Traynor Mark III 212 Combo

Early 70s 212 hand-wired point to point tube amp with reverb, tremolo, 2 channels with separate gains, 3 band EQ, and master volume. 2 separate single pedal inputs for foot control of reverb and tremolo switching. This amp is far more versatile than other reviews will admit. Channel 1 is wonderfully clean and clear, perfect for acoustic/electric, or country. But channel 2 really shines, with the reverb and tremolo, and a gain volume. Drop the master volume down, and crank up the gain, for a growly Fender-style crunch. For way more distortion, use effects, this amp can take it all.

I use Gibson, and Ibanez Artcore mainly, with a varied sound palette. I play contemporary Christian, 80s rock, acoustic funk and a little bit of blues. This amp suits any style, I think that this one I'm going to keep for sure. It beats all the USA Fenders, all the heads I've had, all the other tube amps I've had, including Fender, Gibson, Peavey, Garnet AND Johnson. This amp, with the adjustable tremolo, and spring reverb, has so many flavours, you'll think you died and went to Baskin Robbins....and LOUD ! ! ! I heard that Pete Traynor was very conservative in his power ratings, but man, this amp has got to be 150 watts if it's 5. And it's so amazing I found one all original, INCLUDING the 4 ORIGINAL MULLARD power tubes. Distortion is creamy to crunchy, not too raunchy, or at least I couldn't turn it up loud enough for it to break up like that, without damage to my hearing.

From what I've seen and heard, Traynors are built for war. I would use mine to keep a bus from rolling down a hill, or to hold up a corner of a house foundation.....it's seriously a tank. As for using it without a backup, that's not a concern for me.....I have tons of backup. I don't see this amp breaking down on me, because I take very good care of my stuff, and this comes in good shape.

I'm very close to Long and McQuade, but I have a place I trust way more. Traynor is good for schematics, etc., but I don't need any of that either.

I've been playing for 30 years plus, but seriously for over 10. I own other tube amps by Garnet, Gibson, United, Johnson. If it were stolen, I'd conduct a pretty serious investigation. If it were lost, I'd try to hunt down another. I love the tremolo, it's smoother than others I have tried. I dislike the weight; I think this thing weighs 80 pounds, feels like even more than that. I have compared it to other blues style amps, like the Fender Blues DeVille 410, the Peavey Delta Blues 115, The Gibson Atlas 115, and my flagship, the Johnson Millennium 250 watt tube driven stereo head, sitting atop a Hughes and Kettner 412, wired 4 ohm stereo....It holds up, and sounds amazing.

There really aren't any features. I don't typically like any effects pedals, but with this amp you will need at least one. There is no distortion at all inherent to the amp.

The sound is beautiful. I have heard rumors that this amp was based on the fender twin reverb. Whether that is true or not, I don't know but the sound is definitely comparable.

I've never even considered bringing a backup since I bought this. Part of me wants to be gentle with it and maybe buy some kind of protective case...... But usually I just toss it into the back of my pickup truck and go

N/A

If you come across one of these, get it. You can usually find them for pretty cheap. I only paid $250 for mine, but I would gladly pay over $500 to replace it (if I ever had to).

This is an update of my earlier review. The honeymoon is over and the love is stronger now than ever before! Here's the difference. I swapped out the old speakers with a Weber blue dog and a Weber silver bell. I got a pair of groove tubes substitubes. I had the amp rebiased and a cap job done. I run the substitubes in two slots and el34 tubes (electro-harmonix) in the other two slots. This lowers the overall wattage slightly and lowers the headroom. In this case that is a good thing! I can now get any sound in my head out of this amp. To get Vox/Matchless type sounds I merely remove the el34s and keep the substitubes in. For old school Fender/Marshall tones I put the el34s back in. For moe gain turn up the volume knob (adjust master to taste) for power tube saturation sim. to a plexi i use the 1st channel which has been disconnected from the master knob. Takes pedals really really well - a nice warm boost pedal is lovely to leave on all the time...

If you find one, get it maintained and you'll love it!

70's traynor mark III, pretty basic, has 2channels, point to point wiring, tremolo, reverb. 80watts out of 4 tubes... mine is running with 2, and the reverb doesn't work, but I think it could have something to do with a knackered tube somewhere or something like that. it's old...

u have a footswitch socket, and u could add speakers, that's it...


cheaper then a 50watts vox valvetronix...

I have been using this amp with a tubescreamer mostly, it sounds loud and brown... there's more power even with 2 powertubes then a silverface fender twin... I use gibson style guitars and it really makes them shimmer, mostly just plug it in the clean side, but I'm going to start experiment a bit more with it. also get a set of 4new tubes, but I'm afraid it will be to loud. It outplays a brand new peavey 120watts tubehead with a 4+12 running at cirkus 40watts... u get the picture, it's absolutely perfect for whitestripes, wolfmother stuff using the BigMuff, and it sounds amazing with telecasters. Would love to have more overdrive, but I'm going to start looking for the perfect stompbox combination, as soon as I get the amp fully sorted, but the clean sounds and tremolo sounds of this amp is awesome! and u could sound just like pete townshend when u crank it really high, in other words in my opinion this sounds nothing like a silverface, I have tried a Orange Twin and it seems to be almost the same amp, sounds the same, got the same features, but it will set u back a couple of grand, if u find one... this is amazing value, use it just for the clean sounds and get a a/b box? I will probarly end up doing just that...

theese are 30year old amps, can't see nothing break... mine has one celestion speaker, speakers break. Mine is not serviced and running on 2 power tubes, works like a charm every day. it is built like a volkswagen a bit dull but works... where the fender amps need constant care, but they are also made from a country who has bush, and think that trucks are cars, and after all thoose years manufacturing them can't get the quality of european cars, and need v8's to produce the power of a european moped...

got help load it in the car... have a good website and my friend has a newer traynor, got help from them pretty fast so.

this is my main amp at the moment, use it with a couple of different stompboxes, it works really well with them... play humbucker guitars and if it would get lost, I would get it as head insteed. cause it damn unpractical...

I'm gonna get mine sorted, and I think that will make a great amp shimmer...

if u can get your hands on one of theese and are thinking about getting a silverface twin, but want more of a clean marshall grunt this is the best buy...

Two (non-switching) channels. I think mine is either modded or broken so that channel 1 (vol-bass-mid-treb) is not affected by the master. It behaves like an old plexi, the higher the volume, the more grind you get. channel 2 has the same controls and adds reverb and tremolo (intensity and speed comtrols), it behave more like a Twin. There are bright boost switchs on either channel too and a master volume. Reverb uses a couple of 12ax7's and an el84. There's also a pile of 12ax7's in the preamp section. 80-100 watts before clipping courtesy of the 4 el34's. Oh yeah, both channels have a high and a low input. All of the inputs can be run simultaneously. On the back there a polarity switch, 3 prong cord, jacks to control reverb and tremolo, speaker out (8ohm)and an extra power outlet. In todays terms there aren't a lot of bells and whistles here, but it works very well.

Channel 1 is more aggressive than channel 2 and is not affected by the master volume. It gets into classic rock territory, but no more in terms of overdrive. I'd like to add that the amp, when overdriven, has a certain high end crunch that to me defines the Traynor sound. Channel 2 is where I (and probably anyone elso who owns one) spend all my time. Not as much gain on tap as my 1st channel, but this amp is meant to be played loud and clean. It is, in the truest sense of the word, an amplifier. This is really nice. You can easily hear the different charictaristics of you various guitars and effects. The reverb is good, and the tremolo is unbelievable! In short a great amp for blues, country and clean to dirty rock.

It's a Traynor

Yorkville sound is very good about these old amps.

Who needs channel switching? Tubescreamers all the way! It's a 1972 Traynor Mark III, bought in 1999 for 250 bucks Canadian when I was 15. I learned on this amp and grew up with it, now I play professionally and play two or three shows a week. It had the original Phillips tubes until I had them replaced a few months ago and had the amp cleaned up. Not realizing that new tubes take a while to get broken in (or whatever you call it), I wasn't quite happy with the sound. I bought a Roland Jazz Chorus, and gigged with that for a few months, but after practicing a bit more with the Traynor, it is starting to blow the JC-120 Roland out of the water, a lot more low end and tons of warmth. And don't get me wrong, I love the JC-120's clean tone. This amp now is sounding noticably better every time I use it, I was going to buy a Rivera combo, but now I'm just going to keep the traynor and save my money.

This amp's got more than enouph power for almost any setting, unless you play metal/heavy music, then you just plain need more speakers to move more air, but you could plug the bugger into a cab and I bet it'd do great.

Important to note, I don't play this amp because I can't afford a twin reverb! As I noted I was looking at buying a new Rivera, which I had saved for because I think they're some of the best sounding amps around, but it would be a waste as long as I still had the Traynor.

I only play with a single coil Strat, I use a Tubescreamer and/or a Fulldrive pedal and it sounds great, good sustain and even good feedback controll when the amp's turned up a bit. This amp is perfect for blues and rock, I use it for a lot of funk. VERY clean if you want, but it'll break up pretty good too if you crank the gain. It's my main amp for most shows, I've got a 100W Marshall half stack for large shows with a heavy band, but everything else I use the traynor for. (I could probably just run the traynor through the cab and have saved myself 1500.00 bucks for the marshall head). I think the only thing I wouldn't recommend this amp for is metal, even with a great metal distortion pedal it doesn't get you a great metal sound, and that's only because of the speakers. (besides is a good metal sound really a good tonefull sound?)

I used it for a bass amp by disconnecting the speakers and running through a 4x10 cab, and it was keeping up with a pretty loud drummer, the tone was great for bass too, but don't waste one of these amps as a bass rig.

You won't find a more rigid, reliable amp with tubes in it. I've heard that one got dropped out the back of a truck bed, and just needed one new valve, I believe it too, I played the heck out of this thing for five years when the tubes were already 30 years old, and I was pushing it hard because I was using it for a bass amp.

It's a 34 year old amp, who the hell's gonna help me with it? I guess all I'll say is that it's reliable as hell, so it doesn't matter.

I've been playing for ten years, I have a Marshall JCM-2000 for big shows, and I'm selling a Roland Jazz Chorus I don't use because this amps clean tone is THAT good. (If you've ran through a Roland JC you know how good they sound)

They're kind of hard to find, so if it was stolen I wouldn't look for another one, I'd probably drop two grand on a new rivera in an attempt to find a sound that was as good, or a decent fender reverb, but they are really hit and miss (as are all hand wired tube amps)

I love the simplicity of this amp, and the only thing I don't like is the weight (but I'm only 130 pounds and manage to get it to gigs in the middle of winter in Calgary, so suck it up), and possibly the speakers, I might buy new speakers for it.

Bought this one used for 550 e. Made 1997. I'm 48 years old and was
rised listening to Beatles, Rolling Stones,CCR etc. and this is what
I play. To this comes a little jazz and also metall just for fun.
Seems to be in original super condition even with the old Philips output valves. Two channels with volyme, treble,middle, bass and treble boost in the clean one and volyme, treble, middle,bass, treble boost reverb and tremolo in the second channel. There's also a master volyme that effects the second channel only. Two inputs per channel one low and the other high. No effects loop or headphone jack. This gem is all tube and point to point made. The reverb and tremolo is tube and foot switchable. Wattage is 80 loud ones. I use this amp basicly at home and the best thing about it is that it sounds good even on home volymes. On the other hand there's enough power for bigger stages too.

I use mainly a Tokai LP copy with Duncan Jazz in neck and Jeff
Beck in bridge positon. My other guitar is a warmoth telecaster
with Duncan quarter pounder in the neck and minihumbucker in bridge
position. The clean channel is clean almost to maximum volyme. The second channel has the typical 70-s type distortion. You need to really crank the pre volyme to get into distortin territory. I use a Carl Martin plexitone (exellent pedal) for the heavyer stuff and a H20 Liquid chorus for the lush sounds. The amp lets my guitars sound as different as they do and it responds very vell to playing dynamics. In my opinion this is a very silent tube amp even with sigle coils. If you crank it it will hum a bit but nothing to be embarassed of.

Well I've had it for about half a month so I can't really tell yet.
It is very sturdy constructed and the point to point wiring is very
neatly done. I'm the third owner and the guy I bought it from was
a professional guitarist and he had used it for 20 years whithout a
problem. I've heard that the old Traynors were build to last.
I would use it on a gig without backup, I know this souds silly
but if you take proper care of your equipment it will deliver.

I've mailed the company to get some answers about the age and speakers
and they answered over night. That's something. Due to the amps
construction it is easy to serve for anybody who is familiar with
old time electronics. No digits and bits here.

I've been playing or 35 years. Some gigging but mostly as a fantastic
hobby. I have a crush for older vintage stuff and basic tone. Other stuff I have is a warmoth telecaster and a Tokai strat copy both with duncans a K Yairi acoustic a trademark 60 and a Roland Mikro Cube amp. If the Traynor was stolen I would be very sad because I'm very fond of old stuff and this is really a gem in all aspects. I would definetely buy another one, perhaps the mark 3 head if I could find one in prima condition. I love everything about the amp especially the clean non colored powerfull sound and the fact that there's no modern extra features. I've compared this against a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe which I traded and of course A-B it against my trademark 60 and if we are talking about basic roots sounds the Traynor sounds awesome especially on the clean side.

I love it to bits. I was promoted from roadie/soldering iron owner(!)to rhythm guitarist in a Welsh language band during the early to mid 1980's and consequently needed amplification for the Fender Bullet I had been loaned. I somehow got to hear of this baby which was previously owned by a member of Bran (a Welsh 'supergroup' of the 1970's) and which was being used by some kids for rehearsal in a shed on a local pig farm in deepest Anglesey! The farmer took me to see it, I saw the valves and transformers cheekily poking out of the back and immediately offered the full #80 (about $170? at todays prices) cash that was being requested for me to take it away from its smelly fate. I almost instictively knew this was a good amp. just by the way it was so overengineered - y'know, solid!

The speakers, bearing shiny metallic stickers with the text 'Special Design Yorkville Sound Ltd. Traynor Electronic Instrument Transducer' in blue text are both stamped with the date May 6 1974 and the number 7383 so I'm assuming that it is now just coming up to it's 31st birthday in a few weeks.

The fact that it has 4 inputs at the front was very useful for us in the band back then, one for me (normally the upper (bright) channel on the reverb side) and then the singers' mike and the bass guitar (he was still looking for an amp. at the time) into any of the others. The abuse this thing took you would not believe.

We played mainly rock / funk / cod reggae (I think that's what you might call it) and this amp. performed admirably under any circumstance we threw at it. Just how loud was a matter of hearing protection really.

As regards features I wish it had, no really obvious ones, does it need any more than the ability to do what it does REALLY well? The tremolo circuit was not that well liked to be honest and was rarely used. But the reveb spring was/is superb - I mean, proper spring reverb on a powerful valve amp. with Hammond transformers? Superb.

The band split up towards the end of 1986 and I have only used it a couple of times in public since. I now use it at home where I've just discovered the art of messing about with effects and stomp boxes that I've bought on Ebay (one of the perks of growing old?), however, as a bit of a birthday treat (for the amp.) it's being brought out of residential retirement for the bassists wedding in October! (We think).

I've used a cheap Strat copy (my first guitar), a Fender Bullet, a cheap Sattelite Les Paul copy and a Squier Strat (my current guitar), and they all sound good with a touch of overdrive and flanger/chorus. I've got an old Roger Mayer rocket series classic fuzz which sounds good through it.

The sounds (and volumes) that can be obtained from this amp are quite phenomenal and rich for a two speaker combo. I've just sourced an Ibanez SM-9 & CP-9, an E-H Electric Mistress and a Boss SD-1 and am almost passing out at the possibilities. Buying this bargain was the best #80 I ever spent!!!

Has never given any serious trouble at all even after a few years in a pigshed. I've seen friends with AC30's and Marshalls etc. of similar age going into 'spend money on me mode' but this just keeps on going no problem.

And again, you would just not believe the abuse it's had. I remember 3 of us sleeping in our small van with a choice that had to be made - the amp and guitars lost out and had to sleep outside underneath the van, it's a bit tatty, but sonically - pure. It's amazing it hasn't been nicked!

I had no idea who Traynor were at the time way back then, all I knew is that this amp. was similar, but not the same as, a Fender Twin. It's only since I typed Traynor into Google recently that I've discovered that there are other YGL3 owners out there - and boy, do we seem to be the lucky ones.

There was a bit of hum problem present at one point (but isn't that what's nice about a valve amp.?) which was progressively getting worse and more irritating (probably as a result of the abuse it was getting from the bass) until I took it to an electronics engineer who had a penchant for all things valvey, vintage and analog at the local University, he gave it the once over, a new set of valves and tried to buy it off me.

I refused.

I've owned a guitar of some description since Chistmas 1980 and I'm still learning how to play. I like to mess around with gear though, that's how I got into the band in the first place.

As I mentioned above, I've got this amp., a small 10W (soild state) practice amp. and about 12-13 various boxes of tricks who make different types of noises - which is always good for the amp., keeps it supple in old age.

If I lost etc. this amp. I would be totally gutted, not only because I like this one (& it's history), and would not really know where to get another like it, but I got one hell of a bargain back in the early eighties.

I love the way it sounds and the fact that it's not too ashamed to show it's age and scars, but I hate the little castors that someone must have put on it at some time (they look like they came off some aborted office furniture designed in the sixties - during a bad acid trip) but they are a necessary evil owing to the fact that this little thing is not really so little and is damn heavy.

I'd really like to find out what it sounds like when mated to a Marshall 4x12 cab, that'd be nice.

I'm not sure when this was made but i'm thinkin in the early 70's. Its amazing i paid $450cdn for it and i saved up for it for a long time a few months and then finally traded in a Fender Fm65r. I love the features because the two seperate channels so i plug the mics in the first channel which is usaully louder than the 2nd channel, the 2nd channel is where i plug my guitar in i love this channel because the amazing reverb(always at 10) and the tremolo is a new world to discover,very loud i had it at 1 1/2 in the basement and i could hear it across the street!!! soon i'll crank it at the gigs, i love it cause its so clean on the 1st channel and the 2nd channel is just enough distortion for me i don't like distortion, it has a voice of its own. Also what i love is that its pretty simple no 12 channels and millions of digital crap preamps and that stuff because truthfully you spend more time playing with knobs and getting that right "tone" than auctully playing and its easier to get that right "tone" with less controls. also one last thing this thing is ALL TUBE so very loud and lots of tone.

currently i use a Hunter Michael Bruce from Alice Cooper Signature SG (i bought it because of the looks the price and the money signs in the fretboard lol) I also use sometimes if i can borrow it a Danelectro octivia and i have a homemade fuzz face that works but loose solder connections so right now i'm pluggin straight into this thing, i play a lot of genres rock, blues, some country, metal, classic rock, but mostly oringinals which fit all most of those critereas, its sounds awesome but its so versitile and i love old amps cause of no channel switching so you can plug in what u need and just keep it there, i keep the mics in the high input on the 1st channel and let me tell u this thing is the best PA system ever barely any feedback and really loud vocals and its always louder than 2nd channel but it has a good mix when your playing and singing so i'm happy that i don't need to buy a PA, but the distortion is just perfect because i don't like a lot of distortion just enough that its rock and blues, and i love the reverb on this very rich and same with the tremolo it opens a whole new world of possibilities. and finally the last thing for the 1st channel is that its very loud and very clean perfect for vocals. Just one word to describe this amp awesome i have nothing to complain about.

i just bought it a few days ago but from what i've red you cant complain about the relibility cause its built like a tank

can't say anything right now, I have a 30 day warrenty from the music store thats it. and haven't dealt with Traynor yet

Worth the every cent, and if someone stole this i'll track them down and beat them then let the prision take them over "cough prision bitch cough" all i have to say is that traynor make an amazing product and people may laugh at them but you just wait till i turn it on and turn it up then i won't be able to hear your laughter and u will be to jelous to speak!

My amp was made in 74' , this amp is so versitile, i know the music i play,Rockabilly,Rythm n Blues, its very hard to get the right sound from any amp for this music, but this Traynor has gotten it pretty much to a 't'.With any amp it takes quite while to get your sound perfect but you cant go wrong with a Traynor Mk III.
The tremelo built in is brilliant and the reverb is the old style spring at the back.
I use this amp gigging, you wouldnt believe the noise that comes out of it , it will drown out any drum kit with absolute no problem.

I use a 335, and a stratocaster with it , but mostly the 335.I use both pickups, all the volume and tones turned fully up , apart from the treble tone turned down a little.
It suits my style very well , if your into rockabilly or rythm n blues u gotta concider this amp.So many sounds you can get out of it and the variety is big.thers so many handles and clean sockets you've just gotta mess round to get whatever you want because this will get whatever you want.If you really want the distortion, it can become too rediculous.

This is a very reliable amp, apparently the advert for this amp was someone chucking it out of a third story building then running down stairs and plugging it in, and it would work perfectly.I would definately use it on a gig without a backup amp.
This amp has never been broken , just the tubes have to be changed.

i havent had any problems with the amp so i have had no need to contact he company.

i love evry thing about this amp, and i hate nothing, i did compare it to a fender twin, and this, for its price, just blows it away!

Its a good find if you find any old traynor amps, so think deeply about it being a option.

Features have already been covered by everyone else. The simplicity of this amp is one of the things that I love about it. No major bells or whistles, however I really do like the fact that you can use footswitches for the tremelo and reverb. The other thing that needs mentioning about this beast is the fact that it has MASSIVE transformers and is totally overbuilt. Point to point wiring! And this bad-boy can handle a 2 ohm load! (internal speakers @ 4 ohm, external cabinet @ 4 ohm, running parallel) As far as versatility is concerned, if you have a few good footpedals you can make this amp sound like anything you want it to. An FX loop would be cool, but I wouldn't call that a major drawback. It is a fairly simple mod to add one.

I have played strat's, Les Pauls, SG's, and an ibanez through this amp. They all sound different, i.e. this amp lets the character of each instrument shine through. Like another reviewer said, this can be a good or bad thing, I think he said "Shit-in = Shit-out". LOL In fairness though, even if you played a Squier through this thing it would still sound pretty good compared to a lot of other amps. Personally, my main guitar that I used with this amp is a G&L Legacy that I have customized to my personal tastes, (Van Zandt Blues in neck and mid, Duncan JB bridge). Now with this guitar this amp sounds like thunder rolling off a mountain. You know that "Big" strat sound that everyone try's to get? Well that is exactly what this setup yeilds. I run a DOD compression pedal (Don't laugh, it is one of DOD's oldest models made when they were producing quality pedals), a Boss Chorus, and an Ibanez TS-9 tubescreamer in front of the amp and I can cop all of the tones I want right now. I am going to pick-up one of those Tone-Bone Hot British pedals though. They are the shit if you want to get a cranked Marshall sound. I will be honest here though. I picked up this amp used a few months ago and the previous owner was a real dumb-ass for the following reasons. 1. He replaced the original grill cloth with this crap looking black stuff and placed a stupid logo on it with his bands name. I have restored it to the lovely fender black-face style covering. Much better vintage appearance now, I mean come on, it was made in 1972! Second thing, he had it loaded with 2 JBL e120-8 speakers. Now these are awsome speakers but I think that they are a lot better put to use in Keyboard amps and PA systems. They have a friggin' 8.5 KG magnet in them (that is about 300 oz!!!) and made to handle 300 watts RMS so they stay clean no matter what you throw at them. They gave this amp a very stiff sound that I was not happy with. Sooo, I sold them on ebay (they are worth about $100 each used) and picked up an Eminence Legend V12 and GB12 and slapped them in there. That combo is perfect for this amp. They break up at the perfect time and the bass is super deep and tight. I checked out the preamp tubes as well... this guy had it loaded with telefunken and amperex bugle-boy 12ax7's!!! FYI, 5 of these could easily fetch $250. Obviously I was stoked, but here is the part that I don't understand. These are pretty much the best sounding preamp tubes out there but this dork put Sovtek EL-34's in the power section! WTF?!?! I pulled those out and slapped in some of the new Electro-Harmonix EL-34's (They sound incredibly similiar to old Mullards except they only cost about $50 for a matched quad.) I rebiased, a bit on the hot side for that matter, and now this thing sounds like God's amp! I am kicking out the sound of a 4x12 except that it is coming out of 2x12! This amp has so much power and the Eminences are really efficient (I like them a lot more than Celestion's but that is just a personal preference).

Well it has survived for almost 35 years already so I would say that this bugger was made to last. Like I said, I have only had it for a few month's but so far it has been very good to me. I checked out the inards and all the connections look very solid and clean. I am not worried about this thing crapping out on me and if it did, it would be a pretty easy to fix since there aren't any god-damn circuit boards inside it. The only thing I would be scared of is if either of the tranny's died. They are huge and of really exceptional quality and would cost a fortune to replace. On the bright side though, they are much bigger than they need to be so they will probably last another 35 years. I can't give a rating yet even though so far it deserves a 10. Only time will tell.

Well, I have another Traynor Amp, their newer YCV80 2x12 combo and they have been friendly and always have replied to my emails within a few days so I would say as a company their support is pretty good. Now as far as this amp is concerned they will service it but I am not going to bother doing that. I can fix a lot of common problems myself and there is a Tube Amp Wizard that lives 20 minutes away from me if I need major service. The original circuit schematic is still taped inside the chasis so it would be a cake walk bringing it back to life if need be.

I've been playing for nearly 11 years now and have slowly been upgrading my gear as my tastes change and my budget can afford. I paid a little bit more than a lot of the other lucky bastards who have posted reviews but mine came with sweet preamp tubes so as far as I am concerned, $400 was a steal for what would be called a boutique amp by todays standards. Resale value on these amps suck, but I don't care. I'm never selling this baby even if I ever decide to get another amp. This one is just so damn good at what is does that I couldn't imagine finding anything short of Dumble that would compare and then you are spending at least $3000, probably more like $5000. Once I get the Tone-Bone I am going to sell my other Traynor which is a pretty cool amp, $600 bucks brand new and very versatile. I am just appreciating vintage tones much more nowaday's than modern tones so I really don't use it as much as I used to before I got this one. So here is my word of advce. If you ever see one of these in a pawn shop or on eBay, just buy it! You won't regret it once you load it up with good speakers and tubes. If I ever find another one I am going to snap it up so I can have a wall of sound coming from both side of the stage! lol.

Pretty basic. Two channel, non-switching - one clean, one dirty. The dirty has switchable spring verb and trem, both very decent sounding. 100w 2x12 combo all tube.
My setup (and one I knew I'd be keeping for a long while from the GETGO for the first time ever) is a little unusual.
The music my band plays is a bit out of the ordinary- PowerFolkFunkRock. Primarily I play a Gretsch jumbo accoustic/electric with Fishman Prefix electronics. I route the guitar into a Yamaha AG-Stomp preamp which has stereo 1/4in outs. One channel to an Ibanez Tube-King (ala "screamer" variety) and then to a Boss Bass Disto pedal (rarely used but do on occasion to give me the super fat fuzz just over the edge) and then into the Traynor's dirty hi-gain channel. The other channel from the YamahaAG-Stomp goes clean and direct into my (other great love) Fender Bassman 10 (sealed 4x10 70watt) for the cleanest of clean headroom with all kinds of "thump". The result is my dream setup - it sounds like a crunchy elec and an accoustic guitar rolled into one sound which I can manipulate either way with this setup. Took awhile to get here but LOVE LOVE LOVE all the pieces in this chain the Traynor being every bit as important as ANYTHING.

The dirty channel doesn't have quite the low end and headroom as the clean but still you must push it pretty loud before it begins to break.. when it does break it is that beautiful kind many of you know about. Plenty of punch and more than loud enough for a small or medium sized club with full band.

It has some quirks with the reverb but I think that is just a crappy (very very old) Guild switch that I'm using causing the problem. Other than that nothing's gone wrong in over a year of gigging 2-plus times a month with 3 rehearsals a week. It's a para-trooper.

I've not had the pleasure of any sort of conversation with Yorkville, but they've quite a bit of info online for these older Traynors which says alot all by itself. I understand Yorkville is one of the stand-outs in this category however.

Great rig. Period.

mines a 72 it,stamped on the speakers
2 channels only use one no footswitch to turn on trem nad reverb, can build one.
used as a studio now after retired from road.
loud as a bomb!!!!
clean as canadian waterLOL

strat and tele with tube screamer and a wah.
if i need another dirty sound i switch pedals

still have the original mullard tubes and it hasn't failed yet

take ti to a local repair shop he said it checked out fine

i've been playing 30 years and this is the 2nd mark 3 i've owned
and i probaly won't get rid of it unless i find a smaller less heavy version.

I bought my Mark III brand new in 1972 and used it almost exclusively for 20 years taking it on countless gigs. Hand wired, point to point all tube amp that is extremely versatile, reliable and sounds great. Traynor amps are the best kept secret out there. See reviews below for features.

This amp is excellent for rock, blues, country and jazz. It does it all, though a pedal is helpful for distortion. I use a Les Paul, Stratocaster, ES-175D, Gretsch Tennessean, Fender triple-neck steel and it sounds good with all.

Totally bullet proof. After 31 years of playing this thing, I have not anything to it but change tubes; and even that was not necessary. I still have the original Philips tubes that came with it which I re-installed. This amp runs very hot so I recommend installing a cooling fan as I did. I just hook the brackets over the bottom back panel at the and plug it in the accessory unput plug. I'm sure it extends the life of everything in the amp.

Are you kidding? This amp doesn't need service.

If I had to sell every amp but one, I would probably keep this Traynor Mark III.

big Fender Twin killer. made in around 72 or 71, killer Phillip's tubes, loud loud loud. Two channels, can't loop but who cares. Great tremolo, reverb, etc. Amp is versatile and made for concert halls and stadiums.

sounds awesome. Run it through my Tele, Gibson or Flying V all lawsuit guitars when people cared about the guitars they were making. The japs didn't fall asleep like the American makers did back in the 70's. This amp sounds so loud and clean when it wants to and then it has that brown 70's distortion which is excellent.

this thing is a tank and really really heavy over 70 pounds. Put casters on it so no worries about rolling it around. Yorkville will still service it but I take it to a local amp guy Tortice Blues at Encore Music.

Yorkville will still service the amp and their web site has historical section but I would rather take it to a amp specialist who can hot rod it and really put his soul into it. Want a 1-800# buy Yamaha, Peavey, etc. want a killer amp that puts Marshall's and Fender's to shame get a Traynor Mark III

Playing for years, never had something this powerful in a combo that is over 30 years old. Lost or stolen I would find another one, would I buy it again, yes. Compared to other products the price kills them all. Get yourself a Traynor.

All tube, point-to-point handwired combo amp made in 1974. 80 conservatively rated watts from 4 - EL34 power tubes. Huge transformers. Huge magnets on the 2 -12? speakers. I think they may be the Phillips Norelco speakers that were standard on most of these amps???? They are not the cheapo Marsland ones with the 16 oz magnets. 5 - 12ax7 pre-amp tubes and an EL84 to drive the reverb. 2 unswitchable channels with 2 inputs on each channel and treble boost switches. Volume, Treble, Middle and Bass controls on both channels, Reverb and Tremelo Speed and Intensity on the Effects channel. Separate footswitch jacks for Reverb and Tremolo, but not required to utilize those effects. Grounding switch in back as well as an extension speaker jack. One of the first guitar amps (the first was the 1969 Traynor YSR-2 Guitar amp head) to have a Master volume control which comes in very handy as I will explain in the sound review???? I bought my first one of these amps brand new in early 1972, I was one of the first kids on the block with one of these. I used it extensively (3 nights a week plus Sunday matinee plus practices and jams, etc) for nearly 3 years and it always worked. Stupidly sold it when I got a real job, and just purchased this particular 1974 model on the net last year. Without a doubt, this is my favorite amp of anything that exists. Traynor was known for it?s advanced design, reliability, durability, quality sound reproduction and conservative rating techniques. 80 Traynor watts is 125+ everybody else?s watts. These amps are INCREDIBLY loud, even without an extension speaker hooked up. My first experience with one of these was when a touring band passed thru town. Me and my guitar playing buddy were walking down the street towards the local hockey arena where the band was playing, and both were astounded how the guitar sound level was head and shoulders above the rest of the band. We were imagining the stack of amplifiers he had to have to move all that air. When we got in there we saw the band had a typical set-up for the time in Canada (early 1972); Hammond organ with a Leslie miked into the PA, rhythm guitar through a Bandmaster, bass thru a Traynor Custom Special with 2 8X10 boxes, a BIG PA system and the lead player with this combo amp like I?d never seen before. Turns out it was the brand new production, Traynor YGL-3 Mk III twin amp with NO extension speaker and NOT miked thru the PA system. Very impressive. The guitar player had had it for about a month and loved it. I had one a week later, ordered it thru the local music store. About $475 CNDN out the door if I remember correctly; at that time the CNDN$ were roughly equal to the US$. That?s about $1500 in today?s dollars, but a Fender Twin was about $1900 equivalent at that time, and a half Marshall stack required a mortgage.

In the early 70?s I had a near full?time gig with a local ?rockin? country band, but did the occasional rock thing with another part-time band, and was on-call and played fill-in jobs for the union. I used the Traynor amp with either a 1971 Fender standard tele, a 1972 Gibson SG standard, and occasionally one of those horrid Les Paul recording models. (Someone unsuccessfully tried to unload it on me.) Whichever guitar I used, I ran it thru a fuzz-wah pedal that I can?t remember the name of, and usually had the amp plugged into a 4 X 12 box which I don?t remember who made???? (Old age memory goin fast). This set-up covered everything well. It goes without saying that it was always loud enough, probably too loud, but I was young and stupid and unaware of the permanent damage I was doing to my hearing. Nice thick spring Reverb (if you want it) and a strong tremelo sound, unlike a lot of the newer production solid state tremelo circuits that cause an overall drop in amplifier volume when engaged. It is only since I recently got the 1974 model Mk III that I started to explore the tonal posibilities with this amp. The top input jack on each channel has less gain than the lower input jack, and the effects channel has slightly more gain than the normal channel. If you have the channel volume pot at a low level and turn up the master volume to a high setting, you get a rather clean sound with lots of clean headroom. Not quite as clean and midrangey as a Fender, but in that general area. If you turn the channel volume pot up to max and keep the master on the lower side, you get some very nice tube overdrive that was ?the? sound in the late 60?s to early 70?s before the metal-heads started the massive gain trend. It couldn?t get as nasty as a Marshall, but then nothing else could at that time without a pedal of some sort. So, that?s why I had a pedal, and also do now for this amp. I prefer to play blues now, and this amp is perfect with a Strat or Tele (read, single coil pickups) for the blues. I prefer other amps when using an SG or LP (read, humbucker pickups) because I feel this amp is just a little too muddy for my tastes with those guitars. I?m sure there are many players who could find their sound when using a humbucker equipped guitar with this amp, but I can?t. It could be because I just prefer the sound of a Strat or Tele? In the early 70?s when this amp was designed and built, it defined what all-around meant; today with the multi-channel amps with built ? in gain, effects loops, etc, etc, it is pretty basic. In it?s defense though, it handles effects pedals very well; I have had some amps that don?t.

As mentioned previously, I used my original 1972 production amp essentially full time for nearly 3 years without a hitch. Never even thought about tubes??? It was in and out of a couple of hundred different venues in good weather and bad, over rough roads and I?m sure some rough handling on the nights I don?t remember the nasty details and the who/when/what/where/how of the previous evening. These amps are tough and known for it. Pete Traynor dropped a Custom Special? out of a 2nd or 3rd story window for Steve Miller? to demonstrate it?s reliability. (It?s been awhile since I read the story and my memory ?you know). He picked out all the broken tubes, replaced them and fired it up ? it worked. Pete Traynor was a working musician before he started his design/manufacturing career and knew the trials and tribulations of the working road musician, and designed and built his amps so that we didn?t have to worry about at least one thing ? our amplifiers. They always worked. Components were overdesigned, especially the transformers. All hand wired, point-to-point like the expensive boutique amps made today. When I got my 1974 model MK III twin in late 2002, it still had the original Sylvania tubes in it and it still made the eardrums bleed. I had to replace a 12ax7 tube to get the tremelo speed to work properly, and about a month later one of the power tubes died. In the process it nearly cooked a couple of screen resistors. With some guidance from the guys on the alt.guitar.amps newsgroup I got a new set of power tubes, installed 2 new screen resistors just in case, and using the biasing data printed on the schematic diagram provided inside the amp, I set the bias for the new tubes. What more can you ask for. Try that on one of those amps with those printed circuit board insides.

www.yorkville.com is the website for the Yorkville Sound Company, the past and present manufacturer of the new line of Traynor tube amplifiers. There is a section in the website called ?Historic Yorkville?, which has a lot of interesting historical information and technical info and schematics for the 60?s and 70?s Traynor amps. I emailed one of the US distributors with some technical questions and got the answers from somebody a couple of days later. Thanks to who-ever you are.

I have been playing for nearly 40 years and have had a lot of good and bad gear pass through my hands in that time. I have played a few different music styles but prefer to play the white mans blues. I prefer Strats and Teles, but have had my share of SG?s, LP?s and ES335?s. With a guitar plugged directly into this amp, it can cover a lot of ground style-wise, the addition of a pedal or two allows you to do most everything with this amp. This is my favorite amp of all time. It doesn?t have channel switching, or effects loops or all the other modern features common on todays production amplifiers, but like Bon Scott sang, :?She?s got balls?! You could build or buy an A/B footswitch box and have instant access to both channels if that?s what you need. The only negatives about this amp are it?s weight at 75 lbs, and it runs very hot. All of the high power combo amps suffer from the weight problem, and many of the tube designs run very hot like this amp. Some auxiliary handles on the side of the amp plus a set of casters installed or a dolly solves the first problem, a compact, high capacity fan stolen from an old microwave oven solved the second problem.

Can't give it a high mark for features (even though i could care less). Has a straight-forward Vol, Treble, Middle, Bass channel, and another channel with the previous knobs aswell as Reverb, Tremolo-Speed & Intensity. It has four total inputs, and each of the two channels has a Boost switch (which i always have on). I don't have a footswitch, but may look into getting one. The amp takes 4 EL34 power tubes and 5 12AX7 pre-amp tubes and a single EL84 pre-amp tube.

I use this amp with my Fender Jaguar reissue (stock pickups), a Danelectro Dan-Echo delay pedal, a Crowther Audio Hotcake O/D, a Boss Blues Driver, Vox wah, EH Big Muff (the big silver new one).

I got this amp in a pawn shop about 5+ years ago, when i bought it only the 1st channel worked, so i got the guy to knock off $70 dollars and give it to me without tax ($180 canadian total). The sound was pretty crappy and i tried to sell it on a few occassions without much success. But then i did some research and found that this amp should sound as good as any Fender or other quality amp with similar features/power etc. So a few weeks ago i replaced all the preamp tubes with 5 EH-12AX7's and a Sovtek EL84. I let the amp warm up a bit then turned it on. HOLY CRAP!!!!! the lord has just replaced my P.O.S. amp with something incredible! this amp has to be the best deal on the planet. it sounds better than many of my friends $1500 fender, orange, marshall etc. amps. And now the second channel (with reverb, tremelo etc) works perfectly! and i actually prefer the second channel for its warmth and reverb (the reverb is very touchy and is really only usable from 0-3 settings, but it does a decent job). The tremolo effect is pretty cool and i will likely use it here and there (need a footswitch). I can only describe the sound as very Fender-like, but maybe a little better (not TOO full of a sound, just right). I find the highs to be especially impressive, they are incredibly rich (i dont mean sparkly or piercing at all, very pretty and smooth) the mids are very vintage sounding and the lows are very good aswell, not overly fat but definately heavy enough for my style (everything from stones, velvet underground, stooges, sonic youth, dinosaur jr., galaxie 500) blues players will definately like this amp too.

I'm excited to see how good this thing sounds when i replace the power tubes (4 el43's) which i will do in the coming weeks.

I thought this amp was dead! replaced the pre-amp tubes and voila! ( i wish i had taken the risk of replacing the tubes 5 years ago! would never have bought those other amps i own)

Well, traynor is kinda back (but is it the same? dont think so) but the best customer support you're gonna get for this is talking to the old dudes in the repair shops at long & mcquade, or scouring the web for info. i can easily give it a 8 though simply because you wont need any support.

I've played guitar for about 10 years. In that time i have owned a solid state Crate (cant remember the model), sold that and bought this Traynor (it collected dust for many years), a Fender Pro Jr, Fender Princeton Reverb, Fender Blues Jr (sold the Pro Jr)and i honestly think the Traynor sounds the best so far (with the tubes replaced). I know i would never go spend well over $1000 on some amp with the same power, even for more features (O/D, Fat Boost etc). I'll be keeping a look out for Traynor amps in pawn shops and on E-Bay because i really want to get more now! save yourself alot of money and get a '70's Traynor!

100watts of super clean power - like a Fender Twin but way way way better. If you've played both you know what I mean. Point to point wiring and robust circuitry found only in boutique amps costing many times what I paid for this amp.

Two channels, each with volume, bass, middle, treble controls, treble boost switch. Channel two has reverb and tremolo effect as well. There is the all-important master gain. Effects are footswitchable. There's one extension speaker output jack on the back panel for a 4ohm ext. cab. Tubes are: Four 6CA7 (EL34), one 6BQ5(EL84), five 12AX7A. 4 ohms output to a pair of 8ohm 12" JBL K120s in parallel. It has the great transparent Traynor silvery grey grille cloth. Mine has a matching factory cover. It's REALLY heavy - 75 pounds and I plan on installing castors ASAP :) Dimensions: 27 3/4" x 21" x 12 1/2".

It does not have an effects loop - don't care. Doesn't have channel switching - don't care. I don't use the boost switches or the reverb or the tremolo. No headphone jack - don't care.

I run a highly modified Strat into a GT-6 (I can't say enough good things about this multi-effects pedal) and then direct into the amp.

This amp has amazing clean headroom. I can empty a gymnasium with sheer sound power if necessary. It is a perfect match for my effects and playing style (all styles from country to metal... cover band stuff).

I'm not going to give it less than a ten because it does everything it was designed to do with exemplary aplomb. It doesn't pretend to be a modelling amp. 30 years ago this was the Canadian BOMB!

By the way, if you absolutely need a footswitch for the effects, Yamaha makes one - two buttons, one fat cord, two jacks... or you can make one yourself with 4-strand speaker wire (although it will cost $20 in hardware plus a box for the switches... cheaper on eBay).

This amp has amazing clean headroom. I can empty a gymnasium with sheer sound power if necessary. It is a perfect match for my effects and playing style (all styles from country to metal... cover band stuff). Getting crunch depends entirely on the speakers selected. I have tried EV, JBL, Eminence, and Marsland... all have completely different characteristics. I like the EVM 12-L's for monster clean headroom. And, for tonal variety, I have a mint Traynor 2x15" cab with original Marslands. I swapped the wiring around to make it a 4ohm cab and run it as an extension speaker. Really fattens up the tone with more breakup for non-processed signal playing. This amp can do anything if you are wise in selecting the other components in the tone chain. I get so weary hearing people who have played for three months talk about their $100 guitars going into a cheesy "heavy metal" stompbox from then into an amp... and then criticize the amp for sound quality. Give us all a break :)

No noise from the amp (and none from my guitar, frankly... I've "quieted the beast" thanks to guitarnuts.com).

Played without any effects, the amp is full of harmonics with clear shimmering highs and a full bodied bottom end (whatever that means to you...). I have no pops or clicks or crackles or hisses. Good quality tubes (I use all EH for their tone, heat resistance, and low to nil microphonics) and a cap job at the 30 year mark have kept this beastie silent. If necessary, I'd clean the pots with some magic-spray but I haven't had to yet :)

It's a Traynor. Do the Pete Traynor thing... drop the amp from a second/third/fourth/fifth story window... replace the tubes... power up and play.

I've never needed a backup solution with this amp. But I always have one. Paying audiences have a right to guaranteed uninterrupted listening pleasure :)

Long/McQuade in Canada is/was the Traynor pipeline to the public. They're great. My '73 amp is long past its warranty period but there are quite a few tube amp techs that can work on this amp (I got a great referral from the local L&M so I have to say support is excellent)

Pop the top off and all the guts are accessible. The point to point wiring and time-tested design are a big plus. Also the schematics are widely available. Easy peasy.

I've been playing electrics 25 years (others, longer). I've owned Fender, Ampeg, Traynor and other amps... many of each. I've played through Mesa, Marshall, Orange, and Vox. I can afford virtually any amp out there and am satisfied with my YGL-3 MkIII. I have to admit that I haven't played through a Matchless and reserve judgement on that comparison. However, I can get all the tone that I've ever heard from one. Still, that's not the same as playing though one myself. There are a few other amps that I've only sampled briefing... Dr.Z, Dumble, etc. thanks to some good friends... but I still prefer my Traynor.

However, only your ears matter in the end... :)

Yes, I'd buy another. They come up on eBay from time to time and are one of the unsung values in amp-land.

This is a mid 70s Traynor. Not too pretty looking but that is my only gripe, despite it being a little weak and pickey gripe. All tube, point to point hand wired, with 2 chanells, tube reverb, tremelo, 2-12 inch speakers, built like a brick house. It is an incredible product.

This amp is amazing!!!!!! It is everything what I wanted my blackface twins to be. The fender twin reverbs were my main amps untill I found these. The Traynor is much more responsive, warm and musical. It sounds like the twin, yet it does not have that "middey" midrange problem twins have. The trebble is excellent and you can easilly dial in as much or as little as you wish with out hurting the tone of the amp. Many amps are easily transformed into too muddy or too crisp when you roll out or in, respectively, the trebble. The bass is wonderfull, yet if you turn it up too much it can get really bassy and possibly interfere with you bassists tone! This amp is TONE. The amp breaks up a little easier than the twin in the high input chanell, producing a well compressed overdriven natural distortion ala Led Zepplin. If you max it out, with all tone and volume controls (not including trem or reverb) it is full-on hendrix. The other channel stays fairly clean around 3/4 volume, clean enough for pedal steel. I am comparing this amp to the Fender Twin because it is basically the same wattage, and speaker configuration. However, soundwise it is more like a much louder fender princeton reverb.

I have had this thing for almost two years now and it is a Tank! I dont think i could break it with out heavy duty construction equipment. The wiring is excellent, not as good as a boutique amp and that is why I am giving it a 9, yet nothing is as good as those way overpriced boutique amps built by anal retentive electronic smartty pants.

never dealt with em.

Hands down the best amp I have ever played, especially for the value.

really cool amp with reverb and tremelo.

Sounds like a Fender Twin, but it is much better made and much more warm sounding than a twin. It is hard to get this amp to break up much unless your willing to deal with playing at a very high volume, but its clean is warm, natural and distinctive. If you crank the master volume and play loud it is more like a marshall JTM 45. I saw eric johnson use one of these amps next to a twin and two 100 watt marshall lead plexi amps in '98 at a show in dallas.

Very reliable, made solid as can be. The transformers are huge, and it is point to point hand wired. These are inexpensive amps but they are certainly not cheaply made. If you buy one, leave it alone no matter how easy people claim it is to modify them. If you want an amp that sounds like a marshall, then buy a marshall. This amp is unique and sounds much better than most.

n/a

I own two. If one was stolen, Id buy another. It is really truly a fantastic amp. I never give any amp a 10 rating!!

Mine's a 1973 model. Two 12" speakers. Seemingly indestrucatable construction. Heavy as fuck. Two channels. Two inputs per channel. Normal and boost switch. Reverb. Tremolo (w/speed and intensity controls). Master gain. Lots of tubes in the back. Looks awesome. Missing channel switching & effects loop. With four different inputs, one could aways use an A/B box though...

I play a Gibson SG thru it. If you're looking to get distorted sounds out of this amp, I suggest an SG thru this. It'll give you a great slicing distortion sound, especially with the boost switch on - think of a rougher/ballsier early-AC/DC sound. Bizkit and Korn-heads need not apply. I love a two-ton crunch as much as the next person, but this is the sound I want my amp to make on its own. I can always put a pedal in front of it for more sustain or overdrive. Lots of high and low end. Not much depth to the lower-mids though. This amp is also capable of sparkling clean sounds. Good sounds on tap just by cranking the amp and playing with the guitar volume and tone. Top two inputs are much cleaner than the bottom two. I've played other guitars thru the Mk III - not nearly as much break-up. All the tone you'll need before splurging on a Fender. Actually, I'll go ahead and say this amp has a more substantial clean (and far dirtier distortion capability) than most Fenders available. In my humble opinion, of course.

I've only had it half a year so far, but I'll bet my bottom dollar this will outlast me, my children, their children, and their children's children, and maybe a nuclear holocaust after that. My score is mearly a projection.

I'll never know.

I've been playing for about ten years. I've got a Gibson Gospel acoustic (another unkown jem) and play an SG through the Mk III. I love guitars, but am always weary of paying huge bucks for stuff. That's why the Mk III is perfect. Real-deal vintage tube amp vibe and sound for much less than comparable 'big-name' amps. The reliability is legendary. Why follow the herds? Does your amp really have to say Fender or Marshall on it? Fuck no. On the grand scheme, an 8, for the money, an 11.

From the wiring and layout, this looks like a 1976 model. When people ask me if I play guitar, I say, "Nah, I just play with it>" so I play around with everything, Rock, Country, Classical, Alternative, (ever hear Acid Bluegrass?). The amp has two channels with independant inputs. One channel is dry, the other has footswitchable reverb and tremolo. If you have one of these amps and no switches, you can make your own with a push on/push off footswitch, and a shielded single conductor cable (an old guitar cord with one plug cut off works fine). build one for each effect. Too bad there's no channel switching or effects loop, easy to fix if you know what you're doing though. The gain on the effects channel is sufficient for some mild crunch with the channel volume set to max, but when I bought this one, one of the output tubes was shot so I pulled out the matching tube and re-biased. It still blows stuff off the wall with the master at 4 with only two output tubes, and overdrives a little easier. I'm thinking about rodding it up a little with channel switching, an effects loop, running both channels through the onboard effects with additional gain on the second channel, adding a presence control to the power amp, as well as a variable control to the power amp feedback circuit. The addition of castors is mandatory.

I'm using a Yamaha RGX612S which give me a pretty broad tonal range. Usually I go direct into the bottom jack on the effects channel. I can get an acceptable amount of distortion, with unlimited harmonics and feedback on demand. The only noise I get is the hum from the single coil pickups and only a hiss at higher volumes in humbucker mode. Forget about distortion on the dry channel, but on the effects channel, with the channel volume to max, treble at mid, mid at max, and bass at mid, there's enough to crank out some good old fashioned ZZ-Top back when they were playing Texas Boogie style suff,(The good stuff). I do have an effects settup I use ocassionally. I plug it in to the top jacks and set the channel volume to 5.

When I bought this amp, a solder connection was broken in the reverb circuit, the neon lamp in the modulator for the tremolo was burned out, and one of the output tubes was shot. The solder joint took about five minutes to fix. The modulator involved a trip to Radio Shack for an NE-2 bulb and a packaged assortment of photoresistors. It took some trial and error experimentation to pick out the right photoresistor, but a lot of that is personal preference to what it shoud sound like. Instead of buying new tubes, I cut the output down to two tubes. Instructions for setting bias are on the schematic in the cover. Just set the voltage the same as if you had four tubes in.
I've been playing this amp for 12 years now and that's all I've had to mess with.

Learn some basic electronics. Anyone that works on tube amps should be able to fix it.

I started playing when I was 8 (first formal guitar lesson) Actually, I'd been try to play since I could first pick up a guitar. If this amp were ever lost or stolen, I'd probably cry because I couldn't afford another at any price. When you can find these they are an excellant buy. The most I've personally seen asked for one was $175.00 in a pawn shop for a YGL-3A (head only). They are easy to fix if you don't blow a tranformer.

This one appears to be late 60's, it has cloth wiring throughout.Fender should have done similar.

The reverb is not quite the same as a Fender, but is better than a crate. The amp, although appears to be a Fender clone, sounds more like a Marshall. After a new set of speakers and maybe a full retube, I am sure this amp could hold its own. I like the circuit breaker power supply.

The only items I ever changed on it in the 6 years I have owned it were the bright switches. Although I did recently fry a speaker (my own fault). This thing is built like a tank.

Traynoy is long gone. But any Fender/Marshall tech could service it.

I am thinking of unloading this beast in the near future for my body has been bashed up a bit in recent years. Not only as strong, but as heavy as a tank. I need something lighter, but may keep this around.

I won't add anything as they're well listed above

I play an American Strat plus(gold lacesensor pickups):Fender Tele Plus(noisless pickups) and an Aria Pro FA70 (Dual humbucker big hollow body blues guitar). I try to play everything from blues , Country, to ACDC and have had the Mark 3 since I was 15 (I'm now 40).
It has a super bit in the clean channel and settings,(have to turn the treble way down cause it hurts my ears!). In the reverb chanell,the sound can be anything to super clean and brite to warm and bluesy. The tremolo doesn't get used much anymore, but I've yet to hear an amp with more reverb to offer then my Mark 3!
As stated before,it offers a grungy overdrive but you need an overdrive pedal to get the Marshall overdriven sounds out of it. You won't be dissapointed for any style of music .(tons of bottom end)espescially when I add in the 4-12 Traynor extention cab to it.
Bought a Marshall TSL 100 (Jcm 2000) series not too long ago,with a 4-12 vintage cab,housing two greenbacks and two celestion,s . Sounds real sweet but I keep going back to the old one. Also have a Peavey Classic 50. The Traynor has nothing to be ashamed about when put up against these two amps. It always has had a little more hum to it than the Marshall or Peavey ,nothing to worry about, the fan on the Peavey is louder!
I would never part with this amp.It sounds great and is better sounding than a lot of Fender or other Tube amps on the market today for $1000 + ... once you add a DOD or MXR overdrive stomp box to it!
Everything on this amp is original, except for two pre amp tubes that were getting a little noisy and were replaced just this year!
Mr Traynor ... thks

I've dragged this thing around for 25 years and haven't had a problem.Yeah I sure can depend on it. The only problem with this amp is that I have to get help now days to haul it around (man is it heavy) or else I'm just getting too old!

Your on your own now!!

Summed up my thoughts already,except if it was stolen or lost. I would have to let it go, getting too old to haul one that heavy around.
I know of a few guys that have "hot rodded " this amp for more overdrive and made the channells switchable. They have made it into a real killer.

I bought this amp new in 1973. 100 watts of all tube power, two channels one dry, one reverb and tremalo, two twelve inch speakers. Heavy, I put castors on the day I got it. Nice and clean sound for country, jazz or roots rock. No channel switching. Has a master volume. One very nice feature--the top of the traynor cabinet lifts off by loosening four bolts and there is a scematic stapled on the underside. I don't need alot of features. Just want to plug in and go.

Over the years I've played a 335, a les paul, a strat and currently a tele. All stock pickups. I replaced the speakers with two altecs in 1974. It really cuts through. I turn the channel volume to ten and use the master to adjust maximum loudness. Then I ride the guitar volume as needed. I can usually get some break up with the guitar all the way up. An overdrive pedal really helps to push the amp into some sustain and crunch. I currently use a daddy-o and a rat. One gripe I have is the tone controls don/t seem to be very sensitive. Cranking the bass to ten doesn't give much bottom end. I must say though that these days I prefer to play at lower volumes and unless I'm playing outside I use my old fender deluxe with a weber speaker.

I played the bejeezus out of this amp from 1972 to 1984. Retubed when necessary. It only went down a couple of times. A broken solder conection after being dropped. Had to replace a couple of capicitors. I never used a back up. I guess I'm just a lucky!

What?

Been playing since 1965. Have a335 and a tele now. Fender deluxe, princeton and twin reverb. Still want someting else. Baciclly I think of my traynor as a real workhorse. You can find them in a pawn shop real cheap so if you got no dough and yearn to blow then check one out. Or I'll even sell you mine.

ps--great site Harmony--thanks

This amp does not have alot of features, it does not have any effects loops, headphone jacks or line out. It does have 2 clean channels, one of which has not reverb. But for it's limited features, it does have enough power to play anywhere. Personally I've never had to push the level higher than 7. The only effect it has besides reverb is tremelo, which I can't use for alot of songs, but when I do it adds alot of flavor to whatever I'm playing. This amp may be very versatile, but if you plan on getting one for yourself I would suggest castors or a dolly.

This amp is equipped with 2x12 eminence speakers, which helps give it such a clean, full and rich tones at even high levels, which is perfect for any styles you wish to play at anywhere you wish to play them. It does have a slight hum but I think that once I get a few new power tubes popped in and it cleaned out it should sound as good or better than any Fender, Marshall etc. It may not look the best, but as long as it sounds as good as it does I'll never part with it!

Never once does the amp give me any problems, it is the most reliable and toughest amp I've ever had. I definately trust it enough to play with it out on a gig without a backup.

I've have been playing for about 5 years, and my father has been playing for over 30 years. Weve had this amp for about 5 years now and in 5 years of playing around, weve determined that it plays just as good or better than any Fender, Marshall etc
This is the best deal my father and I have come across. We found the Mark III in the corner of a pawn shop. It had dust all over it and just looked like it died, but when we plugged it we knew we had to have it.

My amp was made in 1972. It is still going strong, and it probably always will. I live in Truro, where Mr. Traynor himself lived. He has a really good name around here. So did his amps until he sold them to Yorkville sound. I've put a new set of Scorpion speakers in it, and a set of Groove Tubes EL-34's. The sound ROCKS. I wish it had a channel changer on it though.

The amp can be very bluesy and I guess countryish. The amp is very hard to distort naturally though, so you'll have to go with a pedal. It is a very versatile amp, and although maybe ideal for blues, play it for anything. It sounds great! You can find them relatively cheap now to. I got mine for $250. Great deal!

More reliable than any other amp out there!

Don't bother. You won't get far.

I hope I never lose this baby, Right up there with any other amp. I've been playing for 4 years. I just wish it had a channel changer.

was made ca 1970 's . in canda
this is good country blues/rock amp good old tube amps are the best
it has two channels but chanell 2 is the most used since that is where
the reverb is, just like a twin reverb with master volume
has good clean chanell & spacey reverb,,,what more could u want
but the tubes are pretty beat..mullards ??? i guess they could be changed
does anyone know about mullards tubes

when i change the tubes will probally sound a whole lot better
but right know it's okay.
with my strat & tube screamer does the trick
2 twelves & 80 watts is more than enough,,,
i might just keep these weak tubes in there
perfect club amp. i happen to be an old amp freak
so it don't compare to knew amps made today
EXCEPT THE TECH 21,which i purchased 4 months ago
the best new amp on the market...tube or solid state

this thing is built like fort knox
i've already had it fall off the stage no problem
this is without doubt the most well constructed amp made...period
i've tried many & none compare to the rock solid traynor
only one drawback IT'S REALLY HEAVY...put some coasters on it

long gone
are you kidding

this is one of old tube amps best secret.
i mean as far as tone,versatility & reliabe,it measures up to a fender
any day.
this amp is by far better than any amp fender is making today
but i do own a blues deville

-two-channel 100w tube amp manufactured some time in the Sixties; equipped with reverb and this really neat tremolo effect. Effects are footswitchable; I can't find the footswitch anywhere though. Anyone know where I can find one?

I would've given it a ten, because I love it, but what do I know? Lots of punch in the bottom and middle, if you're into that sort of thing. Being an old tube amp, the only way to get this thing to distort naturally is to crank it WAAAYYY up. So it's either use a pedal or move to the middle of nowhere.

I bought it used three years ago, and since then it has been dropped, knocked over, had beer spilt on it, etc. It's still going! I'm not the first owner either, and judging by the cabinet, this thing has been ROCKED. Apparently, the guy who built the Traynor amps engineered them so that you could drop one off a four storey building and it'd still work after. I haven't tried it, so I don't know if that's true or not.

hehehe, you're joking, right? Luckily I know someone who's worked on sick Traynors before...

I love the sounds it makes, I love how you can beat the crap out of it, but it's REALLY heavy. It can be a pain in the behind to lug up and down stairs. If it was ever lost or stolen, I don't know what I'd do... Traynors are pretty hard to find. Oh, BTW, this is the make of amp that launched a thousand Canadian rock bands in the Seventies.