Nov 09, 2003 10:47 am traynor+les paul=ROCK. nuff said.
Traynor tube amps?
Posted on Nov 08, 2003 11:20 am
Tadpui
I am not a crook's head
Member Since: Mar 14, 2003
Has anyone here played through any of Traynor's tube amps? I'm looking to replace my solid-state Fender with a tube amp. Fender and Marshall tube amps are out of my price range for the most part, and I hear good things about the Traynors and the company itself. I'm leaning towards the YCV40T or the YCV80.
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Nov 09, 2003 12:34 pm argh, I've never liked Les Pauls...but hey, everyone's got their own tastes...I am far and away in the minority when it comes to my feelings about Les Pauls...
Nov 09, 2003 07:13 pm I love my Les Paul more every time I play it! Its like a friend that I get to know better every day. The pickups are so dynamic and responsive, they can be clean or dirty without even adjusting the volume. Its just a pleasure to play! I chose the classic over the standard...slimmer neck and hotter pickups. I never did like the standard's neck.
But these Traynor amps, which I'd never heard of until a few weeks ago, seem to have a great reputation at a price that you can't even touch a Fender or Marshall for. They're made up in America Jr. and everybody seems to like the customer support (2 year warranty, even if YOU break it!).
Nov 20, 2003 02:09 pm Well, I took the plunge and phoned in my order to musician's friend yesterday for the YCV80. Sorry DB, I would have used the link from this site, but I had to order over the phone in order for them to match another internet vendor's price (they took $100 off of their price for me!).
its an 80 watt all-tube combo with 2 12" celestion red labels. I took this one over the 2 x 10" 40-watt model. Its probably more amp than I need, but I went with this one because of the extra features like the direct XLR out (with speaker simulator), speaker defeat, expander and "scoop" switches, and the flexible effects loop.
I'm kinda nervous because I've never bought an amp without playing it beforehand. There were no authorized dealers within a 2 hour drive of Kansas City, so I couldn't just hop in and try one out. Their reputation online was enough to sell me on them. Plus if I don't like it, MF's return center is just down the road from me!
I'm all giddy like a kid at christmas waiting for the UPS man to show up now!
Nov 20, 2003 02:11 pm cool for you, lame for me...NOBODY (OK, VERY few) people have been using those links...funding for the site has dropped CONSIDERABLY in the last 3-4 months...
Nov 26, 2003 02:01 pm Well, a short 2 days after ordering, the amp arrived at my house. I played around with the amp for a while that night and for a couple of hours per day since then. Frankly, I was disappointed from the get go. The distortion was very grainy (nasal-like and harsh), the EQ knobs didn't control the frequency bands that I would think they would and there was just a general sound to the amp that I didn't like. In the following days, I twisted and turned knobs, pushed buttons and played with every feature that I could. I was about an inch from packing it up and sending it back (that's what I get for not trying before buying).
Anyways, I was just about to send it back when I had an opportunity to play it at volume while nobody was home. Also, I read a key bit of info on the web about Traynor amps and their EQs: the "treble" knob on the distortion channel is actually a PRESENCE knob. Turn it all the way down, and bye bye grit and nasal tone! I found the right settings for the 3 GAIN STAGES (its like a freaking combination lock), engaged the "scoop", turned off the "boost", put the mids at about 12:00, lows at about the same, and this baby sang to me for a few hours on end.
One thing I was sure of right from the first: this thing is LOUD!!! Gain at 3, channel volume at 8 and master volume at 4 and every dish in the house rattles!
I played with the direct out last night and I was impressed. At lower gain settings, its not very convicing, but at higher gain settings and on the clean channel, it sounds great.
Speaking of the clean channel, the expander and brightness switches, when both engaged and driven with a humbucking neck position pickup and more than just a splash of the long-spring reverb, it is absolutely breathtaking. I always thought that my Les Paul just didn't sound good on clean channel. I just hadn't found the right clean channel!
All in all, I think that I"m going to be very happy. I'd give it an 8 out of 10, with an A+ in the "bang for the buck" department.
Oh, and MKF: I agree on your equation above. Les Paul + Traynor does indeed equal ROCK.
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