# Recapping a Traynor YBA2A Bassmate



## ccuwan (Jul 9, 2008)

The following are pictures of a Traynor Bassmate chassis which I bought used and I have no idea if it has been recapped. I’m hoping that someone can who knows can have a look and let me know if the caps are original or redone. If redone, were reasonably good capacitors used and is there any way of telling if they are still good. 

I appreciate that the question is somewhat subjective but I would appreciate opinions as this is certainly not my field of expertise.

Thanks
Ray


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## Furtz (Nov 27, 2010)

The two large caps with the plastic tie around them for sure aren't original. They look like IC (Illinois Capacitor) which are low cost caps, but are probably fine.
Hard to tell if the blue electrolytics on the board are original or not. 
How does it sound?


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## ccuwan (Jul 9, 2008)

It sounds great to me but I have no reference to what it could sound like. 
There is a second issue that I am dealing with which may or may not be related to the caps and is the main reason why I have taken it apart. Although it has a 3 wire plug modification I am getting a shock when I use the amp and run my protools system at the same time. When I touch any metal on my guitar while touching the metal of my sm58 which runs through a fast track unit and into a mac running pro tools, I get a brutal shock. Bad enough that the shock is uncomfortable but with so much energy flowing through the system it is likely to damage my mac or my fast track ultra.


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## Furtz (Nov 27, 2010)

Shut the amp off and don't use it 'till it's fixed. Could be a bad power cord installation, although it looks OK in the pic.

If you're getting shocks from it, don't use it.


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## bcjek (Oct 29, 2010)

What's going on at the negative end of those IC caps [which are not stock and have been replaced - the electrolytics on the board look stock to me] ? Looks like the solder between cap leads and chassis has let go, perhaps?

Could you post a closer photo? 

Cheers, Michael


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## ccuwan (Jul 9, 2008)

I've got a tech looking at it but his expertise is modern digital technology (modern consumer electronics). Frankly he is quite fascinated with the old tube technology. After checking with a meter, he agrees that the power cord is not the issue. He told me to check the wiring of the wall outlet that it is hooked to and when I looked at it earlier this evening it is upside down (ground terminal above the power terminals) He suggested that if the outlet was wired wrong it could cause my problem. I have no understanding of why this would result, but he was right about the outlet apparently being wired backwards.

My amp is in his shop at the time of this post.


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## ccuwan (Jul 9, 2008)

bcjek said:


> What's going on at the negative end of those IC caps [which are not stock and have been replaced - the electrolytics on the board look stock to me] ? Looks like the solder between cap leads and chassis has let go, perhaps?
> 
> 
> Cheers, Michael


Hello Michael,
The caps are securely soldered to the chassis. I think what you see in the picture is the joint from the original caps. If the electrolytics are original, are they likely to be worn out and if they were, how would I know?
Ray

BTW bcjek.....thanks very much


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## orlando.rigueira (9 mo ago)

The original bassmates came with a dual 40MFD can cap, yours has that replaced with the two (40mfd?) Illnois caps. the other two nodes and the bias caps (Blue) are original.


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## diyfabtone (Mar 9, 2016)

The Illinois caps are not original as other's have stated above, but they are about the crappiest caps you can buy and not always reliable imo. I would replace them - but the caps are not necessarily the cause of a shock. I would double-check the power chord is properly installed - the tech should be able to measure voltage against the chassis and grounds (worst thing about Traynor's is the random grounding, but that causes a bit of hum, not a shock!).


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

If you have GFI outlets in your bathroom, you could try plugging your setup into it. If the GFI is operating properly it should trip...test and reset it first.


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