# traynor ycv50



## I_cant_play (Jun 26, 2006)

hi guys I'm new here to the forums. I'm looking for a new amp and I just wanted to get some advice about that (I'm sure you get tons of posts like this so bear with me :redface: ) Right now I'm considering getting the traynor ycv50 blue. I've searched the forum but can't seem to find any comments on this particular amp. I see people seem happy with the ycv40wr. how would this compare to the ycv50? would you recommend this amp?

help is greatly appreciated


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

The ycv50blue and the 40wr are completely different sounding amps. The 50blue uses EL34 tubes and has really different sounding gain than the other Traynor YCV amps. A lot of people describe it as more into 'Marshall territory'. The amp has good cleans, but the gain channel is definitely the amps strong point. If you want more 'Fendery' cleans with a nice crunchy overdrive I'd go for the 40wr. If you want more gain the 50blue is a good choice.


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## Tarl (Feb 4, 2006)

I,ve tried both the amps torndownunit has described and he is spot on. Both are great amps.Personnally I was almost gonna buy a blue until I heard the Crate V series, got one of those instead, better on clean and distortion IMHO.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Ya one of the great things with gear nowadays is you have an amazing amount of amps to choose from. Even 5 years ago there was really no such thing a new, budget priced tube amp.

There are a few things about the Traynors though. The quality is unparalelled in that price range. They are Canadian. And they have the best warranty in the business.

And the most important point.....the 50blue does not live up to it's potential with the stock Sovtek tubes in it. You should definitely not judge this amp based on trying it with that stock setup in a store. A set of JJ's makes it sound like a different amp. They smooth out both the clean channel and the gain channel, and add way more warmth to both.


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## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Yaremi has one, drop him a PM just in case he's not reading this. I know he likes it a lot.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

In case you are wondering, I owned one of the 50blue's which is why I have all the advice  . I got rid of it because it was just too much amp for what I needed. They are one loud beast.


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## Benee Wafers (Jul 1, 2006)

"has really different sounding gain than the other Traynor YCV amps"
What does " gain " mean in this context ?
Benee Wafers


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## I_cant_play (Jun 26, 2006)

> I got rid of it because it was just too much amp for what I needed. They are one loud beast.


that's strange, i've heard many people say that, and living in an apartment I thought that would be a problem, however when I tried it (I didn't have too much time to see what it can do but I did try it once) I was surprised how quiet it was. definitely within reasonable boundaries IMO. even with preamp and master volume halfway it was just a bit over talking volume.

what I want from an amp is a good clean tone but also enough distortion to cover 80s metal stuff. I have quite a range of music I like to play so this is a problem when buying equipment as you might imagine. The clean of the 40wr is tempting but I seem to be leaning towards the 50 blue for the versatility..


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## Tarl (Feb 4, 2006)

I_cant_play said:


> that's strange, i've heard many people say that, and living in an apartment I thought that would be a problem, however when I tried it (I didn't have too much time to see what it can do but I did try it once) I was surprised how quiet it was. definitely within reasonable boundaries IMO. even with preamp and master volume halfway it was just a bit over talking volume.


 Hmmmm....thats kinda strange to me. Any 50 watt tube amp should be pretty damn loud at half volume. You could play alot of small gigs with half volume on most 50 watt combos. When I tried out the Blue here the local shop had two in stock. One they sent back to Yorkville because of volume problems, like it was running at 1/4 power. I,d make sure the one you tried is OK before going for it.


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## Telemark (Feb 9, 2006)

I have owned all versions of the 40/50Watt YCV's. I currently have a YCV-50 that I will be selling.

I thought the cleans were pretty close with the YCV40WR winning a bit over the YCV50. But I love the channel 1 of the 50 It can really sing. Ironically I rarely use it!

One big advantage of the 50 is the Master Volume it makes it easier to dial a meaty tone at a reasonable volume. Although I still find that mine sound best with the master wound up around 12:00. The master makes is easier to change over all level at a gig no fiddling channel 1 then channel 2 trying to match levels.

I have been gigging with the YCV's for a little over a year and am pretty satisfied. But I am also gassing for a Mesa so ...

pm if you are interested in a YCV50 with JJ power tubes.

Mark.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Ya the 50blue CAN be played quiet because of the universal Master on it. But that doesn't mean it gets it's best tones quiet. I personally just prefer using low wattage tube amps now, so I sold the 50blue. I'd rather have a 2-5 watt amp I can push for more natural overdrive when playing at home. But if you can only have one amp for gigging and practice, the 50blue is a good option with the Master.

When I say gain I am refering to the amps overdrive sound. The 50blue can get you pretty much into 'high gain/modern gain' territory with the EL34's (especially after you put new tubes in it). The 40/40wr is more of a Fender type of crunch.


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## Benee Wafers (Jul 1, 2006)

I don't own one and have never played thru one however if I put all the reviews and comments I have read about those two amps I think the 40WR comes out on top.
Benee Wafers


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

Telemark said:


> I have owned all versions of the 40/50Watt YCV's. I currently have a YCV-50 that I will be selling.
> 
> I thought the cleans were pretty close with the YCV40WR winning a bit over the YCV50. But I love the channel 1 of the 50 It can really sing. Ironically I rarely use it!
> 
> ...


I have a YCV40 that I retubed and put a G12H30 in. Recently I bought a Mesa DC-5. I'm having a bit of a love/hate with the Mesa right now - it has so many possibilities that it really takes time to dial in my tones. The nice thing about the YCV was it's simplicity - I just kinda set a nice clean and used my pedalboard to get the tones I wanted.


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## Telemark (Feb 9, 2006)

> When I say gain I am refering to the amps overdrive sound. The 50blue can get you pretty much into 'high gain/modern gain' territory with the EL34's (especially after you put new tubes in it). The 40/40wr is more of a Fender type of crunch.


Ya that sums it up prettty well!

Allthumbs - how would you describe the basic eq abilites of the DC-5? and the basic clean tone - One of my hangups with the traynor is I would like more control of the eq... but I understand the simplicity I can pretty much set my amp up for gigging really quickly and can perform tweaks as needed without worrying about destroying the basic tone!

I tryed a Mesa Subway series Amp recently and thought the Clean and Reverb was superb! I missed buying the amp by 5 minutes cause I spent too long playing it in the shop I might still get a chance tho as the buyer is waffling a bit.

Ironically the guy that sold the subway too the shop bought a YCV50!

Mark


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## Riffhard (Jan 28, 2006)

*YCV Blue*

I was in the market for a Fender Vibrolux re-issue but then I rented a YCV Blue 50watt, WOW...the clean is not Fender but more British invasion sounding and you can really control the overdrive (I personally don't use a dirt pedal, just a Vibrato) so I really enjoy the Traynor's ability to have just a bit of "dirt around the edges" and this is on the cleaner channel. I also purchased the extention cabinet which has the same 12" vintage 30 Celetion speaker which when added to the amp gives you WAY more bottom end. The best warranty in the business and a great name since 1963. I am extremely happy with my set-up and would recommend it highly, I'll post a pic of my set up.......


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Riffhard said:


> I was in the market for a Fender Vibrolux re-issue but then I rented a YCV Blue 50watt, WOW...the clean is not Fender but more British invasion sounding and you can really control the overdrive (I personally don't use a dirt pedal, just a Vibrato) so I really enjoy the Traynor's ability to have just a bit of "dirt around the edges" and this is on the cleaner channel. I also purchased the extention cabinet which has the same 12" vintage 30 Celetion speaker which when added to the amp gives you WAY more bottom end. The best warranty in the business and a great name since 1963. I am extremely happy with my set-up and would recommend it highly, I'll post a pic of my set up.......



The only other real issue I had with the 50blue was the V30. I just don't think they work well in an open back combo like that. VERY mid heavy. I got the extension speaker as well though, and combination of the 2 sound amazing. I personally think the V30 is a better speaker for closed backed amps/cabs.


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## I_cant_play (Jun 26, 2006)

great, thanks for the replies everyone

just to clarify. I didn't mean to say that the 50 blue was quiet at half volume. it was quiet when I had the preamp AND the master volumes halfway so I suppose that would be approximately quarter volume. I guess the 50's the winner so far, now I just gotta go try one again..


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## allthumbs56 (Jul 24, 2006)

Telemark said:


> Ya that sums it up prettty well!
> 
> Allthumbs - how would you describe the basic eq abilites of the DC-5? and the basic clean tone - One of my hangups with the traynor is I would like more control of the eq... but I understand the simplicity I can pretty much set my amp up for gigging really quickly and can perform tweaks as needed without worrying about destroying the basic tone!
> 
> ...


Although the DC-5 could be considered one of the less complicated Mesas it has a ton of tonal variables and I am still experimenting with it. I can say that it is not a bright amp and that the treble and presence controls can really be used through their full range (unlike the Traynor - I never used the bright switch and always had the treble and presence below 10 oclock). The DC-5 has an absolutely huge midrange, and a lot of bottom end as well. There are numerous ways to boost midrange gain as well. I find that the amp is easiest to use with my strat. With my LP I keep the midrange way down and have to be careful about using TS-style pedals that further increase the mids.

Having said that, it is a real nice piece of equipment and I am really enjoying exploring it's options.


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