From hundreds of entries, and a shortlist of over 50, these are the .strandberg* takeover - Jam of the Month March 2024 winners. 

The response was huge, the quality was insane and shortlisting took A LONG time. Each entry was watched and watched again, and we have so much respect for anyone who got involved. In particular, we'd like to thank all those in the official Jam of the Month group.

But there had to be three winners and these are the solos we went for. In truth, there were scores of solos which were unlucky to miss out but we had to choose. Each one had something special, and between the JTC and .strandberg* teams, we decided they were the lucky three.

The winners

- In third place we have Joaninho Pedro. A shreddy solo packed with tapped lines, as well as some super cool phrasing.

- In second place, there’s Colin Cook. Again it’s shreddy, but it also has space and a spine throughout.

- In first place, is Alessandro Zilio. Shades of Sfogli, lots of melody and an all-round phenomenal effort.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEO

From the team

Here’s a bit more detail from Alex and Dan who did the bulk of shortlisting.

Alex

First of all, congratulations to everyone who participated. What a fantastic month! I think I speak on behalf of everyone just how blown away we were with the sheer number of excellent takes on the track. It's just another reminder about how special the Jam of the Month community truly is.

I would like to give special mentions to Alessandro Zilio and Colin Cook who both created solos that not only worked perfectly over the backing, but elevated the track in their own unique way.

So congratulations again to the deserved winners and to everyone who took part! The Facebook group especially, is packed full of positivity and support for everyone, and is yet another reason I feel proud to work for JTC Guitar and to be a small part of this growing community.

Dan

In my five years at JTC I have seen the JOTM community grow and grow. It’s a shame that every month we have to have “losers” and I feel for the active regulars in the group especially. “Synester Petrucci Gates”, Marcel Zwei, Mats Moeland Traen and many more are integral to why this group works. Paul Barnes, Xabier Salvador, Mark Gibson, Amber Debellis and Maxx-Blois Rosetti also. There will be many names I have forgotten. 

For me though, Alessandro’s was and is simply incredible. I see and hear so much guitar playing, and sometimes it can feel like white noise, but for me that solo is special. 

However, every entry was a winner in its own way. At no point did I get sick of going through them all. You’d think so after hearing the same backing, but no! And that is a testament to how much energy is in the group. 

What did they win?

Each player has won a BRAND-NEW .strandberg* Boden Essential. The affordable range of headless guitars. If you get the chance, please check them out. 

They have also won all-access passes to JTC+, our premium membership. 

The full shortlist

This is the final shortlist. If you got onto this list, well done. If not, don’t worry, we still watched your solo and the chances are that we enjoyed it. It’s a sad byproduct of JOTM that there have to be “losers”. In alphabetical order…

• Aditya Ghosh
• Alban Truet
• Alex Garcia
• Alex Jung
• Amber DeBellis
• Arialie Angami
• Calvin Koh
• Camilo Solórzano
• Cem Saglam
• Chowy Fernandez
• Corey Smith
• Cris Sigirisi
• D Rich
• David Juame
• David McDaniel
• Devan Bishop
• Erik Lærum
• Esduaristo Rec
• Gianluca Balzo
• Gianpiero Milione
• Gudzmusic Workstation
• Hitoshi Yamaguchi
• Hubert Kalinowski
• Jamwithcem
• Jere Koo
• John Jar
• Kostas Kokkalos
• Leonel Di Stefano
• Luca Montori
• Maciej Czwartos
• Marcin Mamot
• Mark Gibson
• Mats Moeland Traen
• Maxx Blois Rosetti
• Mickael Dall’orso
• Muhammad Herlian
• Nadim Kaanan
• Naoji Kasai
• Narvin Lama
• Pellumb Qemiri
• Radek Stodja
• Raphael Eberhart
• Robson Guimaraes
• RS Hariananan
• Sausage Fingers
• Stefan Petanovski
• Synyster Petrucci Gates
• Tomasz Madria
• Uko Bramasto
• Valentino Ciardelli
• Wailing Raven
• Wanwin Chusang
• Weverton Silva
• Wojtek Olinski
• Xabier Salvador
• Yuko Bramasto
• 程于晏

Final thing…

From Ola, Sam and Isaac at .strandberg* and all the team at JTC Guitar, we want to thank you for taking part.