How weird, I found the biggest difference with tone open (clip one) and struggled more with the tone closed. To my ears there is more bottom end to the 71 with the bite, and I find with modern passive basses when you add bite (tone) it often takes out some of the depth.
I don't own a vintage fender to compare it to but I do have a MIM p bass with the same strings (about a month old) and Lindy Fralin PU's and I would say the tone (especially open) is not far off the Moollon which surprised me. Obviously the Moollon will be a superior instrument in every other way.