You and I have freakishly similar taste in fine basses, RV.
Well the short version is this; there isn't much comparison between a Turner Electroline and a Alembic Series bass, and this is coming from a really BIG fan of both. There really isn't much else that
does sound like a Series bass that I know of, but if RT ever did intentionally try to capture the spirit of that, it would have been the Model One with its parametric eq/mid-sweep. It's not quite the same as a low-pass filter/Q-switch, but the end result is kinda' similar... given the story of the Model One's inception, Rick was specifically trying to
avoid some problems associated with the neck-through construction of Alembic guitars, so probably not on purpose. I'd guess any similarity has more to do construction methods of the time, like with the 32" scale and pickup location on it. (IIRC, the first M1's had Bartolinis... not sure if that was basses too) For giggles sometime, I'd like to A/B my '77 Series I, with a '79 Model One. Just to say I did.
Now, the longer version. Not sure if you ever read the story or not, but Rick actually designed the Electroline while doing some R&D work for Gibson, but they apparently didn't want to develop a product line to get into the boutique market. (I guess buying out Mike Tobias was cheaper?) Whatever the case, Rick took his plans with him when he left, and eventually they made it into his regular line. They seem to go in batches more than regular production, but I don't know about that... never asked.
They are made to be modular, (RT is a tool guy) so yes, bolt-on necks, routed bodies. I haven't tried it out on mine, but I bet anything that the necks are interchangeable with Renaissance basses. Can't imagine him using a different jig just because. That said, there are at least a couple different variations I've seen on Electrolines, so there may be exceptions for updated versions. Some are swamp ash bodies, some are mahogany too. Most I've seen have maple necks. Occasionally you'll see one with the familiar decorative backstrapped headstock. Some autographed by the boss. You might be interested to know Bear designed the 'Sun Lion' logo too.
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My two; 2005 lined fretless & 2007 fretted.
Both of my Electrolines are 5-strings with 35" scale, peizo bridges, 2 magnetic pickups and blending electronics (EL-535-PMM) one of them of course is fretless. What they sound like is a little harder to pin down... I can tell you they are
extremely variable. Solo'ing out the magnetics with the blender pan, I would say with everything set to flat, they come pretty close to Alembic MXY's. (like on that Orion you had) Rick winds his own pickups for these, and I really have no idea what fence he was swinging for, but just knowing from the get-go he's kinda' spent his whole career looking at how to get the most out of something. The difference is the treble roll-off tone circuit rather than a boost/cut option. They can still be very, very bright if that's what you need. They can get pretty dark tone too, I've even done muddy, muted P-bass. Most of the time, I run mine with everything magnetic on full, then dial in a little bit of piezo bridge for warmth, and use a Broughton low-pass filter pedal with the cut-off at about 380-400 hZ and the Q at 4-5 dB. (Yeah, I know... I need an SF-2...
) I have used the piezos only, but rarely... usually I'd just grab one of the Renaissance basses. I read somewhere that the piezo bridge is like having a bass boost on these, and that's really true. If you use them with piezo only, it requires some pretty radical eq changes.
Only gripe with them is, they are heavy... 11 lbs worth. The only redeeming thing is that they balance so perfectly that you don't notice it for a while. Fair to say I have really loved mine. All I have to do is plug one in an play a few minutes and I think sometimes I'm nuts to even pick up another bass... you and I both know what else is out there, and as recently discussed elsewhere, I simply can't pick
just one! 
, I think his thoughts on the Electroline series are completely on track. I have two 4 string Electrolines: a EL-434-PMM fretted, and my fretless has 3 mag pickups with no piezo (though I'm considering having a piezo and Eclipse pre installed).
