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Traynor YBA200 Tweaks & Observations
- Thread starter Brent Norton
- Start date
well, i dont really care about the power tubes for the moment, i just want to improve the preamp a little bit.
I'm thinking about buying this amp, but I'm not sure if it will be loud enough... How will this compete with a Crate GX1200 Head and 4x12 stack and a loud drummer?
Also, for a 'toolish' tone would I be happier with the matched 1510 cab or the XT808 cab?
A few weeks ago I went into a music store to price out a GK 1001RB stack, while there I played the matched Traynor stack and fell in love, I've always loved Traynor stuff. I'm prolly gonna do the preamp mod posted here when I get it.
What does everyone think of JJ tubes? Would they sound good in this application?
Also, for a 'toolish' tone would I be happier with the matched 1510 cab or the XT808 cab?
A few weeks ago I went into a music store to price out a GK 1001RB stack, while there I played the matched Traynor stack and fell in love, I've always loved Traynor stuff. I'm prolly gonna do the preamp mod posted here when I get it.
What does everyone think of JJ tubes? Would they sound good in this application?
Chef
In Memoriam
I'm thinking of dropping a pair of Mullards into my YBA's pre and I'm just curious if any of you know if I'll need to have an amp tech do this or if this is a DIY situation that any yahoo can do. Also, is it worth spending the 20 bucks on a pair of actual Mullards as opposed to another 12at7 from tubedepot.com?
Chef
In Memoriam
That's what I figured from Brent's original post, thanks Chef. Does it make sense to spend extra cash on those Mullards? Or would they not really make a noticeable difference?
Chef
In Memoriam
Ralphdaddy;
I am by no menas a tube guru, and cannot answer any q's on what brand has this or that merit over another. Sorry...
I am by no menas a tube guru, and cannot answer any q's on what brand has this or that merit over another. Sorry...
No problem, hopefully Psycho Bass Guy or another tube guru will happen along and offer some info for me, thanks again Chef.
Sorry guys - I been a little busy in the shop these months, haven't checked back up on this thread...
The pre-amp tube swap is something you can do on your own, without re-biasing. The stock pres are 2x 12ax7s (sovtek) plus 1x 12au7 (E-H). Trust me, you do NOT want to swap either of the ax7s for au7s. In this circuit, they make the amp unuseable. Again, I settled on a 12ay7(E-H) in V1, a 12at7(Mullard) in V2, and left the stock 12au7 in the splitter hole.
As long as it's a quality tube, it's less about who made it than what type it is. I've been very happy with Electro-Harmonix preamp tubes, and they sure cost less than Mullards.
It's a little tight to swap these tubes without removing the chassis, but it's do-able. Removing the top vent grill and loosening and sliding back the preamp tube 'retainer' gives you access.
Meanwhile, I still haven't gotten around to sending the upright through this head... Someday.........
The pre-amp tube swap is something you can do on your own, without re-biasing. The stock pres are 2x 12ax7s (sovtek) plus 1x 12au7 (E-H). Trust me, you do NOT want to swap either of the ax7s for au7s. In this circuit, they make the amp unuseable. Again, I settled on a 12ay7(E-H) in V1, a 12at7(Mullard) in V2, and left the stock 12au7 in the splitter hole.
As long as it's a quality tube, it's less about who made it than what type it is. I've been very happy with Electro-Harmonix preamp tubes, and they sure cost less than Mullards.
It's a little tight to swap these tubes without removing the chassis, but it's do-able. Removing the top vent grill and loosening and sliding back the preamp tube 'retainer' gives you access.
Meanwhile, I still haven't gotten around to sending the upright through this head... Someday.........
Hawkeye
Canuck Amateur
FWIW, I dropped NOS Mullard 12AT7's and 2AU7's into my VTL stereo preamp last year and was VERY impressed with the results in my "audiophile" 2-channel stereo system.
Smoother highs, quieter background (less hiss), more bass slam and extension, less brittle sounding in the mids. Lots of improvement. These NOS tubes were not cheap. Made in the UK and military spec, they cost me about $120 for 4 tubes.
On the other hand, I swapped out all the tubes (4 12AX7 & 1 12AU7) in the the preamp of the used Ampeg SVT3Pro I bought last fall with Electro Harmonix and immediately noticed that the unit ran quieter and cleaner. Not night and day, but still noticeable. For the price, the EH's did the trick.
One small oddity about the EH's was that, compared to the Sovteks and Groove tubes that were already in the SVT, they hardly glowed at all. You could barely see that they were on whereas the stock tubes glowed brightlly and could be easily seen through the vents in the cabinet.
I wish Traynor would make a 400 watt version of the YBA200. I think I'd buy that.
Smoother highs, quieter background (less hiss), more bass slam and extension, less brittle sounding in the mids. Lots of improvement. These NOS tubes were not cheap. Made in the UK and military spec, they cost me about $120 for 4 tubes.
On the other hand, I swapped out all the tubes (4 12AX7 & 1 12AU7) in the the preamp of the used Ampeg SVT3Pro I bought last fall with Electro Harmonix and immediately noticed that the unit ran quieter and cleaner. Not night and day, but still noticeable. For the price, the EH's did the trick.
One small oddity about the EH's was that, compared to the Sovteks and Groove tubes that were already in the SVT, they hardly glowed at all. You could barely see that they were on whereas the stock tubes glowed brightlly and could be easily seen through the vents in the cabinet.
I wish Traynor would make a 400 watt version of the YBA200. I think I'd buy that.
along the path of Haujobb's question, what are the differences between all of the 12A variants and 5751's and whatnot? I was thinking of starting a whole thread about this but maybe we can handle it here. Thanks guys!
I decided to stop pussin' out and ordered a pair of NOS 12AT7 Mullards from tubedepot.com, should be here next week and I'll let everyone know the difference
I decided to stop pussin' out and ordered a pair of NOS 12AT7 Mullards from tubedepot.com, should be here next week and I'll let everyone know the difference
haujobb said:
This particular circuit just loses it with au7s. No tone, no power.
The differences in 12A tubes is gain. This link has info on this: http://thetubestore.com/gainfactor.html
Hawkeye
Canuck Amateur
Some other highly regarded 12A**7 tubes are Amperex Holland, Philips Holland, Raytheon US, and Telefunken Germany.
If you're into looking on Ebay or Audiogon, there are lots of folks selling both used and NOS premium preamp tubes.
If you're into looking on Ebay or Audiogon, there are lots of folks selling both used and NOS premium preamp tubes.
12ay7 is commonly used in Fender Tweed amps.(REAL ONES)
12at7 ......................................reverb amps.
12au7............................Hi Fi & bass amps.
The 12at7 is not used for tone circuits although it will work & won't hurt anything most guitar players don't like the tone .
It is considered a switch (function) tube.
The 12ay7 has less gain & more transconductance than an ax7.
So does a 5751. I have a tube bass amp and in v1 I have an RCA 5751
v2................EH12ax7LPS
v3...............5814 (12au7)
military
JJ
12at7 ......................................reverb amps.
12au7............................Hi Fi & bass amps.
The 12at7 is not used for tone circuits although it will work & won't hurt anything most guitar players don't like the tone .
It is considered a switch (function) tube.
The 12ay7 has less gain & more transconductance than an ax7.
So does a
5751. I have a tube bass amp and in v1 I have an RCA 5751v2................EH12ax7LPS
v3...............5814 (12au7)
military
JJ
Hey guys, figured I'd let you know my first impressions after getting my Mullards into the YBA last night. Much fatter low end, WAY smoother and cleaner highs, more overall clarity and growl from my Warwick which used to sound muffled through this amp. No distortion, even with the pre set at 7 unless I really dug in hard. The overall sound became a lot more 3-D and just all around better in every way. For 40 bucks this was a no brainer. I'm assuming changing my power tubes would bring an even more impressive change in the tone of this amp but for now it's working a LOT better and moved itself off the sale block I believe. And tubedepot.com was great, shipped the tubes out about 20 minutes after I ordered them and they were home waiting for me to come back from vacation, life is good again 
As an aside, is there any point in replacing the 12AU7 phase splitter in this amp?
As an aside, is there any point in replacing the 12AU7 phase splitter in this amp?
Calling all Traynor converts
What is going on with their quality control? I keep hearing about problems with these units and now I have my own experience.
The lone Colorado rep for Traynor finally got a YBA200 in after I badgered him for a month. I go in to play the thing and it sounds really weak. I looked at all of the tubes and saw that the 2nd and 3rd preamp tube were not even functioning. The gain pot made loud pops whenever it was touched. Also, the front grill was bulging noticable in the middle.
I still love the YBA200 concept, but I'm a little spooked, regardless of the 2 year warranty.
What is going on with their quality control? I keep hearing about problems with these units and now I have my own experience.
The lone Colorado rep for Traynor finally got a YBA200 in after I badgered him for a month. I go in to play the thing and it sounds really weak. I looked at all of the tubes and saw that the 2nd and 3rd preamp tube were not even functioning. The gain pot made loud pops whenever it was touched. Also, the front grill was bulging noticable in the middle.
I still love the YBA200 concept, but I'm a little spooked, regardless of the 2 year warranty.
