Tradition MTA-500H

This is a 2005 Korean made semi-hollow ES-335 copy transparent cherry red (fooking gorgeous!) 22 frets jumbo style like Gibsons, maple neck and body. It has 2 great sounding Alnico humbucker pickups I was told by the shoppe owner tht they are modeled after the Gibson '57 classics. 2 vol, 2 tone knobs and the 3 way toggle switch is right above the neck p/u Les Paul style great idea! Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tailpiece. the tuners seem great G-string keeps slipping a bit (insert joke here) but a new set up I'm sure will do the trick. The neck is great, feels like the wider flatter necks of the 70's Gibsons.

I play Brit-influenced/shoegaze rock(Verve, Lush, Oasis, Ride, Smashing Pumpkins etc.). My amps are is an '81 Marshall JCM-800 2203 and matching straight cab w/ Celestion "blackback" speakers and a Vox AC-30ri w/ Greenbacks. I am using the following affects into the front of the amps: Boss GE-7(boost for my strat) moded Vox wah, Boss CS-2, Ernie Ball vol ped., EH Deluxe Memory Man, Boss RV-3, Dunlop tremolo, a Maxon EQ pedal to drop level for clean parts, and a Whirlwind A/B box.
This guitar sounds amazing! Super quiet. Huge full sound, great sustain. Drives the hell out of my Marshall cleans up real nice when you roll the vol back too. Sounds great through the AC-30 as well It blows away the Epiphone Dot semihollow and is a close second to the real Gibson 335's made right now. My main guitar for years has been a '71 Gibson SG with "patent sticker" pickups. For years I could not find a guitar(that I could afford) that sounded and played as good...until now.

I give it an 8 because the bridge pickup is a bit loose it rocks back and fourth and can't be tightend down. And the set-up seems good not great but its coming from a factory so it is what it is. I am still gonna take it to my man to fix the p/u and for a set up as well. Like I said before a bit of slippage on the G, but other than that a good factory set up nice and low too. The finish is next to flawless no bleed into the cream binding of the body and neck unlike most other Korean made copies I tried, even some Epi's had bleed on to the binding. Fret work is amazing! The wireing seems solid. None of the conrols and tuners were loose, and the nut and saddle seem top notch. The cat eye "f-holes" are real neat looking a good touch!

All the hardware is quality an come super tight and ready to play. I can't wait to gig with this sexy beast. Seems quite road worthy. I never play w/o a back up but this is now my main live guitar for sure!

Not had to deal with them but I am sure the are probably cool.

If you try to steal this guitar I will cut you!
Like I said this is a great guitar, a super bargain for what you get.
The toggle switch position is a great idea, Tried a buch of other 335 copies(Jay Turser, Epi, Ibanez etc,) and this is as close to the real thing that I can afford. I am glad my wife spotted this one in the shoppe this guitar rules!

This is an excellent ES-335 semi-acoustic copy in natural maple finish with 22 frets. It has the "cat's eye" cutouts instead of the traditional f-holes, different but very pleasing to the eye. It has 3-ply flame maple top, sides and back and a maple neck with rosewood fretboard with beautiful elongated triangle MOP inlays. Jumbo frets. 2 humbuckers with 2 volume, 2 tone pots and a 3-way selector. The tuners are very positive. Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop tailpiece. Solid wood tone-block down the middle on the inside of the guitar.

This guitar is very very playable. It can go from very bright biting tones on bridge PU to nice dark tones on neck PU with lots of sustain. No noise! I'm presently playing it through a Fender Deluxe 85 and a vintage Pine Electronics (made in Montreal, PQ, Canada) alltube amp. Effects? Well, this guitar sound sweet straight through but with my Zoom 505-II, I can make it sound like anything I want. I play Blues, Rock, Country-Rock, Country, and a bit of Jazz, as well as some modal-tuning stuff, flat and finger-picked, and the guitar responds very nicely.

I got a great deal (on ebay) on this guitar because it had a slight flaw where the fingerboard joined the neck near the nut. A bit of glue and lacquer fixed that easily. That's the only thing I had to do to this guitar. The action is awesome, the sound superb and it looks like $5000!

I've had the guitar for 15 months and it is still as pristine as it was the day I got it. Everything is rock solid. I wouldn't hesitate to take it anywhere. Of course, I take good care of this sweetheart because such a beauty is not to be mistreated. After all, guitars aren't meant to be thrown off of 20 story buildings or used as boat anchors (although some "name brands" could be used for this purpose).

I live in Canada and don't know if any warranty would apply but I really don't worry about that because the guitar is still just as good as the day I bought it and besides, I've been around guitars long enough to do most repairs myself anyway.

I started playing in 1964. Back in 1970, I bought a '61 Gibson cherry ES-335 (for $400 CAD with OEM HS case) which I sold in '76 for CAD $650. Admittedly, I regret having sold that guitar, but was it any better than this Tradition? Well, aside from the "name game", I really don't think so. I have a strat-style guitar and a couple of beautiful acoustics that my long-time luthier-friend Jack built for me. I also still have the first guitar I used in a band when I started playing professionally in '65, my Burns Nu-Sonic made in London, England (although it is the worse for wear and tear and abuse and butchering by yours truly when I chose to "experiment" on it with different pickups, bridge, switches etc.)
If this Tradition were lost or stolen, well, I'd cry and cry and cry. And then I'd try to find another one. But they don't appear very often on ebay. I guess players who buy them hold on to them. Hey, we know a good thing! Earlier today I was in a local music store and there on the wall was a brand new Gibson cherry ES-335 with a price tag of $3899 (CAD) on it. I certainly could not find $3664 difference in quality between that and my Tradition! But then, what do I know? I am a player and not a "collector":-)

This is a ES-335 Knock off by Tradition. Made in Korea. 22 Frets. Laminiated Flame Maple top. Semi-hollow body. Standard 3 way selector switch for pick-ups with individual volume and tome controls. Comes with Tradition version of humbucking pickups. The body is a double cut away. Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard. Chrome tuners. Tune-o-matic type bridge. The neck is lightly thicker than other types in this class. (Samick SEH335, Washburn HB35 & HB30, Epiphone Dot and Sheraton) It would be more accurate to say, shaped differently.

Sound is a very subjective matter. The sound is one of the things that drew me to this guitar. The sound is very full and rich. The guitar stands on it's own. By that I mean you get a great sound that doesn't need to be helped along by items like the Line 6 Pod or a Yamaha DG Stomp. I play Jazz, Gospel and Country. I use it on a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. I can get smooth rich tones for jazz, plenty of mids for finger picking. A friend of mine that plays Rock tried it and he said he would play it at a gig with no hesitation. e said the guitar had plenty of punch for anything he did. I compared this one to a Samick SEH335, Washburn HB-35, an Epiphone Dot and an Epiphipone Sheraton. It came down to personal taste but the Tradition had more flexibility and a better overall sound to me. I belive the pickups in this guitar are a cut above what I have seen in 335 knock offs.

I purchased the Guitar from Music Town in Memphis TN. According to them, I got it like it came into them. NO problems. The Guitar looked good, played good and sounded great. I like the neck on this guitar. Tradition has a slightly different design that takes a players needs into consideration. I have a little more finger room and the neck is more comfortable for me. It is also well balanced. It is not a problem to stand up with this guitar and play it.

The guitar seems to be well built. For a Korean copy, this one is definitely one of the best I have seen. Everything seems solid. Time will tell about the dependability. From my initial inspection and playing, I would use it without a backup.

I have not had to deal with the issue of warranty, but I purchased it through a store that has a graet reputation for backing what they sell, so I am not worried. I believe that the warranty is a limited lifetime warranty

I have been playing for 25 years. I own a Washburn J-6, a Guild Starfire 6, and an Epiphone Everly Brothers. If it were lost or stolen I would replace it with the same guitar. I love the sound and the versatility. I compared it to a Samick SEH335, Washburn HB-35 and a Epi Dot and Sheraton. The Washburn was a close second followed by the Sheraton. The Tradition had the edge. The pick-ups were better. No doubt about it! I wish they would offer a model with a Bigsby tail piece. I am looking at their Soulster (Les paul knock off) I have compared it to some Epi copies and some Dean of the same type models. I would say the Tradition Soulster is gonna be hard to beat. That will be another review if I decide to get one. As with any guitar, you need to play it before you buy it. What sounds good to one person may sound like garbage to another.