High out put yet distinctly strat sounding pickups?

[T-800]

So I have a MIM 1994 Fender stratocaster.

I got it used late 90s or early 2000s

I was thinking that one day I might add some locking tuners (it's horrible at staying in tune) and some loud pickups.

Now I don't want to stray from the distinct strat sound, I have other guitars and plan to get other guitars for other sounds...

I just want something magnified I guess (in terms of sound)... best way to describe it. More than what I'm assuming are the stock pickups that it came with.

I want to keep the delicious thick cleans or magnify them.

Any suggestions?

Doesn't have to be Seymour Duncan...

[playas]

Look for a more efficient speaker for your amp to get the same sounds at a louder volume maybe.

Most other changes that I can think of will change the basic sound, including changing pickups.

SD also has a pickup booster, but I 'm not familiar with it so don't know if it will do what you're after...maybe explain what you're trying to achieve in more detail with info about what gear you're using and someone will have more specific suggestions.

[DCikes88]

In my limited experience, changing to higher output pickups would change the sound, response, compression and eq. It's likely that there are pickups which would give what you're after, but maybe wiring a boost for a certain frequency band could get you there with keeping the character you like.
Otherwise maybe look into Seymour Duncan Cory Wong Clean Machine set, it's as straty as it gets and doesn't lack oomph or quack. There are sound clips online.
Regarding locking tuners, I can suggest Kluson Deluxe. They are reasonably priced, do their job perfectly and look vintagey which was a must for my strat. Ofcourse, any would work compared to stock non-locking.

[GuitarDoc]

I agree with what has been said about the pups...higher output is going to change their character and tone (more compression and especially more mids).

As far as tuners go, the Fender locking tuners are excellent (I use them on my custom guitar builds) and they will keep the Fender "look". They are reasonably priced for good tuners.

[Mincer]

The trick here is to balance output and tone. The SSL-5 might be as high as I'd go (and then, only in the bridge) without losing a classic-y Strat sound. There is really no way around it...distinctly Strat sounds are partly because of that lower output. A pedal like the Pickup Booster or Overdrive might help, but that will affect the compression you feel when playing.

[chadd]

SSL1 is always a great choice for big strat tones. I would just throw a clean boost in your signal chain to to enhance that tone. As others have said, higher output pickups start to lose the strat character pretty quickly as output increases

[PFDarkside]

A few things….

We all have different expectations for what makes a pickup “Stratty” and what makes a Strat pickup full or thin. Some people find the SSL-1 thin and plinky, some find it overly full and strong for a Strat pickup. I’m in the camp that thinks a single coil with rod magnets is already going to sound pretty Stratty.

The MIM Strat pickups from the 90’s are the ceramic bar mag types that aren’t particularly weak. Do you have a preference for noiseless? If not the SSL-5/SSL-1/SSL-1 combo is classic and is a good reference point. For noiseless the STK-S6/STK-S4m/STK-S4 is a good point. The Classic Stack range also has the STK-S7 in case you want a little more “juice”.

[jeremy]

mim ceramic pups arent low output. to me a ssl1 type pup is what i think of when i want a "vintage" strat tone. its a early 60's type tone. a little bigger than a early 50's or late 60's tone but still lower output, bright, scooped and stratty. if you want more than that, the tone will change. ssl5/6 with 500k pots is a great setup but its not as nice clean to my ears but my ears are tuned to low output pups. its a tone with more mids and rolled off treble but there is more output so might suit you.

[ArtieToo]

Otherwise maybe look into Seymour Duncan Cory Wong Clean Machine set . . .

Are those actually available separately? I don't see them on the Duncan site. I only see them as available on the Cory Wong Strat.

https://www.fender.com/en-US/electric-guitars/stratocaster/cory-wong-stratocaster/0115010727.html

[jeremy]

id guess those cory wong pups are pretty low output from hearing his tones

[DCikes88]

Are those actually available separately? I don't see them on the Duncan site. I only see them as available on the Cory Wong Strat.

Yeah, not yet it would seem. My bad. The next best thing is the Ant II Surf set, the difference being Corys n+m are a4 instead of a5 in the surfers, and overwound a5 stack on the bridge.
Would really be cool to see this as a set, seems like a possibility in the future.

id guess those cory wong pups are pretty low output from hearing his tones

About as hot as a Texas Hot set. 6.5k neck and mid, and upwards of 9.8k considering the overwind.
I'm not sure if T-800 wants more output or more strat-sound, though. But as PFDarkside said, what is straty sound? That can vary greatly from person to person.

Edit: maybe even changing the string gauge, playing with pup height would be enough. Or even just smacking those strings with more bravado and vigor would do the trick.

[T-800]

First, I just want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to offer their thoughts and their suggestions.

The truth is, I don't have any specific issues with my current pickups; my limited knowledge and my curiosity had me wondering if there were any really sensitive and loud strat pickups out there, which pushed the limit of being as loud as possible without compromising the signature strat sound.

Iirc pink Floyd's guitarist uses seymour duncan pickups on his SSS strat and iirc they are described as being louder than stock strat pickups but not by so much that they sound too different. Anyone have any input on that?

[T-800]

I agree with what has been said about the pups...higher output is going to change their character and tone (more compression and especially more mids).

As far as tuners go, the Fender locking tuners are excellent (I use them on my custom guitar builds) and they will keep the Fender "look". They are reasonably priced for good tuners.

Yeah I was looking at the fender locking tuners. They look decent and as long as they aren't too expensive, I'd like to stick with the Fender look.

[jeremy]

First, I just want to say thank you to everyone who took the time to offer their thoughts and their suggestions.

The truth is, I don't have any specific issues with my current pickups; my limited knowledge and my curiosity had me wondering if there were any really sensitive and loud strat pickups out there, which pushed the limit of being as loud as possible without compromising the signature strat sound.

Iirc pink Floyd's guitarist uses seymour duncan pickups on his SSS strat and iirc they are described as being louder than stock strat pickups but not by so much that they sound too different. Anyone have any input on that?

gilmour uses a hotter bridge pup, ssl5 and other similar ones, but the neck and middle are vintage output

[eclecticsynergy]

I believe Gilmour's famous black Strat used a 50s neck, a 60s middle, and an overwound bridge.
I have two sets along those lines, the D Allen Echoes and the Onamac Pinktones. I like 'em both.