Traynor YCV50 112 Combo

This amp was made in 2005. It's a versatile amp that can go from good cleans to raunchy marshall-like sounds to pretty high gain. It has two channels with separate volume + gain control on the gain channel and separate tone controls as well as master volume and master reverb control, a good footswitch for channel switching and a boost on the overdrive channel that effectively makes it a three channel amp. There is an effects loop, no headphone jack and no real need for it due to the master volume. Lots of power for me... two EL34's and 3 12ax7's for the pre-amp. No presence control like YCV40 but I don't miss it. I used to play out in my teens and twenties and now play for fun. I play a variety of styles from hacking at jazz to classic rock (Zep, ZZ Top) to the occasional foray into "modern" metal styles. I give it an 8 (and that's good)!

I am playing a Les Paul with stock Gibson PU's. It really helps me get everything from classic rock sounds (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Humble Pie) all the way up to 80's high gain sounds and some metal. Its does suit me well. I have been playing through an old Mesa .50 caliber plus with el84's and while it's a great amp it can get fizzy at high gain and requires some tweaking to get good sounds. I stopped by a local dealer and played through this amp and I was bowled over by the sounds. Much better (!!) harmonic content than my Mesa, much easier to catch those pinch harmonics ala Billy Gibbons... Though I think I was just craving that raunchy slighted lose Marshally gain. It's an EL34 based amp and it can sound very classic Marshall to me, with the boost engaged on the gain channel it sounds monstrous, real chunky (though not recto chunky, hey it's 1X12 combo). How brutal is the distortion? Hmmm, well it doesn't have as much gain as my Mesa but then again it will get sounds the Mesa cannot and cover nearly all of the ground the Mesa can. I would place it on the low side of the high gain amp spectrum, if that makes sense. The cleans are good too though the clean channel will break up at high volume (but by then you won't know if it's the amp or your hearing failing) and the reverb sounds excellent. It's dead quite even at high gain. Hmmm, if you can't tell I am very impressed with this amp. In short it sounds great.

To soon to know. Never gig without a backup! Or at least bring spare tubes and fuses.

I had a YCV40 before this, and Traynor is reknowned for it's two year "even if you break it" warranty. My local shop is top notch and have a direct pipe to the Yorkville rep.

I have been playing on and off for 30 years, currrently on. I also own a Mesa .50 Caliber Plus, and I have owned the YCV40 (I couldn't get with that amp, cleans were great but the drive channel was lacking), Marshalls, Ampeg Reverberocket. If it were stolen or lost I would replace it in a heartbeat, serious good value. I love that I can get great distortion sounds and good cleans balanced and switched. Oh yeah I love that the boost can send the gain off into serious lead tone, all three sounds foot switchable. I compared it to a Krank revolution head in the store (more focused gain sounds and much louder at 100 watts, BTW metalheads should try these, don't believe the hype not buzzy at all) and out of the store I have compared it to an Marshall 50 watt head and my Boogie. I haven't found anything not to like. Play one before you lay out more money for something can does less and sounds worse!

its a 2004 model .........ycv series except with EL34 power
tubes...huge difference . the overdrive is sweet and smooth
like old marshalls,the clean is fender like, but i like it as
much as any fender. clean / lead and boost on lead.....all
sound excellent. the best features.it sounds very pleasant to
the ears, inspires ya to play.maby its the celestian vintage 30
but i think its the (came with) electro harmonix el34 et all
tubes.i been looking for this sound , but couldn t get it with
the 6l6 tube amps.

everything sounds super on this amp, any channell.the master
volume is super.play real low or loud...great

no problems.....auto bias

ive never had better...response in 1 day.

been playing over 35 years....had every amp i could marshall
fender et host of others.......this one srtands out above the
others, even ones at twice the price.

I bought this amp. new in Dec-2004. it works well for what I do I play it clean for the most part.The distortion channel is not to bad for what it is. I wish you could turn on and off the reverb with the footswitch but....you can't. This is me 2nd Traynor (traded in my YCV 80Q for it....sore back ). The reverb is little weak and only sounds good if the master volume is at 10 and the channel volume at about 5.
I love Traynor but there is room for improvement on this one. The foot switch is a beast. I borrow my freind nice little Fender switch. Traynor should re-think the style and bulkiness of the footswitch. Here is the kicker... This amp needs an extension cabinet and Traynor did not have the foresight to produce and extension cab with matching Tolex ( blue or black) or grille cloth. Soooo my amp is blue and black grille cloth and my ext. cab is black and silver grille cloth.

I play a Rickenbacker 360. This amp do some things well and other not so well. I have upgarded the tubes trying to get a cleaner sound at high volume. It did not work.
High volume clean....No
High volume distortion ....yes

It is a Yorkville product so it is built solid. I have no concerns on this front.

Yorkville provides the " best in the business" after sales support. I truely enjoy buying Yorkville. As a rule, well built, sounds great and quality you can really see. That being said the Tolex on all 3 amps I have had by Yorkville...(and still have 2 of them) could be installed with no seams showing. Not a big deal but....!
2 and 10 is a great warranty.

I have been playing for a long time ( about 25 years )and I have accumulated some gear over the years. If this unit was stolen I would not get the same amp. I love the fact it is Canadian made and overall it is a good product. I just think they did not develop this unit to it's full potential. For the $$$ good, for the sound good, features not bad.

The features are very simple and useable. Clean, overdrive, and extra overdrive. Fenderlike, yes. Marshall-like, yes definitlely. With fifty watts of tube power and the vintage 30, it's staying in gear setup for a long long time. It covers country, blues, rock, surf and anything in between without a hitch. It's not a heavy metal amp by no means, mind you you could get away with a pedal addition if you wanted. Some have complained of no reverb on/off pedal switch, I find the pedal channel switch and pedal boost switch much more convenient. The reverb on/off would be a nice addition however.

I use a Fender American Deluxe with Seymour Duncan, Hot Lead Stack's with a coil split. Sounds awesome! Pretty much any sound I want is available. Our band does everything from polkas, to country, to surf, to classic rock, and blues. It's a very quiet amp that cuts throught the mix with no problem. At high high volume your clean starts to suffer, but only a little. And not enough for one to be turned off. The distortion stompboxes are all in the closet now. There really hasn't been a need for them since I sold my Fender HotRod Deluxe.(I don't miss the HotRod at all.)Althought the clean was nice, it was not near as versatile as the Traynor. I will upgrade the tubes shortly and review it once again. The concensus seems to be an even nicer sound quality with the tube upgrade. We'll know soon enough. With this amp being a limited addition amp, I'm glad I bought one. It will definitely retain it's market value and then some.

Traynor has always had a great reliability record and the ycv50 appears to make with the same quality in mind. But do tighten the chasis and handle screws, they may be loose from shipping or whatever. My handle screws were a little loose when I got mine. And for those that like to gripe about a couple of loose handle screws. Use a star screwdriver! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to use one. Oh ya, just a reminder, don't forget to check the oil in your car! The warranty is the best in the business and it's Canadian made as well. A new reuseable Canadian resource!

Top notch is all I have to say. I've had numerous questions answered the next working day and sometimes the same day. As well, ALL questions were handled with respect, appreciation and kindness for you interest. There are plenty of horror stories out there of companies who diss you once they have your money in their pockets. It takes good quality people to make good quality products, and Traynor definitely has both. With a two and ten warranty, who's going to step up next? Come on Fender, Marshall......anyone?!

I've played off and on for about twenty years. I supplement my living as a musician and would replace it in a heartbeat. I've always keep an open eye out for a better gear. The Traynor is just that, newer and better. (There's nothing wrong with that type of progress.) There is a new standard in the combo amp class and it's called the Traynor YCV50 Custom Valve. Comparisons were made to the Peavey Classic 30, Marshall JCM 2x12 tube combo, Fender Hotrod Series, Dr.Z Route 66, Crate, Ampeg Rocket (what a tank, you need one to move it!)and a Carvin Bel Air. The Carvin was not really given a fair shake as you have to buy one to hear how it sounds. If you don't like it though, you just send it back. But, you are out the shipping charges. So....there is a trade off. And, besides, Carvin had this impatient and don't care attitude when I called with questions about their products. It wasn't hard to say, bye-bye for you!

2004 limited edition YCV50 with One 12" Celestian vintage 30 speaker with 2x EL34's and 3x 12ax7's as the tubes....not bad at all....2 channels one clean one gain and reverb....eq's on each channel...50watts of tube power....comes with a footpedal...also a boost and bright feature...

I play a 2003 Godin LG SP90 through it and it just rips. From the nurock style (interpol, strokes, etc) to heavier rock and just clean picking...this amp is beautiful...it absolutely sings with this guitar....easily the best amp for the money probably even double too...I have already ordered new tubes though as I wasn't quite impressed with the clean headroom...if you are playing with a loud drummer, it can definitely keep up, but the clean starts to sound a bit more distorted than I would like...I ordered 2 JJ EL34L's and 3 JJ ECC83S's....and I cannot wait for these. The reason why there isn't as much clean headroom is b/c of the cheaper tubes (EH aka Sovet) and b/c the power tubes are EL34's which are known to break up sooner. After I install these tubes I'm expecting about 10-15% more clean headroom and a much warmer sound....

I'm just trying to get the BEST possible sounds from this amp though...otherwise it would be perfect for anyone who doesn't want a crystal clear clean sounds

10/10 I'm sure...I haven't gigged with it but best warranty in the business a two and ten...should work out just fine...plus it's made in canada

n/a

This amp is unreal for what I need. I can gig with it, it has an unbelievably warm clean tone and I can also practice with it thanks to the master volume control.

I compared this for three days straight with a YCV40, and although the 40 provided more responsive bassier tones, it wasn't as clean, smooth or warm....I did the 'eyes closed test' and the YCV50 definitely was worth the extra $80. The YCV40 is supposed to be really good with a new speaker and tubes, but with the Vintage 30, and the new tubes coming I'm SURE that I will own this amp for at least 10 years. I traded in a Line6 II 112 for this, and although that is an unbelievable deal in an amp...there is no comparison for a pure sound. This amp sings and has more than enough tone. Go for it if you can get it, it's worth every cent and more.

I use a Les Paul straight into this amp, no pedals. The best way to describe the distortion is it's tigher, more defined distortion. This amp has the Marshall "chunk". A different voicing than the YCV40 which uses the 6L6 tubes and sounds more like a Fender. Master volume on the gain channel is post effects loop which allows for easier controls of level. No Presence control but who cares.

Traynor is the industry's best kept secret. And it's Canadian too !
I've never had a problem with anything purchased from Traynor ( Yorkville )

My only dealings with support at Yorkville have been via email to inquire or ask questions about the product. Very prompt at replying.
A1 !

This amp looks smart with the blue tolex, but also sounds like what a $2500 boutique ALL tube amp should sound like. For a 3rd of that price, this amp should make the competition quiver with fear. Canadian ehh !

Very similar to the other YCV series Traynors, but come with EL34 and 12AX7A tubes which gives it a totally different sounding gain than the other models. It is also 50 watts which none of the other models are available in. It's also a very nice blue colour. Other than that the features are pretty much the same as the YCV40's (which there are plenty of reviews for so I won't repeat). It's a limited edition amp and I had problems finding one in my area. I also got the extension speaker.

The amp seems to have plenty of power. In my opinion it has all the features you need in an amp like this. If you want a ton of features you wouldn't be looking at this type of amp. The only feature that is a problem is that there isn't a button to turn the reverb on and off on the footswitch. It's not critical, but it would be nice.

I have tried various double humbucker guitars (Les Paul Copy, Dean Elite, Ibanez AXS32DRF, a 94 Mexican Telecaster and a 94 Mexican Strat. All sound great through the amp. The clean channel is really punchy, but not distorted. My band plays a mix of Surf, Rockabilly and Rock n' Roll and with the reverb on I can get a nice surf tone.

The gain on this amp on the first channel is really unique. It goes from a nice crunch to a full on Marshall style tone when you crank it. It's really hard to explain unless you actually hear it. It's shocking to hear the type of distortion that comes out of an amp this size. It sounds amazing.

I haven't owned this amp long enough to make a judgement, but I have owned other Traynor products including a bass amp that is probably 5 years older than I am. They make fantastic quality products.

Again, I haven't had to have this serviced but it has a 2 year warranty which even says they will fix it 'even if you break it".

I have been playing in bands for 15 years now. I actually traded in a Line 6 Flextone III for this amp. While the Flextone was a great amp, I wasn't using half the features on it. I wanted a nice simple tube amp and that is exactly what this amp is.

Being Canadian, I love the fact that it's made in Canada. Traynor amps are some of the most under-rated amps out there. Anyone who has owned one usually loves them. I did try a couple of other amps including a Fender Deville, but this amp was so unique sounding and made so well that I bought it. Not to mention this amp costs half of what some similar models from Fender cost.