# Anyone using a Traynor YCV40WR?



## studiodog (Sep 10, 2010)

Hey folks,

I had a chance to play around a bit with a Traynor YCV40WR in my local shop the other night, and was pretty impressed with the tone coming out of this amp. If you're using one, I'd love to hear your impressions. At $770 it';s a lot more wallet-friendly than the Fender 65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue I had my eye on, and with a bit of tweaking it produced a fairly DR-ish tone, too (at least to my ears). 

I'm looking at this amp primarily as a home/studio amp with occasional gigs, though it's always possible it may become a mainstay on stage too. 

Any input is appreciated.


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## Voxguy76 (Aug 23, 2006)

Haven't personally tried one, but I've had the YCV50. Was a nice solid amp. 
Plus they are made in Canada, big plus.
As an aside I would check local craigslists as the YCV40 pops up for sale quite often for around $400. Considerably cheaper than the $700 plus tax for a new one. Traynor also has an amazing warranty on their amps. There's one posted on the Toronto Craigslist now for $350. No affiliation with seller.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I used to play through a YCV40 (not WR) but I had changed out the speaker to a Reverend All Tone, so it was essentially the same thing. It was a very good amp, and I'm sorry it's not mine anymore. _Not _a metal amp though, but good for almost anything else. The clean channel had good headroom, and pretty nice breakup at the top 1/3 of the dial for blues, the OD channel was good for hard rock tones. It was also very user friendly because it did not require biasing when changing the power tubes. Getting at the tubes was a bit of a challenge though, they're underneath a mesh cage that you need to remove a bunch of screws to get at...

If you have a good speaker kicking around, get the non WR version, the amps are the same electronically.


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## studiodog (Sep 10, 2010)

mrmatt1972 said:


> I used to play through a YCV40 (not WR) but I had changed out the speaker to a Reverend All Tone, so it was essentially the same thing. It was a very good amp, and I'm sorry it's not mine anymore. _Not _a metal amp though, but good for almost anything else. The clean channel had good headroom, and pretty nice breakup at the top 1/3 of the dial for blues, the OD channel was good for hard rock tones. It was also very user friendly because it did not require biasing when changing the power tubes. Getting at the tubes was a bit of a challenge though, they're underneath a mesh cage that you need to remove a bunch of screws to get at...
> 
> If you have a good speaker kicking around, get the non WR version, the amps are the same electronically.


Sounds more and more like what I'm after - definitely NOT a metal player! And I do like that Traynors are still home-grown Canadian amps. I'll be checking the online listings regularly for good sued amps too - with Traynor's warranty, used is almost as good as new!


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I also had a YCV40 for a while. Great amp! I'd still own it if I didn't sell it to buy a 72 YGL3 

The cleans were very nice and the OD channel wasn't too bad either, much better than what you head from Fender's OD channels. My only complaint was that the reverb was kinda mushy, but I didn't use it much anyway.

If I needed a basic channel-switching combo at a good price, I'd definitely go looking for one. 

And yes, +1 to buying used. You'll save 200-300 easy. It's a no-brainer


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...the ycv40wr is a flawless amp. the only reason i sold mine was because i acquired the lower powered ycv15blue.

i've seen quite few show up on craigslist - excellent deals!


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...here's a red one in the beaches for $300:

traynor ycv40 with celestion vintage 30


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

david henman said:


> ...here's a red one in the beaches for $300:
> 
> traynor ycv40 with celestion vintage 30


I saw the same one and nearly talked myself into buying it because it was such a good deal.

This is pretty much the same thing as the YCV40WR, which has V30 in it as well (as far as I recall). But this is kick ass red, not just drab wine red


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I always thought the 2x10 version would be cool. If one ever comes up for sale around here I'll buy it.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

hollowbody said:


> I saw the same one and nearly talked myself into buying it because it was such a good deal.
> 
> This is pretty much the same thing as the YCV40WR, which has V30 in it as well (as far as I recall). But this is kick ass red, not just drab wine red


Weren't the red ones signed by Pete Traynor too?


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

These are the best used amp deal out there IMO. I picked one up when my expensive boutique amp needed to be sent for repair and was surprised on just how good these amps sound.

The weakest point is the reverb, which isn't great. 

I just sold it to the singer in my band and now he's loving it  Way better sounding than the Blues Jr. that he was using previously.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Lovely amp, and if I didn't already have a YCV50 and YCV20 I'd get one in a heartbeat. The YCV amps really speak to me, and I've many times tried the YCV40 and come close to buying. 

Peace, Mooh.


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## Beatles (Feb 7, 2006)

I've had my YCV 40 going on 9 years now. Always liked the sound through either channel. Have never made any mods whatsoever. I've played it consistently at rehearsals and gigs. It has never let me down. It was dropped down a flight of stairs a couple of months ago by accident. Didn't show any noticible damage at all. Plugged it in and no problems. They are great value for the money. You can easily pick one up used between $300/$350. I highly recommend them. 

I picked up a really nice YCV 15 a couple of weeks ago, and well, I must say the it's one of the best amps I have ever used. Did some studio work with my band this past weekend, and was extremely happy with the results. I'll still hang on to the YCV 40 though.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

I used a YCV40 with the optional 1 X 12 closed back cab for about a year.

It worked well. Really I only changed it for the sake of change. It's a GAS thing.

This is a video from a few years (and about 50lbs) ago. with the amp. You can see it on the right (side washing).

Snortin Whiskey - YouTube


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

Milkman said:


> I used a YCV40 with the optional 1 X 12 closed back cab for about a year.
> 
> It worked well. Really I only changed it for the sake of change. It's a GAS thing.
> 
> ...


Nicely done! I've always loved that song!


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

hollowbody said:


> Nicely done! I've always loved that song!


Thanks. it's a great song for sure. I'm afraid we were a bit off to the races but it is what it is.


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## studiodog (Sep 10, 2010)

Hey all,

Found a YCV40 (black one) in a local pawn shop for $349. It's got the Celestion 70/80 speaker in it, which I've heard doesn't show off the amp to the best. The tolex has a few small dings/tears and the grill cloth needs a bit of attention - seems to be coming away from the baffle board in one corner. 

I may drop in on my lunch break tomorrow to give it a trial - no time today unfortunately - and if it checks out I'll likely grab 'er. At that price, I might even get away without selling anything to pay for it!


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## Petey D (Sep 8, 2011)

You'd be stealing it at that price! Traynor's are awesome, I've been coveting one for years. Switch out the 70/80 for a V30 and you're golden!


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## studiodog (Sep 10, 2010)

y


Petey D said:


> You'd be stealing it at that price! Traynor's are awesome, I've been coveting one for years. Switch out the 70/80 for a V30 and you're golden!


 Scooped it on my way home! I'll likely start sourcing a replacement speaker as many have suggested. Something about the 70/80 that doesn't quite do it for me. Now to try it with my Dot and Tele!


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## studiodog (Sep 10, 2010)

Hi again, everyone. I just had a chance to try out the YCV40 with my Epi Dot, and found an odd issue. After the tubes warm up, I get a pulsing sound through the amp - sound almost Morse Code like? It didn't do this in the shop (I played for about 25 minutes in the shop noise-free). 

Any guesses? AC noise from the house wiring? Maybe the ride home bounced a tube loose? This is my first tube amp, so I'm a bit out of my depth here......

Any help is MUCH appreciated. I'd hate to have to bring it to a tech on Day 1!


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

I'm guessing it needs a cap job.

Motorboating


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## studiodog (Sep 10, 2010)

mrmatt1972 said:


> I'm guessing it needs a cap job.
> 
> Motorboating


Hmmmm. Kind of a PITA. The shop I picked the amp up at has a 30-day return policy - should I bring it back or get the cap job? I don't really want to put a whack of dough into getting this running. Any idea how much I'd be in for? IF it's not much I may go for it, as I've noticed a few other issues (broken FS jack - why do they use plastic parts?!?). 

FWIW, the "motorboating" only seems to be affecting the clean channel. Is that normal?


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## studiodog (Sep 10, 2010)

OK...... played the amp again this morning for about 20 minutes, and no putt-putt noises! I'm not complaining, but it IS a bit odd. The clean channel has a bit of white noise behind it compared to the drive channel, which I also find a bit odd as it's usually the other way around in my experience. I suspect a bit of the noise is due to the cracked FS jack, but I can't tell for sure. 

These are advertised as very quiet tube amps, but as this is my first tube combo, how quiet is quiet? 

Thanks for everyone's help with the tube noob questions. I'm just trying to make sure there's nothing hugely wrong with this amp.


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