3 strings on a narrow 5?

[pklima]

I've got one of those Galveston doubleneck basses. The necks have the same width and profile which wouldn't be a bad idea as it makes switching to the fretless neck without playing out of tune easier. However, for this to really work would have to be a lot bigger. The 4-string neck is OK but the 5 is way too narrow. Not entirely useless but feels like a guitar. There is no doubt in my mind that more space would be a good thing.

So I'm thinking of restringing the 5-string neck with three strings tuned either BEA or EAD. I know 3-string basses exist but they usually have very narrow necks. So my question is has anybody done this kind of thing on a 5-string? How did it work out in the long term? What tuning did you settle on?

I wouldn't really be giving up the high notes. This bass has 27 frets and I tune the 4-string neck CGDA (an octave below cello) which gives me an entire four octaves. I'll also get another bass with two fat 4-string necks. And I play DB most of the time anyhow...