This is what happens when a guy who started repairing amps gets into design... something built like a tank, and easy to fix... Pete Traynor was a genius.
Yep. And that resistor he used to measure the voltage drop around for biasing??? It's that giant 20W resistor with a voltage drop of only 8VDC across it. He designed this thing to withstand not just normal operation, but to minimize damage if a component fails. The circuit breaker is another good example of this. A fuse can be replaced with a piece of foil or massive value fuse, but the breaker ensures the amp will see a tech when it really needs to see one. Traynors are built better than just about any other amp of this era outside Hiwatt.
I'd be curious about how Pete started out. If it was a really small company, he was going to be the repair department - and built it accordingly. Those are the best kind. I think the top removal access was genius.
The Guitologist Thanx Mr. Guitologist, man it's like you made a great amp better. However, now that we know that it can be done this easily the price will go up on Traynors !!!AGAIN!!! No shit, that sounds really good for a big amp. I can't feel the touch response on my headphones but from the way you were KILLING those licks, it seemed like it could be controlled very well 'n' good·
NOTE: This amp is for sale! Can be picked up in Louisville, Kentucky or shipped anywhere in the US via PayPal. Email for details: bradlinzy at gmail Price is $750 plus shipping to North America. (Sorry rest of world, this thing is just too heavy.)
I am looking for the 50 watt Traynor bass amp with 2 x 6L6GC power tubes. It was the first 'real' amp I had as a guitarist. I was 17 and I loved it so much.It malfunctioned and I knew not how to fix it.Don't know where it ended up but now I am 50 and want another one.I would take that little Traynor over a Bogner any day.
Hey may I ask a question? Can I take a 100watt PV with a 10" speaker & add a speaker output for an old PV bass cab with two 8" & one 15" speaker with out having issues w/the D class amp or the speakers. Both the internal speaker is 8 ohm as well as that cab. I use to run a PV T Max Head thru it but it was like 800watts. Thx.
With Traynors the serial number tells you lots 3 - means it was made in 1973 09 - means it was made in Sept 2650 means it was the 2650th amp made in 73
In my mid teens I worked part time at a music store where one of old timers was friends with Pete Traynor Pete used to come in often and shoot the shit for an hour or so. He knew I was a huge classic rock fan and would regail us with stories of him repairing the equipment of the who's who of classic rock.
I played in a rock & roll band in the early 70's through the mid 80's along with another guitar player and after blowing up several Marshall amps, Sun and other crappy amps from that era we both somehow wound up with this exact amp. During that time we never got new tubes or had to put them in the shop for anything. We were a road band and we lived in Denver and traveled a lot of places. I sold my amp in Riverside back in 1985 and still regret it, it was a beast, dependable and had great tube tone plus it had master volume way back then, OMG! We both played Gibson Les Pauls through the Traynors then into our Marshall stacks. We always joked about these fucking amps being able to survive a fall off a building, who knew! Great video, thanks.
I lived in Canada for 5 years, I can tell you that Canadians are generally very thoughtful. There were a lot of conveniences that I appreciated that I didn't see in the U.S.
My bandmate and partner-in-crime in the mid/late 70s learned bass with a Mustang, later a Precision, plugged into this very Traynor. Said amp (with 2x15 Traynor cab) served him well for about eight years, until his newer bandmates told him to lose that antique and get a nice modern solid-state Peavey, so he traded the beast for what was surely chump change at the time. Maybe I'll spare him this video.
Traynors from that era are indeed built like tanks and sound fabulous. Growing up the hood where these were made....I owned several of them. They are everywhere even to this day. They never die!
As a Toronto man, born and bred, who last visited his local Long & McQuade only this past weekend, I really appreciate the cool old clip of the Toronto back alleys behind L&M ... ahem ... "stress testing" that amp. ;)
Fair play that amp rocks I'm in the UK and got a few old traynor amps but they don't sound like that love your knowledge on electronics well done mate.
As a Canadian teenager playing in basement bands in the 70's, Traynor was pretty much the most common amp for guitar and bass. My friend used to say they were our Trayning wheels. At the time they weren't considered to be particularly good amps, we dreamt of having Marshalls.
Hammond transformers, the best. .001 caps nonpolarized across the input leads helps prevent the buzz from the honkin transformer and its' immediate field. It outperformed Ampeg, Marshall, and Fender (really did not want to say that) Still have one bass bin (8x10 speakers) and driving it with a Peavy but honestly, liked the Traynor more for its warmth and clean sustain. P.S. this actually sounds rather decent with just a guitar too. Large tonal range ability. Mine was modded by some electrical engineering freaks at U. of A. Damn. You sure tickled my memory banks. God bless all musicians and those who help. Keep on keepin on (70 y.o. bass freak and now getting into guitar. Finals would take 875V.!! Buzz you a good one if not PROPERLY grounded. Lip still knows.!
I've probably "2" need servicing. I remember when that amp was sold brand new in Huntington WV at "Mack and Daves" - it was run into a pair of Traynor folded horn cabinets, each I believe with a Goodman's 18". Those cabinets were about the size of a Cerwin B36 and 36"x24"x24" IIRC. The tone was heavenly ! (probably Rotosoound round wound on the guitar). I had a 6-10" (sealed - direct radiator) Traynor cabinet - assume CTS 10" YBA3 - Custom speacisl on 6 string guitar = Loud as Hell ! I probably rolled off below 80Hz so not as thick on the bottom with bass guitar as something designed to go lower. I'm old and may not last a lot longer - cheers
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Pete Traynor= True Canadian hero. Viewers may enjoy researching him. Some of his inventions are iconic.
I have used Pete's amps since 1973. Great amps. Still use them. I currently have two YCV40WR amps signed by the late Pete Traynor. I have played with many players who swore by his amps. I have used a Yorkville bass amp for more than 15 yrs. now. It is hard to locate Traynor amps at a bargain as everyone "in the know" understands what great "tank-like" amps they were.
I've got an early '70s YBA-1 and love it. I did a few minor Plexi mods to it when I replaced The electrolytics. It's definitely one of my favorite amps. My son has a YGL-3 and is thrilled with his too.You just can't beat a vintage Traynor.
I actually own one of these and if i didnt love playing bass through it so much i would get it modded to replace my JCM800 as my main guitar amp. You made that thing sizzle so good. cheers!
In the early 80's these things were dirt cheap. Got my first Traynor - YGM 4 Studio Mate for $75. Spent the last 30 years trying to duplicate that awesome sound - can't be done. Just found another Studio Mate that was lightly used then stored for 40 years. After some new filter caps and repositioning the reverb tank to the bottom of the amp I have recaptured that sound that I have been chasing. These things now run between $500 - $1000
You’re absolutely right. I got the same exact model he worked on in this video used for very cheap in the early 80’s. Didn’t use it it much for bass or guitar but cranked it up in our church building later on Sunday after using it for Sunday service with a Les Paul and it was the loudest amp I ever heard in the 100-130 watt class. Much louder than my 100 watt Marshall 1959. Mine has 6CA7 tubes in it. I could not have it full up without being seriously deafened.
I have a few nice amps. I have a plexi and a DR103 hiwatt but my '74 Reverb Master (paid 300$) easily holds its own. Its such a great amp. Traynors rock!
I’m the same, I have about 36 amps, all the classics plus Some oddball stuff. My Traynor YGL3 MKIII modded a bit, is possibly the my favourite of all of them, does it all at low to extreme volume.
GREAT VIDEO!!! I just picked up this exact amp and im in the process of doing the mods you have done here. Just to recap the mods done to the preamp. You changed R3 from 470K to 1M, R4 from 820ohms to 2.7K, C1 from 250uf to .68uf. R43 has been changed to 1K and finally R39 to 1.5K and C9 to 100uf. I have most of the components but need to pick up some more this week. Just want to make sure I havent missed anything. Cheers from Canada. Love your vids. Rick..
Garnet, Yeah bought one for $250 It was a "Session Man" reverb, back in 1981. It sounded good and serves us well and used it on our Roland Strings. I played Fender pre- bass with a Traynor YBA-1. Bottom was a 50 watts thru a roll & pleat Kustom c/w 3 x 15 Jensen speakers . It use to rattle the fillings out of the teeth of the bar girls at the clubs. Served me well for many years. A tear down my cheek when I sold it
had one exactly like yours many years ago.I agree with your assessment of Traynor.Definitely overbuilt but in a good way.I had rewired mine,duplicating the four stage preamp of a mesa boogie.I was a Marshall&Fender eating Animal! An inquiry's to Traynor got the response from them,they rated this amp at 130w output.
I have rebuilt several Traynor valve amps over the years... with the intention of selling them on. Trouble is... once I have fixed em up, they sound so good, I can't part em out LOL. Yup, Peter started out as a repair man then ended up doing it better... they also hired out a lot of the Traynors they made so they were made bomb proof and easy to fix when they did go south (very seldom). Current day guitarists are at last realizing that these old amps from the 60's & 70's knock the crap out of most of the currently available tosh. Peter Traynor, a genius... RIP
I have an early 70's YBA-1 which I use for guitar. It is a beast and has my favorite clean tone ever. Super transparent and takes pedals better than any amp I have ever used. This amp is Loudddddddd. I also have the matching 2 15" cab which is sweet. The bass in this amp is absolutely incredible. I would put it up against ANY vintage amp when it comes to clean tone. I have a 64 Princeton Reverb which I love and play in my small loft. To play the Traynor in my loft I can't turn it up past 2. Looking at a Marshall Power Break or THD Hot Plate so I can turn it up to 5 haha. Thanks so much for featuring this hidden gem of an amp. Oh yea, I purchased the head and cab for $600! Best value ever!!!! The difference between this custom and my YBA-1 is that this one had to been intended more for guitar. Mine does not have a master volume and there is no way I could overdrive it like he is doing here. But I would never want to!!!
I love Traynors. My back hates Traynors. Built like tanks. I have two YBA-1s and a Bassmate (6v6 powered monster). Recently found a YS-12 2x12 cab to pair with them. Great video.
That's a great sounding amp Brad (I personally think you should keep it), and you did an excellent job repairing/modding it. I'm really impressed with the construction quality and I am also intrigued with the expander circuit as well. Big thumbs up on this video...
As others have pointed out in the comments, the expanders are feedback based. And of course they are! I should have realized that had I stared at them another minute or two.
Oh yes, I see it now too (duh). They did seem to have quite an affect on their specific frequencies (much more than a bright or deep switch ie capacitor bleed or bypass). I think I might play around with them on my next build..Thanks to you, and the others, for clueing me in. Take care,Tom
bought one of these for guitar in the summer of 1971. It was my main amp till 1973 ...I had played guitar thru a late 60s Bassman which sounded better than many guitar amps & I considered this comparable tone wise.. Ran it thru a 2x 12 EV SRO cab. I think I paid about $300 new. thanks Traynor & guitarologist
Nice vid, thanks. The resistors across the filter caps are also there to ensure equal voltage across the caps. So it is important to have one per capacitor.
FYI - The treble expander and bass expander are both 'active' tone controls that work off local negative feedback loops around the stages that they are hooked around.
I have a Traynor SS mono power amp from the 70s with one large knob. It's a beast, great power amp for bass preamp. When pushed it has a great growl on bass.
At a NAMM show once, an Ampeg rep mentioned to Pete that he had heard a story about him testing the quality of workmanship by throwing an amp from the 2nd story window(chuckling as he spoke), Pete retorted "Oh, don't you?"
The full clip, pete explains he had an specific measurement , it was a lot more scientific than just chucking the amps off a building. His point was, on a 6-10 foot stage you have your amp resting on top of a full stack or one of the 8X10 traynor use to make, it adds another 6 feet or more. He said if his amps were dropped from the stage he would want them to be mostly fine (needing new tubes of course). Built in a safety factor and pretty much 20 feet or second floor drop is what he came up with. Simulate an amp falling off the stage. Pretty sound logic and great build to allow for this to happen and still function.
From Canada here. Inthe 80's these things were dirt cheap. I got a YGM 4 for $75. I just found one that was in storage for the last 45 years. I paid a lot more than $75 for it and it was worth every penny.
looks like you were waiting for your wife to come through the door.. I agree Traynors's are beasts and they are crazy loud. I used to work for Yorkville Sound here in TO. I was the guy that installed the power supplies but at the time all they made was the solid state TS series but they make good stuff again now. They didn't appreciate me talking shit about the lack of tubes and talked myself out of a job. Many, many years ago.. They have the best warrantee in the business as far as I know.
The serial starts with the year. 3 for 1973. The top access cabs with the bumper material on each side started in 1970. When this video was made, here in Canada you could buy that amp for 300-400 bucks. Now they're 900-1200..
Guitologist video marathon still in full swing during the Covid-19 nationwide lockdown! Too bad I don't have the skills to modify an old piece of equipment into an amp for guitar... No worries. I'll just live vicariously through Brad as he works his electronic Voodoo!
strange but true story- Years ago I had a Traynor bass amp in Tennessee I played a Jazz bass through. Once at practice with the guys, during a break, the Traynor started picking up Radio Canada International, A shortwave station in Canada. Quietly, but clear as a bell. Will never forget that. Around 1982 I think.
Thanks for the hint about the notch on the pre-amp tube sockets, never knew that one! I wish mine had the pop top for accessing the internals, that came later.
They actually copied that design from Estey amplifiers (formerly Magnatone)! Here's an example of one that predated the Traynor pop tops: ua-cam.com/video/O4hRzDUEoSw/v-deo.html
wow!! to my ear on youtube that is one of the best amp tones you've demonstrated.. I had a Traynor TS-75 back in the day, but didn't sound this good....
Hey Brad love your vids, especially love your Ron Paul shirt. One thing I would like to see more of is you actually performing the work instead of cutting away and coming back once the work is complete.
best sound I've ever had was this head with a 2 12 closed back fender cab with a boss super overdrive and a Les Paul studio. it was Pantera heaven. just hands down balls is what this amp has and it can take it to
Now that is one crazy ass entertaining idea to want to throw an amp from the top of your roof onto some concrete. Surprised they didn't have an eighteen wheeler hit it after landing on the road. I have to believe the thought of doing it came from consuming some alcohol or other substance. They were all just to damn happy that it function in the end. Throughly enjoy the information that's put out in the vids.
FYI, the mystical input circuit is a double-T band pass filter to enhance the tone in the brilliance high range. The second tone control circuit is based on the same double-T principal. The type of simple bias control circuit evolved because of the estimator people, better is a separate pot for each output tube to adjust the bias since the output tubes are never perfectly matched. You also want to measure the current flow through each output tube since measuring the voltage drop over a resistor is somewhat bogus/inaccurate because of the resistors tolerance. Measuring the 8Volts (here in this case) does not account for a proper bias current. "Ohm law" I=U/R. Every additional component increases the cost for building the amp. The tech that needs to service the amp later is the last thing they think about when designing any amp. I designed amps and was involved by having them build in Taiwan. The goal is always to get the packaged amp of the ship for a specific costs/amount and not to please any tech or user f the amp, its just a calculated business. The rest is all stories people made up in the music industry. One guy like the daughter, some have fun with the mother in-law ...
I just wanted to note that the switching jacks on the amps effect how those resistors are put into the circuit. While the inputs may look the same they are a bit different. On the Traynor here, the number 2 input puts the input signal through a voltage divider of the 68k resistors, so the volume will be lower from the source going into V1. At input 1 it just goes through the one 68k and the other is floating. On the Fender (and Marshall if I'm not mistaken) the number 2 input does the same voltage divider trick, but at number 1 the 68k resistors are paralleled for a 34k stopper, allowing more source signal into V1. Also, that amp sounds fucking killer, good job dude.
Yes, I remember Garnet amps here in CN... never seemed that popular but how about GBX? Solid state, powered driver head and each cab was also powered. You could link cabs (4X10) and increase wattage and speakers. Another design way ahead of its time.
I have my eye on a virgin one and I like the killer sound, yet ultra simplicity of doing these mods. I'm going to pick it up and start another project. I have always been a Traynor fan and nothing bugs me more than late model, overcomplicated amps.
I can vouch for that 100%. One of the best amps I've owned was a YBA-1. It kicked as a guitar amp and as I remember it had EL84 tubes and is one of the reasons EL84's are my favorite tubes.
How's it going eh? Bought one of these brand new from John Bellone's Music in London Ont 1968. Bought 2, 4x10 cabs at the same time so I could have my bass "stack" :). It was a 100 watt beast! Fortunately, the young players are rediscovering these old amps and are collecting and using them today which is another tribute to Pete T.
almost all of my friends and myself used traynow bass amps for guitar they were incredible work machines and had a dynomite sound and a lot power and punch, we never had to use a distortion pedal , you just cranked up the master volune, they had 8 10" speakers in the cabinets I used two of these in the late 60's and through the 70's.
Would have never thought i would see a great video of the exact same amp i have . I have the amp and cabinet both. Amp and the 8 ten inch speaker cabinet have all it original hardware and it still works great. I would like to have it gone over and refreshed though some day when i can get the coin and time. Sadly it doesn't see much usage these days . I was posting jam vids using the amp but now i have drifted away from guitar.Great video my friend .
No worries. I bought a Fender Sidekick 50 bass amp for chump change, and had to fix it... the "FIX" turned out to be grade school level. Go figure. It's on my channel if you need a cheap laugh at what Guitar Center refused to buy because it was broken.
In the late 60's I used a YBA1A bridged like a bassman with a 4x10 bottom.... Amp was smaller in size with a built in fan on one end..Wish I still had it 4 sure...
The controversy of the most "musical" resistors to use in a guitar amp rages on. IYO, what happens if you use metal film or metal oxides in the signal path? I use them in all power paths, but what about in the grid stoppers and bypass circuits? What happens if you put them in for the 68ks in the input? Carbon comp resistors are so undependable even with 5% tolerance, which are not easy to find or afford. You have more knowledge about these small but very important issues a lot of us would like to know! I am nearing my conversion of a Champion 40 SS to a single channel AB763 Deluxe Reverb with a mid control and a master volume. It is so important to know every little detail, to choose the parts that will do the job you want and get the tone you are looking for! Thank you for these "gems" of highly informative videos. Thankz
Carbon resistors, both film and comp types, will tend to gradually rise in value a bit over time and with exposure to heat. That is to be expected. Use metal in places where close tolerances are critical and/or where high voltage and heat are an issue. In signal paths...voltages aren't usually going to be high enough to make a difference. And metal resistors are expensive. Not an issue if you build one or two amps, but if you stock parts like I do for a steady stream of repairs, you quickly realize you're just throwing money away by installing metal resistors in signal paths. As far as the tone...I'm not in a position to take a side on that really. I haven't done any A/B comparisons.
Had one of these. And others. Best guitar sound I have ever had was going thru a YRM1 head thru the bass cabinet made to do with the YBA -3 head. Here is a couple some things you may have not noticed. On most of their guitar amps, the input section is pretty much identical to the typical Fender input section. The output section - think Marshall. And either affixed to the metal shield that's on the underside of the top piece of the cabinet you pulled off their is a schematic on it or under it.
At around 11 minutes, that resistor capacitor network is called a twin tee notch filter. It essentially produces a sharp, narrow scoop around a particular frequency. Due to the fact that it is bridging a 180 degree phase shifted signal back around the tube, it should actually boost instead of cut the center frequency of the network. The impedance of the tubes output should do weird things to the frequency response of the filter though. That would definitely be interesting to mod.
I had one of these that I took in trade for something. Got the matching 4x12 (which I still have) with 2 old 20 watt greenbacks & 2 eminence squarebacks. That thing was LOUD & had a good plexi-ish sound. When youd light her up a little, things literally shook right off of shelves. But.... it shocked the livin' hell outa ya, & I didnt know any techs, & I didnt have any money, & I wanted high gain, & I was stupid.
I want one of these so bad! Wish I could justify another rig. I've been looking at YBA-200s since they were released; a friend of mine had one and it sounded fantastic.
This is what happens when a guy who started repairing amps gets into design... something built like a tank, and easy to fix... Pete Traynor was a genius.
Yep. And that resistor he used to measure the voltage drop around for biasing??? It's that giant 20W resistor with a voltage drop of only 8VDC across it. He designed this thing to withstand not just normal operation, but to minimize damage if a component fails. The circuit breaker is another good example of this. A fuse can be replaced with a piece of foil or massive value fuse, but the breaker ensures the amp will see a tech when it really needs to see one. Traynors are built better than just about any other amp of this era outside Hiwatt.
I'd be curious about how Pete started out. If it was a really small company, he was going to be the repair department - and built it accordingly. Those are the best kind. I think the top removal access was genius.
The originals didn't have the baby bumpers and easy access top. Ugly AF but brilliant design.
He started very small. There are some vids on YT about him. Here's the one I took that clip from: ua-cam.com/video/YjPfsOfFxXQ/v-deo.html
The Guitologist Thanx Mr. Guitologist, man it's like you made a great amp better. However, now that we know that it can be done this easily the price will go up on Traynors !!!AGAIN!!!
No shit, that sounds really good for a big amp. I can't feel the touch response on my headphones but from the way you were KILLING those licks, it seemed like it could be controlled very well 'n' good·
Best amp I ever had was a Traynor. They are practically indestructible and have incredible sound.
NOTE: This amp is for sale! Can be picked up in Louisville, Kentucky or shipped anywhere in the US via PayPal. Email for details: bradlinzy at gmail
Price is $750 plus shipping to North America. (Sorry rest of world, this thing is just too heavy.)
I am looking for the 50 watt Traynor bass amp with 2 x 6L6GC power tubes.
It was the first 'real' amp I had as a guitarist. I was 17 and I loved it so much.It malfunctioned and I knew not how to fix it.Don't know where it ended up but now I am 50 and want another one.I would take that little Traynor over a Bogner any day.
How MUCH for this amp ???????
Hey may I ask a question? Can I take a 100watt PV with a 10" speaker & add a speaker output for an old PV bass cab with two 8" & one 15" speaker with out having issues w/the D class amp or the speakers. Both the internal speaker is 8 ohm as well as that cab. I use to run a PV T Max Head thru it but it was like 800watts. Thx.
$750 plus shipping.
You should be fine on that speaker config, but call PV CS if you're really unsure.
With Traynors the serial number tells you lots
3 - means it was made in 1973
09 - means it was made in Sept
2650 means it was the 2650th amp made in 73
Thanks for that. I learned something.
For Traynor- 'Velvet BlackTraynor' google for all kinds of good stuff about out favourite amp builder :)
And X tells you. 'who cares'...........:)
@@greg4673 t stands for troll k stands for knock you out lol x
In my mid teens I worked part time at a music store where one of old timers was friends with Pete Traynor
Pete used to come in often and shoot the shit for an hour or so.
He knew I was a huge classic rock fan and would regail us with stories of him repairing the equipment of the who's who of classic rock.
Very Kool.
Yes Pete Traynor was an amp genius!!
Cheers.
My beast was the Traynor Bass Master. 100 watts of grunt in the head tapped into twin 15" speakers. The main reason why I say "What you say" a lot.
Hell yes. I know the amp about which thou speaketh. It is indeed a hearing aid seller.
You must have heavily modded that BassMaster as it is factory rated at 45 watts. The MkII version was rated at 85.
The joy's of Industrial Arts classes back in the 70's. Cranked the crap out of it so I could hear myself over two dudes with Marshal Stacks.
Dave Walsh that's why I ask three times, third times a charm
I played in a rock & roll band in the early 70's through the mid 80's along with another guitar player and after blowing up several Marshall amps, Sun and other crappy amps from that era we both somehow wound up with this exact amp. During that time we never got new tubes or had to put them in the shop for anything. We were a road band and we lived in Denver and traveled a lot of places. I sold my amp in Riverside back in 1985 and still regret it, it was a beast, dependable and had great tube tone plus it had master volume way back then, OMG! We both played Gibson Les Pauls through the Traynors then into our Marshall stacks. We always joked about these fucking amps being able to survive a fall off a building, who knew! Great video, thanks.
Yep. They actually threw them off buildings.
I lived in Canada for 5 years, I can tell you that Canadians are generally very thoughtful. There were a lot of conveniences that I appreciated that I didn't see in the U.S.
My bandmate and partner-in-crime in the mid/late 70s learned bass with a Mustang, later a Precision, plugged into this very Traynor. Said amp (with 2x15 Traynor cab) served him well for about eight years, until his newer bandmates told him to lose that antique and get a nice modern solid-state Peavey, so he traded the beast for what was surely chump change at the time.
Maybe I'll spare him this video.
No, show it to him and tell him to buy this amp from me. He can reclaim his dignity. :P
That would be heartwarming.
Traynors from that era are indeed built like tanks and sound fabulous. Growing up the hood where these were made....I owned several of them. They are everywhere even to this day. They never die!
As a Toronto man, born and bred, who last visited his local Long & McQuade only this past weekend, I really appreciate the cool old clip of the Toronto back alleys behind L&M ... ahem ... "stress testing" that amp. ;)
Dude! That's your tone right there!
I know, right! This was all with the Master Volume on about 2 or 3 on the dial.
It sounds amazing! Wow
Stick a Maxon OD808 in front and you'll get the tones from Every Time I Die's album "From Parts Unknown"
That is a great sounding amp. And so clean and tidy inside. Must be a technician wet dream. Great job once again.
Total pleasure.
Gain with note separation! what a concept! very nice mod thanks
EXACTLY! Amazing how high gain doesn't have to mean muddy.
Was this straight amp overdrive? After this video I think I may need to find one of these and follow this process.
Fair play that amp rocks I'm in the UK and got a few old traynor amps but they don't sound like that love your knowledge on electronics well done mate.
As a Canadian teenager playing in basement bands in the 70's, Traynor was pretty much the most common amp for guitar and bass. My friend used to say they were our Trayning wheels. At the time they weren't considered to be particularly good amps, we dreamt of having Marshalls.
I think that sounds better than a most Marshalls I have heard..
Hammond transformers, the best. .001 caps nonpolarized across the input leads helps prevent the buzz from the honkin transformer and its' immediate field. It outperformed Ampeg, Marshall, and Fender (really did not want to say that) Still have one bass bin (8x10 speakers) and driving it with a Peavy but honestly, liked the Traynor more for its warmth and clean sustain. P.S. this actually sounds rather decent with just a guitar too. Large tonal range ability. Mine was modded by some electrical engineering freaks at U. of A. Damn. You sure tickled my memory banks. God bless all musicians and those who help. Keep on keepin on (70 y.o. bass freak and now getting into guitar. Finals would take 875V.!! Buzz you a good one if not PROPERLY grounded. Lip still knows.!
I've probably "2" need servicing. I remember when that amp was sold brand new in Huntington WV at "Mack and Daves" - it was run into a pair of Traynor folded horn cabinets, each I believe with a Goodman's 18". Those cabinets were about the size of a Cerwin B36 and 36"x24"x24" IIRC. The tone was heavenly ! (probably Rotosoound round wound on the guitar). I had a 6-10" (sealed - direct radiator) Traynor cabinet - assume CTS 10" YBA3 - Custom speacisl on 6 string guitar = Loud as Hell ! I probably rolled off below 80Hz so not as thick on the bottom with bass guitar as something designed to go lower. I'm old and may not last a lot longer - cheers
Pete Traynor= True Canadian hero. Viewers may enjoy researching him. Some of his inventions are iconic.
Yeah, interesting character.
I have used Pete's amps since 1973. Great amps. Still use them. I currently have two YCV40WR amps signed by the late Pete Traynor. I have played with many players who swore by his amps. I have used a Yorkville bass amp for more than 15 yrs. now. It is hard to locate Traynor amps at a bargain as everyone "in the know" understands what great "tank-like" amps they were.
I've got an early '70s YBA-1 and love it. I did a few minor Plexi mods to it when I replaced The electrolytics. It's definitely one of my favorite amps. My son has a YGL-3 and is thrilled with his too.You just can't beat a vintage Traynor.
I actually own one of these and if i didnt love playing bass through it so much i would get it modded to replace my JCM800 as my main guitar amp. You made that thing sizzle so good. cheers!
In the early 80's these things were dirt cheap. Got my first Traynor - YGM 4 Studio Mate for $75. Spent the last 30 years trying to duplicate that awesome sound - can't be done. Just found another Studio Mate that was lightly used then stored for 40 years. After some new filter caps and repositioning the reverb tank to the bottom of the amp I have recaptured that sound that I have been chasing. These things now run between $500 - $1000
You’re absolutely right. I got the same exact model he worked on in this video used for very cheap in the early 80’s. Didn’t use it it much for bass or guitar but cranked it up in our church building later on Sunday after using it for Sunday service with a Les Paul and it was the loudest amp I ever heard in the 100-130 watt class. Much louder than my 100 watt Marshall 1959. Mine has 6CA7 tubes in it. I could not have it full up without being seriously deafened.
Its Canadian so you know its good!
As far as music gear goes, Traynor, Yorkville PA, Seagull, Godin, etc. All good stuff.
I was riffing off of the movie" Anchor Man" When the assclown was choosing cologne! lol
'yes it's quite pungent'
One of the few things left that are made here.
GARNET!!!
No love for us bass players, bass amps turned into guitar amps. Love your channel regardless.
The first Marshall was a modded Fender Bassman so the most famous guitar amp/tones are derived from a bass amp conversion.
I have a few nice amps. I have a plexi and a DR103 hiwatt but my '74 Reverb Master (paid 300$) easily holds its own. Its such a great amp. Traynors rock!
It came stocked with fat bottle 6ca7s and phillips holland pre amp tubes
That's correct. The 6CA7 and EL34 switch requires a rebias and someone just popped these tubes in without bothering.
I’m the same, I have about 36 amps, all the classics plus Some oddball stuff. My Traynor YGL3 MKIII modded a bit, is possibly the my favourite of all of them, does it all at low to extreme volume.
GREAT VIDEO!!! I just picked up this exact amp and im in the process of doing the mods you have done here. Just to recap the mods done to the preamp. You changed R3 from 470K to 1M, R4 from 820ohms to 2.7K, C1 from 250uf to .68uf. R43 has been changed to 1K and finally R39 to 1.5K and C9 to 100uf. I have most of the components but need to pick up some more this week. Just want to make sure I havent missed anything. Cheers from Canada. Love your vids.
Rick..
Garnet, Yeah bought one for $250 It was a "Session Man" reverb, back in 1981. It sounded good and serves us well and used it on our Roland Strings. I played Fender pre- bass with a Traynor YBA-1. Bottom was a 50 watts thru a roll & pleat Kustom c/w 3 x 15 Jensen speakers . It use to rattle the fillings out of the teeth of the bar girls at the clubs. Served me well for many years. A tear down my cheek when I sold it
had one exactly like yours many years ago.I agree with your assessment of Traynor.Definitely overbuilt but in a good way.I had rewired mine,duplicating the four stage preamp of a mesa boogie.I was a Marshall&Fender eating Animal! An inquiry's to Traynor got the response from them,they rated this amp at 130w output.
Rebiasing those preamp tube stages and monkeying with bypass caps really amps this model up a treat.
I have rebuilt several Traynor valve amps over the years... with the intention of selling them on. Trouble is... once I have fixed em up, they sound so good, I can't part em out LOL. Yup, Peter started out as a repair man then ended up doing it better... they also hired out a lot of the Traynors they made so they were made bomb proof and easy to fix when they did go south (very seldom). Current day guitarists are at last realizing that these old amps from the 60's & 70's knock the crap out of most of the currently available tosh.
Peter Traynor, a genius... RIP
I have an early 70's YBA-1 which I use for guitar. It is a beast and has my favorite clean tone ever. Super transparent and takes pedals better than any amp I have ever used. This amp is Loudddddddd. I also have the matching 2 15" cab which is sweet. The bass in this amp is absolutely incredible. I would put it up against ANY vintage amp when it comes to clean tone. I have a 64 Princeton Reverb which I love and play in my small loft. To play the Traynor in my loft I can't turn it up past 2. Looking at a Marshall Power Break or THD Hot Plate so I can turn it up to 5 haha. Thanks so much for featuring this hidden gem of an amp. Oh yea, I purchased the head and cab for $600! Best value ever!!!!
The difference between this custom and my YBA-1 is that this one had to been intended more for guitar. Mine does not have a master volume and there is no way I could overdrive it like he is doing here. But I would never want to!!!
I love Traynors. My back hates Traynors. Built like tanks. I have two YBA-1s and a Bassmate (6v6 powered monster). Recently found a YS-12 2x12 cab to pair with them. Great video.
Canadian Traynor and Garnet Amps from the 70's are some of the best kept secrets on the vintage market.
That's a great sounding amp Brad (I personally think you should keep it), and you did an excellent job repairing/modding it. I'm really impressed with the construction quality and I am also intrigued with the expander circuit as well. Big thumbs up on this video...
As others have pointed out in the comments, the expanders are feedback based. And of course they are! I should have realized that had I stared at them another minute or two.
Oh yes, I see it now too (duh). They did seem to have quite an affect on their specific frequencies (much more than a bright or deep switch ie capacitor bleed or bypass). I think I might play around with them on my next build..Thanks to you, and the others, for clueing me in. Take care,Tom
And holy crap. That's gotta be one of the sweetest amps you've worked on/demoed!
Thanks, Todd.
bought one of these for guitar in the summer of 1971. It was my main amp till 1973 ...I had played guitar thru a late 60s Bassman which sounded better than many guitar amps & I considered this comparable tone wise.. Ran it thru a 2x 12 EV SRO cab. I think I paid about $300 new. thanks Traynor & guitarologist
Nice vid, thanks. The resistors across the filter caps are also there to ensure equal voltage across the caps. So it is important to have one per capacitor.
FYI - The treble expander and bass expander are both 'active' tone controls that work off local negative feedback loops around the stages that they are hooked around.
By your facial expressions and your awesome playing, seems to be a very inspiring amp. Love the sound of it.
I have a Traynor SS mono power amp from the 70s with one large knob. It's a beast, great power amp for bass preamp. When pushed it has a great growl on bass.
I bet that thing will survive a hurricane.
A Canadian made to this day. Traynor passed in 2016 but sold his portion in 1970s . what a great sounding product
awesome. I found some tube radios at the fleamarket but everyone thinks its a treasure. that traynor is screaming keep it up .people are learning
Thanks for the comment! You keep watching and I'll keep going videos.
Quality Canadian engineering!
Yep. The best. Pete Traynor should be on the Mount Rushmore of amp heroes.
I once saw a documentary on Vox where they threw an AC 30 down the stairs. I wonder if Pete saw that and said "hold my beer"?
might be the other way around.
At a NAMM show once, an Ampeg rep mentioned to Pete that he had heard a story about him testing the quality of workmanship by throwing an amp from the 2nd story window(chuckling as he spoke), Pete retorted "Oh, don't you?"
The full clip, pete explains he had an specific measurement , it was a lot more scientific than just chucking the amps off a building. His point was, on a 6-10 foot stage you have your amp resting on top of a full stack or one of the 8X10 traynor use to make, it adds another 6 feet or more. He said if his amps were dropped from the stage he would want them to be mostly fine (needing new tubes of course). Built in a safety factor and pretty much 20 feet or second floor drop is what he came up with. Simulate an amp falling off the stage. Pretty sound logic and great build to allow for this to happen and still function.
That amp kicks balls man!
Traynor Amplifiers are Canada's best kept secret.. The Quality is probably the best you can buy and the Tone is Amazing
Really good video Brad showing the comparisons. That stuff is the treasured knowledge that is hard to get. Thanks bro.
One of my favorite vids so far, and what a result! Incredible sounding amp.
From Canada here. Inthe 80's these things were dirt cheap. I got a YGM 4 for $75. I just found one that was in storage for the last 45 years. I paid a lot more than $75 for it and it was worth every penny.
What an astounding sounding amp!!
Amazing work.
looks like you were waiting for your wife to come through the door.. I agree Traynors's are beasts and they are crazy loud. I used to work for Yorkville Sound here in TO. I was the guy that installed the power supplies but at the time all they made was the solid state TS series but they make good stuff again now. They didn't appreciate me talking shit about the lack of tubes and talked myself out of a job. Many, many years ago.. They have the best warrantee in the business as far as I know.
Hope people keep the good stuff going! Had one of these driving two YB8A boxes and it was shakin!
The serial starts with the year. 3 for 1973. The top access cabs with the bumper material on each side started in 1970.
When this video was made, here in Canada you could buy that amp for 300-400 bucks. Now they're 900-1200..
Guitologist video marathon still in full swing during the Covid-19 nationwide lockdown! Too bad I don't have the skills to modify an old piece of equipment into an amp for guitar... No worries. I'll just live vicariously through Brad as he works his electronic Voodoo!
strange but true story- Years ago I had a Traynor bass amp in Tennessee I played a Jazz bass through. Once at practice with the guys, during a break, the Traynor started picking up Radio Canada International, A shortwave station in Canada. Quietly, but clear as a bell. Will never forget that. Around 1982 I think.
I've got a 68 YBA-1 that I modded with a post phase inverter master volume. It's been my main gigging and recording amp for 8 years, love it!
Thanks for the hint about the notch on the pre-amp tube sockets, never knew that one!
I wish mine had the pop top for accessing the internals, that came later.
They actually copied that design from Estey amplifiers (formerly Magnatone)!
Here's an example of one that predated the Traynor pop tops: ua-cam.com/video/O4hRzDUEoSw/v-deo.html
16:23 I like what you did with the new caps and the terminal strips. Very nice.
As a Canadian, this makes me happy. That amp purrs now!
wow!! to my ear on youtube that is one of the best amp tones you've demonstrated.. I had a Traynor TS-75 back in the day, but didn't sound this good....
Buy one and ship it my way and I'll make it sound this good.
That's because it was a transistor amp.
jay cee correct. that era and models (100-75-50-25) were all solid state. extremely loud, good break up and took pedals well. great gig amps
Hey Brad love your vids, especially love your Ron Paul shirt. One thing I would like to see more of is you actually performing the work instead of cutting away and coming back once the work is complete.
best sound I've ever had was this head with a 2 12 closed back fender cab with a boss super overdrive and a Les Paul studio. it was Pantera heaven. just hands down balls is what this amp has and it can take it to
Yep. It’s monstrous.
Now that is one crazy ass entertaining idea to want to throw an amp from the top of your roof onto some concrete. Surprised they didn't have an eighteen wheeler hit it after landing on the road. I have to believe the thought of doing it came from consuming some alcohol or other substance. They were all just to damn happy that it function in the end. Throughly enjoy the information that's put out in the vids.
Here's a link to the video where I took that clip: ua-cam.com/video/YjPfsOfFxXQ/v-deo.html
That was how Pete would test a new amp. Quality control in action.
really underrated amps, i got a YBA1 personally and loving it
Had this idea years ago glad to see someone followed through with it! Sounds great man.
Great Mods!! Killer sounding amp! I wonder if Alex Lifeson used Traynor back in the day, because I am getting the early Rush vibe from that amp.
these were great platforms for modding
I lived some 40 miles from the Traynor warehouse for a while
Sounds great. Traynor amps rock and so do you, my friend. Great mod. 🤙
Very good video. Everything was well explained. You did a great job on the mod. Liked your playing at the end. It showed what the amp is capable of.
FYI, the mystical input circuit is a double-T band pass filter to enhance the tone in the brilliance high range. The second tone control circuit is based on the same double-T principal. The type of simple bias control circuit evolved because of the estimator people, better is a separate pot for each output tube to adjust the bias since the output tubes are never perfectly matched. You also want to measure the current flow through each output tube since measuring the voltage drop over a resistor is somewhat bogus/inaccurate because of the resistors tolerance. Measuring the 8Volts (here in this case) does not account for a proper bias current. "Ohm law" I=U/R. Every additional component increases the cost for building the amp. The tech that needs to service the amp later is the last thing they think about when designing any amp. I designed amps and was involved by having them build in Taiwan. The goal is always to get the packaged amp of the ship for a specific costs/amount and not to please any tech or user f the amp, its just a calculated business. The rest is all stories people made up in the music industry. One guy like the daughter, some have fun with the mother in-law ...
I just wanted to note that the switching jacks on the amps effect how those resistors are put into the circuit. While the inputs may look the same they are a bit different. On the Traynor here, the number 2 input puts the input signal through a voltage divider of the 68k resistors, so the volume will be lower from the source going into V1. At input 1 it just goes through the one 68k and the other is floating. On the Fender (and Marshall if I'm not mistaken) the number 2 input does the same voltage divider trick, but at number 1 the 68k resistors are paralleled for a 34k stopper, allowing more source signal into V1. Also, that amp sounds fucking killer, good job dude.
Yes, I remember Garnet amps here in CN... never seemed that popular but how about GBX? Solid state, powered driver head and each cab was also powered. You could link cabs (4X10) and increase wattage and speakers. Another design way ahead of its time.
I have my eye on a virgin one and I like the killer sound, yet ultra simplicity of doing these mods. I'm going to pick it up and start another project. I have always been a Traynor fan and nothing bugs me more than late model, overcomplicated amps.
I can vouch for that 100%. One of the best amps I've owned was a YBA-1. It kicked as a guitar amp and as I remember it had EL84 tubes and is one of the reasons EL84's are my favorite tubes.
That model shipped with 6CA7 tubes, which is the North American equivalent of EL34. Most people stick EL34 in these Traynors when replacing.
Might have been a YBA-2
Great vids Brad! Can't wait to check this amp out :))
Thanks Andy. I can't wait to hear what you think about it. Came in at 57lbs. on the UPS counter. Don't throw your back out! :D
Canadian Marshall, nice playing too !
How's it going eh? Bought one of these brand new from John Bellone's Music in London Ont 1968. Bought 2, 4x10 cabs at the same time so I could have my bass "stack" :). It was a 100 watt beast! Fortunately, the young players are rediscovering these old amps and are collecting and using them today which is another tribute to Pete T.
almost all of my friends and myself used traynow bass amps for guitar they were incredible work machines and had a dynomite sound and a lot power and punch, we never had to use a distortion pedal , you just cranked up the master volune, they had 8 10" speakers in the cabinets I used two of these in the late 60's and through the 70's.
I have the pre master volume version of this amp from 68. its freaking loud but a tone monster.
Would have never thought i would see a great video of the exact same amp i have . I have the amp and cabinet both. Amp and the 8 ten inch speaker cabinet have all it original hardware and it still works great. I would like to have it gone over and refreshed though some day when i can get the coin and time. Sadly it doesn't see much usage these days . I was posting jam vids using the amp but now i have drifted away from guitar.Great video my friend .
Hate to hear about your drifting away. But life leads us down different paths sometimes. You'll be back. ;)
My molecules are now properly realigned---merci !!
Man this sounds great!
Also a lot of the tube circuits are pretty much the same that you would find in a RCA tube manual book.
Traynors are great. I have YBA-1 Bassmaster which is now a JTM45 and is a killer.
That was cool... when reference is made "From Hell"... I'm usually thinking it was a nightmare of a repair... apparently not the case.
"From hell" as in demon biker beast on black Harley wearing all leather and spikes and kicking ass. That kind of "from hell". :D
No worries. I bought a Fender Sidekick 50 bass amp for chump change, and had to fix it... the "FIX" turned out to be grade school level. Go figure. It's on my channel if you need a cheap laugh at what Guitar Center refused to buy because it was broken.
I was also fooled by that headline.
DeadKoby grrat
i just graduated with a degree in engineering and can say this guy knows more than me when it comes to electronics
SOUND KILLER GREAT JOB AND A UNDER RATED UNDER PRICED AMP FOR THIS QUALITY BUILT , YES THEY WILL GO UP IN PRICE SOON CRAZY SUSTAIN
In the late 60's I used a YBA1A bridged like a bassman with a 4x10 bottom.... Amp was smaller in size with a built in fan on one end..Wish I still had it 4 sure...
i have a 1972 y-gm4 25 watts 4 x 8 inches speaker sound is awsome traynor are for now still affordable piece of collections get them while you can !
Yep. They have not taken off like Marshalls and Hiwatts of this era. But they are built every bit as good.
Better!
The controversy of the most "musical" resistors to use in a guitar amp rages on. IYO, what happens if you use metal film or metal oxides in the signal path? I use them in all power paths, but what about in the grid stoppers and bypass circuits? What happens if you put them in for the 68ks in the input? Carbon comp resistors are so undependable even with 5% tolerance, which are not easy to find or afford. You have more knowledge about these small but very important issues a lot of us would like to know! I am nearing my conversion of a Champion 40 SS to a single channel AB763 Deluxe Reverb with a mid control and a master volume. It is so important to know every little detail, to choose the parts that will do the job you want and get the tone you are looking for! Thank you for these "gems" of highly informative videos. Thankz
Carbon resistors, both film and comp types, will tend to gradually rise in value a bit over time and with exposure to heat. That is to be expected. Use metal in places where close tolerances are critical and/or where high voltage and heat are an issue. In signal paths...voltages aren't usually going to be high enough to make a difference. And metal resistors are expensive. Not an issue if you build one or two amps, but if you stock parts like I do for a steady stream of repairs, you quickly realize you're just throwing money away by installing metal resistors in signal paths. As far as the tone...I'm not in a position to take a side on that really. I haven't done any A/B comparisons.
Had one of these. And others. Best guitar sound I have ever had was going thru a YRM1 head thru the bass cabinet made to do with the YBA -3 head. Here is a couple some things you may have not noticed. On most of their guitar amps, the input section is pretty much identical to the typical Fender input section. The output section - think Marshall. And either affixed to the metal shield that's on the underside of the top piece of the cabinet you pulled off their is a schematic on it or under it.
Had a great grunge sound to it. Also a hint of old Sabath.
Grew up with those amps in the seventies, but we all wanted Marshalls.
excellent video and a killer sounding amp
Good video! Keep it up!
At around 11 minutes, that resistor capacitor network is called a twin tee notch filter. It essentially produces a sharp, narrow scoop around a particular frequency. Due to the fact that it is bridging a 180 degree phase shifted signal back around the tube, it should actually boost instead of cut the center frequency of the network. The impedance of the tubes output should do weird things to the frequency response of the filter though. That would definitely be interesting to mod.
wow, this amp sounds great!
Love the darkness of it.
Smooth and sweet.
honestly these videos are so good.
Super impressive. Very EVH with a southern bite
I had one of these that I took in trade for something. Got the matching 4x12 (which I still have) with 2 old 20 watt greenbacks & 2 eminence squarebacks. That thing was LOUD & had a good plexi-ish sound. When youd light her up a little, things literally shook right off of shelves. But.... it shocked the livin' hell outa ya, & I didnt know any techs, & I didnt have any money, & I wanted high gain, & I was stupid.
I want one of these so bad! Wish I could justify another rig. I've been looking at YBA-200s since they were released; a friend of mine had one and it sounded fantastic.