Re-inventing the Past: From Mosrite to Sidejack
The Eastwood Sidejack guitars bring back the vintage flavour of the old Mosrite guitars - updated for modern players. Better than the original? Well, that's for you to decide... but the new Sidejack Pro DLX scores a strong point in our favour, so find out more!
The original Mosrite guitars are perhaps the ultimate "cult" guitars: they weren't cheap to start with, and sold little, despite the celebrity endorsement of The Ventures. However, over the years these guitars achieved increasingly greater following thanks to their striking look and the killer tone of the pickups, way hotter than ordinary P-90s.
But still, the subsequent fame of Mosrite was nothing like Jazzmasters, for instance: Old Mosrites are still rare and expensive, and they're the guitar of choice for a lucky few, only.
Even so, there's little doubt that the Mosrite Ventures design is one of the most recognisable ever:
That Mosrite design was a classic - you have Fender, Gibson, and really very few other brands in the 60's who managed to design a guitar so perfect & timeless.
Original Mosrite guitars are hard to find, and expensive. If you ever get one, it's certainly something to be prized! Read Michael's My Rare Guitar Blog about the subject.
Probably most guitarists on Earth will recognise a Mosrite Ventures model when they see one. But, even when it comes to famous guitarists, it's hard to name that many players who've been spotted with a Mosrite (Check Mosrite on Wikipedia for a pretty good - but small - list.)
Over the years, brands such as Teisco and Univox helped to keep the legend alive, thanks to their many Mosrite-style models, which themselves became collectable, eventually.
Mosrite: the Punk Rock guitar
The Ramones also played a big deal in popularising Mosrite, because the Mark II model was one of Johnny Ramone's favorite guitars. This model was the inspiration for our custom shop Mach Two guitar.
Since the Ramones, Mosrite has been associated with loud rock'n'roll as often as it's been with Ventures-style surf music. After all, some of the first names that often come to mind are punk rock pioneers:
Besides Johnny Ramone, we could also mention Fred "Sonic" Smith (MC5) and Dave Alexander (The Stooges). No wonder Mosrite is a name that many guitarists associate with raw power rock'n'roll!
Sadly, the prices asked for a vintage model mean most buyers will be happy keeping theirs safe at home - not trashing about on stage like those rock legends of the past!
Another important thing to note: there are some issues regarding the vintage Mosrites playability... which by no means detracts from the overall quality of the vintage Mosrites, but means that, true, many players accustomed to today's standards would not really enjoy playing one. Whether you belong to this group or not, only you can find out... if you ever have the chance to play an original Mosrite!
Watch: 1963 Mosrite Demo
Hey ho, let's go - with a Sidejack!
Which brings us to our Sidejack series. Those guitars are not just mere "Mosrite copies". We'd like to think we've re-invented them, bringing their discontinued, old models up-to-date, and also more playable to modern players. Should we dare to say... the Sidejacks are even better?
Well... we won't be so presumptuous to go that far, but our modern upgrades such as the feel of the neck, the roller bridge and the jazzmaster-style tremolo really give it a more familiar feel... not to mention that, being more affordable, the Sidejack guitars come ready to ROCK!
And if that doesn't make it better... well, the fact is that our Sidejack series is today more popular than Mosrite has ever been!
Whereas The Ventures eventually swapped their Mosrites for Jazzmasters, today's Sidejacks are making some players go the other way, and trade their Jazzmasters for a Sidejack, thanks to the Sidejack's punchier P90s and greater sustain.
In the past few years, the Sidejack Series has become one of our top-sellers, thanks to the wide range of models which actually offer something new to the players: not just different tremolos and neck but also humbucker versions, baritone models, 12-strings with gold hardware and even the mighty Baritone Blackout models, perfect for the modern heavy rockers.
We see all sorts of new bands playing the Sidejacks, now. From punk to indie, surf bands and even seasoned blues pros such as Eric Clapton's collaborator Doyle Bramhall II. Make no mistake - the Sidejacks have put their own mark! Sidejacks are totally now, dig it?
Watch: Eastwood Sidejack DLX Demo
Mosrite: Still an ongoing inspiration
Despite aiming to offer a modern twist on old Mosrite models, it's still true that the original vintage models will keep inspiring us. We're sure many of our customers still look up to those old Mosrites... as we do!
For this reason, we resurrected the old Mosrite 300 in the shape of our custom shop Sidejack 300, which quickly became one of our favorite models. Guitars like the Mosrite 300 shouldn't just be consigned to history... they should be appreciated now, and the Sidejack 300 is as close as it gets.
Check this RJ demo, and it'll give you a good idea why:
The Sidejack Pro DLX
As for the future? Well, all we can say is that new Sidejack Pro DLX is even better: even more Mosrite-like, more Pro... as the name suggests!
With features such as a neck that will feel much more comfortable and familiar to modern players used to Fender-style guitars, for instance, there's no question about it: the Sidejack Pro DLX is more playable than the original Mosrites ever were, but keeping the look and super-hot tones of the vintage Mosrites.
Watch: The Evolution of the Sidejack Pro
Eastwood Guitars CEO Mike Robinson, and COO Carl Cook sat down for a drink and to discuss the new Eastwood Sidejack Pro. Whether you've played a Mosrite before, and never had the opportunity but loves the style, this is the one for you.
