I believe the bass sax was more popular in the 20's and 30's for dance bands. The Bonzos used one occasionally -- along with bass clarinet -- in their reconstructions during the 60's. I've played saxes from sopranos down to baritones, but unfortunately never had the opportunity to try a bass. They're fairly rare, not to mention expensive, costing up to $20,000.
They are around, though -- here's a Dixieland band featuring three:
There's even a bass sax quartet:
(Is that last the true "Tatort Cologne"?
)
And yes, they're big, but not as unwieldy as the contrabass:
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Or the subcontrabass!
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