Fenders are Partscasters no matter what they are to me. The magic is intangible. Just a lucky match up of the parts. All of them are good enough for me. Never can tell which pile of scraps is gonna get the job done. I love the single coil buzz. My guitar is alive and that's it breathing. I did see a mod where a guy used copper foil tape for grounding the control cavity, but he wrapped the coil in plastic tape,then he cut copper tape into strips and wrapped around the pickup coil and then soldered a lead to it for grounding. Faraday cage stuff. Also an MXR noise gate is great at killing any noise from chain.
I wish I was a shredder at times. I love hi gain lead sounds and some chuggy chords too. But, sweeping arps, two handed tapping, and cat fight whammy bar stuff just aren't what i want to practice. Im a soul man. Blues in my heart and balls full of rawk.
There is a G&L fallout that has my eye. P90 neck with coil split bucker in bridge. Paralell/series switch is better to my ears than split coils, but still a fun option. Especially stock from factory.