Sorry for the delay. The weekend was busy, and then work has been crazy!
I played in a band context at full volume this weekend and was pleasantly surprised. When I play alone with the pickups in swapped positions it sounds...completely different. And not in a great way. Not bad. But not great. Almost like the neck is nasally and the bridge is poppy. I'm not sure if these words help.
But in the context of the band. Oh my!! What a difference! The bridge REALLY came alive. No longer poppy but powerful! Great over driven sounds and roll the volume down and it cleans up very well. And the neck was rich and clear and all the nasally parts were gone. But honestly, what was most impressive (and surprising) was the middle position. It sounds great. And if I roll a little volume off one pickup or the other you get a whole new set of sounds. I would regularly do this before, but could only roll off the neck volume If i rolled off the bridge volume it would be too boomy/bassy. Not so anymore. Both are usable and sound terrific.
I'm not used to trying to be particularly descriptive on paper (internet?), so hopefully I've done a decent job describing all this. In short, if you play alone switching the pickups is absolutely NOT worth it. Honestly, I don't like it. But in the band context it is difference, kind of strange, but fun. I play in a band with keys bass and acoustic and t sounds great!. Quite a different sound. But balanced, and nice.
Now, to be honest, i'm not certain if switching the pickups made the difference, or if using all the information I learned along the way made the difference. Time will tell I'm sure. But so far this has been, what I consider, a success. Feels little bit like getting a new guitar.
I play weekly at church, but also play a lot at home. So now I need to decide if I'll keep it. But it's fun. And it does change the sound. Band context I like the difference in sound. Playing alone...not so much.