# Traynor YCS 50 *or* YCV 50 BLUE



## antimage27 (Mar 16, 2008)

I cant really decide between these 2, they both sound really good to me (tried it at the store).
the YCS is probably a bit more versitile and has more features but its pretty ugly imo (not that it matters that much).

Ive heard from people that has tried both of these amps, most of them say that the YCS 50 is a better amp overall, is this true??

Honestly what are the differences.



I play: Blues, Rock, Classic rock, Jazz, Pop, Funk, ...Rarely play Metal
Dont play: anything beyond Metal in terms of Distortion

PS. Im tempted to throw peavey classic 30 in there as well because it sounds pretty good also


----------



## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Well the one good thing about Traynor is their Canadian and they stand behind the product :smile:

I don't know about the Blue but I have tried the YCS-50 and I really like it . Ugly ??......I think it looks pretty classy myself .


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

My main amp is the YCV50blue and I love it. I have tried the YCS50 and like it, even the appearance. It's a toss up in my opinion. Buy whichever floats your boat. Traynors are one of, if not the, best deals in the market.

Peace, Mooh.


----------



## GuyB (May 2, 2008)

I have both. The YCV was bought a little more than a year ago and the YCS was bought last december.
They are both great amps as they fill all my needs (I play the same type of music as you do). Both are very quiet, I mean no noise, and not enough to notice even when cranked up. 

Had to experiment a bit (but... it's fun !) to find good settings for the distortion chanel with all my guitars. And now that the YCS speaker has been broken in (is that how to say it ?), it's pur joy at all levels of gain.

I just love the clean chanel on both amps. But here, the YCS as a clear advantage with the addition of a gain on that chanel (the YCV does not) and with the little button that lets you switch between a British and a U.S.A voicing. The US voice is not as Fender, it's something of it's own and I like it : you can crank it almost at maximum without having any distortion. The British voicing, when cranked up, breaks very smoothly and earlier than the other chanel, reminding (a little bit) of the Vox.
Other advantage of the YCS : switchable between 15W or 50W. Superb mellow distortion with the 15W and still very loud if you need it.


----------



## antimage27 (Mar 16, 2008)

GuyB said:


> I have both. The YCV was bought a little more than a year ago and the YCS was bought last december.
> They are both great amps as they fill all my needs (I play the same type of music as you do). Both are very quiet, I mean no noise, and not enough to notice even when cranked up.
> 
> Had to experiment a bit (but... it's fun !) to find good settings for the distortion chanel with all my guitars. And now that the YCS speaker has been broken in (is that how to say it ?), it's pur joy at all levels of gain.
> ...


very good answer..that helped me a lot 
But...lets say u can only pick ONE....would it be an easy decision?


----------



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

antimage27 said:


> very good answer..that helped me a lot
> But...lets say u can only pick ONE....would it be an easy decision?


I would say the Traynor YCS 50 might be more versatile. i tried them both for a full afternoon in my local store when the Traynor YCS 50 came out, and i loved it. did'nt end-up buying it..but still was an incredible amp


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Ok, so they're both good.

See how long it takes you to dial in your Ideal clean and your Ideal dirty tones on Each amp. You're going to want to crank up both of them (i mean master and channels on 5 here) to hear how they sound when they're more "in the zone" if you havent already .

whichever one haunts your dreams and your waking moments, get that one - either way you get a good amp.


----------



## antimage27 (Mar 16, 2008)

Budda said:


> Ok, so they're both good.
> 
> See how long it takes you to dial in your Ideal clean and your Ideal dirty tones on Each amp. You're going to want to crank up both of them (i mean master and channels on 5 here) to hear how they sound when they're more "in the zone" if you havent already .
> 
> whichever one haunts your dreams and your waking moments, get that one - either way you get a good amp.


what do u mean by dialing??

also...the decision haunts my dream more than either of the amps


----------



## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

antimage27 said:


> what do u mean by dialing??
> 
> also...the decision haunts my dream more than either of the amps


Do you not have a music store in Vancouver that carry's these ? Get out and try them both , you are the only one that can make the final decision to buy the model that suits you best . 

"dialing in".......adjusting the amps settings to taste .


----------



## antimage27 (Mar 16, 2008)

nitehawk55 said:


> Do you not have a music store in Vancouver that carry's these ? Get out and try them both , you are the only one that can make the final decision to buy the model that suits you best .
> 
> "dialing in".......adjusting the amps settings to taste .


I did try these 2 out...im just afraid i may overlook something...for example
my first amp was a marshal mg100dfx.....boy wat a mistake that was ...just goes to show my final decision lol


----------



## GuyB (May 2, 2008)

antimage27 said:


> very good answer..that helped me a lot
> But...lets say u can only pick ONE....would it be an easy decision?


This question makes me feel like I'm being tortured ! Like al3d said, I would choose the YCS because it gives you more options. (There are other controls in the YCS that I did'nt mention, I guess you know them).

Right now, I'm just happy not having to choose. And I have a fantastic time playing with both amps at the same time with my Godin Flat Five X. It has two outputs : one for the electric pick-ups and another one for a piezzo wich is under the saddle : infinite possibilities, even experimenting with the spacing between the two amps. No... I don't want to choose !


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

antimage27 said:


> I did try these 2 out...im just afraid i may overlook something...for example
> my first amp was a marshal mg100dfx.....boy wat a mistake that was ...just goes to show my final decision lol


actually, the MG series can sound quite good - *if you know how to set them up*.

two date I've heard an MG sound good between 5 different people - one was me, one was my roomie, one was my buddy in another band, and one was a band from ottawa running MG halfstacks.

Before you rush into the whole "OMFG a TUBE amp it HAS to sound amazing!!!" mentality, you have to realize that it's the user that makes the amp sound good or not - you can get great tones out of amps that most people would just go "oh its just X amp, who cares".

I'd pick the one that sounds best stock. I forget which YCS combo i tested, but it left me wanting badly.


----------



## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

antimage27 said:


> I did try these 2 out...im just afraid i may overlook something...for example
> my first amp was a marshal mg100dfx.....boy wat a mistake that was ...just goes to show my final decision lol


Well read some reviews on both amps and if you are unsure about which to choose go back and spend some time with them in the store studying the features of each and take one of your own guitars in too to see how each sounds to you . 

Asking for members on here to decide for you isn't the way to do it , YOU have to decide :smile:


----------



## antimage27 (Mar 16, 2008)

Budda said:


> actually, the MG series can sound quite good - *if you know how to set them up*.
> 
> two date I've heard an MG sound good between 5 different people - one was me, one was my roomie, one was my buddy in another band, and one was a band from ottawa running MG halfstacks.
> 
> ...


ya thats true...but the MGs are seriously overpriced imo


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

a 212 100W combo for $300 used? I wouldnt' say so. I paid $770 for mine after taxes, sold it for $550 or something a few years back.

Now you're trying to change the topic


----------



## Spikezone (Feb 2, 2006)

I bought and love my YCV50 a year and a half ago (the YCS was still on the horizon at that point and I was too impatient to wait for it to come out). That doesn't bother me-the YCV fills all my needs, even though I don't doubt the YCS would be amazing too. When I think about it, just for the sake of convenience and live use, I like the idea that the controls on the YCV are top-mounted-a little easier to access and read if you are standing up beside the amp, but that's just a technicality I'm sure. Enjoy trying them both out-it will become clear which suits you best.
-Mikey


----------



## overdriven1 (May 6, 2007)

There are more options on the ycs50, like 6l6 or el34 tubes, check out all the specs, like a torroidal transformer, supposed to more efficient power wise, stuff like that, I had the ycs 50 but I traded it for some electric drums, I have regrets but I also picked up some other goodies on top of those drums, imo the ycs is more versatile with more options.:smilie_flagge17:


----------



## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

there is a brand new ycs50 for sale in here..i would'nt hesitate a sec...GRAB IT..


----------



## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

We have a local dealer who sells a number of brands of amps . He says he cannot keep enough of the YCS-50 in stock....they are absolutely killing his Fender amps sales for ones in the same class or even better . I think that says something about Traynor in a good way :smilie_flagge17:


----------



## antimage27 (Mar 16, 2008)

nitehawk55 said:


> We have a local dealer who sells a number of brands of amps . He says he cannot keep enough of the YCS-50 in stock....they are absolutely killing his Fender amps sales for ones in the same class or even better . I think that says something about Traynor in a good way :smilie_flagge17:


he didnt say anything about the ycv blue?


----------



## Alien8 (Jan 8, 2009)

Here's the thing... the YCV50 blue came first, the YCS is based on that series of amps with some voicing options thrown in, and some fancy features. Though YCS does have a little more head room...

Do you play live? Do you record? Do you want to run extension cabinets in the future? How loud do you play regularly?

Both of these amps satisfy your musical tastes well, I would base your decision on how complex you want to get with your set-up. If you need a DI, and run an FX loop, I would strongly recommend the YCS. If you just plug the axe into the input and wail, then the YCV. You can easily have the YCV modded to have a bias circut added, so that the amp doesn't "automatically" bias the tubes - this makes for easy adjusment for running the tubes at the rate you want, thus warming or cooling your tone. You can add more head room to them too, by changing out a 12AX7 for a 12AT7. But of course you don't have to mod them.

Both will benifit from a JJ tube upgrade, but the YCS has the ability to swap 6l6 for EL34. Mind you, I've found they both run great using tube converters and EL84's. 

The YCV benifits greatly from the extension cab.

Use your ears, go with what inspires you the most, and what relieves you from wanting something else. Don't jump the gun, you could always wait and save for soemething a little more special. Try some amps out of your buying power, so you can hear the difference...


----------



## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

antimage27 said:


> he didnt say anything about the ycv blue?


Seems it's the YCS-50 that's getting all the attention due to the features .


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I'll mess with your head a bit:

see if there isnt a mesa F-30 combo for sale locally you can test out. yes i've owned a traynor, yes they make great amps.. but it doesnt hurt to look at all your options


----------



## nitehawk55 (Sep 19, 2007)

Budda said:


> I'll mess with your head a bit:
> 
> see if there isnt a mesa F-30 combo for sale locally you can test out. yes i've owned a traynor, yes they make great amps.. but it doesnt hurt to look at all your options


That's it Budda.....mess up the guy trying to decide on 2 amps......9kkhhd hwopv


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

I try to liven things up  hahaha

when they're both good amps, you can do one of two things:

go with what has more versatility OR

go with what costs less.

the choice is yours.


----------



## sfx70 (Sep 16, 2009)

hi
if you play: Blues, Rock, Classic rock, Jazz, Pop, Funk, ...Rarely play Metal

AND you like a really nice clean channel - I would go for the YCV50. I have both - YCV50 has better cleans and great dist channel, YCS50 has amazing dist. channel, but the cleans are not as Fendery like the YCV is. IT really depends.. some ppl don't like Fender cleans


----------



## Andy (Sep 23, 2007)

I have a YCS90, which sounds very similar to the 50. I'd personally go with the YCS. I had L&M order me in a Mesa Stiletto head, and ended up going home with the Traynor instead -- not only was it hundreds less, but it absolutely dummied the Mesa sonically. I'd also disagree with the idea that the YCV has better cleans -- I've found the opposite to be true.

If you can afford it, the 90 is a fantastic amp, too. It's barely louder than the 50 (owing partially to the lower sensitivity of the Neodymium speakers), but it's lighter, puts out more bass, and has more headroom.


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

sfx70 said:


> hi
> if you play: Blues, Rock, Classic rock, Jazz, Pop, Funk, ...Rarely play Metal
> 
> AND you like a really nice clean channel - I would go for the YCV50. I have both - YCV50 has better cleans and great dist channel, YCS50 has amazing dist. channel, but the cleans are not as Fendery like the YCV is. IT really depends.. some ppl don't like Fender cleans


PLEASE stop bumping threads, especially when they are almost a year old...


----------



## sfx70 (Sep 16, 2009)

Well shouldn't they be deleted then? I'm just voicing out my opinion on it since I got both


----------

