Traynor YCV40-WR 112 Combo

Tone controls (low, mid, treb) for both channels.

Separate reverb and presence controls for each channel would have been nice. An XLR-out would be handy as well.

Headphone-outs are for processors or Fender X-cubes, not for amps. I don't miss it on the 40WR.

Footswitch 1/4" connection was (is) a bit loose. It could have just been mine, though.

I bought the 1x12 cab along with the combo (we play outdoor gigs in the summer). Like the combo, the cab is loaded with a Vintage 30 (I thought it was going to be a 70/80 and was nicely suprised). Combined with the 40WR this rig is LOUD.

Guitars: Gibson SG Standard and a Les Paul Jr. (w/ P-90). I play rhythm parts in a cover band and three-chord, straight-ahead rock in my other band.

I have a Blues Jr. at home that I run a J-Station into for flexibility when practicing and recording, but I wanted a tough, bare-bones tone monster for gigging.

I've got three distinct tones dialed in (clean, slightly over-driven, and a phat, bluesy lead).

The Jr.'s P-90 sounds SO mean through this amp that I have relegated the SG to a "back-up" role.

I only run the TS808 through the YCV40 because I can't imagine getting a better tone than what it puts out on it's own (and that's saying alot to someone who has been successfully defending his modeler for three years).

Note: I have never heard the amp with its original tubes. After reading the previous entries, I emailed Bob at Eurotubes and ordered a set of JJs ($60 for the "blues package"). Put 'em in the day the Traynor arrived (easy). I'll keep the old ones as back-ups.

I use the clean channel for mostly everything - rhythm work and lead (for leads I stomp on a TS808)

I use channel 1 for a Malcom Young-like rhythm sound (slightly overdriven).

The "boost" is LOUD - haven't used it yet. Haven't experimented with the "brightness" switch either. Haven't had reason to...

I live in the sticks so I bought this amp based on its and other amps reviews (thank you Harmony Central for this wonderful site! I've researched every other similarly-amp using the amp reviews as a valuable reference tool).

Yes, I took a gamble, but between the sweet warranty and my research - as well as the tones I've heard out of the amp so far - I made a great decision.

Oh, for those of you who write reviews: your honesty about a product's merits and shortcomings are invaluable to those of us who don't live near a guitar store AS LONG AS YOU ARE UNBIASED AND REALISTIC.

Point in case: a digital $300 combo or effects processor will NEVER sound like a Marshall JCM 800. It might pass as one on your solo recording effort, but it won't make you soil your drawers when you hear it live (like the real one does). No, I'm not a gear snob (I bought the Traynor, didn't I). There are limits as to what readers can swallow, so please don't go overboard when writing reviews. That being said, I hope that future modeling processors continue to improve and make me eat my words (who has $2,000 for a head?).

The "even if you break it" warranty seems to say it all.

Can't rate it higher because of my lack of playing experience with amps in the 40+ watt department. There's a lot out there in this price range, especially combos with modeling capabilities.

However...

This is an all-tube amp that prides itself on its tone, reliability, and craftsmanship. I can vouch for all three.

After 10 years of playing through everything I could try and critically listening to the small-venue set-ups from the live gigs that come to our little ski town, I've found - in most cases - the better the guitarist (and tone), the more simplistic the rig. That's what I wanted for gigging.

This amp puts out a great tone all by itself and is as tough as nails. I don't miss my old processor's million+ sounds (some of them pretty damed good, too) at all.

2004 model. Paid $499.00 new
Two channels with separate treble, mid, bass. Lead channel (#1) has gain and volume controls with a boost switch and channel two has a bright switch. Foot pedal switches channels and engages boost in the lead channel. Nice touch! Should have a fourth button to turn reverb off and on. Effects loop and master reverb, which is just ok sounding, with a master presence control. 40 watts of tube power is loud enough for most all situations except outdoors. It would have been nice to have a headphones out which disabled the speaker and a line out that had speaker emulation as many sound techs prefer to direct out instead of miking the amps. All in all, I think it has the most needed functions. I especially like the separate eq for the two channels. With this amp, one can cover pretty much all the musical styles except very heavy metal music perhaps. I play a wide variety from beboop jazz to blues to rock with even a little country occasionally and this amp covers all those styles quite well.

I use a Gibson 335 with stock 57 humbuckers. I have some other guitars but they aren't the quality this guitar is. With this setup, I can play pretty much all styles. Rock, jazz, country, blues, etc. At first, I wasn't too sure about this amp's tone so I got some matched JJ tubes from Bob at eurotubes and that did improve the tone, especially in the overdriven mode. Increased harmonics, smoother, more sustain, less brittle sounding. Clean channel sounded better as well. It took awhile to get the eq figured out. The controls really change the sound, unlike fenders and marshall amps. The mid control adjusts the higher end mids and it would be nice to be able to control the 1000 hz frequency better. I thought the vintage 30 speaker would sound better than it does. To me, it sounds too brittle and peaky at the upper mids and a little boomy. So I built a 2x12 cab and put some 12" greenbacks in it. What a difference! Much more control over the tone. Harmonics are even better! Less brittle and smoother sounding IMO. This amp can sound pretty bright so you need to back the treble way down. I'm still messing with the eq and I've had this thing for almost a year. I compared it to alot of other amps and tonally, this amp is terrific after changing the tubes and using another speaker. There is nothing out there in this price range that sounds as good and packs all these features together. It also looks great as well! A little heavy but that's because it's made well.

When I unpacked it, I found some bits of metal in the spring reverb tank. I have no idea what they were or for. But it hasn't seemed to effect the performance. I haven't had any problems and BTW, this amp is QUIET! Seems very well built but I haven't moved it around much as I'm a hobbyist, not a pro anymore. Good warranty but fender's warranty is for five years so Traynor's should be as well, IMO.

Haven't had to contact them.

Been playing over 40 yrs. with a 10 yr. hiatus due to an accident. Played pro for about ten yrs. Sessions, movie scores, television, concerts, tours, clubs, records, etc. Lost interest in the "biz" and moved on to other things to earn a living. I'd replace this amp with another if it was ripped off. I'd change the funky looking logo on the front. I'd like to see Traynor make heads again. They used to make great cabs as well. They could give everyone a "run for their money" if they built a half stack based on the YCV-50 and a celestion equiped 4x12 bottom. I'd get one of those if it sounded as good as this combo and was priced well and didn't have that dorky logo. Suggestions for appearence. Use the WR color scheme ( burgandy tolex and wheat grill) OR blonde tolex and burgandy grill. Change the logo!

2003 (actually YCV-40A with the cool Pete Traynor Signature-- but essentially the same as a WR, from what I can understand. Though the descriptions of the 40-A call the leatherette color "oxblood".
Two channels, (gain with boost-- or as some call it the "Marshall" channel, and a crystal clear clean "Fender" channel).
Foot Switch, 40 watts, Celestion 30, Stock Tubes.

Oh man this thing is so awesome sounding. I have had a les paul standard for about a year, and have been playing it through a Marshall 80 watt valve-state. Thought it sounded pretty cool. Then I started playing with a guy who has a Fender HRD- and he is playing a 300$ strat and his tone just blew me out of the water. It was depressing, because relative to him my les paul sounded like crap. Well, he just got a YCV-40, and we fired the LP through that and oh man-- had to have one. I liked his fender clean, had done some research and it seemed the Traynor allows you to have a great gain channel as well as a great clean channel. And the oxblood covering looked cooler than the black, and it seemed that people felt the celestion 30 was a better speaker. I play everything but if I had to be pressed on a tone I really love it is Dickie Betts. But love Duane Allman, Jimmy Page, and for the simple sound of a humbucked chord see the opening chord for "The Boys are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy.

I have bought this used. It seems to be working in perfect order. I have not gottend to really put it through a lot yet, but it seems solid as a rock

not had to deal yet

I own a Les Paul Standard Honeyburst with 50's neck, an Ernie Ball Musicman Bass, and a Martin 000-16GT. No pedals. If stolen or lost I would buy another (wine red at least. Only 400 ycv-40a's were made so I don't think I could find one).

compared to Fender HRD and Marshall 80 watt valvestate it beats both. Forget about the Marshall-- not even close. the Fender has a great clean sound but this sucker's gain channel is simply better, I think.

This is a straight forward amp - two channels, clean and gain. The gain channel has a boost option which gives a bit extra volume and gain. The clean channel has a brightness switch. Each channel has independant EQ controls with Presence and Reverb that effect both channels.

The cabinet is loaded with a Celestion Vintage 30 speaker which works well with this amp. It also has a second speaker feed which allows you to drive two cabinets if you'd like. I've played it as the combo but also used it to power a 4x12 cabinet and it sounds sweet in both situations.

Using the stock tubes the amp sounds good, but with plenty of room for improvement. I recommend checking out the replacement packages offered by Bob Pletka at Eurotubes to get new tubes that fit your playing style. That change has made a big difference for me.

I play in my church contemporary praise band and we're all over the map in terms of style. I truly go from the cleanest cleans to high gain saturation, depending on the song. Personally, I grew up on Van Halen, Scorpions and all the big hair bands of the 80s. By itself, this amp, even with a tube replacement, won't get those high gain sounds (IMHO). However, if you check out the rigs of players like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Eddie Van Halen, they all use some type of stomp box in front of the amp to drive the gain. I recently had a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive and a Boss DS-1 Distortion modified by AnalogMan (see those reviews - highly recommend both!!!) and between those two pedals and this amp I can get truly any degree of gain I could possibly want. With the tube package I got from Eurotubes both channels of this amp improved. The clean channel has more sparkle and head room and the gain channel became more organic and musical. I can use either Boss pedal with the level up (so the pedal is overdriving the gain channel) and it pushes this amp so that it's really hot, more of the Marshall/Mesa higher gain sounds of Satriani or Vai. Turn the stomp box off, switch to the clean channel and you can have the sweetest clean sound. This amp is very versatile.

I've owned a number of amps and modelers over the past 20 years and this is the best sounding amp I've personally owned.

I've had this amp for about six months and it's solid. Built like a tank.

I've not had to deal with Yorkville, but I've heard they are very customer service focused.

I've been playing guitar for 20 years. The past three I've been on a personal crusade of tone. I've had a number of amps in that time (Marshall JCM2000 DSL401, Vox Valvetronix, Marshall MG100DFX) and had access to play through several others (Peavey Delta Blues, Line 6 Flextone II, Line 6 Vetta, Carvin Bel Air, Mesa Subway Blues) and to me, this amp is the best of the bunch. The Marshall DSL401 was higher gain but the clean channel wasn't so good. The Vox is a digital modeling amp. Where it has some nice base tones, it didn't allow the clean head room to keep up with the volume you had to push to get good gain sounds. It seemed to defeat the purpose in my opinion to have a row of stomp boxes in front of a modeling amp that has it all built in.

Depending on your situation, I'd also recommned a power attenuator. Opinions vary on them, however if you're in a situation where you can never turn your amp up much past 1 because it's too loud, you'll never get to experience the true tone this amp delivers. It's a tube amp and you need to drive it to really get good sound from it. I run a THD Hot Plate attenuator and it serves my needs well.

As far as value for your dollar spent, this amp is a steal! In fact, were it stolen I'd be on the horn to get another right away. To me, it's just that good. I've been through several full rigs in the past three years and I've settled on this as my mainstay.

This is a 2003 model, it's very versile especially with tube changes (more on tha later). Styles of music I play are blues, rock (classic and pop) and some Jazz. Two channels and a boost switch. I wish I could assign the reverb to just one channel. I use it mostly for practice in the studio. This amp can take various power tubes and it can really change it's character (no EL34's).

I use a Muscic Man Sub1 and a Epiphone Les Paul and a Strat. It suites my style but I was unhappy with it, it had JJ tubes for pre-amp and Power but seemed bland, My Fender was musically nicer in the clean channel and the YCV40 seemed a bit mid rangy. I then changed the tubes from 6L6GC's to 5881/6L6WGB (NOS JAN Philips) and this really created a monster of an amp. The distortion went over the top but in a great way. The clean channel lost head room and distorted sooner until I put a 12AU7 in the first tube socket (V1). This changed the amp from a rocker into a blues machine. I swapp the V1 tube to a 12AUX when I want it rocking. With the 5881 and the 12AU7 this amp is really sweet for blues, jazz, pop rock etc. The change in tone was pretty amazing and the boost switch works well. The great thing is I can always go back to 6L6GC to get the default sound.

It really built well I have not had any problems but then it stays in the studio most of the time.

I e-mailed Yorkville for instructions on tubes that I could run in the amp and they responded within a day. I have not had the amp serviced but was glad that someone was monitoring e-mails and responded fairly quick.

I have been playing 10 years and have owned a Fender HRD, Blues Junior, Peavey Classic 30, Peavey JSX a Marshall VS100 and a Pignose G60V. If it were stolen I would buy it again it's a great bargin. I bought it because it was a different sound than a Fender and it had a good distortion channel and they can be bought for a great price. The tube swapp to 5881/6L6WGB made the difference between selling it and keeping it.

I just purchased this amp last week. It was shipped from a Traynor dealer in Providence, RI Twin City Music. The amp came in damaged one of the pots the shaft was broken off. I called the dealer and Yorkville. Yorkville arranged to ship me the same day a new amp direct from the factory and issued a call tag for the defective amp.This is a true testimony of GREAT customer service from a manufactuer. Their goal was to satisfy a new customer immediately with no hesitation! In todays world they are one of the few who care.
I thought I would share this story. I can't wait to plug in and play.

The Best

Almost a vintage FENDER CLEAN and a very good drive channel. Both channels have independant EQ...making this amp very versatile. Plenty of power for unmiked club gigs. I use the boost (3rd channel) for times when the band gets loud and I need to cut through. Plenty of reverb...just not as strong as Fender...but PRACTICAL. If there was a reverb control for both channels, it would get a TEN. Oh yeah, its self biasing!!!

Fender Tele & $99 Strat copy -> tube screamer -> electra phase -> budda wah -> traynor amp.

My music style is all over the map but mainly R&B, Funk, Soul, Rock. This amp does it all...exept metal (and that would be easy with a pedal). It's the quietest amp ever. It does what a Fender Deville should do, at less cost. Reminds me of a vintage deluxe reverb with an overdrive channel. It amazes me, I have played through many amps...this is the best. Sounds good even before you set the controls!

Played for 20 gigs or so, and keeps sounding better...I have a feeling it will be a long time before it needs servicing.

N/A

I would replace this amp with exactly the same model. Compared to a HR Deville it blows it away. Makes the Deville sound harsh, ratty and thin...especially the drive channel. Compared to vintage Deluxe reverb..it doesn't have the strong reverb, but that doesn't matter unless you play instrumental surf music, plus it's 2 channels with a boost. This amp is really a musicians amp. It's meant to be played on stage (or studio) without spending alot of time screwing with the knobs to make it sound right. Comparable with big name amps that cost 4 times as much. I'll never buy Fender or Marshall again...they are so over-rated (and expensive).

When they talk TONE they say AMERICAN or BRITISH. This amp is the best of both of those. CANADIAN TONE! They got it right! Don't pay for the overpriced unreliable name brand bullsh*t!

This review page helped me in deciding to try this amp. If you are considering buying this amp and have questions, feel free to email me.

I would say to start with,, the Looks of this little Amp,, is just beautiful.. The front grill and the way it's put together is very nice. I did replace the cover with a nice,,, brown cover made out of Snowmobile cloth.. Now to say,, for small clubs and for my style of playing,,, Contempory Blues,,, Modern country,, and 60s Rock and Roll, what can I say??? I have a 1970 Twin,, sorry nothing can match the sound of it,,, but this little amp really has a certain sound to it!!! I'm usually out at jams and play through many different amps and they are all very nice but I think your really going to like this unit... The weight is very managable to haul around...

I have this Robben Ford Sig. I've had for many years,, and when I first got this amp the clean channel at about 5 really starts to get a bite to it.. For me,, and only a personnel thing ,,I really don't care for that... I called up Bob at Eurro tubes,, and gave him a little idea on what I was looking for and he sent me some tubes.. What a wonderful sound this thing makes... It's plenty loud enough,, about 6 and then turn it up a bit... Your going to like it,,, I'm an older fellow these days,, I wouldn't say I'm an expert at anything,,, but it's that sound your looking for and whats inside there that really brings out your personality...

Now we will just have to drag this thing around to a few clubs, and put plenty of hours of practice, and I'll let you know what the results are...

I did call and mentioned my concerns about the drive this thing had on the clean channel and really the way thing sounds, I think most players are looking for that.. I just have an ear for something a little different. The fellow gave me a few suggestion about what I might want to do and a re-tube job really got everything going in the right direction... He was very helpful.

I've only had this amp a few months,, but everything about this little amp is nice... I think everyone will agree the size and weight is very manageable.. Also,, I would say that volume is no problem,, but style of music is the answer to that question.. How can I discribe this??? Mid volume clear and nice and when turned up,, what happens is,,, It's the nut loose behind the wheel that drives this thing... Oh, before I sign off.. Let me know what you think about a speaker swap,, I'm even looking for a bit fatter tone??
Thanks,,,,,,, Luke

2 footswitchable channels with independent EQ controls, brightness switch on clean channel, boost on gain channel and reverb. Great layout.

This is what the HRD could have been. Can't praise it enough. I swapped the Sovteks out for EH's in the preamp and SED(Winged "C") 6L6GC's in the output section. Extremely easy to dial in 'the' perfect tone which BTW (tone controls)actually work. Like a Fender Blues Deluxe it starts getting gritty around 4-5. The big surprise is the lead channel. Without the boost it's just a bit more gainer, great for blues. With the boost it's just a bit more gain more along the lines of a Super Lead not a JCM. It stays away from that buzzing hi-gain preamp which is really great. I would say this amp is part Fender Tweed, part vintage Ampeg with some Vox thrown in for good measure. With a Tele it nails that Petty sound, with a strat it gets down right 'brown' in the lead channel. With a Les Paul it does a great Dickie Betts impersonation. Perfect for the home or small club.

From the specs and the way it's built I would say it will last. No problems so far.

Best warranty in the business.

In it's price class which includes the HRD it has no equal. Been playing almost 40 years. Owned literaly tons of equipment over the years. Lifelong Tele fan. Currently own a Marshall Super Lead, Fender Blues Deluxe, and the Traynor YCV40WR. Hard to fault this amp. I think a Celestion G12H reissue or Jensen P12N probably would make this amp as good as it gets. Probably will try it soon. I was going to mention the Reverb but after the HRD's horrendous output I think I'll say it's fine. Not much till 5 or 6 and it starts shunting the signal after 8 but I can live with that. Actually turned up it's nice and surfy maybe a bit dreamy like Ampeg's Super Echo but never overpowering. If your into vintage and classic tones this is it.

New 2005 model - 2 channels (footswitchable) with independent EQ controls, brightness switch on clean channel, solo boost on gain channel, reverb, effects loop. A master volume would be nice, as would a heaphones jack, but really a nice set of features.

I use it with a Les Paul for classic rock/blues. Really nice cleans as other have mentioned, and plenty of crunch for what I need (probably not enough for metal though). Quite loud! I haven't tried any of the Eurotube re-tube packages, but will probably give them a shot in the future.

The reverb was a little disapointing - not much there at low settings, then all of a sudden a ton at about 3:00.

Dont know yet, but definitely looks and feels solid.

Dont really know (hopefully will never need to) but the warranty alone gets it a 10.

I've been playing off and on for about 10 years, yet this was my first decent amp. I'm not sure I can give it a 10 considering there are many amps I've never tried or even heard, but the YCV40WR seems perfect for blues or rock. And it's very affordable. I'd certainly replace it if lost or stolen.