.......Old post I know, but still quite relevant for anyone accidentally running across a Gibson ES333.
I too own both. My '04 ES333 like clamslapper's has the Lollar Imperials whilst my 1999 '59 Reissue ES335 has the 57 Classic p'ups Both are great guitars with outstanding performance. So close, and yet so very little to choose between them. The ES335 may have the slightly fancier finish, whilst the ES333 has the, oh so useable and accessible rear control cover, which is sadly absent from the 335.
This is easy! By the time you add up your gas bills, plus the hours you spent searching for an ES333, you could perhaps have bought two or three 335's. It's easy to see and understand why Gibson stopped making the 333. Economics. Find an ES333, and you could fancy it up with Rolls Royce pickups and a gold plated pickguard and you would still be ahead of the game. The ES335 would not have been the great seller it is and at the price they are, had the ES333s continued to have been made.
Doesn't exactly explain why the 335 is so expensive and the 333s were so cheap, considering they are 90% the same guitar, but it is what it is. Gibson must have realised their error very quickly and stopped making the one that didn't make them the big profit.
Moral of the story? ....... Never turn down the chance to buy a tidy ES333. It's money in the bank!
