Traynor YCV40-WR 112 Combo

Two channel, All Tube, 1x12 Combo, boutique look
12ax7/Two Sovtek 5881 Power tubes
Metal footswitch, with lights, channel Switching, boost
Top mounted controls, two ext speaker outs, standby. See specs for more detail.

What this amp has that makes it worthy of being a higher end amp.
- Metal Footswitch, Stereo 1/4' Cable, all but eliminates the footswitch problems that plague other amps
- The right wattage, and sounds good from bedroom to gigging volumes
- Super, duper clean, chimy on BOTH channels
- Lights on everything, to tell you what's on or off
- Protected tubes, Standby, boutique high end look, high end speaker
- Not too heavy.
- Detachable power chord on OUTSIDE rather then stored inside where you yank it out, and bust some tubes.

For a pro, the above make this a solid, good sounding, reliable amp.

I could whine about not having a PA out, or but the speaker out 1/4" could do the same. Or a 5 watt, 10 watt attenuator setting, but it sounds fine on lower settings...I give it a ten, not because it's the best amp that could ever be, but that it's the best I have been able to find so far in a 1x12 combo. Controls are on top, better in front I think but it looks better on top where the audiance doesn't see them I think,...subjective...since I fiddle to get my tone, a front mounted control panel is easier for me...others set it, forget it and get it from thier pedalboard, guitar, ect..again subjective.

As a comparison to my Peavey classic 30, an amp I gig with....plastic footswitch, no lights on the switch or panel, tubes exposed...all issues that have screwed up my songs, leads...this amp should at least solve those problems so I can figure out new ways to screw up my set.

Clean on both channels is chimy, pretty rare.
Boost actualy cleans up the dirty channel rather then add mud, rare
Controls: Plenty of Treble, Bass, and Mid to find your tone.
Reverb, goes from pretty much nada to too much, so you can find your tone.
First amp that is loud enough for gigs, but can still play at low, low, everyone asleep in the house, livingroom volumes.
Distortion? I don't know - That's subjective. It's tight, not sloppy or scratchy, not over the top, responsive. I prefer Marshall distortion as best, but this isn't bad, has a good feel.
Very quiet amp.

As a comparison to the Peavey C30 again...mud with boost, doesn't sound great untill on 5-6, no lights on top, or footswitch screws up your sound because your trying to figure out what channel your on.

See above....has all the features of an amp that shouldn't break down, and if something did screw up, it will be so serious that a tech is needed, like any amp, but it won't be the footswitch 5 pin connector, or the plastic footswitch breaking, or the tubes got nailed because they are exposed...even the power cord is replacable vs hardwired in...and it's on the outside, where you won't yank on the tubes when you yank on the power chord.

Compared this to Peavey C30 my other amp, and you can see all the improvements.

Having lights denoting which channel is on, ect makes for ME being more reliable in getting my tone out, espeally on leads. Rather then being on stage trying to figure out what channel I am on, is the boost on..do I need to turn around and check the amp controls...no, lights on the footswitch tell me right there...

No I expect the amp to work, and let's face it, they generaly do, unless we bust the footswitch, bust the tubes...or something happens that get's in the way of getting out our sound.

So while I haven't had it long enough to tell you how it has held up, it has the features that separate it from the other amps that have broken down due to user induced issues...I think Traynor did thier homework on this on.

Reliability for me, is not just the equipment working, but can I put out night after night and this amp helps me or gets in my way as I try to 'work around it' and 'figure it out'

I want to set up, find my tone, set it, forget, done, worry about playing, not fiddling all night long.

Haven't called them, nor do I want to...should all be on thier website..as it stands, I down loaded the manual, and service manual from thier website...very nice.

Been playing for just under 3 years, I know...don't cringe but I do blues/rock lead

www.propilot.us for my music to guage ability/experience.

If the amp were stolen, I would go gay for 5 minutes just to bone the thief so I can whisper in his ear 'Say hello to my little friend'

First off, most gigging musicians are pretty picky...they want super clean...this has that...they want just right amound of distortion...this has that...they want it to be quiet - this is super quiet - they want to be able to go on the road, plug, un plug, ect and not yank the tubes out, or have the footswitch crap out, ect. -this amp has those exposed or wear areas, protected, and or easily replacable, or the issue eliminated.... they want an amp to tell them what channel they are on - Lights on the footswitch and control board - They want an amp to look high end - this looks boutique - The want an amp that is easy to get thier tone - I am still figuring this amp's sound out, what works, but I like the fact that the boost actualy helps, reverb is nice, clean is nice...nothing seems to get in my way.

About the only think I think someone might not like about it will be subjective - Is the reverb enough....or lack of effects, or the type of distortion - or a PA out - or need 100 watts vs 40 watts - or need metal look, mean and black vs wine red with blond grill - or need some 10 watt attenuation.

For me, most equipment seems to find a way to 'get in my way' Like if it has too much bass, like many closed back solid states..or the midrange doesn't really work...like on the Peavey c30, or the tubes rattle out, or bust off when pulling out the power cord, or the switching doesn't light up. For me it's hard enough to sound great, and find that magic, let alone the amp or guitar making my life more difficult. I play through a variety of guitars..from Strats, PRSs, Les Pauls, Squiers, OLP, and again, it's mainly blues rock rythem and lead.

Certainly, if your a pro, you want it all, and your probably going to have to pay for it, but I like that this amp isn't really that much, and it's not vintage, and it's not missing anything, and it seems not a throwback but an upgrade to all the things that went wrong with amps in yester year. It's not too much power, it's not too low, if you need more then 40 watts, mic it up, if you need effects, get a pedal board.

Now overall, I think this amp fits the gigging musician arsenal, to be realiable and find his tone, easy to use. What would be better, something really specific to his needs, and to be fair, not every amp, can be everything to every player.


I have a Marshall TSL halfstack, a Peavey C30, Marshal MG50, Fender Frontman, played with everything at the guitar center, and other stores...this fits me so far...

Made in Canada in 2007. Company has been around for decades. Known for their ruggedness, but I don't gig, just home studio.

Very versatile all tube amp. 3 tube pre, 2 tube power. Won't do Metal, but will do Jazz, Rock, Blues, Country, etc.

Has 2 Channels, effects loop, has reverb spring. Can drive another cabinet for more bottom end. I do another 12 inch to get a stereo effect. Sounds just awesome with an extra cabinet. Has foot switch for channel switching and distortion/clean.

Here's the specs:
Specifications
Type Tube Guitar Amplifier
Cabinet Impedance (Ohms) 8
Power @ min. impedance (Watts) 40
Minimum Impedance (Ohms) 4
Speaker Configuration - LF (Size / Power) 12 inch / 40 Watts
Inputs 2
Channel 1 - inputs 1/4 inch phone
Channel 1 - controls Gain, Volume, Treble, Bass, Middle
Channel 1 - switches Boost
Channel 2 - inputs Shares ch 1 input
Channel 2 - controls Volume, Treble, Bass, Middle
Channel 2 - switches Channel Select, Brightness
Channel Switching Yes
Main Tone Controls Presence
Line Out (type / configuration) 1/4 inch TRS / Rear (Effects Send)
Effects Volume Yes
Effects Loop / Location Yes / Rear
Effects Footswitch / Function Yes / Channel Select, Boost
Internal Reverb / Effects Spring Reverb
LED Indicators Channel Select, Boost, Power, Standby
External speaker output / location 1/4 inch / Rear
Other Features Standby Switch ??? Activates standby mode to keep the tubes warm while the amp is not in use.
Auto Tube-matching Circuit
Preamp Tube - 3x 12AX7WA Dual Triodes (Russia)
Power Amp Tube - 2x 6L6GB Beam Power Tubes (Russia)
DC filaments on preamp tubes eliminate hum
Fully regulated power supply with tube rectifier emulation
Perforated Steel Grille
Dimensions (DWH, inches) 9.5 x 23 x 18
Dimensions (DWH, cm) 24 x 58 x 46
Weight (lbs / kg) 49.8 / 22.6

I replaced the tubes with JJ tubes. Really, I can't tell the difference. JJ's a good outfit. The standard Sovteks are good too. Maybe the difference is on Distortion. I don't use that much, so read other's reviews for distortion.

Versatile, but can't get that heavy metal crunch of modern hard metal rock. I play blues/rock/pop/country so it works for all. Has a guide on setting for Classic Rock, Blues, Modern Rock and all are very useful and on spot. I tape it by the amp to refer to.

The sounds is a very toneful, deep, tube tone. You can make it sound like a Beatles Vox (the 7120 if I got that right) and just excels for Blues tone.

The "Presence" knob is useless. The Reverb is a bit hot and you don't go past 12 o'clock really. The "Mid" knob MUST be turned down to 9 o'clock for this amp to sound awesome. The Mid turned higher just gets muddy. The Bass and Treble sound good on 12 o'clock.

Volume starts getting very loud at a setting of 2. You can go deaf in front of it. So it's a GOOD 40 watts.

I put on an attenuator so I can put overdrive gain to very high settings and not blow my ears. The distortion is very pleasing.

I think it's a great sound at a good price. No complaints. Once you know how to set the "Mid" knob. And don't expect Metal guitar.

Because I don't expect ONE amp to be every sound I'm giving this a 10 because it can do Blues, Rock and Jazz with equal aplomb. The inability to do Metal was give to me upfront. And ALL amps have their knobs that are either useless, or have to be turned to a setting to minimize harsh tonality.

My giving this a 10 is based on me going "Wow" when I played it. And me still going "Wow". And a professional guitarist who told me that this amp sounded "awesome" and I should hold on to it and learn to dial in the tones I wanted.

I'm told you can throw it off the roof and only have to replace the tubes. Haven't tried that. I only use for the Studio. Had it 1 year and it's working fine. Ask a Gigger for the real deal on this.

I heard a lot of noise on one of my guitars and thought it was the amp. Found out 2 things. My guitar is noisy. And my house needs a power conditioner. You can't blame the amp as being noisy unless you have a power conditioner. I took it to the store and it was quiet as a mouse.

So I have dealt with Customer service. They give a decent warranty. 2 Years no questions asked. Transferable too. Just keep the receipt, because they go by the Manufactured Date otherwise.

They were willing to take it and have it fixed no charge. And they DID get back to me in a reasonable amount of time.

I've played for about 20 years. This is a superb amp. On Sound I might always think there is a 10 out there, but really, this is a do-it-all amp so not being able to be authentically modern death metal and a quite poor implemented "mid" knob aside, overall this is one of the best sounding amps I've heard. The only thing I like more is a 1200 dollar Fender Bassman (forget the model) but it was almost double the price! Same with VOX famous models like a real tube AC30TB. So, at half the price, you get a top end pro sound. Sweet.

I would definitely replace this. People aren't aware of Traynors so much, so you can probably find it used for a song. And ANY secondary cabinet will work for an amazing stereo sound.

I'm seriously thinking of checking their Bass amp out since this one was so good.

2 channels plus a boost. 3 band EQ for each channel, which is very nice. No master volume, but I don't think it's necessary. I wish reverb was footswitchable (I got spoiled by my old Fender that had channel, boost, chorus, and reverb on the footswitch). Presence is a great feature for dialing in a little sparkle. I haven't used the effects loop yet- still experimenting.

The only thing I dislike is the boost which isn't adjustable. It just adds a set amount of gain, and I've been spoiled by my old Fender which could dial in specific amounts of boost gain.

It does lean backwards a bit, which I find strange. It makes a good design idea (tilt the speaker toward the player), but it also makes it easier to tip over in the car. I think I'd rather see a deeper base to ensure stability.

So far, so good though. It's been able to nail every thing I've asked of it in church and in my rock band. I'm reviewing it after owning it for only a few days, but I like to post first impressions than return in 6 months to a year with lasting impressions.

-2 for reverb and boost issues. +1 for having knobs that sound like they DO something when turned, unlike a lot of tube amps I demoed.

Using this with a Les Paul, Strat, and Hollowbody. I also tried my wife's thin semi hollow, and similar results.

All my life I've been a solid state man. I wanted amps that could deliver the same tone at all volumes. I wanted amps that could handle banging around in a loaded van without breaking a precious tube. I wanted lighter amps, and I figured I could come pretty close to the same tone as tubes.

I could not have been more wrong. TRUE tube tone is something that is never achievable in SS-land. Suddenly, there are nuances that I had never imagined. I never thought I'd find myself using the volume or tone knobs in positions other than 0 and 10, but here it makes SO much difference.

Case in point, church yesterday. I set my dirty gain at about 11 or noon, then volume on both channels at 9 o'clock. I used my hollowbody guitar, and in the bridge position, the dirty channel gave me a great rhythm tone. The boost knob was just enough guts to pull out a lead (which was good because we had no sound man for that service). Next tune was a little slower, so I switched to the clean channel and backed off my attack. During the chorus, though, I dug in and got a great little OOMPH that you simply can't get out of a solid state amp, even with compression and EQ and pedals...

The most impressive of all came when we did our last tune- an R&B style song with me playing thick octaves. The clean channel was just a little too thin for my taste, so I rolled my neck pup tone knob back, dropped the pick for fingerpicking the octaves, and switched it to the drive channel. Thick, CREAMY tones were pouring out. It was fantastic.

The amp takes pedals great, too. I was worried that I had spent so much time buying pedals to get my SS Fender to sound "tubey," I would find them taking away from the sound. Instead, I find that the amp enhances every pedal I own- distortions sound SO much better, compression is smoother, wah takes on a classic character that it never had before, EQs feel more natural, and even my flanger sounds like a champ. In fact, everything sounded so good, I conducted an experiment.

When I first started playing guitar in middle school, I was in search of that crazy distortion sound. Pre- and post-gain on my SS Peavey amps helped me stumble onto it, but I decided to buy a pedal. Thanks to the limited budget of a 14 year old and the limited patience of his mother, I bought a DOD Supra Distortion... one of the most widely hated distortion pedals of all time. I used it until I bought my first Fender SS amp... and I preferred the Fender's onboard distortion (which should tell you something).

Fast forward to now. I pull the Supra out of a drawer, plug it in and... it sounds better! Turned up, it still has the white noise nastiness that I hated, but turned down, the tubes warm it up, creating a nice fat sound that I could definitely be happy with. If this Traynor can make THAT pedal sound good, well, I'm sold.

Okay, now down to specifics. The amp was retubed before I got it with JJ tubes from Eurotubes- the Blues Option set. When I got it from UPS, the V1 tube had been blown. I replaced it with one of the Sovteks that came with the amp stock and rearranged the order. Even with the Sovtek in there, it sounds great. I do like the clean channel better (in my understanding, it bypasses the Sovtek), but the dirty channel is still great. It'll be even better once the JJ tube is replaced.

I found that the clean channel starts breaking up around noon on the volume. Even at this volume, though, it's VERY quiet. Distortion is even quieter, strangely enough. I'm not sure if I could get a good heavy metal out of it right now (it does have BLUES tubes in it after all), but if I wanted that sound, I have total confidence that another retube could accomplish it. For now, though, I have pedals for that.

It arrived from UPS psuedo-DOA. I turned it on in standby, let it sit for a few minutes, and took standby off. Nothing. No sound. After a bit of tube-newbie troubleshooting, I discovered that one of the preamp tubes was shot. Replaced it and rearranged the tubes a few times... magic.

I've only had it for a few days now, so it certainly hasn't died on me. Time will tell, though. I'm still working out what my backup plan would be should I need it at a gig. I don't like that the chassis has to be removed to access the preamp tubes. I guess there's not really a better way to do it, but it would be hard to do a quick change at a show.

When my amp was dead out of the box, I called Yorkville/Traynor USA immediately to ask how to go about troubleshooting it. They were very courteous and gave me some great instructions which led me straight to the problem in short order. The amp is out of warrranty, but they even pointed me to a (sort of) local authorized repairman who we both knew by name. I didn't need him, but I thought it was cool that they knew him by name.

So far, so good.

Been playing now for 13 years, more than half my life. I don't buy into the high end "boutique" gear, so I buy gear that sounds great, plays well, and yet doesn't break the bank. This Traynor delivers on that. A guy came last week to buy a guitar from me. He brought along his hand wired $2500+ single channel custom tube amp... and this Traynor still sounds better, IMHO.

I play an upgraded Epi Les Paul, a Fender Strat, and a Ibanez Artcore hollowbody through this thing. I've also got an Alvarez Artist acoustic, a Washburn Taurus 5-string bass, and a handful of other rinky dink guitars. I own GMS drums with (mainly) Zildjian cymbals and DW hardware. I've got a 130W Fender 2x12 SS combo, a 1x12 25W Slingshot amp (SS but very warm), and a Peavey Combo 300 bass amp.

If the Traynor were stolen or lost, I think I would cry. And then I'd buy another. I'm a little worried about durability since just the ride through UPS was enough to kill a preamp tube (and it was double boxed with three inches of foam in the inside box and 6 inches of corrugated cardboard on the outside box), but so far so good. It even fell over (on to soft things) twice in my car, but no problems. I've learned to put the backside of the amp to the wall of my car.

I've been coming closer and closer to buying a tube amp for years. I was put off by the inconsistency in Fender tube amps- I'd like one in the store, and then I'd come back again and hate the exact same amp 6 months later. I tried Marshall's combo offerings, but I could never get a sound that wasn't "Marshall". I guess that's great if you're looking for it, but I wasn't. Crate and Peavey were too sterile sounding. Dr. Z makes a fantastic amp, but it was out of my price range, and the one I tried was a single channel. I really felt that I needed that second channel for live work. I was even considering Epiphone's offerings, but could never find something I liked from them.

Finally, about a year ago my wife and I walked into a music store and saw the standard black and grey version of the Traynor YCV40. I had never heard of the company, so I plugged in, expecting to laugh. Instead, I was really impressed by this stock amp. Great tones all across the board and my wife agreed that it sounded better than the Fenders. Of course, at that time, the money wasn't available, so I tucked the information away. Thus, when I had my money together, it was natural for me to go back to Traynor, and I have not been disappointed in the least.

Mine was made in 2007, picked it up used but in great shape. Two channels plus a boost on the drive channel. Effects loop is great, speaker extension jacks is great but awkwardly placed as people mentioned. I do wish it had a control on the boost like the YCV50, since at lower gain levels the boost is a bit too much to really be usable live (it kicks up the volume A LOT). At higher gain levels, the extra saturation doesn't increase the volume as much, but again, this would be easily solved with a boost volume control. I might try swapping in a lower gain tube like a 12AU7 once I figure out which one is used in the boost circuit...that might help things. Other than that, I'm totally happy with its features. It has plenty of power...if you need more than 40 tube watts, you're in a big enough venue to be able to properly mic it and use the house PA.

I'm using this with Fender guitars, both humbucker and single coil models. This baby handles them all like a pro. Single coils through the clean channel can be funky, surfy, or just plain sparkling. Humbuckers through the clean channel are smooth and silky. I run this amp with a 2x12" extension cab and the bass response on the clean channel is MASSIVE if you want it to be.

Single coils through the drive channel can be bluesy or straight up rock as you dial in more gain. Humbuckers sound nice and thick with the drive. If you max the gain, low-output pickups can sound a bit fizzy, but high gain pickups drive the channel well and get some nice thick distortion. I don't find that the overdrive has enough "thud" for big palm-muted power chords, even with an extension cab. If that's what you're looking for, a generic JCM or Mesa will probably suit you better.

This amp covers all the clean, funky, bluesy, and hard-rocking tones I use it for. Its only weak point is if you want that kind of big, chugging, feel-it-in-the-chest distortion that you'd want for metal or things like that. With the massive bass response of the clean channel, maybe you could run a nice pedal like the Satchurator through it to get that kind of chug going. The tube overdrive I use with it certainly sounds brilliant through the clean channel, so I'm sure a higher-gain pedal would yield great results and help it cover that last type of tone.

Seems sturdy as amps costing a whole lot more. Solid pine cab, wicked tough (gorgeous) wine red tolex, metal speaker grill for protection hidden under oatmeal grill cloth for looks. Traynor/Yorkville makes wicked tough gear.

2 year insane "even if you break it" warranty. I e-mailed them with a random question about ohmage of cabs and power output of the amp, and got an e-mail back in a couple of days with all the info I needed and more. This is how a company should be run. These people make better amps with better service for a lower price than the 'big names'. I really hope their prices never go up!

Been playing for 12 years, covering everything from funk to indie rock. I A/B'd the clean on this amp to a '68 Fender Dual Showman and Hot Rod Deville. This blew them both away (HUGE surprise vs the Dual Showman!!). The gain was smoother than a JCM900 in the shop and beat the crap out of the Hot Rod. Reverb was a bit weaker than the Fender, but that's not such a surprise. Other than the boost control, it couldn't be more perfect. The tones it produces and the quality of its build are almost criminal at this price, it's one of the best kept secrets in the amp world.

Features as listed in previous reviews.

A+++ For the beautiful Wine Red Tolex and the Oatmeal Grill.
The Stock Vintage 30 sounds great through this amp.
Also another A++ for the external speaker jack. I wish it was easier to reach, though.
Gave it a 9 because you can't switch the reverb on and off with the footswitch and placement of the external speaker jack.

I jammed with this amp for an hour before I bought it. First my opinion on the distortion.

I tried a Fender Stratocaster with red lace sensors through it first. Very smooth even liquid like distortion. Rich in harmonics and sustain.
Next was a LTD Les Paul Copy with a JB in the bridge. Sounded like Ace Frehley.

Then a Texas Special Strat, sounded like SRV.
After a hour of jamming through it I bought it, took it to sound check, and proceeded to have one of the best gigs of my life. This amp has trasformed me. It is not a high gain amp but with a little knowledge of pickups and some digging on the strings it wouldn't be hard to accomplish high gain tones.
With the boost off and the gain at 12 o'clock and the volume at 12 you can nail Love Me Two Times with my Texas Special Strat.
With the boost engaged and the gain at 9 o'clock and volume above 3 you can play just about any hard rock song(new or old). I haven't tried it yet but I want to play a guitar with some seriously hot pickups in it to hear how metal sounds through it. I don't want alot of effects coloring my sound. They are neat and a little delay on leads can expand my groove to some degree, but for rhythms I only want to hear screaming tubes and speakers.

The CLEAN CHANNEL is very VERY clean and does break up high higher volumes if you really dig into the strings. Engaging the bright switch Turns my Strat into a TELE and the amp into a VOX. If you want BRIGHT SHIMMERING ear splitting cleans this is the setting for you.
THe reverb is not fenderish sounding but it is tastful. Not twangy and annoying like a Peavey or Crate.

But the clean without the bright switch pushed is very nice and clean. I can go from lush squishy clean to bright in your face clean.

After owning at least 25 amps over the past 20 years, I can say that I am thoroughly impressed with the solid craftsmanship and quality put into the design of this amplifier. It's as solid as a butcher's block. It's not too heavy. The tolex seems very tough and is very resistant to scuffing and tearing. I am a little concerned that the oatmeal grill may suffer some scuffing/tearing, but it is reinforced with a metal speaker grill so the speaker IS protected. The metal corners are not the cheap type and the chrome plating on each seems very well done. Rubber feet on the bottom keep it from dancing across the stage. The input jack is metal with a metal retaining nut. The effects loop and footswitch jacks on the back have plastic retaing nuts. The power tubes are tucked neatly away from harm with spring retainers to keep them from rattling out of their sockets. The preamp tubes are mounted inside the all steel chassis. It would require removing a cover plate to change them out, but any idiot with a screwdriver can do that.
The footswitch is metal with plastic sides. The jack on the footswitch is plastic as well. It you are easy with this amp, as you should be with any expensive piece of gear, then these issues shouldn't be a big deal.

TRAYNORAMPS.COM has owners and service manuals available free for download in .PDF format. Just click on the support link.

I have been playing for 20 years. I have used inexpensive, crappy sounding guitars and amps and I have owned the cream of the crop. I used to think I suffered from Gear Acquisition Syndrome. But what i was suffering from was Immediate Gratification Syndrome. I would want something, I would buy it and then use it for a few weeks/months and then dedcide I don't like it as much as I thought I did. I've wasted alot of money over the years on bad amps and guitars.
I can rest easy now knowing that Traynor has answered my prayers for a verasatile tube amplifier that I can finally settle down with. I have played it all from 50's Elvis to Killswitch Engage. I just wish I would've found this amp sooner. This is going to be a solid part of my bacline from now on. I will always have a use for this amplifier. It's part of me now.

Made 2007 in Canada.
Very versatile styles. More on that later.
2 Channels, with switching and comes with footswitch.
Effects are Reverb, and has Presence.
Has a boost for the Lead Channel and Bright button for the Rhythm Channel. Almost always have to leave the Bright button on.
I wish it had a Headphone jack.
I use it at home. Too powerful for at home.

I play Gretch, Fenders, MusicMan into it. Take effect pedals perfectly.
I changed the tubes like everyone recommends and I don't really notice any amazing sound difference. Probably because I don't have the volume up to 8-10 where it breaks. So tube changes are only important if you're going to go all out on distortion.
It's noisy on the house electric, quite elsewhere, so you might need a power regulator, but that isn't the amps fault.
The tone is killer. As good as any Fender tube and much more versatile.
You can play Blues to Classic Rock. Not the best for Metal. Good distortion otherwise. I play on 2 and it hurt my ears, so if you like loud, this is way fine. I personally find it too loud. Might have to bump down or only use it for recording. (I do home recording only)
Personally, this is the best sounding amp I've played, but there is one thing to note. It's a "bright" amp. If you want more bass, you've got to buy the accompanying amp this drives to get the bass more. But I don't want Bass from my guitar, so that would probably affect a live performer more than me. Like I said, I have to have it on 2 to get the tone going, but it literally HURTS my ears at 2. Not at first. You play for an hour and you walk away with pain in your ears. This in not meant to be an At Home amp, word to the wise needing a practice or home recording amp.
The manual with how to ring in Blues or Rock sounds is minimal but VERY useful. Good Idea.

You can throw this thing off the roof and only have to change the tubes. Seriously. It's got a 2 year warranty. Not bad. But I don't have a lot of experience moving amps and haven't had it long enough, so I won't rate it. But if I had to rate it, so far I'd rate it as a 10.

I called them for noise I heard. Found out it was my house electric. You can't have TV's and Computers on and NOT have noise on the line. Plus some can come from the electric company, so a Power Regulator is a good idea. But I called Customer Service and here's the long and short of it. They have people who can fix these things, and as long as it's in warranty, they'll fix it. But the best place is the store you bought it from. Also, they fix it if it's withing 2 years regardless of the owner. Sweet! One bad thing is they have it listed by when THEY made it, not when YOU bought it. So if you don't have your receipt, you're screwed by 1/2 to a year. I have my receipt, so it's no problem for me. BUT KEEP YOUR RECEIPT is my point. Got that, and they were really nice and had no issues having it looked over. They took a few days to get back to me, hence the 9, but that's better than most places.

First, I want to say that I couldn't give a 10 to sound and other things because I know they're not perfect. But overall, this Amp stands out as an amazingly perfect amp. So it's the sum of it's parts. Hence the 10 here.
I've been playing for over 20 years. Have tons of guitars and a few amps, Fender, Rolands, Peavey. This IS the cat's MEOW on sound. The closest amp I ever heard that was this good was a Blues guitar amp from Ampeg (played, but didn't own) But this is way more versatile since it can do Classic Rock. Blew away the Peavey. Tubes way better but perhaps less versatile than the COSM of the Rolands (non tube Cubes)
If it were lost, stolen, or I sold it, it would be for a quiter amp. In fact, I'm thinking of getting something that reduces the watt ouput to the speakers so I can keep the killer tone, but drop the amp to say a 20watt amp. THAT would be perfect for me, but for most people, they could go with this. DO look into the cabinet for bass that you should probably put with this for live performance. As for wishing it had more than a reduction in wattage switch, the only way I can imagine it being better is maybe Traynor's two 10 inch speaker amps. For a more stereo sound. The stock tubes are fine with me, but I get my distortion from pedals, not overdriven tubes. Maybe that will change now that I do have JJ's as the last guy said, Eurotubes is the BOMB helpful and accomodating, go Eurotubes. My opinion is that Traynor amps deserve the Reputation Fender, Marshall, and Ampegs have. This amp is one of the best I've ever heard.
I bought this amp new.

Just got mine used tonight with the extension cabinet.

If you have read more than one review, you know the feaures. Two channels. Pristine clean, good presence control and decent reverb. Boost on the gain channel that quite frankly should be left on all the time if you have stock tubes or they are worn out.

Plug location for the extension cab kinda threw me. It aint under that little arrow I will tell you that much. I am playing on about 1.5-2.0 so I don't wake anyone. Plenty loud at this level and the tubes are just starting to get going a tiny bit. Enought to get a wicked sound.

I am using a 1989 American Standard Strat with Light Blue Lace Sensors in the neck and Bridge. Stock pickup on the mid.
I play everythig from country, to semi-jazz (semi because I am a rookie) to roots to heavy metal to folk to pop... Whatever floats the boat... Tomorrow will be some Rage Against the Machine to test how it grooves....

Not a lot of noise at these volumes. Only gets noisy with my Boss SD1 which is a little bit of a tone robber. In fact, I have dialed it down to just provide a little more boost (yes, on top of the other boost).

As so many have done here, I retubed my power stage with JJ 6L6GCs. I bought these tubes to put in an old Peavey amp that never got played so I yanked them and threw them in the moment I got home. Since the amp is used the tubes were noticable tired. They lacked some sparkle and the response was just not there to the touch. It sounded alright but only alright. I knew with old tubes that this would be improve the moment I changed them out. And man did it change the sound.

Now let me tell you another story. I work in IT can I got a call on Sunday night for hardware failure at a customer site at 11:30 PM. Today is Tuesday morning. I have slept one hour between then and now. Yep. 48 hours of straight work. (IT is great). Anyway, when I got this amp home I threw the tubes in for the hell of it. Despite having no sleep for nearly 2 days, I cannot go to bed. The retube totally changed everything on this amp. Dynamics are there, compression, excellent crunch, and the amp even cleans up with a change in finger style and volume knob. I am not sure what grade of 6L6GCs I wound up with but they are meant for this amp. (Eurotubes just got a customer for life).

Tonight I played everything from Van Halen (just add a tiny bit of chorus) to Kings X to Queensryche to Audioslave to George Lynch to Silverchair to Megadeth to Trace Atkins... Anything I threw at it was just a couple of tweaks away on the gain stage/EQ and the guitar and the fingers. I am totally amazed. The effects loop is pretty darn quiet too. I have some very humble DOD pedals I have thought about trashing but I am shocked to say that as long as they are used sparingly, they sound pretty damn good in the loop.

The clean channel is pristine. You can chunk it along for shuffle, whatever you want. Great sound. I attribute all this to three things.
Traynor made a good overall design. I got the extension cab which fattens the bottom end. I got a great set of tubes to replace the original tired Sovteks. Any good quality set will make a good difference I am sure. I will say this though. Eddie and Bob over at Eurotubes are class acts. They treat you right. Eddie must have answered half a dozen of my emails before I purchased. Great guys, great product. I will be getting some ECC83S Gold Pins from them for the Pre stage... Assuming they come back and tell me it would be a good match... They actually help you find what yo uwnat. Customer service... Ole~

With my current pickups, I dig in hard and add some extra boost and get some pretty good distortion but the pickups are not real hot. Kinda p90-ish... I am gonna toss in a Lace Red in the bridge I think. This thing will really scream as it is like a hot humbucker...

SOund rated a 10 after retubing. Astounding difference and I have not even done the Pre stage yet. Tired tubes suck.

Well, I have had it 6 hours and it still works. Reverb seems a little weird. Hardly any verb until I get to like 9 then it is just awash in reverb. Oh well, I don't surf anyway....
But I have to get that figured out...

No idea yet I got the manual from their web site.
Can be confusing if you do not know that Traynor is Yorkville.

Been playing for 20 years seriously and about 25 total.
Gigged in college but got responsible and employed after that.
Still play and write but just to fill my ADAT with what I love...

My electric rig is down to the following items which to me can pretty much anything you want...

DOD Chorus
DOD Flanger
DOD Delay
Boss SD1 (which shall go to Keeley)
ProCo Turbo Rat which I have not tried yet...
Crybaby Wah

If I ever lose this amp I will freak. I have been looking for this sound for a long time. Your fingers feel connected to the strings and any flaws become apparent. This is a good thing. When you get a good amp, you will hear your flaws, not have them hidden in the muffle. I am frankly shocked at how great this thing sounds. I can get a SRV groove (Mary had a little lamb), or very Marshall sounds (see list above) out of it... Or make it sound Fenderishand country twang... All with zero or very low noise levels. Great stuff.

I am a believer. Top recommendation from me.

2007?.Playing blues,rock,touching harder stuff sometime.This is the right amp for me.2 channels,footswitch.Effect loop,no headphone jack,
i wish it had one.It is very loud,altough it sound's nice at lower levels,perfect for silent practice.

Using a strat copy,it sounds beautiful,i cant see how some guy's
can't get the sound with this amp.Maybe youngsters looking for a metal amp do not dig this Traynor.Still,there is gain enough for Van Halen or similar.Perfect for AC/DC stuff.
Replacing the tube's are necessary and easy,i took the amp section out,working on a table is easier than
struggling inside the amp.Before retube i did'nt like the distorsion,
the Sovtek's are thin and harsh,with JJ's it's a beauty.You can taylor the amp with different tube's,playing loud or at lower volume,more headroom and so on.The clean channel is very nice,using it more than ever.Had a Telecaster with bad pickups that did not sound good at all with this amp,with the strat,o'boy.With right guitar you'll find the tone.Have no pedals,plan to try a tubescreamer for more juice.

When i got this amp with courier the box was clearly abused,the footswitch was loose inside the amp,i thought the amp was recked,but not a scratch,works fine.They seem built to last.

Traynor seems helpful,e-mailed them before i bought the amp,responce pretty fast.No repair or warranty issues yet.2 years warranty.

Playing as a hobbyist.Stolen or lost,would buy another 40WR.There is nothing i dislike with this amp.Even smell good when it's hot,strange.
One thing,footswitchable reverb would be nice.

Good features. Has everything a person needs for small club gigs. I gig with this amp pretty often and it has plenty of power fo my needs. Tubes were replaced with JJ's although I thought the Sovteks were fine. I kept them for backups.

IMO the clean channel sounds great and when pushed with an OD, it's pretty decent. I'm not sure why people are giving bad tone reviews. Maybe there is a problem within the circuit in their amps. Mine sounds fine. I'm going out on a limb here but I A/B'd it with my 72 Fender Silverface deluxe reverb and the tone is not much different with the reverb off with the volume on 4-5. Obviously the Fender cranked to 8 sounds pretty unbelievable and the Traynor doesn't have that lush Fender reverb. With regard to tone, the Traynor is really pretty good. I've been gigging steady for 7-8 years and I can tell you that this is a solid club amp. I push the clean it with a Maxon OD9 modded by Analogman and Keeley BD2. Both OD's sound really great with the clean channel. I don't use the gain channel at all.

Never failed me. Very solid and affordable.

I've contacted them about other products and they get back to you within a day or two. Very cool.

I own a few other amps and I never hesitate to bring this one out. I mainly use my Fender DR silverface but for gigs where I need a little more headroom, I take the Traynor. I think it's the best amp around in it's price range. You may want to change out the tubes for JJ's but like I said, the Sovteks didn't sound bad IMO. I think people tweak too much in general to find their sound. A lot of tone starts with the source (person) GUITAR >pickups>then amp. If a person is playing a thin/bright guitar with crappy pickups, that sound will translate.

As described by other reviewers. I think it was a 2005 model. Good features. Nice distortion. Not much reverb.

This is where this amp falls down. I could not get a good tone out of this amp. I heard someone playing a non-WR model that sounded terrible. I figured he didn't know how to adjust it. Guitar player mag rated it as editors choice, and I liked the looks of it and the features and the company so I bought it. Then I tried for a year to make it sound good with no luck. There is no bass response what so ever. It sounded ok on a few country leads where you need tons of treble, but other than that it was a disappointment. A friend bought the smaller version of this and took it to get it repaired because he thought the bass wasn't working correctly. I have since bought a Hot Rod Deluxe and love the tone. The Traynor does have a smoother distortion, but what good is that if you can't stand the original tone. Check out Bob's comments from Eurotubes.com. Most of his customers don't like the tone.

I'm sure this is a very reliable amp. I had mine for a year with no problems.

Taynor sounds like a good company to deal with. They have a great two-year warranty.

You've been warned. Don't buy this amp. Looks great. Great features. Good company. Lousy tone. I sold mine on Ebay.

Bought this baby back in 2005. Great looks, reliability, price and sound. Solidly built. No noise problems. Effects loop, reverb, presence control.

I play mainly in a church praise band. Some soft stuff where I need a nice clean sound and some classic rock type music where I need a good solid crunch plus a singing lead. It's great for all that.
This puppy is really too loud for what I do, I would buy the 15W model if I had to do over. I use a Marshall Power Brake to push the amp for a warmer sound and give me some room with the volume controls. Otherwise I am fiddling with the volumes between 1 and 1 1/2 in my environment.

I would not recommend it for real heavy metal shredding unless your using a distortion pedal to get your tone. If you want more of a Marshall tone go for the Traynor YCV50 Blue with the EL34 tubes.

It's got 2 channels, clean and overdrive. The overdrive has a boost switch to get you some more gain for leads. The footswitch has two buttons, one for clean/OD and the other for OD boost. The clean channel sounds great and warm, if you crank the volume past 5 or so it it gets a touch of bluesy crunch to it. The OD channel sounds great but if you push the gain past 5 or 6 (depending on your axe) it gets a little harsh sounding. The boost switch boosts the input from your axe to pump up your leads and get more of a singing tone to them.

I got a replacement tube set from Eurotubes which improved the sound. Highly recommended.

I have a Fender Strat and a Gibson Les Paul Classic. It sounds good with both, but especially with the Strat.

It's real solid, as I said before. I do use it without a backup. Never any problems.

No problems so no occasion to deal with the company but they have a great warranty and I hear they're great to deal with.

Been playing on and off for 35 years. If stolen I would pickup the 15W model (wine red) instead. I love the tone, don't hate anything except lugging it up and down stairs.

I compared it to a Fender Hot Rod, I liked the tone and features better.

I wish it had an anti-gravity device so it wouldn't be a bear to lug for my 47 year old arms.

The looks of this beast rock as much as the sound.

This is a basic combo amp, and has most of the features a serious player would need. The built-in reverb sounds great, and it has an effects loop and standby switch. My only complaint on features would be that the included footswitch does not turn the effects loop on and off. It changes channels and turns on the boost. It would be great if it'd control the effects loop. Other than that, no complaints! And mine came with a Traynor cover too.

This amp sounds fantastic. However, I do have to qualify that statement with one caveat...it really is true that you need to retube it. Some might say "why buy an amp that I have to immediately spend money buying new tubes for?" Well, even after purchasing new tubes, you get a great value of a tube amp. Any other tube amp with this kind of quality sound would cost much more than the price of this amp with new tubes. I'd read the reviews and saw that many suggested a retube, and I thought that might be unneccesary. I ordered the amp, and when it came in, I started tweaking with it and found that it sounded brittle. The factory Sovtek tubes just lacked that warmth anf fullness I was looking for in a tube amp. I was a little disappointed. And I decided to take the advice of my peers and try a retube. However, I did not "follow the wave" and go directly for JJs like so many. I'm sure they would sound alright, but I've read that the JJs are LOUD but lack some of the dynamics of other choices. I loaded mine with Electro Harmonix 12ax7EH preamp tubes and a matched pair of SED Winged C 6l6gc power tubes. And this amp came ALIVE!! There is no comparison to the amp that was delivered. The headroom increased dramatically. The clean channel had that great clarity and chimey quality, is very percussive and warm. You can strum, pick, tap...it all sounds great. Turn this thing up to about 2 and just let it go! I LOVE IT. The distorted channel has that creamy rich groovey sound. It's a growler. Love it...and I'm not using a very distorted guitar either. I have an American Telecaster HS, and I usually play in the middle position so that I'm playing with one humbucker and one single coil. Sounds great on both channels. If you want an affordable tube amp that will give you all the vintage tone, tone for days, GO BUY THIS AMP! It makes you want to play just to hear the tone.

I can't say much to the reliability since I have only had the amp about a month. No problems right out of the box. It is well made and sturdy. It should hold up over time.

I have not had to have any customer support.

I've been playing over 20 years and have tried several amps. I owned a Carvin 100 watt 212 X amp, and most recently a Vox 50watt Valvetronix, and have played on a variety of other amps both solid state and tube. This Traynor amp is the best tone I've had, and I love it. If it were stolen I'd buy another and retube it just the same. I do wish the footswitch controlled the effects loop. The 40 watts is perfect, it can get loud enough to jam with a live drummer in my studio, but also sounds great at low volumes. And you can turn it up without getting ridiculously loud, a problem I had with my Carvin. I never got that thing above 1. I can crank this one on up to 2 and push the tubes without being super loud, which is awesome. Also, for other varieties of distortion and special effects, I run a Digitech RP150 into the clean channel, and the amp responds well to it. The amp's distortion (with my SED retube) is a creamy retro sounding distortion, very groovey and awesome. If you want to get that more brittle dark british type distortion, you either want a different amp or a multieffects pedal. For the times when i want that kind of distortion, I just dial it up on my RP150 and the amp gives it to me! I suppose if that is your preference in distortion, you might want to go with the Traynor Blue amp, which has EL34 tubes in it and will go that direction more. If you want a classic sounding tube amp, the YCV40-WR will give you one awesome tube amp for a great price! You will love it!

*Amp purchesed around late 2005.
*This amp has been vary versite thus far. Been trying to find a low
powered amp w/ 2 channels that sounds good...that doesn't cost a
grand....wow is that almost impossible. would love a Koch!! but
whew..pricey little dude.
*2 Channels, effects loop & reverb.I wish it had a Master Volume and
independent Verb and Presence.
I rarely use the boost. For me it's just over the top. To loud,
adds way to much bottem...like a mutant fuzz pedal...just not my
thing. I think this is a Mod for the future. Probably put in a
resitor and seperate volume control. Amp has plaenty of power..still
to much. I like to be able to push the power tubes. Can do that
somewhat on the clean channel, not on the Lead.
*Mostly in a church setting playing comtemporary Worship...don't
worry...we rock. I rock out w/ some buds playin Blues and classic
rock stuff.

*I get nice cledan sound, vary Fenderish..not a lot of bottom. I
find the EZ controls pretty unresponsive at low volumes...at least
the bass control is. Heard other reviews that it has to much of a
high end tone no matter what you do...not so. You can cut the highs.
*The distortion channel ( It's more overdrive...but that's OK! )
Could use a little more bottom...but it crunches nicely. I deff. use
a boost pedal for leads. The stock boost is way to loud...to fat.
To much like a Fuzz. You might like that but not me. It's just
really out of character for the amp.
*I play a hand made guitar from Paul Beard of Beard Guitars. It's a
Strat body (Mahog/Maple Cap), modeled a 65' Strat neck..Ebony
fretboard..huge frets. Pearly Gates in Bridge (tapped),
Fender Silver Lace in Middle, S. Duncan SH2 in Neck (Tapped)
Only electric he ever made...I put it against any PRS, Tom Anderson,
Terry Macin...whatever and it's as good if not better. Also play a
Jimmie Vaughan Strat (Mex Neck) on a American Body with Texas
Special Pickups. Several other Guitars but these are the Mainstays.
As you can see I'm pushing good tones into the amp.
*Amp sounds great with Blues, Classic Rock, Alternative. Doesn't
do New Metal well...without out some crazy pedals and an EQ in the
EZ Loop.
*Don't find it to be noisy.

I've expeimented with several...many pedals...good ones...to cheap ones. Haven't re-tubed yet. I like to do a lot of study before I do that. I'm getting close.
Currently I plug into a Radial Tone Bone Over-Drive pedal..into a Arion "Tunulator" Over-Drive...don't laugh! Only 25 bucks but it's vary quiet, and works well for subtle breakup. Then at end of that chain I use a Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster cranked about half way...this makes this amp sing. I leave it on all the time. It will push the Power Tubes w/out changin the tone. I also use a Full Tone Full Drive II...this works good but the Radial Tone Bone is the Bomb!!! w/ In conjunction w/ the S.D. Pickup Booster it's amazing.

Any one having done a Mod? Love to know what you did.

So far vary reliable. Only thing that has happened is the nuts keeping the jacks for the effects loop vibrated loose and fell off. That's no bif deal. Tubes hard to get to...but on the other hand well protected.

Haven't needed it

So far been a great amp. I've had Fenders...Boogies...well this amp for the money I paid is awesome. I read about it in Guitar Player...they gave it an Editor's Pick of 5...they go 1-5. Never played it, just bought it off Mus. Freind. How good is that. If I keep this amp there are mods in the future.

Just taken delivery of this little 2 channel 40w monster(ette). Not a flawless piece of kit, but loud, solid and at times simply gorgeous! global volume control would be nice from an ease of use point of view, but then we need to get those valves cookin' don't we?

Sound wise this is tricky. On best behaviour it sounds superb. In clean mode (a bit hissy but nothing too scary) it can sound glass-like, ultra sensitive, responsive, warm and balanced in a way that wees all over the fender equivalent and sounds fairly near some decent "boutique amps" and certainly doesn't disgrace itself against the ubiquitous Twin which we also use (in fact i think I prefer it).

It seems to work wonderfully with my washburn semi which has been tweaked with some seymore duncan alnicos. The overdriven channel is however "sat on" lacking punch and definition and tricky to get sounding anything other than crappy. This oddly is not true when you kick in the boost switch at which point you get smooth, creamy, singing distortion which brings the amp back to life, once again being responsive and deep. Oddly despite other reviewers comments, i can't get it to crunch nicely, the guitar is as blues crunch orientated as you like but the amp seems to break up in a very civilised way lacking that bit of edgey ballsiness that you need- not one for metal. I recommend getting pedals to generate the sounds you are after because it is not a complete solution, but then this is true of all good amps. It has a certain character, and a community of people with suggestions on tweaking it. It not only shows up some its fairly illustrious competitors, but at this price point proves that amp modelling is dumb, crass and pointless. Really tasty genuine tube amps are now available to the masses. Worth trying other valves/extention cab.

Bare with me here- this amp is like a german car. It is superbly engineered and finished, but maybe not totally reliable. It will probably outlast most people/buildings but is inclined to chuck in the odd gremlin. There are reported probs with effects loop, hissing clean channel and hot valves in enclosed space means reduced tube life but that probably won't damage the PCB- The engineers are smarter than that. I will use this amp without backup until it gives me reason not to. It is certainly very solidly put together and uses some good components.

Very fast off the mark with assistance and highly personable and friendly with it- no corporate cow poo here. The warranty is excellent. Who else offers circuit diagrams and suggested tweaks with mid-priced amps these days?

As a musician of many years who has been through a lot of kit I can honestly say that I am totally chuffed to bits with this amp. It is not perfect but it does have that special something which makes you love it. Its more versatile and reliable than the vintage fender workhorses. It sounds better than the hotrods and equivalents. If you could get it to crunch a bit more and sound a bit fuller on the distortion channel you would have one hell of a piece of kit on your hands. As it is though, if someone nicked it i'd track them down and do something very nasty to them! The icing on the cake- it is the same colour as red wine- delicious!

I bought this amp and it was used, it was already a year and a half old BUT, it totaly kicks ass. It is versatile enough for any style of music, trust me. It has 2 channels and the overdrive channel has a boost button that really kicks the drive up nicely, but be careful, if you crank the gain it can get a little farty or muddy with the boost on. The reverb leaves a little to be disired but a least it has reverb. The one thing it does'nt have is a master volume and I would really like to have one but it sounds great without. I'll give it an 8 because the reverb is'nt the best and it does'nt have a master volume, but everything else is a 10.

Like I said before, this amp has every kind of sound you could want in it, you just gotta play with it a bit. To describe the clean channel I start like this. The morning of the day I bought the amp I went and bought a Fender Highway One Telecaster and I played it through a Fender Deluxe Reverb and man I thought it was one of the best clean sounds I had ever heard. The only one I had heard that was better was a Tele Deluxe Plus through a Fender Vibro King from the Fender Custom Shop. So with that said, this amp sounded better then the deluxe reverb with my Tele. It totaly screams with clarity when I use my Les Paul and I don't have the time to even get started on how good it sounded with my American Standard Strat, Jimi would've used one of these amps. I play hard, modern rock (Breaking Benjamins type stuff) and classic rock and the blues for fun and it suits me just fine, mind you I only use this for my clean sound and for a little bit of a gainy clean, for distortion I use my Marshall JCM 800 1x12 combo. No complaints at all this amp strives for perfection, mind you I should let you know that the original Sovtek tubes were all switched for JJ's. I'll never use anything else again but JJ's.

No problems, runs great, sounds great and its built like a tank. I am skeptical about tube amps so I always have a backup set of tubes but not a backup amp but, I can't see this amp failing for a long time.

It has a 2 year eve if you broke it waranty! Enough said.

This is probably the lowest priced amp in it's class and they could probably sell them for more then the competition sells there's for. I have been playing for 14 years and think I at least know a little bit about this stuff. I play it with a Fender American Standard Strat, Fender Highway One Tele and a Gibson Les Paul Swamp Ash Studio, a good selection of guitars and sounds. I tried Fenders (blues deville, hot rod de ville , hot rod deluxe and even a blues junior) for the sound I wanted and I was'nt half as satisfied with Fender as I was when I heard this beauty. I'll put it to you this way, as soon as I bought it I got insurance on it, in case it gets stolen or damaged, so I can get the money to get a new one. I love everything about it and hate nothing. I espescially love the look of it, with the brown tolex and the gold grill cloth. If you are a tube amp person this is a must have, actually any of the Traynor YC series for that matter, and if you are not you're an idiot. BUY THIS AMP!

2 Foot-switchable channels, series FX-loop, shared-presence & reverb.

the stock tubes (sovtek 3 12ax7 & 2 5881) sounds ok but i noticed that it breaks up so easily. both channels gave very usable sounds, especially the clean. there is a "brightness" switch on the clean channel that is quite nice on low volumes, but as the volume goes up, i find that the sound becomes sterile & harsh. the dirty channel has a boost switch. it's a little bit too loud for my taste once enganged.

like many others, i did invest on some tubes for both preamp (v1 & v2), phase inverter (v3) and the power tubes. so be prepared to spend another $100 for this. is it worth it? simple answer: if you want a better sound than the stock, yes! i didn't really notice much difference at first. Not until I put the old tubes back. There is a lot of difference, the distortion is a lot cremier and the clean just sparkles. oh yeah, the hiss on the clean channel is virtually gone.

here's what i use as an fyi ...

v1/v2 - TungSol 12ax7 (re-issue)
v3 - JJ ECC83-S (balanced)
power - JJ 6l6GC (matched)

my simple setup is:
LesPaul Studio -> TU2 -> SD SFX-03 -> YCV40 -> (send) DG-STOMP (return)

the DG acts as my master volume. too bad this amp did not come with that. but not an issue, the amp still sounds good even at low volumes.

btw, for those people complaining about the bottom-end, they are partially right. the clean does have the "oomph", but not so much the other channel. however, there is good news. i tried hooking up an Mesa closed-back 1x12 cab, and let me tell you, it's like magic.

unfortunately, you have to spend a lot of money to get the best out of this puppy. you might end up spending as much money as buying a named-brand amps. hence, not a perfect score.

seems stable. but i'm worried about the heat on top of the amp. since it's a PCB amp, it might break one day. there was a little bit of a hiss when i replace the tubes. but after swapping them out, the hiss is gone.

i tried contacting them via email about the hiss on the clean channel. the first email bounced-back and the other, i don't know if they received it. never heard back yet. warranty seems super. 2-year on anything even if you break it and 10 years on the cab. can't beat that!

i mainly play in a christian praise/worship band. we do cover a lot of genre and this amp seems capable of coping. i originally purchased this amp to amplify my PODXTL and as a backup. It ended up that my XTL is now collecting dust as backup! i'll probably look into buying something else if it ever breaks, not because i don't like it. just to have a fresh new sound! this amp seems a keeper if treated well, though! i'm not worried.

Made 2004-2005. Very versatile amp for most music I play which includes hard rock - rock - blues. Remember, an amp is only versatile if its sounds are usable, and almost every sound this amp makes is usable. Two channels, switchable clean and dirty with a bright switch on clean channel and a boost on dirty. Series effects loop, no headphone jack. There are only a few minor things that I wish this amp had - a speaker simulated headphone jack like on other traynor YCV models, a parallel effects loop, an adjustable boost level, and switchable reverb, none of them dealbreakers. I use all the features that the amp provides. So far I have only used this amp at home in an apartment - so frankly it is way too powerful for me even with a THD hotplate. However, it does sound pretty good at low volumes, and I wanted an amp that I could gig with so I compromised. This amp is "mostly tube", meaning that power and pre amp are tube, but that some solid state components do enter the signal path . . .it sounds and plays like a tube amp to me.

This amp can make a lot of usable sounds - in this sense it is a hundred times more versatile than a digital modeling amp. That said, its probably not the best amp for metal - but it can probably cover almost all other popular music styles and can do a decent metal impression with boost engaged. The clean channel gives a decent amount of headroom and distorts nicely when pushed. The distortion is great for most rock - you can actually tell the difference between most chord variants and the amp responds well to pick attack. Also the distortion (and clean) channel's character really changes with different guitars and pickup types. With high output humbuckers and boost engaged this amp can get into very hard rock/metal territory, although probably isn't the best option if that is your primary style. I am using this amp with a PRS custom 24 and a MIM strat. With the PRS and this amp you can cover a lot of ground - searing distorted riffs on the high output bridge pickup, bluesy grit on the "in-between" pickup positions, and smooth jazzy sounds with the neck pickup. The clean channel always sounds great, but on some settings I can never quite dial in the perfect distorted tone Also, despite the PRS versatility, single coils probably complement the clean channel best. The amp is not noisy, especially with the noise reduction on my hotplate.

I havn't used this amp hard so i dont know. It is two channel and PCB construction - so there are more parts to break and it is harder to repair - but the overall build quality is very nice.

2 year even if you break it warranty seems good

Been playing around 12 years. This amp and my two guitars are all I currently own. I have also owned an old yamaha solid state combo, a line 6 combo and an Ampeg V4 head/marshall 212 stack. The line 6 was a nice lightweight/versatile amp, but very stale and uninspiring. I used the Ampeg extensively when I used to gig/play in a band. The Ampeg was the loudest amp I have ever heard, but only did one thing well - loud and clean. The Traynor is a perfect compromise, providing punchy tube sound, but also a lot of versatility. I just wish I had bought an amp like this years ago - who needs a stack anymore - mics and PA's have been around for a while people! Just about the only thing I hate about this amp is that it has PCB mounted knobs and tube sockets, and the control knobs turn too easy and look cheap. I compared this to similar amps in the price range(ie Fender HRD) as well as the THD univalve. The Fender's distortion wasn't as nice, and it lacked independent EQ's which I like. The Univalve+speakers was a little too spendy, and based on reviews I was concerned about clean headroom in a gigging situation. I give it a 9, because although it is not a perfect amp, it is one of the best of its type in this price range.

Features have all been stated pretty well. I wont waste your time here.

I used a Epiphone Les Paul Custom all stock and an American Std. Fender Strat with Lace senser pickups. I play all types of music except Metal. Amp ran rather quiet with or without pedals in the line.

Now for the bad news. This amp was EXTREMELY bright. I think its the cab that it comes in. very small and thin. It could NOT be brought down to less than ear piercing even with the bass maxed and the treble on 1. Cleans were good at a lower volume but once cranked it was just to sterile and thin and trebely for my taste. I thought maybe it was my ears until I brought it to rehersal and everyone agreed, it was horridly trebely. The gain is ok but even at that theres just NO bottom on this amp.

Didnt have any issues with it and seemed to be something that would laste, though I didnt keep it long enough to find out.

Didnt need to ask them anything. Didnt use it.

I have been playing guitar for 28 years, Played through Marshalls, Fenders, Peaveys, Mesa's, Crate and a few others. Mostly all tube amps. If it was stolen I would thank the guy that took it. This amp may be fine ran through an extention cab, maybe that would be a way to give it the bottom it SOOOooo lacked. I gigged with it 2 times, miched and non Mich'ed, didnt matter. It was just a BAD sound.

This is a 40 watt 6l6 amp made in 2004. Fantastic clean channel, good overdrive channel. This amp works great for reggae, ska, funk, classic rock, etc . . . pretty much everything that I can throw at it. Has 2 channels, boost on the gain channel, bright switch on the clean channel. Effects loop, speaker out, and reverb are about all that I wanted from an amp. I use this amp to play at home, jam with friends and on occasional gigs. 40 watts is plenty of power to play out, but can be tamed enough for home practise too.

I use an ES-335 with paf-style pickups (Seth Lover Bridge, and '59 Neck). This amp sounds fantastic clean. I compared it to several fender amps (Deluxe Reissue, Vibrolux, Hot Rod Deluxe) and the Traynor really surprised me. It definately has that Fender style sparkly clean sound . . . Cleans are good and strong right up to gigging volumes (although I bought the extension cab and have been using it with that - it's probably a little quieter on it's own). On the lead channel I usually leave the overdrive set to just past the point of breaking up, so that I can roll back on my guitar's volume knob and clean it up a bit. Again I was surprised, this amp sounds sort of like an overdriven bassman - a little fendery, a little marshally. When the gain is cranked up you can get some nice AC/DC style sounds, but to do heavy metal you would probably need a pedal. About my only complaint is that at very low volumes the amp has a slight but noticable hiss on the clean channel. When you turn the volume up to 1 or above, you won't notice it, but if you're practicing very quietly it might bug you. The gain channel is dead silent at all volumes. One other thing - This amp loves pedals! There are a lot of Pink Floyd/Radiohead/Cure sounds that can be coaxed from this amp . . . and the effects loop isn't noisy at all.

The tubes heat up quite a bit in the back of the amp, but that's normal. It would be nice if there was a built in fan blowing directly on the tubes to extend their life, but that's a minor gripe. Nothing has gone wrong thus far . . .

I've sent off a few emails to yorkville sound and always had very quick responses. They're a good company to deal with. The two year warrenty is also pretty decent.

I've been playing for about 6 years. If stolen or lost, I would definately buy this amp again. I don't hate anything about this amp . . . maybe a master volume would be nice (so that you don't have to keep changing settings around when changing volume), and knobs that are a little harder to turn would also be good (you have to memorize settings because the knobs move very easily). This amp definately holds its own against the fender, marshall, and kustom amps that I tested it against. Definately a good buy.

Has everything I need from an amp. I love the auto-bias feature. Other features are already mentioned below.

I love the way this amp sounds. My setup goes Schecter C1->Boss GT8->DBX 215 EQ-> Traynor. The clean channel is beautiful (it can have a little too much treble at times, but just turn down the treble knob), and the distorion is nice. I did change the tubes to JJ's (which helped beef up the distortion slightly), but I also use my DBX EQ unit for tailoring the distortion channel to my sound.

If you want to hear the sound I'm getting from this amp, check out some song samples from my band's site http://daysdrive.com/music.htm The song "You're a Hypocrite" is a good example. The guitar was recorded using a Shure Beta 57a placed directly in the center of the speaker, about half an inch from the amp.

Overall, the amp is not noisy, and it can handle almost any style you want to play (except for metal).

P.S. I highly recommend the matching extension cab. It really opens up the amp. Without it, the amp can sound a little thin; however, once the cab is added, the sound really gets full.

Haven't had any problems with it. I use it without a backup.

I've been playing guitar for ten years, and this amp ended my relentless search for a good amp. After driving myself crazy looking at Mesas, Fenders, Marshalls, vintage stuff, and others, I quickly fell for this amp. It looks and sounds great...is easy to transport...is auto-biasing...and is very affordable.

Features and ease of use are great. The details are all stated in the other reviews so I won't bother.

I mostly play Les Pauls through it, but a Strat sounds great through it too. The amp itself is not noisy at all. Boosters and drive pedals can give it some hum, but that's normal. I don't care much at all for the gain channel. Not bad, but it just doesn't suit me.
I run my overdrive and boost pedals into the input and all other effects into the fx loop. I changed all of the tubes to JJs and they made a difference but it wasn't huge IMO. I have an Electro Harmonix English Muff'n preamp/overdrive pedal that I use with this amp and it totally changes it's sound. Read below for another review that talks about matching this pedal with this amp. He's absolutely right.
I don't use the gain on this pedal at all. Just a clean boost. Lately I've been using 2 overdrive pedals together before the English Muff'n. The sound is spectacular. I use a modded TS-7 and a Bad Monkey. The combination of these pedals really make this amp scream. It's a fairly loud amp, but it seems like it should be louder for 40 watts. I have an old 15 watt tube amp that comes close to being as loud. IMO the clean channel doesn't have a very good natural overdrive. It gets pretty muddy when I crank it up. Works best for me at 5 or under using overdrive pedals. The speaker starts farting and burping if I give it too much bass too.

No problems yet. Built like a tank. I do have a problem with the footswitch though. The plastic nut that holds the cable to the footswitch broke. Don't use the footswitch, but I still want it fixed.

Don't know. Heard it's all good. I'll find out.

I've had this amp for about a year now. Bought it new. Been playing about 18 yrs. Found out about this amp on guitar-jam forum. I have 4 tube amps so I've got others to compare to the Traynor. I recently bought a used Peavey Bravo and in some ways I like the Traynor better, but it just doesn't have the deep body that the Bravo has. The Bravo has a very meaty growl. The thing that makes the Bravo different mostly though is that it doesn't need pedals.
Overall with the right pedals I can make this amp sound just about any way I want. And I've been liking it a lot lately since I've been running 3 overdrives lined up. Until now I didn't think this amp could do metal. For the money, I'd say it's not a bad amp at all. I like it more than the Hot Rod Deluxe by far.

2005 model, all the same features as previously posted. An XLR out would have been nice (read below).

Sounds really nice, but it's not a loud 40 watts. I play in a band and I have to mic it - even with the nifty extension cab. I'm selling it this week on Ebay, which I'll reget later, I'm sure.

I use Gibsons (LP Jr and SG) through a moderate effects board (English Muff'n, TS808, and an EQ). I can really dial in a plexi tone this way.

I like to record with it but I'm still experimenting with mic placement (the sound I hear in the room is always different than what goes on tape). I wish that's why it had an XLR out (and for live gigs, too)

I had some issues with the clean channel before I realized that the speaker had crapped out. Now I can dial it to 6 or 7 before a nice overdrive kicks in. When dimed I still get some rubbish from the speakers, but that's to be expected driving 40 watts.

The overdrive didn't please me until I added the EQ pedal through the fx loop. Now I use it all the time.

This thing is a tank, but I can't afford to keep it and buy a new one.

Once I figured out that my speaker was blown, the Customer Service guy (Carl M) helped me get a new speaker ASAP (it was still under warranty). Thanks Carl! I always received good service from the Traynor/Yorkville crew.

Playing 15 years. I like the tone but it doesn't cut through a loud band's beatings. I say "You know, we can all turn down a little..." only to have the guys return to the same volume five minutes later." An old complaint, to be sure.

It's a good amp. I play with the mids cut, so I'm sacrificing some oomph there, but I don't want to place volume ahead of tone.

I just feel that it's a shame to have to mic it even with the cool extension cab. We never play in places larger than bars and my little wine-red friend just gets lost in the mix.

In another setting I would love this amp. For who I play with, it's just not cutting it power-wise.

Mine was manufactured in 2005. The amp is exactly what I need in terms of versatility. I play old school to modern rockin blues and classic rock - originals also. It's a dual channel amp, each with it's own eq section, bright switch on the clean channel, boost on the dirty channel. All are footswichable (except the bright switch). Only feature I would like to have seen would have been a master volume for both channels. Big deal.
I have been gigging with it since I got it 8 months ago and have fallen in love with the tones this amp creates. For me, both channels are very usable and there has always been plenty of headroom. Unlike some other reviewers, I really like the reverb. A few months aftre I bought the amp, I bought the matching extension cab, and the amp truly came alive! If you own this amp, bet the extension cabinet. It has taken the amp to another level.

I use a Gibson Blueshawk with Seymour Duncan p-90hot pickups, a PRS Tremonti SE with Seymour Duncan 59s and a stock Telecaster Custom.
Thru this amp, each guitar has it's own voice and they are all distinctly different. It's all good! This is the quietest tube amp I've ever owned. The variety of tones covers everything from nice clean and distinct notes and chords to really creamy distortion (the good kind). The clean channel (when driven past 5) breaks up just right - incredible. I think the addition of the ext cab has helped in this area. Same goes for the dist channel - way more musical after the adddition of the ext cab. I use pedals (old cry baby wha, marshall comp, dod chorus, voodoo labs sparkle drive and dod delay). But the dirty channel allows you to grab a nice ZZTop kinda rhythm tone and still throw a drive pedal on top for soloing.

Have not experienced any probs at all - and the warranty is killer.

They are exceptional - when I ordered the ext cab, it came in the wrong covering (they switched the tolex for the 2006 models). I emailed them wanting to know what was up? They emailed me back the next day saying they were making a limited run of cabs with the old stle covering,, and they would handle everything for me to get me the right one. Awesome customer service. (Thanks again Carl)

My overall rating on this is extremely high as I am extremely happy with this amp and cab combo.

Reverb, FX loop, all tube, Auto-biasing (this feature is fantastic and is a time saver too), 40 watts, 12" Celestion G12 Vintage 30, Accutronics spring reverb. Wish it had a headphone jack and another input for a 2nd guitar. Bought my amp new in 2005.

This is a versatile sounding amp (even more so if you have the right tube's in place) with plenty of power for my inside gigs. Pre-amp tubes are a slight pain to change since you have to remove a handful of screws to access them.

For a tube amp it is very, very quiet. I use a Schecter C-1+ and can't believe how fantastic this amp sounds. I ditched the stock Sovtek tubes and slapped in some Tung-Sol 5881's and Electro Harmonix 12AX7EH's. The stock Sovteks sound okay, but don't have a good bottom end or provide player-induced harmonics very well. Replacing them with the above mentioned tubes gave me more sustain, a much deeper bass and allowed me to attain some "modern" type rock sounds, not quite Death-metal however (a pedal can rectify this though). If I want to play some classic rock or blues I just roll the gain back. Clean channel is very nice at all volume levels with either of my tube set-ups, although not quite as good as a Fender tube amp it's still better than most amps I've played through. The reverb section is very good, but the reverb control doesn't kick in until you reach 8 on the dial. For overall sound I give it an 8 since nothing is perfect, but in its price range I feel this amp is peerless.

So far so good. Build quality is great, much better than my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. The wiring inside and out is neatly arranged and the cabinet construction looks very good too.

Haven't had the need to call customer support.

Overall, this amp is a steal and an unbelievable value. I just noticed Traynor raised the price on them so the street price in the USA is around $700+. If I lost this amp I would unquestionably buy a new one, even at the new price. I stress enough how cool the auto tube biasing is. Swapping power tubes literally takes 1 minute, allowing you to change the tonal variety from the amp. There is nothing I hate about this amp, just a few additions I wish were there (2nd input and headphone jack).

2005 model. Very versatile but not for everything. the ususal FX loop, chnl sel, reverb... etc.
40W is plenty for most situations.

I use a knock off archtop that is an old Vantage with Humbuckers. It is a fat hollow guitar that is surprisingly very versatile with this combo. I play in a Christian praise and worship band at a youth centre so the styles range from clean subtle nuance to blues to country twang to heavier rock. this amp is very versatile no doubt. I can get reasonable facsimiles of all those styles except for a real good JAZZ or HEAVY metal sound. I say facsimiles because all the sounds while very good, are not quite the original (if you are comparing to Marshall / Fender et al). That might be a good thing or it might not. I found that this amp, for example lacks the authoratative OD of a good Marshall- sure it's good, but no way can this amp compare to the balls of real EL34 cranked.. c'mon... In addition, when playing country chicken picken and honky tonk,, it's close, but compare it to a vintage or a new Fender all tube unit like my buddie's Super, or a new DRRI... the reverb is No way near as lush and the clean tones are not as good. I agree with one of the guys who compared it to the VOx.. I use a digital delay and it sounds really good for the mid U2 stuff. Having said all that, its is a very good sounding tube amp with the vibe of a good tube amp and responds like it should... it's jut a bit different which is good right? I am giving it an 8 because I am spoiled and compared it to a beautiful Marshall I used to own and also my buddies Super Reverb SLiverface... so those are the yardsticks.. like it or not.

Built like it's a NHL hockey player in the 7th game of the championship .. Made in Canada..

excellent rep.. haven't needed them yet ...

If you compare it to the obvious choiced it is very good but doesn't measure up to the Hallmarks in my opinion. But for a straight forward combo at 40+ lbs to yank and carry to a gig and cover all the basics it's very close. I did replace the dreadful tubes with replacements though which were much better.. I rented 2 units before I bought and have been playing since 1984 in various forms and on various stages... so this amp wasn't a surprise. It is good, infact very good, but if you do compare and you will... you will know what I mean. in the end if you ask soem one in the audience or your wife, they probably wont be able to intelligently reapond which is better or know.. the response i get on this amp is 'good'.. so when I get my new Deluxe I will respond then also for now it's a good amp.

I bought this thing new a few years ago. Not sure what year exactly. Probably 2004, though. Very much like an old Fender with a gain channel added. The gain channel has a boost, but that does not, I repeat, DOES NOT mean that it will be enough for a solo boost in the middle of song played live. Sorry, but I'm a stickler about being able to hear myself play a solo and have the audience hear it.

I would probably like it better if you could switch the bias for EL34s or EL84s. I love any tube in the EL family. That clean tone warmth is just perfect. I also own a Mesa/Boogie Maverick and it has the second best clean I've ever heard. The best is my new Genz Benz El Diablo 100. You wouldn't think it, but running a pair of single coils into that clean channel and running the speaker output to 1 12" speaker with an open back is just fucking incredible!

The tone quality is good for being made in Canada, and the hum is not much at all for a combo. This is due to autobiasing by Traynor, kudos for that innovation, by the way. The clean channel is good on its own, but it does not respond well with the pedals I've used on it except in one case. I ran a TS9 and a DS1 at the same time on the clean channel, and then to top it off for a solo, I stacked a Digitech Bad Monkey on top of that. Can you say Eric Johnson solo tone? The clean sounds fine. I just have this thing about channels not having a gain control, even if it is "clean." If I want it clean, I'll make it clean myself, and if I want it dirty, then vice versa.

Anyway. The gain channel. Normally what I do is run whatever guitar I'm using (PRS McCarty, Gibson Explorer, Hamer USA Centaura, Hamer USA Diablo) into a Crybaby, Visual Sound Jekyll and Hyde, DS1, TS9, DigiDelay and then the amp. I don't use all of those distortion pedals at the same time. I use one to suit my gain needs for whatever it is I want for that song and put the gain on about 6. That's what I usually like to do. On its own, the amp gain is nice for a 6L6. When the Hyde from the Jekyll and Hyde is added, all hell breaks loose and it is gain central. The distortion cleans up expecially nicely when you roll back on your guitar volume. If you play rock, you will need something to give you more distortion. You pick what it is, but you will need SOMETHING. You like jazz? Not warm enough for my tastes. Probably a 6L6 vs. EL34/84 thing. You like blues? It's perfect if you want a clean channel and a gain channel.

It's never broken down on me. I would NEVER use it on a gig without a backup simply because I NEVER go to gigs without a backup. You never know what kind of shit a tube amp will pull on you, especially if there's bad wiring where you're playing or if you accidentally knocked a tube loose and didn't notice. This amp very conveniently takes care of that problem, though, as there are clamps around both of the power tubes. Kudos to Traynor again. But tube amp guys like me put up with bad occurrences like that because we think the tone is worth it. And it is. If I had no backup and I wasn't so organized and nit-picky, I wouldn't worry at all, unless the tubes were nearing the end of their life span.

Never dealt with them.

It's nice. It's got things I like and things I don't like. Give it a spin, and see if you like it. One last thing. The knobs are very easily knocked out of place, so memorize your favorite settings. If you think this isn't warm enough for you, try the Maverick I mentioned.

All-tube combo utilizing five Russian12AX7s and a pair of Russian-made 6L6s output. That?s right, the best METAL tubes on the market. This combo includes switchable clean and distortion channels, reverb, effects loop and a footswitch channel. The tube biasing is done automatically with a built-in matching circuit. The top-mounted controls include bass, treble, midrange and volume controls for each channel and the overdrive has separate volume and gain knobs and a push button that takes it from blues overdrive to HEAVIER METAL TERRITORTY. Both channels share presence and reverb.

I play my 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom 20th. And find the distortion channel to be very capable. Its sounds ranged from tube distortion blues to a decent metal mid crunch. For those of you that need to peel the paint off the wall buy a peddle.

Built like a tank. Even has a metal cover for the speaker to keep your guitar from going trough it.

Never had to contact them.

I have to push the fact that can easily be used for METAL since a few reviewers seem to think otherwise. But then again some of the reviewers on here review Epiphones as 10?s in quality and Carvin a 10 in customer service, when the facts are obvious. I passed on Marshall, Crate, Carvin, Peavey, and Randal when I bought this amp. I?ve owned them all and I play METAL. A tweed grill does not make and amp sound vintage blues. LOL.

The thing I like most about the amp is you can change the speaker and tubes to get either a more vintage sound or a screaming metal tone.

Great distortion channel from muddy blues to Hendrix fuzz. Good clean channel and the vintage 30 has bite to it.

I run it with an American Tele, phase 90, ehx small clone, and a crybaby. Breaks up nicely on stage. Sounds as good as my rhythm players JCM 2000 Triple Lead Series.

Pick one up and thats it.

Traynor is great and it's Canadian. No Americans or Mexicans

Give it a try and if you like it buy it. You'll never regret it.

2 channels (all tube) and a boost. Both actually USEFUL channels. Great gain, great clean. You can not get an amp that does that at this price. The clean is pretty - nearly Fender pretty, the distortion blows me away, and the boost is all I need for a solo.
I use it live and with a very loud drummer. Everyone keeps telling me to turn it down. I like it on 5.
I wish I could boost the clean channel like I can the dirty one. I keep the brightness switch always on, but it isn't footswitchable.

I play a Fender Fat Strat and it's perfect for my style. It accentuates every sound out of the guitar, maybe a little too much. I had no idea my guitar could sound so good. Picks up the single coil hum noticeably when you're not playing.

It sounds freaking wicked. I got the feeling the minute I turned it on that this was what I was looking for. Blues, rock, clean, dirty, all in one place. It was the 'fat' 'thick' tube tone I could never pin down before.

I've had it six months, lugged it around to many a show and a practice. It survives my driving so I would say I depend on it. The tubes automatically rebias, so apparently it continues to sound good as they deteriorate. It's solid and comes with a 2 year warranty, 10 years for the wooden cabinet. FYI it's HEAVY. 50 lbs and they're not kidding. Might want to put some casters on if you're not up for it.

I had a question or two for Yorkville, who make Traynor, and they only took a day or two to get back to me via e-mail. They're very personable and I don't doubt they would be helpful if anything were to happen.

This is a monster of an amp. I've been playing 6 years and I got rid of everything I had but my guitar when I bought it. I'd prefer it had a clean boost along with the dirty, as I'd rather not have an $80 pedal that just turns up the volume. I spent months going to every shop in town, playing big names with big prices. I had settled on a $600 Blues Deluxe, that I had to get a $200 distortion pedal for, until I came across this beauty. If I had $2000, I'd probably go get the best clean amp and the best crunch amp and stick a pan pedal between them, but thanks to the Traynor I don't have to.

Nice Features. Gigged with the amp several times thus far and was able to achieve great results. It has bass, mid, treble, reverb, presence and sepate controls for the drive channel. Very nice looking amp..Sovtek tubes work really well..I did the Eurotubes blues package and to be honest, it sounds a little better both on clean and drive channels, but not a huge difference..THe Sovteks sound almost as good..Don't rush into getting new tubes. Especially if you don't gig or record. Vintage 30 Celestion sounds good.

Using two Gibson SG's, a 61 reissue and a standard >Keeley mod blues driver > Keeley mod TS9 > clean channel of Traynor..Small set-up but sounds good for my smaller club gigs..I can achieve good tone at low volumes..I might try the Groove Tube Coke bottle power tubes at some point..I'd like to only have to use one pedal..I was thinking about getting an anolog delay such a maxon or ibanez but I'm not sure yet..Sometimes I use a Boss DD5 but only for a couple of Floyd covers..Otherwise, Mainly the keeley mod pedals..TO me, running the pedals into the clean channel sounds much better. The tone is fatter and well-rounded..Good stuff..The sound is very out front..Made my playing much cleaner..It will not mask your ability like a unit such as the POD or Boss multi-effects unit..I once tried a POD unit and did a run..Man, it was really good and I felt like I could do anything..HOWEVER< I was much more sloppy and it totally masked my true ability..I love tubes amps because they help you play more musical and tasteful..

Very reliable..well constructed..A+

Quality support..I had a question about the amp and they answered the same day via e-mail..Extremely nice..

Great alternative to fender or marshall..I've heard the new fender amps are very unreliable..I walked past a dude at Guitar Center and smelled the twin reverb he was playing through..The amp was smokin!! Literally! I guess he turned it off and tried the guitar through another amp..The traynor has a wonderful warranty and great service..IF you're looking for great tone at a small price, this is the amp..

*Eurotubes upgrade from stock Sovteks. you know already, minus 1 for not having another input or line out

used with G&L USA Legacy and Epiphone Elitist LP, clean channel sounds flat compared to my fender deluxe reverb reissue no matter what the EQ and presence settings. The reverb is also lacking the warmth of the deluxe. BUT the distortion with Eurotubes is OUTSTANDING - extremely smooth and musical, very very satisfying.

seems rock solid and comes with a great warranty

I've been playing for several years now and have finally earned enough money to build a respectable amount of gear. This amp loses points for it's flat clean channel. It breaks up at low frequencies way before higher ones (in other words, unevenly). This isn't the case with the deluxe reverb. Some have said that the clean is "fenderesque", but I'd have to strongly disagree. The distortion channel is great with Eurotubes, very smooth and musical.

Tubes, Footwitch between Clear and Overdrive channel. Control for gain on overdrive channel. Input for one guitar only. Also own extention cabinet.

I play a Mexican Stran with Kinman blues pickups. clean channel is fantastic. Very Fenderesque. I think the overdrive channel sounds better with the original Sovtek tubes, but the clean channel is better with Eurotubes replacements. Sound is very nice -clearly different from non-tube amps.

Unfortunately, something on the amp board (don't know the technical name) got fried within three weeks of my receipt of the amp. The tubes were fine, but the board had a smell of burnt something. I have never heard of this from anyone reviewing this product on the Internet, so hopefull it is an anomoly. However, my rating reflects this. Fit, finish and contractions otherwise perfect.

Sent it back to Musician's Friend. The company recommends using music stores, but they are too far to be convienient. There is a no-fault 2 year warrranty on everything and 10 years on some things.

Assuming my replacement works fine, I would defintely get another Traynor. The value can't be beat. I don't think it is the same as a full Marshall stack, as some have said, but individual guitars and effercts make such a huge difference.

I bought instead of Marshall or Mesa Boogies based on sound quality, price and reliability. I hope the last category improves for me.

Bought new in early '04. Details on all tech info can be found at http://www.yorkville.com/products.asp?type=32&cat=18&id=252.

Overall, this is a great amp. The Wine Red version lets you look different and sound different from everyone else out there.

The controls are very active, and allow a wide variety of sounds to be created. This amp has lots of treble, if you need it. Otherwise, the EQ gives the ability to shape the tone.

40w of tube power is plenty for clubs and medium size churches for both clean and overdrive. Beyond that, you'd use a mic anyway. Lower power means it's easier to get great sound at low volumes.

I play jazz, some blues and "latin" jazz/rock. I really don't push the overdrive real high, just enough to give a nice edge. It can turn out good loud distortion if you want it.

The stock Sovtek tubes are fine, but I replaced them with the Eurotubes' High-Gain package. Let me tell you, this is well worth the money. You get a much fuller clean sound and a smoother, more predictable overdrive.

The one thing I wish this amp had would be a master volume. It's a pain to set the individual channel volumes if you need your overall sound louder or softer.

I mostly play a Gibson ES-135, as well as an Austin AU786WR. I'm mostly playing jazz, some blues and "latin" jazz/rock/fusion. Most people compare the YCV40 to a Fender amp. Although it has some similarities, it is so much more. I'd say you get some Vox sounds out of it as well. Overall, just a nice rich saturation in the overdrive if you don't push it too far. Most people just want to blast, but this amp gives you so many tone options, so explore them all!
Great for jazz sounds with your own flair.

The best thing about tubes is that you can cut through all the other sounds around you and be heard, without resorting to shear volume. At my church, I play in a 6 piece rock band with horns and a 5-person choir. When I need to be heard, I am heard. It isn't because of volume, but the tubes in this great 40w amp.

As Traynor advertises, this amp is really quiet. Great for recording because all you hear is the music.

A note on the clean channel. Some people have complained that the clean channel breaks up when turned up loud. This is to be expected, and even desired. The bottom line is that you get plenty of clean volume before it breaks up, somewhere around halfway up the volume knob. But if you really needed clean volume beyond that, you should be using a mic anyway, or go to the 80w version. The breakup is predictable and sounds great. You can get a great Mark Ribot sound doing this. Remember, the original overdrive sound was from driving a clean channel, as overdrive channels hadn't been added yet.

I've only gigged this on a limited basis, but so far have had no problems. The construction is solid and the 2-year warranty about says it all. Every time I turn it on , I get great sound. I have a Line 6 POD as a backup, but haven't had to use it for backup.

This is one of the reasons I bought this amp. When I called Traynor, people I spoke with were willing to take the time to answer my many questions and explain their product. I haven't had to deal with any repair or warranty issues, but I would bet that they would take care of any problems.
Again, look at the 2 year unlimited warranty. Traynor is serious about building a quality product that is a good value. So much music equipment is overpriced, it's really refreshing to find a product like this.

I've been playing guitar for 25 years, and this is the first amp I've bought new. Everyone who checks it out thinks it's great. I'd definitely buy another one.
When buying an amp, or any other piece of musical equipment, trust your ears and buy on tone, forget about the label. This amp is as good or better than brands costing quite a bit more.

Yet another follow up from Tommy Larson...

YCV 40 owners: Go out and buy the English Muff'n pedal from Electro Harmonix. They're expensive ($190 from Musician's Friend), but the two were made for each other.

My Traynor is now a Marshal plexi. Yes, I'm the same guy who said that people who exaggerate shouldn't post their uninformed ramblings on this site, but I'm not bullshitting here; this is the tone that shaped Led Zeppelin and AC-DC, among others.

I've removed most of my pedals and now run a Gibson through a TS808 and the English Muff'n into my Traynor. I don't try to approxiamte Jimmy Page's and Angus Young's tone - no need to - I've got it! Feel free to contact me at the address below to discuss the amp and/or how I use the Muff'n (gain set on "0", scooped mids).

You've heard about the sweet tone produced by early Marshall Plexis? This is it. I was floored. My bandmates are reevaluating their equipment.

I'd take these two indestructable components (the Traynor and the Muff'n) anywhere.

Traynor always answers emails quickly and their warranty says it all.

Alone, the YCV 40WR and the English Muff'n will end up as coveted components. Together, they'll put Marshall out of business (not really, because there will always be people who want one. But for those of us who don't have $3000 to drop on a head and cab, the difference is imperceptible.

As I said earlier, I loved my aTraynor before, but it was missing something. The English Muff'n was (is) it. I'm not on their payroll, but I'm more than happy to shout out "this combination is the shit!" Use the money you were going to spend on the WR extension cab and buy this pedal!

Follow up to previous review. Thank you fellow Traynor owners (and Yorkville) for your input!

Set up:
Gibson Les Paul Jr. into...
Korg tuner
Guaytone sustain
Wah pedal
TS-808.

Guyatone chorus and Guyatone Delay go through the FX loop.

My posting below dealt with how crappy the 40WR behaved when we did an outside gig. Well, after alot of reader feedback and some investigation, I've learned - get ready for this - that outdoor gigs are hard on amps! I was panicing because the amp that sounded so great during practice sounded like crap once turned past six outside.

Well, here's what I've learned since:

It's only 40 watts. Playing it outside with a lound band was simply pushing it too hard (even with the extension cabinet).

A good mic (and proper placement) goes a LONG way. Most everyone that doesn't own a stack needs to mic in certain situations. The YCV40 sounded BIG once I learned a few tricks.

Memorize you knob settings because they turn easily during transportation. Always check them after set up to make sure they're wher they should be. Like someone said earlier, a gentle breeze is capable of moving them. Ha!

Use the FX loop. The delay and chorus shine now that I run them through the loop.

Get it off the ground.

Make sure that you are using speaker cable when connecting to a cabinet. I was using instrument cable and loosing an important touch of tone. This may sound rudimentary, but it's important.

The type of guitar you use and the tubes you replace the originals with GREATLY affect channel 2's headroom. Read the other postings carefully to see how the owners retubed and what they play. I am using the blues package from Bob at Eurotubes and the break-up begins at 11 O'clock (mostly because of my LP Jr.'s P-90's, I suspect). I've gotten more headroom playing a Strat, but I so much enjoy being a Gibson bad boy...

This thing in bomb-proof.

Yorkville was one of the first to respond to my cries for help after the outdoor gig. I also received some very helpful tips from fellow Traynor owners (Thanks again, guys).

After a bit of hesitation, I'm back to loving by wine-red tone box. I wish a cover came with the amp and cabinet, though.

2005. Made in Canada. 40 watt, all tube, 2 channel 1x12 combo. 3 12AX7's up front (two preamp and the phase inverter) and 2 5881's. Reverb is solid-state driven. The 12" speaker is a Celestion Vintage 30, and the amp is covered in a very nice, wine red/ox-blood. Channel 1 is distortion and Channel 2 is clean. Channel switching via top panel on amp itself or through supplied footswitch. Footswitch controls channel switching and switching "Boost" on/off in distortion channel. Series effects loop .

The amp has plenty of features for anyone who is looking a pretty nice tube amp. In a perfect world, it would have a headphone jack, a DI out for recording, and the footswitch would also control reverb on/off, but we don't live in a perfect world, and those features don't really matter much to me.

I don't gig or play in a band, just play the guitar for my own enjoyment and musical endeavors, and I can't see where you would need more than 40 watts. On full-tilt, I have shaken pictures off the walls in my house...so you can imagine the decibel level.

I play a bunch of different styles, from really clean, melodic, acoustic type stuff to hard, driving distortion alla Incubus, Alice in Chains, STP, etc. At the moment, I am playing either my homemade Strat with the Fender 57/62 pickup set and a LTD EC-1000 with Duncans (59/JB). My rig is set-up as follows...

Guitar > EH Black Finer Tube Compressor > Amp

Pretty simple set-up at the moment, but it suits me just fine. A quick note before I get into the awesome sounds this thing is capable of...I have replaced all of the tubes in the amp, going for a NOS Mullard 12AX7 in V1, and NOS GE 12AX7 in V2, a balanced JJ ECC82S in V3, and two JJ 6L6GC's in V4 and V5. I also have a Weber MiniMass attenuator between the output tranny and the speaker.

Anyways, let me just say that this amp is outstanding. The clean channel is very clean, all the up to around 7, where is starts to break up. Not alot of breakup though, even at max volume on the clean channel, so I am looking at a Tube Screamer from Analog Mike to get it over the top into SRV territory. The amp does a great job of cleaning up without loosing alot of volume when you back off on the guitar. Don't really know what else to say about the clean channel. It's not an EL84 or 6V6 clean, but I like it just fine.

Now this is where it gets really good. Channel 1 is better than I could have imagined. With the boost OFF, gain maxed and volume around 6, I get a great classic rock type distortion with both my axes. Very rich harmonically, great sustain, no complaints. With the boost ON, and the same settings on the amp, I get what I would describe as the best sounding modern distortion I have ever heard. I know some of you will call me crazy, and go ahead, but I wouldn't pay the money for a Dual Rec after playing through my Traynor. Might not win on volume, but the distortion is just a badass. Einziger's Dual Recto's and Cantrell's Bogners don't sound any better than this amp in my opinion. Playing lead with the boost on is fantastic...nice harmonic content and decay. Singing, voilin-like tone...it's absolutely amazing.

Can't say a whole lot about the amp's reliability, because it doesn't go out of my house at the moment. I haven't had any problems what-so-ever with it. It's built very well, weighs a good deal, and I would definitely trust it in a gig-type situation.

I emailed Traynor once about the way the bias works on the amp. The told me that it's cathode-biased, so the circuit biases itself based on the tubes you put in it. Got a response very quickly. Can't beat the two year, "even if you break it" warranty.

I have been playing for a little over 5 years now. This is my third amp, up from a Fender Frontman 15R and a Marshall AVT20. I have found myself a sleeper here folks, and if it were ever lost or stolen, I would probably buy it again. I say probably because I am getting into tube amp kits, so I might be out of the mass production market pretty soon. I love everything about this amp, the way it looks, the way it feels, and the way it plays and sounds.

Like I said earlier, I would put this amp up there with the best of them, well, maybe not some of the hand-wired boutique amps. I see absolutely no reason to pay $1500-$2000 for a PCB amp like a Mesa when the tone is all right here for $659 retail...you might be lucky and find one on eBay for $499 like I did.

Open back 40 watt combo, designed and manufactured in Canada. Two channels (Clean + Brightness / Drive + Lead Boost), footswitch provides switching between all of these functions except Brightness (won't need it). Includes f/x loop and speaker out. Separate low-mid-high for each channel while Presence and Reverb (Accutronics) are global. Vintage 30 driver, red tolex exterior, oatmeal cloth cover backed up by a protective metal grille. Tubes = 3) 12AX7 pre + (2) 6L6 power. Class A/B amp with autobias feature. I believe this was included to tame any crossover distortion related to grossly mismatched or aging power tubes, less efficient, but nice. Comprehensive 2-year warranty.

Guitars are MIJ RG570, MIK ASAT Classic, and MIK AES620. I play mainly rock, hard rock, and classic rock as well. Not much of a jazz player, but I try here and there. =) This amp covers rock, blues, and jazz quite well. It takes pedals pretty well, so the clean channel can be utilized to taste for that purpose. The Vintage 30 is very well matched to this amp, nice job Traynor.

First off, I give the clean channel a solid "10", especially given the price range. You could do much much worse, and not much better for a clean channel this nice at this price. As mentioned by others previously, the clean channel may break up when driven above "5" or so depending on picking/strumming dynamics and relative output of your pickups. I find that if I keep my touch in check however, it will pretty much stay clean til I dig in. This amp responds to your pick dynamics as a tube amp should, so be prepared for that if you're accustomed to solid state.

The drive channel is pretty darn decent, once again, considering the potential here for a 2 channel amp under 6 bills. It's also very quiet compared to most any drive channel I've heard on other combos. It can go from mild dirt and breakup to all out gain laden crunch. Metalheads, you'll do better with a pedal through the clean channel. There's a sweet spot for hard overdrive distortion on this channel, somewhere between 1 and 3 o'clock imo. The lead boost is useful as well, gets you out front. You can gig with this combo too, it's got plenty of volume for a 40 watt. Obviously in larger venues, a mic'd cab will be necessary. Bedrooom volume on the o/d channel is totally possible, say with the gain between 6-8 and volume around 2.

One thing I noticed is some slight low level hiss on the clean channel that totally disappears when I switch to the dirt. This was a little odd as I'm accustomed to hiss or noise on the o/d channel on most amps, not the clean. At any rate, it's not so significant that it would interfere on stage imo, but if you mic the clean channel for recording purposes, you'd want to gate using the DAW.

I'll award a "9" because I think this amp earns it overall for sound. The overdrive is actually useable, if somewhat generic. Players will tend to use the pedals/fx they want anyway, so I look at the overdrive channel as secondary for sound. I really love the clean channel, and that's where this amp scores very high with me. The EQ is also flexible enough for tweaking your sounds to suit various styles. Point deducted for the slight hiss on the clean channel. My thought is if they could make the o/d channel 'that' quiet, why not the clean? Also, the reverb control is a tad spotty as to when it makes itself heard, but this is a very nitpicky point on my part. As with many amps, there's a sweet spot for this control, and once you find it, you'll just leave it that way. Be warned that the control knobs can be moved by slight breeze however, so keep your settings in mind once you settle in with this amp. Overall, this amp is a killer value, and there aren't many current production combos out there that can touch the clean channel on this thing without spending LOTS more. It's a plug and play unit, no muss no fuss. If you love the sound of your guitar, you will love the sound of the clean channel on this amp.

Cannot rate yet, have not had the amp long enough. What's worth considering though is how this warranty stacks up when compared to some of the competition, and I think Traynor scores points here. It also seems pretty well put together from a design and construction standpoint, particularly in this price range. From what little poking around I've done already, I'd bet it would be relatively straightforward to service this amp. Traynor posts service diagrams and manuals on their site, nothing to hide. The preamp tubes look like a pain to swap, but the power tubes are easily accessible.

Dealt with them one time before making a purchase. They were responsive and seemed nice enough. I'll rate a 9 based on that as many reviewers before me seem to have a favorable impression.

I would get this amp again if stolen, I dig it. I think it's an ideal choice for a first tube amp as well. I'm jonesin' for a Trademark 60 on the ss side of things for recording and better low volume disto, but this Traynor really hit the spot for a sweet sounding tube combo. I like that I can play this at night with others in the house at low volumes while still sounding decent too, though the amp does get sweeter at higher volumes. What tube amp doesn't? The key thing is, you don't need to crank it for a good sound, though it loves the 4-6 range. For dorm rooms or close quarters though, I'd probably steer buyers to Roland, Vox, or Tech 21 for decent sound at low volume. Overall, I'll give a 10 because it's really tough to beat in this price range.

We played and outdoor gig last night and I had to crank the clean channell. It sounded terrible. I was really blown away because it sounded so warm around the "4" volume. At 4.5 it started to break up (like a tube amp should), but at 5 it just sounded like garbage. Anybody have ideas?

I bought the extension cab to open the sound a little, but with such a small amount of headroom, I'm thinking that I might have to mic the amp at a lower level. :(

amp was made 2004. 2 channels. clean channel with brightness bwitch. overdrive channel with boost switch. everything switchable with footswitch. you can use the boost function as a 3rd channel. serial effects loop. clean channel: treble, mids and bass. overdrive channel: treble, mids, bass. presence for both channels. accutronics spring reverb.

I play mostly blues, funk, soul, rock and alternative. used to have a mesa boogie dc-3 amp for 7 years. always thought it sounded good but a little bit boxy and not too open and lively. changed the tubes, still the same. went to the guitar shop and accidently tried the 20 watts version of this traynor combo and was totally blown away by its sound. sold the mesa, bought the traynor and changed the tubes to: 2x SED 6L6, 2x JJ12ax7 and 1x tt12ax7. the sound is absolutely awesome. never heard something like this before. the amp brings out the essential sound of your guitar whether it sounds shitty or brilliant! my fender stratocaster plus deluxe sounds like it should now! the only thing i do like less about this amp is the pretty strong bass of the clean channel. does not seem to be pretty well balanced. always play with bass on 0. another thing is the hissing sound of the clean channel. depending on the preamp tubes you use theres a quite strong hiss there. i don care about this as long as the amp keeps on singing like that!

the future will show...but i think its built like a rock. lets see.

did not have any experience with the traynor guys so far.

LOVE IT and will not give it away! try this thing if you want to improve your sound and bring live to your tone! fender (deluxe reverb reissue) does not come close to this thing and it is cheaper! a must buy!

2 Channels, 40 watts, cool red cover

I have a Les Paul Standard, PRS Santana SE, Fender Tele with P-90s, and a custom Strat. I play mostly Classic Rock. This amp is plenty loud for any club and has unbelievable tone. It has the best clean sound I ever heard. I also have a regular YCV40 with the black cover and it sounds nearly identical to the YCV40WR.

I've own 2 Traynors for over a year and have never had so much as a hint of static.

Let me say one thing. I left feed back on the Yorkville website and received an email a few days later thanking me for my Opinion. When have you heard anything like that from Fender, Marshall, or Peavey.

I just wish it had a parallel effect loop. Other than that, I wouldn't want any other amp.

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.

2004 Features as per Traynor's Website. Has the basic features everyone needs. Could use a headphone jack.

75 Les Paul Custom, New Mexican Strat. This thing is unbelievably versatile. I go from "Hank to Hendrix" and this thing can do it all. Cleans are as close to perfect as you can get. Distortion goes from sweet to punchy to nasty. A definite "10".

Don't know. Only had it a couple of months. Seems built like a tank.

Heard it's great. Hopefully no nead.

Been playing 30 years. Amps include Crate and Fender Twin. Guitars, Les Paul Custom, Mexican Strat, Strat HM + acoustics. I actually got this to use for practice so I wouldn't have to lug the twin and so i would have more range on the lower volume end, but I can't go back to the twin. This thing is awesome and I can't see using a different amp.... ever. Also, FYI I changed the tubes to JJs. I also have a 1x12 cab that has a Celestion GH12-80. When I add that cab, this thing is LOUD.... but nice! Of course, it's hard to beat with the Celestion Vin 30 included. I love it.

follow up to the 12/29/2004 review...

This is the reason for the update: I got a "Legend Modeling 12" speaker from Eminence (Webervst.com has them) figuring it might reproduce the amp and guitar faithfully, based on the description. And it does; it actually beats the Celestion Vintage 30 that is stock in this amp.
It's not dramatic, but it's very noticeable: more of everything, a little smoother and less trebly and more harmonics. It's definitely worth the swap and fairly cheap. Requires removing the grille/cloth carefully with a sturdy metal putty knife or similar to gently release the pressure brackets. But not difficult; just work carefully. Rating a 10 becasue the improvement along with JJ tubes is impressive! But I've found a top notch speaker for 50-70 bucks is worth every penny. I've had 3 Eminence upgrades now, and I am convinced they beat Weber abd cannot be sure about Celestion (big order!). But this speaker definitely delivers the true tone.

continues to work flawlessly...

not likely to need it.

rated an easy 10 now; priced well and another 100 will get a set of JJs and Eminence to improve the Traynor easily 15-20% over stock.

2004, clean, gain, overdrive, reverb, presence, line out
40 watts of all tube!!!!!!!!!!!!! sounds killer....
i use this amp mainly for gigging. sounds great with the matching cab. way cool.

i use an epi dot (converted to lefty) with a bigsby, and a reissue airline (jack white styles..super cool) i use a vox wah, big muff, and boss compression. this amp does pretty much whatever i need it to do. from crystal clear to really fuckin dirty. very versitile.
distortion is very warm, not very metal...

i gig always without a real backup (i have a vox pathfinder) cause i'm broke as a joke. never had a problem. it even fell out of my truck once and no problems.

2 years no nonsense traynor warranty....you can throw it down stairs and they'll replace it

i've been playin for 5 years but i'm mostly a singer. i would certainly replace it if it were stolen. if i had the money.....
i love the looks. red wine leatherette...very retro...with the ext. cab its crazy looking.

Bought the amp brand new off ebay. 2 channels, clean and overdrive with a boost for the overdrive channel. Comes with stock sovtek tubes. 2 button footswitch for channel switching and boost function. Very cool looking design with the whole red wine color. Comes with effects loop and line for extension speaker. Loaded with one 12" Celestion Vintage 30 which is VERY COOL. A definate upgrade form the 70/80 in the previous model. I read a few people complaines about the footswitch cord being only 10 feet....this IMO is nit-picking and silly since you can use any length 1/4 cable with the switch. I also like the way the preamp tubes are protected above a metal plate. 40 tube watts....pretty loud but not as loud as my 40 watt vibrolux reverb. More than enough volume though for most live settings...I just love these guys who show up with their 100 watt stacks to play the average bar. 40 tube watts is more than enough...traynor sells an extention cab and for bigger shows I just mic the amp.

I play rock and blues and I dabble with guitar hero stuff like Satriani and Vai ect......my band basically plays blues and classic and hard rock with some original material. This amp had a nice clean channel...I would not compare it to my Vibrolux reverb clean sound but that would be asking too much of most amps. The clean channel stays clean until about 5 then starts to produce a nice bluesy grit. The amp is not as loud as some I've played at the 40 watt rating....I used to own a hot rod deluxe and I seem to remember that amp being louder. My Vibrolux is 40 watts and also seems louder but don't forget that it may seem louder because of the better coverage the 2 10" speakers provide. Needless to say...the amp is plenty loud to gig with unless your drummer is deaf or just a flat out idiot. The amp is very quiet. As for the overdrive channel....all I can say is you can't turn this thing on...put the gain on 10 and the volume on 1.5 and complain about the tone. If that's what you do then get a solid state amp and jam at high gan and low volumes till your heart is content. The overdrive channel on this amp starts to sound good at around 2.5 on the volume knob and sounds better with more volume. Also the gain increases with more volume(I know....duh...no suprise to tube enthusiasts). I found myself dialing in anything from a mild bluesy growl to a creamy hard rock distortion. This amp does not do heavy mid scooped death metal......thank God anyway. Whatever happened to mids anyway?

IMO, this amp needs just a little more gain to make it super sweet...to get into Satriani/vai territory. Don't get me wrong...with a decennt amount of volume you can get pretty close to Van Halenesque gain but not quite. That's why I ordered the high gain set of jj tubes from eurotubes. I am hoping this will add the little extra push the amp needs. I suppose you could get similar results with a pedal but I hat the sound of distortion pushing distortion...plus the whole Idea was for me to get rid of all my freaking pedals......I want nothing between me an pure tubes baby!!!

After I put them in and do a gig with them I will write a follow up review.

Well...only one gig so far and no problems. It will get it's share of work...so time will tell. Good warranty from Yorkville.

Good Warranty. Havent needed support yet.

I have been playing for 15 years, 8 professionally. I am looking for my own sound...not everyone elses. When I look around...I see one Fender or Marshall after the next. Fender is a decent value but Marshall and Mesa is out of control. My choices wer Peavey, Carvin or Traynor. I thought about getting a used Carvin legacy but I have an issue with owning signature amps...I mean...first off who is as good as Vai..certainly not me and why look like you want to be Vai. Peavey is cool but I chose Traynor.

Traynor seemed like a good value and I have a family so I can't be dropping $1500 on a overpriced combo amp. I love my vibrolux...but it is a one trick pony...great straight up for blues but I needed to run distortion pedals through it to try and get my sound. I once owned a hot rod deluxe...ended up running pedals through that...the OD channel on the Hot rod deluxe was horrible. This Traynor blows the Hot Rod away. Next I will be looking into the 4 10" 80 watt Traynor for my outdoor festival shows. Overall..I'd say this amp is a winner. I will post a follow up after I do the tube upgrade.

I finally picked up my traynor ycv40wr today, ordered it 2 weeks ago. "Was it worth the wait?", you may ask. Let me just say, first off, I ordered this amp, to have a dirty channel, and for the bass boost option.
Not really even caring about the clean at all. I am the proud owner of a pro junior, and have played through many other fender amps. I like playing jazz occasionally, and alot of my songs are really all open chord jazz standerd rip offs.
But man this amp shimmers, its the most vibrant brightest clean i have ever heard...the clean channel almost makes me forget i have a 2nd channel.

Enough about the clean though, the dirty is quite amazing on its own.. to get my dirty sound with the pro junior i had to resort to using a boss bd-2 blues driver, and it gave me such a nice sound, right down my alley. How does the traynor compare to the fender with bd-2 , it sounds better, tighter bass, crisper mids, and will go from the lightest overdrive to the meanest of plexi crunches. Can you throw metal at this thing, sure if you consider creed or nickelback metal...i personally dont play anything heavier than, old weezer blue album tunes, and it cuts through that classic 90's alt crunch just fine, with plenty of crunch to spare....with the boost engaged you can even get in light fuzz area.... This Amp is in one word, Amazing, highly versatile, and the reverb is great, the reverb can go from, nice little echo, to full blown, playing in a grain silo echo. Have i heard better reverb,sure, have i heard better dirty, sure , have i heard better clean, not with these ears, can you buy any of those amps that sound better for 630 dollars, not even close....if you want a class A boutique amp, and dont want to pay 3000 dollars, traynor is your amp.

Ive been playing for 12 years, this is the second amp i have owned. And if this one were stolen tommorow, i would replace it ASAP

2004 model as described below (12/20/2004) and I also swapped all the tubes for "JJ"s from EuroTubes (Bob Pletka is a really cool guy and delivers FAST and the tubes are priced right!). I got the standard full set and described my guitar style and guitar choices (custom Strats, Teles, P-90 PRS Santana SE) and Bob selected the set to fit that preference.

I agree this is a versatile amp; it is plenty loud for most rooms or clubs, looks great, and is well made and set up (the atterntion to detail is good). It's a very good buy at under $600 and much better if you get a tube upgrade.

I play clean mostly, with a tweaked Boss DD-5 delay (I am not a purist) and a Boss Blues Driver, also modded with the DIY kits from IndyGuitarist. This amp has a nice clean channel and the overdrive sounds smoother after the tube upgrade (very reasonable $). I will have to play this amp a while to get the feel of it because it is a different sort of sound than a Fender Princeton Reverb (you have to get an Eminence "Ragin' Cajun" 10-inch speaker for it if yu play Tele or Strat!). Some guys will say I'm cray to sell a Maz38 from Dr Z, but the Traynor is 1/3 the price and more versatile and I have other things to do with the $1,000 difference.
I rate this amp a '10' because it is versatile, loud, clean, and pretty quiet. I rate a '9' because I have a great sounding Princeton silverface and had a Maz38, so I have a tough comparison.

Everyone I have met who has owned them or knows the reputation says the Traynors are well built and reliable. I'll see!

N/A, but he warranty is very ambitious, so they must figure it's sturdy and reliable.

It is a fantastic value at under $600 with a really nice red cordura cover, and footswitch and you can kick it up a notch or 2 with a complete (5)tube upgrade. Apparently the "JJ" tubes available through EuroTubes.com are some of the very finest available and there are actually only a very few manufacturers of tubes out there today. And the "JJ" line are primo tubes. Bob Pletka is a cool guy and ships really FAST and has an impressive website. And he's helpful.
I had NEVER retubed an amp and there is no re-bias needed on this one. I literally did not know which tube was which, but read up at www.legendarytones.com to learn about the tube types and their numbering codes (6L6, ECC83, etc.), and that made it clearer. You can do this retube project easily if you work carefully and take your time. It's just removing a little metal hatch cover and replacing 3 tubes inside, making sure to align the pins correctly and then replacing the 2 large tubes (easily visible) with large 6L6 types. That's all! Make a good amp much better for about $55 and keep the originals as spares or sell them on eBay like me!

Brand new 2004 model. I've never used a channel-switchable amp before, and I find I really like that feature. It makes it a snap to go from clean, sparkly rhythm tone to louder, beefier solo tone. The reverb is pretty good, but not quite as substantial as Fender reverb - but I'm spolied since I already own a 1964 Fender outboard reverb! The amp would be improved by A.) a master volume (but I use the output knob on my compressor for that) and B.) tremelo. The amp is plenty good looking, although I think the winged Traynor logo is a bit cheezy. Retro winged logos are way overused these days, ever since Chrysler started using them on the PT Cruiser!

I bought this amp after being repeatedly blown away by the YCV40WR that a friend owns. Many reviewers compare it to Fenders and Marshalls; I dunno, it sounds more Vox-like to me, especially the clean channel. The amp is voiced with a sweet chimey midrange and treble, with not a lot of bottom - much like a Vox. It REALLY sounds amazing with vintage Rickenbackers and Gretsches. To get the most out of it, I took my friend's advice and swapped out the OEM Sovtek tubes for one of Eurotubes' custom sets of JJ tubes picked specially for this amp. Then, I run my guitar through a Jacques Fat Burner compressor set at about 3PM. The combination of Rick/Gretsch + Fat Burner + JJ tubes + YCV40WR makes for the creamiest, chimiest jangle this side of Dartford, UK! The gain channel is voiced with a bit more midrange punch, and sounds great for lead work (although I prefer the clean channel for rhythm work by far).

Seems very well-built, and Traynor's warranty is very good.

For the past few years I've been using a '63 Fender Bandmaster, which is a great amp to be sure. I like the Traynor better, which really surprises me. The Fender just doesn't have the chime and "air" that the Traynor has. With my '64 Rickenbacker 615 (strung with flatwounds) plugged into the compressor and Traynor, I can totally nail Pete Townshend's ringing, chiming one on the first Who album. The YCV40WR is simply one of the best amps around for Rickenbackers. I can also get very close to George Harrison's bell-like tone from "Beatles For Sale" with my '62 Gretsch Tennessean. These amps are an incredible bargain.

Brand new in 2004. Great looking wine red tolex and oatmeal grill cloth. Metal grill under the cloth - very nice. Two channels w/ separate tone controls. Single 12" Celestion speaker. Channel switching. Effects loop. I play mainly edgy Christian praise and worship and so need a good clean sound and a solid distorted lead tone. I mostly play in large churches and occasional outdoor events. As others have written, the knobs turn too easily thereby losing settings and the power cord is a detachable computer type that is too easily lost.

I use a modified Kramer strat w/ HSH pickups and a '79 Les Paul Custom. The amp provides a nice clean sound and 80's distortion. Based upon recommendations on Harmony-Central, I changed the stock tubes with JJ 6L6s and Electro Harmonix 12AX7s. HUGE IMPROVEMENT!! The amp will not produce Rectifier-type distortion, however the amp can really sing when cranked.

So far, no problems.

Not needed yet.

I've been playing 30 years. I own several other guitars, a 1981 Mesa Boogie Mark IIB, an old Marshall 4X12, and a Fender Princeton Chorus. I really like this amp so far. My Boogie is great, but way too heavy and too loud for my present needs. The amp should have a hard attached power cord and a cover. The foot switch is goofy but works.

Two footswitchable channel all tube amplifier - two power tubes, three preamps. Effects loop, but no mix control... no headphone out jack, and unlike the YCV20 and 80, there is no balanced XLR out - definitely a missed opportunity. The clean channel should have a gain pot. This model has a Celestion Vintage 30 instead of a Seventy 80. The 40 watts are enough power to keep up with a drummer, but don't expect the clean to stay "clean". The sounds with this amp are very versatile, and I purchased it to play heavy rock as well as jazz. It performs both well.

I have been playing through this amp with my 99' American Strat with hot rails on the bridge, as well as my early 03' Schecter C1 Classic.

This amp sounds absolutely great. It was bought as a replacement for my used Marshall TSL602 - I dug the sound (not the speakers though...) but couldn't handle the sketchy reliablity and bulk of the Marshall. The Traynor, however, sounds great.

First thing I did upon purchasing the amp was to invest in three Groove Tubes ECC83s, which improved the overdrive channel a lot (more British character). The break-up on the clean (and OD to some extent) was still very harsh, so I bought some Groove Tubes 5881s, and the amp now sounds absolutely fantastic.

Channel one is the overdrive channel, and has a very nice sound, very much between a Mesa and a Marshall. It lacks a lot of low end "chunk" due to the open back cabinet, but is still very articulated, and great for palm mutes. The "boost" on channel one is great for adding a little volume and "liquidy" gain to your solos, but don't think about using it for any rhythm work - it simply blends together in a pile of mush. As I said, it's great for smoothing out your solos, but is far from the "wiry" sound some people like.

Channel two is the clean channel. It has a separate eq, but is lacking a gain control... tough luck for those who like a pushed clean sound, but that can be taken care of in channel one with the gain set low. The beauty of this amp is that it retains its own character in both channels. Channel one is like channel two, but with more gain - a good thing in my opinion. I don't like the brightness option much, as to my ears, it sounds too much like a false treble boost, though it does help to bring out that blackface character.

The parametric equalizers do their jobs, and with the newer tubes in, the presence control works much better. Reverb is solid state, and a little harsh. For those who complain about not being able to turn it off entirely: simple unplug the RCAs from the reverb tank.

Please note that the "tone" of the amp is very transparent, especially for a tube amp. Guitars retain their characteristics very well, which can be good or bad, depending on what you are playing. I complared it side by side to a vintage Fender blackface Princeton (fitter with the same speaker) and it actually blew me away.

Overall, great sounding amp - crank the clean to 10 for some great classic rock if you want, this thing will really do whatever you need it to.

So far, very reliable. Did a jazz gig with it with no problems, but I do carry backup tubes and a backup solid state amp. I never want a repeat of an incident I had with my Marhsall...

Yorkville really does have great service. I sent them an email regarding modding the amp to el34s, and received prompt responses. 2 year unlimited warranty? Can't complain.

Fantastic amp. I can't complain about much. I'll be investing in the matching 1x12 extension cab soon. I 100% recommend.

40 watt all tube 2 channel with very effective treble, mid & bass eq for each, wonderful Accutronics reverb, presence control, brightness switch and foot switchable overdrive on the gain channel, almost like a 3rd channel. Celestion Vintage 30 12" speaker. Wine red with a cream colored speaker cloth that is installed over a metal grid. Best amp I have ever had and I have had some good ones.

I use this with my 73 Strat, newer Tele and Oscar Schmidt E30 ( great buy currently at Musicians Friend for $149 )This amp has a beautiful clean sound that really sparkles with the bright switch on, the reverb is so smooth it is unbelievable, reverb is usable all the way to around 9 on the dial befor the sound gets lost. All controls really do something, I can get a multitude of sounds out of this thing, makes all my guitars sound like they got a pick-up upgrade and it sounds great at low or high volumes. The gain channel has the creamyest tube distortion that sounds very nice at any volume, this amp rocks. My favorite amp up to this point was my 60's Fender Super Reverb but I truly like this much more, I can not believe how much tone this thing has. It has inspired me! Very open sounding & transparent, every note & nuance counts, I have said it is like a audio hologram.

Seems extremely well built, like a tank. Heavey solid cabinet, metal grill under grill cloth, chrome corner protectors all controls look & feel very high quality, has to be one of the best kept secrets and buys out there, like a souped up Deluxe Reverb for $300 less. I got mine for $499 at Acoustic Axis Instruments, I think it would be a true value at twice that price.

Never dealt with and probably won't have to but have heard the are top notch.

Been playing about 40 years now, have a Princton 65 DSP to fart around with but don't play it much unless I am in the mood for the efects. I would absolutely buy another of these if something happened to it, I imagine this thing will out last me. I had $1,000 to spend from the sale of another of my amps & I compared it to just about every 1-12 Tube amp out there and this amp blows them all away in sound, quality & tone.

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