So, I proved it to myself by going ahead and changing the strings. And of course, the change of tone in the models is exactly as it would be on the real guitars. The ones I'd had on – D'Addario 10-52 – were getting really worn out.
I replaced them with GHS Boomers, which I find are brighter than D'Addario or Ernie Ball. Interestingly, the models react differently to the new strings; the change of tone is far more dramatic with the Fender models than with the Gibson ones. And greater still with the acoustic models. Which I reckon is about what you'd get with the real guitars.