"Classic", no. It'll be more generic/modern sounding.

IMO, no, it isn't worth it. YMMV.

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You dig?

I disagree!. As the proud owner of 8 HSS formatted Stratocasters I absolutely urge you to travel to check them out!
A HSS formatted Stratocaster is an EXTREMELY versatile instrument!! Especially if you are in a copy band. The ability to go from Hendrix to Zeppelin at the flick of a switch is indispensible!!
There are those stiff necked 'traditionalists' that scoff at this idea..........it's not a REAL Strat....some may say!
I have always found the Stratocaster's single coil bridge pickup to be rather shrill........and useless to me.
TO ME....a Stratocaster's trademark sounds occur in switch positions 2 through 5.
As far as a 'convincing' quack.....yeah it's there. Is it going to sound the same as 2 singles in tandem......no. But think of the CHUNKY, BALLSY sounds you'll gain!
Trust me....some drunk in a dive bar is not going to notice that you are a few sonics short of true "Sweet Home Alabama" quack!

Go check one out....you'll thank me!

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

It a guitar doesn't have (3) single coils, it isn't a real Strat. That doesn't mean it's not good guitar but the paradigm for classic guitars is pretty well defined by now.

As far as the bridge pickup sounding shrill and being "useless", I wonder which bridge pickups you have tried. I felt the same way until I found the right pickup and the right rig.

I would disagree in that its trademark sounds are present in all 5 positions.

While I agree with that assessment sometimes a player has to do things that only they hear to help inspire them more.

As far as combining a coil from a humbucker with a middle single coil, it can sound good depending upon the humbucker in question but it will never sound just like a pair of single coils in position 2.

BTW, why do you want to put a humbucker in the bridge?

Rubbish.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I have tried just about every STOCK pickup that Stratocasters come with; from actual 70's model through today's models.
I have played them through Super Reverbs, Twin Reverbs, Hot Rod DeVilles and Marshalls.

Still....no satisfaction.

I put a humbucker in the bridge for ; as previously mentioned,....VERSATILITY!

I play in a copy band and do not wish to carry several guitars with me to get the proper tones for the covered songs.
My HSS's cover all the bases.

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

Huzzah!!! Here..here!!! (applause!!!!)

Matt_B_67 is sounding suspiciously like those STIFF NECKED TRADITIONALISTS I mentioned....hmmmmmmmm

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

Well there's your problem right there. There are so many other brands and models out there that are generally considered better than anything that comes stock on a Fender.

I'm sorry but I should have been specific as my question was aimed at the OP and not you.

Please understand that I've been a humbucker man for a long time (27 yrs now) and only recently started getting back into single coils. Single coils can do things humbuckers can't do and vice versa.

There you go ladies and gentlemen. Now we've got the secret to a REAL Strat. Non-Fender pickups.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Actually, I'm far from it. My Strat and my Les Pauls are the only traditional guitars I have. Heck my acoustic has a carbon graphite top.

A Strat with a humbucker in the bridge is still technically a Strat (and a great versatile guitar) but it's not a "real" Strat by definition.

As long as they're all single coils of some sort.

Call me greedy!! I want it all!

I want the woody, tubey, quacky sounds of a Stratocaster along with the power and chunk of a Les Paul all within the confines of the Stratocaster's sleek, sexy body contours.

I have found all of that in my HSS formatted Stratocasters!

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

Actually, I would say you have found a set of sounds that you like which I applaud but a Strat won't ever sound just like a Les Paul unless it's built just like one and then it won't sound like a Strat any more.

Once you go outside of the paradigm, you invalidate it but that has nothing to do with what sounds good or doesn't good which is all that matters.

Thank you for pointing out that kick in the butt IRONY!!
I was just reading back on the posts and must have missed that one!
Good catch!!

I'm still shaking my head!

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I refuse to have a battle of the wits with an unarmed man!

But they're still single coils so no irony I'm afraid.

I put a seymour duncan in the bridge position. with a switch to go from single to double.....there,problem solved.