Traynor YCV40-WR 112 Combo

40 toneful watts into a Vintage 30. Channel Switching, Reverb and a Presence Control. Way Sick Man

I have been playing in a working band for over 15 years and I have seen over 30 years of guitar amps pass by. I play Blues, R&B, Soul, a little country and of course Rock & Roll. I use two Custom Shop Strats a 1997 Fender Collectors Edition and a Robert Cray Strat. The only effects I use are a old TS-808 and a MXR Micro Amp.I have owned every fender amp aleast once and have owned two 50 Watt (non mater) Mashall Half Stacks. For the last 3 years I main has been my Fender Custom Shop Vibro-King. I tried this amp when the Vibro King was in for a servicing. I could not return it, it was that good sounding. Now don't get me wrong here the YCV-40 does not have the lush reverb that the Vibro King has, but it has all the tone and punch, no shit. I have since sold my Vibro King and bought two of these babys and have lots of money to spare.I run both my amps to one channel switcher. Just a blistering sound. They are the best deal out there period. Remember get the one with the Vintage 30.

They get moved around alot with just the stock covers to protect them and I have had no problem with mine so far.

I do not know. My local Traynor dealer (Long & McQuade) is great though.

If you are looking for a good tube amp at a deal of a price check these puppys out. Way Cool.

Same features as below. It?s brand new/store I got it from indicated it?s just been received from Yorkville and has been in the store on about 15 days. I?ll also comment on the versatility of the channel(s) features. They?re excellent. They?re varied. They?re complementary to each other. The boost feature was something I thought I?d never use because, in the store and at home, when cranked and boost engaged, it sounded unrealistic in the sense that the volume increase was way too great and unmanageable. Who would use this (except maybe as a 3rd channel?)? However, comma, I gigged with the ycv 40 for the first time on Sat. night and took a chance in engaging the boost toward the downhill slope of the gig. What was (at home and in the store) a boost I formerly thought was a waste of a feature turned out to be a jaw dropping feature in a live setting. Holy smoke! It was a huge and frankly startling increase in volume but I looked at the drummer and the audience, closed my eyes and dug in. It was very right! This sound was layered such that it I was playing in colors. It more than fit the song and after about a second of thinking if the boost was working out (it was a noticeable increase in volume), I knew it was RIGHT. I didn?t say too much about it later/waited for complaints re volume or whatever/didn?t want to brag on the new amp, etc. Quite a few people mentioned the band sounded fantastic so I?ll take that as a nod to the Traynor?s ability. The utility of this boost feature blew my %^& away. In a live setting, this boost feature is very exploitable. I only engaged it two or three times toward the end of the night but it worked marvelously. Boost aside, switching fm clean channel to OD channel was easy and balanced. The sweep and range of the knobs are excellent. The vintage 30 was great, held it own, wasn?t flatulent, seemed to me to even be more dimensional in a live scene than I thought it did before its public debut. Swapped the stock Sovtek tubes to JJs pre (three total) with one of them balanced; swapped the Sovtek power tubes to JJ 6L6GC?s and the headroom and OD is considerably tighter and sweeter, too. The auto-bias feature is a huge plus for me; I?m sure there are those who will ridicule this feature but it is very helpful for me because I don?t have to lose my amp for 3-4 days at a time. The foot pedal seems just ok but performed flawlessly. I have not made use of the send/return loop so no comment. Since many of our events are miked I could see getting the extension cab but don?t ?need? one. A whole breadth of shade and sounds/an excellent highlight! This 1x12 combo is a prize.

Here?re my bumper stickers: the YCV 40WR is fruitful and potent. For this review, to give you an idea of how I used the amp in its live debut, we performed Beatles, Allman Brothers, James Marshall Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Etta James, BB King, Jeff Beck, AIC, Black Crowes, BOC, etc? this amp?s ability to subjugate others amps I?ve owned was mind-blowing. Am comparing to my Dr. Route 66 w/Z Best 2x12 cab and 1x12 bogner cube (great amp/overbuilt but, at volume, a two trick pony for my uses); my silver face twin reverb (just f*&*#in? loud); a Fender DRRI (good 22W amp but lacking in the headroom required); Carr Slant 6 (very well made amp but temperamental in the maintenance department, plus, in comparison, has fewer ?sweet spots? that the Traynor); Mesa Rectoverb, two Riveras and two Buddas (did not own these but did significant a/b?ing). The Traynor is not a fancy amp, it is very much less expensive and has its own sound---that?s a good thing. Their build quality ante has been upped---keep it up Traynor!! What I achieved (unmiked/but I usually miked in the past) with the Traynor was very, very musical and? well, I?ll sum it up this way: this is a very fun amplifier to play through. It is unpretentious. It was clear. It was tight and full and loose and sweet when I wanted it to be. It executed the amplified tele and les paul sounds to great effect. No hum, if that matters. No rattling. This comment probably belongs in the ?feature? section, but I?ll cite the fact that I didn?t spent a long time getting to know my way around the ?twists? and ?turns? of the knobs/I didn?t have to? and this is in front of an audience there to hear the music. I did test the capabilities at home and in the store prior to purchase but the straightforwardness and extreme utility of the sweeps ? yes, even the reverb ? was grand. The new JJ (6L6s and 12ax7s) in the Traynor, coupled with good use of the economical transistors, made for a major difference in the harmonic distortion of the amplified signal. This thang sounded not just good but great! Alive. Nothing rattles and it is, simply put, an especially fun amp to play through. I used no pedals other than the Traynor channel footswitch. The other are great in the own category (build, sound, vintage-ness, etc.) but this Traynor YCV40WR is, across the board, a sleeper and sounds enormous and functional. The highest gain I used w/the Traynor was on a BOC tune, Cities on Flame: unbelievable. The quasi-jazziest I got on this thing was Allman Bros? IMOER, the cleanest sounds I used were for Beatles (She?s a Woman). AIC?s Down in a Hole sounded very strong. I could go on but, suffice to say, all across the board in ranges of tunes, this amp put out in a grand fashion.

Hope this is not entirely unreasonable, but don't want to apply a score in this field until maybe down the road. Had it for about two weeks; several hours of home use, several practices and one gig. Good, considerate warranty. The accutronics reverb is kind of worthy of mention here: the reverb is not tube and doesn?t behave like ?tube? on my Carr, for example; but, every few months my Carr?s tube reverb would go mildly microphonic to the point of bugging me so hopefully the reliability of the accutronics reverb will be a plus. It sounds admirable at all ranges of the sweep (e.g. nothing washes out/just usable). Should mention that when I took this bad boy apart to upgrade the vacuum tubes, the plywood structure appeared rock solid. Not sure what category this belongs in, however I?ll cite that changing tubes (both power and the three ?protected? pre-amp tubes) was a breeze. Total time took me about 10-15 minutes. When it?s time to do it again, it should be even simpler. I did get matched JJs (says that?s not required, hence the SS part of the amp coming in to play) and so far, I think I made a smart purchase. I?ll do another review for the Traynor people to look at (and contact them) if something goes wrong, but I?m encouraged by the live sounds I got and the structural integrity of looking at this thing without its short on. No overheating issues after hours of pretty solid use. Good, quality circuit board.

Traynor's CS is fine? and quick. On the Yorkville level, several phone calls and e-mails prior to my purchasing we?re taken with reasonable and helpful answers. The e-mail person was a little curt, but did answer the questions. Assuming they're honest and answered truthfully then I think the CS is great. I'll also give a positive nod to Acoustic Axis for their role in a sweet deal: they're real players in fine musical instruments and I wish them well in their business. They were helpful. I look forward to more positive dealings with them in the future.

Fantastic value! Overall this is a very adaptable amplifier in the rock & roll and blues category. In the store I tested it with a G&L ASAT classic tele and a Hamer Korean HB model. Didn?t but it right away because, frankly, the price struck me as too good a deal. What?s wrong with it? etc.? After some time for the novelty of playing this great amp to wear off I went back and tried it again. Long story short: I bought it. I?m probably not a good reviewer by any means but am a regular user of musical equipment so hopefully you find this review unambiguous and helpful. I?d half a mind not to do a review and just keep this little find to myself and my band but the more modest small businessman in me compelled me to do a review. I hope Traynor (or Yorkville or whateve they?re calling themselves) has honestly built a great sounding product that will remain solid in years to come. I bought this amp for its ability and sounds, which are more than enough. It?s worth saying that it?s not a harsh amp by any means but very agreeable and functional in a band setting. The knobs are large enough to tweak in the middle of a song and not too loose, nor too tight. It likes both my US tele and my 58RI les paul?. obviously two different flavors but dishes them out evenly with style and clarity. The ?feel? is there. Think I mainly favor the unpretentious appearance of black tolex, but the wine red leather look is pretty nice, too. Kind of unique. Once the speaker is broken in, it may grow a different sound but right now, with the stock V30, it?s great. Worth mentioning that the circuit board is a dependable glass epoxy; it appeared clean for what it was and well-built. We do not record for making-an-album?s sake but do record our shows and it sounds good. I hope that, if I?m inclined to do so, in a few years I write another quick review of this same amp and say, TRAYNOR, GOOD ON YA!!! And, thanks for a fine amp.

Separate tone controls for clean and gain channels, check. Reverb, check. Presence, check. Effects loop, check. Celestion Vintage 30 12" speaker, check. External speaker connection, check. Class A contruction, check. Bright switch, check. Clean boost, check. Footswitch (channel and boost), check. Is there much more you could ask for in a low priced tube amp?

The sound of this thing floored me. I bought this amp in the music store, based mainly on reviews of Traynor's tube amplifiers and limited time playing on it. I took it home, played with it awhile and I'm overwhelmed by the sweet tone this thing produces. It's very, very warm sounding. The Vintage 30 speaker has the right amount of bark.

I went to Sam Ash and plugged into a Marshall TSL602, just to see how this amp stacks up to a higher priced combo. The Marshall costs twice as much as this Traynor, but it has 2 Celestion Wolverine speakers and 20 more watts. However, I was less than impressed by the Marshall after playing the Traynor. I couldn't justify the added expense of buying the Marshall. The Marshall had more gain headroom, but the Traynor has a warmer sound. Isn't that warmth why you buy a tube amplifier?

Before I bought the Traynor, I looked at the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The Hot Rod had more distortion ability, and it had the Fender name. However, it seems that Traynor has went the distance for good sound and Fender seems to have cheapened the HRD for the sake of profit. The Traynor also sounded better overall. It was warmer and had better depth.

Can't verify this, since I've only had it a few weeks. I'll come back later when I've had it awhile. It looks to be constructed well.

I haven't used it, but the warranty is incredible: 2 years, even if you break it, and 10 years in workmanship. Therefore, I'm giving it a 10 based on that alone. Besides, others that have dealt with their customer service have rated it well. I'm not giving it point for that, but rather it isn't going to take away from it because I haven't read a bad comment against them.

I wanted the best amp I could get on my limited budget. I'm not a gigging musician yet, as I'm somewhat of an intermediate student. I checked around at the Hot Rod Deluxe and DSL401. I bought the Traynor. It just gave me more for my money, and it just simply sounds incredible. What else is there to say?

Its a new red one with the vintage 30. It has two channels with a boost all footswitchable. It has reverb that is not footswitchable witch woul be a nice option.I play at home and at an occasional blues rock jam sessions at a few local watering holes.oh yea the amp also has an effects loop

I have two warmoth fender style guitars my brother built for me a hardtail strat and a strait up tele both with lindy fralin pickups. I also have a 78 walnut the paul gibson I have had since it was new. I have played in country, rock and blues bands and have been at it for 30 years.I mostly play blues these days in the smokin roadhouse variety.This amp is very good out of the box. It is darker voiced than a fender but still has that flavor. the drive and boost are good but you will probably want to use your favorite pedals anyway.reverb is excellent.Heres were it gets interesting. Being that I am a hobbiest and can't leave well enough alone I went to see bob at eurotubes and put a set of JJ's in it. huge difference in tone but not good enough yet!???Next i swapped out the vintage 30 for a new jensenp12n. Tone is a personal thing and I dont claim to have the sole opinion that being said this thing smokes!! I had to back the treble off some and the speaker is still not broken in yet but I am totally awestruck by this setup. The amp is very loud but you can get that sweet speaker breakup and clean it right up with the volume nob. my strat didn't sound very good with the factory parts but with these changes its incredible. My other amp is a victoria 4510 bassman so don,t think im coparing these tones to my crate buzzmaster or something! The drive and boost are very good,not metal mind you but very rich and meaty.Be warned this is a touch sensitive tube amp an if you suck people will clearly hear you suck!

great so far stock output tubes were way mismatched

have heard nothing but good things great warranty

I love it you can't beat it for the money. I fendered mine up with the tubes and speaker. but the vitage30 sound is great too especially with humbuckers.In my opinion it smokes any fender in its class the hot rod deluxe is no where near the amp this is and with the changes i would stack it up against amps costing 2 and three times as much