Hi everyone! First time poster here.
I've been primarily a bassist for over 20 years, though also play guitar and have been doing more guitar playing in the various cover bands I've played with over the past few years. Anyway, I've been a Fender guy for years, and my '52 RI Fender Tele is my #1, but I've always lusted for a ES-335 but never had the finances to do so. Well, I finally bought my first Gibson a month ago: a 2001 ES-333 LEFT HANDED model. (I've never seen another lefty, and since lefty ES-335's are still readily available i have to consider this ES-333 pretty rare comparatively to it's pricier brother). We lefties rarely have the opportunity to try guitars out before we purchase, since nobody ever has lefties in stock at local retailers (crappy Squire strat copies notwithstanding), so I ordered this sight unseen. All I can say is, Wow! What a fantastic guitar. Effortless, smooth neck and my mediocre finger picking technique has improved in leaps and bounds thanks to this guitar. I did swap out the PUPs for Gibson Classic 57 and Classic Plus PUPs, and my next "upgrade" will be to put on some bell top knobs and possibly buff the finish. I'm not going to put a pickguard on it though, since the guitar's so rare and I don't want to drill holes in it.
