/1PytLEUIv_E

Dave Bunker 1935 – 2021

Dave Bunker

Dave Bunker died of a heart attack on Thursday morning, March 18, 2021. He was the last person to think it was his time to leave us. He was energetically preparing for another decade or more of work before him.   https://youtu.be/9d8K72ZUV18

Build Your Own Guitar

Bunker Touch Guitar: Electronics

Build your own guitar? Can I do it? How do I begin? What do I need? What are the steps involved? Hear Dave Bunker help you lay the groundwork. https://youtu.be/JKhP2N0Bggo

What Launched You In Las Vegas

Golden Nugget

How do you get discovered and end up in Las Vegas? Well, somebody has to mention your musical group to a visiting owner of a Las Vegas casino in Juneau, Alaska, that’s how.  https://youtu.be/ovf57_EwYVA

How To Process Guitar Wood

Bunker Guitars Tone Woods Examples

The Process of Guitar Wood finishing is critical to its sound, durability, and overall quality. Identify those critical factors here…and be sure to send us your other questions. https://youtu.be/7yAydf12ktk

About Bunker Basses

Bunker Bass

Bass Guitars by Bunker Guitars. This is everything you need to know, and if there is anything else besides academic questions like the Capitol of Chile or how many years we have left to live because of global warming…please let us know.  https://youtu.be/8U7ySxQ5I_E

How To Fix Worn Guitar Frets

Close Up Fret Board

Come into the weeds with Dave as he presents a Do It Yourself explanation of how to repair or replace worn guitar frets.  This was also a question posted on Quora.com. https://youtu.be/HZZVOz_8EOE

Is Mahogany The Best Guitar Wood

Mahogany Wood

Hear long-time luthier, and former logger, Dave Bunker, give his opinion about Mahogany when used to construct guitars. Is it too heavy? How is the tonality? Are there better woods?  https://youtu.be/FTBY5FutEAc

Why I Became a Luthier

Guitar Neck

Luthier is not a commonly heard name. Hear Dave Bunker talk about why he became one, and ultimately had a great impact on the guitar industry.  https://youtu.be/vTeLvdM2Z60

Value of Individual Bridges

Improving tone, cutting cross-talk by 60 percent or more, separating strings, easier tuning, cleaner sound, quicker reaction. Hear Dave answer why your guitar can benefit from Individual Bridges.   https://youtu.be/SXA5auysMnc

Are Double Necks Legit?

Bunker Touch Guitar

Country and Rock bands both use double-neck guitars. Hear Dave Bunker talk about his own experience with their use. And if you’d like to learn more about the Touch Guitar, you’ll find a lot more about its history, SPECS, and FAQs within our pages. https://youtu.be/Sw9XAnZ7SQc Photo Credits from YouTube: oleracoon, blackeyedjoe, Rush, Old Tapes

Why Tapered Guitar Necks

One of Bunker Guitars Basses Neck

Why tapered guitar necks anyway? In this video Dave Bunker explains whether this long tradition is important or not.

Parallel Guitar Strings

Parallel Guitar Strings

Parallel Guitar Strings on a straight neck make fingering easier from the first to the eighth fret by widening the distance between strings.

Capo and Guitar Necks

Guitar Capo

The guitar capo changes chord pitch on the guitar. Watch Dave Bunker as he gives his explanation.

Credit For Inventing Tapping?

Jimmy Webster

I was honored to see Stanley Jordan reply to my answer (posted on YouTube and Quora). While Jordan and van Halen did not invent tapping, they both embody the very best of its potential. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fw0jq4VAkg Photo Credits in order: Gretsch, Joe Mabel, and Carl Lender

Redd Foxx at the Golden Nugget

Redd Foxx Publicity Photo

The Dave Bunker Band, for most of the ten years at the Golden Nugget, was to do what was called swing-relief. We would do five shows a day from Wednesday through Saturday. We would then headline on Sunday going directly into the graveyard shift and get off at 6:00 am on Monday morning. We were […]

Listen To The Touch Guitar

Dave Bunker with Touch Guitar

Although Bunker Guitars today builds many different award-winning models of guitar, Dave Bunker initially developed, built and patented the precursor to the double neck Touch Guitar in 1955. Read more about the history of his tapping instrument in our pages. Young Dave was a logger in Washington State’s far northwest. But he loved to play […]

The Wishbone Bridge

Drawing of NOVA

The Wishbone Bridge eliminates the need for a trapeze style tailpiece to absorb the string tension. This unique design presents other advantages. It allows the ball end of the string to be mounted very close to the bridge’s intone point. (Note to readers: The intone point is where the bridge stops the string oscillation and […]

The NOVA Guitar

Bunker Guitars Custom Shop NOVA construction

The AT-Nova guitar is a fully hollow body archtop guitar conceived and built-in 1993. This guitar is a full range, dynamic guitar that will accommodate styles from light jazz, to country, to hard rock and roll. (You will find more information about the AT-Nova in our Custom Shop.) The AT-Nova design created considerable controversy at […]

The Importance of Tonewood (2)

Dave Bunker: Former Logger and Friend

Most of the early solid-body guitars were made out of Western Red Alder. Alder has a very rounded sound with moderate low ends and nice rich mids. Grown in the same region as Big Leaf Maple, it is a perfect match as it will vent and change with the same motion as it shrinks and […]