Tradition MTM Michael Angelo Signature Model

Mine is a 2002 model Michael Angelo guitar. He used to endorse Tradition Guitars until recently, and now he endorses Dean. It's a basic superstrat design, transparent red, two humbuckers, 24 frets, hardtail, gold hardware, and tradition "T" inlays. The headstock is a matching trans. red color and it has a Michael Angelo signature on there. The stock tradition pickups were fantastic, I was really blown away just trying it out in the store through a small crate amp. The neck pickup sounds most like a dimarzio paf pro, and the bridge pickup sounds a lot like the seymour duncan jb model. No need for aftermarket pickup swapping here, these machines sound truly wicked and they'll definitely take you to the highest, loudest and fastest realms of guitarmanship provided you've studied your Speed Kills video long enough. The body wood is basswood with a maple top. Now I'm not the hugest basswood fan, but this guitar has a real smoothness to it in the higher registers and the crunch tone is real jake lee esque. Frets are medium jumbo, not quite as tall as the ones on the ESP G. Lynch guitars. The neck is pretty thin, but not ibanez like wafer thin. It's more like a slim jackson neck, and the rosewood fretboard is smooth enough to make the slickest of joe stump runs possible. The guitar came with a gig bag. Overall the guitar has all the features I wanted, since I was looking for a hardtail guitar to shred on. I'd give it a ten if it had cooler looking inlays.

I'm into all the shrapnel shredders from the 80s and even the new ones from today like Fareri, Laiho, Romeo and Bellas. It?s the way I play, ice-cold, no mistakes, it wears you down?well ok, maybe there?s a few mistakes here and there, but damned if I don?t look cool with my aviator sunglasses. Mostly I like the neoclassical shredders more, but I usually dig anything that's melodic and fast. That's what michael angelo is all about and that's definitely what this guitar is about. It's definitely a good match for my style, but it would be a good match for anything in the hard rock realm. You can get a real nice clean tone from the neck pickup, and the bridge pickup rips pretty hard. On the bridge pickup you can get a nice jake lee, evh, warren demartini kind of crunch tone going. If this guitar was a fighter plane you could buzz the tower like five times (whether or not the pattern was full) and still not spill the commanding officer?s coffee?figuratively speaking of course. I usually use the neck pickup for soloing though, which sounds more focused and smooth, more Yngwie?ish. No complaints about the sound, the sounds I need are all right there. Sweep picking runs retain excellent clarity with the neck pickup. Seriously, picking up this guitar will turn you into Mike, you just make sure to eat your vitamins, say your prayers and practice your picking exercises. What you gonna do, when the 24 frets run wild on you brother???

The guitar was set up decently, but not amazingly. I like to have relatively low action, but not the kind that is just buzzing. Plus it was set up with 10s, I prefer 9s. I changed the strings and lowered the action a bit and now I?m really feeling the need for speed. The maple top looks very good and the frets were extremely even and level. The list of people who can shred well is long and distinguished, and so is my fretboard. The thing is so smooth it could pick up a girl in a bar even without singing a karaoke version of ?you?ve lost that lovin feeling? The only thing that was a little bit off was the input jack. It was slightly loose so I had to tighten that a bit myself. As we all know, there?s no points for second place. Still, I?ll give the guitar 7 points for this category.

This guitar will totally withstand live playing. No crash and burn potential here, the hardware is solid. I definitely wouldn?t use it in a gig without a backup, that would be dangerous. And since it?s important to heed people?s warnings about being dangerous I better not do that. Out there on stage, you don?t have time to think, if you think you?re dead. That said, you definitely don?t have time to change a broken string.

Haven?t had to deal with the Tradition Guitars company for customer support. The store I purchased it is excellent about support and helping with setups and things like that. They can be my wingmen anytime.

I live my life in between my frets. The only thing I enjoy doing more than watching Top Gun over and over is practicing guitar. There?s few things that compare to lacing up the gloves and going a few hard rounds against your metronome or your Speed Mechanics/Speed Kills exercises. If I were to take it to bed, or lose it forever, I?d totally buy this guitar again. Sadly it?s not made anymore, but the MTM-2 model that Tradition has out now is very similar. If you want to get a good idea of what this guitar looks and sounds like, buy the new 2003 Speed Kills DVD from metal method.com Michael Angelo plays this guitar in there. The guitar is capable of many more sounds than what Mike uses though, he is dialing in a very unique and distinct sound. The guitar itself is much more versatile. I?d put this guitar right up there (with the best of the best) against any top level shred guitar. It?d get a ten if it were a neon or day glo color and not flame maple topped. I prefer the Poison look to the PRS look.