Of all the Strat replacement pickups out there, which ones help to bring out that great vintage Strat sound? I know the guitars wood and finish also plays a big part in the tone.

Any opinions on the Fender CS 54's and 69's? What about the Fender 57/62's or Fralin Real 54's? Any of the Lollars?

I just came across Stephens Design pickups. The sound samples are great to my ears. Anybody here use them? They are a bit pricey, but sound great. www.sdpickups.com

You will get a lot of different answers to that question. On the Fender Forum, people rave about the CS 54's quite a bit. A lot of people like Fralins too. Acme Guitarworks website has soundclips for a variety of Strat pickups. You could give those a listen as a starting point. I chose the CS Texas Specials based on the soundfiles and am very happy with them. The sound files are pretty accurate.

Thanks for the reply DoobieK. I've been on Acme Guitarworks and listened to all the files several times. I just want to make sure I'm going to get something I'll like without going through pickups. I like the sizzle of the CS 69 pups and I like the roundness of the CS 54's. The more I listen to the Lollar Tweeds, the more I like those. They have a lower output, but they sound so natural to me.

I have never tried Lollar pickups, but they get a lot of good reviews too, especially their PAF clones and mini-humbuckers. If it were me, I would start with the CS 54 and go from there. Low output pickups don't work well for me. Even though I start with a very clean signal, I do need a pup that will not sound weak.

Let me know what you end up trying and post a review.