This is my humble opinion:
Cavern versus normal spacing:
Most people use the neck pickup with the normal spacing. The bridge pickup is not really usable, however it can let you dial in some extra highs (*). But to be frank you have one sound. Of course fingerstyle versus pick, palm muting, you can still do a lot within the warm Höfner range.
With a Cavern spacing - so pickups closer together - you can do much more. Together the sound is really deep and warm and soloing the middle/2nd pickup gives you a more middy sound, a bit faster sound and more tight. You can vary between ballads and more rocky songs by just turn your neck pickup on and off or use the volume control of it.
As a finger style player I like the thumbrest position of the second pickup.
Toasters/bars versus Staples/Diamonds:
The Staples and Diamons are roughly the same and humbuckers. Very big, wide and oomphy sounding. With finger style sometimes almost too much. Modern ones are a bit hotter and oomphier than older ones. The new relic Höfners have lower output and sound better imho. I know Höfner knows the pickups can be a bit lower in output to match older ones and gradually the change it, if I recall correctly. Of course great pickups, also the modern ones. If it's good enough for Macca, Dale of Amy Winehouse, etc. etc.
The bars and toasters are single coils and however I never tried the bars, my contact at Höfners say the character is close to the toaster. When I first got my toaster 500/1 I thought it was broken. I had my amp turned low and I had no sound. I turned the amp volume up and there it was! The output is MUCH lower. The overall sound is more woody, warm, tighter and more usable for finger style. Just not an explostion of sound but a great one. Much more bass and less pickup. It blends in great with piano and acoustic guitars and in my acoustic duo my other half wants me to play the red toaster one. A very talented player borrowed two Höfners and he had the same opinion. He even asked me to borrow the red one for recordigs.
Toasters and Cavern:
And an extra part about the combination. Caver/toasters. The neck pickup is more or less described above. Together it's a bit warmer and fuller, but the secret weapon is the middle pickup. A Höfner will never be a Fender but this pickup soloed is really nice for rocky songs and more usable than the humbucker soloed. It's warm, tight, fast and I just could use it in a rock band.
(*) I believe Paul McCartney has his bridge pickup on, but volume rolled down. That gives a different sound than bridge pickup off. Something to do with the strange circuitry. I'm not technical enough to explain this.
