# Traynor amps



## amagras

I never hear of them before. I had the opportunity to try an old 2x12 combo and sounded good although the owner didn't like it, also played bass at The Brass Monkey trough one of their newest models and it sounded amazing. It would like to read the opinions from the people who know them for years. 
Thank you!


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## zontar

They make a wide variety of amps--from cheaper practice amps to bigger & better ones--so lots of range--but they are good amps or better--especially if you judge them for what they are intended to be.

My TBM 10 (A small bass practice amp) is great for that or a personal bass monitor when playing with others, but it's not as good an amp as other models--but for what I paid for it I wouldn't have been able to find an amp anywhere near as good.


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## Mooh

Got a bunch of them, YCV20, YCV50, DG30, Quarterhorse (2), Yorkville 50 watt bass amp, Yorkville acoustic amp, and have had others. My favourite is the VCV50 that I gig with and use at home, but I also really like the YCV20 which gets a little gig work and usually lives at the band's clubhouse. Toneful, reliable, easy to tweak a variety of good tones, built to take abuse, good looks...they also seems to work equally well with humbuckers and singlecoils. 

They've been around as a company forever.

Peace, Mooh.


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## sulphur

I use a YGL1 and DH112 extension cab with the band.
I installed a Weber Blue Dog in the combo and a Silver Bell in the cab.

The other guitar player uses a YCV20WR, which used to be mine.

Nice amps, do what they're supposed to do and won't break the bank doing it.


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## Chito

I've had a YCV50 which I sold when I got a YBA 1 tribute. I regret letting it go. I've used that YCV50 for all sorts of gigs. My bass player right now uses a 73 YBA1. Traynors are excellent amps. There are more folks in here who have used them for years and have great opinions about them. Oh and I have a Yorkville Bassmaster XM200. It's not a Traynor but comes from the same factory. It's my studio's main bass amp.


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## zurn

I have two 60's Traynors, a Bassmaster and a Bassmate, they are awesome amps built like tanks. Buy with confidence or rent one are your local L&M.


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## knight_yyz

Nobody has mentioned Made in Canada yet


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## sambonee

Depends on what you want it for. 
Swiss Army knife 
Practice 
Lots of headroom 
Rock and drive? 

That will narrow it down. 


Come to think of it, what would us Canadians have done since the 60's without traynor? Would garnet have been the traynor of renowned fame ??


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## Electraglide

I have 3. The YGM2 is late 60's.....great amp. The Bloc 80 is early 70's....great amp. Both Made In Canada. The Studio Mate 10 is fairly new and made in china....branded Traynor. Does not have a CSA number. It worked when I bought it for $5 at a yard sale. I bought it for the logo. I think it still works. If I gigged I'd use the YGM2, played clean. If I gigged I'd have a young, blond, 34/24/34 roadette to lug it around for me.....not the lightest thing going. The amp I mean. Not too sure what the newer ones sound like, I've only tried them to test the last 3 newer guitars I've bought.
Aside from the Roland MicroCube...an older one....all the amps I have that I use are Canadian and old. Even the ones that started life as record players. 
One wonders where you've been not to have heard of and tried Traynor amps until now. Pine/Pepco made amps, maybe not. Symphonic....ok. Even Garnet including their stencil amps......maybe, if you're under 30 and never saw anything about Randy Bachman or early BTO or Guess Who etc.. That being said, if you come across a Fury Fireball don't even look at it. Just buy it and ship it here. I'll do something with it. Same if you find a Garnet guitar.


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## Steadfastly

Sometimes Traynor has been mentioned as the Canadian version of Fender. I think that's because they are both known for their "clean" settings. (Someone correct me, please, if I'm wrong). We did a poll here a few years ago and Traynor came in second behind Fender for the most favorite amp. Much of that is very likely because they are well known in Canada and have a very good track record along with a great warranty.

Personally, I have owned a DG-60 and presently own a TMV-10. My take on them? I should have kept the DG-60 and I should have bought the TMV-10 a long time ago.


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## Electraglide

sambonee said:


> Depends on what you want it for.
> Swiss Army knife
> Practice
> Lots of headroom
> Rock and drive?
> 
> That will narrow it down.
> 
> 
> Come to think of it, what would us Canadians have done since the 60's without traynor? Would garnet have been the traynor of renowned fame ??


Not too sure. Depends where you lived back then. Sort of a Chad Allen vs The Hawks kindda thing.
[video=youtube;IYPVyJwzerM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYPVyJwzerM[/video]
[video=youtube;9AWHmx12Qik]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AWHmx12Qik[/video]
Not too sure if The Hawks/The Band used Traynors but they probably did.


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## zontar

knight_yyz said:


> Nobody has mentioned Made in Canada yet


My Traynor was made in Asia--but they do make some in Canada--and the older ones were certainly made in Canada


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## Electraglide

zontar said:


> My Traynor was made in Asia--but they do make some in Canada--and the older ones were certainly made in Canada


Does your Traynor have a CSA # LR21887? Garnet is LR24510 and Pine/Pepco is LR19952. One Symphonic amp and two made in Canada radios just have CSA stickers with no numbers, the earlier ones have nothing. I wonder when they started using CSA stamps/stickers and when CSA numbers were issued. Would make it easier to date some things. The Northern Electric Baby Champ radio is from 1957/58 and has a CSA sticker. I'm talking Made In Canada products and not imported into Canada like my two Realistic mixer boards. They have a CSA stamp with no number.


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## Budda

I have only owned one, and I liked it while I owned it. I actually used it in studio with my first two bands, and I still like the tone today. All of the ones I have used (YCV50, YCV80 212) have had great clean tones. I know people in London who either still use or have used the YCS heads, and I wasn't wowed by them. I have heard the YCS heads on a few occasions, and I wasn't wowed buy it. When you can get a marshall DSL or Mesa boogie Recto for the same money, I would be far more likely to go that route.

I didn't suffer any technical issues with my amp, and I haven't heard any friends using them speak of poor QC either.

I think the vintage ones may be the best of the bunch, and they don't cost an arm and a leg. That being said, there are other options on a similar budget. IMO the fun is exploring those options!

I still want to borrow my buddy's YBA3 (not 300!) and put my pedalboard through it...


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## james on bass

I currently use a Traynor amp & cab and used Yorkville for awhile before then. I like 'em!!


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## zontar

Electraglide said:


> Does your Traynor have a CSA # LR21887? Garnet is LR24510 and Pine/Pepco is LR19952. One Symphonic amp and two made in Canada radios just have CSA stickers with no numbers, the earlier ones have nothing. I wonder when they started using CSA stamps/stickers and when CSA numbers were issued. Would make it easier to date some things. The Northern Electric Baby Champ radio is from 1957/58 and has a CSA sticker. I'm talking Made In Canada products and not imported into Canada like my two Realistic mixer boards. They have a CSA stamp with no number.


My Garnet stencils were made in Canada--and have the number stated above.
My Traynor is Made in China--and says so on the amp.


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## parkhead

Electraglide said:


> Not too sure. Depends where you lived back then. Sort of a Chad Allen vs The Hawks kindda thing.
> [video=youtube;IYPVyJwzerM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYPVyJwzerM[/video]
> [video=youtube;9AWHmx12Qik]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AWHmx12Qik[/video]
> Not too sure if The Hawks/The Band used Traynors but they probably did.


Yall should know that Pete Traynor played guitar in a band with Robbie Robertson. Robbie played bass. Pete realized that Robbie was advancing faster than him on guitar so they switched. Both Robbie and Pete had 4-10 59-60 bassmans 
as well as another one used for vocals. (as told to me by Pete himself) 

Pete got a job as an amp repairman at Long & McQuade. Made some speaker columns for a customer and got requests for more. They also needed a bass amp that wouldn't blow up when rented. Some say the early YBA-1 amps are almost exact clones of a 59-60 bassman. (FWIW Marshall copied the 58 bassman) 

at the last waltz there are silverface twins and a tweed tremolux onstage, though it might be a 1960 bassman. 

this recording is definitely Traynor gear enjoy 

https://youtu.be/TJVSymN0yqM


P


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## mhammer

There was a time in Canada when, if you couldn't afford a Fender amp, your inclination was to buy a Traynor. They were considered a decent, well-built amp, and great value for the money. Of course, like so many things at that time, being "made in Canada" was not considered a plus. Certainly better than being made in Asia, at that time, but not considered as good as being made in the USA.

In 1973, I took out a bank loan to finally buy myself a decent amp (upgrading from a Symphonic). I went to Steve's Music, down on St. Antoine St. in Montreal, beside all the pawn shops, and tried out a Traynor combo (forget which model) and Peavey Classic. I bought the Peavey because it had a few more features that I liked, but soon fell out of love with it. Should have bought the Traynor.

JC Maillet, out on Gabriola Island knows much about Traynor amps. He has redesigned his Viva Analog site, and seems to be focussing on selling pedals these days, but has maintained his old site for interested parties. Lotsa good stuff there: http://www.lynx.net/~jc/


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## High/Deaf

The first word that comes to mind when I think of Traynor is reliable. The 60's and 70's stuff had a reputation for being overbuilt and bombproof (tank-proof, whatever). I don't know if the new stuff is quite as overbuilt.

And I see that rep extends to other parts of the world, not just Canada.


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## Budda

I was happily surprised when we played with a band from the Boston area and one of their guitarists was using an older YBA into a 212. I was more happily surprised when I really enjoyed their band haha (https://aviatorma.bandcamp.com)


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## corailz

My old YRM-1 is stamped "made in canada"! Oh i love this amp!


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk


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## bolero

I have a YBA-1 and a YBA-3 with an 8x10 which I use for bass

I think they are great

the ( vintage ) guitar amps are considerably improved by putting decent speakers in there

the new ones are probably good as-is, since they have celestions etc already


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## Steadfastly

High/Deaf said:


> The first word that comes to mind when I think of Traynor is _*reliable*_.


And they back it up with a two year transferrable warranty.


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## citizenkris

I have a YCV15 Blue and the extension cab. 

Picked them up separately off kijiji a while ago. I've read that they only made around 100 or so of the 15 Blue. It's a fantastic sounding amp, clean or crunchy. Don't see them come up for sale very often.


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## parkhead

citizenkris said:


> I have a YCV15 Blue and the extension cab.
> 
> Picked them up separately off kijiji a while ago. I've read that they only made around 100 or so of the 15 Blue. It's a fantastic sounding amp, clean or crunchy. Don't see them come up for sale very often.


that is one of the recent ones people look for 

P


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## mrfiftyfour

I've been abusing a YCS90 2-12 combo for over 5 years. FWIW, at the time of purchase, the other amps in it's class was a Marshall Vintage Modern and some H&K jobbie. The Traynor beat both in tone, versitility, and value.
The reverb on both channels just crapped out and I'm due for a tube change. Anyone know of a good Traynor tech in the Vancouver area?


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## sulphur

Wasn't there a story about them throwing a Traynor amp down the stairs to show the durability?


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## Tony65x55

sulphur said:


> Wasn't there a story about them throwing a Traynor amp down the stairs to show the durability?


No, off of a second story roof into a parking lot.


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## stringer

mrfiftyfour said:


> I've been abusing a YCS90 2-12 combo for over 5 years. FWIW, at the time of purchase, the other amps in it's class was a Marshall Vintage Modern and some H&K jobbie. The Traynor beat both in tone, versitility, and value.
> The reverb on both channels just crapped out and I'm due for a tube change. Anyone know of a good Traynor tech in the Vancouver area?


Try Backline. They seem to get good reviews. Pretty sure I was steered their way by a GC forum member. I just had my ycv80q serviced by them ( checked filters, caps, power diodes, retensioned tube sockets etc ). I should get it back December 10. I also own a YCS50 2-12 very similar to your 90. I bought used and had to retube it after only a few hours of playtime. Have you noticed your YCS90 using up tubes quickly?


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## Budda

Personally I'd just grab a good reverb pedal - more tonal options.


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## butterknucket

I had a Custom Valve 40 when they first came out about 15 years ago. It was a decent amp, but didn't really wow me. A few years later I bought a '69 Guitar Mate which I gigged quite a bit with. Both amps had reverb issues, apart from that they worked. They're both gone now. 

There's some more Traynor info here if you're interested. 

http://tone-lizard.com/traynor-amplifiers/


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## butterknucket

sulphur said:


> Wasn't there a story about them throwing a Traynor amp down the stairs to show the durability?


Pete would take one at random and throw it off the roof of the factory. If it still worked, aside from needing some new tubes, they were making them right. I actually saw a video of him throwing one off the roof at Songbird in Toronto back in the 90's.


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## TA462

I have a YBA 1 MOD 1 with the matching YBX212 cab. I'll never sell it.


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## Electraglide

butterknucket said:


> Pete would take one at random and throw it off the roof of the factory. If it still worked, aside from needing some new tubes, they were making them right. I actually saw a video of him throwing one off the roof at Songbird in Toronto back in the 90's.


For a while my YGM2 used to sit on a shelf about 3 1/2ft. off the ground until one of the cats jumped on the shelf and the whole set up, amp, shelf and cat crashed to the floor. Not a 2 story fall but it survived nicely. Didn't even have to replace a tube. The cat survived too.


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## butterknucket

Electraglide said:


> For a while my YGM2 used to sit on a shelf about 3 1/2ft. off the ground until one of the cats jumped on the shelf and the whole set up, amp, shelf and cat crashed to the floor. Not a 2 story fall but it survived nicely. Didn't even have to replace a tube. The cat survived too.


Mine was a '69 YGM3, so it was probably pretty similar to yours, only yours has a bright switch....correct?


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## Electraglide

butterknucket said:


> Mine was a '69 YGM3, so it was probably pretty similar to yours, only yours has a bright switch....correct?


Three inputs and a treble/boost switch with a foot switchable trem. , no reverb. Sort of between a YGM1 and a YGM3. From what I can figure out it's probably a '67/'68. Except for the tubes it's original.


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