I recently installed a full set of SSL-1's in my strat, and really like the sound of them. I do wish that they had a little more output though, to drive the amp a little harder.

The Virtual Vintage Blues pickups in my Charvel do this. They are sweet sounding and drive the amp well, but don't have the top-end transparency that I like in a strat. I think that only a true single coil will give me that, as the Virtual Vintage 2.1's I had in this strat had the same problem, even with the tone controls disconnected.

I was thinking about swapping out the set of SSL-1's with SSL-5's using the 21-day exchange policy. Has anyone ever used this combo?

My strat is an ash bodied hardtail, with a rosewood fretboard. Do you think that the SSL-5 would work well in the neck and middle?