Shobud tone?

[Colin Boutilier]

One thing I haven’t noticed mentioned ( I could be wrong) is the relative height of the pickup and how that changes the bite, sustain and fullness

Yes the actual Pickup makes a diff in out-front delivery. Things to consider>
Single Coil original Pickup(and non-original) with exposed magnets needs to be 3/16"; as any closer than that does interfere with the vibration of the string and will sound a little unclear and depends on Amplifier. Humbuckers have their own output overall sound also; but you can have strings closer as they usually have a cover of the magnets. These are all very subtle differences most cannot hear; but us in the recording and production of sound; hear these small diffs all the time...yeeeehaaa.
Ricky

I've yet to record on steel, but I've always preferred recording 6-strings with single coils. They could be fattened up later, if needed.

[Bill Duncan]

Sound plays games and nearly everything affects it.

[Bob Hoffnar]

Keep in mind that Sho Bud build quality was very inconsistent over the years. As another option you might want to look at the new Sho Buds that are just coming out and Sho Pro steels.