Where does the tone come from?

[Jens Westerinen]

Indeed, but to get a sertain sound you'll need a typical kind of pickup.
Sure, fingers make tonal difference, but they can't make a single coil in bridge position sound like a mudbucker in neck position.
I'd argue that, maybe the biggest, factors is position and kind of pickup/pickups.

[Ronen Tat]

Originally Posted by Jens Westerinen

I'd argue that, maybe the biggest, factors is position and kind of pickup/pickups.

Totally agree. The basic/fundamental character of the tone is there. Beyond that - woods, laminations etc, it's fine tuning.
My two neck through Ken Smiths are constructed from different woods, certainly sound different but you can easily recognize the Ken Smith signature tone in both.

Opinion.

[Scott Pope]

I respectfully disagree. It's the synthesis. Ken's basses sound like Ken's basses because of all the above: the woods, the construction, the electronics, etc. Other manufacturer's basses sound like they do for the same reason. It's synthesis. Over the years I've experimented a lot, and the end results have always been the same: it's the synthesis of the major attributes of the particular manufacturer that make a bass sound as it does.

[Jens Westerinen]

Scott, I think you are so right, but the question is "what has the most impact on the tone", so would you still argue that, say, the top wood colors the tone just as much as the pickups, or the placement of the them?

[Scott Pope]

I think body wood and construction methods have more to do with overall tone. I think if you experiment and put different pickups in the same bass, it will by and large still sound like the same bass, maybe a different flavor, but the same general sound.

[Jens Westerinen]

Ok, I understand.