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200W Tube or 500W Solidstate?!!!

#21
BillMason said:
JimmyM says that the LMII can be made to sound very close to vintage Ampeg, so (never having played it mind you) I'm not sure about the "will be cleaner" comment - have you played one? The Traynor can also be very clean, depends on how you play it - heavy attack versus light attack, lots of gain versus just a little gain, etc. I have played the Traynor, just not at high volume, and found it to be very clean and smooth sounding.
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Let me just clarify...I have said in the past that the LMII sounds just like a clean running Ampeg tube amp. Since I got my SVT running again, I've AB'd them in my 810, and I still stand by that remark somewhat. The LMII sounds like the SVT at a low to medium volume. Once you get past the medium volume, the SVT's tone opens up in a way that the LMII can't, and I don't mean distortion. I mean a beautiful, open, yet totally clean tone. No matter what volume you have the LMII, it will sound like the medium volume SVT. Also, forget distortion with an LMII. It's not on the menu.

Those who disagree with me about the LMII sounding like an Ampeg tube amp have obviously never AB'd them ;)
 
#22
As an LMII owner, I've never quite understood this observation. I've owned lots of Ampeg's tube amps, and I've always felt there was a sonic "family-resemblance" between them. The Ampegs I'm familar with have the defining tube bass amp sound. The LMII has a clean, clean, clean sound -- much more like a GK with the treble turned down than like an Ampeg.

Now I've never owned a solid-state Ampeg amp, so if that's what Jimmy is referring to, the comparison may make more sense!

BillMason said:
JimmyM says that the LMII can be made to sound very close to vintage Ampeg, so (never having played it mind you) I'm not sure about the "will be cleaner" comment - have you played one? The Traynor can also be very clean, depends on how you play it - heavy attack versus light attack, lots of gain versus just a little gain, etc. I have played the Traynor, just not at high volume, and found it to be very clean and smooth sounding.
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#23
No, I'm talking about comparos with B-15's and SVT's, Greg. Compared to Ampeg's SS amps, the LMII blows them away for tube tone. Next time you get your hands on one, try an AB and you will be pleasantly surprised by the LMII.
 
#26
The YBA isn't the most reliable amp on the market: there are a lot of threads in this forum that attest to that fact. It'll also be more expensive to maintain in the long run, but it does get crunchy, something the LMII doesn't do.
 
#27
maevinj said:
I don't know why so many people gripe about the tone on this amp.
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I gripe about the yba200-2 tone because I find it very hard to get a tone I can live with. To my ears it has a really strong peak at about 2K. I've played it using an Alembic F1-X and an SVP-Pro on the front end while plugging into the power amp section and the tone is to die for. I would compare the tone with the F1-X to an Aguilar db359, and the tone with the SVP-Pro to an SVTII (though a bit on the quiet side). I realize that Traynor was trying to give this little amp its' own voice but, why not start with a pre-amp that will pass a flat signal to start with and then add or subtract. I realize that the flattest sound from the Traynor pre is mids on full and bass and treble at about 9:00. but, that still is a far cry from the sound you get with the F1-X at the same setting or the SVP-Pro with the drive off and all the tone controls set to 12:00. I just can't figure out what they were thinking.:confused:
 
#28
GreyBeard said:
I gripe about the yba200-2 tone because I find it very hard to get a tone I can live with. To my ears it has a really strong peak at about 2K. I've played it using an Alembic F1-X and an SVP-Pro on the front end while plugging into the power amp section and the tone is to die for. I would compare the tone with the F1-X to an Aguilar db359, and the tone with the SVP-Pro to an SVTII (though a bit on the quiet side). I realize that Traynor was trying to give this little amp its' own voice but, why not start with a pre-amp that will pass a flat signal to start with and then add or subtract. I realize that the flattest sound from the Traynor pre is mids on full and bass and treble at about 9:00. but, that still is a far cry from the sound you get with the F1-X at the same setting or the SVP-Pro with the drive off and all the tone controls set to 12:00. I just can't figure out what they were thinking.:confused:
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Fair enough. To each his own. I absolutely love the tone I can get with this thing though.
 
#29
Bassin Since 91 said:
Im currently looking for a head to go with my Goliath 4x10 4Ohm cabinet- i have come to two options, and i cant decide which one! They are-----
-Markbass 'Little Mark' II
which is a 500W solidstate head OR
-Traynor YBA 200
which is a 200W all tube head.
What i really want to know is which one would be 'louder' and have more headroom? (i hear tube watts sound a lot louder than solid state watts).
Some suggestions please............ :help:
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Try out a Peavey VB-2 before buying either.
 
#30
From owning the Traynor and playing the LMII, I would actually say to go for the LMII. If you really had your heart set on a tube head, for $100 more the Peavey VB-2 is a lot nicer head and comes off sounding louder than the Traynor although its only 25 watts more. You have more options with the Peavey and the only drawback is going to be that it's heavier than the YBA200. Don't gimme wrong, the YBA200 is nice but through my 2x10's and 1x15" it just didn't sound loud enough (and I had the mids cranked pretty high) for a 200w tube head.

The LMII is gonna be lighter, a LOT easier to store, and it will sound just as loud if not louder (honestly, my Backline 600 is louder than my Traynor). Tone-wise, the LMII should please anyone with a discerning ear, even though you wont really get tube breakup, and if you really want a more tube-ish sound then you can always get a tube preamp or emulator.
 
#31
KPAX said:
Try out a Peavey VB-2 before buying either.
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I couldn't agree more. Everytime I turn this thing on, I'm more excited about the tone! With various combinations of Epifani cabinets, I'm getting the sweetest "clean-with-slight-crunch" tone you could hope for. It's exquisite (and pretty loud, too)!

I have a Mesa Powerhouse 115 coming soon, which should add a different dimension to the sound!
 
#32
Mr_Sore_Fingerz said:
From owning the Traynor and playing the LMII, I would actually say to go for the LMII. If you really had your heart set on a tube head, for $100 more the Peavey VB-2 is a lot nicer head and comes off sounding louder than the Traynor although its only 25 watts more. You have more options with the Peavey and the only drawback is going to be that it's heavier than the YBA200. Don't gimme wrong, the YBA200 is nice but through my 2x10's and 1x15" it just didn't sound loud enough (and I had the mids cranked pretty high) for a 200w tube head.

The LMII is gonna be lighter, a LOT easier to store, and it will sound just as loud if not louder (honestly, my Backline 600 is louder than my Traynor). Tone-wise, the LMII should please anyone with a discerning ear, even though you wont really get tube breakup, and if you really want a more tube-ish sound then you can always get a tube preamp or emulator.
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If you are looking for light, the LMII or the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 are much better choices. I find the LMII to be a bit of a "one-trick pony" (i.e. every flavor of extra-clean you can imagine). The Shuttle has much more tonal variation.

But if you're looking for that sweet, full, crunchy, growly wonderful tube sound and your back can handle the 57-ish lbs of the Peavey VB-2, this amp should be on your shopping list!

Just my opinion, of course!
Greg
 
#33
GreyBeard said:
I gripe about the yba200-2 tone because I find it very hard to get a tone I can live with. To my ears it has a really strong peak at about 2K. I've played it using an Alembic F1-X and an SVP-Pro on the front end while plugging into the power amp section and the tone is to die for. I would compare the tone with the F1-X to an Aguilar db359, and the tone with the SVP-Pro to an SVTII (though a bit on the quiet side). I realize that Traynor was trying to give this little amp its' own voice but, why not start with a pre-amp that will pass a flat signal to start with and then add or subtract. I realize that the flattest sound from the Traynor pre is mids on full and bass and treble at about 9:00. but, that still is a far cry from the sound you get with the F1-X at the same setting or the SVP-Pro with the drive off and all the tone controls set to 12:00. I just can't figure out what they were thinking.:confused:
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I would observe that the YBA is somewhat unique. It's not wholly without charm but it is one of the most counter- intuitive amp's I've ever experienced when it comes to getting a sound.

I'm running a chinese 'grey plate' 12 AX7 in 1 and an AT 7 in 2 (I think that is a JJ maybe). I run the input gain pretty high - much higher than I would most other amps. With my cab's Treble is OFF, Mid about 11, Range about 10:30 - that one is critical - Bass noon to about 2:00. Scoop and Resonance are all the way down. That seems to get me into a pretty good BF vibe. That is through my cab's though - this amp is real picky about which cab ...

Far as reliability goes - I've heard more horror stories from shipping than anything else - given the way I pack and insure- frankly I'm not at all concerned there. After that there is the magical exploding resistor (output screen ?) with the Generation 1 amps like mine. I haven't heard of reliability issues with the Gen 2 amp. There is a mod to take the Gen 1 auto-biasing out and replace it with the Gen 2 circuit ... so when Passinwind frees up after wind surfing season dies down, hopefully he'll work that little bit of magic for me.

The YBA is priced as an entry level tube amp. A lot of the buyer's are first timers used to indestructable solid state amps - well at the price point - this is something different. I think folks have to keep a little perspective on this amp ... It isn't priced like an SVT or a HiWatt after all. I sure don't expect to thrash it the way I could my GK and expect it to survive - not that I'm into thrashing my gear mind you. I just don't worry a whit about the GK and the Traynor is always going to get the kid glove treatment while I own it ...

Now Greybeard has mne thinking - I've got a Sans Amp, a BMax and a couple of mic pre's laying around. Power amp in hmmm.... it's time to get busy ...

and after all that - I still wouldn't buy one of these as my only amp. It's a cool thing to have in the stable but it's no where near flexible enough to serve all my needs live. It's a cool trick, but it's still only one trick...
 
#35
I use my Sansamp BDDI into the Power Amp In on my YBA200-2 and I think it sounds awesome. I use a very slight variation of the SVT setting on the Sansamp and play through an Ampeg 8x10E. I still can't get a tone I can live with while using the Traynor's preamp, but with the Sansamp, I found a tone I love!
For my first all tube head, I really enjoy the Traynor YBA200-2. I have to crank it to cut through 2 Marshall guitar heads, but it does it's job!
 
#36
Sifl said:
I use my Sansamp BDDI into the Power Amp In on my YBA200-2 and I think it sounds awesome. I use a very slight variation of the SVT setting on the Sansamp and play through an Ampeg 8x10E. I still can't get a tone I can live with while using the Traynor's preamp, but with the Sansamp, I found a tone I love!
For my first all tube head, I really enjoy the Traynor YBA200-2. I have to crank it to cut through 2 Marshall guitar heads, but it does it's job!
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I haven't tried my BDDI with my YBA! that'll be next...:bassist:
 
#37
Psycho Bass Guy said:
I'm not particularly fond of the YBA-200 based on numerous reported problems with them here, but under normal operational conditions, tubes and transistors have EQUAL service lives. However, the YBA-200 has a reputation for eating output tubes when it malfunctions .
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This is true. However, the YBA-200-2 seems to have fixed all of the reliability issues at hand with the amp's auto-biasing system (as it doesn't exist anymore). My YBA-200-2 replacement for my YBA-200 that malfunctioned is on its way to me. I will update as time goes as to its reliability.

GreyBeard said:
I haven't tried my BDDI with my YBA! that'll be next...:bassist:
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I use a PDDI (ParaDriver) through the YBA. It is absolutely sick. I love the tone. But then you turn on a fuzz and you really know that you've got something that rocks. However, I prefer it into the head's preamp instead of through the Preamp-In option. I just think it gives a better blend of the Traynor's bright tone and the PDDI's deep, dark (that sounds kind of evil) tone. Just put the 'Blend' feature on the pedal to good use.
 
#40
I have both a YBA200-1 and the LM11. The LM11 gets the gigs - there are just too many variables with the YBA -tube selection and tonestack plus volume challenges.

YBA stays home whereas the LM11 does the traveling and works so well with my pair of Bag End S-15Ds.

If I have to jog one on, it will be the Traynor. Good luck
 

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