Tradition doesn't have to mean all that old. After all, tThe Mudcat has its traditions, such as that any thread involving Ireland has at some point to involve some people getting hot under the collar. Actually, it sometimes seems, any thread about anything...

The remodelled bouzouki has now been around long enough to be a part of tradition. That's why the intensely and aggressively traditional organisers of the Fleadh Ceoil include it in the range of competition instruments, along with the banjo and all the other 20th century innovations.