IMO especially with single coils the hotter you wind them the more single coil magic you take away.
I know you said you don't have enough for boutique pickups but I did have a set of Curtis Novak single coils at one stage. They were truly beautiful for Knofler, Clapton type stuff.
I'm more into Hendrix, Frusciante type Strat tones and CS69's obviously work wonders for that type of thing.
There is a bloke in Australia. Slider.
Slider's Vintage 59 Pickups for Stratocaster, Strat SRV - eBay Guitar Parts, Parts Accessories, Guitar, Musical Instruments. (end time 02-Jul-09 07:21:42 AEST)
This guy got a big pat on the back from I think it was the Tone Quest report?
I have not used these but I would certainly check them out if you could afford it, they certainly look the part.
Good luck mate.
