# What the hell, more Traynor...



## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

I saw these for sale and didn't move fast enough since the seller had 4 of these YCV-212 cabs. I managed to grab 2 of them and the seller gave me a sibilance tweeter that he had. 

Here are the 2 cabs:













Again, these are real dirty ! 




























All of these are dated 2 months apart in 1975.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

The reason why I wanted all of them is that the YCV-212 come equipped with 2 Cerwin Vega in each cab !!! 










So made certain I had the correct speaker inside.










Yep !!!


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## bzrkrage (Mar 20, 2011)

Did you see these?
Jiji Calgary


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

This and the wires were a nice little bonus...


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

bzrkrage said:


> Did you see these?
> Jiji Calgary
> 
> View attachment 377581


Wow !!! nice deal.

Wayyyyyyy to far from me...


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## Always12AM (Sep 2, 2018)

Frenchy99 said:


> The reason why I wanted all of them is that the YCV-212 come equipped with 2 Cerwin Vega ER123's in each cab for that special Duane Allman type tone !!!
> 
> View attachment 377577
> 
> ...


The reason you wanted all 4 was because you are a maniac who wants to build a wall of speakers around yourself. And I like the way you think.


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## mick.335 (Sep 23, 2020)

Score. I have a YCV-212 with an early YSR-1 perched on top. Absolutly great set-up..... till you have to move it.


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

That should sound really good. I had Cervin Vega cabs since the ‘80’s, until long after gigging. I finally let them go about 10 years ago.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Always12AM said:


> The reason you wanted all 4 was because you are a maniac who wants to build a wall of speakers around yourself. And I like the way you think.


Been waiting for some of these for quite a while. Real happy to finally get a pair. 2 pairs would have been better !


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

mick.335 said:


> Score. I have a YCV-212 with an early YSR-1 perched on top. Absolutly great set-up..... till you have to move it.


Yep, they are quite heavy... Price to pay for great sound.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Tone Chaser said:


> That should sound really good. I had Cervin Vega cabs since the ‘80’s, until long after gigging. I finally let them go about 10 years ago.


Will be testing these out this weekend. Been hoping to find some with the original CV inside.

Having fun testing out different things and sound.

You seemed to have gone thru quite a lot of gear that I am enjoying ... I should maybe ask you what you settled on to save time... lol

You used yours with what ? and for what application ? guitar, PA ?


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## Tone Chaser (Mar 2, 2014)

@Frenchy99 , what I had, what I did, what I would like to do, is evolving into what I have to do. Two torn shoulders, a fragile back, significant muscle loss, unpredictable hands, and relearning things every day; I just want to keep as much ability to play, as long as I can.

All projects around the house need to be finished, all extra hobby items and gear will need to be thinned down to exactly what I use best, or at least give me the best results. All unnecessary moving, carrying of gear has to end. I didn’t take the advice of a Neurologist seriously enough, and am paying the price.

Hell, I am not even that old, but I am physically used up.

A lot of good gear, cool to have gear, is going to have to go to someone else. I have been divesting for years, and am finally seriously thinking about picking up the pace of lightening the load at a quicker pace.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

@Tone Chaser Sorry to hear about your health issues. Wasn't aware of any. Hope the very best for you.


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## Jim Jones (Sep 18, 2006)

The bass player in our band has a line, “If you want that sound - you gotta carry it around.” We’re big advocates of impractical gear.  



Frenchy99 said:


> Yep, they are quite heavy... Price to pay for great sound.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Great score on the YCV-212s with the CWs! Those ER-123s are great - I have 2 of them in a 4x12. Kinda JBLish but mellower. It's no horn though (they are referring to the front baffle; more of a waveguide than a horn - affects dispertion rather than increasing bass response). Both Traynor and Garnet got the idea from Marshall for that front baffle config, though I don't think Marshall did a 2x12, but I have seen a 1x15, and the cab was sealed vs ported like the 'copies' (model 2054):










Just toss the "sibilance projector" though - cheap piezo tweeters have insane top end extension and efficiency (well above human hearing - get the dogs howlin it will) and very wide dispersion (then there's the enclosure with some of them mounted toed out) = hearing damage no matter where in the room you are standing. Don't even sound good (kinda harsh and crispy). I would only consider useing those in an outdoor PA situation, and even then not first choice. If you turn it up high enough you will litterally feel pain, but hearing damage occurs below the pain threshold. It's a weapon.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Jim Jones said:


> The bass player in our band has a line, “If you want that sound - you gotta carry it around.” We’re big advocates of impractical gear.


That's my line as well !!! Bass player here.  

A utility dolly has been my best friend.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Granny Gremlin said:


> Great score on the YCV-212s with the CWs! Those ER-123s are great - I have 2 of them in a 4x12. Kinda JBLish but mellower.


Thanks !

After reading so much about them over the years its nice to finally be able to try them.

Can you believe that the guy that sold them was using all 4 of them to amplify his gaming console !!!  
He had a Yamaha PA that he plugged the console into and had all 4 cabs plugged in for gaming... After multiple complaints, he had to get rid of his gaming kit !  

Moral of the of the story, you want to game that way, own your home, dont rent ! 



Granny Gremlin said:


> Just toss the "sibilance projector" though - cheap piezo tweeters have insane top end extension and efficiency (well above human hearing - get the dogs howlin it will)


I used mine with my old PA system, had large 15 bass bins, separate horns and these sibilance speakers. Sounded great but it was an outside PA kit since it was so big. 

That Marshall looks very interesting.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Congrats! <pretending I’ve ever heard of a ‘sibilance projector’ before or have a clue of what it’s supposed to do>


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Diablo said:


> Congrats! <pretending I’ve ever heard of a ‘sibilance projector’ before or have a clue of what it’s supposed to do>



(Super)tweeter array. Usually crossed over a bit higher than regular tweeters.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

Yeah, I was just wondering how they are wired-up, 5 of them in an enclosure...is the cross-over in the enclosure?


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Were you just out playing? I think I heard some solid bass playing coming from the east... has to be you! Haha!


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

Paul Running said:


> Yeah, I was just wondering how they are wired-up, 5 of them in an enclosure...is the cross-over in the enclosure?


Yep. Along with an LPad.


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## Latole (Aug 11, 2020)

Hey Frenchy99 why not a virtual ( or in person ) visit to your Traynor museum ?


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Paul Running said:


> Yeah, I was just wondering how they are wired-up, 5 of them in an enclosure...is the cross-over in the enclosure?


I never opened one up to tell the truth.

I do have another pair of them for PA application.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Latole said:


> Hey Frenchy99 why not a virtual ( or in person ) visit to your Traynor museum ?


I have stuff in different locations... Its not that easy... lol


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Frenchy99 said:


> This and the wires were a nice little bonus...
> 
> View attachment 377582


Is sibilance the reason for de-essors? Projecting sibilance sounds wrong to me... Looks very cool though!


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## Backbeat (Jan 18, 2014)

Frenchy99 said:


> The reason why I wanted all of them is that the YCV-212 come equipped with 2 Cerwin Vega ER123's in each cab for that special Duane Allman type tone !!!
> 
> View attachment 377577
> 
> ...


For goodness sakes, @Frenchy99 with all the gear you seem to have, you could probably duplicate Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound!


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Backbeat said:


> For goodness sakes, @Frenchy99 with all the gear you seem to have, you could probably duplicate Grateful Dead's Wall of Sound!


Doing my best !  

Just having fun while I`m still able too...


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## nbs2005 (Mar 21, 2018)

Every damn time I drop something on the ground that's round it rolls Northeast; almost like there is a depression in the earth's crust in Quebec from the weight of all those amps and cabinets.....


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

player99 said:


> Is sibilance the reason for de-essors? Projecting sibilance sounds wrong to me... Looks very cool though!



It's a bit of a misnomer, the point was that it's a wide-dispersion (the 'projection' part) array of super-tweeters (super in the sense of above, i.e. higher frequencies). It's crossed over a bit higher then a regular tweeter (so 7-10kHz vs, say, 3-7k) specifically to augmenrt the (not quite) "fullrange" speakers in those classic 4xX (e.g. 10 or 12") PA tower speakers of the time. They can really brighten those up nicely, and any extra sibilance in old school (low powered, compared to the guitar amps etc) PA systems like that would get a bit lost in the mix and actually help the vocals cut through a bit. It's just using them in a modern PA where everything is running through the board (also more top end weirdness, like synths or feedback/stupid high gain) means slaying the crowd with what is effectively an Atreides sound-based weapon / LRAD. Until a few years ago, Lee's Palace was the worst for this (still had Piezo tweeters installed and a sound guy who didn't know he was losing his high end hearing so would crank the treble). I've had to walk out of shows or stand at the back (even with plugs in) so that the people in front would absorb some of it. It's much better now/no longer an issue. Not sure if the new owners updated the Front of House speakers but that sound guy has been retired.

Anyway, there's better ways to fill in your top end, such as proper compresion horn tweeters. Back in the day, it wasn't uncommon to see a pair of Sunn tweeters on top of Traynor 4x12 towers even in Ontario. That's why Traynor started making these (and making them cheaper than imported Sunns). I got a pair of these for $40 10 years ago:





























There is a label plate missing off the back of the one pictured above - each jack represents a different crossover point to allow a more custom integration into your PA.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Took advantage of the nice weather to clean the cabs up since wanted to bring them inside the house. 










Nicotine smell like always...










Before:










After :










Cabs are in the house and will try to jam on them this week !


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## cbg1 (Mar 27, 2012)

Paul Running said:


> Yeah, I was just wondering how they are wired-up, 5 of them in an enclosure...is the cross-over in the enclosure?


Cluster of piezo horns if I remember correctly


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Granny Gremlin said:


> Anyway, there's better ways to fill in your top end, such as proper compresion horn tweeters. Back in the day, it wasn't uncommon to see a pair of Sunn tweeters on top of Traynor 4x12 towers even in Ontario. That's why Traynor started making these (and making them cheaper than imported Sunns). I got a pair of these for $40 10 years ago:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I had a nice Traynor PA set before, it didn't fall in the cheap category.

Here are my old Traynor Mid Horn:



















Had the sibilance:










and bass bins










This set rocked !!!


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## tonewoody (Mar 29, 2017)

Frenchy99 said:


> View attachment 377645


Thankfully, old Traynor mixers were the "coil-y guitar cable" part of the PA equation.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

tonewoody said:


> Thankfully, old Traynor mixers were the "coil-y guitar cable" part of the PA equation.


Mixer:










Power Amp:










Very nice kit for parties.


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## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

I still have and use the larger (16 channel IIRC) and powered version of that same mixer. Really good sounding early discrete solid state and surprisingly fully featured especially for the time (spring reverb built in + limiter and a graphic EQ on the master outs - all you really need).

Traynor's later era (I was talking 4x12 towers) bass bins and mid horns were great, but any of the piezo based sibilance projectors were litterally cheaper (and this was by design) than the other easily accessible options of the time (like the Sunn horns I mentioned). You know I love me some Traynor, but lets be real - every brand has something that should be avoided.


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## Frenchy99 (Oct 15, 2016)

Granny Gremlin said:


> Traynor's later era (I was talking 4x12 towers) bass bins and mid horns were great, but any of the piezo based sibilance projectors were litterally cheaper (and this was by design) than the other easily accessible options of the time (like the Sunn horns I mentioned). You know I love me some Traynor, but lets be real - every brand has something that should be avoided.


have to agree with you, the bass bins were amazing and the horns also. The horns were the first to sell when I sold the kit. A keyboard player bought them.


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