I'm not convinced that a good, solid laminate is a drawback in a solid body. My Lotus fretless is a laminate and it sounds great. Gibson's color-laminate SG-series uses layers as well.
I haven't done side-by-side tests of basses with different body woods with identical electronics and strings, which is what it would take for me to be convinced. My current belief is that if wood makes a difference (not saying it doesn't, but also not saying that if there's a difference, that it is a drawback), electronics and strings make a lot MORE difference.