From what I've read on the forum the alembic view is that they want to keep the energy from the vibrating string, in the string so the neck design and stiffness of it plays a bigger part in achieving that goal. The body woods have more of a refining role rather than establishing anything major to the tone. So whilst there may be some differences based on using purple heart vs maple in the accent, I doubt it's huge due to it being a small percentage of the overall body woods and maybe would not heard clearly in the context of a band situation.
I have two series basses that have similar construction materials, ebony and maple necks and mahogany cores but one has purple heart accent and a quilted maple top and back and is a series II bass and the other has a maple accent and is a series I with a burl redwood top and back. The pickups are in virtually the same positions give or take what I assume to be manufacturing tolerances so I would expect them both to sound very similar if I don't use any Q in their sound. And to be honest they do sound quite similar but where I hear differences is that the redwood bass is warmer sounding on the bottom end and I hear very little difference on the higher frequencies.
I'
[size=78%]m no authority on the subject but I'd suggest that this is more to do with the thicker top and bottom woods and the accents of maple vs purple heart is used more for cosmetic reasons than tonal. But I wouldn't state that as a fact.[/size]Also don't forget that pickup position will have a big affect on what a bass sounds like and can override any subtleties that accent wood choice might give.
I'm sure those with better more experienced ears would be able to offer a more reliable views than mine but I hope that gives you something to think about. :-)
