Fender/Lace pickups

[jazzyvee]

I have a non alembic hand built Rob Williams CSM custom which is a strat style guitar with seymour duncan pickups in it. I really don't like the sound of them at all. Far too thin and the humbucker output is too harsh. Great guitar for rock sounds but not versatile enough for me.  
 
The body and neck wood is mahogany with a rosewood fretboard and a thick slab of highly figured maple top. So to me with the right pickups it should sound great. I don't want to put alembics in it because I want this one to remain passive.
 
I really like the sound of the fender lace pickups on my strat ultra and fancy putting some on this guitar.  
 
I think the lace gold pickups seem to be a good option because they are a good clean pickup from what I've read and heard on video clips. If you have experience of these Gold pickups can you give me a view on whether they would be good with this wood combination. I also am curious about the lace Hot Golds although I can't find any information to say if hot means they are quite high output and will put my amp in to crunch mode too early at stage playing volumes. I don't want any crunch or o/d unless i choose to add it deliberately with a pedal.
 
Any advice would be welcome. I know there are many pickups out there to choose from but unfortunately there are not many places to hear them before purchase and  virtually all the demo's you get on youtube seem to have the view that everyone who plays guitar and wants new pickups wants more overdrive or to use loads of effects. Hardly anyone plugs in direct to the amp so I can get a view on it's clean sound.  
 
I'm familiar with the fender sound and feel more comfortable going down that route.
 
Jazzyvee

[lidon2001]

I've got Fender Lace Sensor Gold's in my 1990 Strat Plus (alder, maple one piece neck) and like them very much.  The guitar sounds like a Strat should, so I've never considered replacing them.  No experience with them in any other wood combo, but if I needed a good Strat pickup I would not hesitate in getting them again.