I tend be a fan of mid output pickups like the Duncan Alnico II Pro. I have also bonded well with Gibson 57 Classics. The Friedman pickups fit in well with my tastes. They sound tremendous in my Friedman guitars. Same base sort of tone I know and love from the aforementioned mid outputs but perhaps a bit more aggressive sounding in the bridge and perhaps a bit more open sounding in the neck. If I compare them to the Duncan and Gibson I mentioned, I would say they have a tighter bottom end but retain top end snap (think Mr. Brownstone, that up pick on the open E and B strings at the end of the main riff, it does that well), and these things are really articulate, nothing muddy about them.
I will say I notice a big difference in how they sound in my rear routed Cali vs. the Top Routed vintage S. The Cali has the perfect tone with these pickups, aggressive sounding in the top end but will good articulation in the lows, nothing muddy or too bright, just perfect balanced tone. I find the vintage S doesnt have quite as much top end aggressiveness and has a rounder, less tight bottom end. As my vintage S has a floyd, like my cali, and the pickups between the two are the same, the tone difference I hear is either coming from the addition of the tone circuit or the top vs. rear route. Im not sure which. In any case. I really love the Friedman pickups in my cali, I am pleased with them in the vintage S as well but the cali has some real magic going on...