Thanks so much for the replies, guys! The more I think of it, Tim's pickups are made the way they are for a reason, so I shouldn't mess with a good thing just because I want it to look a specific way.
Will the aftermath play nice in American basswood with a maple cap? The aftermath I pkayed was in a mahogany/maple topped Esp eclipse II and it was the bee's knees. A lot of people recommend the painkiller for low-tuned, super tight metal stuff, but I loved the metallic, pissed off, urgent sound of the aftermath. And for my last bother, what would be a liquidy/open-top-end style compliment for the neck position? Sonething in the vein of an air norton style, perhaps.
Thanks again, all!