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DA: Meantime, let's keep talking and I'll talk as I look.

BiTS: The other thing that I want to know about is how you actually recorded this. It looks to me as
though it might have been done with just one mic.

DA: Um, no. For the video, yes. Ah, the guitar in that video is indeed a National Vintage Steel custom
Delphi.

BiTS: Absolutely wonderful.

DA: It's not the signature model, it must be used on another one or two. I've had an artist deal with

National Reso-Phonic for a long time, and this particular one was, I think, picked up at the National
factory in San Luis Obispo, back in maybe 2000. We've had a long history of working together on
different ideas and stuff and then it ultimately culminated in a few custom guitars about ten years
ago, but more recently the signature guitar. They're very unique instruments and I have taken to
playing a lot of gigs with just that one microphone and nothing plugged in per se, because I like the

organic nature of it. It's a very different kind of gig. My wife hates it when I say that I'm going to
play an acoustic gig because she likes the gigs where they're in rock and roll clubs and the place is
full and there's a mosh pit at the front, and it's hot and sweaty and everybody's diving about like
idiots.

But that's one of my identity crises because sometimes I can
be playing to people sitting in rows on seats, and the next

gig could be a jam packed, maybe a 200-capacity venue
with 300 people crammed in it, all jumping about going
mental. And sometimes it's a mixture of the two, which
makes for an interesting experience. But when I do the
more acoustic shows rather than the full-on electric
show, I like to use just that one microphone. It's made by a
company called Ear Trumpet Labs in Oregon.

BiTS: If I may say so, it gives the music a rather authentic sound, kind of like those field recordings
that we know from the 20s and 30s.

DA: Yes, I'm glad you kind of hear that in it because it is very organic, and also, it's everything just
going into one microphone. It’s like the old bluegrass bands, where people would move one
microphone amongst them all, and people would move in or out the mic to kind of be featured. The

first time I actually used one of these mics, I had a show with a guy, at the time he was known as
Blind Boy Paxton. At the moment, I think he's now going out under Jerron Paxton.

BiTS: Yes, he goes under Jerron Paxton. I spoke to him maybe two months ago.

DA: Right. Well, the first time I used one of these mics, it was actually his. We were doing a gig
together in Glasgow and I had a problem with one of my regular acoustics and he said, well, just get
one, if you want. He was playing the gig like that, with just that one Ear Trumpet mic out front. And
I did it, and I enjoyed playing that gig so much because bizarrely it picked up all the instruments.

You don’t have to worry about plugging things in. It picked up voice. If I'm stomping my foot, it'll
pick that up as well. It doesn't need a good engineer out front. It almost breaks down the barrier
between you and the audience. It's a really nice way to play. As I say though, it's a different animal
from a plugged in, when I say an electric gig. Occasionally, as my set progresses, I go from being
almost purely acoustic to having like the end of the world mega overdrive, and things going a bit

crazy. But I like both extremes.