Eastwood Guitars Sidejack Baritone

Got the Eastwood Sidejack Baritone a few weeks ago, and am very happy with it. I bought it new, so it's a 2008 (had to wait a few weeks after ordering through myrareguitars.com; very good people over there). Set neck. It's solid, glossy black, mosrite body style (very ventures looking). stoptail bridge (nice bridge, and is much better than others I've seen at preventing string breakage), p-90s (which are very responsive and sound quite good!). Has vintage green tuners which add to the look for sure, a white pickguard. It is 28" in scale, so it isn't the longest baritone out there, but I can't imagine it being any longer either; it is proportioned pretty correctly. It does, however, have a bit of neckdive. Came with no case. It could have nicer features (higher quality parts, I suppose) but for what it is and what they are asking for it you really can't go wrong.

When I first got it I was running it through my Orange Tiny Terror into a custom made closed back 1x12 cab with a greenback in it, which is my usual set up for my standard electrics. But, as it turns out, the range that it falls into really just sounds better through a bass amp. I have an SWR workingman's 12 that has direct out, so I have been using that and it really just takes a flick of a couple knobs to make this thing sound full and even, so I definitely recommend using a bass amp.
The pickups are single-coil, so the usual hissing happens when on the neck or bridge, but they cancel in the middle position, which I think is the best sounding position anyway. The bridge does a nice twangy sound, the neck does a very nice thick tone. The middle position is very complete sounding and takes - predictably - the best of these other modes and combines them. Be advised: it does not take distortion well at all. I don't need it for my style, but that isn't going to be something you can do with this guitar, at least in my experience. The low notes really come out and get you, particularly through a bit meatier amplification, but it also has the ability to sing pretty sweetly in the higher range, so don't be afraid to solo on it. All in all a good sounding guitar, but not without it's shortcomings.

Look, it's a cheaper guitar. It is made cheaply and is not a custom instrument by any means, so it isn't going to be out of this world in this category. If you keep that in mind, you will be pleasantly surprised when you look at it or pick it up; it exceeds what I expected here. But still, it has flaws: the tuners are cool and do the job well (hasn't gone out of tune) but they feel kind of cheap. The finish looks very nice and is nothing to scoff at, but it isn't the best finish I've ever seen on an instrument. The guitar feels good and felt good right out of the box, looks cool, and stays in tune, so it exceeded expectations, particularly for the price.

This guitar will withstand live playing. I don't mistreat my instruments, but if I did I have full faith that this thing would take a lickin' and keep on kickin'. I have no reason to believe it would just quit out or anything. I would use it without a backup, particularly because the string gauge is so heavy it is not prone to breakage. despite the fact that it feels a little cheap compared to very high end instruments (it is by no means a toy guitar, however...it is a serious instrument for sure), it isn't going anyway: solid.

I went through myrareguitars, which is the primary distributor for Eastwood. They are great people and I have nothing but good things to say about them. They will personally make sure everything you need happens. I have dealt with other companies and these guys are doing it right.

I've been playing for 13 years, and I can say for sure that this baritone has everything I want/need, and nothing I don't. I compared it to a danelectro baritone and this blew it out fo the water. I would definitely buy it again, particularly for the price they are asking.

Mae in China. Tune-o-matic bridge, flamed top, two P90s, 3-way pickup selector. Didn't come with any accessories.

The Sidejack baritone is perfectly suited for the variety of stuff I play, from very dry and "narrow" sounds for funkier rhythms to a hearty growl for riffing.

I play it through an early-90s Finnish tube amp called Creamsound. The sound of the guitar can be altered considerably just by adjusting tone, pickup and volume. This is in stark contrast to the Danelectro I'm used to playing, which only really has one sound.

In the studio my instruments do sometimes go through very exotic effect chains (Moogerfooger MuRF, Line6 filter modeller, Ibanez Time Machine, Voodoo Vibe, etc), but the live setup is more traditional: Line6 delay, Boss delay, fuzz, Microverb II. This guitar sounds great through all that, as well as directly into the amp. I've also done some recording at home through a SansAmp GT2 adn Alesis Microverb II and the results were impressive. The guitar has a very resonanrt body. It rings.

When using a one pickup position, the guitar tends to hum, but that's just the way it is with singlecoils...

Naturally, I'll have to have some adjustments done, but that is the case with every guitar everywhere. No tool comes ready off the shelf. The action on this on was pretty close to spot-on, though. I might have to raise it a touch.

There were minor finish flaws in the pickups and one smudge on the body. No big deal. Obviously had no impact on the sound.

It lacks the handmade lustre of guitars 10x its price, but that seems a pithy complaint, no?

This seems like a very well put-together piece of equipment. Very solid. Once again, compares favorably to the Danelectro, which has a very plywoody feel ot it.

Other than tightening the 1/4" plug input, I don't think it needs much work in oeder to withstand the rigors of touring.

My dealings with the company have been a pleasure. Answers to questions have been prompt to a fault and the guitar was delivered exactly when promised and in good enough shape for me to use it for recording and gigs even before taking it in for adjustments.

I've been playing guitar and other string instruments since the mid-80s. I own a number of guitars, mandolins, banjo, lap steel basses, etc. If this guitar was mispalced, I'd definitely get another one.

Compared to my other electric baritone (I have a wonderful acoustic one, too), this is a much more subtantial and serious tool. I contemplated buying a cheap Gretsch baritone, but something about this one spoke to me and I've come to the conclusion that instincts need to be trusted. Also, Eastwood hardware seems to garner glowing reviews everywhere, including this site.

In fact, I've decided to buy their Mandocaster next.

Metallic blue.
Mosrite style.
Tune-O-Matic bridge.
Gotoh tuners.
28" scale length.
Includes a cable + tools.
Two P90 pickups.

I have put on Fender Jag Baritone strings (25-95) on the guitar, and tuned it like a bass. E-E, an oktave below a normal guitar. The tone is fat and warm. It's a little noisy on the bridge PU, but nothing to talk about. There is a three-selection switch.

The set up from the factory was great. Tuned B-B, a 4th. below a normal guitar.
The guitar comes in three colors. Black, metallic blue and amber. The finish is nice.

The guitar has not let me down.

A very friendly support at the factory. Fast shipping.

I am mostly a bass player but also play some guitar in my band. Normally i would swear to vintage guitars. I have a '72 Fender Tele-bass, a '77 Fender Precision-bass, a '64 Hofner bass and a '60 Burns London guitar. This Eastwood fits right in to my collection. I love it.

28" Scale, 2 P-90 pickups (unsure of brand), Solid Basswood body, Maple Neck, Rosewood Fret Board, Tune-O-Matic bridge, Stop tail, Tone knob, Volume knob, 3-Way pick-up selector. The neck proportion is pretty standard (which was a bit surprising for a Baritone), so it's possible to get a pretty low action on this guitar. The body itself is modeled on a Mosrite. As far as features go - I don't need any more than what this guitar offers, but I suppose there could be more.

I play metal mostly, and this guitar is perfect for me. The P-90s put out a brighter tone than Humbuckers I have used but keep the bottom end. I run mine through a Sovtek Tube Midget Mig 50 and an Ampeg 4x12, the only effect I use is a Noah's Ark Distortion B. On this rig this thing sound massive. Certainly not ideal for lead guitar parts, but if you want ridiculous sustain and a menacing bottom end for your rythym parts, this guitar won't disapoint. The P-90s do make this a relatively expressive guitar, and I find it very sensitive to pick position. Getting a bright sound is no harder than getting a mellow sound - however I would describe the overall tone as a little "plucky". The clean tone is brilliant on this, and though I was concerned about noise coming off the single coils, this guitar is much quieter than my others.

This guitar was shipped to me in excelent shape. No problems with the action or the finish. There seems to be a slight fret buzz coming off my high string, but it doesn't bother me to the point that I want to fix it right now, and after inspecting the frets and fret board (which look fine), it looks like something that could be fixed with a simple adjustment.

Thing seems built like a tank. All the gear seems well fastened and manufactured, though the tuning heads do look a little flimsy - but it's the style and honestly, after fiddling with them a bit I think I'm just being picky. I wouldn't hesitate to gig with this (which I will be shortly), and I don't exepct to need a backup.

Haven't needed it. But Mike emailed me back within a hour or two when I sent a question in to myrareguitars.com before I purchased the guitar, and the guitar was shipped to me in 2 days after placing the order. I have no doubt that these guys take their customers' satisfaction very seriously, and everything I've heard about them attests to this.

I love this guitar, and I would replace it in an instant with the same model if it were lost or stolen. I have 2 (good) SG knockoffs in my collection, and this thing has a better dynamic range in it's tone, and plays just as well. Though this guitar is often promoted as ideal for surf rock, jazz, or prog, the baritone scale, and the P-90s will push out an array of sounds.

SideJack Baritone Guitar mosrite style with 28" scale length
Made in China
22 Frets with 2 soapbar pickups, B B+N N switching and V&T controls
Basswood body, maple neck rosewood fretboard with medium frets, black finish.
Tune-o-matic bridge and Kluson style machine heads

14-68 guage strings ....which are a really good choice.

I play Rock, punk rock and jazz and have been doing so for twenty years, seven years ago I started playing a 30" baritone guitar [Hand Made by Jim Dyson Guitars Australia http://www.jimdysonguitars.com.au/ ] and now rarely play standard guitars because [in my opinion] baritone guitars have a better tone and sustain and more expressive range.

The side Jack sounds awesome unplugged: fat, rich and full with plenty of clarity and more than enough top end. Plus a really tight bottom end.
It was also great for jazz chords which can sound muddy on other guitars

Plugged [via Marshall JTM45+Quad box+ Boss turbo overdrive or fender twin style] it sounds awesome both clean and dirty.
Pickups, being single coil, are a little noisy but actually less noisy than others I've used and ok up really loud.
Their tone is great and surprisingly I dont feel the need to change them to Duncans [I would usually do this].They are: Bright Fat Clear and Heavy, all you need is there, and your amp can extract whatever you want.
Plus the bonus is they dont squeal up very loud which is unusual for cheaper pickups.....no wax dip for these babies!

There is plenty of tonal variety between the pickup switchings and even more from where you actually pick.......baritones are much more expressive than standard guitars

Set Up was near perfect, though personally, I prefer a slightly higher action there was a very slight buzz around 12th. This and the action was easily adjusted with a slight loosening of the truss rod.

Its a great neck, very Gibson like but not a clubby one, The Fret work was excellent, very well finished.

Pickup adjustment is more a matter of personal preference depending on amp/style played/strings/picks etc, but they came well balanced and so far I have'nt need to tweak them.

The guitar finish was beautiful [looks great in black] no flaws anywhere................and I've owned and serviced plenty of guitars over the years so I know what to look for.



Regardless of cost the finish and setup is excellent, taking cost into account its brilliant

The guitar will certainly stand up to my playing demands and I Like to them a thrashing especially live.

Surprisingly the machine heads are very good, smooth and stable so I wont be replacing these as I usually do on cheaper guitars.

The pickup switch seem good as well.

Its a little scary buying a guitar, sight unseen from the other side of the world but Michael was great, the process was easy and the shipping process is trackable over the net which is kinda cool.

No idea regarding warranty terms, never asked as I fix-em myself anyway. I'm sure Michael would be very accomodating if required.

Having played Baritones virtually exclusivly for the last few years I can tell you....................
Its an absolute ripper of a guitar [baritone or otherwise], and is heaps better sounding than others I recently tried such as the ESP and Epiphone models...their scale length is too short in my opinion they both seemed a little muddy for jazz style chords but ok for that slow heavy death metal sort of stuff.
Also they simply did'nt feel as solid in my hands
Plus the sidejack hangs of me really well, mosrite style shapes feel and look great slung low as any Johnny Ramone fan knows

It different to my Jim Dyson Baritone which is also fantastic and was more expensive, but in this case its like comparing a gibson style to a strat style in that they both do certain things better than each other. [The Jim Dyson has a bolt on neck, longer scale length and strat style bridge.]

I have absolutely nothing to complain about, but believe me if I did I would'nt hold back, I noticed similar positive responses to other Eastwood guitar reviews.

Made in China.
Two P90 Style Pickups
Volume and Tone Controls
Front Body Binding
Neck Binding
28" Scale
Set Neck
Tuned B to B
D'Addario 14 - 68 Baritione Strings
Medium Jumbo Frets
Mosrite Style Body
Tune O Matic Style Bridge
Gold Hardware
Came with a cord and allen wrench

This guitar has that lonesome spaghetti western sound. The lower strings sound like springs! I A/B'ed it with a Dano Baritone sound sample that I found on the web. The sounds were very similar but the Eastwood sounded more focused, lively and maybe a little less mid-rangy. The Dano seemed to have more treble at first. But I found that the Eastwood is very sensotive to where you pick. Pick near the bridge = Nice and Bright. Pick near the neck = Nice and Mellow.

The guitar sounds good acoustically too. Lots of body resonance.

The pickups are a little noisy, but not more noisy than my Fender Tele.

Overall it's just the sound I was looking for.

For a guitar in any price range, this thing is almost flawless! I've seen new Gibsons that look like they QC'ed by blind people compared to this guitar. The only thing I could find wrong with it was the bevel on the pickguard was a little rough in one <1/8" area.

The guitar was set up very well. The intonation was dead on, no buzzes. I may try to lower the action on the bass side of the bridge. It's about the same as my Taylor acoustic, but I think I may try it a bit lower.

Can't see why this wouldn't last a life time.

Michael at myrareguitars.com was very helpful and prompt to answer all of my questions.

Shipping was reasonable and just 3 days to NY.

I've been playing about 10 years and own about 12 guitars and mandolins. My music style ranges from Bluegrass to Blues with country, surf, fingerstyle, jazz thrown in the middle.

This guitar is great when measured on any scale.

Surprisingly, this guitar works pretty well for fingerstyle playing! Some fingerstyle songs come alive with the lower tuning. Lots of fun.

If you are looking for something different and don't want to spend a lot of $$ this could be it.

Highly Recommended - Great Value!!!