I don't like taking anything out of the house that cost me more than $500, especially if it's a guitar that could not be readily replaced - as many of mine cannot. My "workhorse" was a mid-90s MIM that I originally used with SSS configuration and later changed to HSS.

The last incarnation of this guitar was switching it to a Mighty Mite black pickguard loaded with Mighty Mite split rails. This guitar has been with me through thick and thin and has held up beautifully through the years.

By the time you've paid for the MIM upgrades you'd need to make, you'd be in the range of an Am. Std. The pups sound great and are ready to roll. The MIMs are great guitars. I used to own one, but I a/b'd it with my Am. Std., and the pups didn't have quite the claiity of the ones in the Am. Std.