No tone controls at all? With Strats I need to lose a little treble from those bright pickups, and a 250K tone control allows a little of that "glass" to bleed out of the circuit - even when the tone control is full up.
Nope. I adjust my pickup height to give me the wide-open sound that puts the drive/output where I want it.
Then I adjust the tone controls on the amp for the middle pickup. I use the middle pickup as my main spot on SSS guitars. The thre volumes allow me to blend "presets" on my guitar when using the 5 way blade.
I also often use Mustang/Duo Sonic/Musicmaster pickups in my SSS instruments.
My next custom build is a bass boat green sparkle "strat" with maple/maple neck. The builder has a Mann/PRS trem I bought and had shipped over. It's gonna have a Voodoo-caster layout using SD Antiquity Duo Sonic pickup, 5 way, and 3 volumes.
Exciting.
Going back to the tone control thing....when using a guitar like what I'm describing I adjust my controls on the amp (this example is how I setup my Rivera S120) in this way:
Gain - 5
Master - 7
Tone Controls - zero if possible, if not then the lowest setting that passes enough signal
When I start adjusting, it's all in the midrange first. I add mids until there is enough body to sound "round".
Next I add bass until the tone is just starting to have "weight".
Treble is added in small increments until "clarity" begins to happen.
Presence is added slowly just to even the tone.
I play the guitar through all the pickup settings and make miniscule tweaks until the sound goes like this (3 guitar volumes on 7):
Neck - slightly fatter than the middle, but with equal output
Middle - smooth and round, reminding me of a lowoutput P90 or Gretsch Dynasonic.
Bridge - this pickup is lowered almost flat to the pickguard. When selected alone, it bites but is not harsh.
The 2+4 positions vary because of the blends that are possible.
This makes for a VERY dynamic instrument that offers many tones. I use for cleans, light drive in Americana and complementary tones to a 2 HB guitar when I don't want the sound too thick.