Basses have been made with seven, eight, nine, or even fifteen strings with extremely wide necks and custom pickups.
Some extended-range basses are built to a player's specific preferences, including variation in scale length, appearance, and electronics.
Some musicians such as jazz bassist Steve Swallow tune the five-string bass to E-A-D-G-C, with a high C-string instead of the low B-string.
Alternatively, tuning a standard four-string bass guitar in fifths, C-G-D-A, extends the range by six notes (four lower, two higher).
The most common tunings for a seven-string bass are F♯ to C or B to F; an eight-string F♯ to F; a nine-string F♯ to B♭; a ten-string C♯ to B♭ or F♯ to E♭; an eleven-string C♯ to E♭ or F♯ to A♭; and a twelve-string C♯ to A♭ or B to G♭.
The upper strings of an extended-range bass allow bassists to adopt playing styles of the electric guitar.
The added strings of the extended-range bass compound the muting problems that many bassists encounter.
Extended-range bassists often turn to soft items such as hairbands to dampen the sympathetic vibrations, or adopt advanced muting techniques, including the "floating thumb" technique (using the thumb of the plucking hand to mute lower strings) to achieve a good sound.
The role that the extended-range bass plays in music is still largely a matter of situation and personal preference.
Many extended-range bassists play the bass part in bands, and may also perform in a solo setting, using advanced techniques such as two-handed tapping or chording.