4 strings, been playing about 18 months now.
I neeed to use a variety of techniques, i play the synth bass lines for my industrial band, which are fast catchy but dark and deep aswell. And there ontop of odd drum beats, so its hard to keep in time for an inexperienced player!
My other band is ska, in which i use lots of fifths and little fills up and down the neck. I play relatively quickly to keep it going and keep the hapy shine on it while the guitarist just upstrokes like a bitch!