On Altered Beast Matthew Sweet plays 4, 8 & 12 string basses. When quizzed he said he wanted a fat, muddy bottom end. It doesn't sound so bad on the album.
I saw Cheap Trick in their heyday & wasn't impressed by the bass playing or the off stage synths. They've improved as the Live at Selina's DVD demonstrates.
There's some sense in a bass with octave strings played in unison with the trad 4 but I really can't get a mental grip of a bass player, other than a outright soloing maniac (& that's not the type of bass playing I'm interested in as a listener or player), wanting more than 4 strings. That's the guitar players' domain and moving up the fret board is the way to higher notes for a bass player.
I know other people have other tastes, likes etc but when I see one of those non octave 4+ string basses my mind always, & quite unfairly I'll admit, forms the word wanker.
I suppose I could accept a 5 string that had a extra low string - bottom B maybe.
I'm just old & crabby I guess.