Traynor YCV20

2004 model.

As versatile as it gets for the money. This little guy, with a few mods, is capable of producing pretty much any tone you'd like.
All the features have already been covered. My only wish would be a master volume.

I bought the amp for mostly home use with the ocassional jam or small gig in mind. Other amps I tried before choosing the Traynor were Fender's Blues and Pro jrs, Vox AD30vt, Roland Cube 30, and Peavey Classic 30.

I'd rate it an 8 stock, but with the addition of the blues set of jj's ($45)from Bob at eurotubes.com, and a Weber 30 watt ceramic Blue Dog ($99), it gets a 10. Still a good value. I play Blues, Classic Rock, Folk-Rock, and Country mostly and the little guy handles it all.

Tweak the tone controls and dial up the gain and it produces decent metal tone.

With the treble past 6 and the bright switch on there is some hiss but otherwise it's very quiet.

I use any of 5 Strats, a Nashville Tele, or PRS Santana, and can easily dial them all in.

With a spare set of tubes on hand, I wouldn't hesitate to use the amp without a backup. Having now owned it for 3 years I haven't experienced any problems, whatsoever.

I can only go by Traynor's reputation for quick response and solid customer service.

I've been playing for approx. 40 years and have owned quite a few different amps. If I lost this amp, for any reason, I'd find another one and add the jj's and Weber again.

This has all been covered before.

I have played this with a Les Paul w/57 buckers, and with a vintage 68 strat. I have used a PRS, and a Dearmond Jazz box.
I just can not get "that" sweet sound out of this amp. I can't figure it out. Is it the speakers? or the tubes? Those of you who are giving this glowing reviews must have poor ear quality.
I tried it out because I was looking for a good tube amp to record with, and a friend of mine from north west alabama had this in the studio. There was a reason it was sitting in the corner not being used. I asked why he bought it, and he said someone left it there.
Think about it guys, there is a reason they sold out to yorkville, and why yorkville discontinued this amp in favor of a new model.
sory this is a dud!

Don't know didn't keep it long.

never used them

Started playing in the 70's, had my first paying gig (in a bowling ally) at 17. Never been with any big bands, but have mad a few buck playin in bars with several dif southern bands. It's been fun.
It will not get stolen as it was given to me, but I gave it back. Rember whoever had it before just left it where I got it.
Nothiing I love about it, I was hoping to find a little tube amp to record with ( hoping to find good saturation) because I've seen some well known people use 5-15 watt tube amps just to get that sound, this is not waht your looking for. It may be good for a beginer who doesn't know better.
The Peavey classic 20 is much better, but is damm loud.
The crate palomino comes close, but no cigar.
The Fender pro Jr is nice, but has been used to death.
The champ doesn't have bottom end.
The new gretsch, and epiphone -- Please!!!!!
Guess I'll have to isolate my bigger amps.

I just got this amp from an eBay auction. Mint condition. I belive it's a 2006 madel and probably the last year it was made. The features are well explained in the other reviews.

The amp sounds fine stock. Lots of nice tones. Based on what I read here though I got a new set of JJ tubes from Eurotubes. When you order the tubes you can pick the sound that you're after. I chose to get tubes with maximum headroom. The tubes made the amp sound better with a bit more sparkle and smoother break-up. I then swapped out the speaker for an Eminence Patriot Cannabis Rex. Whoa! The amp really came alive! Now the amp is fantastic. The new speaker is very articulate. Great highs, bassy lows. No hum or noise. I have a Schecter C/SH-1 with dual HB's that has coil taps on the tone contols so that you can switch each pup to single coil. The amp is super responsive to each pup selection. I can get twangy tele sound, rock strat sound, and soaring LP sound. I play mostly pop rock.

I rally can't say, but Traynor has a great reputation. I did notice that everything looks very solid and well put together when I changed the tubes and speaker.

Don't know, but some have said it's very good.

I've been playing for over 30 years, but not professionally. I was looking at the Peavey Classic 30, Valve King and Delta Blues. I chose the Traynor because it has a true two channel design (the Valve King does too) and the reviews here were good. I'm somewhat new to electric as I've been playing acoustic mostly. I liked the amp stock but with the new tubes and speaker I now LOVE this amp. I highly recommend the upgrades particularly the Cannabis Rex. If something happened this this amp I'd get another and do the same upgrades.

I was also looking into boutique amps and Mesas, but the prices were more than I wanted to spend (the new Mesa Express is well over $1K). This amp has all of the sound that I need. It's got real balls. If you have one or are looking at buying one DO THE UPGRADES. The improvement in sound is enormous.

I believe it is a 2003 model. 15 all tube watts, does have some solid state but not in the signal path. Has modern features with two channels and an extra boost. Doesn't have separate tone controls for each channel but I've never seen a little amp that does. Price at $640 was a little steep, but worth it. I'd give it a 10 if it had separate tone controls.

I like Fender tube sound. I have a Twin which is too heavy and loud for basement playing, this one is just right. I made some changes though. The stock Celestion is crap, get the Vintage 30, huge difference, much more Twin like, tons of mids and lows, sounded a little tinny stock. Also dumped the Sovtek tubes and replaced with Groove Tubes. Much sweeter sounding, again more mids and bottom end plus more power. Absolutely love the tone of it now. Likes Les Pauls as it is still quite bright. I love the sound of Duanne and Dicky, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Duanne Eddy, Keith Richards--you know, guys who actually play something musical and part of the song. With Les, it has a sweet rhythmn sound on the clean channel and the gain set low. Leave the volume at about 7 to get a little power tube distortion. Lead channel is a little more aggressive with nice sustain. Turn up the volume to about 8 to 9 and the gain low again. It sings nicely. Kick in the boost switch if you want to get plain dirty. Lots of versatility. Has a nice clean powerful bass sound with the treble pickup clean and loads up nicely in the lead channel. With my strat, turn the treble down and the gain up a little and its okay. Have to admit, the strat (with fender custom shop 69 alnico pickups) sounds better through the Twin but they were made for each other. Basically, I love it and it won't break you back either. Again, change the tubes and get the Celestion Vintage 30 12" speaker.

Comes with a great warranty, unconditional in the first 2 years "even if you break it". Traynor stuff is legendary for reliability and I haven't had any issues with it at all. However, I'm not hard on it either, never play it wide open, its just not my style. Its loud for a little 15 watt amp, not that I'm complaining.

Can't say, never any problems.

Picked up a guitar at age 40, been playing for 15 years. This is a basement practice amp, drums will bury it. When I play with drums and bass I use my Fender "The Twin". Have a stock Gibson Les Paul Studio and a modified Fender Mexican Strat. I tried a Fender Blues Junior--same power--but no versatility. If stolen, I would definitely buy another with the Vintage 30 in already and put in Groove Tubes. I really love it for playing solo or with another guitar. Perfect little practice amp for me.

In May 2006 I bought this new amp online through an eBay dealer for under $400. It is the YCV 20. Two channels, clean and distortion each with volume and gain controls. Three EQ controls and a reverb. Nice little footswitch panel to move between channels and to add overdrive to channel 1. One 12 inch Celestian speaker. Pretty simple. Nice piece of furniture with the wine red cover and oatmeal front. This is just your basic tube amp and if you want more dials, switches, toggles, etc. you need something else.

I am not an amp head so don't have much experience with electronics rigs. This is only the third amp I've had in my 30 plus years of playing guitar. That said, I've been around a lot of amps and am aware of differences.

The Traynor delivers a gorgeous sound on the clean channel and a good sound on the overdrive channel. Both channels produce a better tone at higher volume, especially overdrive with the "brightness" switch turned on. I'm playing an Epi Les Paul standard (classic '57 humbuckers) and the sound for jazz or rock is just fine. I'm learning that the biggest element in the tone is my technique.

The tone also seems to be changing with time, something I've read other people claim about tube amps.

I don't gig, but this equipment feels very well built. Nice and solid with no surprising sounds (like the box is coming apart or a spring just sprung). It's heavy without being back-breaking and if I had to move this thing around at age 54 it wouldn't be a problem. Other amps I've been around require a hand cart and a teenage boy. This is very manageable. It also has a great 2 year warranty that states even if you break, they'll fix it. I can't imagine having to call them on it.

I've had no experience with Traynor, but other comments here have been favorable.

This suits my needs to a T. If it "disappeared" for whatever reason, I'd get another YCV 20 right away. I don't need more watts or speakers or effects. I just need to improve my technique. I enjoy both the clean and the overdrive sounds when my wife is out of the house and I can crank it up to 11. I got a good price on it and if you shop around you can too. It's a tube amp and while I'm not a professional musician I can hear and feel and appreciate the tone quality a tube delivers. This is a real good amp for what it does.

My third posting regarding this amp
Iv`e done some serious digging about info on this amp and here`s my take:
First off I`ll start out by saying that I have modded mine with J&J blues package tubes & Reverend Alltone 1250- Big improvement -Read my earlier post for more on that

My Findings on the YCV20 ( Correct me if I`m wrong)
This amp is not a "Class A" tube amp
- It is a Class AB push pull, it has a phase inverter tube, the tubes run slighty hotter than "normal" AB push pull amps, that`s why Yorkville claims Class A
- The schematic shows at least three Op Amps , I`m no electronics guru but that generally means "solid state" for some of the circuitry,
I`m guessing an op amp for the Rectifier circuit, reverb control and an op amp for the boost switch.
If you really want to get very technical you can say this amp is a Hybrid SS/Tube to a certain degree. And I`m sure many of the popular name brand "all Tube" amps on the market fall into this catagory due to their circuitry that probably includes op amps in their schematics.
I`m not putting this amp down, I`m only looking at how it`s built and how it`being advertised.
It does have a tube pre-amp and tube powersection which does provide genuine tube tone. But there are some bells and whistles that are SS.
I bought into the hype and I love my Traynor but I still don`t own a true Class A single ended tube amp. IMHO
I have emailed Traynor asking them to explain why they call this a Class A amplifier and I am awaiting their reply.
I`m sure I`m not telling everyone something they don`t already know but just in case there are peolple out there lke me, I want to help calrify this amp a little bit.
Again, correct me if I`m wrong.....
I will either build a true Class A PTP wired amp or buy one from one of the many "boutique" amp builders out there.

It still sounds Great

It still built well

They still back their ****

I`d still buy one but I wouldn`t call it "Class A"

Oh and by the way, The infamous Vox AC amps are not Class A either, they are Class AB push pull just like my Traynor YCV20. Oh no !!! I said it !!!
Don`t believe me? Go to the link below
http://www.aikenamps.com/VoxAC30classA_2.html

- Sorry Brian May !

The Traynor still a great little amp for the money but plan on sinkng another $100 bucks into it or go for the YCV20WR istead. They can be had on e-bay for @ $350

Read all the previous reviews.

This amp is used for Jazz. Great clean Jazz tones.

This is a guitar amp, but it's built tough.

I purchased the amp from Music-Go-Round in Chicago. I had it for a week and one of the tubes went out. I brought the amp to Suburban Music Center in Wheaton and they went through it, Traynor paid for all the benchtime. Well the amp has JJ Electronic tubes courtesy of Bob Pletka at Eurotubes and the tubes made a world of a difference. I want to give special thanks to Kim at Suburban Music Center for the support, great person and store.

This amp will last forever since I only play Jazz maybe one or two hours a week.

I have been playing for 34 years. I use a Epiphone Dot Deluxe, Yamaki Deluxe Folk, and Fender FAT Strat. All three are great guitars. The Epi and Fender are rather new purchases, within the last 5 years, but the Yamaki I have had since 1972.

The Epi is the Jazz box, Fender is the Blues machine, and the Yamaki is used for that CSNY, Bread, Jim Croce and other niche.

The Fender Strat is used with a Bluesboy 5F1 amp. Great little amp for that Blues tone. Thanks Steve Greve for the Bluesboy, sounds better everyday.

n/a - Followup review

I wanted to chime in with another take on the YCV20 after having recorded and entire CD and played several gigs with it.

The YCV20 has a voice and it can sing. YOu do have to make a few changes to get it. Agreeing with the previous reviewer, the stock speaker is basically not well suited to this amp. (If you have the Rocket 50). I have not heard the Greenback version but I would say a low watt, Alnico speaker like a BLueDOg, RedFang ,ToneTubby or Celestion BLue would be a requirement.

I replaced the power tubes with JJ tubes. ANd replaced the pre-map tubes with Groove Tube 12AX7-C (China made). These tubes now may not be as good as they were some months ago but I find the "c"s are very nice and inexpensive. Tube replacement makes a big difference. Also I use a Emminance RedFang Alnico in a closed back 2x12 cabinet. I wired a switching jack for this model as it did not have the external speaker jack.

You have to keep in mind that this amp is not forgiving to mongo's that crank the pre-gain all the way, plug in a bunch of effects and go. Not the amp for you. SIngle Coils is what this amp was made for. Simple and straight in, no pedals. Over doing the gain, and pushing the mid's and treble too much can blow out the tone. This is not a "high gain screamer" you have to dance it between clean and dirty. Popping the boost switch opens up the sustain but can cause muddiness as well.

If you take the time to get to know this amp it will do what you want. If you don't want to invest and "thinking" then get a amp modeler, call it a day and sound like every other 14 year old kid.

If you want a platform to express yourself with a unique tone with a dynamically expressive amp that responds to the touch of the strings then this is the amp for you. Keep in mind it will take time and practice to find your tone. If you do the results will be musical and expressive.

Listen to "Shove" on our site http://soul-amp.com in the discography section. THis tune features a Tex Mex strat played straight into the Traynor voiced with the Emminace RedFang in an external cab, miced with a SM-57. No effects. All I can say is it works for me.

TIps: don't raise the bass EQ above 2. Use an external cabinet, replace tubes with flavors of your choice. Don't over drive beyond halfway. Use the clean channel's ability to breakup early to go from clean to dirty with just your hands and the guitar volume. Use single coils.

Amps are a creative tool, use it to find the sound that works for you and your style.

If you are musical you can find a voice in any amp if you take the time.

The Traynor VCV20 is not an "easy" amp to play. But any decent tube amp requires a player to be very keen of pressure, attack and string control (i.e. deadening certain strings with fingertips and the butt of your right hand)

If you aren't prepared to to do that then maybe this amp is not for you. If you are ready then a EL84 based tube amp like the YCV20 will make you a better player....period.

There is nothing to hide behind with this amp.

Had no problems with it after 8 months of gigging and recording.

n/a

IN a nutshell...

Great into to EL84 based low wattage tube amps.

It will make you better player if you can find it's voice.

Is it the best...no. But it's more flexible than anything else in it's class..(2 channel footswitchable, 1x12 EL84 based combo) for under $500.

Basically I wanted a LIGHT (40 lbs max) tube amp with decent clean
channel, reverb, effect loop and if possible interesting overdrive.
I play blues and some jazz. For jazz I usually go for Polytone amp.
I also have Rivera 212 amp but it is too heavy (90 lbs) to move
comfortably round you need to crank it up to get full sound.
So I wanted small, light and somewhat versatile amp. On the surface
YCV20 looks like one. I was considering both YCV20 and YCV20WR which
has XLR output (preamp), headphones, speaker defeat switch and diff
speaker. Otherwise amps are identical and rental place only had YCV20.
For full feature description check www.yorkville.com.

I played Gibson SG '61 Reissue and Ibanez AS 120 (with 14s TI
Bebops on it) thru it. Both guitars have Classic 57s pickups.
Amp was not noisy. It had a slight hum but that was the least
of it's problems. It had perceptible rattle noise which I could
not locate or eliminate.

Reverb - that some folks here describes as "lush" - was JUNK -
sounded like bunch of springs rattling in metal box on any
settings above 1.5.

Clean channel at bedroom level was OK - but only if you took
reverb out and hooked Holy Grail instead. I liked the bass -
it seemed airy and somewhat deep on low gain - you could comp
some chords with walking bass lines and it sounded fine although
somewhat overpowering. Trebles were less convincing and cold.
At louder volume all was OK but clean channel was not breaking in
any spectacular way. Boost did not seem to make much difference.

Dirty channel was horrible. All lows and highes gone it sounded like
a cheap fuzzbox thru AM radio. No definition. No way to dial any
kind of singing tone. No usable for me at all - I tried it back to
back with Blues Jr and if I was looking for a small amp just for
blues I would pick Blues Jr (despite farty bass and midrangey tone)
at least it was a tone one could use - I cannot imagine anybody
wanting YCV20 tone - it was a poodle trying to roar like a lion.

Dunno - seemed solid and well made - but I only had it for a week.

Decent customer support (at least sales folks) - would reply
to emails within a day or so but without a lot of enthusiasm.
People at rental place told me that Traynor honors warranty no
matter what - even if your amp gets submerged during a "100 yr"
flood.

I would NOT recommend it except perhaps as practice amp
but then there are better choices out there. Dunno, perhaps
I had bad luck and got it was just a badly beaten rental amp
with blown speaker and couple bad tubes. But I also took it
to a friend who repairs tube amps for a living a let him crank
it up and play for an hour. He thought clean channel was Vox'y
and dirty one was "unbelievable piece of junk".

Cathode bias, two EL84 power, three 12AX7, two pre amp and one for phase splitting for the two power tubes. Stock tubes are Sovteks. Reverb is a accutronics full length reverb. Controls; Gain and Volume for each of two channels. Boost on gain channel (Chan. 1), brightness on clean channel (Chan. 2), Standby switch, colored Jewel power light, Treble, Bass and Middle master controls. 12" Rocket 50 from celestion is stock speaker. This amp was purchased off eBay and was stated to be manfactured in 3/2003. Older versions of this amp do not have the headphone jack, external speaker, internal speaker defeat switch or DI output. So make sure you knwo what you are buying if it is sight unseen.This amp does have the footswitch, cable and effects loop.

I am giving this amp a 9 on features as you just cannot find a two channel low wattage tube with individual gain and volume controls at htis price. All other amps in this class of features are hundreds of dollars more expensive. The only feature I would of liked is individual tone controls for each channel, but that is really a high end feature that would require a complete redesign of this amp.

I play a Mexican Standard Strat with Tex Mex pickups. I had been playing a Fender Champ 12 that I modified and wired for a external 2x12 cabinet. I bought the Traynor as a stage backup because I was worried about the reliability of the Champ 12. The Champ is a class A single 6L6 two 12ax7 12 watt two chanell amp. the issue I had with the champ was it's gain channel lacked any control. It was on full boar and the clean channel had tons of headroom and did not break up as easily as a EL84 tubeed amp does. I was reluctant to replace the Champ for recording and performance as I was pretty used to it. I changed my mind after playing the Traynor.

Even stock I was very impressed at the chimey, shimmer that the Traynor had in the clean channel. Turning up the gain the clean breaks up into a nice round crang or bang...A tone I really like. So to make a fair comparison I had to wire a external speaker jack. We were playing a gig the next night after I bought it and it was a good opportunity to put the amp through it's paces at this venue. I wired a jack that cuts the internal speaker when a cabinet is plugged in. Pretty straight forward. The amp's stock speaker lacks any real low end definition or character and should be replaced at first opportunity. Opt for the Wine Red version with the greenback if you aren't planning on using external speaker cabinet. (I am planning on a Weber Blue Dog). I dug into the champ and yanked out the Groove Tubes 12ax7-c (chinese made). I have really liked these tubes they have a nice harmonic shimmer and ping with well defined mids and lows. Removing the chassis on the traynor I loaded it with the chinese 12ax7s. the sound was much better. The sovteks sound good but these are just better. they do have some microphonics isses at high gain, i ussually back off the guitar volume slightly and it resolves that issue with these tubes. For tone the clean and slightly dirty gain settings is where this amp really shines. Pick attack sensitivity is on par with amps costing much more. The amp has a presence and shimmer that made my champ twelve sound one dimensional. I was completly taken back and the difference. I always wanted a EL84 based amp for that sound and this amp delivers. It reminds me of my old HIWATT Lead 20 combo (Sterling).

I have played all the tube amps in this prove range, Blues Junior, BLues Deluxe, Deville, PEavy Classic 30-50, Crate Vintage CLub 15-50, I came away feeling that these just were'nt quite ready to replace my customized Champ. I bought the Traynor based on several favorable reviews and if I wasn't liking it It would be a backup or sold.

Back to the tone...overdriven with the stock tubes at high gain it still lacks the clarity, creaminess and drive of the Champ 12 on high gain. But this is unfair as I don't many amps other than high gain amps Rivera and Mesa can even comapared to the Champ 12 in that area. (Rivera designed the Champ 12). I do some leads in the gain channel of the Champ 12 and I might AB the two amps. retaining the Champ 12 for leads only. Or I am thinking of just changing the way I play leads as the sound of partial breakup on the Traynor is so sweet and musical. Using the closed back cabinet with the EV big cage OEM speakers the tone and texture are amazingly complex. the slightest changes to fingering produces clicks, pings, shimmers and overtones that are fantastic. The bass response on a closed back cabinet is incredibleand I had to compensate at the tone controls. With bass at 3, Treble at 6 and mids at 5 the tone is well balanced and defined. It is almost like you have three of four diffferent amps playing at once. The only issues I have are finding out I need to change they way I play to take advantage of this amp (a welcome change) and the higher gain overdive when in boost and gain up seems undefined. I am going to do JJ tbues in the power section to remedy that. But I feel I will steer away from very high gain leads in the future. The reverb is very

The amp looks well made. Obviously the chassis is where the cost savings come in as it is mostly cheaper PCB and stamped steel and aluminum. It is a bit cumbersome to swap tubes. The pots are smooth and jacks look sturdy. the cabinet feels very solid. the grill has a metal grill under the cloth to protect the cloth and the speaker....good call. Traynor has a very well made quality amp and for the price you can't find anything better. I noticed there was a mod done of the black hole caps that protect the speaker wire and reverb from chaffing on the chassis. Some silicone was placed on them. This must be the source of the buzzing. Not an issue for me as I wired this amp for a external cabinet now.

n/a

stop at http://soul-amp.com to hear recordings using this amp. I should have one up there soon. All in all this amp is a great way to enter into the world of tube amp playing. It has the touch and tone that most players wonder how it is done. Tone doesn't come from a string of pedals. It comes from the guitar and the amp first. I plug straight in and play through low wattage tube amps, I have for years. This amp I think is a great value and is inexpensive enough to make it your own with new tubes and revoicing. It could be a little easier to swap tubes and the PCB makes mods questionable. But if you are needing a quality low watt tube sound on a low budget and an amp that will drive a 2x12 cab. this is the ticket there is really nothing that touches it for under 500...

15 watt 12AX7- EL84 Blah Blah Blah
This is a follow up review.
Swapped out stock POS Celestion Rocket 50,
Installed a Reverend Alltone 1250 after a long research of replacement speakers. I didn`t want the same old Greenback or Vintage 30 sound that is rampant out there so I opted for the Alltone 1250.
My choice had very much to do with positive reviews here at HC.

I got this amp to play at home which honestly never really gave me the opportunity to open her up if you know what I mean. In that vein it sounded good until I took it to jam with a buddy where we really cranked it godd for hours. That`s where the stock speaker`s shortcomings really became evident, farting,loose breakup etc.....
That`s when I realized that like everyone here says a speaker upgrade is needed. Enter the Alltone.What a difference. Reverend reccomends breakig in the speaker at stage volume for a couple hours which I was able to do a week after installation. They are right because at first it sounded very stark for lac of a better term but after cranking the shit out of the amp one day the Alltone sounds fantastic. Clean is bright to a point (this amp`s clean channel does break up at high volumes) and the overdrive channel sounds much tighter and louder.
No more farting out. This speaker upgrade to this amp is perfect IMHO.
My next upgrade will be a tube swap(J&J sells kits for this amp).
To change the speaker you need to pry off the front grill with a screwdriver. The grill is held in place with 4 tight clips.Once you get the grill off it`s a breeze.

The Alltone 1250 costs 69 bucks. The re-tube kit is 40 bucks.
If you buy this amp plan on sinking another 100 bucks into it.
I think it`s still worth it. My only concern now is the tubes and how they are held in place but I will know more about that soon at which time I will post another review.
450 for the amp 100 for upgrades brings you into different tube amp territory but I believe this little beast will be perfect after the tube swap and have it`s own tone compared to the too many Vintage 30/Greenback YCV20`s out there. Traynor should scrap the POS Rocket 50 and go with a better speaker. The amp is heavier now due to the 40 oz magnet vs the small magnet Rocket 50 which I gave away to a buddy who is building his own tube amp.

Fender channel and Marshall channel with switchable boost on the latter. (Included) dual latching footswitch with LEDs on a TRS. Unbuffered effects loop. Spring reverb. Shared 3 band EQ

This is after trying tubes, settling on JJ Tesla el84, EI telefunken clone 12ax7 in v1, and EH for the rest. Also replaced speaker with Eminence GB12. Now it is a great little amp. Strat gets pretty much all famous strat sounds from one amp. 335 sounds very good on the Marshall channel - that kinda magical breakup. Speaking of breakup, if you need any clean headroom at all go for the YCV40. I like a little dirt on everything. The reverb is great, tho the reverb pot on the controls needs to be changed/modified to a smaller value.

The feel of the tube sockets did not inspire confidence, but we'll see. My all-time fave amp (a MB - I won't say which b/c I don't want to help drive prices up) has PCB sockets and after years of service, I know it's solid.

haven't tried yet. stories on this page are encouraging.

Been playing over 20 years; I'm a struggling pro (getting back after hiatus). Got it b/c I wanted a deluxe type amp and they had one thrashed and non-functional in the damaged/junk bin at a local store. I tried a new one and liked the Fender channel. Tube and speaker change are necc, IMHO. After that it is dreamy. Plenty of nuts to play with a band as long as you understand that it has at least some grit throughout its entire operating range.

I wrote a review earlier. I'm the guy who got the banged up shipping container with a functioning amp in it. About three months after I got it it died. I took off the preamp tube cover and discovered the first stage pre. tube was not getting heater current. Wiggling it around in the circuit board (not socket) fixed it but it was obvious something was wrong. Not long after the reverb ceased to work. I perused the service manual and determined I was dealing with a cracked circuit board. Time to see if the warantee worked.

See above. This amp was apparantly thoroughly trashed by FedEx and it still worked for three months.

I sent an email to Yorkville and they said take it to my nearest dealer. I was slightly trepeditious about this as I had purchased from an Ebay dealer. Nevertheless I took it to a nearby dealer and he said "Not a problem." I want to take this space to plug Gary Taylor of Taylor Music in Yakima, WA for his help. It took about 3 weeks dor shiopping and repair and a parts bill that would have been more than $200 to get it going. I only had to pay c.$40 for shipping. This thing sounds better than before, especially now that it has a Celestion Classic 30 it.

I want to set one thing straight about Class A circuits.
I have read and heard so much crap about them I feel obliged to set the record straight. Any single ended triode output circuit is Class A, cathode followers are disdained by audiophiles but only because they introduce feedback (and only local feedback at that). It does not matter if the rectifier is SS or tube for purposes of definition. If the output stage has more than one tube wired in series you can call it a Class A1 circuit if you want to be real picky.

I just wanted to say to the owner of this amp who have experienced buzzing issues with this amp that I had similiar problems with this amp to the point of it being unusable.After several days of experimenting, I traced it to two black metal clips designed to keep the speaker cable and reverb cable from being cut on the metal chassis. Remove the chassis and find where the speaker and reverb cables come out of the amp and remove the black clips. It fixed all of my problems.

reverb is noisy when turned up, but it would rarely need to be turned up past '2', at which point it?s not noisy.

The brightness switch is the magic button that makes my Rickenbacker 330 higain neck pickup sound clear and un-muddied, normally that pickup just sounds way too bassy.

Ric & American Telecaster sound great through the clean channel. I'm not sure how much I like the drive channel - I prefer my fulltone bass-drive's overdrive, but then again, I haven't tried putting better tubes in this amp.

I played a small gig with this amp (not miked), in a band with a horn section, with a telecaster going through the clean channel. Gain was on 6 and volume on 8, and it still seemed to be clean, although I wouldn't have worried if it started to dirty up. From my standpoint, the amp was as loud as it needed to be. If the people in the audience couldn't hear the guitar, I consider that a product of us having the amp, drums, and bass unmiked, and not having a good overall band mix; it's not a product of the amp being not powerful enough. Turning it up louder (or having a more powerful amp) would have been too loud on-stage. Of course, we're not a very loud band either.

As people have said, the tubes are a bit hard to get at ? the speaker is in the way of using a regular screwdriver to get the power tubes out; the preamp tubes are behind a panel that is screwed down mega-tight from the factory.

There's a pause when switching from channel 1 over to channel 2 ? I hope that?s just because this is a mistreated rental amp. Other than that I can't comment on reliability since I've only had it for one month.

I?ve read that the upgraded speaker (Greenback) in the ycv20wr actually gives you less clean headroom and volume than the Rocket 50 in this one. I?ve emailed Yorkville a question pertaining to that three times over the past month and a half, and they don?t seem to want to respond.

I rented this to see if it would be a suitable back-up amp for gigs; for my purposes (traditional ska) I think it would. If it needs to be louder, mic it! It also is great for playing in the apartment, and nice and portable. I'm still not positive if I want to spend this much on a backup, so it remains to be seen if I'll actually buy one for myself.

Bought new in June 2003. All tube 15 watts. Two channels, bright switch on the clean and boost switch on the lead. Spring reverb. Foot switch for channel select and boost switch. Shared eq for both channels. Standby switch.... My only complaint is that I would prefer a separate eq for each channel.

My main guitars are an American Deluxe Stratocaster 50th anniversary with Bill Lawrence Samarium Colbalt Noiseless pickups and a Epiphone Vintage G-400 with Gibson designed PAF 57's. I sometime use an HSS Cort Viva with two noisefull mitymite single coils with some generic humbucker in the bridge.

I find myself in Blues, Rock (Led Zeppelin like), Jazz and some metal (kind of Dream Theater) The amp covers it all except for metal, at high gain the sound is too muddy.

No hiss, white noise or any such interfering noises. Usually I play it straight except for metal I place in front a Boss Metal Zone 2.

The clean channel is awesome both with humbuckers and single coils. It is really a fender class clean. The lead channel itself is fabulous for crunchy sounds (Marshall clean like) and quite impressive at high gain but not saturated unless you turn boost switch on it gets fully saturated but too muddy even dropping the bass with the eq is unsufficient. With the strat using a noiseless single coil in the bridge, the boosted high gain settings are way more usable, but not impressive, for metal lead.

I usually play home or with friends so I was seeking a loud enough tube amp for practice but usable at living room levels. With separate gain and volume for each channel I can get really nice tube tones at low level.

Warranteed 10 years plus 2 years even if you break it by manufacturer (Yorkville). I own other yorkville amps and never had any problems. Its solid, no doubt. If I ever gig I will have a backup because its a tube amp and mostly becauce you never know.

For now, I used it for a year everyday for a few hours and nothing went wrong.

Warranteed 10 years plus 2 years even if you break it by manufacturer (Yorkville). I don`t contact company since I have a great dealer that take care for me of these details and is also an authorized service center.

I played guitar for 2 years and a half. I also had a Marshall MG series solid state (that I sold few days after buying this Traynor). I also own a Yorkville XM100C bass amp that gave me faith in Yorkville products...

If lost or stolen I would not replace it since there is the YCV20WR version of this amp that has been released a week after I bought mine, that seems to address the few lacks of the YCV20 and also has a so nice vintage look.

When I was shopping the only other credible contestants were the Peavey Classic 30 and the Fender Blues Jr. The Peavey was a mess to tweak with the knobs and has a flat clean sound compared to the Fender and the Traynor. The Fender has no distorsion settings and no master volume. None of the two contestants had such a warranty.

For the price, no other amps is in the race. All I can say is find a good store where you can try gear for as long as you want (a good one: Musique Richard Gendreau, Quebec, Canada). Try one, you won't be disappointed as long as you know what to expect from a small combo 15 watts tube amp.

I don't know the year this one was made but Traynor made 4 design improvements between 2/03 and 5/03 and I am pretty sure these have fixed the problems discussed below. I play blues for recreation and the clean channel is good for a round sound except for non-linearities in the cheap Rocket 50 speaker, I will replace it. Foot switch for channel and boost selection activates relays in amp so no signal passes through the cord. There is a stereo effects loop but no ext. speaker out. I love the sound of Class A amps, my other is a Fender Champ. So far nobody has mentioned the tone EQs which seem to actually be parametric, turn the treble and bass to 10 and lower the mids and it delivers a nice scooped sound. I also like the reverb which does away with tube send and recieve for op-amps.

I'm using a G&L S-500 with stock pickups and it soumds pretty good even with the lousy speak. It isn't noisy (due to DC heaters) until you turn up the gain or switch on the "boost" circuit. It does a real nice Fender tone on the clean channel but it's hard to get much distortion. The lead channel can produce a good "British" distortion at any volume level, the "boost" switch on this channel really shreds. The reverb is really a special effect, above 5 it gets wobbly unless I use the delay on my Rocktron Tsunami. The combination of the two can produce a wide spectrum of reverbs.

I have a pretty good idea of the ruggedness of this amp although I've only had it a couple of months. FedEx shipped it upside down and made a 4" X 8" gash right through both shipping boxes. I plugged it in and it worked just fine. Even though the rip was right over the Tolex there was not one mark. The tubes were'nt even loose.

N/A

I played bass long ago and if you add in my lapsteel period I've been playing for a looong time. This is really my first serious attempt at the guitar. I considered a number of 30W. Class A amps but four El84s sounded like trouble to me. I might/would have bought a Peavey Delta Blues except they don't have a standby switch and cold El84s don't last long when they get a full jolt of B+.

Small venue amp, two channels, gain channel and clean channel, footswtchable, boost switch on gain channel, bright switch on clean, spring reverb, 12" celestion, Sovtek tubes...

Unlike a lot of reviews here I differ with the glowing reviews. I bought the amp based on reviews here and must say there is some truth to the reviews, but overall I sent the amp back for several reasons. First, the amp at medium volumes was buzzing and seemed to have several point of vibration noise mostly from the metal grill in front. There was no way I could put a mic in front of this and record much less play a show with the buzz. Sorry Traynor, I give you some credit here for the boost option on the gain channel as it sounded better than any pedals in front or through the effect returns.

Not sure as I sent it back. I really wanted this to work out but could not after noticing the poor construction quality control. I imagine its a lot to expect from a $500 amp, but there should be tighter QC... This one should have not left the factory for such a simple grill defect. Also not as hum free as advertised, especially on the clean channel. Plus count on changing out the speaker and a re-tube...fast approaching $700... Mesa Boogie F30 now is in range and mesa stuff is not the quietest in town either.

Website did not have clear phone numbers listed for support. Not sure how the process would be so no opinion here.

Playing guitar since 78, long enough to know good equipment. I could deal with the re-tube and speaker change out but not the vibration noise from the chassis and the grill also not the hum free amp as the description makes it out to be.

General specs:
15 watt, all tube
3 12ax7's, 2 EL84's
standby switch
12" Celestion Rocket 50 speaker
2 seperate footswitchable channels, 'lead' and 'clean' (footswitch included)
seperate master/volume controls for each channel
3 band EQ
gain boost for 'lead' channel (footswitchable)
brightness switch for 'clean' channel
accutronics spring reverb

Features for this price: 10

Sound/Tones: (via Gibson SG Classic w/P90s)

Clean channel is very nice and sparkly (with bright switch), although I haven't really cranked it yet, so don't know the upper limit before it breaks up.

Spring Reverb definitely makes it's presence felt. Usually '3' is enough. Anything past '5' and you get drenched in waves of echo, which is probably the intention, to accomadate vintage 'surf' sounds?

Gain/Lead channel sounds great too and where this amp excels. You can dial in all types of distortion, from light OD to fuzz (with gain boost pushed on).

Nice overdrive to me is 'Live at Leeds/Brown Sugar' type of crunch. For fuzz I like a 'Purple Haze' fuzz-tone. No need for any OD pedals with this amp, at least to my ears, as it handles both types of OD and fuzz very nicely.

Another great feature is the master/volume controls. You can get great clean/distortion tones at bedroom levels without disturbing the neighbors. Like I said, I haven't been able to crank the 'clean' channel yet, so not sure how much 'clean' is on tap at loud volumes, but other reviewers have remarked it handles it well.

Owned this amp for just over 4 weeks, no problems yet. Seems very sturdy and well-built. The standby switch is a very nice feature, which should prolong the life of the valve tubes.

I haven't dealt with Traynor customer support (yet). Traynor provides a 2 year 'we fix it even if you break it', so I'm not too concerned.

Overall: 10
Great sounding, very versital all-tube combo amp for the price. I also considered the Fender Blues Jr and Crate V1512. The Traynor sounded as good, if not better than both, plus the Traynor wins hands down by having two seperate channels for about the same price.

Anyone in the market for a great little 15 watt tube combo amp should give the Traynor a tryout. TR** May 03,2004

1.5 year after update - The amp still has a nice sound but problems have developed There is a noticable Hiss, and a loud pop when switching channels 1 to 2. The line out is hissy - no good for trying recording, or going directly out to a board instead of micing. It's been in the shop twice. The first time was for the hiss. That's now repaired. But it's got a loud pop when switching channels. It went out a month to the shop, when i got it back the pop soon developed again......I'm packing it up third time.

1.5 year update - Style ??? - who cares the amp has problems, pops when switching from 1 to 2, it's irratating to play

I started having problems at the 1 year mark. It's now 1.5 years It's been in the shop twice....soon to be thrice. Thank Goodness I've got a back up....the most reliable amp is a back up,.,,remember that !!

eh, these guy's hear the problem and keep trying to get it right....unit must be a lemon

a mistake.....

a very nice two channel 15 watt all tube combo with a clean boost and a lead boost. also has independent gain and volume controls for both channels with shared tone controls and a good reverb tank. has an effects loop, plywood cabinet and a 12" celestion speaker. nice retro look and a standby switch.

i like bluesy hard rock mostly but will dabble in other areas also. this combo is a great starting point for nice tones for me. I like the clean channel withthe gain at 10:00 and the reverb at 4-5 using my american strat in the neck pickup setting. It just sound s beautiful right there. The clean channel will get dirty with added gain if you like. The lead channel can go from right where the clean channel leaves off to a nice overdriven tone depending upon the amount of volume used and how I have my delta tone pickup set up. Between the start and the amp I have alot of tonal variety for sure.

It`s built better than anything else in it`s class.I compared it to the Blues Junior and the Peavey Classic 30.I will say The Peavey sounded just as good. The BJ did not. But none of the sub $500.00 come close to the build quality of this amp. I had a hard time deciding between the Classic 30 and the YCV20 because I could not find a dealer that carried the Traynor line so I bought it without playing it first. I relied on the reviews here at HC to guide me. I was able to play the Peavey and the BJ side by side and the Peavey blew it away.I also considered the Carvin vintage 16, the Electar tube 30, the Epiphone Galaxy 25, The Pignose tube combos and the Reverend Goblin. I like my choice.

Very good warranty, but no registration procedure that I can find. The place of purchase is supposed to be the contact. In my case it is EarthshakingMusic.com which I found on line. They have the lowest advertised price for Traynor combos that I could find. $50.00 lower than anyone else. Mine came to me packed decently and within 5 days. They answer the phone and are easy to deal with. They answered my e-mails promptly also. I recommend them highly.

I have gone through three different combos(a Marshall MG50dfx, a Behringer GX212 and a GM110) searching for my tone before finally landing with the Traynor. (My wife is rejoicing)It was a lesson in tone and simplicity but I have learned it well. Expensive brand names and low cost mega features didn`t equal tonal happiness.The GX212 was/is a nice combo but way too much power and too many paramters to mess with and presets to scroll through along with a so-so lead channel. I have found my happiness in the YCV20.Tubes rule for Strats. Again, for my American Strat the Traynor sounds awesome. If anything I may get a Big Muff or something like that to go along with it but the amp can stand on it`s own. It is a small combo that can scream or play at reasonable volume levels. It`s perfect for me.Thanks to all the HC reviewers who made my choice easier. Now I just have to keep on playing.

Bought Used

For those who don't know about it (I like to read the most recent reviews and you don't get the history then).

15 Watts RMS
12" Celestion 'Rocket 50' Speaker
2 x 6BQ5 (or EL84) power tubes
3 x 12AX7 (or 7025A) preamp tubes
2 channels - clean and lead - switchable front panel or pedal
Clean channel has bright switch
Lead channel has over overdrive (boost) switch
One input @ 1 Meg ohm
Treble, Bass and Middle
All 'chicken-beak' style knobs
Accutronics dual spring Reverb
Effects Send/Return, (also Send = lineout)
32 lbs - hard to believe when you hear the sound
What a delight to carry from gig to gig

Has it all except tremelo.
Amazing features for a small wattage combo.
Really.
All this for less than $500 you should give it an 11 so I have to give it a 10.

I use a Fender HWY1 Tele and a Fender American Strat as a backup - all single coils. However, I have tried my Epi Sheraton with HBs through it too. They all sound good with this amp. I play mostly Oldies, R'n'R, Blues and some Country. No metal or heavy grunge. I play mostly straight into the clean channel of all my amps.

I have been using a Fender HotRod Deluxe with great results only I found that for some smaller clubs I had to turn it up too loud to get the right over-driven tone. That's when I got the idea for a EL84 Class A rig as opposed to the 6L6 A/B Class like the Deluxe. I researched the Peavy Classic 30 and the Fender Blues Jr. The reviews on the YCV20 seemed better.

The first night I used the amp, I ran the lineout to the PA but the amp was almost doing the job by itself. It was great. I was running the clean channel with the gain past halfway and the volume at 8. Everyone in the band looked around and suddenly thought 'Clapton' was playing (ha ha don't I wish!). But yeah it was loud, fat and punchy. The EL84s in Class A mode do provide a nice rounded distortion. I also tried the Lead channel on a few tunes and it sounded similar to having my Boss Blues Driver in front of it, only better. It is a softer more natural overdrive. I also tried the boost for the overdrive, but it was a little to distorted for my tastes.

This amp has enought EQ and channel selection to please most players. Unless you are a metal freak, this amp is great for small clubs. It is almost unbelievable that an amp this small can sound so big with BALLs.

One note of caution. I use SC PUs. If you are a heavy shredder with a LP or Jackson, this amp might not have the guts you are looking for. You will probably want to bypass the whole combo thing and go for a separate speaker box with multiple 10/12s.

But for what I do, I have to give it a 10.

I have only used the amp a short while so it is too early to tell. I may offer a follow up review later on.

The amp has some features that I believe will make it reliable. It has a very sturdy wood cabinet with metal corner protectors (one thing my Fender Deluxe does NOT have!). Also there is a metal mesh behind the grill cloth to protect the speaker. All the tubes are behind a metal frame for protection. The amp just feels like a compact, well built unit.

Playing this thing full tilt does not seem to cause any vibrations or microphonics (yet). However, I will have to wait and see, because this thing is going to get some brutal punishment night after night.

I was able to download the User Manual and Schematics off the website. I did not see an adjustment pot on the schematics for a bias adjustment, but I did read one reviewer state that the circuit was self biasing so that any matched pair of output tubes should work when re-tubing. I think this will be important because to get the best out of this amp, you will have to *** overdrive the living daylights out of it *** and thus you may have to change the power tubes annually. Time will tell.

I used to play bass guitar in the 70s and I had a Traynor YBA3 and that thing was a brute. It worked and kept on working night after night from NY,to GA, to TN, to LA, covered with cigarette burns, spilt beer, it was dropped and rained on. And it just would not die. It is amazing that Traynor does not get as much notoriety as Fender or Peavey. I hope the YCV20 is as rugged as that old YBA3.

Don't know.

I have played guitar and bass guitar professionally and semi-professionally since the mid-60s, and guitar only since the early 90s. I have owned a 1962 Silvertone 1482, 1960 Fender Concert, a 1968 Fender Bassman, a 1972 Traynor YBA3. Currently I have a Marshall Valvestate20 and a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe Limited Edition.

The YCV20 stolen? Too early to tell if I would replace it, but if all goes well I might buy at least one more for a back up.

So... Yeah Yeah Yeah. Many folks hate these reviews because they believe if you 'spent the dough, you're gonna glow' about it. But I have to tell you, if this thing was crap I would say so. Then again, it is all in the ear of the beholder. It is a small wattage amp and appears to do what it was built to do - offer overdriven tube tone in a small but versatile package. It seems to do everything I wanted it to do.

2003 Clearly the most flexable amp I've ever owned, and at 15 class A watts, all tube, and only 32lbs, it is the perfect size for rehearsals and most clubs, especially if everything goes through PA.Footswitchable clean and lead channels, both with independent gain and volume,plus clean with bright switch, lead with footswitch gain boost.High, mid, low EQ, spring reverb. Only thing missing - classic Fender style tremelo.

I play mostly 60's rock n roll, some Jazz and blues, and have been lead guitar in bands since 1962. Clean channel with much reverb (Fender Princeton Reverb sound) is perfect for surf set,with bright boost, perfect for Beatles (Vox Super Beatle sound). Punch Ch. 2 for solos. Stay on Ch. 2, and punch boost for solos (Marshall sound). I prefer natural cranked tube distortion, but this amp can also get Hendrix, Page, Clapton sound by cranking lead Ch. gain control. Incredibly quiet operation, best I've ever heard.

Two year unconditional warranty from Yorkville. Made in Canada. Purchased from local store, rather than cheaper internet - store will service or replace. So far, no problems.

Answered in reliability question. People at store are very nice.

By far the most feature loaded amp I have ever owned, and I've been playing for 44 years. for the last 30 years, I've used a Princeton Reverb for practice, recording, and most gigs - this amp retires it. I use a Fender Deluxe Reverb for bigger venues. I have many Fender, Gibson, and Godin guitars.I never have used any pedals or effects other than reverb and cranked volume.In the power trio days of the late 60's, I just used bigger, louder Fenders (Super Reverb)totally cranked. For fuzzed out recording, I used to use a small Silvertone all tube amp that I punched two pin holes in the speaker cone.

This is a 2003 model all tube Class A amp that puts out a very loud 15 Watts via three Sovtek 12AX7A''s and two EL84''s. It has two discrete footswitchable channels with true independent gain and volume controls on each. A master three band EQ, effects loop (line output) as well as an internal spring reverb are all standard equipment. Additional controls include bright switch on the clean channel and boost switch on the lead channel. It also has an effect loop on the back. All in all, this amp gives you the most bang for the buck of any amp out there.

I use this amp with a variety of guitars including a Telecaster with Vintage noiseless pickups, a G&L Legacy (Strat Style Guitar) with stock Alnico single coil pickups, a Les Paul Standard, but it sounds best with my PRS McCarty with P-90s. The amp definitely has a Vox AC type of sound, but it is also fairly versatile with a large number of sounds available. I can get most of the sounds that I want without pedals and the remaining sounds with them. The reverb gives a nice liquidy sound at low to moderate settings, but it then gets fairly weird sounding at higher levels. This is not a real problem because you can get Dick Dale type sounds at reverb settings of 3 to 5. The one sound that this amp does not get naturally is metal, but who know with the right pedal. As stock, distortion is brittle and shrill with the Sovteks, but JJs from Eurotubes is a quick and inexpensive fix. Once again, this amp delivers a lot of bang for the buck with a nice clean channel and a decent dirty channel. If this were a $2000 plus boutique amp, I would give it a 9, but it gets a 10 because it is less than $500.

I've had the amp for about nine months and it hasn't let me down so far. It looks like it is pretty solidly built, so it probably will remain fairly reliable.

No problems so far, so I really have no idea.

It's just a great little amp for the price. I wouldn't claim that it is as nice as the upper end boutique amps, but its low price allows you to take it to places that you would never dream of taking your Matchless or Bogner. Once again, if it were a boutique amp, I would give it a 9, but the under $500 cost earns it a 10.

Follow up to previous posting after 30 days of hard use.

Very Bright sound of this amp is a little bothersome at times now.Changed speaker to Celestion Greenback which helped a little and colors overdrive tone a little darker.Still very pretty tones but a little thin and bright for my taste.Glad I did not sell my HTRDX yet as I am playing it more now that newness has wore off of this one.Also has developed quite a hum when switched on from standby to on.Time will tell now if it is a keeper...

Very loud hum in on position,swapped out tubes,still there...Emailed Traynor and we are working on it,they do respond to emails well.

Very quick to respond to my emails

Time will tell if I keep it or it goes.Great tones but all bright and noisy.