Tom Delonge Signature ES-333 Review

Features:	8.3
Sound:	7.7
Action:	8.3
Reliability:	9
Impression:	8
Overall rating:	8.3
Users rating:	8.2
Comments:	43

Featured review by: unregistered, on november 26, 2005

Features: // 5

Sound: This guitar is terrible. Has no clean sound at all. Distortion is great if you are only looking for a pop punk guitar. I play it with a Marshall AVT150 half stack and the clean sound is jsut terrible. The Tom DeLonge Strat sounds 10x as good as this. // 3

Action, Fit & Finish: Action is pretty good. Not as good as most Gibsons. Finish is good on it. Only flaw really is the sound and the input gets loose. Its not Gibson quality. // 5

Reliability & Durability: This guitar will last. Playing live or just sitting at home. Comes with a nice hardshell fitted case. Strap buttons are good but, would replace with strap locks if you're playing shows. Because th strap tends to slip off because of the strap button location behind the guitar. // 7

Impression: Good for only one stlye of music. I play punk/emo/scremo/metal and about the only one this guitar is good for is pop punk. I've been playing for around 5 yrs now. If this guitar was lost or stolen I probly wouldn't waste the money again. If you like the look of the guitar get a ES-333 or ES-335 they sound way better. Or if you want the Tom Delonge name get the Fender Tom Strat as I said before the sound is way better and will do more type of styles. This is the worse Gibson I've ever played. // 4

overall: 10

Reviewed by: darkfenix360, on april 15, 2004

Purchased from: Cave Creek Guitars

Features: BODY
Size: Maple/Poplar/Maple laminate
Top Species: Maple/Poplar/Maple laminate
Back Species: Maple/Poplar/Maple laminate
Rim Species: 1-piece Maple
Binding: Single-ply top, back

NECK
Species: Mahogany
Profile: 1960 Slim Taper
Peghead Pitch: 17°
Thickness at 1st fret: 0.800"
Thickness at 12th fret: 0.875"
Heel Length: 0.500"
Neck Joint Location: 19th fret
Headstock Inlay: 19

FINGERBOARD
Species: Rosewood
Scale length: 243/4"
Total Length: 18.137"
Nut Width: 111/16"
Width at 12th fret: 2.062"
Frets: 22
Inlays: Pearloid Dot
Binding: Single-ply

HARDWARE
Plating Finish: Nickel
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Tailpiece: Stopbar
Knobs: Cream Speed
Tuners: Locking Sperzel

ELECTRONICS
Pickups: One Gibson 'Dirty Fingers' exposed-coil humbucker
Bridge Pickup: One Gibson 'Dirty Fingers' exposed-coil humbucker
Controls: One volume control and standard jack

CASE
Exterior: Black smooth levant
Interior: Plush charcoal with satin shroud
Silkscreen: Gold 'Gibson' logo

STRINGS
Brite Wires .010-.046 // 10

Sound: This guitar is the best guitar for my style of music. I play mostly punk/emo/screamo. You get a rich sound when you have distortion on it and you get a nice smooth tone when you play it clean. I also use it as an acoustic to make songs for my band cause it's a semi-hollow. // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: The action on the guitar is great. The pickups are fine. My guitar didn't contain any flaws. // 10

Reliability & Durability: This gutiar will probably withstand live playing considering its a signature of someone who tours a lot. The finish is good enough to last. The strap buttons are solid. I can depend on this guitar. I wouldnt need a backup with this guitar // 10

Impression: I play punk/emo/screamo/ as I said before and this guitar goes perfect with the bands I play. I've only been playing for 2 years. I also have Toms Fender. I love this gutiars sound with distortion. The pickups are great even though they were brought back from the 70's. I wish it was lighter and a little smaller cause im used to the Fender Strat and that is very light and very small compared to his new guitar. All in all this guitar is a great guitar. // 10

overall: 10

Reviewed by: qwertcb, on december 05, 2003

Purchased from: Tom Delonge

Features: OK! I haven't bought it yet but Tom let me use it....it's sssooo sick! It's just loaded with features!!!

BODY
Size: Maple/Poplar/Maple laminate
Top Species: Maple/Poplar/Maple laminate
Back Species: Maple/Poplar/Maple laminate
Rim Species: 1-piece Maple
Binding: Single-ply top, back

NECK
Species: Mahogany
Profile: 1960 Slim Taper
Peghead Pitch: 17°
Thickness at 1st fret: 0.800"
Thickness at 12th fret: 0.875"
Heel Length: 0.500"
Neck Joint Location: 19th fret
Headstock Inlay: 19

FINGERBOARD
Species: Rosewood
Scale length: 243/4"
Total Length: 18.137"
Nut Width: 111/16"
Width at 12th fret: 2.062"
Frets: 22
Inlays: Pearloid Dot
Binding: Single-ply

HARDWARE
Plating Finish: Nickel
Bridge: Tune-o-matic
Tailpiece: Stopbar
Knobs: Cream Speed
Tuners: Locking Sperzel

ELECTRONICS
Pickups: One Gibson 'Dirty Fingers' exposed-coil humbucker
Bridge Pickup: One Gibson 'Dirty Fingers' exposed-coil humbucker
Controls: One volume control and standard jack

CASE
Exterior: Black smooth levant
Interior: Plush charcoal with satin shroud
Silkscreen: Gold 'Gibson' logo

STRINGS
Brite Wires .010-.046 // 10

Sound: No Dislikes at all! The tone is sweet and it's meant for all of you punker's out there! I'ts worth every penny! If you use it on distortion it's so awsome! Gives a good ring! It's a full sound when ur rippin it! // 10

Action, Fit & Finish: It's all great! The pickups were adjusted perfectly! Oh man! The bridge was routed really well! NO FLAWS AT ALL!!! // 10

Reliability & Durability: Perfect for playng live! Really durable! The hardware WILL last! The finish on it will never fade! EVER! Well...maybe after YEARS of playing it! The starp buttons are solid and I would definatly use it if I didn't have a backup at a gig! // 10

Impression: The best guitar I've EVER played. Nothing like the Strat! It's very simlar to the ES-335 Reissue! BUY IT! Tom's was in perfect condition and I expierenced it 1st hand! Great guitar! // 10

Comments

[shoebox_of_lies]

they gave tom delonge a signature guitar? i guess anyone can get that these days

[alienboy18241]

its his 2nd if i'm thinking right. 3rd if u count the squier strat.

[HC-Deathroll]

1 word. LAME.

[Ambulance X]

The one with the AVT150 is pretty uncredible because AVT150s have horrible cleans as is.

[Acdc182]

The guitar ocks he gots mad skillz

[sheamanSG]

Some guitars arn't for everyone. And for everyone who says how bad it sounds on clean, the pickups are dirty fingers what other kind of sound would you want from those. I think this is a great guitar and Tom defintly deserves a Signature model and an endorsement deal.

[-Atticus-]

TOM DELONGES GUITAR IS SWEET, NEVER PLAYED IT BUT I MEAN... HAVE YOU HEARD IT LIVE? IF YOU HAVEN'T I SUGGEST YOU DOWNLOAD SOME LIVE BLINK VIDEOS CAUSE IT JUST FLOWS THROUGH THE SONG ITS GREAT

[andrew1992]

-Atticus- :
TOM DELONGES GUITAR IS SWEET, NEVER PLAYED IT BUT I MEAN... HAVE YOU HEARD IT LIVE? IF YOU HAVEN'T I SUGGEST YOU DOWNLOAD SOME LIVE BLINK VIDEOS CAUSE IT JUST FLOWS THROUGH THE SONG ITS GREAT
euh dude the amp has to do with it
i've heard from somebody tom replaced the humbucker with a seymour duncan so i gues gibson wont give that with it gibson almost NEVER work with seymour duncan
that one guy who said you better buy a es 335 is right they are WAY much sweeter from sound
but hey i play with a sg an a les paul jr from 1975 and i love them so euh i gues my opinion doesn't count for much:d

[ECwomantoneman]

shoebox_of_lies wrote:

they gave tom delonge a signature guitar? i guess anyone can get that these days

Why isn't there Eric's Psychedelic SG from Gibson? They made his 335 but it's not the same.

[ECwomantoneman]

By the way, the 335's awesome.

[ECwomantoneman]

Sorry about this being a triple post, but inreference to the tom delonge sig geetar, all I can do is quote a football(soccer) chant:

"It's so ****ing ugly"

[untitled039]

If he can get a signature guitar, I anyone can. And he's got 2 of them so anyone can get 2 sig guitars as well

[bass-solo182]

this guitar is hepas good and looks great to, but im not to sure if h really desrves a signature guitar

[TheImpactPoint]

andrew1992 wrote:

-Atticus- :
TOM DELONGES GUITAR IS SWEET, NEVER PLAYED IT BUT I MEAN... HAVE YOU HEARD IT LIVE? IF YOU HAVEN'T I SUGGEST YOU DOWNLOAD SOME LIVE BLINK VIDEOS CAUSE IT JUST FLOWS THROUGH THE SONG ITS GREAT
euh dude the amp has to do with it
i've heard from somebody tom replaced the humbucker with a seymour duncan so i gues gibson wont give that with it gibson almost NEVER work with seymour duncan
that one guy who said you better buy a es 335 is right they are WAY much sweeter from sound
but hey i play with a sg an a les paul jr from 1975 and i love them so euh i gues my opinion doesn't count for much:d

yeah he put a seymour duncan invader in it

[manwith2brains]

all of you who have never played it but like toms sound live you have to remember that its also toms amps and he uses ALOT of amps so don't get this guitar because you like his live sound because you wont get that sound unless you use his amps

[j-boy199]

untitled039 wrote:

If he can get a signature guitar, I anyone can. And he's got 2 of them so anyone can get 2 sig guitars as well

3 if you include the squier,even if it is exactly like the fender, its still a third guitar

[Eamon Fethers]

sheamanSG wrote:

Some guitars arn't for everyone. And for everyone who says how bad it sounds on clean, the pickups are dirty fingers what other kind of sound would you want from those. I think this is a great guitar and Tom defintly deserves a Signature model and an endorsement deal.

do u kno who deserves a signature guitar... Chris Cheney!! he is one of the best guitarists i've ever seen and he just doens't get enuf credit 4 it

[Korzack]

Christ, that thing looks like they've painted it in sports-car colours & let it sit in either old beer or a case stuffed with used tea-bags - OK, so at the time they released it, he was a popular player, but This is like giving Tony Iommi a bloody Gretsch or a Rickenbacker - Just not the right crowd. The squier was a good idea, maybe an upgraded Fender version, but not this

[mr. ...]

TheImpactPoint wrote:

andrew1992 wrote:

yeah he put a seymour duncan invader in it

ha ha thats his solution to everything. it IS a great pickup tho... have one myself on my LP. but yeah this 333s a POS

[kanarf]

so i guess the strats better good to know.

[Fender_For_Life]

stop bagging on tom, just because you tools dont like his music, and just because you say he doesnt deserve a signature guitar doesnt make it true. id like to see you all go out there and be as successful as he has been, and is still being.

[forwhomthebells]

Fender_For_Life is right he rocks.

I quite like te look of this guitar and yeah.

[poop182]

TheImpactPoint wrote:

andrew1992 wrote:

-Atticus- :
TOM DELONGES GUITAR IS SWEET, NEVER PLAYED IT BUT I MEAN... HAVE YOU HEARD IT LIVE? IF YOU HAVEN'T I SUGGEST YOU DOWNLOAD SOME LIVE BLINK VIDEOS CAUSE IT JUST FLOWS THROUGH THE SONG ITS GREAT
euh dude the amp has to do with it
i've heard from somebody tom replaced the humbucker with a seymour duncan so i gues gibson wont give that with it gibson almost NEVER work with seymour duncan
that one guy who said you better buy a es 335 is right they are WAY much sweeter from sound
but hey i play with a sg an a les paul jr from 1975 and i love them so euh i gues my opinion doesn't count for much:d

yeah he put a seymour duncan invader in it

actually no he didnt, he uses the rare "Dirty Fingers" pick-ups by Gibson...they sound the same as the invader, but a bit more distorted. I see where u you were gettibg at.

and just to add: This guitar is Fukkking Beautiful!!!

Fender_For_Life & forwhomthebells are RIGHT! Tom, What a Pimp!

[Give_em Hell]

Fender_For_Life wrote:

stop bagging on tom, just because you tools dont like his music, and just because you say he doesnt deserve a signature guitar doesnt make it true. id like to see you all go out there and be as successful as he has been, and is still being.

very true... but in everyone elses defence as well he does have shitty rifts! who puts anthem part 2's rift in everything's magic with an extra note its stupid

[brazen]

give_ em hell
i do see what ur saying about the copying riffs but i wouldnt say they are shitty. i think some of them are really good and id be damn proud to say i made those.

btw gonna buy this guitar soon! hope its good. n tom DOES deserve signature guitars

[stevenpollock]

I actually like this. I love 333's and 335's but the 333s are more practical. I love the Dirty Fingers pickups, and I actually DO like the color scheme. The only thing that turns me off about this is how versatile it ISNT. Like other's have said, it's not for everyone. And that's fair. Thats sort of the purpose of a "signature" guitar.

If I had an ES series (besides my '57 125) I'd most definitly have '57's in it. If I had 2 I'd probably throw in a Dirty Fingers just because it DOES sound cool, but it loses it's hollowbody feel imo.

In reality, everyone who bashes Tom for having signature guitars, it's simply just jealousy. You all think you're such hot shit with your arpeggios and Dimebag Dean's. The fact is, you're not, and you probably haven't written some of the most catchy songs in recent history. His parts are simple, but there's no denying they're good. He turns stuff that most people are afraid to play in fear that they wont look 'cool' into actual, good songs. Simplicity is in some cases the key.

[SupermanIsDead]

the guitar has unique sounds i think. a little bit of classic touch. maybe tom wants it that way. besides, this is a signature guitar. i like the sound and the look of it, although don't listen to tom's music too much.

btw, could you guys "tom haters" just stop acting like a bitch. i mean, he is a sloppy guitar player. it's an amazing thing with that kinda playing he got sig guitar. but he is a good musician. goof ideas in music that others couldn't think. good rifts, and many peole love it. it wasn't his playing skills that made him deserves that sig but his creativity.
i'm a pure metalheads my self but i don't enjoy dissin' people just because their playing a little bit under your standard or whatsoever. so, just grow up will you..

[RealGuitarHero]

andrew1992 wrote:

-Atticus- :
TOM DELONGES GUITAR IS SWEET, NEVER PLAYED IT BUT I MEAN... HAVE YOU HEARD IT LIVE? IF YOU HAVEN'T I SUGGEST YOU DOWNLOAD SOME LIVE BLINK VIDEOS CAUSE IT JUST FLOWS THROUGH THE SONG ITS GREAT
euh dude the amp has to do with it
i've heard from somebody tom replaced the humbucker with a seymour duncan so i gues gibson wont give that with it gibson almost NEVER work with seymour duncan
that one guy who said you better buy a es 335 is right they are WAY much sweeter from sound
but hey i play with a sg an a les paul jr from 1975 and i love them so euh i gues my opinion doesn't count for much:d

Yeah, I saw Start The Machine(AVA Documentary) and the One he plays has an invader in it.
In the Booklet for I-empire you can see there is one with an Invader in it too.

[zeemonkey]

sounds like the last 2 posters knew each other. the guy who plays for 5 years says it sucks but the 2 year old noob player says it rocks...hmmm i think ill take the 5 year players word over the 2 year players.

[frafri]

now...im a HUGE blink and ava fan. i love the sound of the ES guitars but i dont like the humbuckers...i love open coils. this is the perfect guitar for fans of blink or someone wanting a nice alternative to the typical ES guitar. i always wanted a tom delonge signature but it was too expensive. the gibson pickup gives so much high-gain punk tone. the semi-hollow design gives a perfect effect tone. the tone is perfect with distortion, the feel is amazing and comfortable..its good for everything dealing with punk and the new-age scene AWESOME

http://youtube.com/frafri

[PsYkOcHiPmUnK92]

i had purchased an ES-333 a couple of years ago, but not the Tom Delonge model, but i overall love the Es-333 that i purchased.

[CrazyHobo13]

This thing is beautiful and so is the music he makes with it!

[Blink day]

shoebox_of_lies wrote:

they gave tom delonge a signature guitar? i guess anyone can get that these days

hes got three signature guitars one by fender one by epiphone and one by gibson but the Epiphone and the gibson one are the same

[stevenpollock]

Blink day wrote:

shoebox_of_lies wrote:

they gave tom delonge a signature guitar? i guess anyone can get that these days

hes got three signature guitars one by fender one by epiphone and one by gibson but the Epiphone and the gibson one are the same

Then i guess that means the squire and the fender are the same and that makes 4? nah. He had a sig strat and has a sig es 333. thats two guitars.

[nolanator]

ya well, sure the guitar sounds amazing, but i think most of the good sound is coming from the mesa amps he's using

-Atticus- wrote:

TOM DELONGES GUITAR IS SWEET, NEVER PLAYED IT BUT I MEAN... HAVE YOU HEARD IT LIVE? IF YOU HAVEN'T I SUGGEST YOU DOWNLOAD SOME LIVE BLINK VIDEOS CAUSE IT JUST FLOWS THROUGH THE SONG ITS GREAT

[fierce182]

hi, i want a new guitar i have a epiphone les paul buth i just cant choos between two ****ing awsome guitars the tom delonge es-333 and the tom delonge stratocaster can someone help me ?

[benx3000]

its an awesome guitar love the look of it, but the strats way better... more punk. although the es 333 is more versatile so its better for the price

[livewire76]

What gives? This guitar has ONE pickup. The first reviewer needs to stop buying things on impulse. I can't otherwise understand how a player of 5 years would buy a guitar he obviously doesn't like unless he bought it without trying it first which is a noob mistake, not something someone with experience would do. Reviews on UG are nothing to go by it seems. I've just finished my third review that has either blatant mistakes or outright lies in it. As far as buying an ES series guitar goes i'd recomend the ES-339. It's a shrunk 335, just bigger than a Les Paul, which i found much more comfortable and managable to play but still has the ES-335 sound.

[livewire76]

LOL should be "ive just finished READING my first review that has blatant mistakes etc" Anyhoo.. my bad.

[Tyler[SIS]]

TheImpactPoint wrote:

andrew1992 wrote:

-Atticus- :
TOM DELONGES GUITAR IS SWEET, NEVER PLAYED IT BUT I MEAN... HAVE YOU HEARD IT LIVE? IF YOU HAVEN'T I SUGGEST YOU DOWNLOAD SOME LIVE BLINK VIDEOS CAUSE IT JUST FLOWS THROUGH THE SONG ITS GREAT
euh dude the amp has to do with it
i've heard from somebody tom replaced the humbucker with a seymour duncan so i gues gibson wont give that with it gibson almost NEVER work with seymour duncan
that one guy who said you better buy a es 335 is right they are WAY much sweeter from sound
but hey i play with a sg an a les paul jr from 1975 and i love them so euh i gues my opinion doesn't count for much:d

yeah he put a seymour duncan invader in it

do your research, he put the invader in the strat. not the es 333, he has a dirty fingers in it. he CUSTOMIZED the guitar himself. and theres a video about it, they brought back that pickup FOR HIM.

[Tyler[SIS]]

ive seen this guitar tested. it sounds awesome., i cant wait to pick one up for myself

[john-E]

My fave of all his guitars. No one has deserved a sig more than Tom DeLonge.

[hiimynameiskota]

Give_em Hell wrote:

Fender_For_Life wrote:

stop bagging on tom, just because you tools dont like his music, and just because you say he doesnt deserve a signature guitar doesnt make it true. id like to see you all go out there and be as successful as he has been, and is still being.

very true... but in everyone elses defence as well he does have shitty rifts! who puts anthem part 2's rift in everything's magic with an extra note its stupid

yeah but its still his riff and he can do anything he wants with it