# Traynor YGM-3 Hand Wired Re-Issue



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Would not mind giving one of these a workout



> Hand Wired Vintage Re-Issue
> Built for the player that refuses to compromise their sound, the Traynor Re-issue YGM-3 recaptures the tone, warmth, feel and responsiveness of one of the classic guitar amplifiers of all time. Built using truly hand-wired point-to-point circuitry throughout, the Traynor YGM-3 uses only high-grade fiberglass insulated wire for all connections - no printed circuit boards or surface mount components are used.
> 
> Vintage Parts & Original Amp Specifications
> ...


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## mcgriff420 (Sep 30, 2008)

+1. I'd love to take that for a ride.

You hear alot about the old traynors on this site but I've never actually play tested one.

Be interesting to see what the vintage guys around here think of these new ones.

..


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## CocoTone (Jan 22, 2006)

Fine amp, and quite a bit tighter than my origional was before doing Parkhead's mods to it.(highly reccomended) Don't care for the Jensen speaker, but the Celestion of your choice will help loads. 

CT.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

http://www.traynoramps.com/products.asp?type=12&cat=19&id=409

I'd like to try one too, but I sure don't expect the local shop to have one.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Gene Machine (Sep 22, 2007)

*yup*

I have one. I love it. had a YCS50 (which was great) but I was using the 
2nd channel less and less, opting for clean or pedal. My old one was out of warranty and I got a good deal on a trade. So...

It is very tight. I haven't a lot of opportunities to really push it, and I'm still playing with the settings. I think I have it now. I'm getting very cool Santana tones out of it, both new and old, as well as a great clean sound.

In fact, this amp sounds so pretty clean, you will almost never want to step on a pedal. Think Sean Costello (youtube him if you don't know him).

Some people say "why pay $1200 for a new one when I can buy a vintage one for $400"

Because 1) you can't buy a vintage one for $400. Maybe $5-600. Then you put a few hundred into caps, new speaker, reverb tank, optocoupler for the trem... etc. A new one is all new, is warrantied for 2 years and will likely last 10 without any significant maintenance.

2) thenew ones come hand wired.

3) new ones come stock with JJ tesla EL84s and Electroharmonix 12AX7s. Not the cheapest chinese tubes they could find.

Now I just need to get the footswitch pedal for the reverb and trem...

Gene


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Tempting...thanks.

Peace, Mooh.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Grene Machine..you'll find a very good used one that does'nt need work for under 600$. easily. very common amp...at times.

the new one sells for 975$ here. so it's NOT that bad if you're into traynor


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

al3d said:


> Grene Machine..you'll find a very good used one that does'nt need work for under 600$. easily. very common amp...at times.
> 
> the new one sells for 975$ here. so it's NOT that bad if you're into traynor


Ya exactly. It's not that hard to find one for around $450. I don't agree with that assessment at all. I have owned 4 vintage Traynors and put a combined total of $60 into repairs in all of them. And in 2 cases, that was just swapping out the old cord. They were built like tanks. Even if you did have to do some work on the caps etc, you would be nowhere near the price of one of the new ones.

If you want a new one, or are happy with the new one that is great. But the 'the old ones are less than half the price' argument is a perfectly valid one.


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## CocoTone (Jan 22, 2006)

I guess you can look at it like buying a two year warranty for 375 bucks.:wave:

CT.


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## Gene Machine (Sep 22, 2007)

*kinda*

and all new caps, tubes, and no mods. 

Although some mods are great, I've dealt with 'modded' amps before, i.e. "what the hell did that guy do?" When properly documented and done correctly, fine. When hacked in some clown's basement, ah not so much.

G.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Gene Machine said:


> and all new caps, tubes, and no mods.
> 
> Although some mods are great, I've dealt with 'modded' amps before, i.e. "what the hell did that guy do?" When properly documented and done correctly, fine. When hacked in some clown's basement, ah not so much.
> 
> G.


These are all things you research before you buy an amp though. If you don't know what you are buying, you shouldn't be buying it.

Again, if you like your amp that is fantastic. It's a great amp. But it doesn't affect what a great value an original YGM3 is. You are overstating what are only potential problems, that can be completely avoided by being an educated buyer. And you are overstating both the costs of the vintage amps themselves, and the possible repairs. Worst case scenario, that you do need a cap job on a vintage Traynor, you will still be running half what the RI costs.


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## mcgriff420 (Sep 30, 2008)

Played one of the handwired RI's for a bit in my local L&M this afternoon..

Really would've liked to crank it for a while to get those el84's cooking but it wasn't happening today.

Tried it with an AM Strat, very warm right off the bat, but the treble felt brittle and could get piercing pretty easily. 
I really missed having a middle control on this amp. The mids were ok but I like a little more honk and less highs 
-as noted in someone elses post the right speaker swap would do wonders for this amp.

The reverb was just ok, anything past one was too sproingy/crashy for my tastes - maybe a lower gain tube for the reverb driver? 
The grill clothe while it looked retro-cool already had a pull in it, not sure how it would stand up to steady gigging.



Maybe all these quibles are what made the original unique and endearing -I haven't had the pleasure of being able to try a vintage one.

All in all I liked the amp and could see myself doing a gig with it.

..


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## Gene Machine (Sep 22, 2007)

torndownunit said:


> These are all things you research before you buy an amp though. If you don't know what you are buying, you shouldn't be buying it.
> 
> Again, if you like your amp that is fantastic. It's a great amp. But it doesn't affect what a great value an original YGM3 is. You are overstating what are only potential problems, that can be completely avoided by being an educated buyer. And you are overstating both the costs of the vintage amps themselves, and the possible repairs. Worst case scenario, that you do need a cap job on a vintage Traynor, you will still be running half what the RI costs.


Agreed. The originals are a steal. If I ever come across a clean one for $400, I will likely buy it. 

Gene


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Gene Machine said:


> Agreed. The originals are a steal. If I ever come across a clean one for $400, I will likely buy it.
> 
> Gene


Gene, when I moved I unfortunately had to sell both my YGM3 and my YBA2. I bought both of those amps less than 2 years ago though. I was able to get the YGM3 for $375, and the YBA2A for $350 at the time. It just took putting up a bunch of wanted to buy ads, and a month or so of searching. I also took a chance on the YBA2A, and did a transaction involving shipping on Kijiji, which can be a risk. But I talked to the guy on the phone and went for it. It just took some persistance.

I had to swap the cord on one of them, but other than that they both got a completely clean bill of health from a very reputable amp tech. The only Traynor amp I had to do any repair on was an old YBA1A I picked up 10 years ago for $75 lol. I had to replace a power tube, and a couple of pots.

Even at that though, you are right, $400 would be a tough find. But, even at $450 (which would be fairly easy to find) they would be a deal and leave plenty of room to do repairs, and still be WELL under the price of the RI.

Again, I am not knocking your amp in any way. Just expressing that I do agree with some of the arguments on new vs. vintage in this case. Another big one being Traynor resale values just aren't very good for whatever reasons. One could take a real beating on one of these RI's if they decided to sell it. Partially because of the resale value, partially because of the availability of cheaper vintage versions of the amp.


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## Gene Machine (Sep 22, 2007)

torndownunit said:


> Another big one being Traynor resale values just aren't very good for whatever reasons. One could take a real beating on one of these RI's if they decided to sell it. Partially because of the resale value, partially because of the availability of cheaper vintage versions of the amp.


Right. I have intentions of keeping this one for the long haul, not dumping it. As you say the resale market is poops.

I was able to get a decent trade in on my last Traynor however, a YCS50 that I traded towards the YGM-3. Clearly a strong motivation for me. My YCS50 was out of warranty, and I was looking for a more basic amp with tremolo. In fact I was looking at the Deluxe Reverb RI, but the YGM-3 was next to it, cheaper, and hand wired. 

Ya pays yer money, ya takes yer chances. I'm not at a point right now where I want to take a chance with an old amp, I want a new one. 

IMO $1000 for a new hand wired amp, made in Canada that sounds great with 2 years warranty is a good deal. The track record on these is outstanding and it will likely last 20 years with minimal maintenance.

YMMV

Gene


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## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

Does it get any kind of breakup or is it clean all the way?


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

zurn said:


> Does it get any kind of breakup or is it clean all the way?


If it's anything like the originals, it would have nice sweet breakup. Mine would start to get a nice sweet breakup around halfway on the volume. Which was also what I would consider 'gig' volume for me. I used a tube screamer in front, mainly just for a level boost if I wanted to kick it up.


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## Gene Machine (Sep 22, 2007)

*tone controls?*



torndownunit said:


> If it's anything like the originals, it would have nice sweet breakup. Mine would start to get a nice sweet breakup around halfway on the volume. Which was also what I would consider 'gig' volume for me. I used a tube screamer in front, mainly just for a level boost if I wanted to kick it up.


Where are you setting your tone controls?

I was using 5 on bass and 5 on treble with the boost on, using low input with a les paul. I got great tone at about 5-6. At about 8 i was flubbing out a bit, and I ran out of time as wife and kid came home 



I 'currently' have been using 3 on bass and 7 on treble, on the low input with a Les Paul. Boost switch is off. I have not cranked this yet, but it seems promising. 

I like to use the low input with the les paul and the high input with the strat. The balance in the volume seems to work out perfectly.

I really love the clean out of this amp. I have been using a tonebone classic as an overdrive with low drive and a little volume boost. It gives me a real Beano kind of sound. I also a tube screamer for more gain, for a bit more creamy drive.

G.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Gene Machine said:


> Where are you setting your tone controls?
> 
> I was using 5 on bass and 5 on treble with the boost on, using low input with a les paul. I got great tone at about 5-6. At about 8 i was flubbing out a bit, and I ran out of time as wife and kid came home
> 
> ...


Gene, regarding the flubbing I really don't know if the stock Jensen is the best speaker choice for that amp. I like a speaker with a little tighter bottom end in an amp like that. I used an Eminence Legend GB128 in my vintage one and was pretty happy with it. Definitely no flub issues. Someone else mentioned Celestion earlier in the thread, which I would also recommend over the Jensen. Nothing wrong with P12Q's, I just don't know if they are the best choice for that amp.

I never really had any specific settings because I used everything from a Tele, to a Reverend, to a Melody Maker through the amp at the time. So it kind of just went by the guitar for me.


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## parkhead (Aug 14, 2009)

YouTube - Traynor Sustain Demo

p


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I was in L&M on the weekend, and some dude was playing a really awesome sounding piece. It wasn't anything I recognized, but the sound was Fendery clean with an awesome reverb to it. I turned around and saw he was playing one of these. GAS GAS GAS!


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## parkhead (Aug 14, 2009)

I have a re-issue and about 8 originals...

I've worked on dozens 

the reissue is the best sounding amp of the bunch

The Jensen is a good speaker but it has a hard dust cap which can add a buzz to some distorted notes 
The jensen is about 95 db of efficiency like the marsland so the amp gets much louder with a better speaker

the reissue is less stressful on crappy el-84s because the screen supply is better 

my vintage deluxe reverb is up for sale ............

while generally I'm not a fan of "amp mods" these do respond well to certain value tweaks 

if you are lucky you can find vintage ones in canada cheaply you will be shelling out for 

minimum 
3 prong conversion 
2 new output tubes
power supply recap 
speaker of your choice 

if you plan on gigging with one & with the right speaker they are right in the sweet part of their power band in most club settings ... 


If you want a modern take on the circuit with 6v6's and some of common tweaks already done, and a few bonus features look at the Dark Horse 

p


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