# Traynor YCV80 & 80Q



## Blues666 (Feb 19, 2008)

I'm thinking of buying a Traynor YCV80 or 80Q. I'm wondering about the guts of this amp. Specifically is the PCB a good quality thick board with quality components. Also where are the switches, jacks and tube sockets mounted? To the Chassie or direct to the board? If the "guts" are good I will be buying this amp and replacing the Tubes(Pre and Power) and speakers right away. Any suggestions on replacement tubes/speakers.
Thx


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2008)

Traynor is not synonamous with quality. Think about it a bit. Your getting a lot of amp for cheap and they are still making money, the manufacturer, the wholesaler and the retailer. Corners need to be cut somewhere. Back in the late 70's early 80's I paid $800 for a Marshall 800 head only. A lot of cash in those days but what a tough product. Years later (granted technology has cut costs) your paying a similar price for a complete amp with more bells and whistles. That Traynor will run nice for a few years and then it will break shortly after the warranty expires.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

i have no idea where stuff is mounted, but it is a solid amp. mine never failed me, and sounded fantastic.

tubes: JJ 6L6's and 12AX7's.

speakers: WGS British Leads.

dunno what kona is talking about, since mine held up fine for 3? 4? eyars and is still going strong, sold it to my buddy (didnt get used anymore - jsx booted it lol)


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## Bobbypols (Jun 28, 2007)

To be honest, i treat mine like crap, and its never ever had a problem. Other amps kinda come and go, but this one is still kicking. The reason why they sell it at so low a price is a) they are owned by long and mcquade (no middle man), 2) they are canadian so shipping cost are much less, 3) they dont have to pay for the all the high over head that fender has to pay for - (artist endoresments, ads, r and d etc)

Its a good product, but to make it great, it would need a speaker swap. You really cant lose, and its out least a marshall head that i have, a fender junior pro as well...


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## Archer (Aug 29, 2006)

Traynor is owned by Long & Mcquade. Long & McQuade is to the canadian music scene what Wal Mart is to fashion and furniture. 


Do the math.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

konasexone said:


> Traynor is not synonamous with quality. Think about it a bit. Your getting a lot of amp for cheap and they are still making money, the manufacturer, the wholesaler and the retailer. Corners need to be cut somewhere. Back in the late 70's early 80's I paid $800 for a Marshall 800 head only. A lot of cash in those days but what a tough product. Years later (granted technology has cut costs) your paying a similar price for a complete amp with more bells and whistles. That Traynor will run nice for a few years and then it will break shortly after the warranty expires.


Don't forget that in those days, the 800$ advertised price of a head for exemple, means a 450$ profite for the store, i know i worked for ages as a kid and use to own a 2 full stack of JCM 800 2203. Now a days we're looking at more of a 10 to 15% profite margin when you see the store price.

As for traynor i've just heard good stuff about them, never heard or seen any major issues as you seem to be claiming.


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## keefsdad (Feb 7, 2006)

Don't they have an iron-clad warranty?


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## Bobbypols (Jun 28, 2007)

ya, 5 years transferable warranty.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

2 year even-if-you-break-it warranty as well.

hard to beat that.


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## Spikezone (Feb 2, 2006)

My YCV50BLUE kicks! I'm pretty confident that there will be no quality issues. I'm reading some harsh opinions on this thread that just don't seem to be worth squat as far as I'm concerned!
-Mikey


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Spikezone said:


> My YCV50BLUE kicks! I'm pretty confident that there will be no quality issues. I'm reading some harsh opinions on this thread that just don't seem to be worth squat as far as I'm concerned!
> -Mikey


+1
Also have the YCV Blue and I have not had any issues with it. I've had it for a year and a half now and I got it used (2 years old) which makes it 3 1/2 years old now. I gig with it regularly too.


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## toby2 (Dec 2, 2006)

*New Traynor*

In general , I like the sound of the new traynor amps . The big problem with them is when they break , they are a real pain to service .Burnt up boards , 
changing those cheap little pots is a major pain , not really built for the 
road .


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## Guest (May 6, 2008)

I've been servicing amps for 25 years +. I learned to turn away Traynor/Yorkville gear away . My experience with them 80% of the time has been that once they start breaking there's no turning back. I suspect the reason for that is the lack of tolerance in their designs which is done intentionally to compete with product made with cheaper labor. Components drift over time and if the design doesn't accomodate that well... I remember working on power amps that were DC coupled instead of AC coupled just to save cash by not using coupling capacitors, and trust me it wasn't to improve bandwidth. Don't get me wrong, the new stuff sounds good and will serve well for the warranty period. Just make plans to liquidate it after warranty runs out. I'm confident that strategy would work.


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