I think recording bass and live bass are two different things. Recorded bass, if it remains precise, can get away with being a bit busier than live bass, because whatever you do only travels a few feet (usually) before the listener hears it. The slower bass frequencies don't fall as far behind the faster mids and highs as when you play live and the bass is projecting out 50-100-500 feet. Fancy little bass moves become blurred in the listener's ear at distance, because the wave is so far behind the rest of the music. Entwistle had enough treble in his tone for this to not be an issue for him, probably because he well knew he needed it to get his sound out in arenas, etc.. But not all music can be or should be played with his tone or style.
Have at it in the studio, just keep it tight. But live, stick with the groove and when you do a move, make it big and distinct. Guitar players often don't have this insight and some bass players also. I actually learned more about bass sound running FOH sound than I did playing it on stage. My 2 cents...
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