Gecko 6 - which pickups? (and how to wire them to the pre)

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I'm currently working out the last details of my third Warmoth build, a Gecko 6. All my previous basses have had exposed pole piece and sadly I dont know much at all about soapbars, despite 20 years of bass playing. According to Warmoth I'll need to use a Hipshot A bridge with 17mm spacing, so this spacing may dictate which pickups are compatible. I'm aiming for a pretty modern hifi "piano-like" sound.

Question 1 - Does string spacing/alignment matter on enclosed soapbar pickups or do they transfer sound from anywhere above the pickup?

Question 2 - I'm interested in the following pickups, I welcome any feedback about their compatibility or quality but welcome other suggestions:
* Nordstrand Dual Coils - I love Nordys, although these are a bit expensive. Would I need to custom order these and specify 17mm spacing?
* Bartolini P4 XXP46C dual coils - These are probably the most appealing: not too expensive and seem to be widely used in quality basses.
* Delano SBC HE/S - Been hearing good things about Delano. Not sure what the difference is between these dual coils and the SBC HE-S4 quad coils?

Question 3 - I'm contemplating putting 3 soapbars in this bass each with an on/off switch. Would I wire these to a 'single pickup' preamp (ie. one with no blend control)? Also, am I crazy for considering this or can you think of any drawbacks?

Question 4 - Am I right that 17mm is the only bridge spacing possible on a Gecko 6? I want to go with whatever the bass is optimised for.

Thanks, appreciate any help you can offer!

 

[Jbassfunk]

VERRRY late But, Nordstrand NJ4’s for typical J’s OR my favorite Big-Single Soapbars BC-shell + John East J-retro Deluxe (j-bass) OR UNI-Pre if rear-routed.. Nothing comes close, Not by a mile!!
HOWEVER, If you like darker, modern leaning less vintage sounds. Then Bartolini 2J-Squared, Or Singularity Soapbars with a NTMB18 Bart pre Or a Delano SBC w/Glockenklang 3b or more expensive but a Noll TXM3 pre is Aces!!
*Any wiring, switching, help I would gladly walk you through all wiring/soldering details

**I design Studio Recording/Instrument specific analog audio circuits professionally, So.. I got you!!

 

[TBurst Std]

From a functionality stand point: I'd stay away from off/on switches for each pup. Its a pain the arse to make changes when playing live. I own a Brian May, trust me.