Traynor YCS50

This is the brand new (2007 I believe) Traynor YCS 50. Very versatile amp. Switchable from 15 watts to 50. 2 channels. Play everything from clean blues to angry metal. USA/ Brit switch, Mid scoop, effects loop, channel switching footswitch, all tube.

Using a Fender USA HSS with CS' 69's in neck and middle and Duncan JB in bridge. This amp can do it all from shimmering, fender type clean to all out brutality crunch. The larger cabinet provides plenty of bass response and this amp has the smoothest Marshall type plexi distortion of any amp I have played.

Only had this amp for 3 months and I have never owned a Traynor product before. Time will tell whether it is reliable.

Never used it, never had to

I have been playing for 26 years. I have owned Fender, Mesa, Budda and Peavey amps. This is the best "bang for the buck" I have ever owned. The sound, the features, the warranty can't be beat. The only thing I wish it had was a volume boost built into the footswitch but that is a small thing. If stolen I would drive directly to Yorkville Products in Canada and buy another because I have to have it for my weekly gigs. Unbelievable value!! Buy it, immediately!!!

Introduced in Fall 2007, purchased in Spring 2008. I have probably owned 15 amps and this is clearly my favorite. I auditioned a Mesa Boogie 5:25 and a Vox AC-30 the day I bought this, and I am sure I made the right choice. It seems like the Traynor folks read a lot of reviews of the features people wish their amp had, and put them all in this thing. Two channels with separate EQ for each, separate volume and reverb settings for each channel, a 50 watt tube amp you can play at home without getting arrested (in 15 watt class A mode), effects loop with volume control, footswitchable effects loop and reverb - he list goes on. If I added up all the money I lost buying dogs and selling them I could have easily justified buying this as my first amp. I previously owned a Traynor YCV40-WR which I liked, but the YCS50 is a completely different animal, and preferrable for my tastes.

FROM TRAYNOR WEB SITE:

Selectable 50-watt Class-AB / 15-watt Class-A output
1x12-inch Celestion Vintage30??? Speaker
Footswitchable full Two Channel Configuration
Brit / USA Voicing Switch on Clean Channel
Modern & Scoop Voicing Switches on Lead Channel
Parallel and Loop-thru Effects Sends and Returns
Vintage style Accutronics Long-Spring Reverb
Master Volume, Defeatable Presence and Resonance Controls
Solid Plywood Cabinet Construction
Aluminum chassis

Using a variety guitars - Gibson Les Paul with EMG 81/85, Gibson Les Paul Robot, Epiphone Les Paul Standard (strangely my favorite guitar). I play Blues / Rock and I think the clean channel with the gain turned up and Brit switch on is THE sound of the blues. I have crappy power in my playing space, and the only noise I have had from this is with the EMG's, full throttle (and then it was minimal). For fun I plugged in a very cheap Chinese acoustic electric - it always sounded like crap with any other amp I tried it on. What a pleasant surprise, made the guitar actually sound good. I have not tried the amp with pedals, but suspect it will be a winner. This is not ultra high gain territory, but is acceptable for what I use it for. I previously bought an Epiphone Valve Junior because I liked the crazy tone and figured I would never sell it, but I was wrong. The YCS50 gives me every kind of tone I want. I should note the selection of this amp was not a budget decision, but based on sound and features. I'm not the type to give anything a 10, but this thing rocks!

I owned my YVC40-WR for 3 years and never had a problem. I actually bought it from the grandson of the Traynor dude who started the company. Anyway, they have a rock solid reputation, and the two year "even if you break it" warranty. I'll give it a 9 because I've never had to have them help me.

Web site is good. No opinion.

I've been playing 25+ years (with a big break in the middle). I have a Traynor YCX12WR 1X12 (Celestion V30) cabinet as well as a Epiphone Valve Junior Head, VOX Pathfinder 10 practice amp. This is not my first tube amp, but it will probably be my last, unless Traynor finds a way to surpass this. I could have spent twice the money for half the amp. I think this is an excellent choice for a gigging musician (non-poser) or a serious "hobby" player (me). I read another review where someone wished this had digital effects - yuk! I'm glad Traynor kept this pure tube. If you ever had to buy an amp without hearing it (online) pick this one you won't be dissapointed.

I gotthis amp in January 2008 so I have hadit for 3 months now. As far as I know, this Custom Special line of amps only went into production is 2007. I had played one at a store while I was on vacation in Canada and decided to pick one up when I got back to the states. I hada devil of a time getting one here as not many shops carry traynor in Boston.

This amp can pretty much do anything I ask of it. It has a ton of features. It is an all tube amp. It has 2 channels and it comes with a footswitch for switching between channels and turning the gain/boost on and off. It has a 15/50 watt switch so if I am practicing at home, I can switch down to 15 watts and still get fantastic sound or if I am playing out, I can switch up to 50 and let it sing.

My only gripe was it did not come with an amp cover. I figure if you are going to drop between $600 and $700 on a combo, they can throw that in.

I mainly use a Fender Jaguar HH. It has 2 double humbucker pickups. I play a bunch of different styles. This amp can do them all exceptmaybe a super overdrive or distortion for nu-metal but you can get a pedal and fix that. It does everthing else just fine.

As I said the amp has a ton of features. It has what I call a lead and a rythm channel. The lead channel has options for scooping the sound. The rythm channel has an expander switch which makes the guitar sound acoustic.

I have not been using my pedals that much since I have gotten this amp but the amp does have an effects loop.

I am sure I am missing something. You should really check out the specs at Traynor's website.

I have oly had it 3 months but I have not had any problems. I might upgrade the tubes when they need to be done. It comes with a 2 year unlimited warranty so that is good too.

They are great. I contacted them about finding a local retailer and they were really helpful.

If I lost this or somebody stole it, I would have to get another one.

I have been playing for 10 years and I have owned several different amps in the process of looking for a great sounding amp. This is the best amp for the money I have ever heard. It sounds just as good as the boutique amps that cost 3 and 4 times as much.

Not sure what year but probably between 2006-2007. Had it about a week now and been playing every day for hours and hours although I haven't been able to really crank it yet.

This amp is very versatile for playing blues, rock, and just about anything else. I would say it is best suited for rock and hard rock.

50 Watt tube amplifier using 2 6l6's (ability to switch to EL34's) and 3 12ax7's. Power mode can be switched from 50W class AB to 15Watt class A. It has two channels to switch from with the supplied footswitch (2 button) and has a Pre-amp in/out, External Effects In/out, XLr D.I. Line Out (can be used for mixing or recording), 2 speaker output jacks, switchable 4/8 ohm impedence, stock 12" Celestion Vintage 30 speaker (amp is a partial open back so this works quite well)

Channel 1: Gain channel. Gain, Volume, Boost switch and boost level control, Modern switch (switch from vintage gain to modern), Scoop switch (boost bass and cut mids), EQ section (bass, mid treble), Reverb (Accutronics spring reverb), Effects level control.

Channel 2: Clean channel. Gain, Volume, Bass, MId, Treble, Brightness swtich, U.S.A./Brit Swtich ("changes position of tone stack in the signal chain"), Expander switch (adds quite a bit of deep bass and highs to the sound), Reverb, Effects Level.

Master Control: Presence, Resonance, Voice mode (bypass these controls), Master Volume, Standby.

I wish it had:

Well I've got a solid state amp with some nice digital effects and a tuner built in so I sometimes with I could dial in some delays but I suppose that's what the external effects loop is for and I bought myself a tuning fork.

I play guitar as a hobby although I would like to eventually get more serious with it. This amp has plenty of power. I have never turned it up more than half way on 15W mode but it gets very loud.

I play a Vintage v100 Icon Lemon Drop (LP style) guitar that was inspired by Peter Green and his out of phase PAF pickup sound.

This amp suits me quite well and the more I play it the more I like it. It has it's own sound but is very versatile and lets you dial in quite an assortment of sounds that are all quite usable. The amp is very quiet, there's no hissing, feedback, or anything, One problem I had though was the Traynor logo which is mounted on the front was vibrating when I turned the amp up a little bit so I just tapped it a few times and it seems to have stopped. This amp produces quit a bit of bass and with all of the settings at 12:00 you get very usable tones on each channel with any or all of the switches engaged or disengaged. I typically just leave everything at 12:00 and adjust the gains and select switches to play with the sound. I love the sound of the gain channel without the boost engaged. The boost is footswitchable (a nice feature for lead playing)

No problems with the amp yet but I've only had it a week. Traynor's reputation however is superb and their stuff from the 70's and earlier are still kicking around.

I have not dealt with the company yet.

I see no reason not to give this amp a 10. Then sound is great, the features are a little overwhelming at first but in a good way, and it's affordable. I am definitely happy with my purchase.