I dont want my songs to be bass guitar solos. There is a place for solos but no player should overindulge in melodies and neglect the bottom when choosing a sound or what note to play. The use of an extended range bass should expand the palate of tone and colour, not shift the bass players responsibility from central character to leader / front man. There is nothing wrong with leading a band or a song from the bass players chair but I admire (and hope to be counted among) those players who do so without sacrificing the magic and power of a solid harmonic foundation.
A four string bass is limited in the way it speaks because the strings are not as free to vibrate near the bridge as they are on an extended range instrument. The higher the pitch played on any string the shorter the amount of string vibrating, and the resulting note will have a suppressed overtone structure. Having the same pitch available, at a place farther from the bridge on the instrument neck, allows one to choose between the attack and sonority of each.
A four string bass is limited in the way it speaks because the strings are not as free to vibrate near the bridge as they are on an extended range instrument. The higher the pitch played on any string the shorter the amount of string vibrating, and the resulting note will have a suppressed overtone structure. Having the same pitch available, at a place farther from the bridge on the instrument neck, allows one to choose between the attack and sonority of each.
