The PBC Guitar Technology company is the collaboration between John Pearse, Dave Bunker, and Paul Chernay. Pearse and Bunker met at the 1988 NAMM show in California. Pearse was promoting his strings and high tech pickups, while Bunker was demonstrating his Touch guitar. The two were later joined by Chernay, a long-time friend of Pearse. Luthier Bunker's previous guitar designs, while radical for their time, were designed in a way to solve certain inherent solid body design flaws. PBC Guitar Technology introduced both the Tension-Free neck design and the Wishbone hollowbody series.
After the PBC Guitar Technology company went out of business in 1996, Dave Bunker began building guitars under his old Bunker Guitars trademark in 1998 (see Bunker Guitars). Bunker's new company planned on offering PBC-style models in late 1998/early 1999.
The Tension-Free design involves a solid .375 in. steel bar that runs inside the length of the neck, and transfers all the string pull directly to the body of the instrument. This leaves the outer wood neck and fretboard free from the loading that would normally lead to neck warpage, and the solid steel core carries all neck vibration to the body. Tension-Free necks have appeared on other manufacturer's models (such as Ibanez's USA Prestige Series models).
Instruments previously built in Coopersburg, PA from 1989 to 1996. Also see Bunker Guitars.