It is a fun navel-gazing preoccupation for a group of people who are never happy. Guys who go for full range / sonically innert pups are always in search of the next waste of time. Truth be told it is an area with a tad more legitamacy than cable made with oxygenated copper, or "bell" brass hardware, etc.
The pup is part of the whole thing. A mudbucker offers a vibe that people have been conditioned to react poorly to over the past 30 years, but I think of them as full balls pickups. Its all subjective. I found DiMarzio P pups to be grating at best, and they sold boatloads of them. I don't hate Model Ones, but why did people bother with them in the first place? You can't make an EB-0 sound like a Jazz bass. I like Guild bass pups, but I don't think I would want an EB-2 to sound like a Starfire, or to play like one. They look alike, and that is cool enough. They are different, but one isn't better. I am glad there are drop in replacements, as always. Routing up an old bass is avoidable.