All user reviews of 3/5 for the Gibson ES-333

Played it for half an hour at Sam Ash on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. It was selling for around $1100.

A genuine Gibson and most of the classic ES-335 design, with minor cosmetic changes to reduce the price. Sweet sound, versatile, going from melodic clean tones to growling distortion, with more dimensions than most electric guitars thanks to the semi-hollow construction. And while the plain yellow natural finish on the body was created to save on cost, I find it attractive and it feels great to the finger.

The neck on this one is one of the worst Gibson necks I've ever come across. It's too narrow, for one thing, but the fingerboard feels strangely dead and the action was uncomfortable. String tension felt unusually high for a Gibson scale length; the feel was closer to a Fender Strat, in an uninviting way. The strings don't look too old, so I don't think they're the culprit. This guitar is also very, very heavy. To give it some rope, I'd played a cherry-finish ES-333 at the same store which felt a lot more comfortable so these problems aren't universal, but the inconsistent quality is disappointing in a Gibson line.


Pretty good, but I've definitely seen better-built Gibsons.

My $400 Epiphone Dot feels more playable, not to mention lighter, than these two $1100 Gibsons. The Gibsons' pickups are superior, but I'd go for the Dot hands down because it tempts me to pick it up much more.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com