1 Sam FenderSeventeen Going UnderSince the release of his 2019 debut Hypersonic Missiles, Sam Fender has gone from strength to strength. He&rsquo;s performed with Elton John and supported other legends such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young, as well as selling out his own arena headline shows across the UK. So it came as little surprise when the 27-year-old North Shields singer-songwriter scored his first top ten single back in July, taken from the second chart-topping album of his career to date. Taking influence from the driving rhythmic rock pioneered by Bruce Springsteen, this title track is undoubtedly one of the biggest guitar anthems of the last 12 months &ndash; thanks to its soaring hooks, jangly six-strings and heartfelt message, written as a letter to his 17-year-old self. His guitar of choice thus far has mainly been a Fender Jazzmaster, which he recently described as the &ldquo;multi-purpose machine gun of the Fender guitars&rdquo; thanks to the shimmering brightness the company are well-renowned for being supported by &ldquo;a bit more body and warmth&rdquo;. The Fender connection doesn&rsquo;t end there, either &ndash; the singer/guitarist is known to plug his Jazzmasters into amps that also bear his surname, specifically the &rsquo;65 Deluxe Reverb and the &rsquo;68 Custom Deluxe Reverb.2 Mastodon<div style="page-break-before:always; page-break-after:always">GigantiumThe Atlantan modern metal heroes have always been known for epic album closers and this year&rsquo;s Hushed &amp; Grim is no different. More open and airy than the tracks leading up to it, there&rsquo;s an ethereal charm to Gigantium that sucks you right in before Brent Hinds&rsquo; wah-drenched solo in E minor brings everything to a fittingly kaleidoscopic conclusion.3 Tash Sultana Pretty LadyUsing dyads played on the low E and G strings, the main loop from the lead single from Sultana&rsquo;s latest record moves from B minor to A major and then D major down to G major, which are all found in the D major scale. What gives it a distinct sense of rhythm is the usage of the open low E before hammering onto certain bass notes.<div style="page-break-before:always; page-break-after:always">4 John Mayer Last Train HomeThere&rsquo;s always been a seductive slickness to John Mayer&rsquo;s musical presentation. On this year&rsquo;s big comeback single, it&rsquo;s evident in how he uses his clean guitars to frame the synth chords that dominate the tracks opening two minutes, before finishing up with some chorus-effected blues runs in E minor pentatonic.5 St. VincentDownThere&rsquo;s a lot going on in the mix of this single released back in May, so much so it can be hard to pick out the funky guitar lines buried near the back. The sitar guitar melody heard during the chorus, however, is much more prominent &ndash; as is the short but sweet wah-coloured A minor blues break just over two minutes in.

Songs of 2021

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Total Guitar

POSITIVE GRID SPARK 2

JACKSON PRO PLUS XT SOLOIST SLAT HT6 BARITONE

GUILD POLARA DELUXE

NEURAL DSP NANO CORTEX

EPIPHONE JIMI HENDRIX LOVE DROPS FLYING V

JIMMY PAGE

EDDIE VAN HALEN

MYTH BUSTERS: THE CABLE DESTRUCTION TEST

JOHN FRUSCIANTE'S LETTER FROM AMERICA

CHALLENGE CHARLIE

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