Traynor YCV20-WR 112 Combo

I purchased this amp in 2005 (has the Greenback speaker stock). This amp comes with many features, including a "lead" channel. Because the lead channel is pretty useless, I give it a "6". Please note: the reason for my post is to warn people that SPEAKERS OTHER THAN CELESTION MAY NOT FIT!! Very tight fit for the speaker, and the preamp tubes and U-bracket hit the frame on my Eminence replacement speaker. I note other people saying how changing out the speaker improves the tone, but be forewarned that this is problematic. With the "no return policy" on speakers, I'm now stuck with an Eminence Legend speaker that I can't use and can't return!

Clean channel is pretty good; lead channel is useless to my ears. No amount of tweaking has produced musical sounds. After reading many reviews, I changed out the speaker to a top-of-the-line Celestion Blue and JJ tubes. This improved the clean channel, but lead channel still useless. I'm going to sell this amp. I've take the blue out and sold it on ebay. I ordered a replacement Eminence, which is when I discovered different that there are different measurements for 12" speaker frames (depending on the mfg). I've tried an Eminence Legend and a "Specially Designed for Fender", and neither will fit this amp.

No problems in this category

Pretty disappointing. I play through a fiends 15W Fender Princeton Reverb, and there is no comparison... the Fender kicks butt!

Really versatile for an 18 watter. Channel switching; standby switch; comes with footswitch; Separate volume and gains for each channel, master treble, mid and bass. A decent reverb rounds out the features. Compared to its competition I considered (Fender Blues Junior, Crate v series, Peavey Valve series, some lesser powered boutiques like Bad Cat, etc.), it's got it all. Plus, North American made and a handsome looker in wine red tolex.

I use a Fender American Delux Tele with two buckers. I play Christian rock and we mic the amps when we play in church. The Traynor gets a great clean sound, put the gain on about 4 and the volume to taste. Add in a bit of reverb and away you go. Sounds very Fendery and lots of top end gliss, not at all harsh. The dirty channel is ok, particularly for power chords, but I'll continue to use distortion pedals (Boss DS1 and Tube Screamer) to give me lots of options for more bite. Overall, the little amp gets it done, both clean and dirty. It's probably got enough pop to use without going through the PA, but that's not a factor for me.

It's still relatively new, but seems to be made like a tank. Plus, it's made in Canada, not another piece of junk coming out of China. It's got a two year, anything goes, warranty should any problems arise.

They originally sent me the wrong amp (the 40 watter). Once I alerted the dealer, the factory had the right amp delivered in a few days. So far, no need to use any repair or warranty issues.

I've been playing for about 20 years. My first serious amp was a Peavey Classic 50 4x10, but it was way too much for use in church. For the last two years, I've used a U.S. made Roland JC55, surprisingly good for a solid state 2x8 box. But I yearned for the warmth of tubes and selected the Traynor after a lot of research. The clean sounds are exactly what I wanted and while I'll never give up my pedals, the Traynor can get down and dirty. I'd definitely replace it if stolen. For the price, this is a all-tube bargain.

Just to avoid confusion, this is the YCV-20WR, dark red color covering with the Celestion greenback speaker. I paid 550 USD for it new from a local shop, plus tax, it was brand new. For a mid priced amp they sure put a lot of bells and whistles on it. 2 channels, bright switch, boost switch, comes with a nice foot switch, LED lights, stand by mode, speaker defeat button, headphone jack, FX in/out, nice reverb, 3 band EQ, Direct out connection, plywood cab, dressed up cosmetics, etc. For a Tube amp in this price range it???s a 10.

Well I have to say this amp looks great on paper, looks sweet in person but the tone just didn???t leave me satisfied. I think this should be a 1 channel amp since I found the dirty channel practically useless and the boost even more useless, if you turned the gain up pass 10 o???clock the sound became very uninspiring and the boost only made things worst. I???m not comparing it to a Mesa or anything like that either, it just didn???t break up well at all, maybe it???s the Celestion greenback speaker. I???ve heard other Traynors sound much nicer than this one. On the cleaner channel the sound was descent and fairly good, again you had to keep the gain down pass half or forget it, with a TS-9 pedal and some reverb it made some nice bluesy tones. With my hollow body jazz guitar I think it sounded best but I was running the thing almost clean with the gain around 8 o???clock and a touch of reverb. The amp is not loud, I know it???s only 15 watts, but I???ve played 5 watt and other 15 watt amps that feel like they have more head room then this, maybe it???s the small cabinet size or something, but you???ll need to turn the gain up to get any volume out of it. My best results with my Tele was to run the volume almost wide open around 3 o???clock and using the guitar volume to act as a master volume. The clean sounds are nice but lack any serious shimmer or chime. I too tried the tube upgrade route as well, and it made a small improvement but I don???t think any tubes are going to get this amp where I wanted it to go. I???m not trying to trash this amp, I really thought hard about keeping it, if the cleans had a little more depth that I was looking for I would have kept it but after trying some Fender & Vox amps I couldn???t justify keeping it. Sorry Traynor, fewer gadgets more focus on tone next time and you have a winner.

well constructed, good warranty, never let me down

Never used it, don???t know, website has good info on it

I ended up selling this amp so overall I can???t rate it too high, I bought it because I didn???t know much about tube amps or the tone I was seeking and it fit my budget. I ended up buying a Vox AC15 tube amp and I???m very satisfied with it, basically for the same price as the Traynor, the Vox has a larger cab, it???s made in China, 1 channel and it has fewer bells and whistles, trade offs from the Traynor, but it has better tone IMO. It???s all personal tastes, someone else might love this Traynor. I would try this amp out or it???s sister model if your looking for a mid priced tube amp but I would certainly play a few other brands side by side to make sure that it???s what you want, I would not buy this amp off the net unless there is a good return policy, don???t make the same mistake I made! Speakers and tubes are going to modify and enhance your tone but they will not make your amp sound like a different amp, if you are unsure about what you are looking for in a tube amp, take your time play through everything you can find!

Purchased new in 2005, just after they switched to the line out and headphone plug (neither of which are used often). 2.5 channels w/a bright switch on the clean channel. 15 tube watts is plenty for my non-gigging hobby and maybe even a bit much. The only things I think Traynor could do to improve this line is offer a YCV w/a tube rectifier and tube reverb &/or tremolo. Overall this amp has way more features for the price range at the time I purchased it (which is a big reason it came home w/me).

With a couple of pedals the amp is very versatile. I think it's strong suit is definately the clean channel though. Very musical and responds well to most drive/fuzz pedals that I've played with. Tend to play it with the bright switch on and I can get great sounds w/lipsticks, single coils, and humbuckers. As it's an open back, low watt combo it's best suited to roots, classic rock, country and blues; not that I try to play much heavy metal or anything needing a lot of gain. Just a little crunch from the amp or a lot of fuzz from a pedal and this amp will do you just fine for most music that won't alienate your dad. The reverb isn't anything to write home about but I've heard way worse. It is a spring reverb and you can get some great sproing out of it, but most folks will just want to leave it at 2 or 3.

I've had no major problem with this amp in the 2 years I've had it. It's well taken care of, mostly hangs around the house but has been out and about a few times. The real reason I'm writing this review is to address previously posted rants about the difficulty in changing the tubes. I switched out the Sovteks (one of which was going bad after about 4 hours of play) for the JJs; custom ordered to boost the Fendery clean sound of the amp. While the tubes are cased away and not intuitively placed, if you read the manual it's really no big deal to change them. Essentially if you can thread a bolt without looking directly at it you should be fine. Additionally, the JJ tube swap is completely worth it and they are a great company to work with.

E-mailed Traynor/Yorkville with questions before and after I purchased, all were quickly answered and the folks I dealt with were knowledgable about their product. The warranty appears to be great and it's a North American product. I strongly support them as they've surely supported me.

Overall this amp has been great. There are a lot of classic sounds that you can pull out of this thing. The clean sounds great and it's got way more functionality than almost any other amp in it's price range. It looks great, it sounds great, it's really well built. If you're looking for a first tube amp that will last you well into your playing career this should be at the top of your audition list. It's very well priced and very versatile. Don't let the fear of it's difficult engineering deter you, it's not that bad at all.

I purchased the amp in 2005 from L&M. As previously mentioned it has 2 channels, loaded with Sovtek 12AX7's and EL84's, effects loop, 12" Celestion Greenback speaker etc... I use this amp at home for practice and it has tons of power for my needs.
NOTE: Tubes are a pain in the #$& to change. You almost have to take the whole amp apart.

Stock, this amp sounded pretty nice. Very quiet. It had all the acoutrements I was looking for and it was Canadian made. After a while I realized it didn't have the tone I was looking for and it didn't respond well to all pedals - things sounded kind of muddy. Plus the dirty channel sounded like crap. I read the HC postings and swapped the Sovteks for JJ's and threw in an Eminence Red White and Blues for a speaker change. The sound improved quite a bit but I found with the RWB speaker it sounded kind of shrill. I threw in an Eminence Governor and OMG! NOW it's perfect. Sounds amazing with all of my guitars (Strat, ES335 and Yamaha AES620) and my OD's sound magical. The dirty channel has improved but I still prefer my pedals for a great OD. I heard a lot of good things about the Greenback but it just didn't work for me. The Governor rocks!

Solid. No problems yet. Enough said.

I've emailed them a few times and my emails were responded to very promptly and the tech were really helpful. Kudos.

I've been playing for about five years now. I mainly stick to blues and classic rock but I've been known to play around with heavier riffs like Metallica etc... If there is one thing I don't like about this amp it's that the dirty channel is relatively unuseable as is. You can make it work with some pedals etc.. but it's kind of a pain. That being said, it's an awesome value. It's a great little amp for the money. If you want a relatively inexpensive 15 Watt little power house you just can't go wrong with this amp. With a few easy mods you can tailor it to your needs. If it were stolen I would consider getting it again - but since I have a few more bucks now I would investigate other (more expensive)low wattage amps before making my final decision.

The features are well covered. I got this used on Ebay. I guess it's a year or two old. It was listed as the model with line out, speaker out etc. but the amp I received doesn't have those features. This amp sounds best at about half volume, which works well for me since I just play around my apartment and don't need a lot of volume; basically an expensive practice amp. I'm a rythym and blues, swamprock-boogie kind of white guy and the YVC20 gives me the tone I crave.

This is a neat little amp. Like others, I don't much care for the gain channel; it's too muddy. I love the clean channel with the gain on 6 and volume at 5 or 6. With my self-customized Strat and recently acquired Squire tele I can get the clean sounds I want with slight changes of the guitars' volume knobs and I can get the crunch and sustain with my Sparkle Drive. Blending the clean with the Sparkle Drive's dirty side works nicely since the clean channel has pretty good sustain and punch the way I set it. I almost always use the bright switch to get a more Fendery sound. The amp has a lot of bass and can be somewhat muddy unless you keep the bass knob down. Sometimes I kick in the gain channel with gain and volume at 5, running the Sparkle Drive into it for more grind and sustain. You can only do this with the bridge pickup. It can scream pretty good without sounding the least bit like heavy metal or 80s hair bands, which is cool. The stock Celestion Greenback gave the amp a Brit flavor. It sounded best for Led Zep type stuff and could nail "You Really Got Me" quite well. I like that kind of music but being an avowed swamprocker and white bluesman, I Americanized the amp by buying a used Weber 12F150-O 50 watt speaker. Now, the amp gives me the sounds I really want; miss the Brit thing sometimes but the crunchy tweed sound is me. The reverb sounds luscious if you set it between 1 1/2 to 2. Essentially, the sound is Fendery but spongier. It'll really sing and scream with a good stomp box. I'm amazed at the diffence of the sounds from the strat and the tele. A crappy amp makes them both sound the same. The YCV20 sounds much better than the Fender Blues Junior I once had ( with a Weber speaker too). It's snappier and brighter with more sustain. I'm finally happy with an amp.

I really dig this little amp and it looks cool too. My GF thinks it looks like a suitcase. One thing that bothers me is the way the chicken head knobs spin so freely. My cats change all the setting as they walk across the amp at night. I always mess up the reverb setting when switching the standby on and off. The standby switch is a tiny little black button on a black surface; didn't know I had on for a while. Swapping speakers is a snap since the speaker is front loaded. Just lay the amp on it's back and pop 'em out and in. Done in 10 minutes. I haven't done the JJ tube swap yet since one has to remove the chassis to accomplish the task. I've retubed two amps with JJs from Eurotubes and I've found that the JJs will improve the tone of an amp about 20%.I'll welcome the improvement when I get ambitious enough. The YCV20WR is a great little amp but not perfect. It's rather pricey too. If you can pick one up for $400 or so it's definitely a better deal than the Blues Junior at the same price point.

The amp does all the good stuff; it's a non-issue. Mine was manufactured in 2005. The features are to me just fine.

This is where we get queezy. As new, the YCV20WR uses Sovtek tubes which are, even in this day and age, typical Russian garbage. A thread here suggested JJ tubes for the finals. Worse still. The Sovteks are worthless, and the JJ's are worse.

What I have done is spend a couple hundred bucks on good tubes. I put a NOS set of RCA 6BQ5's in the final sockets, a Mullard ECC83 in the first pre-amp place, and NOS RCA 12AX7's elsewhere. It makes all the difference. Pre-tube change (6); post tube change(9).

Have had this amp on the frying pan in a hot room in summer on a still night in August in Yokosuka. Derta.

Haven't used it yet for this box, but Yorkville WILL give you the shirt off the back service.

Ten with tube exchange. Seven stock.

I bought in '03. One input, one output (I believe the newer ones have a headphone jack which I wouldn't use anyway) It has 2 channels and each channel has a switch for 1.) adding more drive on the first channel and 2.) high end or 'brightness' (presence on fender amps) on the second channel. I rarely use either. It has a ???Middle??? tone control which I find useful when balancing increased Gain on the pre-amp. It has Reverb, an FX loop and a foot switch and it's self biasing. I use it primarily as a practice amp and I've used it at jams and recording.

It's a fairly versatile amp however it breaks up too early for my liking on the clean channel when there is some good volume behind it (no headroom) which is sometimes nice, other times not so much. This amp works well with both single coil pups and humbucker guitars and can come reasonably close (but no cigar) to emulating a Vox, Marshall or Tweed and I've put it next to all three. It's good for someone who is looking for versatility at this price point and Traynor is setting the bar pretty high in its class. I heard it at a show and I played it a few times in the store before swapping it for my Hot Rod Deluxe which I wasn???t that happy with. It comes with a quality speaker and the EQ is responsive.

The Reverb is atrocious above 1.

I have had no problems with it although re-tubing is a pain. For that reason I would definitely have a backup if you plan to gig with this amp.

Good warranty and Traynor responded quickly to an email inquiry I had.

To sum it up this amp is a Jack of all trades; master of none. That said, it favours a slightly overdriven classic rock sound. It's not an ideal jazz amp nor is distortion its forte but each can perform to some satisfaction with the proper tweaking. I would recommend it to the basement player who wants a range of tones until he finds what he is actually looking for. If it were stolen I'd shop around for a good deal before buying this amp again. That said I'm in no rush to get rid of it either.

Basic features, two channel combo. Separate volume and gain knobs for each channel but amp shares the EQ knobs.

Sounds pretty good right out of the box but I retubed it with JJ's and also put in a Red Tone Tubby 12" hemp Speaker plus a beam blocker from Weber. Now it really sounds good. I mainly use the clean channel and pedals. The OD channel is okay but pedals will get you the sound you want better than the OD channel will.

So far no probs. Well built

I have called and emailed Yorkville with questions and they are responsive and prompt; very professional and courteous.

Been playing over forty years now and play everything, all styles. I play my archtops through this at jazz gigs and solid body axes at rock gigs. I love the line out and headphone features. The speaker mute button is also great for late night playing with headphones.

Features have all been stayed in previous posts. I have changed to jj tubes (blues version) and I have also had an extension cab made by weber speakers with a 12" 15 watt alnico blue dog. I was looking to replace the greenback but figured the extension cab would allow me to hear the blue dog before changing the speaker in the original amp (which I've never worked with and have no confidence or inclination to do so. I bring my guitars in to get strings changed etc so I get it right) this allows me to listen to just the blue dog or just the greenback or both together)

I am using this with an ibanez AR2000VV (think les Paul supreme with double cutaway) and an ibanez SA160. I also use a behringer xv-amp effects pedal with it. Clear channel is crystal clear. Before speaker change I felt that with enough volume and gain it had a "honky" sound that I didn't care for. I'm realizing that part of that is my fault due to my inexperience in adjusting settings. The new tubes and blue dog speaker help a lot and by playing through the clean channel with little gain and flat eq settings on the amp and little reverb, with the xvamp the presets make it sound amazing either with the blue dog alone or both speakers together.

I've had it for almost 2 years and have not had any problems. I am just a home amateur and the amp doesn't move anywhere.

I had questions and emails are returned promptly and courteously.

I will have been playing for 5 years this February. Starting at 42 and having no natural talent, I suck but despite that have fallen in love with making music albeit badly and can't forgive myself for not starting in my teens. I also own a Washburn 8 watt practice amp, a Yorkville AM100 acoustic amp, a behringer blue devil ss amp (which using an aby switch I sometimes play with the traynor to drive my wife crazy from the basement) and I have a zoom A6 acoustic effects pedal. I play classic rock, blues, country, Christmas and a bit of classical. If I lost the amp, I might buy another but would investigate some of the "blue" Traynor's or even, if I could afford it, some of the boutique amps. I don't think anything in this price range that I'm aware of, with the mods I've made would compare to this. Any advice from anyone on settings for the effects or amp would be appreciated.

Two channels--but for the chicken-pickin' stuff I play--the clean channel is the only one that I need. It sounds similar to a Dr. Z Prescription if you dial it up right (I did an A/B test). The direct XLR mic-sim out is nice, but you need a pad switch at the sound board if you get the volume above 5. This is my only complaint.

The distortion channel is horrible sounding, but the clean channel with a decent pedal (I recommend Indyguitarist stuff) gives you some nice dirt!

I have gigged with it once, but it handled a five piece band (including a steel guitarist running two Nashville 400s) with ease. If you need more volume, run it through your monitor. Anyway, it survived a roadhouse just fine....Should be more than reliable.

I use a custom tele loaded with Joe Barden pickups. The tone was great running a guitar straight into the amp with no effects. It almost gave me chills. As with previous reviews, I sold my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe because I could never get the volume above 2.5 without killing someone. It had better low end, but it wasn't real tight. Very booming. The Traynor has very tight low end. I have owned Bandmasters, Twins, Deluxes, HR Deluxes...this Traynor is my favorite amp EVER!

Same features as previously posted. Both channels are very useable and react well to eq and gain/volume. Tried DIing out at a gig yesterday vice micing and the tone was warm, but a little too bright for my taste. Wine red color is retro and cool. Nice metal frame underneath grill clothe provides excellent protection for the greenback 12" speaker. A very affordable and quality made product.

Sold my overpriced and very heavy Orange AD30TC combo amp for this little guy. 15W is more than enough. I play at the largest clubs in San Diego with my indie-rock band, and I barely have the gain cranked to 4 and it is plenty loud. While I liked the Orange, it lacked reverb and the tone was fairly one dimensional (and it was around 80lbs!) At 35lbs, the Traynor's tone is very similiar but more diverse and responsive than the Orange. It responds to pick attack and breaks up very much like a Vox. It is a very bright/trebly amp, so if you play a Tele like me, you'll find yourself EQuing differently than you ever have before. Reverb is good up to 4 (beyond this it is too mushy). This is a good match for pop, indie-rock, classic rock, and modern country, but probably not for head-bangers.

Got this used and haven't owned it for very long, but Traynor products have a good reputation. Appreciate the transferrable warranty (and without paperwork or website applications!). The cabinet and overall design looks and feels very solid. I use it w/o a back-up.

Haven't dealt with them, but others I know have had very positive experiences.

Been playing professionally for 10 years. I gig at least twice a week and my gear gets plenty of play and travel so I tend to go w/ reliability and quality over the-next-new-thang. This amp is awesome and probably the best $300 I've spent on guitar equipment (and I'v spent a lot). I've owned Vox, Fenders, Marshall, and Orange amps. I've liked and disliked each of these amps for various reasons, but the Traynor is my favorite of the bunch. I sold a $1900 amp for this $300 one. If you like the British crunch of a Vox and the bright clean sparkle of a Fender Twin, you'll dig this little guy.

I think everything has been covered sufficiently, but I'll give a quick run-down. 2 Channels, shared eq, spring reverb, effects loop, DI out, headphone out, external speaker out, Celestion Greenback 12", 15 watts.

Let's be clear on the sound. Sovtek tubes are junk, they are the cheapest thing out there for a reason. Why Traynor thought they are a good match is beyond me. I upgraded to the JJ tubes, and it has made a huge difference. Before the retube, the gain channel was junk. The low end just sputtered. The tubes have cleaned that up considerably. That said, the gain channel is not for metal. This is a 1x12" 15 watt amp, not a half stack. I engage the bright switch on the clean channel and then set the gain channel at the same volume with just a little dirt. Then I hit both of them with my OD pedals. It gives me two different voices on the amp. With the Greenbacks, you've got a British feel, but the bright function can really take you into Fendery territory.

Got this one used, and have had no problems. Traynor/Yorkville has a 2-year transferrable warranty. You can't beat that.

The only concern under reliability is the changing of tubes. They are NOT easy to get to. In fact, I couldn't get my screw driver in a good enough position to get the V3 cover off, so I had to pry it. No biggie, I'll just have easier access next time.

Traynor has answered my questions very quickly. Can't complain.

When judging this amp, you're really talking Blues Junior, ValveState, etc. as comparisons. For list price, I probably would have at least given a run at a Fender Deluxe Reverb. Since I got this used, features and sound are certainly way beyond anything else out there in the $300 range. This amp is very versatile, with a great tone (with the retube of course). I'm definitely considering other Traynor amps in my future.

Bought this amp in October of 2005, it was made was made in Canada or in NY, but I'm really not sure.

Features 2 channels with a master volume on each channel, the 1st channel (the cleaner one (has a bright switch, the 2nd Channel has a bit more gain and also features a boost switch. The boost switch does not work on the clean channel. The Amp has effects loop/ send and return jack. It also has an ext. speaker out, a headphone out and a direct line out so you can run it to a mixer.

The tubes are 2 EL84's in the power amp section a 12ax7 in the preamp section. It is classified as a Class A, amp, but has a phase inverter, so it's really a class AB amp.
The 2 EL84's put out 15 watts

It has reverb, which is available on both channels, yet is not foot switch able.
The foot switch that comes with the amp controls the channels 1 and 2 and the second button the footswitch controls a boost on the second channel only

The Cabinet is plywood and with what Traynor calls Wine Red Nubtex finish with oatmeal grille looks very nice.

The speaker in it is a Celestion "Greenback" G12M 12 speaker

For more details you can read about it at http://www.yorkville.com

I have many guitars to test this amp out with, and have used Fender Telecasters, Fender Stratocasters, a Gibson Les Paul and SG, and an ES335. I have even played my Rickenbacker 330 through. All seem very good and have their own vibe.This amp is more Vox-ish in tone as opposed to Fender-ish. My Musical style is Rootsy, blues, Americana. I did not buy this amp for high gain tones, yet it delivers a nice glassy crunch, but is not a shredders amp, by any means.

I tested this amp against, and few others, including the Fender Blues Jr, and an Ampeg jet. All amps were new with no modifications and were ordered through Musician's Friend.

Here, were my results. The Blues Jr. has the cleanest of all three of these amps and stays cleanest the longest. I did not like the crunch or distorted tones of this amp at all. There were many that love this amp and others that had done many changes to get the Blues Jr to there liking, you can read the review here on Harmony Central

The Ampeg, I did love, but lacked features I wanted a smaller practice amp. The Ampeg Jet is as simple as it gets, but here's it's down fall. The sweet spot on the Ampeg is about 10 to 3 o'clock on the volume dial, which is pretty loud and not really bedroom/ living room practice level at all.There is also no foot switch on the Ampeg to turn off/on the tremelo, making that feature it pretty much worthless in a live setting.

Now he's the deal about reliability. I have had this amp for 6 months and never had a problem. But if you?re doing a gig with any tube amp, I will suggest you bring a back up.

You are not easily going to take out tubes in this amp and do a repair on the spot, and here's why. The power tubes have a bracket and are mounted very close to the speaker; you need an off-set screw driver to get at em. The pre amp tubes are mounted inside the amp, and you can not get at em at all with out removing the chassis from the cabinet. When I replaced the power tubes it was just as easy to unscrew the 4 screws from the back cabinet support bracket and then remove the 4 screws that mount the chassis to the cabinet. After this there are 2 screws to remove the bracket that mounts the power tubes. I thought this was rather a strange design, and spoke to the guy at Traynor that designed the amp. With all the things that this amp does, there were some design compromises that had to be made.

I take care of my gear real well, In my 30 years of playing I never had to use a warranty, and probably have been a bit on the lucky side there.

The guy that I spoke to a Traynor was very nice and informative. The amp has a very nice 2 year warranty, "even if you break it", you are covered.

I have been playing for 30 years and own many electric guitars by Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker, and amps by Mesa, Marshall, Fender, SWR, and Ashdown. I decided to keep this one over the Ampeg Jet II, because of the master volume, that would make it much nice to play at practice level volumes and still achieve a decent tone. As I have mentioned I did like the vibe and tone of the Ampeg, this was similar in tone. The Fender Blues Jr. had a nice Fender clean tone, but I did not care for the distorted tones. There?s a whole lot of folks out there that have some suggestions for making the Blues Jr. sound better, so check em out.

For the price, it does a lot and does it very well. I have not played with this in a live setting, nor a jam session, so I am not sure how it would hold up with a drummer and if there would be enough power, but I think it would hold its own. 15 watts is louder than most people think.

If you doubled or trippled the price you were willing to spend, you could get youself a nice Dr Z, Budda, Carr, Matchless, Top Hat, Victoria and the list goes on. For the pirce I paided, it does everything I wanted a small amp to do, and sounds very good too.

I may change out the preamp tubes and see what happens from there. I will try to get the cleans to stay clean a bit longer.

See reviews below... 15 W tube amp with reverb, footswitchable channels, etc. The 2006 YCV20-WR comes stock with a Celestion Greenback 12". [NOTE: Different Traynors come with different speakers (Wine Red vs. Black, etc) and speakers change from year to year. This could explain the variation if reviewers comments.] I've been playing through a Fender Blues Deluxe (40 W) and Fender Vibrolux Reverb "Custom" (also 40 watts), so I use these amps as my baseline for comparison. I bought this Traynor through Musician's Friend about 4 months ago.

My 40 watt Fenders are too loud to really crank to obtain natural overdrive through the power tubes. My bandmates frequently complain the two guitarists are playing too loud (which is true), so that's how I ended up with a 15 W Traynor. It's not quite loud enough for my taste (I think 20 W might be perfect), but I have the option of micing into the PA, which overcomes this problem.

My main guitar is a Tele Am Standard with Duncan single coils. Nothing fancy, but a great guitar. Some observations about this amp:
-Pedals that sounded really good through my Fender amps don't sound as good as through the Traynor, and pedals that don't sound as good through the Fenders sound better through the Traynor. Bottom line: I've re-adjusted my pedal board with pedals that sound best through the Traynor (for example, the Full-Drive II sounds killer through the Traynor).
-This amp doesn't seem to like to have the gain setting adjusted high on either channel 1 or 2. Others have noted this and it is a major concern. I figured I could crank up the gain and get some great natural power tube overdrive... NOT the case. Sounds farty, fizzy, decidedly not musical. However, if I set the gain lower (say 3-5 range) and use the Full-Drive to overdrive the amp (pull up on the vol. knob), the amp really starts to come alive. I can get some most excellent sounds.
-I took the advice of others and replaced the stock tubes, but found only modest improvements. Don't be in a big hurry to run out and buy new tubes.
-The reverb setting isn't voiced correctly... you want to set it somewhere between 0 - 3. Anything above 4 is over the top.

Overall analysis: this amp takes some getting used to, reacts to pedals differently, and the use of the gain setting is limited to low settings. However, with all this being said, you can dial is some of the best sounds and tones I've ever heard come out of an amp. I have completely stopped using my Fender amps. The Traynor has spoiled me completely. The Fenders now sound like they are missing a key ingredient when I play through them. I am trying to sell my Vibrolux Reverb, and once this is sold, I am seriously considering purchasing the YCV40. If it sounds as good as the YCV20 (only louder) I'll be in guitar amp nirvana!

No comment; no problems or breakdowns, haven't had to service, etc. Appears to be really solid, and the two year unlimited warranty is excellent.

Have not dealt with the company.

I love the small size and weight, and (after some experimenting) the excellent tones. The fact that I'm in the market for a second Traynor speaks volumes. Price is a bargain compared to boutique amp prices. This amp is solidly in the 8-9 range. Because this amp was not a "plug-and-play" and I've had to work to find it's sweet spots, I rate it an 8 overall.

You all know the features. This is about tubes....I bought a new set of Sovteks. Installed them. Then I put in the JJ Tubes. Put in JJ Tubes. That's it. Amp is now incredible.

Get the JJ Tubes....What are you waiting for? JJ Tubes all the way. The others have said it and I wouldn't have thought it would work but the stock Sovteks are so generic it's incredible.

Very reliable.

i emailed them the other day as I had found a mistake in their on-line manual for this WCV 20WR. They had the wrong ohms for the external out. They had in the manual 4-ohms but it is really 8 -ohms. I received an email the next day. he did check into it and I was right. They should have it changed on thier website soon. he was embarrased but thanked me for the info.

This is a very nice amp which I "stumbled" upon by accident. I wouldn't have bought it because of a wee bit of brand snobbery but close your eyes and find out for yourself ! It looks great though!

i chose this over a Fender Blues Jr. same power but many more options.
A lot of options for sound, outputs, controlling things in general. This amp has plenty of power for most gigs. If you need more volume, just have them throw it in the monitors (I've never had to). I've never used the speaker cancellation and DI, but had a hum the only time I tried hooking up the DI. Not too worried about that as I probably won't use it.

I play with a couple guitars and have found that my active electric pickups don't sound near as good as the passive ones. I love the clean tone of this amp, a lot of tone control in your picking. You can have sparkling clean and some dirty grit just by adjusting your picking. The variety of sounds is great.
The amp has been very quiet with my humbuckers, never had a problem. The gain channel is a little too harsh, but I just got some JJs which I hear are much better. I get a lot of variation in sounds with amp placement (floor, stand, etc.) but that happens with any amp. The reverb is pretty ridiculous over 2 or 3, that's the only thing I really haven't cared for.

My amp was pinned under the back gate of my wagon after a truck crushed my car. Worked perfectly (but I did charge the insurance company for a new set of tubes- just in case).
And if that wasn't enough, it fell out of my van couple weeks ago, straight to the ground. Again, no problems.

never ahd to use.

I've played for 13 years, doing lots of gear upgrades lately and knew this was the amp to use for years until I get something that will probably cost 3 times as much (when I'm in my fifties and my kids are out of college).
I know it's not a boutique or the worlds greatest amp; but for the price, features and everything else, it's an awesome amp. I was interested in Fender style amps and this one jsut gave me a lot more for my money.
I'd replace buy another in a heartbeat if anything happened to it.

2004, Not versatile at all, 2 channels, w/ Footswitch......I never feel I have time to write a review, but I made time here to save others time and money.

Gave this Amp a 4, because it had a reverb, and two channels, even though the two channels hardly showed any differences. One Channel was clean and crappy, and the other was Supposedly a bit overdriven, and was, a very little bit overdriven and crappy.

Oh, by the way Traynor, its cool to support the tubes, but putting them in the amp so that it takes a day and a half to change them is deffinately the wrong idea.....If these manufacturers would just quit building the amps with the tubes upside down, we might not have to worry about this anyway.......we can send a space shuttle to the moon, but we cant get a combo amp with the damn tubes and electronics placed right side up.......sheeeeeeesh

This was the worst sounding guitar amp I have ever used, I decent electronics only amp has more tone, more sweetness, and more versatility than this thing. I wish I new what Traynor was thinking when they put this thing on the market. Of course my opinion is purely subjective, but my ears don't lie, this thing was crap.

I gave this amp a 2, because it made some sound

Dont know, Sadly, it appears to be made well all around, but I must say, the pots were the crapyest pots I have ever layed fingers on, the spin if the wind blows too hard. Even if I could find a good sound, I'd never be able to stay on it, as the pots spin with almost no resistance.......

Who cares, I wouldnt even try another one......

I own lots of other to name gear, and usually as the rule goes, you get what you pay for, sure, not all of my 1000+ guitars feel right for me, but they are still made well, and sound good, I use mostly Marshall amps, but was looking for a small tube practice amp, I'll stick with the hybrid Marshall ATV20, I learned my lesson.
Overall, the Traynor worked, and looked nice, so I gave it a 4 since it would also make a great shelf to put drinks and crap on.

Model yr. 2005. It was back ordered and I had to wait 3 mo. for it. I bought this amp for a home practice amp because I needed an amp that would fit under my office desktop. My Fender Deville 2x12 went to the garage along side the Marshall half stack. So the feature I wanted was small size and tone big enough for a 12x14 room. I got a lot more. It is available in Black or Wine Red tolex. I held out for the red.

This amp has a clear warm sound on the clean channel. With a little stomp drive here and there I can get just what I want out it. The tone controls work as intended but the reverb is not Fender quality. The o.d. channel is not for me. After tinkering around for a while I found myself in the clean channel, volumn up, maybe a little t.screamer to taste. The volume is the issue. Cranked (and I mean max vol, max gain) the amp is just about right for a full level rehersal. It sounds sweet and the guitars are real but dont expect to win the battle with your second guitarist playing though a Twin or a Lonestar. I found myself hauling out the other amp. Love that tolex, though.

There may be an issue here. I've had no problems but it is widely reported that Yorkville has been less than steller in response to consumer complaints. I have a slight buzz at high gain in the reverb cover box and I intend to find my own fix but if I need to deal with the company I will report back.

The first song I learned on guitar was You Really Got Me (when it was a hit...by the Kinks). I still play out on occasion, mostly popular rock with a twist of R&B. I play an American Strat, a Mex. Tele and a Les Paul through a rotation of effects. When I retired the Marshall I replaced it with a Deville 2x12 which I have been more than happy with. I never intended to use the YVC20 as my main amp on stage but I'm thinking I could. For all the talk about changing out the tubes I dont have a problem with tone. I don't care for the overdrive channel but then again I don't particularly like the o.d. in the Deville. I pre amp with a stomp box so I can clean up as neccessary. I have been using the YVC20 on stage for the wet end of my delay unit. I makes for a great stereo effect in our size of venues. Having said that I do think the YVC20 has enough gain to fill a small hall with say up to 75 seats. I have ran it full out a few times and the tone controls still influence at high levels. However, I don't like playing without some headroom, so I cant see this amp as a main rig. Possibly the YVC 40. I priced a lot of other small amps and read a lot of reviews (still do) and I believe that I would have had to pay a lot more to move up the next level, maybe as much as One Thousand or more. These tubes are fine, my guitars sound like they are supposed to. The Greenback is great (they are in the Deville too). Those that are having trouble may have got bad units though I cant believe there are that many our there. My suspicion is that many guitarists are going for a more scooped out metalic mode that is difficult with this amp. If this amp were stolen I would probably go for the 40 watt just for the headroom. This is a great small amp for low to medium volumns. Did I mention the tolex?

This is my second review. Specs of this amp are listed on my other post below. There is good information about this amp in the YCV20 section of Harmony Central as well. I'm guessing the only difference between the WR is the color of the tolex and the speaker. It was brought up that this amp has solid state circuitry in it. I will add that all tubes amps I've ever owned (Dean Markley, Peavey Classic 100, Crate VC 50) have been in this price range. They all claim "All Tube" and yet they use all solid state electronics in the rectifier, reverb, and channel switching sections of the amp. My crate VC 50 had printed right under the logo "All Tube" as well. IMO if you want a real "all tube amp" be prepared to shell out $1000 +. It was also brought up in the YCV20 section that this in not a class A amp. Of course all pre-amps are running class A. But when an amp is classified A, AB, or B I always assume they are talking about the power amp section. I just pulled out my schematic and would have to agree that it looks like the power amp is a push pull class AB. It does bother me in this day and age that manufactures are less than truthful about there product. I bought this amp knowing it was not "All Tube" however the class AB is news to me.

Again this is my second review and I need to make a correction to my earlier post when I was complaining about the power amplifier tubes (6BQ5's EL84's). I had thought part of sound problem with my amp was related to the power amplifier tubes. For a second time I spent the good part of a day experimenting with different brands of tubes in the pre-amp and power amp sections of this amp. My findings are that I could not tell the difference between the JJ tubes or the original Sovtek tubes in the power amp section. However JJ tubes in the pre-amp did make a difference in my amp. I mail ordered this amp new. I don't know if shipping a tube amp UPS is a good idea, and that might have also been part of my original problem as well. Again the JJ tubes sound great in this amp and I will continue to use them in the future when I re-tube this amp.

The gain and reverb have more turn adjustment than needed. I don't ever turn any of them past 3. Tube access is poor, the other side is you don't have to worry about bumping or breaking tubes when moving the amp around. It's nice that Traynor has channel switching and boost control on the foot switch. With all the good and the bad I've said about this amp I would still buy it again. It's not a bad amp for its price range and I still think it sounds great!

I've had this amp one year now, you all know the features as in other reviews. Retubed with JJ's as often recommended in this column.
"8" for features because it doesn't have built in everything. So what.

The tone was pretty interesting before the retube, lots of promise, if somewhat edgy or harsh distortion and floppy bottom end from the Sovteks. The full set of JJ's was 50 bucks. DAMN GO SPEND THAT 50 BUCKS! Don't wait, pass go or wind, change those tubes! Go easy on the gain and hard on the volume. Man this is the sweetest amp I've ever played in the past 40 years.

Strat into cry baby - tube screamer - delay - amp. Canare L4E6S cables with open ended shield for highs complexities. We play Hendrix, SRV, Santana, ZZ Top, Doors, Bad Company, Van Morrisson, Micheal Buble (big band jazz from us?... go figure, our singer nails it), Stones, Beatles, Cranberries, CCR, Neil Young etc. The amp handles it all. (Never tried country) Our bass players eyes popped, he keeps looking for the stack and the fender combo. I've played this little fk'r OUTSIDE, unmiked. It just gets better the more you crank it, and people don't run away from the volume. They come to you. Just keep fiddling with the buttons, your touch, use your ears, not the previous experience in your head with other amps. Treat this as something new.

This amp does seem more sensitive to pedal quirks than my '68 Fender Pro Reverb. Haven't been able to dial in the cry baby yet to my satisfaction. For that matter, all the pedals react differently with the Traynor to some extent, so expect a learning curve.

no failures

Never needed them. Great warranty!

I love this thing so much that I've stopped using anything else. Part of the reason for that is the same as for the pedal sensitivity thing. Switching over to my PRS or old Dean requires resetting everything and I just want to play. So they'll have to wait 'till I get my fill.

When the night is over, it's amp in one hand, guitar and case in the other and home I go! Easy. Get the cover too, the wee amp is soooo pretty. Would definitely replace if lost.

The features are listed below. Under 30 pounds of kick ass. yeah it's only 15 watts, but it has a line out, so run a cord to the board!
Greenback speaker, a great application for this amp.
2 channels but I only use the clean and overdrive it if necessary . Yeah 15 watts makes that simple. It is tube too so dig in a bit when you want to accentuate something.
It looks boo teek!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I use it with a G&L as well as a rickenbacker 360. The rick is exceptional through it, spanky and on the edge of breakup. I disagree with others, this amp likes effects, at least it likes the delay I use with it. One tip, keep it super clean for delay. i appreciate the o/d channel but don't use it depensing instead on the tube breakup at manageable volumes. That is what started me on the 15 watt journey. If you see an amp as an extension of your tone, and not something to break your back on and have to play too loud to get a sweet sound, go listen to this beautiful little gem.

Its a traynor. Best warranty and customer service I have ever experienced. I love the el84 tube sound with a ricky as well as with other single coil pickups. A nice combination indeed.
I am no gear head but have had no problems in a year of working it every day.Hooked it up to a 2 twelve cabinet with a celestion 70/80 and a GH 100 for added pleasure.

They set the standard I wish others would aspire to. Made in canada and canada rocks hard. eh?

Buncha shit otherwise.

Chose it over the competition, since once you listen to it, there isn't any. A bit more expensive than a fender pro junior or whatever, but hey made in the great white north and the controls can be read from the front. Better speaker, 2 channels, better tube compliment, better construction, better sound, line out, seaker shut off, headphone jack ( why bother with that?). Enough already!!!!!

This amp has one input for two switchable channels. You can use the footswitch (or panel controls) for channel selection and "Boost" on channel1 (the "lead" channel). There is also a panel-only control that kicks "brightness" into channel two (the "rhythm" channel).

There is a DI output, plus a TRS post eq line out that is half of the included effects loop. In my opinion, this amp is made to conform to about any situation. You won't need to make queer cables.

The speaker is a Celestion G12M "greenback". This amp is the ideal application for this speaker. Perfect.

15 watts class A. It gets hot; component life may or may not be an issue. I have read some other reviews, and a new pair of 6BQ5's may be a semi-annual event. We'll see. This amp is used hard.

This YVC20WR is princpally used with a USA Strat, playing R&B, funk, country, and rock. The greenback is just superb, and the amp does everything really well. Dead quiet. The reverb works nominaly. The overall sound is a little bright (makes the bassist happy). With a competent player using some pedals correctly, the amp is just amazing. You probably don't want to try this box for "AC-DC" sounds alone, but you sure could in the studio. If your drummer is a real musician, you can use this amp for small- to moderate-size rooms full tilt. My experience with this box is that it works fine up to about 3200 sq ft. Best to elevate and reinforce with the PA. Stage volume is fine on a 16'-wide stage complete with drums. Never heard it, but I suspect this amp would be killer on CH2 with a RIC360-12 and the bright switch engaged. Both channels have gain controls, and thusly one can adjust the sound individually; the tone controls do both channels. There are users who replace the stock Sovtek tubes with JJ's; this review is of a totally stock amp.

This amp is getting used hard, but there is not enough experience with it to form an oppinion.

2 year unlimited warranty on everything except the cabinet, which is ten years. My experience has been that when gear gets really old (10-15 years) and has been used hard over that time, you have probably gotten you money's worth out of it. I have no oppinion or experience yet on the YVC20. In fact, I can't remember a Traynor amp failure.

35 pounds and kicks Marshall's butt. I like it good. I also have a Supro 16T and a Sound City 120 Mk IV. The Supro's a keeper, but this Traynor puts the Sound City on the block. I've been playing since '66.

This little Traynor amazes me. I have found nothing yet to hate it for, except that it was made in Canada. If lost or stolen, I would instantly replace it with another one.

My only 'druther is I would like to see the amp shipped with a cover, and a separate bag for the footswitch/cable/AC cable.

This is a follow-up to a much earlier review by me. I gave this amp a strong rating for sounds, and I still do. The trick is to understand that this amp is designed for certain things, and it does them very well. New tubes (EH 12ax7, JJ Tesla EL84) help a bunch, but also, this amp behaves like old amps. It likes guitars and cables, maybe a little OD pedal. Don't run your 6-piece FX board through this amp and then wonder why it sounds no good. This amp does not seem to like FX very much. For nice rock sounds try gain channel as so: Gain 2-3, Vol 7-8, Verb 0-1, Mid 5, Treb 3-4, Bass 3-4. Then plug an OD pedal in front with just a little bit of clean level boosting. Superb. For good overdrive sounds, remember to turn up volume, not gain. It's likes power amp crunch like VOXs, not preamp gain like a Mesa. This amp requires you to work it for sounds, but if you do, there are lots of great tones inside.

Still a tank. Like all class "A" amps though, it uses power tubes kinda fast, but can just pop them in/out once you remove the silly little tube cover. If you're driving this amp hard, change your EL-84's twice a year!

2005 model bought new a few months ago from MF. Features are plenty and well documented by other folks. The features and form factor are what attracted me to this amp. I was hoping that it would be a convenient rehearsal amp and fill in when my Twin Reverb was overkill.
Sorry to say it's not to be...

1997 American Standard Strat (stock), 1977 Gibson Les Paul Standard with Burstbucker pups and 1984 Alvarez/Yairi acoustic with Fishman Rare Earth pup. Pedal Train pedal board with Ernie Ball Volume Pedal, Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah, Fulltone Full-Drive 2, Line6 DL4, George L cables.
Initially, I thought the sound with the stock Sovteks was decent but the bass was flabby and overdrive unusable.
Installed some Eurotubes and immediately noticed a tighter bottom and clearer overall sound. Unfortunately, even with the Eurotubes the bottom was still flabby. The sound while tighter just wasn't smooth and musical. There's also a pronounced midrange that can't be dialed out. The amp also has a sensitivity that?s hard to describe but I hear a lot of pick and string noise, not good.

Does seem well built. No complaints on build quaility, no rattles, looks good, good warranty.

Yorkville did respond promptly to email.

Really disappointed with the YCV20-WR. I had high hopes for this amp but have run out of patience. Perhaps a speaker change would help but a Celestion Alnico Blue is more $ then I want to invest right now.
For now I'll stick with the Twin Reverb, try to sell the YCV20 and keep looking for the amp I hoped the Traynor would be.