OP, I swear I’m not a believer in guitar tone mojo, and my mantra has always been if it sounds good it is good, but there are a specific set of specs on a Strat that more often than not has led to better traditional Strat sounds for me over other configurations. This isn’t just for fenders, but for other brands and partscasters as well.
Basically put: traditional Strat specs… Warts and all.
1 - Single acting truss rod.
Hate to recommend that, as it’s an inferior design to what’s available nowadays. Damned if the best sounding Strat necks I’ve had weren’t single acting truss rod, though.
2 - Rosewood veneer fingerboard instead of slab.
Fender made both veneer and slab fretboards, but my best rosewood necks were always veneer. No idea why, but it is what it is.
3 - Traditional six screw bridge
As an example, the Scott Henderson Suhr is the most “Stratty” sounding Suhr and I think this is because of the six screw bridge.
Opinions go all over the place about how tuners contribute to Strat tone. Some people like more mass on the headstock so they’re fine with heavier, better performing tuners (I get that vibe from Cory Wong’s interviews), but Bill Nash swore to me that the lightness of the Kluson-style tuners made a Strat copy sound more Fender-ish.
All of this stuff is head scratching to me. Don’t understand the physics behind it or know why it matters, but it’s been too consistent a pattern with the guitars I’ve owed not to make a difference.