The “Nova” Guitar:

The AT-Nova guitar is a full hollow body arch top guitar that was conceived and built by Dave Bunker in 1993. This is a full range, dynamic guitar that will accommodate styles from light jazz to country to hard rock and roll.

The AT-Nova design created considerable controversy at its inception. Many people... including the venture capital force behind its development... thought it was just another of Dave Bunkers wild dreams. They were right.

Popular guitars like the Gibson ES-335 used posted or wedged arch tops, but they lacked the fine wood tones desired by many guitarists. So instruments of this design were "hollow body" in name only. In terms of tonal differences, they were actually just another electric solid body guitar... with a pretty face. Dave Bunker always felt that no guitar should ever defeat its own natural acoustics. So he rejected the option of bending or stressing wood so common to many designs. Bunker chose instead to ream or rout his guitars from solid blocks so as to preserve the wood’s integrity. Dave hand-selected solid blocks of quality wood, carved the outside ring (or sides) and left the ring in its natural, unstressed state. Retained inside the ring was the neck heel block (i.e. wood around the neck pocket, to support the neck mounting) and a smaller butt block for support. The butt block gives its support at the end of the guitar body... farthest from the neck... because the weight of the guitar is supported here from a strap hook. It also provides extra strength required when a trapeze style bridge is used where the string tension is at the end of the guitar. (See visuals of trapeze bridge below.)

Through acoustical testing Dave determined that a carved top from one solid piece of wood was superior to a pressed top piece. So Dave's carved top was glued onto the ring and machined for the neck pocket, the bridge holes (if wanted) and the the brass Wishbone tie piece.

The Wishbone Bridge System was another idea that Dave Bunker conceived and tested for many years before actually applying the concept in AT-Nova prototypes. It's based on what Dave calls his "Wishbone Bridge Neck-Through" design: Without touching the inside top or back of the guitar frame, a square laminated beam extends through the sound chamber of the guitar from the neck pocket to the bridge, enhancing structural integrity without dampening tonality. This beam connects directly to the brass Wishbone Tie Piece, which in turn connects to the topside bridge. This engineering and acoustic breakthrough keeps all of the string pulling pressure off the guitar top and lets the bridge do what it was meant to do: vibrate and oscillate the guitar surface. This design creates a genuinely warmer, wood tone sound, and it is now a standard feature of  the AT-Nova.

(See fig#8 below)

The Wishbone Bridge eliminates the need of a trapeze style tail piece 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 intone point on the bridge. (Note to readers: The intone point is where the bridge stops the string oscillation and drives the sound through the bridge and into the top of the guitar.) This configuration enhances the transfer of vibration in the strings directly to the carved top.

After testing, proving and perfecting this concept, Dave filed for a patent on his device (patented as the Wishbone Bridge, see DWG fig#1 below). The patent identified a laminated (for-strength) beam which was an extension of the neck inside of the guitar body. While touching nothing, it extended to just under the wooden bridge. The beam was mounted to the bridge through an opening (not visible) under the bridge by the Wishbone tie piece. (See Visuals fig#1 below).
In the first year after patent, several minor adjustments were made before larger production runs were attempted. Today the AT-200 Nova Hollow Body Guitar is perfection in all ways, light weight, balanced, tone perfect, easily adjustable. These instruments are now custom built by Bunker Guitars but will soon (in 2010 be offered to a larger market of players.

Arlen Roth: One of the first Nova guitars built was delivered to one of the greatest guitar minds and teachers in the world, Arlen Roth, respected by everyone for his accomplishments in music and guitar. (You can see his testimonial to his Bunker guitar here.)  After he had played and wrung out the guitar for sometime he had only good things to say about the usability, versatility and quality that he felt this guitar presented. He stands by that opinion today, 12 years later. The AT-Nova was a new innovative idea on how a guitar should be built to ring out the real sound of wood into musical tone quality.

Great artist, Arlen Roth

N ow that I'm the proud owner of one of your great new archtop guitars, I find it hard to describe the joy of playing this instrument. All of my first good impressions certainly have been proven to be true, its perhaps the easiest and most forgiving instrument I've ever played. I certainly have found it hard to put down, and its already given me a ton of new ideas for tunes just by the virtue of its unique sound and playing qualities. The Tension-free neck and the unique bridge treatment lend themselves to incredible ease of playing, and its an absolute beauty to look at. That tobacco/maroon sunburst is totally unique, yet classic in appearance, and the satin finish only adds to the overall "warmth" of this beautiful guitar. It's also hard to believe thats it's barely bigger than a telecaster; something that I think Jazz players everywhere will be relieved about, and that will make the instrument more accessable to Rock players as well. I've also found that the guitar lends itself equally to both fingerstyle and flatpick techniques. How can I find fault with an instrument like this? It's just too pretty, too great sounding and too wonderful to play! Thanks again for your incredible design work and musical vision, you've truly created a masterpiece that puts a "work of art" into the hands of other artists. This, I think can only lead to great things. I look forward to every minute I play this guitar, and it's far and away one of the finest instruments I've ever owned. Please let me know if I can be of assistance in any way in helping you market this guitar. I'm already raving about it to everyone I know who should know about a guitar like this. Gratefully Yours, Arlen Roth - Arlen Roth is a studio session artist and the founder of the popular "Hot Licks Video" Series.

Arlen Roth is one of the most respected Guitarist and teacher of many different Guitar methods in the world known for his ability to play and teach numerous methods of playing styles on guitar and bass. Check Arlen out at; http://arlenroth.com/