The Latest Breaking News from Phil Barker

“If you seek complete Vox-style satisfaction without shortcomings or compromises, the Era 30 comprehensively delivers on all fronts”: Bad Cat Era 30 review

Legendary amp designer Mark Sampson’s final opus for Bad Cat is the culmination of a lifetime of design excellence and could be his finest creation

Guitar World · Jun 26, 2025

“Unbeatable... A guitar built for sessions, ready for all occasions”: Duesenberg Alliance Series Tom Bukovac Session Man review

One of the world's G.O.A.T. sessions players gets a candidate for G.O.A.T. signature guitar – a stunning semi-hollow with dual humbuckers and a piezo, and a vibrato, and... well, it's a lot of guitar

MusicRadar · Jun 25, 2025

“This pedal will take you straight to the heart of the action and give an almost limitless palette of sound”: Walrus Audio Qi Etherealizer review

This signature collaboration with Yvette Young incorporates chorus, delay, grain effects and reverbs for atmospheric soundscapes

Guitar World · Jun 25, 2025

“That’s one of the first things Phil said to me, ‘You’re in, but we gotta change that guitar’”: Scott Gorham may have passed his Thin Lizzy audition – but his budget Les Paul copy certainly didn’t

The Irish rockers finally found their man after auditioning 24 hopefuls when Gorham turned up for his turn – but Phil Lynott was left underwhelmed by his choice of instrument

Guitar World · Jun 9, 2025

“I love my Strat; I’m a Strat guy through and through, but I just needed a guitar with humbuckers”: Cory Wong on the making of his signature StingRay and how Vulfpeck just, y’know, made an album during a show

The funkmeister guitarist is back with a whirlwind of new recording projects in his wake, and a fresh new signature guitar by his side

Guitar World · Jun 4, 2025

"With a little patience and dedication to experimenting, you’ll unlock a satisfying range of serviceable sounds": Harley Benton DNAfx GiT multi-effects pedal review

Harley Benton's budget multi-stomp looks to deliver the building blocks of tone, but it requires you to tweak the presets on a molecular level

Guitar World · May 31, 2025

"A versatile jack-of-all-trades, with some excellent displays of mastery at times": Fender Player II Modified Precision Bass review

Fender’s workhorse-series P-Bass gets some performance-enhancing additions, as well as a tone control that works in passive mode

MusicRadar · May 9, 2025

Played by everyone from Magic Sam and Otis Rush to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Robbie Robertson, Noel Gallagher, and Robben Ford, the Riviera remains Epiphone's semi-hollow superstar

The Riviera played a crucial role in Epiphone's evolution through the New York jazz clubs of the 1920s, '50s electric blues, to today’s vibrant, diverse scene – and it might be the brand's GOAT

Guitar World · May 5, 2025

“What blew me away was that everyone wanted the curly maple top. People were calling, saying, ‘I’ve got to have the bird inlays’”: Paul Reed Smith on raising the Standard 24, finally cracking the noise-free guitar and why John Sykes is a tone hero

We take Paul Reed Smith back to the start of his 40-year-old company to discuss the new Standard 24 and quite a bit more

Guitar World · Apr 22, 2025

“Among the most sought-after of all rhythm guitars… a power and projection unsurpassed by any other archtop”: Stromberg has made a long-awaited comeback, and we got our hands on its new Master 400 – a holy grail archtop with a price to match

The big-bodied archtop is a notorious powerhouse but its return – even at a hair under eight grand – has us tempted. Here's what the fuss is about...

Guitar World · Apr 21, 2025