Thanks for your review CP. I'm eager to find which direction I might go between the Traynor SB500H and the new Fender Rumble head. Not likely I will have a chance to find them in the same room though. I'm in the tone camp of my Genz GBE 600, but not married to it, and would like to have a class D backup.
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NAD: Traynor SB500H (micro head) and SB115 Combo
- Thread starter CPplaysBASS
- Start date
As I mentioned in one of my posts above, I don't have much knowledge of the impact different tone control frequencies have in terms of the "big" picture. However, there does seem to be quite a difference (on paper at least) in the low mids between the Traynor SB500H and GK MB500. How that would translate to my ears, I have no idea but I suspect it's the Lo-Mids at 400Hz that is key to what I keep referring to as that tighter than tight tone
Traynor SB500H
Treble: 8kHz
Hi-Mid: 1kHz
Lo-Mid: 400Hz
Bass: 50Hz
Low Expander: 40Hz boost, 550Hz cut, 10kHz cut
GK MB500
Treble: 7kHz
Hi-Mid: 1kHz
Lo-Mid: 205Hz
Bass: 60Hz
Aguilar TH500
Treble: 4 kHz
Mid Range: 180 Hz – 1 kHz
Bass: 40 Hz
for those interested .....these are the same values given to me by Tryanor when I bought the SB200 head .....so this head would sound the same to me, only LOUDDDDERRRRR !
Not much to add to my previous comments about the SB500H after my first gig with it other than to say it passed the test with ease. Tight bottom and clarity that had no problem finding it's place in a very busy mix. To be honest, my onstage volume was a lot louder than I usually have it. I had PA support, but I wanted to really test the amp. No one else in the band complained - and they usually would - so I take it they agree it was sounding good!
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- Sep 3, 2006
- 4,358
- 6,117
- Disclosures
- Authorized dealer for Dingwall, Genzler, Phil Jones Bass, Cort, Traynor, Yorkville Sound
Have you tried the SB500 with just the 115 neo? Would that IYO, carry a small room gig with bass/guitar/drums/vocals?
Looks like it will be a couple of months before I can get mine.
Looks like it will be a couple of months before I can get mine.
Haven't tried the SB500 with only the 115 Neo in a band setting, but it should work in that scenario no problem, without breaking a sweat.
I also have the SB115 combo (200W, 4 ohms) that I use all the time with a full band. In one case we played to a 250 capacity room and I didn't go through the PA, and I heard back some recorded audio afterwards (person recording was maybe half way back) and was surprised how well the bass was sitting in the mix (and that was with 3 guitars and drums). I was running the combo at about 65% of it's capacity.
Of course it depends if your drummer is miking his kit and how loud your guitarist is. Not sure how many watts the SB500 puts out into an 8-ohm cab ... 275 to 300 I guess? It would more than do the job for me personally in any situation - medium sized clubs and on-stage monitoring for festivals. I LOVE the SB500 and NEO cabs, but to be honest, it's the SB115 combo I'll be taking to 80% of my gigs. Plenty loud enough and just so easy to carry around. (If you are curious, here's a vid of me playing with the SB115 on a stand. I had PA support, but unsure how much of my sound was the PA and how much was the amp. Either way, we have a really dense mix and I was hearing myself clear as a bell on stage: )
And a pic of both amps side by side
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Caveat right off the top. I'm one of Traynor's biggest fans. I also own the Traynor SB115, Yorkville (same as Traynor) XS400H and XS800H heads, TC210 and TC115 NEO cabs, and until this afternoon owned a Traynor YBA200-2. I have also owned many Yorkville cabs at one time or another (XC410, XC210, XC115, XC808).
I have owned other makes of amps and have played through pretty much every brand of amp at festivals where the backline is provided or at rental rehearsal rooms. I always hated the "blue fur" Yorkville models to be perfectly honest, but from the XS series heads on forward, I've been very happy with everything Traynor.
So you can take that in one of two ways ... I was going to love the SB500H no matter what, or the bar was set so high that the SB500H wouldn't be able to meet the high expectations.
I was prepared for the latter ... I had the funds to go completely the opposite way and get a full size Traynor DB 800H to replace my very dependable but very aged Yorkville XS800H. With my two 8-ohm cabs totalling 800W, I was unsure whether this tiny little amp (did I mention it weighs 3.5 pounds??) was going to have the guts to keep up. This is my first experience with a micro head of any make.
However, I have been regularly gigging with the SB115 combo for a few months now and I just love that thing. A 200W magic box as far as I'm concerned. So when the SB500H was announced, I knew I was getting it as soon as it was off the trucks and that was literally the case here. Long & McQuade just took shipment of the amps for the first time today. I was there with my $540 ($470 + tax) as fast as I could go without endangering lives.
So I've been home about 90 minutes, using the amp for just 45 minutes to this point. Still faces the crucially important band setting test. With that said, I've had enough "sounds awesome at home, not so awesome with the band" moments to better predict how it will sound at an actual gig.
So as a comparison, I'll start with the SB115 combo that is now my #1 gigging amp.
The SB115 (200W) is a VERY warm bassy amp, but I don't find it muddy at all. It can be heard through a full band mix with ease. Just very deep, with more bass than I ever expected from a lightweight combo (31 pounds). Depending on the room I'm in, I typically have the bass flat, both mids at 2 o'clock, and treble could be anywhere between noon and 2. I have NO use for Low Expander (a variation of scoop) on this amp at all. Always off. In a full band setting (two guitars, keys, pedal steel and hard hitting drummer) I have the gain at about 10 o'clock and volume at 60%. With PA support, I hear myself on stage better than I ever had. Love what I'm hearing. I also keep the amp on a stand angled up towards my head. Last Friday I played a fairly decent sized club with no PA support. I kept pretty much the same settings and volume. I sensed I was getting heard out front and my wife captured a bit of video from the show on her iPhone with that tiny phone mic and I was very happy to hear the bass coming through the way I had hoped.
Now the Traynor SB500H (500W) seems to be a totally different amp altogether. Same controls and everything, but tonally very different. I'm assuming that mostly has to do with the cabs - in this case Traynor 210 and 115 NEOs but I’m not entirely sure.
As far as using a 500W head with cabs that are 400W each (8 ohms) ... no problems here. I never understood the whole cab matching thing and I know many TBers would be aghast with my rig ... combining a 210 with a 115 and an amp that has a wattage rating lower than my cabs. Hey, it works for me! The cabs sound great together with 400W, 500W and 800W heads.
But I digress ...
Everything flat, the SB500H sounds GREAT, but bright and cutting. Not shrill or brittle bright - just brighter than I was expecting after using the SB115 regularly. With the 500H, I'm definitely going to be using the Low Expander to "warm" things up a little. Also, it will pump out more volume than I ever need - no issues there. But at 500W, it is not as loud as my 400W Yorkville XS400H. I'm no technician but do realize that wattage as a predictor of volume can be a fallacy. Either way, no concerns volume wise at all.
Very focused tight tone. I couldn’t make it sound muddy no matter what I did. With my Yorkville XS400H or 800H, my tone could get a little too “boomy” on occasion. I’m finding the SB500H to have a full bottom end, but like my comment about mud, I’m not sure “boomy” is possible with my setup. “Balanced” – that’s the word. String to string balance was a noticeable improvement as I’m used to having to lay back a bit when hitting my E string. I don't get that E-strong boom with this amp. Not sure what the secret is there … the amp doesn’t have a built in compressor or anything, and I’m thinking I won’t need my compressor pedal when using this set up. I’m giving credit to the amp over the cabs since I’ve used the cabs with other heads. The 500H is a very unique animal in my experience.
Tone controls have a very wide range too – again I’m no technician and I wouldn’t understand the frequency specs if I actually read them, but adjusting each control from, say, noon to one o’clock makes a noticeable difference.
Between my two most recent amp purchases, the SB115 combo and the SB500H head, the SB115 combo is still going to be coming with me on the majority of gigs. It awesome that the 500H is only 3.5 pounds, and I have NEO cabs … but the 31 pound combo is still more convenient to transport and has power to spare for most of the gigs I do (mostly with PA support).
However, for $470 and in search for a new head after selling my Traynor YBA200-2 (I much prefer solid-state amps) the SB500H is a hands-down winner in my books.
Edit #1: The apparent increased loudness from the XS400H vs the SB500H was an apparent trick to my ears. I realized I never use the scoop control on the XS400H, but had the Low Expander (to me, it's a scoop) on the SB500H. The adjustment in reducing the mids caused me to perceive a lower volume. I turned the amp back on, turned the Low Expander control off without adjusting any thing else ... hello more loudness!
Edit #2: I failed to mention build quality. Traynor has a reputation of building gear that you could toss off the top of a skyscraper and it would only incur cosmetic damage. Time will tell, but the SB500H is all metal, has brackets so that if for some reason you dropped it face first, the controls would never touch the ground. It may not survive a fall off a skyscraper, but it surely would if some drunk knocked it off the top of your cab.
Edit #3: Tone / frequency specs:
Treble: 8kHz
Hi-Mid: 1kHz
Lo-Mid: 400Hz
Bass: 50Hz
Low Expander: 40Hz boost, 550Hz cut, 10kHz cut
Picture time!! ...
How would you rate the Yorkville XC410? I have a trade opportunity to pick one up. I know basically nothing about this brand so any info on those cabs or comparisons to other cabs would be awesome. =)
I haven't been able to find any video demos of these amps online. I play the much older Traynor Mono Block II from the late seventies. I love the way it sounds. I always play with the gain on full to get a super dirty fuzz tone without using pedals. However, my old Mono Block is becoming unreliable, cutting out. Do these new Traynor amps get any distortion if you turn up the gain or is it all clean tone?
All clean ... I use a Way Huge Pork Loin pedal to add grit.
The Traynor or Yorkville 400h heads have a tube preamp that has a beautiful distorted tone when maxed though. Nicer than any pedal I've ever tried and you can kick in the tube gain with an optional foot switch. Also super clean in solid-state mode. Everything between super clean and tear-your-face-off distortion can be dialed in with these amps. Both are discontinued models but can be found online at steal prices (especially the Yorkville) and are pretty much indestructible in my experience. The Traynor 800h is still a current model with the same options as the 400h, just twice the wattage. I've owned both and, to my ears, I actually prefer the 400h version. Seems to have a little warmer and slightly richer tone with a ridiculous amount of volume to spare.
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Hey all!
I just purchased a Traynor SB500H today !!! Will be my backup amp..... But, honestly, after playing it this afternoon, this may be my go to amp for a while too !!!
I am awaiting the delivery of a Schroeder 1212L cabinet next week and will post my comment with the SB500H !!!
Great canadian product! Sounds fat, warm and with superb definition! I am impressed! Much much much more than the Ampeg Portaflex series of amps, really!
I just purchased a Traynor SB500H today !!! Will be my backup amp..... But, honestly, after playing it this afternoon, this may be my go to amp for a while too !!!
I am awaiting the delivery of a Schroeder 1212L cabinet next week and will post my comment with the SB500H !!!
Great canadian product! Sounds fat, warm and with superb definition! I am impressed! Much much much more than the Ampeg Portaflex series of amps, really!
Update:
I played it at my rehearsal yesterday evening with a GK 210RBS cabinet. The head is so easy to dial a good tone from! The controls are sensitive and really well built, the adjustments are easy to make and the low expander makes real wonders, when used with moderation, of course!
Overall, a superb head, very light!
I will post an update when I receive my Schroeder 1212L cab!
I played it at my rehearsal yesterday evening with a GK 210RBS cabinet. The head is so easy to dial a good tone from! The controls are sensitive and really well built, the adjustments are easy to make and the low expander makes real wonders, when used with moderation, of course!
Overall, a superb head, very light!
I will post an update when I receive my Schroeder 1212L cab!
Not a "demo" of all the features, but sounds pretty phat to me in this video...
And it doesn't answer your distortion question, but @CPplaysBASS already did.
(Edit: Ooofah...just realized that I quoted a post from two years ago!)
Hi bebass, I went to your website to check out what you told me about the quilter bass block in another thread, then found out about this traynor little guy... which one would you recommend? I own an Aguilar TH500 which I love, I've owned traynor and yorkville amps in the past and they were always great. I know very little about Quilter. I'm looking for an amp backup. Definitely leaving the mesa subway d800 out of the equation because of the higher price. 499 and 599 for this traynor and the bass block respectively sound much more adequate for my wallet... thanks!
- Sep 3, 2006
- 4,358
- 6,117
- Disclosures
- Authorized dealer for Dingwall, Genzler, Phil Jones Bass, Cort, Traynor, Yorkville Sound
As you probably know, as a vendor I can't "praise" or even give a subjective personal opinion of either amp. Factually, the Quilter does have the newer tech and higher power ratings. I think I can say I would personally feel equal about the two company's product quality. I do wish Traynor would come out with an SB800 with the newer power chip just to be more competitive with the newer amp releases. But also can truthfully say that with today's efficient cabs, we often chase more power when it really is not needed. I think, speaking strictly spec wise, that the Traynor would be a more similar to what you have but with tonal differences (and therefore perhaps - for you - either an upgrade or not an "upgrade") while the Quilter would be a more newer tech higher power rating amp.
Good to see this revived, Traynor SB115 is a fantastic combo.
The SB500 is as well.
My SB115 is still going strong and has never let me down.
The SB500 is as well.
My SB115 is still going strong and has never let me down.
I love this guy's tone? It's just amazing to me. How do I get my Stingray to sound like this (please don't say buy a Jazz Bass). Also, I love my Traynor SB110, a very much under rated amp
