James Blackshaw likes to let his music speak for him. You're not going to hear him talking a bunch of trash about how he blows away all the other 12-string dudes out there. . . as if there are a lot of them to begin with. Nah, there's no cross-pond rivalry going on between Blackshaw and Kottke.

The Seymour Duncan SA3SC Woody SC pickup is the one thing that might speak out for Mr. Blackshaw. He's been using it in combination with straight-up miking, and the result is a full-bodied sound that he rather fancies.