Yep both MK11 and The Craufurd are good venues - a lot of money been put into The Craufurd over the last few years, and I`ve seen a few fairly well known bands there but you`re right, both should be getting more than they currently do.
Although I prefer to have an amp/speakers behind me pumping out the volume - I just love the feel of a big rig pushing it out - if I could guarantee monitoring & sound checks would be up to it I’d happily gig amp-less. I have done a few times when the provided rig has craped out during the day and it didn’t affect me at all, just got on with it. I’d want the monitors more for the rest of the band than myself anyway.
I have Elixir steel rounds on my Precisions & Jazz, currently have Ernie Ball Coated rounds on my Stingray (but they died really quickly so will be getting Elixirs too).
Flats-wise I’ve Dunlops on a Precision.
In my last band I used a Tech21 Para Driver into my Ashdown amps but with the eq on those in the off position. Not exactly the same as a power amp but doing pretty much the same. Worked well.
Jumped ship to Fender F-Grip 346. 1.5mm thick so get a better attack sound with a softer touch, plus the sound they generate is quite “scoopy” so suits me well. And they’re triangular so still 3 picks for the price of one. Plus the indentation of the F makes for a good grip. And the red/tort makes them easier to see if dropped on stage.
I like the “split scratchplate” idea@thodrik, not seen that before but does make accessing the electrics a fair bit easier I would think. Kudos to the previous owner for coming up with that.