Traynor YCS100

This is an 08 I believe, by the way its the ycs100H2. Only difference Im told in the H1 and H2 is the H2 doesnt have the self biasing feature because they had some small problems with it.

Im a working musician playing long weekends at Resorts, Bars and private events from company functions ro wedding receptions and beyond. We play everything from Van Morrison to Van Halen from Aerosmith to Dwight Yokum. 3 channels and you gotta love the solo boost feature as well because its adjustable and works with whatever channel your playing, all from the footswitch. 4 EL34's and 4 12ax7's.

Was shopping for a tube power amp to get better sound out of my processor when I started looking at tube heads again. I used a Carvin X100B though out the 80's and early 90's and the Traynor is far superior in every department.

I play a 79 lespaul and an 86 san dimas Jackson with a floyd, and sometimes a mid level Dean Cadillac. This amp gets a great clean sound and the bright switch helps get you into fender territory, its not vintage fender if your extremly picky but pretty close for what I need and more than sparkles for that kind of sound. @ different distortion channels each has a boost for even more distortion. You can get old ACDC to Some pretty grindy chunky stuff to old priest to pretty much anything and this amp also has an excellent rolloff from your guitar volume knob. The distortion on this thing stock is as decent as most any expensive tube amp on the market but if you set the bias just slightly up you go into kick *** and take names mode. If your gonna have a race car you got to keep it in race mode, if you are worried about better gas milage on the tubes you will sacrifice some balls just like a street legal car vs a dragster. You can go either way but this amp was Born to Be a race car in my opinion. Effects loop and the amp in amp out are like have 2 effects loops, one with adjustable volumes for each channel even and seperate EQ on each channel as well also has a 1/4 inch and xlr out for recording or live stuff and built in speaker compensation as well with adjustable volume control, and yes it works and sounds like it is supposed to sound.

Ive had this a year now, it stays on from 9 pm till about 1:15 am when Im playing, its on standby for 3 15 minute breaks and about a half hour before the first set and it has never failed me yet. In fact as the night goes on it just seems to get meaner.

Its been in and out of my car trunk, numerous rehersals, taken home to practice to gigs and is built like a tank. so far so good for the amp, only problems I have had were caused by me!

I cant say enough about the service, I started going tube crazy researching everything from biasing to old tubes, new tubes, nos tubes, brands of tubes and everything in between the last few months. Bought a new quad of the new tung sols and they sounded great but when checking the bias it seems 2 of the tubes were unstable and way off and they ruined 2 screen grid resistors, but the amp kept playing on and on and sounded great anyway. I only discovered this from checking things with a multimeter since I had become so interested in tubes and what they do. I shipped to Trayner and they not only fixed it and paid to ship it back to me, the guy who worked on it sat on the phone with me a few times and did his best to explain all the electronic mumbo jumbo about watts, amps milliamps milliwats millvolts tubes in the 50's and every other crazy question I could come up with, I mean it was a serious education and like talking to your cousin or something. I now know when you get new tubes to check them right away because tubes are not made anywhere as quality or consistant as they were years ago. The only reason I replaced the power tubes was because of all the hype I had been reading in advertisements. The EH EL34's that came stock in the amp were working fine to begin with just so you know! They have a 2 year warranty even if you break it, and in my case I did break it with the help of some unstable tubes.

If stolen I would get another because it does everything and has the tone if your willing to mess around and dial it in as you want, its heavy, about or close to 50 lbs is the only drawback, I played through a Rivera the other day for the first time and my traynor sounds more like a guitar amp should sound in my opinion, I would never pay for big fancy names when I have this.

Mine was probably made in '08 or '09 - not sure. I was a actually looking for a simpler, less powerful amp but seeing the features on this one i just had to try it out.
It's an all tube, 3-channel 100W head but you can switch it to 30W Class A Mode. I'm not gonna write much about channel layout or type of tubes used as this has been done by others here. The amount of features and their quality is mind-boggling if you look at the price tag.
The DI-Out with speaker sim sounds amazing if you ever need it. Separate FX and reverb loops for all channels are a great idea. What I miss is a possibility to remote-control the modes of the channels (scoop, modern etc.) but maybe that's too much to ask and the floorboard would be huge. I love the seperate DIN cord for the floorboard.

I'm playing a Fender American Strat and a Duesenberg Starplayer. Mostly some sort of indie rock. I use the 30 Watt mode almost exclusivly. The differences are small, the 30W mode is somewhat tighter and already loud as hell of course.
This amp is quiet. The little humming I get with gain set in the "are you nuts" area, I blame it on the neon light right above it.

The clean channel is beautiful but can be also aggressive. Depends on you playing like with any decent amp. I like my clean sound on the verge of breaking, so I turn the volume all up and the gain to about 6/7 and it's perfect for me.

The crunch channel does that sparkling, edgy sound I was looking for - not heavy but aggressive. Great response to picking dynamics. There's easily enough gain potential for most situations, save really brutal metal sounds. Channel volume on 10, like in all channels, does the trick.

The lead channel is similar to the crunch channel except that there's a bit more bottom and more gain. I hardly use it, but it does sound good. I can't tell how the amount of gain compares to say a Mesa but it's already way more than I'll ever need. And it's tight.

The chassis looks tough and will probably shrug off a few bumps now and then. I never use backup because when i gig, there's usually at least one other band who'd help me out, as well as I'd help out. So far I've been treating it carefully and haven't had a problem.

Never had to deal with the gentlemen.

I just hardly find anything to complain about this amp. One thing maybe, it takes time and patience to find the perfect sound on it. Finding the perfect balance between volume and gain on the clean channel cost me some nerves. The speaker-outs' impedance isn't perfect for the cab i'm using so I had to find a workaround - would have been nice to have an 8-Ohm output in 30W mode.

Still, I've had this amp for 6 months now and I'm still waiting for the initial enthusiasm to wear off. It just doesnt't happen.
I'd buy it again if I lost it.

traynor ycs100 made in i think 08, 3 channel clean a marshall sort of sound, and a mesa sort of sound, spring reverb, solo boost, 4 button footswitch, if you buy an additional 2 button footswitch, you can control the reverb and effects loop through footswich as well as the included 3 channels and solo footswitch, this thing is packed with features and any sort of tone you could want, i mostly just mess around in my basement and the 30 watt mode is more than enough power in fact im pretty sure that would be enough power for most situations

I own a washburn x50 pro emg 81/85 a schecter blackjack floyd rose with seymour duncan jb/jazz set a stock epi les paul custom,stock fender american standard strat which i have played all through this amp, and all sound great in many different styles of music. I play alot of stuff but lately its been mostly of the metal persuasion, and man this thing is a beast ive had it for like 4 months now, im really picky about my gear i wanted something versitile and moderatly priced. Took me like 2 or 3 months of shopping around, reading reviews, listening to demos on youtube and stuff, finally i narrowed it down to between this and a carvin v3 i went with this one because all the reviews i read were sterling, the carvin on the other hand was a little mixed, when i got it i ripped it out of the box and hooked it up to the cab i also purchased which is loaded with celestion vintage 30s, and to be honest i was a little dissapointed to begin with, it didnt feel like enough gain, but i gotta tell you i was wrong, this thing has about all the gain youll ever need, i think what helped was turning up the volume on the channels pretty high and then using the master volume to bring it back down, its my first tube amp but i think this drives it hard enough to get the tubes warmed up. Ive been running the gain at about 2 o clock and using an overdrive to push it over the top for solos and sweeps and stuff, if your looking for really high gain just throw an overdrive in front of this thing, man what a massive wall of sound though, the distortion sounds huge with out being fizzy sounding like alot of high gain stuff, plus an excellent clean channel and everything in between this thing can sound really vintage or really modern whichever way you want to go, also unless your using an overdrive this thing is as quiet as a mouse even on the highest gain settings at high volume using high gain pickups like emgs if your standing right in front of your speaker cab, its pretty crazy, its alot harder to get feedback than all the other amps ive ever played, pretty much every time i turn this thing on i find something else i like, unlike most gear i come across which is the total opposite, like i said im pretty picky about gear

ive had it for 4 months or so and id use it without a backup as i said i mostly play in my basement but i crank it the hell up and play for several hours at a time and i have no trouble. traynors are said to be pretty tough, i guess time will tell on that one but so far so good, and they have a pretty good warrenty so that helps

havent yet

ive played guitar for 15 years, i havent stepped in to any boutique gear so i cant really compare it to that but id say its a step in that direction, this thing really does sound great and at 635$ you wont touch anything that comes close to it in versitility and tone ive played marshalls and had several peaveys and though i like peavey they dont sound this good to me. I picked this one up as a b stock on ebay and if your interested check into it, these things are really under rated, all the shopping i did and it was a while before i came across it i think ill make a youtube vid to really show people how this thing sounds,all of the vids i saw did this thing no justice, anyway good amp for the money for sure.

This amp is packed with features, including a headphone out and solo boost. I find it very user friendly for all types of music.

This amp has a tone all its own. That is the best way to describe it. I have been playing for 30 years and I have owned Peavey, Mesa, Marshall, Crate, Carvin and a long list of rack gear. I think this amp is pretty unique sounding. As for previous reviews I do agree that you must use good speakers with it but I think that goes with any amp. I found it great with vintage 30's, G12H30's, and a G-Flex Cab also. This amp has alot of bottom and the distortion is pretty huge. With the gain boost disengaged the classic rock tones flow nicely. The amp has a few modes on each distortion channel and that is what makes it so versatile. Plus it is very quiet on higher gain settings, more so than my other amps.

I really haven't had this amp all that long but I can say the day it arrived I took it to a gig with my 80's Hair band and cranked it for 4 hours straight right out of the box without a hic-cup.

I Love the "Even if you break it" warranty.

I would say this is the most versatile amp I have owned. That is comparing it to a Carvin V3, Mesa Dual rec, and Marshall anything. As far as tone goes it is unique and If this doesnt have enough gain for you than You Are Doing Something Wrong.

This is a 2007 made YCS100 head. It is extremely versatile and covers a lot of sonic territory with its three channels.I haven't used the effects loop as I am pretty much old school when it comes to those things. I don't use many pedals and I place the ones that I do use between the guitar and the amp. The headphone jack and direct out are nice touches and very usable. They are active while the amp is in standby, which allows silent practice, if you have the need at your house late at night when the family is in bed. I use this amp to play in three different bands and it covers everything that I need from gorgeous cleans to metal distortion and everything in between. I am a huge fan of all tube amps, having used them for years, and this one is amazing. I had never heard this head before and bought it because of the reviews that I read on the internet. It has turned out to be a fantastic deal and I will purchase another one when I find another good deal like this one.

I have 6 guitars that I play through this head to give me the tones that I need. I have a Gibson Flying v, a Gibson SG, a Gibson Double Cutaway Les Paul with P90's, a Fender Strat with the EMG David Gilmour pickup system on it, a Fender Tele with a P90 in the neck, and a PRS Corvette with Seymour Duncan Blackouts on it. All of these guitars sound incredible through this head. It does all styles very well. With the Strat and Tele, the clean channel is amazing. The distortion channel number two covers the Marshall classic rock sound with my Gibsons, and the PRS with distortion channel number 1 covers a high gain sound that allowed me to get rid of my Mesa Single Rectifier.

I have used this amp on many gigs without a backup. It is dependable as it can be. I do take extra tubes along, just in case, but I always do that with my tube amps. This amp has not so much as hiccuped at a live performance or at practice. It still has the original tubes in it and they still have plenty of life in them.

I have emailed Traynor twice with questions regarding this amp and they have always responded within one business day. I always get a response from a player and not someone who doesn't know anything. The response is always spot on and answers my question. They are great to deal with.

I have been playing 40 years this year. I picked up my first guitar in 1968 and have played them all (amps and guitars both) over the years. I have played in professional bands, semi-pro bands, amateur bands, worked in recording studios, and currently have a solo career. It is really nice to find an amp that covers this much tonal territory so well. I have let my pro friends play this amp and they were amazed at how they could get what they wanted out of it with just a few minor tweaks. Traynor has outdone themselves on this piece of equipment and have managed to do so at a price point that is almost unbelievable.

This is a 2007 made YCS100 head. It is extremely versatile and covers a lot of sonic territory with its three channels.I haven't used the effects loop as I am pretty much old school when it comes to those things. I don't use many pedals and I place the ones that I do use between the guitar and the amp. The headphone jack and direct out are nice touches and very usable. They are active while the amp is in standby, which allows silent practice, if you have the need at your house late at night when the family is in bed. I use this amp to play in three different bands and it covers everything that I need from gorgeous cleans to metal distortion and everything in between. I am a huge fan of all tube amps, having used them for years, and this one is amazing. I had never heard this head before and bought it because of the reviews that I read on the internet. It has turned out to be a fantastic deal and I will purchase another one when I find another good deal like this one.

I have 6 guitars that I play through this head to give me the tones that I need. I have a Gibson Flying v, a Gibson SG, a Gibson Double Cutaway Les Paul with P90's, a Fender Strat with the EMG David Gilmour pickup system on it, a Fender Tele with a P90 in the neck, and a PRS Corvette with Seymour Duncan Blackouts on it. All of these guitars sound incredible through this head. It does all styles very well. With the Strat and Tele, the clean channel is amazing. The distortion channel number two covers the Marshall classic rock sound with my Gibsons, and the PRS with distortion channel number 1 covers a high gain sound that allowed me to get rid of my Mesa Single Rectifier.

I have used this amp on many gigs without a backup. It is dependable as it can be. I do take extra tubes along, just in case, but I always do that with my tube amps. This amp has not so much as hiccuped at a live performance or at practice. It still has the original tubes in it and they still have plenty of life in them.

I have emailed Traynor twice with questions regarding this amp and they have always responded within one business day. I always get a response from a player and not someone who doesn't know anything. The response is always spot on and answers my question. They are great to deal with.

I have been playing 40 years this year. I picked up my first guitar in 1968 and have played them all (amps and guitars both) over the years. I have played in professional bands, semi-pro bands, amateur bands, worked in recording studios, and currently have a solo career. It is really nice to find an amp that covers this much tonal territory so well. I have let my pro friends play this amp and they were amazed at how they could get what they wanted out of it with just a few minor tweaks. Traynor has outdone themselves on this piece of equipment and have managed to do so at a price point that is almost unbelievable.

Made in 2008. This amp is plenty versatile. I play in a cover band that plays 60s - 90s classic rock, and some newer rock stuff. The bells and whistles are plenty but very well laid out. We play a lot of outdoor gigs in the warmer months and indoor bars and parties in the colder months. I love the 100 / 30 watt option.

My main guitar is a 2002 Les Paul Standard with a JB and Jazz setup. I can play anything with this rig. I also play a PRS with the same pickup set, a 335, and a strat. I can't think of anything this amp is lacking in sound quality. The cleans are fantastic and the range of crunch and od tones are amazing. We play Clapton, Allman Brothers, Van Halen, Creed, Metallica, etc. It has to do everything and it does.

Seems very solid .....built like a tank. I always have an old solid state amp in the trailer to cover my ass but I wouldn't expect to have to use it. (God I hope not)

This is where Traynor shines. I also own a 50 Blue that I love but I was intrigued by the features of this amp. I called their service dept. cause I knew I'd talk to a player. Sure enough...this guy spent 20 minutes talking shop with me and filling me in on every detail. Try to get that with some of the other companies.

I've been playing for 32 years. I own or have owned just about every amp and guitar made since 1965.....seriously. I love all of my guitars and amps but I can only take one on the gig and this is it. I play it through a Marshall 1960A 4x12 with an X configuration of G12T-75s and Vintage 30s...sweet. The only thing this amp could have is another switch to activate the gain boost on each channel.

writing again from tbc..

I have to tell you to try channel 1 'clean' with 3/4 gain on . use an OD or metal pedal (boss ml-2 - new pedal out) and the tube amp harmonics just scream and it's sounds very natural. plus you can turn off the pedal and have great clean parts.

I now keep channel 2 for zep overdrive and channel 3 for the heavier setting without pedals.

great amp as you can have 3 settings plus your pedals so it's like 6 channels.

First things first. get this amp right now if u like metal/rock because it sounds perfect. im rediculously picky about tone i mean u gotta have good distortion and clean channles but its nothing without the right tone and this amp has it. the 3 channels r amazing cause i can have one set up for metal and the other for rock and the clean for ya know some cool clean stuff.

im using this amp with an ibanez with DiMarzio high output humbuckers and a strat with seymour duncan hotrails and they both sound amazing on it. i get great EVH sounds on this rig. the distortion can be a little anoying but once u tinker with it for a while it sounds perfect. it took me 2 days to get it set up the way i wanted it and now its the best sound ive ever heard.

this thing is built solid as a rock. i would never be concerned about this breaking down in any way.

never had to talk with the company. the 2 year warranty is great cause i mean if anything happens to it then just get it replaced. believe u would want to replace it.

if this were stolen id replace it in a heart beat. this amp has bassically all u need, 3 awesome channels plus a solo boost. ive played marshalls and honestly i like this better. theres nothing to hate about this amp besides its really heavey but i mean its a 100watt tube so.

re-writing from my earlier review by tbc. I've had the amp and cab for about a month now and put it thru it's paces. I can tell you today I found how to get a great sound from the 2 drive channels. this is set up like a marshall. crank all of EQ to 10 and then taylor down from their depending on the style you play. all at 10 sounds great and that's what most pro's do. I have the gains around 8 and I get great van halen, with reverb, on channel 1 and great zep and Guns on channel 2.

I did this with the 100w on almost full power, crushing to the ears,and it really made a difference. try it and let me know what you think as traynor people are kind our own breed.

you can't fine tune this amp with treble on This and bass That...

trying out tons of OD pedals and I think the BOSS OD-3 is the best OD . keeps your tone and does not make it thin at all. try this pedal out. returning the zakk OD as with this set up all I get is feedback and don't need the EQ pedal I bought either (return).

the EVH flanger sounds great now.

still working on the clean channel.

2007 YCS 100 Head. Triple lead channel w/ db boost on footswitch. all tubes pre and power. Has all bells and whistles for the modern guitarist.

I bought it at Lond Mcquade in Stratford, ON. The sales guy set up the YCS, a MESA triple recto, marshall JCM 800 and a big fender amp of some sort. I really think this amp on one the channels matched and exceeded the 'signature' tones of the other three amps.

I use it in a thrash metal band and it cuts the mix perfectly. We only have one guitarist so it is very important to sound very full and not interfere with the bass player's frequencies. I just wish the drummer would get new cymbals cause his cracked ones are ruining the high end.

I love the sound of this amp. Any of the other reviewers who have said otherwise either have much better ears than I do, or have not set up the master section of the amp properly. For channel 1 (Triple recto airspace), take the resonance down to 2 or so, dial in a healthy 9 on the presence and make sure it is LOUD! I usually set my preamp gain to 12 o clock with my Ibanez RG (EMG's baby!)and 1 o clock with my non emg equipped electrics.

I use the second channel for leads because I use NO pedals, effects, racks etc, and like a lil reverb and the higher gain setting I'll dial up. This is the "Marshall Channel", and I feel it sounds quite refined next to the JCM 800.

Though I'm in a metal band, my favorite guy to cop licks from is SRV, and I feel closer to his tone with my Strat through channel 3 than I ever thought I could. Being strictly Marshall before this, I thought it was impossible to get any sort of chunky clean sound with , you know, being Stevie Ray.

The amp has never broken down, but the footswitch is in the shop right now. Ive played a dozen gigs and twice weekly rehearsals over the last 6 months or so with it.

2 year unlimited, so....

I think I explained all of this in the rest of the review. I love this amp and my band can't believe the sound I'm getting now. Did I mention I paid less than half of a MESA, Framus or Soldano?

***This is a follow up to a previous review... ***

Hey..this is an update to my review.
Since my original review i've done one thing.
Changed out the EL34's to Sovtek 6L6's
Holy Crap!! The 6L6's make this thing sound even better!

Bullet proof!

Never used it

See previous post

3 channel, 100 / 30 watt modes, gain boost modern bright and scoop switches. Master presence and "resonance" control as well as a solo boost control that can be controlled from the pedal. The back side has lots of goodies including a tuner out that allows you to hit a button and mute the amp while tuning it. Spring reverb on all channels. I haven't used the headphone out but I tried the direct out and wasn't really a fan -- it sounds quite fake like most direct outs do. Very handy pre out / amp in jacks for all of your effects that you don't want to put in front of the amp as well as an FX loop with individual controls for each channel. Matching cab comes with Celestian V30's... I'll get to those later.

I play modern hard rock, 80's rock and power metal with a few guitars: an SG with JB bridge and Jazz 2n neck, korean tele, stock cort strat style guitar with H-S-S pick up configuration. My favorite channel is the yellow channel (classic gain).

The clean channel sounds nice with a little chorus and the modern and bright switches help you get what you're after... there's even a gain boost that gets you up in the AC/DC distortion range. The 100 watt gives you good head room that'll break up if you slap it a bit.

The yellow channel picks up where the boosted clean channel leaves off but with a much smoother gain. Its marshally dare I say but with the added benifit of the "modern" switch that adds some nice muscle and balls without un-marshalling the midrange too much. Cranking the gain with the boost on mushes things up with and makes it rather sloppy without a boost pedal, but I get a very good Zakk Wylde No More Tears sound with my tube screamer. One push of the boost button and I'm back down to a VH type sound. The tele sounds nice and smooth on this channel.

The last channel is tough to dial in nicely. I blame it on the V30's. By design, this channel is more vague and hairy sounding much like a boogie. I've gotten close to the all the right reasons Nickelback tone but the mids just didn't come in right. I find this channel hardly useable without a OD pedal in front of it, unless you're going for a Korn type of thing.

In general, especially on the Red and Orange channels, I find the tone gets very displeasing with the mid range and treble and presence control for that matter going up past 12 o'clock. I'll get to the point thats like 85% of "SWEET!" and need a bit more teeth and I'll dial in more midrange treble or presense and suddenly instead of a teeth smooth sweet gain tone it becomes harsh and peircing. Its like I'm trying coax that edgy, attentive, sexy grin out of the amp but when it starts to smile the teeth are rotten and crooked. Like I mensioned earlier, I blame it on the V30s and I'm probably going to replace the speakers with G12T's and see how that works. I should also mension that I've changed out the stock power tubes with JJ KT77's and the pre amp tubes to a high gain version which expanded the bottom end nicely, smoothened out some of those ugly highs and mids and made it sound a little quicker.

Its getting a 7 until further notice.

The first head that I got has a malfunctioning reverb so I brought it back the next day and they gave me a new one with a fully working one. There was a problem with an over heating tube which isn't really anything to do with the actual amp so I replaced them and it was fixed and also there wasn't a weird problem with the sound cutting down to a really thin sound that turned out to be my chorus pedal. Other than that no complaints.

This is where this amp gets the most points in my opinion. First of all, the 2 year unlimited warranty is awesome. Second, while diagnosing the problem that turned out to be my chorus pedal, the online customer support guy who emailed me back from my "in the field" tech support submission in about 2 days was extremely helpful. Most companies give you a claim number and tell you to ship it off to there factory for repairs for 6 weeks. He first suggested I might have tripped a breaker with another bad tube and walked me through taking them out and one by one putting them back in from middle to outside to see if one would trip the breaker again. The written tone (if there is such a thing) of the rep was very friendly and respectful compared to the usually tone that says "I hate my job. I can't stand stupid guitar players." so props to Traynor.

I don't think I ever mensioned the price. Killer! I'm suddenly satisfied with this amp after all my little complaints. For 700 some dollars, this head is amazing! The cab that came with it is about average price for a cab so if you're looking into getting a versatille, powerful EL34 tube amp thats El34 but a little nicer on the ears I would recommend looking for one of those Marshall cabs with the G12T's in it. If you like the harsh, british, rock and roll tone then go for the combo but don't plan on using the red channel.

I spent about 6 months researching and flipping between a DSL100 and a Dual Rec but found that this one had a lot of both in one and was almost half the price. If it were stolen I think I would look around at maybe a Peavey or Randall but it would be hard to find a deal like this and would likely go back with it.

featues listed below, a lot of them. I am going to be truthfull below so hold tone people...I know a lot about guitars and bang for the buck ,

Just got it today and it has great tones in it. the depth of the gain knobs is great. I thought I had it up high and it was only around 5 or 6 (not numbered). it really digs in. good slash guns n roses.

channel 3 is clean and has low gain on that knob.
channel 2 is crunch and sounds great.tweak the gain and EQ and get it going. very bassy and not thin unless you dial it down. very marshall with EL34's.
channel 1 is high gain and with the boost switch is does all that is expected for neo-metal.

i have the evh phase and what was good in my line 6 spider II , was too much when it hit the tubes as they really fixed the sound and signal of the phase.

so many options . I have the matching cab too. now i need more effects to work the effects loop, LOL.. and they have a foot switch option to turn on and off efx and reverb (buy after market as it's compatible).

4 button foot switch comes with it.

even has a second type of loop that goes straight after the pre-amp.

I only tried my SG re-issue . my 61 fender re-issue is next adn then my ibanez with hot mega=drive pickup and then my kramer. last 2 handpainted with EVH stripes (b/w & y/b). next is the r/w frankenstien...

I'll write again as I get more time.

delivered very well on a skid...

called them a few times before buying and very nice.

my first tube amp and been playing for 25 years, rock and roll , evh . ( i know all the tricks). very good to keep for years and has the 30/100 watt switch which works very well and keeps it low ( basically why I bought this and not a 50 watt amp head).

you'll like it, I bought it blind and it has it all. you want fender cleans and clapton's solo carreer, you need a 15 watt fender champion anyway for those tones - no marshall in that era. and those people play those stupid blues runs , I like to crank it and hear noise with tone, always did and alway will...

you want rock and roll with tone with a ton of options and a great warranty/price. this is the future . I have a line 6 and it's ok but this is solid and looks great.


let me know what you think of the review.

As me and several other guitar shop hangouts remarked when these heads first came through the door, "it has a LOT of knobs!". LOL.

The features of this amp are just about unequaled in my opinion. I used to own an H&K Triamp MkI and loved the versatility of that amp. This amp has even more versatility and options. Most have been listed in these reviews, but highlights for me include: three seperate channels, adjustable solo boost, separate reverb and effects level adjustments for each channel, tuner mute, etc. I won't compare this amp to the Triamp in terms of boutique sound quality and build, but it sure has more features.

I haven't spent as much time with this amp as I want to yet. But I've spent enough to know that it's awesome. I also own the Traynor Custom Blue 50 1X12 combo and matching sealed back 1X12 extension cab. That combo stack does the Fender Blackface thing to perfection on the clean channel, and it does a very good Marshall JCM800 on the dirt channel. But the boosted, over-the-top boost sound just doesn't cut it for me. So I've always used a pedal to overdrive the dirt channel and get the lead tones. On the YCS100 head, the drive channels pick up where the Custom Blue 50 left off and go to the moon. I have the head pumping into a 4X12 Celestion Vintage 30-loaded cab and the Mesa Triple Rectifier tones coming out of this head are amazing. It sounds just like what the "kids" are playing these days (I'm 39 and more into the 80's metal thing). I dailed in some tones from Lacuna Coil and other more current bands and this head nailed them.

I haven't yet been able to dial in a Fender or Marshall type tone that I like as much as the ones on the Custom Blue 50. But I've been so enamored with the high gain tones coming out of this head, that I really haven't tried.

Haven't had it long enough to know. Have gigs starting in a few weeks and will find out then. I've been gigging my Custom Blue 50 rig for almost a year now with no issues whatsoever.

Haven't dealt with them.

I've been playing for almost 23 years now. At least 20 of those years have been in pro, gigging bands. I've owned just about everything in the way of guitars and amps. From rackmount rigs to Fender, Marshall, and Hughes & Kettner amps -- to Strats (Fender and G&L), Teles (Fender and G&L), Gibson Les Pauls, PRS Customs, Ibanez and ESP guitars.

I'm into bang-for-buck all the way these days. Products that deliver near the sound, quality and playability of boutique items for a fraction of the cost. For my money nothing beats ESP LTD guitars and Traynor tube amps. And that's exactly what I am using and gigging right now.

This is a follow up to a previous review...

At first you may think something is not right when adjustibg the volume. I found that with the master at 7 there diod not seem to be much volume. I called Yorkville. Turns out it is the TAPER of the Master volume pot that makes the usable range for the dial.

Not much volume diff between 100 Watts and 30 watts....I have wondered if this is working correctly....I use the 100 wat setting anf leave it there.

Bullet proof......

great

Great amp very manegable 100 watts. Good sonding amp...You can wring out a lot of volume from this amp but you MUST turn the dials up

Traynor YCS100 & YCS 412 This amp has 3 separate channels solo boost and built in reverb. 30 watt class A and 100 watt A/B. XLR Direct out(nice!).3 independant channels. It comes with a rugged 4 button foot switch but mine was missing! I called the place where i purchased it from & they have one in route to me at the time of this review.
I play in a 1/2 cover-1/2 original band & the other guitar player has a Triple recto & over sized Mesa cab...This amp sounds just as good..maybe better w/ channel 1! WOW!!! It is a VERY loud amp..As loud as his Triple. Solo boost is KILLER!

Clean to massive distortion...AWESOME!!
You need the YCS 412...WOW!!! brutal..V 30's!!!
So far i have played it with an SG, LP studio lite, & GMW RR PDV...all dbl humbuckers..It takes a little tweaking but the sound is all there!
This amp is what i've been looking for at LESS than 1/2 the cost of a MESA triple recto. This sounds better to me than the Triple recto!
Is it noisy??
All amps are noisy if it's turned up enough!

Sure i could depend on it..but i wouldn't do anything w/o a backup!
I haven't had the amp long enough to have the need for a repair..but it has the standard Traynor 2 year warranty.

See above

I have been playinfg for 24 years..YIKES! I have had a few different amps..Marshall, Crate, POD XT LIVE, Behringer LX 1200 &
the Traynor YVC80Q which was nice but not this nice & i'd defin get this again if anything happened to it!
This Head & cab is the S!!T.
I read one review that it lacked balls??? Holy crap! no way!
When i started playing..the other guitar player in our band was smiling from ear to ear...very complimentary to a Triple rect.
Get the whole thing...Head & matching cab..you WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED in the sound! And this thing LOOKS great!
The only real bitch i have is the Master Vol knob is a tad on the sensitive side...it doesn't take much to go from loud to VERY LOUD!
This price i paid was for the HEAD & matching CABINET...Including SHIPPING from the East Coast to the WEST coast!

2006 Traynor YCS100. This amp has 3 separate channels solo boost and built in reverb. 30 watt class A and 100 watt A/B. XLR Direct out. This is the 1st tube amp that I actually like all 3 channels. It comes with a rugged 4 button foot switch. I play in a cover band and we are wicked loud thanks to my deaf bass player, he plays out of an 8x10 cab with a 1000 watts that just kills me every night. Now that I have this Traynor in the 100 watt mode he puts tail in between his legs and keeps running.

I use several different guitars. Custom Strat w/EMGs H/S/S, A G&L ASAT Tele with Seymours, a Godin LG. When switching from guitars there is some tweaking that has to be done. The clean channel is warm and has a lot of head room. The 2nd channel is like a VOX in the 30 watt mode and more like a Marshall in the 100 watt mode. The 3rd channel is like a Mesa Rec but with far less noise. Playing in a cover band variety is key, we go from funk to country to rock to blues and from punk to metal and I'm lovin what I'm getting out of this amp. I Love the solo switch it makes life so easy.

i've been gigging with this amp for 2 months 4 nights a week and had no problems at all.

Called the factory back in August before the amp was available and talked to someone in support for 20 min about the amp. Then he called me in October to give me a heads up to let me know that the amps were shipping. That blew my mind that he actually called me back.

I been playing for over 30 years and playing out for over 20 years I have owned Fenders Marshalls Line 6 Mesa Boogies and H&K. I was last using a Boogie Triple Rec that I just sold because I love this amp so much. Try to find an all tube 3 channel head with reverb and solo boost for this kind of money.
I been playing for a long time and I have never ever written a review but I think this amp is so great that I have to let people know how great it is. If you get the chance you have got to check this amp out.

In terms of features, this is hard to beat: 3 channel,s all tube, modern, scoop, brigh switches, solo level, big footswitch, long tank reverb. This is loaded.

In term of sound variety, you get from Twin sparkling clean to Mesa Boogie punishment. With AC30 tones in between and Marshall. True, none of these sounds is 100% accurate but this is warm, nice and very usable. Sound better at med to high volumes, like most 100 W heads. I have a Godin SDxt and Les Paul, both loaded with high output pickups since I play mostly hard rock. This suites my music style perfectly. Channel 1 on mesa setting, channel on Marshall stting and channel one on sparkle! I'm set. It is very very quiet. DC filament heaters are a great help. This is why Ii did not get a mesa: too noisy at high gain...

So far so good but I've had it only a few weeks so no opinion really

Not needed yet.

I have been playing for 20 years. I have own Vax, Line?, Behringer, Peavy, Marshall. I like this guy more than anything else I've own for tone itself. I wanted a Mesa Booie rectifier but could get used to the noise at high gain setting. With a Good gab, this guy sounds just as nice, for half the price

I'm not giving my opinion of this yet as I'm returning my head for a new one. Suffice it to say that this early example has some issues with the preamp (parasitic oscillation).

I called Traynor's US number for the first time this morning. The rep answered the phone on the first two rings. He was polite, helpful and informative. He told me that he wanted me to return the amp to the store I bought it from and then they would send me a new one. Seems like good service to me so long as my dealer is as helpful.

Again I will wait to rate this amp, but I do want to give it a fair shake here. New products often have an initial production issues. This amp has seen some poor reviews on the net (particularly from Canadian sources) and I don't think the reviews were particularly well thought out or that the reviewers actually spent much time on the amp. I think we all need to wait before passing judgement on the amp until someone gets a corrected version to get a more complete picture of what this amp is really supposed to be like once Traynor has a chance to iron out all the bugs. It's unfortunate that they didn't catch these problems before shipping them out, but at least they seem to be willing to correct the problems with the amp.

So far, I think this will end up being a very worthy investment. This amp shows real potential even with the problems it curently has. I look forward to receiving a new and improved version.

Made in 2006.Every feature that you could think of.3 independant channels all with seperate eq gain etc, series and paralell effects loop, presence, resonance, solo boost, 100/30 wattage select, EL34 or 6L6, independant reverb and effects return for each channel, simulated direct out, headphone out(usable with no speaker load), scoop, modern, bright, drive switches per channel

This is where the tables turn. the preamp sucks. Great marshall crunch but really thin clean with barely any/ no headroom. No high gain violins here, just fizzy crunch with no sustain.Could of really been a good single channel marshall 800 clone with tons of cool features.

i would say defineately yes although the manual states that the bias should be 250mv +/- 30mv but 210 is the highest i can get with any EL34- 6l6's are no prob- weak to glowing.(it comes with EL34EH)

Customer what?- i've emailed them twice weeks apart and no reply- they might as well not have an email address- there phone does ring though.

Been playing 22 years- if i sold my equipment i could pay the house off.(don't tell the wife i said that)
O.K now heres the straight though- as a head it blows. but as a power amp(with external preamp)it rocks- Name any 100watt power amp that sounds great, has selectable wattage, headphone and simulated out, takes either tubes, presence and RESONANCE, and solo boost(yes the solo boost is after the fx return/ amp in. It is very loud and pumps chunk and shears on single notes.i would definately buy a rack mount if it was available( i may just gut the preamp out of this).There is NO power amp in this price range that compares (let alone ANY power amp at ANY price that compares for features)