noodles wrotei've never liked extended range on guitars or bases... doesn't sound good imo. and both times i've played a five or six string bass i've found myself rarely even using the lower strings. low e is good enough for me 😃
The extended range for 6 string bass only accounts for maybe 4-5 extra notes on both the low and high end. If you buy a 5 or 6 string for those few extra notes, then you're pretty much wasting your money.
With a 4 string bass, you only get a range of an octave and a half in one position. With a 5 string, you get 2 octaves in one position, and with a 6 string, you get 2 and a half octaves out of one position. The extra strings are there to give the player more range out of one position, so you don't have to shift around the neck as much.
6 strings also allow the player more of a soloing opportunity. You can get more extended chord voicings out of a 6 string, as opposed to a 4 string where you can only have 4 note chords at a time. There are much more chordal opportunities with 6 strings, which I love, because bass chords are wonderful.
And really, out of the 50 or so minutes I spent with the 6 string yesterday, I just loved the feel of it. Surprisingly, I didn't feel overwhelmed at all.