That's actually an interesting comment.... Because he knew a lot of bass players doubled on bari--or bari players doubled on bass.
I don't always play sax, but when I do, I prefer bari. Stay saxy, my friends.
OK, with the joke out of the way, I can say that I've played all of one concert on bass. I did lug my YBS-52 along with the bass (Conn New Wonder) for said concert, but that's only because the Conn was in sad shape and was overly difficult to play, so I only played it for the pieces that were too low for a bari. However, if I had a good bass, I think I'd rarely have to pull out a bari for a gig, if ever. Part's in Eb? Transposition time! The tone is pretty similar, too.
The other thing is price. A new non-Chinese/Taiwanese pro bass starts in the $13K range (Orsi). Vintage horns in good shape are a minimum of $6K. A new non-Chinese/Taiwanese pro bass starts in the $6K range, with vintage ones in good shape for less than half that. If I really was going to do a lot of bass stuff and had a budget, I'd skip the bari. Maybe buy an OK "lesser known" vintage bari somewhere down the road.