Are the brass wraparound / stoptail posts a tonal improvement or cosmetic thing?

These things are more for the player than the listener. It matters to the player as the feel and tone is energizing and inspirational. I'm looking at you, Joe Bonnamassa, with the nylon saddles. He still sounds great, to me.
 
I think so too. Would also depend on if your making comparisons back-to-back in the same setting. Playing the guitar yourself would certainly be helpful compared to just listening to the audio.
To me, the whole point of doing upgrades is to change the tone of your guitar so that it inspires YOU more than it did before.

It annoys me when I suggest a change and some knucklehead says someone in the audience or a soundman or a lab tech would never hear or be able to record a difference.

Who cares if a soundman or a piece of lab equipment can "hear" a difference?

It's all about if YOU, the player, can hear or feel a difference and if that difference inspires your creatitivity.
 
That's interesting. I'll bear that in mind. I'm not in a position to make any comparisons, but it's good to know. Thank you for the information. Is the aluminum any harder than the brass? Seems it might be because the aluminum wraparound bridge on my SE Standard does have better sustain than the Vela,,,something which I was attributing to the Pickup,,,albeit it may well be a combination of both.
Perhaps that IS a comparison, but I'm dealing with more variables than make it easy, LOL.

It's the guitar in my Avatar.
Remember that sustain does not come from just one component. It's the sum of everything that makes up a guitar.
 
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