I get why some previous posts mention the Traynor sound being muddy or not liking how the mids are handled in the old YBA amps . It helped me to remember the tone stack on Traynor tube amps is passive Fender-style and not like Ampeg's Baxandell based scheme. When I had the YBA1A and the V4B at the same time , the active mid-range control on the Ampeg really bested the 4 knobs on the Traynor. But with the newer YBA200 , there seems to be a lot more tonal variation than on the vintage "range expanders ". I like both Ampeg sound and Fender sound ; different horses for different courses.......
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Old Traynor Heads: Please School Me
- Thread starter donahue
- Start date
yeah good point. flat on the amp is Bass 1, Treble 0, Low Range Expander 10, High Range Expander 0. Classic Fender stack. The low range expander is actually the midrange control. The high range expander is a presence control (aka treble+).
I remember when i bought my first traynor i was confused by those "expanders" (terrible name). but they are simply midrange and presence, if only they had been named that they probably would have sold more. very confusing nomenclature.
I remember when i bought my first traynor i was confused by those "expanders" (terrible name). but they are simply midrange and presence, if only they had been named that they probably would have sold more. very confusing nomenclature.
So true ! How interactive do the 4 tone controls on the old YBA1 and YBA1A seem to be ? I can't remember and when I had the old amp I never grasped what you just said about the low expander being mids and high expander being presence .
they are as interactive as the fender tone stack. midrange is cut only, it needs to be at 10. treble and bass are boost only essentially (you need bass at 1 actually, so it's mostly boost only). treble and presence really only affect the top end, maybe a little upper midrange. bass adds some midrange but mostly just bass. Basically it's all about that midrange (low end expander) control. which is why so many think they suck, because they likely didn't have it cranked or understand the controls.
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
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Did Traynor offer a 612 or 610 sealed cabinet in the early 70s? I seem to recall playing through one (with a Bass Master Mk II head?) in Providence, Rhode Island back then. It kicked "behinder," in a good way.
Yes Dr Jim , Traynor sold the YC-610 in the early seventies. Here is a link to a pic and description.
Velvet Black - Models
Velvet Black - Models
Jim Carr
Dr. Jim
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In the linked picture , the head is a guitar amp. For sure , the YBA1 and YBA1A are much narrower.
I’ve had a couple YBA-1, and they sound great, but run out of headroom pretty quickly on bass.
For guitar, the YBA-1 is like a cross between a Marshall JTM45 and a Fender Bassman - really, really great!
The YBA-1A runs both the power and pre tubes at higher voltage for more headroom and power.
I think the 90 watt rating on the YBA-1A is dubious, but it’s definitely louder and cleaner than the YBA-1 for bass, and it sounds FANTASTIC.
And built to last basically forever...and incredibly easy to work on.
My YBA-1A is my “at home” amp, and it makes me smile every time I plug in
For guitar, the YBA-1 is like a cross between a Marshall JTM45 and a Fender Bassman - really, really great!
The YBA-1A runs both the power and pre tubes at higher voltage for more headroom and power.
I think the 90 watt rating on the YBA-1A is dubious, but it’s definitely louder and cleaner than the YBA-1 for bass, and it sounds FANTASTIC.
And built to last basically forever...and incredibly easy to work on.
My YBA-1A is my “at home” amp, and it makes me smile every time I plug in
I like Traynor stuff. I think guitarist’s have driven the price up, especially on the lower wattage tube stuff because they’re so easy to plexi-mod.
I had a YBA-3 for a while, I sold it because I just wasn’t dragging it out enough to justify keeping it. Crappy pics but the only two I got.
I had a YBA-3 for a while, I sold it because I just wasn’t dragging it out enough to justify keeping it. Crappy pics but the only two I got.
Just to clarify post #69 : the late seventies YBA1 was housed in a wider chassis and head box. Does anyone know if the late seventies versions differed electronically ?
Just look at the schematic,
But my MKII had huge huge transformer
and when i looked at other Traynors they had smaller transformers.
But yes I had the MKII head and 2x 2x15 matching cabinets.
and over a few months I blew alot of those Marsland speakers with just those 90 watts
The 2x15 cabs were very cheap used in the 90s. So eventually I had about 5 cabinets and would take the speakers out of the ugly beat up cabinets
and place them into my 2 matching better looking cabs.
If i used a 2x15 id usually come close or blow a speaker , but with 4x15 id be ok.
Back in the 90s nobody wanted these old heads and it was dirt cheap for traynors.
Seems people didnt get its literally a Bassman with Pentodes instead of beam tetrodes or EL34 instead of 6L6
as far as a JTM45 marshall it would be basically the same. Except the iron was bigger in the Traynor.
Eventually on the Internet word got out and prices went up.
Back in the day any amp tweaker DIY guy had piles of Tranyors. It was so cheap to buy them, guys would mod them or just take the transformers for other projects.
I met this guy at a party and he showed me his workshop, and it was literally a graveyard of traynors, either modded and working or empty cases
laying everywhere.
You could get these heads for 20 to 40 dollars sometimes.
Traynor used very high plate voltages for some heads, and were notorious tube eaters. All it took was a little cleanup and maintenance or sometimes nothing at all. you buy a head for 20 to 30 dollars " not working" then pop in 2 new output tubes and they usually fired up.
But my MKII had huge huge transformer
and when i looked at other Traynors they had smaller transformers.
But yes I had the MKII head and 2x 2x15 matching cabinets.
and over a few months I blew alot of those Marsland speakers with just those 90 watts
The 2x15 cabs were very cheap used in the 90s. So eventually I had about 5 cabinets and would take the speakers out of the ugly beat up cabinets
and place them into my 2 matching better looking cabs.
If i used a 2x15 id usually come close or blow a speaker , but with 4x15 id be ok.
Back in the 90s nobody wanted these old heads and it was dirt cheap for traynors.
Seems people didnt get its literally a Bassman with Pentodes instead of beam tetrodes or EL34 instead of 6L6
as far as a JTM45 marshall it would be basically the same. Except the iron was bigger in the Traynor.
Eventually on the Internet word got out and prices went up.
Back in the day any amp tweaker DIY guy had piles of Tranyors. It was so cheap to buy them, guys would mod them or just take the transformers for other projects.
I met this guy at a party and he showed me his workshop, and it was literally a graveyard of traynors, either modded and working or empty cases
laying everywhere.
You could get these heads for 20 to 40 dollars sometimes.
Traynor used very high plate voltages for some heads, and were notorious tube eaters. All it took was a little cleanup and maintenance or sometimes nothing at all. you buy a head for 20 to 30 dollars " not working" then pop in 2 new output tubes and they usually fired up.
Nice to know I’m not the only one pairing a Dingwall with a vintage Traynor!
Yea man!
Dingwall rocks through everything old and new, IMO.
Here’s a bass track I did a bunch of years ago re-amped through an old tube rig, off topic but what the heck:
Living in close proximity to Yorkville head quarters, I took my YBA-1 in for the three prong power cord mod. Quick and REALLY friendly turnaround to completion. The tech I spoke to had been there for decades, looked at my amp and said, oh, that is an old one! He told me that my amp was completely original, except for the obvious grounded power cord. i got my amp from a family member who, unknown to me, bought it in the early 70's and the accompanying 2x15 cab to play accordion through. Well, apparently that little experiment didn't last very long and the amp and cab were warehoused until offered to me ten years ago. it still has it's oem tubes in it!
I use it for home practice through my TCE 2x10
Fishheadjoe
I use it for home practice through my TCE 2x10
Fishheadjoe
Some factory service and that venerable old amp will last another 50 years ! But yeah , not a great accordion amp ......IMHO.
Can anyone please educate me on the differences between the early YBA-4 Bassmaster combo and the later version that was produced.
I notice that in addition to the 'Treble' and 'Bass' controls, the earlier versions feature the 'Low Range Expander' and the 'High Range Expander' in its tone stack whereas the later version has 'Bass', 'Mid', 'Treble' and a 'Presence' controls instead. Was this 'Mid' control essentially the same as the 'Low Range Expander' and the 'Presence' control the same as the 'High Range Expander'? What tends to be the preferred tone stack for bass guitar and are there any other differences between these 2 versions of the YBA-4 Bassmaster? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
I notice that in addition to the 'Treble' and 'Bass' controls, the earlier versions feature the 'Low Range Expander' and the 'High Range Expander' in its tone stack whereas the later version has 'Bass', 'Mid', 'Treble' and a 'Presence' controls instead. Was this 'Mid' control essentially the same as the 'Low Range Expander' and the 'Presence' control the same as the 'High Range Expander'? What tends to be the preferred tone stack for bass guitar and are there any other differences between these 2 versions of the YBA-4 Bassmaster? Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
