Bass guitar questions ??

[D_I_A_B_L_O]

Im just starting to learn bass but one thing that bothers me is the 4 or 5 string part !! I absolutely adore the BC Rich WMD Widow - http://www.bcrich.com/bass_widow.html - this ticks all my boxes !! Obviously the 5 string part comes in to play here, in real world terms, why 5 strings ?? What is the advantage ??

[D_I_A_B_L_O]

Cheers guys and hey, the widow isnt to everybodys taste but I think it looks nice. Will end up getting something completely different no doubt