Old Traynor Heads: Please School Me

[markjazzbassist]

If you need beef and power get the 1a, 90 watts and it’s loud. The 1 is nice for studio or stage monitor with people who aren’t cranked. I used a 2B for jazz gigs and it was great but I’m playing with people who play soft and use dynamics.

I’ve owned those and loved all of them. Owned a YS-15 which is a nice cab.

traynor makes bullet proof gear that sounds amazing. Those Canadians knew what they were doing.

 

[donahue]

This turned out to be a really great thread. Thanks for all the participants. I really appreciate it.

 

[Inara]

In case anyone here, or in future searches, can benefit, I've attached a pdf I found that has schematics and some instructions.

 

[solodb]

Thanks Inara for uploading the schematic. Am I reading it right that there is 537 V on the plates of the power tubes ?

 

[HardNHeavy]

good ole Long & McQuade, still using this pig since the 80's.... [email protected] luck on your search, unfortunately i dont know much about their newer stuff

 

[Inara]

Thanks Inara for uploading the schematic. Am I reading it right that there is 537 V on the plates of the power tubes ?

Hopefully someone can answer. It's all heiroglyphics to me lol

 

[solodb]

HardnHeavy, that's a nice looking rig . I like the colour. Is that the TS-120B head ?

 

[solodb]

Here's my Traynor YBA200 with custom painted grill , vents , and new creamy knobs.

 

[byacey]

Then there's the really rare YBA3A Super Custom Special with 4 obscure power transmitting tubes that have high voltage going through the caps on their tops and making 250 watts. Traynor folklore has it an Ampeg technician was visiting Pete Traynor while he was developing the bad boy amp and said tech had something to do with the SVT. So which came out first : the Traynor Super Custom Special YBA3A or the SVT...... ??!!

Altec had some power amps that used 811A transmitting tubes, but because musicians like to poke and prod, having an exposed plate cap with potentially 1200 volts waiting to happen, isn't a wise idea fora MI amp.

 

[Ric5]

40w, 90w, mki, mkii etc etc.

I'd like to try one of these but not real sure which model/variation? Probably the higher wattage model?

I see them with different power tubes installed, master volume mods, death cap removal, bias mods etc etc. Not really sure what to make of it all, but almost all of them seem to be modded in some way.

I'm leaning towards the 90w YBA1A MKII, is that a good choice? Is there a better option?

Thanks for any and all input.

I am not a fan of Traynor … I don't like the tone and how they handle mids

I am more of an Ampeg and Hartke guy

 

[HardNHeavy]

HardnHeavy, that's a nice looking rig . I like the colour. Is that the TS-120B head ?

Yes sir.....played every gig with it. The cabinet is an old ampeg i believe, it's been painted over and speakers are EV's..Was just an empty cab when i bought them both used yrs ago for $150....I also run it thru a 4x10 hartke

 

[kjp360]

I have an early YBA3. It has some big heavy iron. Guessing maybe 65lbs. It is 30 inches wide and quite deep which makes it look funny on some cabs. Sounds amazing thru an EV loaded 2x15. It doesn't go out much anymore due to the weight

 

[Kelly robinson]

To the OP -
Don't forget that when the current lockdown ends - Traynor has a new 100 watt tube amp to release - no reviews yet of course but there is a tread in the amp section discussing it - might be worth a look for you ... Kelly

 

[mellowgerman]

My friend Andrew is a collector of vintage Traynors. Here is an article that he wrote for Reverb, in case you haven't already read it. Might not tell you which amp to buy, there's a lot of great history and general info there:
A Short Guide to Vintage Traynor Amps

 

[Bulltrout]

Sealed cabs for the win with those old beasts. There's a Super Custom Special on fleabay. Only 5 grand......

I've been looking for one for over a decade, and I saw that one, but someone is huffing glue if they think they'll get that price.

To the OP, check out some of their solid state offerings too, they're great as well.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Indeed, getting double the RMS wattage out of a power tube just by jacking up the voltage doesn't make sense to me.

The AC rating on the back panel of both the YBA-1 and the YB1-A is 115V, 2A. Seems the A would draw a lot more current if it doubled the output wattage. Oh well...

One point to consider here with this discussion about loudness and wattage, speakers cabs have a lot to say about the amount of dBs per watts experienced. 45 watts in to one 12” speaker is not going to be a loud as 45 watts in to 4-10s.

 

[Panek]

40w, 90w, mki, mkii etc etc.

I'd like to try one of these but not real sure which model/variation? Probably the higher wattage model?

I see them with different power tubes installed, master volume mods, death cap removal, bias mods etc etc. Not really sure what to make of it all, but almost all of them seem to be modded in some way.

I'm leaning towards the 90w YBA1A MKII, is that a good choice? Is there a better option?

Thanks for any and all input.

Get a Traynor Mono Block B, it's the best choice - daily user here, one of these has been my main amp in the studio and on stage for close to 5 years now.

 

[murphy]

.....paging bassmanpaul in T.O. .....can a pair of el34 tubes make 90 watts rms in the Traynor Bassmaster Mark 2 YBA1A ? A scanned copy of Traynor's catalogue from 1969-72 found at velvet black web-site states 90 watts rms at 5% distortion , so the maker claimed it was so.........

@BassmanPaul

 

[markjazzbassist]

They are still considered underrated and cheap even though the secret is out.

Remember (true story) they used to test models by dropping them off their 3 story building and immediately plugging them into a cab to verify it still worked without issue. They are over engineered and built like a rock.

 

[BigTreble]

One point to consider here with this discussion about loudness and wattage, speakers cabs have a lot to say about the amount of dBs per watts experienced. 45 watts in to one 12” speaker is not going to be a loud as 45 watts in to 4-10s.

I half agree. Another point to consider is that is only half true. The efficiency of the cabinet also plays a role. It's a sum of all it's parts situation. Watts can only tell half the picture as can the cabinet without knowing the other. I think that's what dbsfgyd1 is saying. Forgive me if wrong.

Granted, most 4x10 will be more sensitive than a 1x12, but doubling watts gets 3db louder no matter how many drivers you have. Halving impedance doubles power seen by the speaker. Sure the 10s won't have to work as hard, but if both cabs are 8ohm and the 12 is 99db vs a theoretical 92db for the 4x10 then at 45 watts you can only be so loud AFAIK which is about ~108db for the 92db and 115db for the 99db speaker. The more air a speaker needs to move the more it needs to work. Bass = air... So naturally more cones is easier to move.

So while the 4x10>1x12 example from the poster is usually the case, it's not necessarily true 100% of the time. You can't cheat science.

At least that's how it works in HiFi.