[quote name='bubinga5' post='711820' date='Jan 13 2010, 07:41 PM']well the pickups are passive, there is no preamp, so the biggest factor is the wood?...[b]a good passive pickup should only amplify the sound of what the bass is made of...[/b]so the process is different to an active setup[/quote]
But they don't, do they? Even top end uber-jazzes (and you of all people should know!) still sound essentially like a Jazz bass, and that really isn't that natural a sound at all, especially with both pickups on. Likewise, a Precision with a "good passive pickup" still sounds like a Precision because of the electronics- there's not much different in their construction otherwise. Maybe its different when you get to more exotic breeds like QTuners, piezos etc but to be prefectly honest, I doubt it. Look at how much grief DB players go through trying to find a pickup that's "their bass, only louder"- it just doesn't happen.
IMO, YMMV etc of course