# Wanting opinions on Traynor YGL1



## reub

Hi everyone, first post here.

I'm considering the Traynor YGL1, and I currently have a line on one for $300. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how this amp sounds for primarily clean playing, as I'd like to use pedals for gain sounds. All the demos I've seen seem to focus on the overdriven tones in this amp. I mostly play clean and I like a very warm sound, will this amp have the bass response I want and will it be able to stay clean when playing with a drummer, and not get too distorted when I turn it up to a decent volume? 

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.


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## bzrkrage

I always thought the YGL1 was Traynor’s take on the Fender Blues Jr.
The “pure” switch (Brit/USA) gave a spank clean (bit bright) just on the break up. Good to push with a TS-9 or OD. Maybe not the extra clean for a drummer.
The bass response maybe missing in the context you are looking for.
IMO.

You may need a bit more headroom, so a Fender HotRod Deluxe in the cleans might be a better pedal platform.
Once again, IMO.


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## colchar

Great amps. You can use pedals for gain, but don't need to on the Brit and Pure settings.

Of all the amps I have gone through, the YGL1 is the one I kind of wish I had kept. If I didn't currently own a JCM800 and a vintage Traynor I would have purchased another YGL1.


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## reub

Thanks for the replies. I suppose I'm wondering if the amp is all ice-pick highs or if a warm round sound can be dialed in as well.


colchar said:


> Of all the amps I have gone through, the YGL1 is the one I kind of wish I had kept. If I didn't currently own a JCM800 and a vintage Traynor I would have purchased another YGL1.


How do you think the YGL1 compares to your vintage traynor?


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## jdto

I had one for a while and I think you'd


reub said:


> Thanks for the replies. I suppose I'm wondering if the amp is all ice-pick highs or if a warm round sound can be dialed in as well.
> 
> How do you think the YGL1 compares to your vintage traynor?


Do you have a Long & McQuade nearby? All locations in NS show the YGL1 as in stock.


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## reub

jdto said:


> I had one for a while and I think you'd


You think I'd what?

I am going to try and test one out at Long and Mcquade soon, it's just at $300 I wouldn't want to miss out on this used one and I might not be able to get to L&M first.


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## jdto

reub said:


> You think I'd what?
> 
> I am going to try and test one out at Long and Mcquade soon, it's just at $300 I wouldn't want to miss out on this used one and I might not be able to get to L&M first.


LOL sorry, I got sidetracked and didn't finish my thought. I was going to say I think you'd be best-served trying one out if you can. They sound good clean, but I don't know how much headroom you'd get before thinks start to get hairy. I guess it depends on how loud your band is.


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## JBFairthorne

Meh buy it...if you don't dig it you should be able to break even selling it .


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## reub

Th


jdto said:


> LOL sorry, I got sidetracked and didn't finish my thought. I was going to say I think you'd be best-served trying one out if you can. They sound good clean, but I don't know how much headroom you'd get before thinks start to get hairy. I guess it depends on how loud your band is.


No worries, thanks for the input! I'm going to see if I can try one out. I tried one back in the summer and remember really liking it. I don't expect to be playing in a situation where i'd have to crank it any time soon, but it would be nice to have the headroom available for when the situation arises.


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## jdto

JBFairthorne said:


> Meh buy it...if you don't dig it you should be able to break even selling it .


This is not a bad piece of advice, either.


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## colchar

reub said:


> Thanks for the replies. I suppose I'm wondering if the amp is all ice-pick highs or if a warm round sound can be dialed in as well.


I never had any ice pick highs. Mine was nice and warm.





> How do you think the YGL1 compares to your vintage traynor?


Different models (my vintage one is a YGM2 - The same as a YGM3 but without reverb), so not really a valid comparison.


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## sulphur

I think that it's a great little amp, I used one for a few years in a band.
I ran it with a DH112 extension cab and swapped some Weber speakers into both.

Not the loudest drummer/band, so I didn't even have to push it all that hard.
A warm enough amp, imo. I run the EQ fairly neutral all around noon.
The sweet spot for the gain was around 3-4 and I'd run the volume around 4.

I used as a pretty clean platform for pedals, all the dirt from the board.

For $300, hard to go wrong.


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## reub

sulphur said:


> I think that it's a great little amp, I used one for a few years in a band.
> I ran it with a DH112 extension cab and swapped some Weber speakers into both.


What are your thoughts on the stock speaker and the results of the speaker change? I know the greenback is a very popular speaker. Was there anything lacking in the stock setup that made you want to change it out?


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## sulphur

The GBs weren't terrible or anything, but the speakers were definite improvement and worthy investment.

I went on a speaker quest a few years ago and those are what ended up in there, really.
I replaced the GBs in the DH212 i have too to some WGS units.

I have a Blue Dog in the combo and a Silver Bell in the cab, great pairing.


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## colchar

Even with my two amps, if this was available locally for $300 I'd probably jump on it.


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## weaksauce

I’ve had a YGL1 for probably 6 years now and it’s been a solid all around amp. Agreed on that it’s not got a lot of bass but it takes pedals really well and it can get fairly loud. I’ve always set it with the mids below noon but that’s just me. Seeing this thread reminds me I need to bust it out again...been enamoured with the Helix LT the last little while!


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## reub

weaksauce said:


> I’ve had a YGL1 for probably 6 years now and it’s been a solid all around amp. Agreed on that it’s not got a lot of bass but it takes pedals really well and it can get fairly loud. I’ve always set it with the mids below noon but that’s just me. Seeing this thread reminds me I need to bust it out again...been enamoured with the Helix LT the last little while!


 Thanks for the input. When you say it doesn't have much bass, where would you usually have the bass control on the amp? I'm not sure how responsive the EQ knobs are, but could that not be solved with turning up the bass knob a bit?


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## jdto

I mean, you can't expect to get THAT much bass from a 112, 15w combo, right. Besides, if you're in a band, isn't bass for the bass player?


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## reub

jdto said:


> I mean, you can't expect to get THAT much bass from a 112, 15w combo, right. Besides, if you're in a band, isn't bass for the bass player?


Right, I understand stand that. I just prefer to have my tones on the warmer side as opposed to the treblier side of the spectrum.


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## cboutilier

jdto said:


> I mean, you can't expect to get THAT much bass from a 112, 15w combo, right. Besides, if you're in a band, isn't bass for the bass player?


Tell that to my 112 princeton reverb clone. I have to keep the bass knob on zero, playing an Esquire.


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## jdto

cboutilier said:


> Tell that to my 112 princeton reverb clone. I have to keep the bass knob on zero, playing an Esquire.


I haven't found too many 112 combos that are really bassy, but I haven't tried them all 

Yours seems like one I'd love to hear.


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## sulphur

I set my controls to 6-7 for bass, 5 for mids and 3-4 for treble.
So, plenty of room left and the EQ to tweak.

That extension cab made all the difference to my ears, the Silver Bell covers all the bottom in the closed cab.


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## 5732

I like them enough to buy one a second time after I missed the one I sold. Incredible value for size and tone and with the tone stack switching, it covers a fair amount of ground (not high gain but definitely clean to classic rock). I wish the tone stack switching was on a footswitch.


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## Gene Machine

I didn’t like the digital Reverb. The decay sounds unnatural to me. I ended up going with a YGL2.


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## sulphur

Gene Machine said:


> I didn’t like the digital Reverb. The decay sounds unnatural to me. I ended up going with a YGL2.


I prefered it to the YCV20WR that I had.
I only use a hint of it though, between 1 and 2 on the dial.


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## reub

Hey everyone.
I got the amp last night. I think I got a great deal on it at $300!

I am really really loving the sounds I'm getting out of it so far. The USA mode can be dialed in to a great warm clean tone with lots of sparkle. When switching to the Brit mode with the same settings it adds a hair more breakup, and gives a much fatter and very dynamic tone. As you turn the gain up, it starts to beak up when you dig into the strings. The higher up the gain goes it starts to sound like what I imagine a cranked lower gain marshall would sound like (without having ever heard one. I saw someone on another forum compared it to the sound of a cranked 18 - watt Plexi.) It cleans up beautifully with the volume knob on the guitar.I find the sweet spot on the gain control to be about 1:00 on either voicing for on the edge of breakup tones. I have yet to experiment much with the Pure mode but it definitely gives a very raw sound with a bit more volume. I think the reverb sounds beautiful, no complaints with it being digital and I know it won't clank around when I move the amp, start to buzz, or stop working. It seems to be really solidly built, and is quite light as far as tube amps go in my experience.
Thanks to everyone for sharing your experience and advice!


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## jdto

Congratulations. I hope you enjoy it!


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## Eldon

Great little amp indeed! I sometimes run mine into a Radial Headbone and toggle between that and and Orange Dark Terror using the same speaker in the YGL1. It’s nice for max versatility in a small package. More recently, I’ve been playing the YGL1 in stereo with a Fender Supersonic 60, which it seems to compliment quite well. As mentioned, the digital reverb is a little unconvincing, and I’ve sometimes pined for a little more breakup at lower levels. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Hamstrung

This thread got me looking at a YGL1 to compare with my Blues Jr. I used to have a YGL2 which I loved but it was too heavy to tote around. I decided to rent a YGL1 and A/B it with my Blues Jr. At livingroom volume without a band they run pretty neck and neck to me tonally which is to say they're both great! I played an SG and a Strat through each and found wonderful clean with a bit of breakup on both. The reverb on the BJ is better however the YGL1 isn't really bad. I would imagine in a band setting the differences will be hard to notice. I'll find out this weekend. Basically I don't think you can go wrong either way with these amps. 
@reub enjoy your new amp, $300 is a fantastic deal!


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## bzrkrage

Excellent! At $300, use it, enjoy it, if it’s not for you, flip it! You might even make profit.
Glad you have found that the gain stage /guitar volume work well in your rig.


Sent from my other brain.


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## High/Deaf

Eldon said:


> Great little amp indeed! I sometimes run mine into a Radial Headbone and toggle between that and and Orange Dark Terror using the same speaker in the YGL1. It’s nice for max versatility in a small package. More recently, I’ve been playing the YGL1 in stereo with a Fender Supersonic 60, which it seems to compliment quite well. As mentioned, the digital reverb is a little unconvincing, and I’ve sometimes pined for a little more breakup at lower levels.


Thanks for the idea. I just picked a Headbone used today. I don't have an immediate use for it but it was too good a deal to pass up. 

I got it home and thought about all the wiring and realized I was unlikely to take it out with cab and a couple of heads, except in very rare circumstances. But using it with a combo and 1 head is a great idea. I'd love to switch between, say, my LSS and a Marshall or Vox-type head. Still alot of wiring, but it opens up new avenues. Again, thanks for the idea. HNG^%$


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## MarkM

Gene Machine said:


> I didn’t like the digital Reverb. The decay sounds unnatural to me. I ended up going with a YGL2.


This YGL -1 has a digital reverb?


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## MarkM

Sorry found this on the Google box checking this amp out.

Search gave me nothing?


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## zontar

I like them
I've never owned one--but if I ever decide to get a smaller tube amp--I'd consider it
It has some nice usable tones for me.


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