I think what I was meaning when I said compromise was including ceramic options I'd also originally looked at. I found the HD very smooth and organic while the huge bass on the WP seemed very powerful but still smoothish. I liked both but the NB had a tight, articulate and aggressive nature in the bass, which is what I like for rhythm work and what I like about ceramics but it still had a more organic nature to it than ceramics tend to have. I REALLY hate the bass notes going muddy! However, the leads on the NB weren't as sweet as the other two, while still being better than the ceramic options. I liked that it was less middy but I still preferred some of the more compressed tones for some things I play. I didn't mean it was strictly between the two; I should have clarified it by saying that it was a compromise between HD, A-Pig, C-Pig, C-Bomb and A-Bomb. The A-Bomb had elements of all the others that I liked even if no individual aspect of the pickup was as good as an alternative. The best tightness and articulation was ceramic; the best lead tone was HD and the really huge sound I liked was WP. They're all bloody good and that's exactly what makes it hard to choose but also what makes them such fantastic pickups. I'd like the HD with less mids or the WP with more highs. In the case of the HD my concern is that in a middy guitar, all those mids will be too much while in the WP it's more that the highs will be lost a bit. The EQs of the ceramics look better but then I lose the organic tone. In reality they're all good so I will either pick one of the 3 at random or speak to Tim and buy whatever he says before I've even hung up the phone!
