[JLT]

My own take, based on the one acoustic bass I have and the few others I've played, is that there is indeed a difference between the solid-body and hollow-body basses, and it's mainly due to the pickups.

My acoustic bass has two piezo pickups under the bridge plate, so it picks up what the soundboard is doing. Most solid-body basses use induction-type pickups which sense the magnetic variations in the string itself as it vibrates. Put this sort of pick-up on a hollow-body guitar, and you're not going to see much real difference in the sound quality.

My AB doesn't have the "punch" of a solid body, and sometimes the notes seem a little muddied compared to what you get with a solid-body. But I'm getting overtones from the soundboard that solid-bodies don't generate, resulting in a sound that has been described as "mellower," "woodier," or "warmer." Since I'm not using flat strings, I also have to be a bit more careful in avoiding finger scrape.

In sum, the acoustic bass has its place in the world, depending on the sound you want to get from your bass. But that's just my opinion.