Latest articles by Amit Sharma
U2’s Adam Clayton: “The bass has to either be sexy or aggressive, or it shouldn’t be there as far as I’m concerned”
The bassist for one of biggest rock bands of all time on cramming a stadium-ready rig into Fender’s first-ever signature bass amp, what prompted him to play an Ibanez on one of the group’s most iconic songs, and why he’s only just started exploring five-strings four decades into his career
Slash on his love of Les Pauls: “That Kris Derrig Les Paul came in the 11th hour when we were doing Appetite. It just sounded f**kin’ perfect – like a gift from on high”
The Guns N' Roses guitarist and rock icon talks about the guitars he treasures most – including buying and returning Joe Perry's Dark Burst LP – and reveals how his love for Les Pauls has inspired and shaped him as a player...
Joe Bonamassa on why he loves the Gibson Les Paul: “Pretty much all of the English guitar legends of the 1960s, that’s what they were holding”
Joe Bonamassa has a dazzling array of guitars – but he always goes back to the ’59 LP he describes as “perfect” for him...
Wes Borland on how he ended up playing guitar like a trombone, why he loves four-string electrics, his “out-of-control” gear habit – and what's next for Limp Bizkit
One of metal's most idiosyncratic players is selling off a vast array of gear from his collection – he tells Guitar World about making the tough decisions, and what survived in his current epic guitar rig
Epiphone Adam Jones Silverburst Les Paul Custom review
The Tool guitarist's lower-priced signature model is, quite literally, a work of art – and quite possibly the best Epiphone Les Paul ever made
Nuno Bettencourt reveals the most important pedal in his guitar rig: “I tried playing without one and f**kin’ hated it!”
The unlikely stompbox is integral to the Extreme virtuoso’s searing distorted tone, even if he admits, “Other players think it’s not doing anything and would probably wonder if the battery is dead”
The 50 greatest guitar riffs of all time
From metal to rock, punk to grunge, these are the best guitar riffs ever recorded, as voted for by you
How Jeff Beck changed guitar music forever
Guitar’s own Pablo Picasso, Jeff Beck was the guitar hero’s guitar hero, whose pioneering style hot-wired the instrument and made it succumb to his spell
Steve Vai: “Everything I play, in mind, I derive from the blues scale. It just might not sound that way when you hear it against all those weird chords”
Steve Vai tells the amazing story of his ‘lost’ album with Johnny ‘Gash’ Sombrotto – biker music where he “shut up and played rock guitar” on songs written to “make people put their fists in the air”
Al Di Meola: “Les Paul would get on his knees to get an up-close look at my hands and say, 'Do that again – I don’t understand how you just played that!'”
The fusion virtuoso recalled the time Les Paul offered up some especially high praise for his playing style, saying the entire experience was “almost like a dream”
Wolfgang Van Halen: “You can feel the history emanating out of the Frankenstein. Picking up that guitar is almost a religious experience”
With a new album and a new signature EVH guitar, 2023 is shaping up to be another big year for Wolfgang Van Halen. He tells us what’s in store – and recalls the time he broke one of his dad’s guitars
Best pickups for metal 2025: our guide to upgrading for high gain heaven
Looking for more firepower? Our round-up of the best pickups for metal guitarists has you covered…
Opeth and Ghost guitarist Fredrik Åkesson reveals what’s on his pedalboard
And he has Joe Bonamassa to thank for his favorite pedal
Sophie Burrell: “I don’t care too much about speed – I’d rather sound more like David Gilmour and play with feel”
One of the finest guitar players to emerge from the social media scene talks cranking up her EVH 5150 for new project Bxrrell – and why she can nail Cliffs of Dover but still struggles with Master of Puppets
Devin Townsend: “When you ask people about their favorite amp, the acceptable responses are always the cork-sniffin’ ones. If it’s an Axe-Fx, people go, ‘That’s sacrilege!’”
The Canadian prog-metal virtuoso discusses why he prefers digital amps to analog, the uncomfortable proportions of a Les Paul, and the magic of open C tuning
Björn Gelotte: “Gibson asked if I wanted to do a signature. I was flattered but most people who listen to our music won’t pay $4,000 for a guitar. I wanted something affordable“
The In Flames guitarist reveals the big metal production strategy behind new album Foregone, and tells us why touring with Chris Broderick is like having a personal guitar trainer on-call 24/7
Boss Dual Cube LX review
The eternally popular practice amp returns in a desktop-friendly format – and with more features than ever before
Wolfgang Van Halen plans to use a number of Eddie's "notable guitars" for his solos on the new Mammoth WVH album
Though much of the band's sophomore effort was recorded with his still in-development signature guitar, the EVH SA-126, Wolfgang plans on digging into his father's guitar vault for its leads
Bob Mould’s pedalboard: what the influential Hüsker Dü and Sugar guitarist sees when he looks down – and why a good compressor is so integral to his rig
Join the alt-rock icon as he offers a tour of the 'board that "covers the foundation" of his guitar tone
![[L-R] Zakk Wylde, Scott Ian and Gary Holt](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/82GXWxaFgTWfMssigR9xzC-840-80.jpg.webp)
Zakk Wylde, Scott Ian and Gary Holt on the furious riffs, high-octane gear and lifer philosophies that shaped their careers – and why everyone cheats with downpicking
Midway through their Anthrax and Black Label Society co-headlining tour with special guests Exodus, the metal legends share how they developed their distinctive tones and techniques, and why Tony Iommi is the “Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Lennon, McCartney and Burt Bacharach of riffs”
Why Madonna played Pantera’s A New Level on a Gibson Les Paul for an entire tour
How a Dimebag Darrell encounter and guitar lessons with the Queen of Pop led to one of the weirdest pop-metal mashups in live music history
Devin Townsend explains why "Les Pauls look s**t on me"
The prog-metal maestro also revealed why he prefers digital gear to analog in a new interview with Total Guitar
Jeff Beck's 10 greatest guitar solos
10 solos every guitarist needs to hear from one of the most influential players to ever pick up the instrument
![Keeley x Sweetwater Exclusive pedals sitting on top of a guitar cable [l-r]: Super Bass, Soft and Suns](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aWjSzVHB7L7JAc9HVf8Bga-1280-80.jpg.webp)