Tradition S20 Series

I own the Traditon S20 seriesand it rocks. It is LP style and it can hang with the big boys. Don't knock it until you try it. I have played many guitars and this hangs with the best. Beautiful tabacco sunburst and flawless finish.

You can play hard rock or even kick back with the blues. Add this with a great amp and you are going to know it.

The nut could be bone but who cares I guess. Strings and all other things we great. Flawless.

Very rugged and dependable. I dont play in a band but I dont see why it wouldn't stick though a gig.

The place i got it from in Maine is called Down Home Music. They are a Tradition dealer and it has a lifetime warranty. If anything was to go wrong they will deal with the company.I have had it for over a year and nothing has happened.

I know the rule is you get what you pay for. Not this time. Just try one out and you will see.

i have a peavey valve king and this guitar sounds amazing.

i use this guitar all the time for gigs, its great!

i love how easy this guitar plays, stays in tune good, and how great it sounds. i have been playing for almost a year and have gone through six crap guitars(150-200$ beginer guitars) and finally bought this one which is a little more expensive but is definitly worth it.

I think these guitars are great. You can tell it is not a custom guitar but for the price you pay, it really does have great features that REALLY DO compete with the real thing. I have a 60's reissue classic Gibson LP and it compares on every detail. Sound and feel. (BTW the S2000 also compares very well to my 78 LP Custom as well. The sound was identical and the feel is slightly different)

Just like my LP Classic. Tone controls do a good job of adjusting the tone. I use it with a Jazz Chorus and it comes through very transparent.

Beautiful guitar that plays well. Came out of the box with no adjustment necessary. The beauty is the best feature of this guitar.

I would have a backup. After radically bending notes, it can fall out of tune a bit. This is where it isn't a perfect guitar. But my Gibson's also can have this problem.

Great customer support. Have dealt with them on the phone. Good Guys.

If you are looking for an inexpensive LP copy that really does compete, this is it.

Great guitar! Not just for the money, but an all around great guitar. Les Paul design, mohogany body, carved maple top. It has great weight and the tobacco sunburst is beautiful. Not a sigle flaw, which is extremely rare for Asian imports. Real deal Grover tuners, 2 killer humbucking pick-ups, and a Kramer style neck.

Honestly, it's 'metal ready'. The man who started Tradition used to design pickups for EMG, so that will give you a mild understanding of the sound. Lot's of chuck and good definition. I'm not all that into the metal sound, so I add quite a bit of mids and back the gain off quite a bit to get the warmth I like. I don't think I've heard a neck pick up sound so full and vibrant. They sound great clean too.

Action: excellent, Kramer dimensions make for one of the most playable necks designed. I own Gibosons, and like the feel of the Tradition neck much more.
Finish: impeccable, mine is a beautiful tobacco sunburst.

Make very well. Two obvious upgrade will make this your #1: First upgrade: install a bone nut. It comes with one of those cheap black plastic jobs. Eventually, you will want tp switch it out for a bone one, or your preference. #2: Input jack plate: The input jack is fixed on with a plastic plate. This will need to be switched out for a metal one, as they will break eventually.

N/A

Best guitar for the money around, period. Real Grover tuners, great stock pickups, and a beautiful look. If you aren't an 'American-made' snob, get one! If you are an 'American-made' snob, don't get one, because you will be infuriated at how much you payed for your Gibson.

Typical, inexpensive LP copy with passive PUs, mahogany with a maple cap, thin neck, thinner than the '60s LP.

For the H-H config, it does a decent job through my various tube amps. an electronics upgrade would serve it well. Acceptable for beginners and won't disappoint.

Pros won't mistake it for a Gibson or the better MIJ LP copies like the Burny Super Grade or Tokai, Orvile, Edwards, or even the MIJ Epiphones with the open book headstock.

I'd say it's a level below the MIK Agile or Guitar Fetish Xaviere LP "copies" but for the price, can't really complain.

After a nice set-up, some fret dressing, and electronics upgrade, this should be sufficient to not discourage a beginner.

A beginner IMO should be given the best gear one can afford to not get them discouraged. If you're handy, this guitar would be perfect for upgrades: your young one would learn a lot about guitars while you upgrade and do the proper set-up.

An inexpensive guitar that doesn't demand high expectations.

I own lots of "inexpensive" and name brand guitars and amps. This was an incredibly inexpensive guitar that can be taken apart as a bonding exercise with your kid.

The sound of this guitar is just killer, I play with guys that use Gibson Lp's, and it easily holds its own against them. The first time I played with this guitar my mates thought it was made by some small luthier they hadnt heard of and that i paid a lot for it, they were a little shocked to find out what i really did pay for it

Setup on the guitar was crazy low, like freaky low, it should have buzzed but it didn't, every fret rang true, i left it that low and use it for a lot of zippyer solos
Picks were adjusted just fine

the top is fantastic, the finish is top notch

I have gigged on my s20 for two years 3 to 4 times a week, and it has held of fine, For gigs It is 1 of two guitars i take.

Its very reliable never had trouble with it
havent beaten up the finish either, its a tank.

i have taken it to gigs without a second guitar even though i don't like to cos im prone to breaking strings when i only take 1 guitar.

The only problem I have had with it was my fault, it fell over and i busted out the toggle switch..DAMN!i was pissed but i fixed it and now its like it never happened

no info available

i have been playing for 13 years, 8 of them professionally.

I own a lot of stuff, to much to list really, i will go with main stuff.

Fender DuoSonic
Tradition s20
tradition mta650(bought it after i loved my s20 so much and i needed a jazz box)

amps
i run a marshall jcm2000 dual super lead(triple had to many knobs for me...it scared me a bit) half stack

and a peavey vintage 30

I like everything about this guitar, its a great les paul that is can match any gibson being made today.


just get one of these guitars, they are fairly cheap and a steal for what you get don't pay 2000 for the name on the headstock or even 599 for a crappy epiphone copy

Les Paul style-real 5/8" maple top
Beautiful sunburst-REAL finish-not veneer
Heavy solid mahogany body-
nicely tapered (not too thin) neck
4 vol and tone knobs (volumes independently controlled)
Knobs set in different pattern than classic Gibson setup
allowing player to access the rhythm pickup more easily
pickguard is knotched at the bottom to accomodate this
pattern.
3 way toogle without funky outdated circular "rhythm/lead" tab-
(who in this day and age-or even in the 50's ever followed the
rule you used either exclusively for playing rhythm or lead?!!!)
Cool looking but hard to describe downward triagular (longhorn?) fret inlays replacing classic block or trapezoid style.

FANTASTIC....thats all I can say. Well maybe also WOW....waaaay better than a Gibson LP with stock pickups-I owned several.
Can't describe tone-it's something you just feel and the sound just feels right. The heavy mahogany body-yeah this thing weighs at least 12 lbs-really adds to the "crunch" you get when you punch the strings hard -even with only a slightly overdriven amp setting. Pure rock 'n roll.

Already described in first paragraph, but I want to add, this is a sunburst on maple-no decal or veneer here. Pictures I have seen of this did NOT do it justice. Beautiful to look at. I also need to mention that the paint on the back of the neck and body. Gibson traditionally used a reddish color, while Tradition used a really beautiful deep maroon that looks fantastic in contrast to the sunburst front. Think about it, as a guitarist, when you stand with a guitar strap on, you spend more time looking down at the top of the neck than you realize.
I tend to like the fatter necks-early 50's style, however, this neck, although thinner is perfect for me. This is a very subjective statement, because everybody has different sized hands and preferences based on what they used in the pas tto develop their skills, but I think the neck size they developed (doesn't seem to fit into any category/size/feel of any of the classic Gibson neck styles-but it more like a combination of 59 up to the 5th fret and past it, it tends to taper slightly to more of the 70's style neck. As string tension becomes higher, the player is provided a faster action/thinner neck to compensate. My playing has definately improved since using this instrument.

Appears to be solid as a rock. Would gig with it as a primary axe any day or night. Anybody in the audience ignorant or snobby (or a combination of the two) enough to diss me for playing "a fake Les Paul" will get an earful from me plus an invitation to try it out-on stage with the band I am gigging with. Most likely they will suck (as most pompous, big mouths usually do when push comes to shove)but this time, they will not be able to blame the insrument they are playing. After they hand this finely crafted instrument back to me and it is safe in my arms, I will be tempted and hopefully have the liquid courage to kick em in the ass as they walk off the stage and let them fall on their face-again!!!!!

N/A -haven't had the need to call them, but I read other reviews stating they are easily accessable.

Nothing more to say. You like the LP sound, EVEN IF YOU CAN AFFORD THE "REAL THING" buy the Traditon S-20 instead, you won't be sorry.
Save the cash you would have spent for a nice amp, effects and recording gear.

2006 left handed Tradition goldtop S20 styled after a '57 Gibson goldtop, made in Indonesia. Solid mahogany body and set-in mahogany neck with rosewood bound fretboard, jumbo frets, and real pearloid "T" inlays, (both neck and body appears to be 3 piece mahogany construction), 5/8" maple cap, Nickel plated hardware: tune-o-matic bridge, stop bar, 2 passive Alnico V type humbuckers, 2 tone/2 volume controls, Schaller-style "lifetime"tuners, neck appears to be very similar to a '57 Les Paul profile/radius. Overall weight: 9lbs, just like the real deal, though still managable.

Let me start off by saying that I'm primarily a Fender single coil man, and while I still feel that a good Tele can cover most bases I thought it might be time to add some humbucker tones to my arsenal. I've always loved the recorded sound of a Les Paul on classic rock/blues recordings, i.e. Jimmy Page, Dickey Betts, etc., but I've been underwhelmed by nearly every Les Paul I've ever personally encountered, especially the lower end Epiphones and other cheap knockoffs. Even many of the higher end Gibsons I've found were surprisingly mediocre in construction or tone considering the price that Gibson charges (especially for lefties). I've been down the road of purchasing a cheap Les Paul knockoff before, having purchased an SX, and the results weren't pretty. I had heard good things about Tradition guitars, so for a mere $280 I ordered one thinking that it had to be better than the SX, and if it wasn't, well then it'll have to be an SG for me. So ho hum, another LP knockoff, right? Wrong!

All I can say is: WOW!

Not only does this guitar nail those classic Les Paul clean and overdriven tones, but I would have no problem putting this guitar up against the real thing. The pickups are superb, and the tones are warm, clear, and I'd even say have a bit more clarity and articulation than a typical LP. Not muddy at all. Nice warm top end that cuts through without sounding piercing, thin, or shrill. Nice distinct tonal variations between the 3 pickup settings, with the neck pickup being a bit hotter than the bridge PU. Dead quiet with the humbuckers. Even the volume knobs are designed to roll off either pickup blend when in the middle setting, and they operate smoother than a Les Paul's. the only area that could use improvement are the pots. The tone pots don't offer any gradual reduction or increase of treble, as the treble's the same from 10-2, then drops off drastically to mud at 1, and the volume pots lose clarity and the tone dulls up when you start decreasing volume. So until I change the pots, I keep everything open to 10. Did I mention I paid $280 for this guitar?

The guitar arrived with very low action yet almost no buzz. The action was a bit too low for me, especially since I'm a heavy handed player who's used to Fender necks. Intonation was close but not perfect, so I adjusted the string height and reintonated. Neck's straight and intonation is perfect along the whole neck (try finding that with a real Les Paul). The frets, binding, and nut are extremely neat and well-assembled, far superior to any other LP copy I've seen. The neck is possibly the most cmfortable neck I've ever played, chunky and wide yet comfortable. Action's very fast and I find myself working on a little bit of self-restraint because it's easy to want to let loose on it. The goldtop finish is also flawless, though slightly lighter gold than a real goldtop. Likewise on the body underside finish, which is a brighter, more orangy amber than the duller browner finish of a real goldtop LP. Inside cavities are clean and all solder joints are neat. Tuning heads work great, as does all other hardware. Other than some faint visibility of neck binding filing past the 18th fret and some misaligned control cover drill holes (more on that below), construction is exceptional for an overseas asian production. There are a few things that distinguish this guitar from a real goldtop visually aside from the aforementioned finish color differences and headstock shape. In an attempt to make my Tradition look as close to a real goldtop as possible, I chose to swap out the following for more accurate parts:

1. Volume/tone knobs on the Tradition are tele-style nickel knobs which are more solid and indestructable than standard goldtop tophat knobs. I swapped them out for AllParts plastic tophats.
2. Cream pickguard has a different shape than a real LP. I pulled the more accurate pickguard off the crappy SX I still have.
3. pickup switch on the Tradition is missing the "treble/rhythm" cream colored washer. Again, I pulled the part off the crappy SX, BUT I discovered that the switch shaft is shorter than a Gibson or SX and wouldn't thread, so I need to order a longer switch (or pull it from the crappy SX).
4. Tradition has Schaller-type tuners, but although I prefer the look of Kluson pearloid buttons most people agree that Klusons suck. so I won't be changing anything here.
5. Back control covers are cream colored. They're usually black on a real goldtop. I bought Gibson black control covers but soon discovered that the drill holes on the Tradtion were not done consistently, so the new covers are not alligning. It's no biggy and I'll leave the cream colored ones on, but it's worth noting as virtually the only evidence of an overseas produced guitar.

So what have we learned here? If you want to get closer to the look of a real Gibson, you'll basically need to downspec your volume/tone knobs and tuners, LOL. Or, you can just spend another $2000 for a "real" Gibson.

I have no doubt this guitar will stand up in a live setting. It's rock solid. The only reason I'd bring a backup guitar is I'm so busy doing extreme string bends (it's easy on this guitar) that I fear I might break a string. Hasn't happened yet. Which reminds me: even the stock strings that came on it are good (I don't know what they are). I haven't felt the need to change them yet.

Supposedly comes with a lifetime warranty, but I can't find any info about it on Tradition's website. Their website could use some more info (especially guitar specs). I've not had to deal with them yet but I did e-mail them prior to purchasing and they responded immediately.

Did I mention that this guitar was only $280? Unfreakin' real. Serious bang for the buck. This is easily the best $280 I ever spent, and I promise you it will be the best $280 you ever spend too. Nothing will get you close to this quality for that kind of money, and an Epiphone LP is light years away. Gibson has a notorious history of inconsistency, not to mention arrogance, and finding a good Les Paul can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Gibson refuses to address long standing complaints about poor fret dressing, shitty tuners, and other inconsistencies because they've been resting on their laurels for the past 40 years. Compounded with the fact that Gibson has never given a shit about left handed players, I refuse to give them my hard earned dollar. Thanks to Tradition, I'll never have to.

Awsome sound ,very close to a top of the line les paul...I have a Fender cybertwin deluxe amp (modeling amp) clean or dirty it's a win win situation. NO scratchy sounds from the pods, or pick ups Just amazing for the price. Would highly recommend this guitar

As far as factory setups , well that up or down at times the only thing i did do right off the shelf was adjust the truss rods just a bit had a little fret buzz, aside from that everything else was great.Finish is outstanding ,brilliant color I,d rate this with Gibsons Les Paul Finish's. Very Bright and clean guitar

I use this guitar to play any where....not a begginers guitar this is a professional quality guitar, not that a begginer couldn't play it, its just an outstanding Instrument.Very dependable

Great warranty "Lifetime" how can you beat that...I did not deal with the company direct but the reseller that i buy equiptment from stands behind the company 100%

Ive been playing for about 10 years not the greatest player, but fair i guess, I play classic rock in a band rythm guitar and vocals my overall raating is this guitar is affordable, reliable and very well crafted, i would highly suggest if your going to buy a guitar try this one last you'll probably buy it.

OK i have owned a cuople Gibsons and some Epie's , but let me say that the S20 i just bought is AWSOME i love this thing and i am going to get another one . The action is great and the sound is better than my Les Paul ,this is one Awsome Guitar. Go out and try one on as many amps as u can and u will see it sounds great on all of them. i own the gold top and it is a beauty, evryone that see'e it loves , Just go and try one OK . I play rock punk , metal some southern rock and this thing handles it all.

better than my les paul gibsons! REALLY!

the best action u can want.

no prblems i am giong to get new tunning pegs and get some locking ones , because i like them.

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