Traynor YBA-3 Custom Special

My YBA-3 Custom Special was made in 1973 according to the serial number on the back. It was a bargain, I got it for less than 100 USD in very nice condition. Since it was made in the 70's it means that this one has both a Volume (Gain) control and a Master Volume control, opposed to those made in 1967-68 which only has the Volume/Gain control.
It's a very versatile amp, which I have had succes playing both rock, jazz and pop with, though it sounds the absolute best for rock and progressive rock. I have lent it out to other bass players as well and they all liked it.
It has one channel but two inputs. I think one of the inputs are a bit brighter but actually I'm not sure. There are no effect loops or headphone jack. Just plain input and output.
Only thing I wish it had is a middle control, to get even better sound shaping but that's not something i really miss. I don't use the low and high boost switches. The EQ's give me all the adjustment possibilities i need plus the high boost function is quite noisy, much more than if you just boost the treble a lot.
I use this amp both for practice and gigging and it's a REALLY LOUD AMP. It has more than enough power both for practicing with a lout 7-piece band and playing at larger venues (though usually supported by the PA). It seems that nobody really knows or can agree how much power this amp delivers. I can't say for sure if the design were changed over the years, but it seems as the 67-68 models have less power (100-120 Watts) and the early 70's models have more power (140-200 Watts). I was curious about this so I put it under test in my electronics lab (I'm under education as an electronics engineer). I tested it with a 1 kHz test tone, ~4 Ohms dummy load and an oscilloscope. I measured the power to be around 170-180 Watts before the amp goes into severe clipping. I with this test setup I made a "burn-in" test where i let it play for full power for around 30 minutes and it ran perfectly without any problems. It got quite hot though, but this scenario will of course never happen when the amp is played on with a bass. The fact that the tubes are fan cooled is in my opinion a very good idea, since the tubes will last longer.
One feature I miss is speakon plugs since they are the most safe, but since the amp was made 35+ years ago where jack plugs were the standard speaker plug (and sadly still is, they are dangerous if they fall out of the socket, they can fry your amp in no time) that's not a flaw to the amp. The amp could easily be modded to have speakon plugs.

I use this amp primarily with an ESP bass guitar with active electronics, so it has a high output which the amp handles just fine, turn the volume knob a bit down on the amp and you get a very warm and clean sound. Turn the volume knob a bit up and master volume down and you get a nice dirty distortion perfect for playing like the progressive bassplayers from the 70's (think Chris Squire, Burke Shelley, etc.). I've tried it with both Fender Jazz and Fender Precision basses (though I don't own one myself yet) and it sound just wonderful. It's surprisingly noiseless, there is much less mains hum than on my two much newer cheap-*** Behringer BX4500H i use as spare amp though this Traynor never fail. It's also more quiet than most very expensive modern amps. It's a mystery to me, but maybe it's just designed very good. The only setting it's noisy at is when the treble boost switch is on, so I don't use it. The EQ gives you enough treble anyways without being noisy.
It has a very wide sound spectrum. The EQ is a little limited (missing a sweepable middle control) but use a stomp box EQ, distortion, reverb or whatever and you can get just about any sound you want. It is not an excellent amp for slapping, but you can do it with a decent sound. This amp is much more suited for rock. With the volume knob a bit down and the master volume up you can get a very loud and very clean warm tube sound. If the volume knob is turned up and the master volume a bit down you can get a nice loud distorted sound. A nice tip is to turn the volume up so it just barely distorts. This gives a nice compressed tube sound, perfect for playing classic and progressive rock tunes from the 70's.
The amount of distortion you can get from this amp depends on which pickups you use. If you have low output jazz pickups you may not get a very dirty distortion as opposed to active pickups which may give you a very brutal distortion.

The amp is extremely reliable and I would not hesitate to gig without a backup, but since I have to spare transistor amps, I always bring one anyways since they are not that heavy to carry. The Traynor on the other hand is one heavy bastard, but I don't care since it sounds just awesome. The build quality of the amp is also very excellent, and mine has survived light road use for 35 years (not by me though) without many visual flaws. All the knobs are intact, the tolex has seen it's share of spilled alcoholic beverages without taking any serious damage and the front still looks nice too. I haven't had it for more than 6 months, but I gigged with it without any problems, and as far as I know, the earlier owner have never had any problems with it, except he had the power tubes changed once.

I've been playing for 8 years and have dealt a lot with bass amps, also repairing and servicing (I'm an electronics engineer). I use this amp with a handbuilt speaker with a Celestion BL15-400 15" 400 watt speaker and a modified unknown cabinet (may be Behringer, got it for free) with four 10" Celestion speakers and it sounds just perfect. I also think it would go perfect with a Classic series Ampeg 8x10 cabinet or the original Traynor Big B 8x10 cabinet. That would also look very cool vintage 70's styled. I have a couple of stomp boxes which I play with, but rarely use seriously, but they all sound very good through the amp.
If it were stolen I would definitely try to find another one, maybe the Super Custom Special version which has even more power than this, but I think both are very hard to get.
I love everything about it, the vintage sound, the vintage look and the vintage feel. I love to know that this has a history of many years on the road long before I was even born. I can't say I hate anything about it except that is heavy to carry around.
I didn't try it before i bought it, I just bought it because it was a bargain and I knew it was working.
It could have a middle control but that's not strictly necessary, the expander controls will do a good job at shaping the sound.
If you ever find one, you should definitely try it and buy it. Usually these amps are bargains but sound just fantastic.

If you want to know more about the amp, feel free to drop me an e-mail.

I believe the yba 3 was made in 1967 or 1968 i dont really know for a fact. My yba 3 is powered with four beastly el-34 tubes. it says on the back of the amp 200 watts and i believe it for my ears have been bleeding since i got it. This amp is sick and is the loudest amp i have ever played though. I have a dod eq hooked up to it with a mess of other pedals and it cranks. This amp is vintage so there is only your basic nobs on it such as low/bass, presence and treble. There are a few switchs such as bass and treble boost. I run this head though the famous Traynor Big B 810 cab. It cripples all other amps. The only draw back on this amp is that it is very heavy. The head must be around 60 lbs. The big b its self is over 100. Over all its a crazy amp to play though and if you get a chance to play on one or even buy one i would recomend that you do.

Brutal is a good choice for words when describing the distortion. It will no joke bring the walls down. I play it safe and only play the amp on volume level 1 or 1.5. anymore than that, ur asking for deafness or something breaking. its rediculous. It suits my style of playing perfectly. i play rock and hard rock so it does quite well. with out effects all you get is a clean treble sound. which is not all that bad considering that the amp is 40+ years old!!!!

I have not had any problems with this amps, i believe the tubes in the amp are the original from 67 or8. that says alot right there. i have yet to gig with it, but im guessing the only down side is that il probably hurt my back carrying it. this amp is reliable very much so. if ur other guitar player in your band pisses you off, just turn up your amp a little more and drown him out, chances are he cant compete with the traynor yba 3!

wow i have never tried to get ahold of yorkville, up untill the last year or so i though yorkville was out of business, but now i know they are still around and actually makeing new amps.

its a great amp, heavy, loud,vintage, rare, i have so many other pedals to with it so i can cover all grounds needed to play rock lol... over all shes a tank!!

This amp was built in 1967!
I am not sure about this amp yet and the reason being is when I won this I was told it had a bunch of mods. Looks like it did and one point but I think they were taken out. No idea why.
If you know the person or are the person please contact me!
It has 2 input jacks. 1 gives a heavy distortion while the other gives the most clean I have ever heard!
No effects loop but I am thinking of wiring one up.
I use this amp for the band and I would love be able to switch between the 2 inputs.

I actually do not use this for bass but instead guitar. I run it through a 4x10 and a 2x12. I so far LOVE the clean sound that I am getting out of this. I will have to say it is the loadest head I have ever heard.
It's great cause it can go from a nice thick blues sound to a good classic rock.
I honestly have not been able to crank it all the way because whoever had it before me put bigger transformers in it seems to have pushed the volume level to 20.

I would have to say that if a piece of electronic can survive for 41 years then its reliable.

I have not had to contact Traynor about this amp but I did when I had the YCV80Q and they were very nice and helpful.

I love this amp and will NEVER sell it.

yba-3 1967 160 watts.powerfull!!1 channel.i play hard rock and i use boss.ds-1 and...magical sound!!!i play guitar in a band.my friend says my amps is too loud...i play with a 4x12 line6 300 watts.
PURE VALVE TONE and the projection is unbeliveable!!!

on stage,with a ibanez 7c,so fat and loud,mass of sustain...clean not distorted...at high volume only but i ts too late,your cabinet will be (broken)with the ds-1 pedal,the distortion is crunchy more than a marshall!!!fat sound.

i have always this amps where i go!

never change pieces in this amp.

5 years and nothing...

You all know the features, so I'll just say it's a kick-ass bass amp. I use it for club work with a Hartke 410 cabinet. Nothing else equals 130 watts of class A tube punch.
I've had my Custom Special since 1969 when I bought it used from Aime Mignon Music in Rouyn, PQ. The tubes have never, I repeat, never been changed. Had it checked out at Yorkville Sound by one of the original techs, from Pete Traynor days, and the amp clocked out at 130 watts RMS. Beat up, looks like shit, but I'd never sell it.

1959 P-bass.
Have played every genre with this amp. Sometimes, not loud enough if the guitar player had too much to drink.
Mainly suited for a top-bottom punchy sound but handles a decent top-rolled-off smooth bass sound as well. You need to have a decent speaker box with this amp.

The transformer was hanging by the wires for years before I decided to get it it's 1st servicing a couple of years ago and fix that little problem.
Never had a backup and it never let me down.

When I 1st bought it used, it was fried and didn't work at all. Aime sent it to Pete Traynor who fixed the problem and added an update or 2, shipped it back from Toronto to Rouyn (about 500 miles), NO CHARGE. Couldn't believe it. A well-used amp.
That, and the checkup 2 years ago, was the only servicing the amp has had in almost 40 years. The checkup and reclamping of the transformer cost me 60 bucks. A buck-and-a-half a year.

Been playing since 1965. I would find another if I lost it. Reliability and great tone. No negatives. I compared it once to a Bassman 100 watt bass head. No contest, the Traynor won hands down. I chose it because I was poor and couldn't afford Fender in those days. I'm playing guitar a lot now so I wish it had a spring reverb and master volume but I won't mod it. I'll just find a decent reverb stomp-box.
The new Traynor vintage re-releases look promising. Pete's involved with the quality control I hear, so, buy one.

I've owned a YBA-3 with the 8x10 speaker cabinet since 1985. I still have said amp now. The only problems I've ever had was to replace the output tubes twice. Oh, wait, I replaced the preamp tubes once. For almost a year I played as the house bass player and never had a problem with my Traynor. I also have a Gallien-Krueger 400 RB that I think doesn't hold a candle to my Traynor! I own 9 bass guitars and every one of them sounds better through my Traynor. And I mean ALL of them! Especially my 1985 Fender Jazz Bass which just happens to be the first bass I bought with my own money in 1985. Anyway, I've always loved my Traynor bass amp. I wish Traynor could re-release a new (2005 OR 2006) version of the YBA-3 Custom Special with updated electronics and tubes! Don't you think that would be the ultimate amp?

Made in 1970. Rebuilt by Tatoo Amplification in 2003.
Two channels. No effects loop or headphone jack. It is all tube, hand-wired. Not enough power (100 watts) for large gigs.

'75 Fender Precision and Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray 5. Amp distorts at about 5. Up to that, VERY clean punchy sound, much more so than my solid state amps.

After 34 years the power tubes wore out, some of the electrolytic capacitors leaked and one resistor burnt out. I can't complain.

I love this amp. Again it does not have the power for large venue gigs, although I had a line out put in when I had it restored. I love the gutsy tube sound. Nothing I have ever played that was solid state could compare. It would be an excellent amp for recording. It is built like a Sherman Tank. It also sounds GREAT with guitar.

Early '70, it has the sparkle badge. I dated it once, but now I've forgotten. Master volume, and 5 band overlaping rotary EQ, from bass to treble, it goes bass, low expander, high expander, presence, and treble. High and lowgain boost switches. One chanel, two inputs, (the padded one is too padded to use without a preamp)no FX loop, no line level out, two 4-ohm speaker outs. Some people say (myself included) that it only puts out full power when 2 cabs are connected. I've studied the schematics, and the speaker outs are wired in series, so the load doubles to the transformer, but I've never looked at how the tranny is wound, so I'm not sure. It sure cooks with two cabinets, though. I don't think it has 160 watts, either. Probably 120 or 130. I have EL34 power tubes in it, as it had stock. I can, and have, put KT88 power tubes in it, and THAT makes it a VERY powerful amp, up into the 180 or 200 watt range. But I have a SVT for that stuff, and this is my medium size rig, so I get my EL34 grind, and I'm happy.

This is a bass amp, and I play a Fender P-bass through it. Many guitarists use Traynor Bassmasters and Custom Specials, so if you are a guitar player, skip to another review. This amp is FAT. It makes the fattest, thickest, richest, most organ-with-all-the-stops-pulled-out sound there is. I play it 20% into breakup, and there is a thick clot in the upper bass-lower midrange, which I cure with a Yamaha Nathan East NE-1 EQ box. I set it to dip at 100hz, and boost everything above and below. These are now discontinued, but any parametric EQ that can be set at 100hz will work. I use the matching 8x10 Traynor cabinet with Eminence Legend B102 drivers. This is smaller than the SVT 810, but it is still sealed like the Ampeg. It is all one section, however, not four pairs, and it does throb. It's very musical, once you learn to play it, and learn what it does, and where. I also use a Hofner Violin Bass, Fender Jazz, and a Musicman Sting Ray. Everything I've said holds true for each of them, except the Hofner and the Jazz are easier to thin-out, and the Musicman is hardest.

It's old, it's tube, it runs 540 volts over the plates. I always carry a G-K 800RB for a backup.

They haven't made these for decades. They have no parts, but they're very nice people. Anyone can fix Traynors. They have the schematic pasted under the chassis lid.

Absolutely nothing sounds better. It's as good a sound as an Ampeg Portaflex. Its disadvantage is its size. The head weighs 60#, and the cab 160#. But, if they have a good PA, I never have to bring my SVT, and you can't believe how God-like it sounds through the mains.

The Cerwin Vega speakers in the cabinet are stamped Jan.16,1976. As for the head I assume mid 70's. The feature this amp has that I find unique is the fan in the back to cool the tubes. I also get variety out of the bass and treble expanders and boosts. I mostly play the amp in my garage right now. It has been used for gigs on many occasions and will again. I plan on building a 2-12 cabinet to add to the 2-10 and 1-15 Traynor cabinet(YC188) that came with it.

I use mostly strats and teles, but I have a couple Yamahas that sound good on it also. For effects pedals today I played a dunlop crybaby on it an thought I was Hendrix. I also use the Marshall Bluesbreaker and the first Danelectros to come out. It's all good. I play guitar on it, but have had many bassist use it and like it alot. I get a good clean sound when I want and a variety of whatever else by itself, but a whole lot more opens up with the pedals.

I left it on stand by one time and forgot about til a few days later. When I realized what I did I thought oh no, time to buy some tubes or get it repaired. It has a fusable link in the back to protect against such misuse, so all I needed to do was push a button. I also left it in a friends warehouse for 9 months where it was used and abused by a lot of moron musicians or should I say morons with musical instruments still none the worse for the wear. I've had it for over 6 years and my biggest problem besides the forementioned fuse was bending the bracket on the fan for cooling the tubes not even worth mentioning than to list all the problems in 6 yrs.

I also have a Fender super 60 tube, Dean Markley signature series 120 tube with E.V. 2-12's. I love them all, but the Traynors my baby Huey because of its' uniqueness. I mean what other amp and cabinet will you find that uses automobile trim? When I bought it I didn't know what I was doing at the time, or how good it would be. I just liked the size 4'10"(which at times of moving started to wonder why), the fact I never seen or heard anything like it, and a couple friends told me tube amps were good.

I've dated my amp as a 1976. I bought it matched with a 1977 Traynor Group 3 4x12" cabinet. I think that the cab was actually built to handle the first generation of Traynor MonoBlock (solid state) heads. The cab's a tilt-back, like an Ampeg. I use this combination on larger club dates. It rates as 130 W. RMS into 4 ohms. Channel volume, Master volume and an extremely flexible EQ system. Even in a 200 seater playing Garage/Blues, I've never needed to exceed '3' in volume. Of course, the amp's running through the PA, so we're really only talking about stage presence. I can't think of any other features I'd want on it. It weighs 65 lbs, but my other stage amp is an Ampeg VT-22, a 130 lbs of muscle, so I don't mind the Traynor's weight at all.

I've used a '68 T-bird and a hand-made P-bass through it, but my main guitar is a Jazz Bass with active pick-ups. Old tube amps love that hot signal on the input. I bought this amp specifically for the punch and the EQ versatility. I've used Traynor Bass Masters (55W) for years but they don't have nearly the same tonal capabilities. A touring electric cello player used it one night and wanted to buy it immediately. There's no inherent noise and you can simply dial in overdrive with the channel/master combination.

So far, so good. I've owned a little over a year and gig with it regularily. There's nothing particularily exotic about the electronics and I have a great amp guy nearby. I believe that this rig sat in a series of basements for most of its life. The biggest problem in repair would probably be the cost of tubes. Living in Canada, you learn to wait until your amp has cooled down before taking it outside...at least for nine months of the year. Every time I've turned it on, it's been there for me.

I've owned Traynors since 1970. Peter Traynor's last year of designing for the company was '76, I believe. He and Gar Gillies (Garnet) are the two legends of Canadian amp design. I deal with the current company (Yorkville/Long & McQuade) regularily because of their importance to the Canadian industry, but I wouldn't really expect them to offer much tech support on this amp after 27 years. There are great sites on the web about Traynor, particularily Black Velvet, which will help you date your Traynor and obtain schematics. The best advice for tube amp owners is always find yourself a great old-time repair guy. Unfortunately, I think they're harder to find than the amps themselves.

I've been playing professionally since 1974 and I make my living as a live sound and recording engineer. I love the Traynor's muscle and the fact that it's worked perfectly since I got it. I wouldn't trade it for anything I can think of, except it's big brother perhaps, the Super Custom Special or maybe a vintage SVT.