Traynor YCV80 212 Combo

2002 All valve amp with two chanels, reverb, boost, bright, & expander settings. 2 x 12 speaker setup, 80 watts.

Nice tone. Good, rich clean channel w/ plent of sparkle in the "bright" mode. Good rich distortion from the drive channel. Has a full sound that does vintage well but holds its own for full up rock or modern stuff.

NO!!! Don't bet the show on this one regardless of the warranty. When I got the amp home I discovered the chassis was about to fall out of the cabinet due to some lose bolts. Not a hard fix, though irritating ... I believe this will be a recurrent problem as the screws that retain the chassis seem to be too short for the job. After fixing this problem, I set the amp up, played a bit and quickly discovered an anoying seried of buzzes and rattles that seemed to come from the reverb unit. No ammount of fiddling improved the situation ... that's a sure way to spoil a solo. After checking more screws, relocating the amp, trying my other guitars, this lemon made its way back to the dealer. Oh, did I mention the SLOPPY job on the tolex???? That could have passed had the tone been there (maybe it was somewhere behind all the noise ....).

Who knows, who cares? If it won't work new off the floor I have better things to do than waste my time talking to whoever built the thing.

Well, if you've read the reviews on Traynor's stuff and you've thought that a "boutique" level amp for $700 sounded too good to be true, it is. Maybe I'm picky, but I've got no tolerance for buzzing amps or shoddy workmanship (i.e. the inability to properly employ a screw driver). The Traynor has some nice tones, but they're lost behind the noise of a poorly executed product.

Hey all. I picked up a Traynor YCV80 about a month ago. I traded my Line 6 Flextone 2 (Special Edition) in for it primarily because the flextone just had too many options. Always having to screw with the channel volume and trying to decide exactly which amp model was right for a given song was becoming too much of a chore for me. It was also starting to get on the nerves of the rest of the members in my band - JUST PLAY THE *&%@ING GUITAR MAN! I have found that the features of the Traynor are perfect, because there are just two channels and a footswitch. Beyond that, I have the option to use the boost, scoop and expander switches which can add a distinctive curl to any sound. It has more than enough power. The line out and amp defeat switch have proven very valuable for recording and practice. I am very happy with the features of this Amp.

I am not a sound guru, but I can tell you that comparing the sound of this amp to that of my previous Flextone, is like comparing full, ripe juicy cherries to dry salty sunflower seeds. The sound is so full and rich and unlike the flextone, it gets better as it gets louder. Also, the volume isn't liable to cut out mid-song. I use one guitar - an 86' Ibanez Artist with dual humbuckers. Very full and pristine sounding on the clean channel - especially with the expander switch on. Yep, it has excellent clean sound. I haven't experimented too much with the gain channel, but what I have heard, I have liked. I have a bass roll off switch on my guitar and i like to crank the gain, bass and treble while flipping the roll off switch and engaging the scoop button on the amp; screamin'!.

No problems yet - excellent warranty.

Don't know yet - hopefully I won't have to find out

I am not an Amp expert by any means. I have had two electric guitar amps, one being the Flextone and the other this Traynor. As far as I'm concerned the Flextone - in a live performance capacity - is a thin sounding toy with lots of flashing lights and loads of potential. Unfortunately, it still has some growing to do. The Traynor is really warm and full, but it also has punch and can carry it's rich tube tonal qualities while still hammering the shit out of your listeners. Furthermore, it is easy to use and nice to look at. I really love this amp because it inspires me to play. If anyone has any suggestions for channel setups I would like to hear them. Try one.

I demoed one of these and bought it right away! I have the little brother, YCV40, that I use as a practice amp. I thought this would just be a bigger version. It's not! It has an expaner circuit on the clean channel that is almost like a small touch of chorus.

The clean channel sound very good. Great for country music. (tele) Also great tone for jazz. (335) The expander is a nice touch. The gain channel is good unless the gain is cranked up. It get real tinny, like heavy metal type crunch. If you play classic rock, you will need a stomp box to get the tone. If you play country or jazz, this is the one to have.

Its new.

Yorkville is a great company!!! Two year warranty, great customer support.

The 40 watt version is like a hot rod deluxe, this amp has the same sound on the clean chanel and has an added expander curcuit. The gain channel does not sound like the 40 watter. I think that better speakers would help a lot...

Alright, a quick follow up on the guy under me... I think he has a very good review and describes it pretty well ( i ended up nodding all te way ) ... except for one part ... it does get metal dude ! You have to put the scoop and boost , and gain it up to 10. I usually put te master all the way up , and then i put the channel volume according to situation.
My settup ; two custom 412 cabs , ( 4 ohm , 280W each )
Channel volume 2-6 , Bass max , Treb Max , Mids half . Boost on , gain max , scoop on. Master max. ( trust me , when i put this thing at 5 or 6 , it sounds amazing !! it just growls metal out of there )

So there ,try this setting, you dont have to like it , but try it and see, the bass response will be all there

This amp is brand new, the first one they received and it's now mine.
As far as features go, this one's got so much it reminds me of my Line6 Flextone XL (it even looks like it!) except this one's got tone!
80w all tube power, 2 channels, reverb, footswitchable gain boost on the crunch channel, headphone and XLR outs with speaker emulation, jack for extension cab (4ohm minimum, the internal speakers are 4ohm total, which means this baby can withstand a 2 ohm total load! I emailed them to make sure and they told me that was right!), speaker mute switch (for silent recording), 2 Celestion 70/80 12" driver. 2 effect loops: 1 parallel and 1 serie. Scoop switch on the drive channel (boosts the lows, cuts the mids), bright and expander switches on the clean channel (expander boost the lows and higs, for an acoustic like tone, I'm not too found of it).

What I wish it had is a separate reverb control for each channel, and another footswitch jack to switch the reverb (and possibly the FX loop) on/off. I also wish it had an impedance switch to match loads when you don't use a 4ohm cab. I also wish it have V30s instead of 70/80s... more on that later.

Three interesting facts:
1- the tubes are auto-biasing, not fixed bias like a Mesa, really auto-biasing. You can swap the tubes easily, you don't even need to use matched pairs. It's also the reason it "only" pushes 80w with 4 6L6B tubes (should be 100W), but who needs more than 80?!?!
2- there is a current limiting circuit to simulate a tube rectifier. does it really make a difference? I couldn't really tell cause, unlike a Mesa Dual Rectifier, they didn't include a switch to run it like a normal SS rectifier to help you realize how good a tube rectifier sounds :)
3- the warranty: 2 years even if you break it (canada and US only), unlimited warranty. Covers everything, even the tubes! (only thing it doesn't cover: natural disasters!)

I'm using it with a Godin LGX and a Telecaster Thinline. In stock form it makes a great blues/rock amp. You can clearly see it was designed around single coils as the Telecaster sounds like a dream through it.

It's loud enough for any needs (unless you're playing an arena and there's no PA!!). I tried playing with the volume on 10 in my house just to experience total power amp saturation :)... crazy!

The tone is very warm and smooth, but it can get shrill at high volumes. I have found that the master volume has an effect on very-high frequencies response. If you turn the Master full on and lower the channel volume, you get a crisper sound, closer to a Marshall. If you lower the Master and raise the channel volume, it tames the high end a bit and sounds warmer. Learn to master this trick and you'll be able to dial in your tone better. However, when you need to play fairly loud, you have to open the master volume because the distortion you get from cranking the channel volume to 10 and lowering the master volume is somehow SS sounding ( bit harsh ), so you need to stay under 7-8 on the channel volume, perhaps even lower depending on your pickups.

The low-mid region is very pronounced, which suits single coils fine, but makes humbucker equipped guitars (especially when they sound as fat as my Godin LGX!) a bit muddy. Fortunately, the mid control seems to work mostly on the high-mids region, turning it up makes the sounds more defined, with more openeness. Go easy on it though. I usually have it between 5 and 6.

I wish the Low control had a bit more range. Even when cranked, there's still not much low end to the tone. By engaging the Scoop function, you get like 3 times the bass response, but it cuts the mids too much for me (sounds like a Marshall with mids on 0 and bass on 10) so I prefer not using it. The clean channel has a much more pronounced low end, another indication it was designed around single coils.

My band call for occasional metal songs and this amp had some problem with that, mostly because of the lack of low-end. Also, my Godin sounded too muddy and undefined through it. Good thing is I have a Mesa Recto 4X12 cab (I don't have a Mesa amp but I love this cab). Knowing that the amp can witstand a 2ohm load (and will only produce full power at this load, if I just use the 8ohm jack on the cab, it won't have as much power), I disconnected the internal speaker (it uses a normal 1/4 jack hidden under the amp chassis) and connected both 4ohm stereo inputs to both jack on the amp. So I was sending all 80watts of power to my Mesa cab. There I found my tone! The low end is now huge and defined (the fact that it's a closed back 4X12 helps), the pronounced low-mid region is now tamed and the overall sound is more focused, more percussive. I played some Metallica with it and it sounded amazing :). Now I'm thinking about getting some V30s (the speakers in the Mesa cab) to put in it. It should sound amazing.

Metal heads will probably complain that this amp doesn't not have enough gain. It might be true at low-level, but as you turn it up, the distortion just gets better. I have the gain at about 6-7 (with the drive boost engaged) and it can do metal easily. No it's still not that much gain, but less gain makes the sound more defined, the palm mutes more chunky. Learn to play and you won't need so much gain :)

The amp is surprisingly quiet considering the price tag (Laney makes tube amp in the same price range and they are much noisier that the Traynor). It's still a tube amp, so there's always some background noise when the volume is turned up. But it's low enough that you don't notice it unless everyone stops playing. Just switch the drive boost off between songs!

Overall, I love this amp, especially considering the price I paid, but I really wish it had Celestion V30s... oh well, this can be fixed (for a 200$ investment).

I'm taking 8 points because of the speakers... With the V30s it's a big 10!

Got it 2 weeks ago...
The 2 years unlimited warranty (even if you break it) that even covers the tubes is reassuring.

It looks very well built and solid. Simple things like: metal front grille (protect the speakers), preamp tubes hidden inside the chassis, power amp tubes are protected by an additionnal wood plank on the back (held by 4 screws... easily removed), the control panel is recessed (the knobs won't break off if you drop the amp top first), the footswitch's cord is removable (easily replaced) and the one they include is of pretty high quality (but's too short: 10').

However, two things did bother me upon reception of mine: the amp chassis was moving a bit, I tightened the four screws on the top of amp... fixed. Also, the internal speaker jack was not completely pushed in. It could've shorted the power amp... not a good thing! Maybe that happened during transportation, I don't know. Good thing I checked!

I've sent them 2-3 emails asking question about the amps (both before and after the purchase) and they always answer quickly and professionally.

One of the best kept secret in the amp world! Ok, the speakers are not my favorites, but that's because I'm a metal head! For blues and rock, they are incredible.

It gives me everything I need: low or high volume playing (it doesn't sound bad at low volume because the preamp distortion is very smooth and warm, not buzzy), direct (silent) recording (I've been using amp modellers until recently because I NEED to be able to record direct), power (80w of tube power is more than most people will ever need), transportability (a 4X12 is fun... but it doesn't fit in my car!), PRICE!

ALL TUBE Brand new right out of the box 80Watt RMS amp 2 celestions seventy-80's. 2001 model.
It has lucridous amouts of distortions , and a crisp clean tone.
2 channel amp, master volume , overall reverb , footswitch for chan 1 and 2 . Ch.1 is distortion , with boost , volume , bass treble and mids, and especially , the sweeeet scoop .
Clean channel has vol, bass, treb, mids , bright and expander(nice).
I only wish the Reverb was switchable. but i dont really care

I use it for gigs, and its plenty loud. with an extension 412(4ohm) this thing will make your drummer cross his arms and cry.

4 6L6B's , and 12ax7's for preamp

i have EMG 81's and sounds really thick for leads , and really heavy for rythm.
I play anything from Guns'n'roses to metallica, to Slipknot with this.
THIS IS A METAL HEAD AMP AND VINTAGE ROCKER AT THE SAME TIME !! The clean tone is very nice ! specially with bright and expander on.

it is a bit noisy, but not as noisy as you would expect from a tube amp... (Active pickups make it worse)

the clean channel starts to break up @ 4-5 (11-12 o'clock) but it cleans up nicely as i back up my volume knob on my guitar. ( considering the high output of my EMG ) so maybe it is a bit higher with a non-active pickup.

distortion... oh my god... you can dial very brutal to very vintage sound out of this... if you want it to get more didtorted than korn ever did, go right ahead ! But the real distortion is when you crank up the amp ... It just unleashes like a stampeed of elephants man...
Its fucking brutal. good tight bottom end , nice bass response

the reverb is nice

Try it !
-Tube sound
-most versitile distortion i've seen yet
-very nice clean tone

i bought a YCV 40 before this one , but traded it in because i needed the distortion , and didnt mind the extra bottom end...

at this price, its almost half the price of most boutique amps in its range , and i am a very satisfied customer !