FS/T: '66 or '67 Traynor YBA3 Custom Special

[Ben Clarke]

$100 PRICE DROP!! Gotta move some gear with a new addition to the stable falling into my lap.

This post simply must start with the, “I know I’ll regret this someday...” line. And I will, but I have various good reasons in my mind right now.

For sale is an extremely early Traynor YBA3 Custom Special. Previous owner claimed it was a ‘66 but I think it is a ‘67 as nobody that I talked to remembered any being released that early, and the first schematic is dated Jan. ‘67. Many of the early units were converted from 7027A to EL34, but this remains unmodified, and is perhaps a little more rare due to that. Regardless, it is a classic and historic piece of gear.

I worked in the US office for Yorkville when I bought it, so I sent it up to the factory for a complete going-over. I bought a NOS matched quartet of Philips 7027A for them to install so it would good for a long, long time. I told them not to bother putting new preamp tubes in, but they did anyway and the Sovteks they put in are included. Since that servicing I have dinked around at home with it and gigged it about a dozen times, so I’d conservatively say it probably has 30 hours on it. They benched the amp at 132W @ 4 ohm, 100W at 8 ohm with NO CLIPPING. They called it something like 200W “guitar power”. Regardless, the thing is a beast and is loud as balls. Ridiculously huge transformers probably don’t hurt in that department. Unfortunately they left the original 2-prong cord on it but I can have that replaced with a modern 3-prong and modern grounding done before shipping if the buyer would like.

The cosmetics are what they are – some of the drink rings on top are recent; I have never cleaned the exterior. The front panel with the cloth is a bit cockeyed as you can see, but everything including the handles (yes, two of them – I’m looking in your direction, Bassman 135) is rock solid (dig the upholstery tacks?) so I was not motivated to do anything with it. I would say that it is restorable if that’s your thing – you can even get vintage style cloth from Yorkville, but I like the vintage road dog look. All controls function as they should and operate smoothly and quietly. The fan runs smoothly and is as it should be, but is not silent. It’s fine for a normal live environment, but for situations with low environmental noise like theater or church, one might want to install some smaller quieter modern fans.

One cool thing about this amp is that the two speaker outputs are wired in series. Got a pair of 4 ohm fridges you want to run? No sweat, connect them both to the amp and it’s seeing an 8 ohm load. Ok, great, but what if you have a pair of 8 ohm cabs? Well, simply connect to one amp output then utilize the parallel connection on the first cab and you’re rockin a 4 ohm load just like you’re used to. The flexibility really becomes apparent when you consider that you can combine series and parallel connections to run a bunch of cabinets if you want, easily running four or even eight 8 ohm cabs if you want to get silly. Just like the old days – no substitute for cubic inches and iron.

Pictures are here: Skydrive link I'll see if I can embed the photos here so you do't have to click through...

Sale price is now dropped from $700 to $600 shipped to CONUS (add $25 West of Mississippi, please). I have shipped heavy tube amps before, including to Europe and Asia, and know what I'm doing. I will consider offers to ship internationally but will have to charge for the additional expense and hassle of doing so.

Local pickup or meet-up in the Buffalo/Niagara Falls/Rochester, NY area would be most welcome, too. Will meet near border for Canadian buyers.

All trades considered (cash either way as appropriate) but I am looking for:
Eden D112XLT (or neo)
Fender Deluxe (Reissue with reverb or older unit with or without verb) – no Hot Rod series. No silverface.
Recording or live sound gear, particularly decent quality or better PA cabs. No 2x15. Pretty much all set on PA amps, too.

[Ben Clarke]

These selected pics are about half the size of the 23 Skydrive files - click on the link in the first post above to get to larger (1024) and additional photos. I have huge 10MP versions that I can email if needed.

[Muckaluck]

Wow, the elusive Traynor holy grail of tube tone. What's the weight of this beast?

[Ben Clarke]

If you have to ask....


Just kidding - I'll check and post back later.

[hangman]

Bump for a great amp. I have a later model. BTW, is that an Element you have there? I have one of those too.

[Ben Clarke]

Weight is 59 lbs on the bathroom scale. Less than my B15N...

yep - that's the business end of my Element. Can't believe they're going to quit making them.

[semiprohooker]

'59 bassman 410 reissue interest you? If so pm me. If not, then free up.

[Ben Clarke]

cool amp, but too big for me. plus I'd have to buy a telecaster to go with it... thanks, though.

[bassboysam]

Greatest bass amp EVER! Someone buy this, you won't be disappointed.

[Ben Clarke]

thanksbump

[Ben Clarke]

bumping it up.

Don't be shy with trade offers, people!

[jamesy]

Dude, take a rag to that thing. No one's going to pay $700 for an amp that you won't even bother to clean up.

[Ben Clarke]

on the other hand, I've had enough gear arrive freshly Armor-Alled by some chump who thought it was a good idea.

I appreciate the advice but if I keep it that's how I want it. And I won't be crying about it if it doesn't go fast. If you want it, I'll clean it up before I ship it.

[jamesy]

Originally Posted by Ben Clarke

on the other hand, I've had enough gear arrive freshly Armor-Alled by some chump who thought it was a good idea.

What?

I appreciate the advice but if I keep it that's how I want it. And I won't be crying about it if it doesn't go fast. If you want it, I'll clean it up before I ship it.

No thanks, I own one already! They are great amps, and that is exactly why I'm nitpicking. I'm just saying, $700 shipped is already on the extreme high end on what YBA-3's usually go for, and while yours is an earlier example, its cosmetic condition doesn't warrant such a high price, even with shipping included. I'm saying this because I just bought one for $370 shipped last week. Granted, it is slightly later model than yours (its the kind with a master volume), but earlier YBA-3's are simply more desireable because of their rarity (and as a result, their collectability), not because they sound better than the later models.

[Ben Clarke]

I was saying that some people go overboard. I have had gear arrive with Armor All residue on it that had to be cleaned off. Sorry if that was a curveball for ya...

Oh, and thanks for being classy and implying that mine is overpriced. Surely yours arrived with a clean bill of health from the factory's best tech and high quality NOS power tubes? Folks are welcome to make offers if they feel the price is out of line.

It's not like I'm trying to hide any defect or condition issues. It is what it looks like - an early, perfectly functioning example of a classic amp. The cosmetics are plainly shown and its price is fair all things considered.


To those actually interested in the amp - I am an easy buyer/seller to deal with. I don't screw around and shoot straight. I might bristle a little when someone does this kind of thing to someone's ad....

Just shoot me a message if you have any questions or would like to make an offer.

Or, I'll keep playing it every other month or so and getting all the chicks.

[hangman]

I think the average price of a YBA-3 hovers around 500.00 dollars, or it used to, a few years ago. I bought mine for approx. that (a 70s model, w/ master volume). 700.00 shipped for an early model YBA-3 that has been serviced, with a set of NOS tubes (a 200.00 value right there) doesn't seem that high to me. That amp is good to go for many years.
370.00 for one is an absolute steal.
They are nice amps.

[jamesy]

Yeah I missed the NOS tube part. Good luck with your sale, dude.

[Ben Clarke]

Originally Posted by jamesy

Yeah I missed the NOS tube part. Good luck with your sale, dude.

Gee, thanks dude. Good job reading the whole ad before you jumped all over me.

I paid a bit over $200 for the Philips tubes (not that what I paid is all that relevant to the value as offered). I have always found quality old production tubes to be far superior in sound quality and durability to new Chinese or Russian tubes.

[recreate.me]

Yeah you can't miss the services part! I actually just sold my YBA3A, 70s model with master volume, because it needed tubes and some servicing. I couldnt afford to pay for all of that plus whatever else I was afraid they would find so I just sold it and bought a YBA200... not the same but cheaper.

The tone of the yba 3 was amazing an with the servicing this is solid, you won't need to worry!

[I<34080]

youre not supposed to say someone is charging too much or as an unfair price in the thread, PM all you want.