Traynor Mark III Head

mid 70's jobby, could use more crunch, but the natural voice of this amp makes up for anything. i play mainly overdriven palm muted stuff, and that is why our singer gets to use this baby at our rehearsal space. put a good distortion pedal into this thing and stand clear---way clear. more than enough power for anyone who's not playing arena's. the reverb is unrivaled, but i never use tremelo, so can't really say on that.

as i said , our singer uses this and is in love. they may be doing inappropriate things when noone else is around for all i know. the smoothness, reliability and sheer power of this unit makes vocals soar. i know it's a guitar amp, and does bass pretty well too, but plug a good mic into one of these once and see what i mean. you shall not be disappointed. besides, it's dead quiet without a signal. i've played guitar through it many times and the tone is fascinating, it pulls you in and takes you in directions that you may not have intended. the tone is the absolute best clean sound that can be bought at any price. the highest gain input is all blues with the new groove tubes we've installed. the power tubes are pretty hard to saturate though, and incredibly loud when you get there.

i've owned this amp for ten years and it's mint. it has chewed a set of tubes finally this year, but that is the only service it's been given since i've owned it. i would trust this thing over any other piece of gear i own. i wouldn't hesitate to use this without a backup, although i would make sure i had some extra tubes, just incase some loser spit beer on a hot tube. when i first got it, the fan hadn't been run in a few years and was struggling so i did update that with a good quality unit that actually fit the mounting brackets near perfect. you could use this as a battering ram to get into the club, and it wouldn't even show a scratch, but is really heavy and the weight is all to one side.

huh??? i'm not sure these things ever break.

i've been playing for ten years, and while i prefer higher gain stages, that is easily circumnavigated with a good pedal. i have fender hot rod, pro reverb, lead 75 , bassman 100, and roc-pro. acoustic 160, art 80-80, asi 65 gtr, ampeg jet j-12d , and some homebrews of my own design. if it were lost or stolen i could live, but it would hurt, and i don't know what i could possibly find that sounds this good and is this reliable, with the same build quality. only another traynor mark 3 could replace it. i love the tone, but wish it had a hotter lead/ rhythm channel. i like the fact that it's so heavy and huge---this wouldn't be easy to sneak away with and there is no chance of outrunning anyone carrying this thing. so let's just say you gave chase and the fellow who swiped it hurled it at you and it crashed to the groung. big deal, i bet it wouldn't do a thing to this tank, and he'd certainly wrench his back out with the effort. it's a real beauty to look at too. with a couple of pedals the sky is the limit, and the tone and volume of this beast cannot be rivaled by anything i've played.

70's Mark III. Two channels, 4 inputs. Master Volume. Seperate preamp volume and EQ for each channel. Reverb & Tremolo on channel 2. Has channel switching via RCA jack, but I haven't gotten around to locating a channel switcher. (I've used a Morley AB box, but I hate the extra cables and clutter) Speaker output and speaker extension as well. The Yorkville website has more info on the specs.

Treble boost is quite helpful, although the treble controls aren't very responsive. I like the mid control mostly full up, and the bass adjusted according to the room. There's alot of bass there (these also make great bass amps, as someone has aleady mentioned)

Seriously loud. 100 watts of tube goodness. I rarely have the master volume up past 10 o'clock at any gig (even outdoors). It's nice knowing there's tons of power under the hood if you need it.

Really heavy and really tough. All the heavy guts are on one side of the head--this makes it quite lopsided when you're lugging it around. Annoying, yet amusing at the same time.

I've tried this head with a Laney Cab 2x12(with Seventy 80's I think) and a Gallien Krueger/Yorkville 2x12. A bit brighter with the GK and smoother with the Seventy 80's.

Channel 1 ranges from clean to slight breakup. Lots of clean headroom, particularly on input 1 on channel 1. Input 2 breaks up a bit more in response to your attack. The EQ isn't the most versatile, so you pretty much have to like it from the get-go. I think it works well for blues, funk, rock. Nice vintage sound.

Channel 2 is much more fun. The 2nd input breaks up more than the 1st. It gets pretty gnarly with the channel volume dimed--but it adjusts quite nicely with your guitar's tone knob. If you're plugging in au natural--this input would give you the most options. It's definitely a 70's type sound, so again, take it or leave it.

I like using the 1st input as the rhythm channel, with my pickup selection and picking dynamics controlling the breakup. Signal is: Guitar => Wah => Overdrive => Traynor. I've tried an OD-3 and a FullDrive--both sound really good with this amp. Sort of a poor-man's Dumble or something.

This is my gigging and rehearsal amp. I wanted something that could cover alot of musical ground, be loud enough when I'm not miked, and be bullet-proof. I've been trying to streamline my set-up for a while, and this was the first step. (Fewer variables = fewer things go wrong, hopefully.) This is one piece of gear I don't have to baby-sit!
I've always liked how bass players can just walk up and plug into their rigs without any worries. I like to think that this amp affords me that same peace of mind.

It's been through almost a year's worth of gigs and rehearsals and so far so good. If something goes wrong, then just about any amp tech anywhere would be able to fix it.

Almost every amp tech in town has fixed a Traynor at some point, so no worries. I've heard there's someone in town who mods Traynors to give them a warm lead channel. Hmmmm...

I've got a Cyber-Head that I haven't gigged with yet. That's a fantastic amp for recording, but I wouldn't trust it on the road. Yes, I can just plug right in, with no pedals whatsoever, and get every tone known to man. But it both looks and feels like a blinking, high-tech, ticking time bomb at a gig (with neon lights that say "steal me")

If the Traynor were stolen--I'd first be amazed at the gorilla who managed to run off with a 100 pound head; then, I'd go looking for my tranquilizer gun... Unfortunately, these have long been considered "vintage" where I live, and are fetching prices commensurate to their worth. But they're quite common, and I'd have no trouble finding another.

2 channels,typical eq,footswitchable reverb and tremolo,master volume,stanby swich,ground lift,but no impedence selector.I think this is because my head used to be a combo,that someone made a custom case for,to use it as a head.They did a good job it looks like a fender style head.I wish the head was shorter,because on top of my ampeg 8x10 cab,its a little wider.

When I got this amp it barely passed a signal,and sat in my basement for 5 years.So finally I took it to a legendary local tech.I decided this was going to be used as a bass amp.We decided to swap the el34 output tubes,for svetlana 6550.The head was completely gone through,new caps and a few changes in the preamp.I own vintage fenders,hiwatts,marshalls,traynor bass master and garnet sessionman amps.My main bass head is an early 70`s SVT.I have to say that this the warmest bottem end I`ve heard.With the tone controls set at 5,I actuallty had to turn the bass down to about 3.It doesnt have the headroom of the SVT of course-100w compared to 240w-but its plenty loud.I like a little break up when i dig in,and this head does that well.I cant say what this head sounds like stock,but the way this ones setup,its fatter and warmer than anything I own.I also tried my strat through it.I thought that because it has 6550`s in it,guitar might be slightly clean and brittle,I was wrong.This is as good as any guitar amp I`ve heard.

Due to its construction,ptp handwired,will last longer than the human race possibly.

I got this amp free.My friend called me and said that his friend was emptying a house that was about to be torn down,and in the trash container was a guitar amp.I said bring it by I`ll look at it at least.He pulls up and outa the van comes this mark3 head with a traynor 4x12 cab.I look in the back of the head and see 4 telefunken el34`s, mullard 12ax7`s etc.,I said sure I`ll take it.Because I have other amps I never got this thing running until recently.Here in Canada traynor amps were always abundant and ignored,marshall,hiwatt,fender were what everyone wanted.Times have changed .Traynor bassmasters used to sell for 50 bucks.People are starting to realise how good these amps are and the price is going way up.All my amps are point to point hand wired,except my jcm800.My tech has worked on countless Traynors and this is the fisrt one he`s put 6550`s in.Buy a Traynor now before they start selling for what thier worth.

I HAVE TWO MARK 3 HEADS THAT I RUN THROUGH TWIN 12 CABS ONE WITH ALTEC'S THE OTHER A TRAYNOR PA CAB. THESE AMPS HAVE THE GREATESR SOUNDING REVERB OF ANY AMP THAT I HAVE USED, THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE LARGE HAMOND REVERB SPRING THAT IS USED. I'VE ADDED A LINE OUT TO ONE OF MY AMPS BY RUNNING A LINE FROM THE POWER AMP SIDE OF THE MASTER VOLUME, I USE THIS FOR RECORDING OR RUNNING IT THROUGH A PA. I ALSO USE THE LINE OUT TO RUN MY AMP THROUGH A TRAYNOR YPM 250 POWER AMP INTO A SECOND CAB.THIS AMP HAS A CLEAN SOUND ALL THE POWER I NEEDEVEN WITHOUT USEING THE POWER AMP. I LOVE THE SOUND I GET USEING THE POWER AMP WITH IT AS I GET THE SOUND OF THE TUBE POWER AMP AND A SOLIDSTATE AMP DRIVEN BY THE TUBE PRE AMP.

I PLAY A EARLY TO MID 60'S YAMAHA WITH SINGLE COIL PICKUPS THROUGH THIS AMP AND IT SOUNDS GREAT. I USE IT WITH AND WITHOUT EFFECS. WITH EFFECTS I USE A 10 BAND ROLAND EQ A PEAVY ULTAVERB DIGITAL DELAY, AND ELECTROHARMANIX BADSTONE PHASER,CRYING TONE WAH, AND BIG MUFF DISTORTION AND I GEAT A FANTASTIC SOUND WITH ALL THE POWER I NEED, THIS IS THE ONLY AMP FOR ME AND HAS BEEN FOR ABOUT 23 YEARS. I ALSO RUN BASS AND KEYBOARD THROUGH IT AND LOVE THE SOUND I GET. THE LINE OUT I ADDED MAKES THE AMP WAY MORE VERSATILE

IV' CHANGED THE OUTPUT TUBES ONCE SINCE I'VE HAD THE AMP AND ONE CAPPACITOR IN THE POWER SUPPLY AS IT WAS CAUSEING THE AMP TO CUT OUT ONCE IN A WIAL OTHER THEN THAT I HAVE HAD NO OTHER PROBLEMS WITH THIS AMP. I THE TIME I'VE HAD IT I'VE FIXED PROBLEMS ON FREINS MARSHALS AND FENDER AMPS SEVERAL TIMES. I WILL STICK WITH MY TRAYNOR AS I HAVE HAD VERY FEW PROBLEMS WITH ANY OF MY TRAYNOR EQUIPMENT AND I HAVE A LOT OF IT

NO SUPPORT BECAUSE OF AGE

IT'S THE BEST AMP THAT I HAVE OWNED I HAVE HAD FENDERPEAY GIBSON AND A FEW OTHER AMPS. THE ONLY OTHER AMP I STILL OWN IS A VERY OLD GIBSON GA70 IT'S OVER 50 YEARS OLD AND DOESN'T SOUND AS GOOD AS MY MARK3. I'VE BEEN PLAYING FOR ABOUT 36 YEARS AND WOULD NOT WANT TO PART WITH MY TRYANOR. I'VE HAD SEVERAL PEOPLE TRY TO GET ME TO SELL IT TO THE BUT THERE IS NO WAY THAT I WANT TO PART WITH IT. IF IT WERE STOLLEN I HAVE A SECOND ONE BUT I WOULD STILL LOOK FOR ANOTHER ONE

Just want to update my last review
Found out you can get a good o/d sound by plugging into the second channel lower input (dont ask why I dont know) and turning the channel volume on bust

1976 mark 3 head
pretty versatile
has tremolo
has reverb
2 channels

good clean sound
no distortion sound
best damn tremolo period!
excellent with a single coil guitar
even makes my les paul custom sound adequate clean

pete traynor builds bulletproof gear end of story

sounds good with my ada split stack
this amp outshines every fender tube amp i've owned('59 bassman,67 bassman 50, fender twin)although this amp is very similiar to a twin it is much better in my opinion

This is a 1974 Traynor Mark 3 100 watt All Tube Head. It is driven by four EL34/6CA7 power tubes, five 12AX7A pre amp tubes, and one EL84 power tube for the Tremolo. There are two channels with a 3 band EQ, channel volume, treble boost and two inputs. The second channel is equipped with foot switchable reverb and tremolo. The tremolo has a speed and intensity knob. The amp is very versatile considering Im play everything from blues to fusion to heavy metal.

I own an Ibanez Roadstar 2 with Dimarzio Evolution pickups and A Kramer Vanguard with a Dimarzio X2N in he bridge and a PAF pro in the neck. This amp really has the capability of being driven hard although its a clean Amp. I use a Boss Drivezone OD20 so Distortion isn't a problem for me. This amp stays true to the guitar's tone and my effects setup. Im about to replace the tubes because i still have the original Phillips tubes in there and the amp is about due for a change. The only reason i didnt rate it a 10 is because the amp hums (it might be the tubes). The hum occurs when no strings are being touched and you touch anything metal on the instrument (knobs, bridge, etc.). The sound however is incredible.

This amp was my father's and he bought it in 1974 when it came out. It sat in my garage for about 20 years and collected dust. I found the thing, cleaned it out, and played it. I was suprised the thing even worked! I would never need a backup for this thing. It's been neglected for 2 decades and the thing works without any modification.

nope...

I've been playing guitar for 7 years and I own a Line 6 Spider Amp 2x12. I got a few acoustics lying around too. If this thing was ever stolen or lost...well...i dont know what I'd do but it'd involve spending a lot of money to replace the quality of the amp... I wish it had a lead channel but beggars can't be choosers. I haven't compared it to another head but I put it right up there with Fender and Marshall.

This is pretty much a Fender knock off of a Twin when it comes down to features. Two inputs on the left side of the amp, a volume control, treble/middle/bass tones knobs, and a treble boost switch. The second channel has additional controls for Reverb, and Tremolo (speed, intensity), and the Master Volume control. One difference is that the Standby switch is in the front of the amp. I'm not sure of the exact year this amp was made, but I'm confident that it's a mid 70's build. This is a very simple amp that has two 1/4 inch phono jack inputs for foot switching the reverb and tremolo effects on or off, and two speaker output jacks. No loop send/returns, no headphone jacks, and after playing this baby, no body could care less about bells and whistles. I bought this head from a friend of a friend, whom was asking for expert advice on whether his amp was worth repairing and what it would take. To keep this as brief as possible, I told him it needed new power tubes, and from there who knows, what it would need. He sold me the amp for a song and so I cleaned the pots, and put in 4 EL 34 Groove Tubes that were in my Marshall JMP. I needed to replace a couple pre amp tubes, and she was good to go. Now even though this amp is laid out like a Fender Twin, it is NOT a Fender. I have a Fender Quad (same lay out as the Twin)to compare this amp to. Now I love my Quad, but folks, this Traynor is really a fantastic amp. The treble boost switches really work, the tremolo sounds excellent, and the reverb is lush. Think of a high powered Twin and your getting close. I really play in the main input II jack, and keep the reverb on say 3. I don't often use the tremolo, but it's my amp of choice when I do want to use this effect. The original cabinet was replaced by a custom oak exterior, but it's the tone that makes this amp beautiful, not the cabinet. Mr Traynor built this thing like it had a military mission imo. I have used this amp as a back up for either my Marshall 100 watt JMP, or my Quad, and it easily can jump into either one of these amps shoes, with the exception of a quality overdrive to handle the Marshall mode.

I use a Robben Ford Fender guitar, a Les Paul Standard, a Zion Classic with Tom Anderson pickups S/S/H, a 69 Thinline RI (Japan), a Fernandes copy of a 52 Tele w/Seymour Duncan pickups, and a Peavey Predator with EMG pickups. I have also plugged in my G&L Climax Bass into this head. I have played many different styles of music in this amp, and being a stomp box addict, I go to extremes. I have always played this amp into a Marshall 1960 cabinet with 2 vintage 30's, and 2 EV SRO's, and the flexability is excellent. This amp has doesn't have a ton of pre amp grit, but I haven't played a single overdrive pedal or distortion pedal in it that didn't sound excellent. Even my Danelectro Daddy O sounds super in this amp. Now what compelled me to make this submission was a recent discovery I made after test driving a Mesa Mark IV at a local store. I found the Mesa to be hard to control, overly complicated and too damn sensitive on the master volume control. So I came home and tinkered around to see if I could come up with something close to the Mesa's tone (which I really did like). In the front end, I plugged in a Fulltone Pro Dist, into a Fulltone Fat Boost, and then into a Chandler Digital Echo. I fed this set up into a 12" EV SRO speaker that Ted Weber (Webervst.com)reconed, and was totally blown away. Every guitar sounds great in this set up, and they all retain their voices, but now the volume level is tolerable. I have stuck an original Whammy and a Prescription Electronics Experience pedal in front of the chain, and decided that I've finally found my lead guitar tone. If you aren't the pedal kind of guy that I am, then what you will find is that this amp will produce tons of clean tones, and if you crank up the pre amp to 10 you will get a pleasing old tube overdrive that will please the discriminating purest. To get more grind or drive, you have to use a pedal. Here are the ones I have used and was very pleased with : The Rat, Daddy O, Expandora, TS-9, TS-9 w/808 mod, Fulltone Soul O - Fulldrive II - Pro Distortion, Fuzzface, Experience, Danelectro French Toast, and a George Dennis "The Tube" pedal. This is really a beautiful piece of history, that suffered from closed minds of the day. My brother has a Traynor head that I won't A/B with my Jmp, because I know it will kick my Marshall's ass (and I have a good JMP!) Thankyou Pete for your contribution to great tone!

Mine was really neglected before I bought it, but man, this is one tough amp! It's very dependable, and even though I always have a back up, (just my policy) I don't think I'll ever really need one, but one never knows.

N/A

I've been playing for 30 years now, and my other amps are as follows: Fenders- Champ Amp, Super Champ, Princeton II, Quad. Others: late 70's 100 watt Marshall JMP, Kalamazoo Reverb 12. If it were stolen, the poor sucker would have to answer to God, because I wouldn't stop complaining to him until I got it back. This is just a beatiful old tube amp, that deserves to be praised for it's simplicity and pure adaptability to pedals. Very strong, yet controllable. If you need high volume, plug this head into a 4 x 12 Cabinet. If you need lower volume levels, use a old EV SRO that is in good shape, or send it to Ted Weber and he'll make it sound the way it was aways meant to sound, or ask Ted which one of his speakers he would recommend.

not much, other reviews sum it up well

Sweet, the kind of tone you take home to show your mother. This amp can get very loud. I run it through two cabs, a 6x10 and 2x15. If you can find these cabs I suggest it, but i have used several other cabs with this head and it always responds nicely

my particular head is about 33 years old and two words ORIGINAL TUBES. I have owned it for about five years, I play in two to three bands, so the amp is on for atleast 30 hours a week, and I have never had a problem. I even dropped it down two flights of stairs (by accendent, I was quite drunk and carring it seemed like a good idea) and no problems.

NA, even if there was I am sure this amp would be off warrenty. If you visit www.yoekvillesound.com, they have old owner manuals and schematics. lots of info on them via internet and any technitian can fix it, standard class A/B audio amplifier circuitry.

I have been playing for about 10 years, I own a dozen different guitars from fenders, gibsons, richs, and each guitar sounds great through it. Sometimes I even run a bass through it and it sounds great too. If it were stolen, the thieves better watch out because I am hunting them down, a little street justice never hurt anyone. Love everything about it, including the weight, all together ( 2 cabs and head) I had them weighed on a meat market scale and it was over 300 lbs, but it gives me a work out, who needs the gym anyway with one of these. Word of advice, If you see this head, or pretty much any traynor, I own a few, pick it up. they are the best sounding most reliable amp you will ever own. Much better than a marshall,fender, orange, crate, and vox, all of which I currently own or have owned.

This amp was built in 1974, but I've only owned it for a few weeks. It has 2 channels, one straight and one with reverb and tremolo, but no channel switching, no effects loop and no headphone jack. I've looked at the schematic and because it's all hard wired (no circuit boards) it would be really easy to to re-configure the pre-amp to add channel switching and/or an effects loop if you really wanted to (recent experiments with a Peavey ultra-tube and a GT3 sounded better with the effects going directly into the front panel). I will add channel switching because I like to have the ability to switch pre-amp settings at will. If I wanted to leave the amp "original" I could still do it with a transfer switch. I never use the tremolo, I hate tremolo. This amp is incredibly powerful. It's rated at 100w but sounds much louder, I use it with an open backed cab with Celestion G12T-75's so that could contribute to the apparent volume. I'm going to rate features at 7 because lot's of people want lots of bells and whistles. I'd rather have the money spent on quality components.

I'm a guitar maker and bought this amp to demo my products with, so it gets played with a variety of guitar congigurations. I can't say that this amp is particularly suited to any one guitar type or musical style. The sound is really clean all the way up to 10/10 with low output (vintage) pickups but can be pushed into a very smooth overdrive with high output humbuckers. External effects are essential if you're into distortion big time. The tonal qualities are absolutely superb even though the EQ is lacking in sophistication, I've owned or used almost every kind of amp since I started playing in the 60's but the only other Traynor I've ever used was at a gig in the park in Philadelphia in 1971. Here in the UK Traynors are pretty rare but are still really cheap second hand. I paid #130 for this amp but an (inferior) equivalent Marshall would, inexplicably, cost about #500. I've got to rate the sound at 10. If there's anything better out there it must be worth 11.

I have'nt had the amp long enough to know but just the fact that it's all hard wired, no PCB's, no edge connectors and the bullet-proof construction strongly hint at good reliability. My amp has Phillips valves (tubes) which suggest that they could be the 29 year old originals (Phillips mainly supply the OEM market). When I bought it, it had green mold on the outside and what looked like the contents of a hoover bag on the inside. After a comprehensive teardown and clean it ran up with a few pops and hisses (damp capacitors?). After 3 to 4 hours on standby it was as quiet and clean as a whistle. On Merseyside they call this a "dockyard job", boiler plate and half inch rivets, hence the 45lb weight. I'm gonna give this 9. It's still going after 29 years of abuse.

I think factory support is none existant in the UK, though I'd be happy to be proved wrong on this. The fact is if you buy this head it's gonna be years out of warranty anyway. The beauty of it is that it is hand built. There's nothing in there thats likely to blow that can't be bought off the shelf and any self respecting amp technician will be able to fix it. The circuit diagram is pasted into the top cover and there's a lot of help online from usergroups (yahoo) and other enthusiasts. When you buy one of these things you join a club. It's got to be a virtual 9 'cos of all the help out there.

I've been playing guitar since the early 60's and gear comes and goes. This is one bit of gear I'd be really sorry to lose. 'problem is that it would be really hard to replace. I just love the sheer purity of sound from this amp although this comes with the back breaking disadvantage of it's weight and size and the fact that it still smells like a second hand shop. I bought this amp because it was there. I was looking for a vintage all valve job to show off my guitars when I saw the ad for this Traynor. It could have been memories of Pliladelphia sunshine, mini-skirts and "too late baby" on the radio but I have no regrets.

Every one else told the story already. I can only play one guitar at the time. So enough inputs and knobbies to play with. I bought it with the 6 x 10 speakercabinet. Value for money, but bad for your back. You save so much money on any other vintage amp, you can afford yourself a roadie :)

One word.......Great.
What kinda sounds can the amp make??????????? A whirbling sound, because of the fan.

Amp is 29 years old. Everything in it is still original. Everything! And if you look inside you'll see it had a life in smokey and wet joints.

In the Netherlands? No way, nope, nada.

It's been played for all the 29 years. I own lots of other stuff.
I wished it had a cigarette lighter!

The amp is capable of Furnishing Clean or distorted distinct sound for the most discriminating person I know I have Played for over 40 years Using all brands none equil the sound of this amp. It is a 2 channel amp with master volume I wish it had seprate master volumes and reverbe controls for each channels and switching It is Probaly a 70 modle amp I play it every day sence 1980 I replaced the tubes once and had one shorted 6CA7 OutPut toub once. It has been very dependable I play blues rock jazz Clasical and standards It delivers perfict sound for them all. It Is probally a 100 wat amp whitch is more than enough power.

I play a 62 335 a new squire strat both with stock pickups an acoustic washburn a hand maid tourch form Soundlab in Tulsa with old Mighty Might humbuckers and a Demarsio Bass. It works In all styles of music Blues rock jazz clasic standers I even play Christmas songs. I found the distorted sounds to be very smooth all the way to the top it brakes up nicley at about 7 on the chanel but it is too loud to over drive the out put unless you are in very large venues.

I have never caryed a backup amp It has never failed me at a gig I only had one tube short once in 21 years I just put in a 6CA7 and went on.

I traded a Fender twin for it just the chasy With no speakers of cabnet I an a technition and allways fix things my self and Once in 21 years aint bad the quality of componets is very good

I started Playing 42 years ago. I owne too much to list but I do have a Pro sound system At least it was 15 years ago. It would be hard to replace but I would find another if need be. I love the sound that is the most important thind an amp can have. I dont hate annnything about it

Late '60's to early '70's amp...they didn't have features back then the way we do now. No Line Out, Effects Loop, etc. It does have the most incredible shower room to concert hall reverb/echo effect, and the power tube warbling tremolo makes you feel like your head is in the ocean. Reverb and tremolo are foot-switchable or I would've given it a 6. Two channels laid out like old Fenders with plain on one side, effects on other. Both channels have 3 bands of EQ.

I will apologize upfront to those of you who won't give a 10 to anything. Here's my definition of a 10 -- one unit that you always choose to take when you're heading out the door and you can't get enough of the tone. How many times do you get a new/used amp out and someone says, "That sounds good," yet you think to yourself, "Yea, but wait until I get a _____________." It won't happen with this amp...it's my end all/be all tone amp.

I didn't want a Fender and I didn't want a Marshall...this thing has the most incredible TONE for ME. I am using a new MESA 1x12 3/4 back cab with a 90W Mesa/Celestion speaker.

Disclaimers...I found the *original* Phillips 6CA7/EL34 power tubes in the unit, along with all the original Phillips 12AX7As and EL84, yes, and EL84 is used to drive the tremolo. What a difference these original tubes make. Second, it's all about warm and powerful clean tones...not a lot of distortion. You can use the bottom input on the second channel and crank the volume for nice blues breakup.

I've heard a story that Mr. Traynor took the tubes out, and dropped his amp from a building (I've read everything from a two-story to a four-story), put the tubes back in and played the amp. Whatever the distance, it's still a credit to this design. The amp has been absolutely unphased by time in the 30 or so years it has existed.

It doesn't exist

Again, I've gotta go 10 here because it's the only amp I'll use. I've been playing over ten years, six of those electric and have used over a dozen different amps, configurations, digital, analog, tube, you name it.

It's definitely a "pawn shop prize" if you can find one. When you do or if you already have and you're researching, go get it before someone else does.

This is a very versatile amp. This is the first Traynor that I've owned, and I will never get rid of it. It has 2 channels. Channel 1 has two inputs that features a treble boost switch, treble, bass, and volume. Channel 2 has two inputs that features a treble boost, treble, mid, bass, reverb, tremolo(speed and intensity knobs). Two output jacks for speakers, footswitch output for reverb as well as tremolo. This workhorse is all tube, including the reverb. This baby cranks. Yes, it can get plenty loud. No question about that! To get the amp to distort I find that you have to crank the volume knob and use the master for level. I also find that depending on how loud I turn up the master knob sometimes I have to compensate on where I set the volume knob. The tremolo is great, but find that when I click it on with my footswitch, I lose a little bit of power(volume). I use the tremolo mainly when I am tracking. It's awesome! I kind of wish the EQ was a little more defined. I carry this head to every show. I love it.

I Mainly use an '86 Les Paul Custom, a 95 Les Paul Studio, and a '68 ES-355 (stereo). I get a nice bluesy sound from the amp. The sustain that I get from the Les Pauls is amazing. I will never get rid of this amp. It has such a rich defined sound. The amp is not noisy unless I crank up the reverb to much. By keeping my volume knob on ten, I find that if I turn the reverb past 10 o'clock I lose tone. With some adjustments I can get a very nice clean sound out of the amp, but for the most part I stick with a dirty sound. The distortion is not brutal at all.

Great dependablility. I never carry a backup. I've had this amp for two years now and never had any problems. I still have the original tubes inside.

I don't know of any traynor dealers in my area, so it is hard to get any support. I do not know where to find support. I don't even know if traynor even makes amps any more.

I've been playing for 5 years. I also own a Laney GC60 combo amp, an Ampeg B2 bass combo, and a fender jazz bass. I will never get rid of this amp. I've never played an amp quite like this one. This amp is full of tone! Hard to find, so good luck. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you what kind of cabinet I play through. Yes, a Traynor. 8-10 cabinet. Yes, that's what I said, 8 ten inch speakers. It's a beautiful rig. It's almost as tall as me. That is the downer, It is a heavy rig for me to carry around, but it's worth it. if I had to compare it to another amp I would say a fender. Like a fender twin. I wish it had a footswitch for the clean to dirty sound.

This is the 100w Mark 3 head, by Toronto's own Pete Traynor. Its a 2-channel head with reverb and tremolo.
Its power section boasts four el34 and a few 12ax7's in the preamp stage with tube for reverb and one for tremolo.
Channel one features 2 inputs (boost and normal switch), volume, bass, treble and presence. This side does not have reverb or master volume. This is much like the Bassmaster, tone wise.
Channel two features 2 inputs (boost and normal switch), volume, bass, treble, speed, intensity, reverb and master volume.

I use a '76 LP standard (stock except for a bigsby vibrato) with this amp. Its great for clean, some have compared it to the Twin. The reverb is HUGE, alot like the Ampeg VT-22.
My only concern is that the reverb seems to diminish when one cranks the volume and uses the master volume for overall volume. This could be due to the overdriven tubes.....hey, what am I, Pete Traynor?

This a reliable amp. I would use this amp (if I knew the history of the tubes) on a gig without a backup.
I haven't had this perticular amp long enough to have it break down. I did do a cap job on it when I bought it. I do own another Traynor amp, for about a year now and no problems what so ever.
Come on, Pete dropped these things from a 3-storey building and they still worked -- I dare you to try that with your plexi.

This amp is no longer being made, so there is not much dealer support. However, I did email Long And Mcquade (the store where it all began) and they did write back, but didn't have to say.
Luckily, here in Toronto Traynor is a household name so it isn't hard to find repair guys who've seen thousands of these jems.

Overall, Traynor is the way to go. They're available, relatively cheap and built just as good as any Fender, Marshall or Ampeg.
If you're lucky enough to find one that hasn't been modded by Mr. Tonelab (heh heh), you may find a treasure of Mullard's inside.
Enjoy.