Things vaguely similar to NR thunderbirds

[slinkp]

I've always liked the non-reverse thunderbird look ... but I also like basses in roughly the same shape family. By which I mean: asymmetrical, rounded bouts rather than big horns longer on top than bottom ... hourglass-ish shape... What else is like that?  There are probably some I've never seen. I'm hoping people will chime in with pictures of interesting and obscure bird-ish basses.

First off is the bird itself, of course:


The Ampeg Scroll bass is a fascinating-looking beastie, never played one of these:


I do like the Fender Jaguar shape:


I've seen some "double-reverse" knockoffs - essentially an upside-down "regular" bird - such as this Greco:


The Reverend Rumblefish is a little more angular for my taste, but kind of cool:


So... what else is out there? Obscure vintage budget crap, pricey boutique custom jobs, as long as it looks cool let's see it!

[slinkp]

A lovely Silvertone!

[ack1961]

Every time I see one of those Ampeg scroll basses, I marvel at just how gorgeous they are.

[slinkp]

Ovation Magnum is a distant cousin:

[Aussie Mark]

The younger, more pointy cousin ....

[hieronymous]

The Bass VI is similar to the Jaguar, but the upper horn is more Strat-like:



(This is a mock-up I did with a program at OffsetGuitars.com. But don't go there right now! Firefox just said it's an "attack page" - it may have been compromised recently. It was fine a few days ago but better safe than sorry...)

[slinkp]

The younger, more pointy cousin ....

Wow Mark, that Music Man (I think?) thing is really ugly!   What is the story on that thing?

[leftybass]

Looks like a bass version of a MM Albert Lee gtr.

[slinkp]

Hieronymous, you reminded me that Lakland did a similar shape with the Decade:

The upper bout on those makes them feel a lot more fender-ish than gibson-ish to me.

I was hoping more obscure stuff would come out of the woodwork, like that Silvertone job.
What else you guys got?

[slinkp]

Ah, I should've googled Teisco sooner!

[Aussie Mark]

Looks like a bass version of a MM Albert Lee gtr.

It is - the "Big Al".  I own one, and it's the best Musicman ever made, in my opinion.  Don't let the look fool you.  The stacked single coil pups, 18v preamp, and the passive/active switching gives it a gazillion tones.  And it's the most ergonomic bass I've ever played.  I recorded with it last year and the engineer loved it too.

[Dave W]

I'd love to have a Big Al someday. Not on the horizon anytime soon.

[slinkp]

That Big Al does sound interesting. Too bad about those angles.

Meanwhile, over on fetishguitars, I found this "Meazzi Jupiter":
http://www.fetishguitars.com/html/meazzi/jupiterbass.html

[dadagoboi]

IIRC built for Adam Clayton...I want to see the case.

[slinkp]

Ah, a reverse explorer? Kinda cool.
(Although I have to wonder, why does Adam Clayton want 24 frets!)