The pups are very "tunable". The further you run the polepieces out, the brighter the pups get. screw the polepieces down, and the bassier the pups get. It's better for you to use spacers to get the pup height correct than to try and correct using the polepieces.
I don't think "mediocre" describes the M75T at all, imho. A quick scan of ebay shows a number of DeA's up for sale. If the guitar is local, go play it and see if you can dicker any. Cases for Epi Wildkats fit the DeA's, but the case is a tad too deep, so you have to throw a towel in the case to make up the difference.