Same here, its only when I got the Gretsch that I though I want a different sound, not just compensate the volume difference.
BTW I also have a strat that I fitted with vintage bareknuckle pickups and I also have a significant drop in output....I need to check out my pickup height there as well but I suspect its because over the years pickups and generally got hotter, causing a bigger delta with vintage stuff.
we’ll today was a game changer… I suspected some wiring foul play so i pulled the tele apart took pics and sent it into Suhr to confirm if it was all good. IT WAS NOT lol… love my tech but Suhr has some extra stuff with their SCCII system so I got a diagram and all is well now.
I can use my initial main performance and the difference is only in the natural eq the guitar offers.
Since we were talking about switching guitars, I like the unique things each switch brings however I only want to tweak settings at the amp/pedals if there’s something significantly nasty happening.