Amit Sharma

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

Jack White performs at Live from Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central" on June 06, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan AND Kirk Hammett of Metallica performs onstage during Metallica's All Within My Hands Foundation Presented by the Helping Hands Concert And Auction 2024 at YouTube Theater on December 13, 2024 in Inglewood, California
Kirk Hammett on the time Jack White played the original Greeny onstage

By Jenna Scaramanga Published

It turns out the two have a history of sharing gear – and White has sent the Metallica guitarist some "totally psycho" kit

Guitarists
MXR 100 Rockman: the classic '80s effect now in a convenient stompbox format
“The X100 is very good at what it does – some might say even too good”: MXR Rockman X100 review

By Amit Sharma Published

The legendary Tom Scholz headphone amp and signal processor gets reborn in pedal form

Effects & Pedals
American singer Tom Araya of Slayer performs live on stage during Rock am Ring at Nuerburgring on June 8, 2019 in Nuerburg, Germany.
Slayer’s Tom Araya charts his incredible 4-string journey

By Amit Sharma Published

From starting on a Paul McCartney Höfner ripoff to pioneering some of the heaviest metal ever committed to tape, Tom Araya admits he's no bass virtuoso… but he “can play fast sometimes”

Bassists
Left-Joe Satriani performs on the G3 Reunion Tour 2024 at Fox Theater on February 03, 2024 in Oakland, California; Right-Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen performs at Music Midtown at Piedmont Park on September 19, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by )
Joe Satriani reveals the Eddie Van Halen guitar parts he found most difficult to play

By Janelle Borg Published

Satch also discusses his years-long search for the quintessential Van Halen tone

Guitarists
Posed full length studio portrait of Eddie Van Halen with a Peavey guitar
The story of Peavey and its era-defining Van Halen collaborations – and why they came to an end

By Amit Sharma Published

Peavey CEO Courtland Gray looks back at the firm’s decades of boundary-pushing products, and what sets the company apart from Fender and Marshall

5 Comments
Guitar Gear
Roman Ibramkhalilov plays his signature Jackson live onstage with Jinjer
Jinjer’s Roman Ibramkhalilov on why his drummer’s riffs hit harder, how to confuse people in 4/4, and why Blues Drivers beat Tube Screamers

By Amit Sharma Published

The Ukrainian metal aces’ latest album is a tour de force of rhythmic pummel and dynamics, and if it sounds difficult to play live then that’s because it is. But Jackson signature artist Ibramkhalilov tells us he’s okay with that

Guitarists
Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen performs on stage on the 17th April 1998, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia
Eddie Van Halen apparently left Peavey because it signed a second superstar shredder – Joe Satriani

By Matt Owen Published

Van Halen had developed his Wolfgang and 5150 with Peavey, but the firm’s current CEO reckons Satch’s arrival ultimately convinced him to leave

11 Comments
Guitarists
Lari Basilio
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

Guitarists
Heavy metal godfather Tony Iommi smiles as he plays another seminal riff onstage with Black Sabbath in 2016.
From Eddie Van Halen's amps to boosts, Mike Exeter reveals the secrets behind Tony Iommi's tone

By Amit Sharma Last updated

Producer Mike Exeter has worked with Iommi for over three decades, and knows exactly what the Godfather of Heavy Metal wants from his sound – and just how to get it

Guitarists
Pedal Pawn's Chris King Robinson
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

Guitar Pedals
Joe Knaggs of Knaggs Guitars with the "Reef of Life" Kenai
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…

Electric Guitars
Justin Hawkins of The Darkness performs at The Roundhouse on December 09, 2023 in London, England.
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

Guitarists
Left- Sleep Token performs on Day 3 of Leeds Festival 2023 at Bramham Park on August 27, 2023 in Leeds, England; Center-Justin Hawkins of The Darkness performs at Warwick Castle on July 04, 2024 in Warwick, England; Right-Tim Henson of the band Polyphia performs live on stage at the annual Rock Am Ring festival at Nuerburgring on June 09, 2024 in Nuerburg, Germany
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”

Guitarists
Mateus Asato with his pink Suhr signature guitar
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

Guitarists
A black-and-white portrait of Manchester-based indie rock band Oasis in 1993, with Noel Gallagher playing a Gibson ES-335, and brother Liam to his right; the band reformed in 2024, announcing a string of 2025 dates.
“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

Bands
David Gilmour
“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?

Guitarists
Matteo Mancuso (left) and Joe Bonamassa: the Sicilian virtuoso wears a red hoodie and plays his Yamaha Revstar; Bonamassa wears his blue suit and hits a sore note on a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard.
“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

Guitarists
Sam Ash
“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

Music Industry
Grace Bowers
“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

Guitarists
Diamond Rowe Jackson Pro Series DR12MG EVTN6
“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

Guitarists
Linkin Park with new co-vocalist Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain
“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

Bands
Dave Navarro takes a solo on his PRS with Perry Farrell by his side; the Jane's Addiction reunion fell apart on 13 September when Farrell assaulted Navarro onstage.
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

Bands
Singer/guitarist Joe Duplantier of Gojira performs at PNC Music Pavilion on September 18, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“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

Guitarists
Fender 70th Anniversary American Professional II Stratocaster
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

Electric Guitars
Beat [L-R]: Tony Levine, Steve Vai, Adrian Belew and Danny Carey
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

Bands
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