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Since joining alt-rock duo Cairo Knife Fight in 2015, George Pajon Jr. has applied his meticulous gear-tinkering toward creating layered, complex guitar and bass parts for the duo.

Photo by Michelle Shiers

The guitarist and meticulous gear nerd has played with the Black Eyed Peas since 1998. With his alt-rock duo Cairo Knife Fight, his years of tinkering have helped him forge a new sound.

George Pajon Jr. is pedal-obsessed. For him, time off means hiding out in his studio, working his way through every setting on every pedal he ownsā€”and he owns a lot of pedalsā€”logging each tone he thinks he may be able to use, and making careful notes in order to recall the sound later when needed. When heā€™s working in the studio or in a rehearsal, he scrolls through his files, pulls up options to share with his many A-list collaborators, and looks for the tone that often makes the difference between a good-sounding track and a hit. He does know the difference, by the way, since he has a regular gig as the touring guitarist with the Black Eyed Peas, and also plays on their albums.

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Arguably the most danceable jazz band around gives us some insights to the gear they use to keep the audience grooving.

Composer/producer/bassist Michael League and guitarist Mark Lettieri (above left) of Grammy-winning jazz-fusion group Snarky Puppy met PG before their slamming, sold-out show at Nashvilleā€™s Marathon Music Works and took us through their hard-grooving gear.

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