review
Tradition MTP350
Tradition’s philosophy is to offer high quality instruments at fair prices through independent dealers. This desire to support the “little guys” means you won’t find Tradition Guitars at the Superstores or in mail order catalogs, only at local music stores. A visit to their website will help you locate a dealer in your state. While Tradition Guitars is based in Indiana and Tennessee, its guitars are built in Korea and Indonesia to Tradition’s exact specifications.
The MTP350
The MTP350 is a PRS style guitar that features a solid, one-piece Mahogany body with a Flamed Maple Top that is bound with single ply binding. It has a mahogany neck and a Rosewood fingerboard with jumbo frets and “T” inlays. Hardware includes Tradition Silver Medallion fully paraffin potted pickups; chrome tailpiece, tuners and bridge; single volume and tone knobs, and a pickup selector.
There are seven finishes available and I received the Cherry Sunburst model. Let me start by saying that the flamed Maple top on this guitar is stunning. With its Cherry sunburst, gold volume/tone knobs, and cream-colored pickup covers and binding, this is one beautiful guitar. The only visual drawbacks are the somewhat plain headstock and plastic-looking inlays.
Construction/Setup
The construction of the guitar is virtually flawless. The only thing I could find was a very small flaw in the body binding on the lower horn where it looks like the binding overlaps. Otherwise the construction is impeccable. The neck is ruler-flat and the frets are smooth and polished. Out of the box, the action was very low and there was a slight buzz on the low E string, but raising the bridge a bit solved that problem. The neck itself is not bound, but is rounded and feels very comfortable. While I wasn’t impressed with the appearance of the inlay material, I like the design, and they are inlayed perfectly (no filler anywhere.) There is also an optional “Tree-of-life” inlay for those who prefer a more decorative inlay. The bridge pickup needed some raising to match the volume of the neck pickup, but this is common setup stuff that any good dealer will handle.
Tone
As you would expect from a Mahogany body guitar with humbuckers, the tone of MTP350 is better suited for rock than country. It doesn’t have the “muscle” of a Les Paul, but it sustains well and offers better definition and clarity of notes, especially when using overdrive. When played through my Mesa/Boogie Mark II, the MTP350 nailed that Santana “Smooth” tone. I also tested it through a Traynor (EL84 based) 15-watt tube combo and a PODxt modeling unit with good results — as long as I stuck to more “rock” tones.
Clean tones are where the MTP350 is a bit of a mixed bags. When using both pickups together, the clean tone is great — tonally balanced and smooth. However, when I switched to the neck pickup, instead of increased bass, it just seemed to roll off the high end. Alternately, the bridge pickup seemed to roll off the low end instead of getting brighter. If you are looking for wide variation in tone, there isn’t much here. The MTP350 was obviously built to rock and that is where it shines.
In Use
I play a regular Sunday night gig for my Church youth group (about 250 teens) and have to cover a lot of stylistic ground. I put the MTP350 to the test to see if it could handle the task. On the more rocking songs, it performed like a champ. However, it seemed to get a little lost in the mix on the mellower, clean-toned songs (especially when using effects.) You may need to increase the Treble on your amp to cut through the mix better. The neck is very fast and is a joy to play in a live setting. And while the MTP350 is not light, it is well balanced and feels good hanging from your shoulder. It also looks very cool and I got several compliments (for its looks, not mine!)
Final Thoughts
The MTP350 is a beautiful guitar that features nearly flawless construction at a great price. It has a very fast neck that is great fun to play. It is not the most versatile guitar, but it does well what it was designed to do: rock. If you have PRS envy but don’t have the big bucks, the MTP350 is definitely worth a look.
Reader Comments
Better Guitar encourages your input. Agree with this review? Think I’m crazy? If you have played a Tradition MTP350, email me your comments and I’ll post them below. The more opinions we have available, the better our buying decisions will be.
Taima Steadman
Well, it's me again! I have been seduced by these guitars so much that I now own the MTP 250 (as I wrote about below), The JR standard series in Black Cherry, a S20 Gold top, and I just ordered a G12 Gold Series. The Tele I received is quite a piece of work. It has a different feel from the standard Fender Tele neck, but quite inviting to play! Sound is awesome, very loud, edgy on the bridge pick up for that spank sound of the Tele's! I rate a 9 overall. Then I ordered the Gold- S20.... unbelievable! Half the weight of a real Les Paul, a tone monster, and it is waiting for a note to by held so it can scream a while. Plays like a dream right out of the box. Beautiful body, workmanship, and I liked these so much I signed up to become a dealer here in NC. I have been working on opening a guitar store for many years, and finally I found a company that ain't playing around with making affordable guitars. I even record with all of these at the studio I work at and play on television as well. I am thrilled with these guitars and I plan on having a long relationship with these guys for a while. I do plan on coming up with some plans on designing the idea for a signature model for myself soon as well! Overall, the guitars are really making me look at what is really considered quality guitars being made these day! The staff is always ready to be there to help me with anything I need, and we are going to see more of this company in the future if I have anything to do with it, at least in NC. Don't be fooled by a small name — this one carries a big BANG! Thanks again for the chance to post info! BiggT
Taima Steadman
Hey Fellow, I was reading your review and there are some aspects of the tone that could be questioned sometimes. I play thru two Deville's and I have the 250 model in a gold that they sent me. It will rock, and it has a good clean tone as well, especially for jazz. And like you said, the Santana tone is definite with these units! Very fast, gorgeous and pretty well built. I have a lot of Strats, Gibsons, and a few PRS guitars. But I have leaned on this model for around 8 months and I am very pleased. They are sending me a JR Pro next in Red. I hope it does the same for me as well. Over all, I am using this guitar on high end recordings, at church, and everywhere, and I am not ashamed to stick it out front! I played in front of around 40,000 back in the summer, and a lot of people came up and asked me where I got my PRS.... Oops they replied, Tradition? What is that? They loved it, the studio I work for loves it, and I love it! I look to have a long relationship with this company! I use it daily on a TV broadcast on Channel 2 out of Charlotte with 'THE MOMENT OF TRUTH' Christian telecast or www.truthtemple.org
Dicky Faulkner
Just thought I would let you know I have been playing a Tradition MTP350TL (Tree of Life) for around 2 years now and I love it. The looks, the tone, the action, all are fantastic. I have played a lot of guitars that cost 3 or 4 times the price of the Tradition but most just don’t manage to compete. I usually swap & change guitars every 3 or 4 months but this one is a keeper!
stats
- • Solid ribbon Mahogany base capped with a 5/8" top of flamed maple
- • Offset cutaway design, which keeps the guitar balanced while you are playing
- • Jumbo individually fitted and finished frets
- • Tradition “T” fingerboard inlays, or Tree of Life inlay on the TL version
- • Chrome plated lifetime tuners, bridge, tailpiece and control knobs
- • Tradition designed fast feeling neck
- • Tradition Silver Medallion fully paraffin potted Pick-ups
- • Limited Lifetime Warranty
Positives
- Beautiful finish; nearly flawless construction; well-balanced; good “rock” tones.
Negatives
- Not much tonal variation between pickups.
Estimated Street Price
- $499 (Prices are set and vary by dealer)
Rating
- Performance: 8
- Sound Quality: 7
- Construction: 10
- Overall: 8.3
Ratings Key
- 0 = Worthless
- 10 = Excellent
Company
- Tradition