At store volume I thought the Texas Specials are awesome pickups. Really sweet sounding. I know that having them at the correct distance from the strings makes all the difference between sounding good or sounding bad.

The Tex Mex pickups at store volume didn't excite me in the same way. Which leads me to believe that at gig volume they are going to be just right. They'll have a bit more growl and sound thicker which in a room full of noisy people can made a big difference on you being satisfied with your guitar sound on a gig.

Still my preference is the Specials just cause they sound sweet. So Roadhouse.

Now the way I'd really do it is get the JV and put in the Special pickups just because I like the V neck.