http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bassix-Double-Bass-Banjo-/180592323930?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Sting_Instruments&hash=item2a0c242d5a#ht_500wt_1009
 

 
I wonder if Victor Wooten has one for some tracks with Bela Fleck?
I bet he could make it cool..
 
Jazzyvee

If the door's the normal size that thing's Huge!! you'd never get it in your smart car ;-)
 
Graeme

Apparently it breaks down into a compact size for transporting. It would be interesting to hear how it sounds tho.
 
Jazzyvee

Look up the song Iowan Gal by Les Claypool live, he uses a bassjo which is basically a banjo with a 34 neck and bass strings, the sound is pretty killer and definitely different.
 
~Taylor

Not really a new idea. Take a look at this.
 
Keith

In the 'Ragtime Era' of the early 1900's, the instrument companies made their money with acoustic instruments.  Guitars were not that prevalent, nor were they completely nailed down design-wise.  This is where you see the strange birds like the 'harp' guitars.
 
However, banjos were a big deal, and mandolins to a lesser extent.  Mandolins are essentially a fretted violin with paired strings, and this was a time for banjos before the five-string we generally think of these days.  They were marketed as families of instruments, with the four voice ranges like the violin family.  
 
So you'd see acoustic/choral groups with mandolin, mandola, mandocello, and mandobass.  And parallel with banjos.  That's where this bass banjo originated.  Nowadays it's a (terrifying) novelty, but in its day, it was part of a multi-piece banjo orchestra (a truly blood-curdling prostpect).
 
The legendary Gibson designer Lloyd Loar was at Gibson in those days, and these were the times that drove his great acoustic designs.
 
J o e y

i saw a F Style mandolin shaped upright a few years back. it was fretted like the banjo in the wikipedia link. can't seem to find a picture of one, most mandobasses were A style, but it was pretty awesome.

A tummy contour would helpful on this one lol.

And for those who don't play upright, here's a current take on the concept.
 
Peter

That's cool,     ----- and 32 scale !

the Goldtone is what Les Claypool used for the song i mentioned and plays it live
 
~Taylor

OK, who was it that went to the Andre the Giant estate sale and bought this thing?

Here's a short clip of how the Goldtone version sounds.
 
Googling for The Blue Belles or Jean Rankin (as mentioned in the Gibson ad) does not find anything relevant - that's a pity.
 
And this clip is a 1930s banjo orchestra featuring both a double bass with a more or less banjo-shaped body and what might either be a bass banjo or a cello banjo.

This is another type of bass that I saw a few years back when I was playing the Womad Festivals. The whole band had three stringed instruments.  
 
 
Balalaika Bass
 


 
 
Jazzyvee