Gibson ES-333

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The Gibson ES-333 is a semi hollow body electric guitar made by Gibson Guitar Corporation. It is similar to the ES-335 but varies slightly.

The ES-333 varies from the ES-335 in the following ways:

• The finish is a thin satin finish, versus the ES-335's thicker full gloss finish.
• The headstock has a silkscreen Gibson logo, versus the ES-335's inlaid pearloid logo.
• The headstock has no further decorative inlay, versus the ES-335's "crown" headstock inlay.
• The pickups are Gibson type 490R and 498T, versus the ES-335's Gibson 57 Classic pickups.
• The back of the body has an access cover for the electronics, vs the solid rear of the ES-335.
• Tom Delonge of Angels and Airwaves has a signature Gibson ES-333 which features a brown with a cream, racing stripe and one Gibson Dirty Fingers humbucking bridge pickup with a single volume knob.

Some players value the ES-333 because its back access cover, the same as used on the Gibson BB King "Lucille", allows easy access to the various electronic components, making them far easier to change in case of breakage, or more likely, in case of modification for fine tuning the overall tone of the instrument.

The ES-333 was a short lived "Made in Memphis" model.