Re: Looking for boost recommendations.
The Catalinbread Naga Viper is a treble booster that can do a clean boost on a clean channel if you turn it's gain control down. It also has a range knob which will let you do anything from a treble boost to a full ransge boost. It's silicon and sounds a bit smoother to my ears than the Java Boost for example. Also more gain on tap and far less noisy.
IIRC the way the range control on the catalinbread works is by changing the input impedance (The Runoffgroove omega does the same thing) while the "heat" changes the bias of the transistor. What that means is that it's a very versatile design but it goes more from a treble boost to a LPB-1 style boost than an EP boost which while not being a true clean boost is going to be more hi-fi than the viper. I could be wrong but that's what I seem to remember about the circuit.
An ep-style boost like the Xotic or dunlop echoplex booster are going to add some bass, which is great for a guitar like the strat. They can sound great with humbuckers too, you just have to make some adjustments to the amp to compensate. They also have some more clarity on the top end which is partly due to the higher (and fixed) input impedance and partly due to the fact that they control the volume from the source of the transistor rather than at the end of the circuit (in which case they work kind of like a volume knob on your guitar and can roll of some of the higher frequencies).
Then we have the z.vex SHO which has massive input impedance - something on the order of 5 meg. It changes with the volume because like the EP boost the volume control of the SHO is on the source of the MOSFET transistor. Incidentally that's why it causes a crackling noise - if you moved the volume control to the output of the circuit that noise would go away but you'd lose some of the 'sparkle' that many people like so much about the SHO.
Those are all transistor-based booster pedals - there are also a bunch of op-amp booster pedals available as well. In fact, the prince of tone on the 'clean' setting is a pretty spectacular clean boost pedal (if it's anything like the GGG Marshall Bluesbreaker I converted to PoT specs as a clone anyways). I'm trying to think of another example but I'm drawing a blank right now.
Basically, I would recommend something like the xotic EP because it has internal DIP switches to allow you to change the EQ of the pedal to something you like, and it is a great sounding boost to boot. If price is no concern, the clincfx EP-Pre has an onboard charge pump and the badgerfx trilogy is as good as they come. The effect is subtle but definitely noticeable.
Lastly, for about the same price, you can get a klone (there's about a million around) and just turn the gain all the way down - when you do that it's one of the better op-amp boosts out there. It has a ton of gain on tap, and plus has a low-mid push that's designed specifically to work with fender guitars and amps - it really fills out your sound without taking away any top-end clarity, which would be the case with a pedal like the naga viper or seymour duncan pickup booster which use input impedance to alter the frequency response of your guitar.
If I find any more op-amp boosters I'll post them here but that should be enough info to get you started.
