ES-333 Acquisition

[hi13ts]

Friends, I just want to share.

 

I was really gassing for the new limited edition Firebirds with the lyre vibrola, but found out it was a GC/MF exclusive. I tried to deal numbers with them, but as you all know, you kinda just take what you get with those guys. So I was thinking real hard about whether or not that Firebird was worth $2000, so I looked around Reverb.com for an older white Firebird, but prices weren't so far off from the $2k, so I continued thinking long and hard about it. One day, as I was on Facebook of all places, I saw a photo of an ES-335 for $1399. Of course, that can't be true so I clicked on it and was taken to an ES-333 sold by The Guitar Shoppe in Laguna Beach, CA.

 

Whoever owned this 2002 model seemed to have went the whole nine yards with the 335 mods. Black tophat knobs, 57 classics?, pickguard, etc. After researching more, it seems this guitar is basically a 335 with a plain headstock and basic binding. I also thought, at the time, it had a satin finish. So I said, great, a 335 Satin with a bound neck, this will suffice until the day when I can catch a real 335.

 

Got the guitar yesterday and was totally surprised by how well it played, sounded, looked. The finish is almost like a VOS gloss finish. It's not super shiny and thick like the newer guitars off the line, but it's definitely NOT satin. It really does feel like a VOS finish. The color is a faded cherry, not unlike the VOS SG standards. I was going to pull the pickups to see what kind they were as I restrung and set up the guitar, but it sounded so sweet and soulful, I thought why not keep this a mystery? Don't fix what ain't broken. I can't tell if it's a Burstbucker or a 57 Classic. I have 57 Classics in my SG and this one's a little more breathier and less aggressive.

 

All in all, I paid for an excellent worn-in ES-335 for less than a new LP Studio. Very very minor cosmetic differences. This bird sings as well as most of the 335's I've played in stores. Definitely more playable than the Satin 335s I've had the pleasure of noodling on. Very blessed. I'm sharing a picture of the family:

 

 

Left to right: Batman, Nightwing, and Robin. ('78 Custom, '13 Original, '02 ES-333)

 

Very blessed.

[bobouz]

The ES-333 is a very cool guitar indeed! When brand new, they were available on sale for $999, and I should have bought one in natural (my preferred finish). Didn't do it, but ended up buying a natural 335 a few years later.

 

Whoever previously owned your guitar did a nice job with the added pickup covers & pickguard. The original pickups are 490R & 498T humbuckers, as often found in LP Studios.

 

Congrats & enjoy!

[Pesh]

Very cool; this made me do a quick eBay search for a 333 congratulations!