As for the tone circuit on a guitar, removing one didn't seem to change the tone in any way. But my hearing has born the brunt of loud amps and jet noise, so what do I know?
I think the best take on star san is to repeat Denny's mantra of evaluate it for yourself. It isn't perfect, but it seems to work for me enough of the time. From what I've learned from Mark, I have a plan B to fall back on.