Charvel for the right reasons?

[85 San Dimas]

.....the thing I'm wondering about as I read this thread is what kind of amp are you playing through? Mesa? Marshall? Engl? VHT? HK? Framus?

if it's low gain then you're really working old school with effects, and if it's mega high gain then pup selection really isn't as critical because most flexibility is lost anyway unless you have a killer amp or are running two rigs. It sounds to me like you're using warm, clean highs or am I reading this wrong?

You may want to invest in something other than Duncans or Dimarzios if so because they don't "turn down" very well. They're pretty much made to be set on "10". Maybe Dimarzio 36th Anniv. PAF's? Or some good boutique pickups. Even in a Pro-Mod....you'd get the look and playability but keep closer to a more familar sound but with added highs.

[Millbrook]

The amp choice is indeed very important. I've been playing through a modest crate v30 combo for the past few years. It is more of a vintage sounding amp, and I actually like the sound of it, but it's not the best built amp out there and it has it's issues. However, I have no real reason to get a new one right now. I run the amp clean and quite bright and use Zoom and Fullsound fuzzes and a Xotic BB Preamp for my dirty sounds.

I always play with the volume knob in order to find the right balance with the musicians around me so it's important to me to be able to turn down. You might be right that eventually I need to change the pickups. But that's ok, the JB is easy to sell and there are tons of good stuff out there even second hand. I have Lollars on my japanese Tokai LP and they are just great.