Well I agree about cutting and how it sits in the mix and all of that, but there are times when the more subtle details of a guitar tone comes out. Amps and pedals still probably have more to do with it than pickups (I can't say, as I haven't done many pup swaps).

I guess I'd just say that I'm not always blasting full-bore all of the time to where some of the more detailed parts of guitar tone don't matter.

Bear in mind that this is coming from me: a hardcore cheapskate and anti gear snob.