Eastwood Sidejack Baritone “20th Anniversary” Review

We check out a stylish yet affordable extended range guitar from the brand behind the “pawnshop” revival.

There’s not a ton of guitars that pass the “office” test for me. This test, which consists of me judging how much I want to pick up a guitar when I see it hanging on the rack in the my office, has been a trusted measuring stick for me in recent years. As my experience with reviews and new brands has grown, so too has my pessimism about new gear releases.

This year however, I took a bit more of a nuanced approach, working with brands I trusted and reviewing guitars that genuinely interested me from afar. Not just whatever was newest, or whatever was easy to get my hands on. I circled back and collaborated with some brands that I’ve watched from afar for years (Jet Guitars and EART), but also invested some time in the brands that have historically made me happy (like Fender and PRS).

Eastwood Guitars is another one of those brands. Some of my earliest reviews and articles were all focused on the return of the “pawnshop” guitar crazy in the late 2010s. I love those old, quirky guitars that sound great with loud fuzzes and loud amps, adding depth to thin and wiry pickups (and those narrow frets). Eastwood though has always made modern, comfortable recreations of those great guitars, and this Sidejack is no different with it’s nod to Mosrite.

It’s A Celebration

The guitar in question is Eastwood’s Sidejack Baritone, a limited edition version that celebrates 20 years of the Sidejack guitar’s existence. Costing $749 USD, this fairly priced guitar actually is quite impressive in terms of the feel and sound. The spec sheet may not jump out at you (Basswood body, C-shaped Maple neck, Rosewood fretboard, dual P90s), but this guitar has got the goods. It’s one of those “better than the sum of its parts” kind of guitars. Not that the parts are bad by any means, but I think this guitar is a lot more impressive once you’re playing it than it may appear.

The quirky offset does feature a gorgeous German carve, and the gold finish is really pretty as well. Eastwood’s Sidejack Baritone is a simplified beast though, with lots of low end growl, some surprising chime, and just a generally great playing experience.

Thus, it has spent the last several weeks nailing the “office” test. Basically anytime I’ve strolled in their to work, it’s gotten a few strums or melodies plucked.

The Demo

I plugged this Eastwood beauty into my pedalboard and played it through a mix of delays, fuzzes, distortions, and modulations. Specifically, you’ll hear the EHX Memory Man Deluxe Nano, Shotmaker Instruments Heroine Deluxe, Heather Brown Spirit In The Sky, and Boss CE-2w with the Sidejack Baritone. All of that was running into my Universal Audio stereo setup, which features a Ruby and Dream amp/cab sim on either side, running into the Volt276 and my laptop.

There’s so much natural growl, the low end almost provides a reverb-like effect when strumming this Sidejack Baritone. It obviously comes alive when you layer on fuzz and drives to blast your ear drums, but I was really pleased with the warm cleans and arpeggiated sounds from this guitar.

It brings a whole new feel and timbre to familiar chord shapes and patterns. Honestly, it may be a lazy way to just spice up your playing. But it works! There’s been no shortage of fun, and that’s always a good sign in a guitar review.

The Sidejack Baritone is by no means something that I or you “need”. But it is fun, and if you can afford it, or find yourself in need of a lower range guitar, this is one I can highly recommend!