Amit Sharma
Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences as a guitar player. He's worked for magazines like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog, Record Collector, Planet Rock, Rhythm and Bass Player, as well as newspapers like Metro and The Independent, interviewing everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handled lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).
Latest articles by Amit Sharma

How Lari Basilio became one of today’s foremost instrumental virtuosos – sharing stages with Joe Satriani, John Petrucci and Lee Sklar along the way
By Amit Sharma published
The Ibanez signature artist explains why she makes instrumental music but hardly ever listens to any, where Brazilian music fits in her inspiration, what she loves about her signature pedal and how to develop skills without even knowing it

Behind the rise of Pedal Pawn, the British stompbox brand loved by Eric Gales and SRV fanatics
By Amit Sharma published
Chris King Robinson, a vintage gear hunter and tone sleuth, explains how his stompbox brand became a favorite of modern-day blues heroes

The rise of Joe Knaggs: how Paul Reed Smith's right-hand man became one of America’s most respected guitar makers
By Amit Sharma published
Having cut his teeth working at the PRS factory, rising from finishing assistant to production manager and head of Private Stock, Knaggs built his brand from the ground up. Here’s his story…

Best Stratocasters 2025: The best Strats for every budget and playing style
By Amit Sharma last updated
Find your fit with our top pick of the best Fender Strats

Best Telecasters 2025: top Teles for every taste
By Amit Sharma last updated
Whether it’s your first Telecaster or you’ve walked in the boots of guitar-playing royalty, our top Telecasters will help you get your twang on

Why Justin Hawkins expects to be playing nothing but Atkin guitars by the end of the year
By Amit Sharma published
The Darkness frontman details his journey to Friedman amps via a freaky Laney experience, the success of his musicology podcast series, and the jealousy his band have caused by crossing over to pop

Justin Hawkins explains why technically complex bands like Sleep Token and Polyphia are generating mass appeal
By Janelle Borg published
The Darkness frontman and social media commentator claims that there's a new appreciation for a certain brand of virtuosity that, in eras past, might have been perceived as “showing off”

Mateus Asato on discovering his own identity, his big social media mistake and his debut album
By Amit Sharma published
Asato leads an amazing double life as pop sideman and virtuoso shredder. He dishes on his big social media mistake, the help he got from Kiko Loureiro, and the last-minute call from Nuno Bettencourt he couldn’t ignore

“Those overdriven cowboy chords and stadium-conquering chorus hooks will be omnipresent throughout 2025”: When Oasis finally returned
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The brothers gonna work it out... and they did. Cue the online meltdown for tickets as the Noel and Liam Gallagher get the Mancunion indie rock juggernaut back on the road

“His finest work since The Dark Side of the Moon”: How David Gilmour made a blockbuster comeback with Luck & Strange
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The prog icon's mystical solo album was only the start of it – who could have predicted a collaboration with Body Count?

“Joe was great at making me comfortable – he’s such a nice guy”: When Matteo Mancuso jammed with Joe Bonamassa
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The Sicilian guitar great joined the blues maestro for one of the year’s fieriest fretboard face-offs

“An end to 100 years of service to the music community”: Why the closure of Sam Ash marked the end of an era
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: One of America’s best-loved music stores went out of business this year

“Her weapon of choice is, in fact, 45 years older than she is”: The unstoppable rise of Grace Bowers
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The teenager's meteoric success continues unabated as her frightening maturity yields magic from her trusty Gibson SG

“This is a historic collaboration”: How Diamond Rowe made history with Jackson Guitars
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The Tetrarch guitarist launched a super-charged signature single-cut with the high-performance guitar brand

“Honest appreciation and devoted teamwork brought us to this special moment”: When Linkin Park returned
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: Back with a new lineup, the bit between their teeth, and a new album, Linkin Park begin a new era seven years after the death of Chester Bennington

The year Dave Navarro returned to Jane’s Addiction, got assaulted, and a fractious reunion fell apart
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The Jane's Addiction reunion was going so well until it wasn't, when frontman Perry Farrell lost it on a feral Friday 13th in Boston, bringing the curtain down on one of alt-rock's greatest bands

“Historic for Gojira and metal”: Why the Olympics played an unlikely host for some of the biggest guitar moments of the year
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: Mainstream metal, historic guitar partnerships and solos while Tom Cruise abseiled – sports and music collided this year, with spectacular results

Why 2024 marked a major milestone for Fender – and saw a surprising turnaround for 2025
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The Stratocaster celebrated 70 years as the world’s most iconic guitar shape this year
![Beat [L-R]: Tony Levine, Steve Vai, Adrian Belew and Danny Carey](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YjufF4RcaSoEzmToxJj75i-320-80.jpg)
How King Crimson was reborn at the hands of Steve Vai and Adrian Belew
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The all-star Beat tour brought King Crimson’s music to thousands of eager prog fans

Gibson launched an epic multi-guitar partnership with Jimmy Page this year – but 2025 could be even bigger
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The Led Zeppelin icon signed on with Gibson this year, but there are plenty of other stars due a signature model from the firm in 2025

Mark Knopfler parted ways with his guitar collection this year – but he hopes they all get played
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: The Dire Straits icon raised a huge amount of money for charity selling off 120 prized instruments, including his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard

The hottest guitar gear launches of 2024 – from Wolfgang Van Halen’s long-awaited semi-hollow signature to UAFX’s Dumble-in-a-pedal
By Amit Sharma published
There was an onslaught of new guitar products released over the past 12 months. Here are the ones that had us all talking (and checking our bank balance)

“I never thought little ol’ 15-year-old me playing metal guitar in the bedroom would amount to this moment”: After 10,000 applicants, Kiki Wong landed the Smashing Pumpkins guitarist gig
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: Billy Corgan and co hosted the biggest guitarist search of the year – and there could only be one winner

“I was playing at three times the speed I normally play at”: When Pete Townshend got his first Jackson guitar… and loved it
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: At 78 years old, The Who icon picked up his first shred machine, and couldn't get enough of it

When their gear didn’t turn up for a festival performance, Primus played brand-new Fender guitars from Guitar Center – with the tags still on
By Amit Sharma published
2024 Year in Review: Les Claypool and co proved that tone really is in the fingers when they turned to off-the-shelf guitars for a high-profile festival spot
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