If you love twangy guitars from the ’60s, you know about Mosrites – the immortal slabs of The Ventures and Ramones. Twenty years ago, Eastwood Guitars made its own variation and called it the Sidejack. To mark the model’s birthday, the company launched a special edition dubbed the DLX 20th LTD, and VG got its eager mitts on one.

Like those planks of yore, the Sidejack has the bold, oversized horns and notched headstock reminiscent of the original. The body is bound basswood with a set maple neck and a bound rosewood fretboard with dot markers; hardware includes a Mosrite-styled vibrato, and scale is 24.75″. Electronics are two Eastwood of Canada M-90 pickups, a three-way selector, and controls for Tone and Volume. Details include Eastwood-branded knobs and the 20th Anniversary Eastwood of Canada logo on the headstock. The whole shebang comes in at a solid but comfortable 7.6 pounds.

Making the ride more enjoyable, the Sidejack DLX has a tapered neck profile and easy-to-grab heel. In hand, the axe plays well, with a quick setup, medium-feel frets, and light strings. Sonically, the M-90 pickups – a P-90 design – deliver a variety of tones, from clean ’n glassy or twang to dirty overdrive with the right pedal or amp settings. There are even jazz-tinged flavors thanks to the combination of that wildly tilted neck pickup and basswood body. The vibrato and roller bridge add to the fun, the bar set close to the strings for more wiggle than whammy.

What’s really surprising is the amount of twang the DLX offers for the money. And while there are quite a few Sidejack models to choose from with varying pickup and bridge options, this one brings an array of swank finish options, a classic offset body, and those big, big horns!

This article originally appeared in VG’s November 2023 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.