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<\/p>\nOn BRUNO MARS’ stage @ SAN SIRO – CHRIS PAYTON RIG RUNDOWN – 2026 \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 – YouTube
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Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Chris Payton is one of the pop world\u2019s first-call session pros. He has played with Katy Perry. He has played with Jay-Z. And right about now he is surely kicking back after just completing the epic European leg of Bruno Mar\u2019s The Romantic Tour, which packed out stadiums night after night. <\/p>\n There were six nights at Wembley Stadium, two at Milan\u2019s San Siro, two at the Metropolitano in Madrid\u2026 Payton and Mars\u2019 summer schedule was more Champions League than Soul Train. But what does Payton have on his rig to play these shows?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ahead of his shows in Milan, we got a look thanks to Planet Guitar<\/a>, who shot a rig-rundown with Payton, and with his tech, who is overseeing a rig that\u2019s got one seriously expensive wireless systems, three Kempers, and some super smart routing.<\/p>\n Latest Videos FromMusicRadar<\/p>\n But it was Payton\u2019s electric guitars<\/a> that caught our eye. His choices here \u2013 and the mods he has made to them \u2013 are pretty darn imaginative, but practical too.<\/p>\n It\u2019s like he says, he needs these guitars to be versatile.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \u201cWell, we have an array of guitars, because Bruno\u2019s style, it\u2019s so vast,\u201d says Payton. \u201cIt goes from pop to funk to soul, R&B and all that stuff, so you want to be able to cover as many bases as you possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n The first guitar he shows us is a Fender American Elite<\/a> Stratocaster<\/a> HSS from 2016. This guitar is already one versatile design, not only with its pickup configuration, but you\u2019ve got the S1 switch offering all those alternate tones, and you have the push-push Passing Lane button for the Shawbucker bridge humbucker, bypassing the guitar\u2019s tone and volume pots for a brighter tone with more output.<\/p>\n Payton\u2019s, however, doesn\u2019t work quite like that. For a start, he\u2019s got Lambertone pickups<\/a> in it. Secondly, there\u2019s a clever mod on the S1 switch.<\/p>\n \u201cOkay, a little secret I like to do on a lot of my guitars, is I like to wire it to where I can have these two guys [bridge and neck pickup] at the same time \u2013 almost like a super switch, but not,\u201d he says. \u201cSo that\u2019s what the S-1 is doing; the S-1 activates the bridge in any position. And [the Passing Lane button] is just a coil tap for the humbucker.\u201d<\/p>\n Bruno Mars – I Just Might (Live at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards) – YouTube
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