Traynor Yba-1 breaking up too quick.

[Reynolds 101]

I wish there were some magical pedal called "distortion limiter" that would just calm down this amp a little bit. In my dreams right?

 

[devnulljp]

I wish there were some magical pedal called "distortion limiter" that would just calm down this amp a little bit. In my dreams right?

You might look at modding it a bit. Depending on which model you have, you might be able to get it to run a bit cleaner. Have a look here:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

These mods are by my local amp guru who knows these amps inside and out.

EDIT: That clip you posted sounds really nice BTW

 

[BassmanPaul]

Unfortunately these mods are more guitar friendly than for bass. I did somewhat similar mods to a friends YBA1 many years ago. Mods included SS/tube rectifier switch, fixed/cathode bias switch, tetrode/triode switch among other tweaks. Worked very well as a guitar amp. None of them would have improved the output capabilities of the amp. It's more power that the OP needs.

 

[taurus1]

sounds like you YBA-1 is breaking up just a hair early, mine starts thickening and breaking up around 5. a recap and fresh tubes (if needed) would definitely help. Doug Pinnick of Kings X uses a YBA-1 as his main tone and enhances it with more powerful amps for the bottom end. that's what I would do, use it for your low mids and up and add a second high powered amp for a clean full range tone.

 

[jastacey]

It's a 50 watt amp ...no matter what you do ...it's still a fifty watt amp ...time to get a real bass amp

 

[taurus1]

It's a 50 watt amp ...no matter what you do ...it's still a fifty watt amp ...time to get a real bass amp

John Wetton used 50w Hiwatts and Marshalls with King Crimson and Asia etc.
just depends on the tone you're after.

 

[blendermassacre]

John Wetton used 50w Hiwatts and Marshalls with King Crimson and Asia etc.
just depends on the tone you're after.

I played a 50w Hiwatt (literally everything turned to 10) through a vintage fender 215 recording guitar tracks for my doom / stoner band this weekend, and I about pooped myself.

 

[BassmanPaul]

I played a 50w Hiwatt (literally everything turned to 10) through a vintage fender 215 recording guitar tracks for my doom / stoner band this weekend, and I about pooped myself.

50W for a guitar is loud indeed. 50W for a bass amp is basically a bedroom practice amp in today's world.

 

[Alex1984]

A 2x15 wouldn't get you any louder than running a pair of 410HE's. If you had the cash to buy another YBA-1 to slave, you could consider selling both and getting a YBA-3 (130W) or YBA-1A (90W)

 

[taurus1]

50W for a guitar is loud indeed. 50W for a bass amp is basically a bedroom practice amp in todays world.

who cares? if it sounds good and you like it, rock it. what kind of music do you play?

 

[Loel]

Wouldn't a clean boost pedal like MXR Micro Amp
work to give you a bit more clean boost?

 

[BassmanPaul]

All the suggestions about clean boosts will not alleviate the fact that 50W is far less than the OP needs. It's the OUTPUT stage that's running out of headroom. Any boost that is applied will just make the amp run out sooner.

 

[bongomania]

All the suggestions about clean boosts will not alleviate the fact that 50W is far less than the OP needs. It's the OUTPUT stage that's running out of headroom. Any boost that is applied will just make the amp run out sooner.

Correct, in fact I have to laugh--if the complaint is about the amp breaking up too soon, a boost pedal is the very worst possible suggestion!

 

[blendermassacre]

Correct, in fact I have to laugh--if the complaint is about the amp breaking up too soon, a boost pedal is the very worst possible suggestion!

Totally. I run a clean boost for more gain / grit.

 

[jastacey]

John Wetton used 50w Hiwatts and Marshalls with King Crimson and Asia etc.
just depends on the tone you're after.

And those were used either miked through the PA or recorded in the studio ...... So in a live context, they were used as stage monitors ....

 

[jastacey]

50W for a guitar is loud indeed. 50W for a bass amp is basically a bedroom practice amp in todays world.

+1 to that

 

[taurus1]

And those were used either miked through the PA or recorded in the studio ...... So in a live context, they were used as stage monitors ....

yes, this is called a "gig"

 

[jastacey]

yes, this is called a "gig"

and your very smart, to have put it in that context

 

[Calaverasgrande]

I used to run a YBA1a with an EV15" and it was loud enough to get complaints.
The earlier version is a bit lean in the watts though.
you might be able to get some more volume by rolling off the bass a little and aiming for a more mid focussed tone. Thats what these amps do best.

 

[WingKL]

Another option is to slave the output of your YBA1 into a power amp to run your cabs. You'll have to use a dummy load or DI box that can take a tap off the output while loaded with a speaker cab.