Not all bass guitars have only 4 strings. In the late 70s, virtuoso bassist Anthony Jackson designed the first 6-string bass, believing the bass guitar to be an extension of the guitar family rather than an electronic double bass. Since then, many manufacturers have added models to their ranges with additional strings, most being 5-string models with a low B-string or a high C-string, although some players have instruments with as many as 12 strings! Another oddity is the piccolo bass, which is usually tuned an octave higher and is therefore more similar to a guitar.
5-string bass guitars with a low B-string have grown in popularity and shrunk in price in recent years as the ability to reproduce the fundamental tones of the low string has become less of a problem with improved amplification.
