I have three pre-Peavey Cargos from back when they were still using GOTOH 510 (high quality) tuners. Fortunately, I had the foresight to order spare parts for my Cargos from CA Guitars through The Podium, so I have spare sets of those quality tuners, and carbon fiber nuts and saddles.
All three of my Cargos have the K & K pickups installed. They have to be EQ'd to sound good. I came up with a number of ways to do it, but now have settled on the Empress ParaEQ. It is simple enough and works very well:
https://empresseffects.com/products/paraeq
There was another guy, I think jonsfield45, that found that installing two of the three K & K elements resulted in a much more balanced sound. Since I have the Empress, I have not bothered experimenting with that.
Though the K & K pickups work well for me, I would not recommend them on the Cargo. The Cargo has a VERY strong lower mid-range component that has to be EQ'd, so with the K & K pickups, you can't just plug it in directly to an amp or board and expect to get a good sound.
I also have two McPherson Touring guitars. To me, these are what the Cargo could have become IF either CA Guitars or Peavey had sunk enough R & D into it. Fortunately, McPherson did, and the result is absolutely stellar.
It has the same 22 3/4" scale, same body size as the Cargo, but is deeper. It sounds very good and balanced and it has the LR Baggs Element pickup, which has been EQ'd specifically for use in the Touring guitar. That system has tone (with center detent) and volume controls just inside the sound hole, as well as one of those Velcro battery bags inside. You can just plug the Touring in and it sounds fine. I don't need to EQ it at all, and it does not have an of that silly "quack" sound.
If you are willing to spend the extra money for the Touring, it is well worth it, especially if you intend to keep the guitar for a long time. McPherson is not a half-assed company. They are known for making some of the finest carbon fiber hunting bows, which is what my nephews know them for, so expect them to make an equally fine guitar.
Anyway, for a small guitar, I recommend the McPherson Touring:
https://mcphersonguitars.com/product...-fiber-guitar/
If you opt for one of these, get the version with the honeycomb top, the gold German Schaller tuners, and the gold EVO frets. It is the top of the line of that model, and that is what both of mine are. I would not get any of the earlier Kevin Michael versions, as I played a few and did think they were nearly as good as what these instruments have evolved into today. Even if in the future, McPherson makes more changes, today's model truly is more than good enough. I can't see how it could be improved, but the earlier models just didn't have it yet.
I have had my Cargos since around 2006 or 2007, and plan to keep both them and the McPhersons for a very long time.
Tony