Looks like someone over @ Danelectro had the same idea I did, or took my advice. (I’d like to think it was the latter.) At this year’s winter NAMM, Danelectro unveiled the “Dano ‘63″ guitar and bass models. The guitar is a pretty faithful rendition of the two-pickup Silvertone 1457. To throw the bass players a bone, they’re releasing both long (34″) and short-scale (30″) models!

The basses are (probably) made in China, but I haven’t confirmed that fact - I’m guessing China based on the $299 price tag. It does look like they’re using the ‘nicer’ Dano hardware on these instruments (mainly an intonate-able bridge instead of the vintage-spec non-adjustable rosewood saddle version).
Unfortunately, they did not carry over the funky 6-in-line headstock that the old Silvertones had.

And for some reason they stiffed the bass players on finish options - you have your choice of Aqua, Black or Redburst if you want a long scale, but only Redburst if you go shortscale. The guitars have eight retro color options.

I’m gonna have to give one of these Dano ’63’s a test drive once they actually hit the market. Musicians Friend has them on preorder with a shipping date of 7/2/08. Music123 has them listed for sale with no mention of wait time - so they may be in stock already. Numerous eBay sellers also have preorders up.

View Danelectro’s website for product information: http://danelectro.com/bass_ss_red.html

If anyone has a chance to give these puppies a test drive, please post here with your comments.