Tradition MTA500H

I don't know what year this guitar was made, but its condition was near flawless when I got it, so I imagine not more than 2 years old. Gorgeous flamed natural color, rosewood fretboard, thin profile neck, tune-o-matic bridge, etc etc. Pretty much equal to an Epiphone Dot, except it has the special Tradition T inlays. Standard fare ES-335 features, which are all great as far as I'm concerned.

I play mostly modern stuff: The Strokes, White Stripes, Green Day, Von Bondies, OK-Go, We Are Scientists. The Strokes sound is what I'm really going for, as their lead guitarist plays an Epiphone Riviera.

Having said that, this guitar was not immediately suited for that Strokes sound. The humbuckers are quite hot, but have a nice sound on their own. I took them out and measured 14K on the neck, 15K on the bridge. Through a modded Boss SD-1 and a Fender Hot Rod Deville, the sound was nice and full, but still bright when maxing out the tone control. A bit too much output for my tastes, so I put a pair of GFS Mean 90's (bucker sized P90) and some .022uf paper in oil caps. The guitar came stock with some brown film type .033uf caps. Controlled feedback is nice, but this guitar can be very quiet if you take care not to crank levels like crazy.

With the new pickups and caps, the sound is amazing. Clear, bright, and chimey. Just what I was looking for. However, I am going to rate this guitar based on its stock config, which is nice but not my bag.

The guitar is absolutely beautiful, the flame natural finish must be seen to be believed. Tradition makes some excellent guitars, I have two of their Strat style guitars and they easily rival Fender's Mexican line of Stratocasters. This guitar is easily on par with the Epiphone Dot's I have seen, and may even be closer to the Gibson ES-335. There were no flaws I could see, the only issue was that the intonation was slightly off, but I can't blame the factory since I bought it used. I had to tighten some screws and nuts, but once again not the factory's fault.

It goes without saying, get a setup for a new guitar. I did my own, and I have no issued now.

I think this guitar would be reliable on a stage setting. The switch was one of those cheaper enclosed units, I replaced it with a switchcraft one, which seems much more solid. It has some mini pots by some unknown company, but they feel and sound solid. Might need to spray them with cleaner every now and then, but what pot doesn't need that eventually? Tuners could be a little better, but they do their job and hold tune well.

Strap buttons are extremely solid, and everything else feels and looks pro. I could see myself owning this guitar with minimal problems for the next 10 years barring and horrible drops.

Haven't dealt with Tradition directly. Got a store that sells them in my hometown, so I deal with the guy. He's pretty nice, but a bit sketch sometimes, but this has nothing to do with Tradition's support. They're based in Tennessee, so I imagine it'd be solid.

I did email them once, and it took a few days for an answer. I guess that counts for something.

I've been playing for about 3.5 years. I have 2 other Tradition Stratocasters, an Epiphone G400 faded, and this MTA500H. After the recent work, I'd say this is now my favorite guitar. The combo of new pickups, switch, and caps gives a sweet, creamy sound that none of my other guitars can give me. I also got it at a ridiculous price from eBay, well worth the purchase. I saw the MTA400 in my local guitar store a year ago and it ran 550 dollars. That's without the flame top.

I would most certainly buy this guitar again. At the price I got it, I'd buy 5 of them and put different pickups in each one. I bought this mostly because of the Tradition name and I was wanting a semi-hollow real bad. I don't think you can go wrong with this guitar, it'll do almost anything but heavy metal well.