That thing is covered in myth and lore and whether it was ever really a serious dispute ... IIRC Fender thought the four-tuners-in-row too close for comfort and recognized the shape of the Rev as its Jaguar/Jazzmaster turned upside down plus Gibson's sudden change on a bass to Fender type long scale. But none of that was changed with the Non Revs, if anything they were even more Fenderesque and a set neck is closer to a bolt-on than a neck thru is to a bolt-on.
The original reverse Fire- and TBirds were upmarket creations for mature serious players of jazz, not that fleeting pop or rock thing. They were priced accordingly - more expensive than any other Gibson or Fender stringed electric instrument -, but it was still soon realized that the neck-thru construction was a real cost item.When the Fire-/Thunderbird line failed to set the world on fire, Gibson gave it a facelift (or faceturn!) and cut the etravagant neck-thru in the process. But then the Non Revs did even worse.
I'll say it again: The Rev is a design classic and icon with a touch of Art Deco, the Non-Rev an accidental ugly duckling with a cult following (among bassists, in guitar circles it does not meet the worship it does here). Ask any non-guitar or non-bass player whether they prefer the Rev or the Non Rev shape and you'll always get the same answer. Not for the Non Rev. Nobody (except the knowing who appreciate their rarity) has ever said that my Non Revs look good, with my Revs I hear that all the time, the chick singer in my band insists that I play only them.
