EMG's are the worst "Tone" robbers out there. Pretty much every guitar that has EMG active pickups in it will sound the same... The only parameter that usually differ is denser wooded bodies will have SLIGHTLY more bass when switched to the neck position and SLIGHTLY more treble when switched at the neck position... and maybe a tad more sustain. I don't recommend EMG active pickups for any guitar that costs more than 800 dollars.... I can't justify spending more than that on a guitar with the same tone as any other guitar out there with EMG actives.... When I read the title I thought we were going to be talking about a good old vintage guitar like the one that I turned one of my American Stratocasters into... I put vintage Fender Custom Shop '69 pickups in it using all vintage cloth insulated wiring... I can see that you're not looking for a historically correct vintage machine... rather, just a nice set of pickups that bring out the true tone of the guitar..... If you're looking for a nice set of passive pickups that are high output but will keep most of the tone of the guitar check out some Seymour Duncans... there JB/59 set shoudl give you a lot of what you want. Some things to stay away from.... Avoid any pickups with ceramic magnets... They tend to rob tone as well... look for pickups with the Alnico variety of magnets. Good luck