Traynor YSR-1 Custom Reverb

Has all the features needed to get a great vintage tube tone with almost any Guitar you plug into it. I think this has been covered in the other reviews so nothing to ad here. Where this amp shines is in the tone produced, It really is like a Fender Twin on Steroids!

Ok, here is what this baby is all about! This thing screams.....In a very GOOD way. With either a single coil type guitar or Humbucker, equiped or even a good crunchy P-90 setup this amp just ooozes creamy vintage tone, crystal clear clean at low to mid volumes and a very nice EL-34 breakup at higher volumes. Some reviews have mentioned loud, they are right, this thing can get VERY loud, I would say unbelievably loud for a 45 watt amp. If you want good distortion, or should I say heavenly distortion at lower volume levels just plug any good distortion pedal in and stand back.....I use an Ibanez tube screamer and OMG, 70's classic rock tones could not be any better! But, dont get me wrong pedals are not necesary to get incredable sound from this monster, just break out your favorite guitar, plug straight in and dial in the proper amount of tube driven reverb, maybe a little tube driven tremolo if desired, crank it up and it'll make the hair stand up on the back of your neck!! I also have a Peavey classic 50 Stack (4x10 & 1x15) and a peavey delta blues, this thing will eat those amps up for lunch and spit em out...no comparison! And I do love my peavey amps, they just are in a different class and dont hold a candle to the YSR1, as far as I'm concerened, its the holy grail of guitar amplification.

Built like a tank no worries there, Have never had an ounce to trouble out of it.

HellifIknow......Its never given me a problem.

If you can find a Traynor YSR-1, BUY IT! They are starting to get quite hard to find and that is reflected by the prices they are starting to bring on ebay and Craigslists all over the country. You certianly wont get mine, its not and will not be for sale. I have been playing since I was 10 and I'm 57 now, by far the best sounding amp I have ever owned. I've had many tube amps over the years but since finding this one dont miss any of em. If stolen I would certianly try to find another one and hunt down the theif with a vengence! Like I said, If you can find one BUY IT!!

N/A

I'm amending my review of 2 yrs. ago, of this amp... Amp still kickin' butt but I'm using a different cab now and WOW! Since previous review, I acquired a different cab. (Kustom, Quad Jr.) w/4x12 Celestion Super 65's! 65's are incredible speakers but the "kicker" here is that the box is wired for 4ohms ONLY! Old Bassman cab w/ 2x12 Vintage 30's (8ohms) sounded great but this little Quad Jr. is astounding! The rig is easily twice as loud now and with the addition of a 7 band EQ, foot pedal this set-up is damn-near perfect for my style. I go from a throaty Stevie Ray type rhythm to screamin' (Ibanez Tube King), Gary Moore lead tone without a blink! Tried a bunch of cabs. but this Quad Jr. is a pip! Probably sound killer with a Bassman head too!

So far, so good. It's a Traynor!

N/A

I've searched all my life for this tone and to think I had to go back to an amp from 1971 to find it! Magic tone n' loud as ****!!!

i recently picked up a 1973 YSR-1 custom reverb. as far as features, it doesnt stand up to many of todays newer amps whloe list of buzzers, bells, lights or sirens. it does simply have a fair reverb and a trem which sounds decent, but trips the fuse whenever i turn it to a fast rate (higher than half way) i cant really say i would use other features if it had them. its simple and thats pretty much the way i like it. i believe the tubes are all original, as is everything else. oh, and by the way, this amp is FREEKIN LOUD!!!! if you get one, make sure you run through an 8 ohm cab with a closed back and decent speakers. im currently using a peavey sheffield equiped 4x12 cab and an old ampeg 4x10 bass cab. its soooo loud. un believably loud. i think its rated at like 45 watts?!?! the power chord does need updating to a 3 prong but i dont plan to mod it in any other way.

this is a simply great sounding amp. i use 2 guitars primarily with it, a mid 90's Ibanez S series with a pair of relatively hot humbuckers, and a new Epiphone Les Paul with nice classic humbuckers. the combination of this amp and cabinets makes both guitars (which are relatively low end models) sing. i use a whole string of effects (boss sc-1, russian muff, pro-co rat, boss phaser, modded crybaby, rocktron surf trem, ibanez tone-lok delay, EH holy grail reverb...) and play hard rock, some blues, some metal and some alternative, and this amp always sounds good. ive never really gotten a good distorted sound out of it, but i dont reaslly need to. i like the smooth clean, clear tones. very warm and nice. sometimes, too nice, actually. oh, yea, did i mention how LOUD this amp is? once its warmed up (for about 1 1/2 hours) it sounds even better!

iv not used this amp @ a gig yet, but i plan on it pretty soon. i would probly bring a backup. as i mentioned earlier, with the trem cranked up, it trips the fuse almost all the time but i never really use it anyway. ive not had any other problems, even during our marathon rehearsal sessions.

i have found an authorized traynor repair shop in my town, but thats about it. many wiring diagrams and communities are available online,

ive been playing guitar for about 15 or so years now, and have gone through a few different stages and styles. ive played through more than a few different guitars, amps, and effects setups (incl. a very loud and nasty randall some crates (tube and ss) a nice sounding peavey bandit 112 trans-tube and recently ive tried some modern tube amps. and to be fair, i must be the only guitar player in the world who can make a real tube marshall sound bad. there really isnt anything i dont like about this amp. its simple, its built like a tank, sounds great day after day w/ every guitar and effect ive plugged into it. i think to get a similar good sounding amp ( w/ a cab), you would have to pay double or triple the price. i paid $500 and got a really good sounding 4x12 cab. well worth it, i think.

I Have Two Traynor YSR-1 Amps; a 1968 and a 1970- A couple minor differences in the circuit, mainly the 1969 model has a choke transformer and the 1970 doesn't. In my opinion these are a very versatile amp- I do a variety of styles of playing, these cover it all really well - Two Channel, I Y cord and blend them, which is a great thing to do- Don't Jumper low to high, it doesn't sound as good... I prefer the lower volume inputs at the same time, give a truer sound as you turn up- Sometimes I think it might have been interesting if Pete had designed these with a rectifier tube instead of diodes, but only when I'm thinking about it- When ever I'm playing, it just seems perfect more often than not. Mine are Stock, other than the fact that I've built both amps into combos; One a 12"/10" Jensen speaker configuration and the other a single 15 Altec 418-8H, What a Great Speaker for these amps!!! I Strongly suggest any one to Not Modify One of these masterpieces, they're so great as they were built... Okay, one Mod- I did add one extra Cap to the Tremolo circuit so it goes slower that the stock slow speed-- PS- YSR-1 Tremolo Is The Best Tremolo You'll Ever Hear!!! No Point Off For Kick *** Amp, That's Point to Point, and Not Expensive; not yet anyway........

My Guitars are: A '77 ES-355td - A '80 Howard Roberts Fusion - A '73 L6S - A cool old Harmony Rocket - Suits my music styles well, as good or better than any other make out there depending on what you're up to with it. My Music runs around in the Americana Roots blah, blah, Rock & Roll, Stax, Levon's Weight, Beer slathered country or punk of old... It's not noisy if it's kept up: the power caps on old tube amp thing you know..., A Great Ballsy, Sweet 40-some watt Tube Amp- Tube driven reverb and tube Bias adjusting Tremolo, jeez! Played with a gut that had one of them rich white boy amps, a two rock reverb, and he was pissed; it was a pretty large, 300 people, room- My YSR chewed way more fat up and spit it further....

100% Quality Build- But it's old, so...???

Pete's old and retired now, I couldn't dream of bothering him to fix these anymore.... With amps this old ya got's ta roll yer own I'm afraid......

I've been playing my whole life and I'm just getting started. I use to use an old time fender twin reverb, too brittle- Had me a blonde colored tremolux once, that was a freaking great sounding amp, I'd like one of those again- Had an old 50 watt marshall; can't remember much to say about that, marshall's eah!- Then I used a Riviera (sp?) CRap!- Then I used a Guytron, tried to like it, but alas, she had no soul, just extra cheesy - Then I bought my first YSR, well I knew right away I loved it; very musical, soulful, earthy, heavy, digs playing music... Kept loving it more, so after, oh..., 5/6 years of knowing this is my favorite amp I got another for backup on the road trips y'know... I go back'n'forth so they're both used about the same- Really like the sound of it through a 15" full range speaker... One important note: I use a stage-hog pedal for overdrive and there's nothing lacking! The two of them together equal the best rig money can buy

mines been modded,and the features work perfect so a 10 it has got to be.I think It's a 67 model,front controls are=vol.1,vol.2,treb,mid,bass,master vol.,power toggle,stanby toggle.no more reverb or tremelo.

the reverb and tremolo are gone,and I have a mid control as well as a master volume.I have to say that this is the best amp I've ever played through.I use all the usual pedals,including compression.I plugged straight into this thing using my 94 japanese 54 strat reissue.I have never heard my strat sound so fat,just dripping with juicy tone.My strat has an onboard mid boost circuit (misitech/john mcyintyre)that i normally always switch on to get a fatter more humbucker type sound.With this amp I could get that tone without activating the mid boost.Jumpering the two channels lets you dial in the second channels brightness to taste.This amp has the sweetest natural compression i've heard yet,incredibly warm and articulate.From clean to crunchy this thing is simply godlike.

traynors rule in this category.

I fluked out buying this,I called a guy asking about his ysr-1 for sale,he said he sold it ,but remembered that he had another "project " ysr-1 that he might as well get rid of.He told me that it was an early model with the 4 inputs 1967 or so,he said it needed to be cleaned up,has no knobs,no traynor logo,and had been heavily modified by a local tech,who I happen to know.He said he took it in on trade and had never tried it,so he wasn't sure if it worked or not. He sold it to me for $225.00 as a project amp.He also threw in a couple russian el34's.I took it home,Installed chicken head knobs,installed a missing amber jewel over the pilot light,cleaned it up with armour all.I looked in the back,mullard 12ax7's,nice,I plugged it in crossing my fingers and hoping for the best,expecting the worst.Well guess what?Out came the best strat tone I have ever experienced,I played for 2 hours and felt like I'd won the lottery,this amp needs nothing.I will call the tech to get the goods on this thing,but man I love it.This amp is one of a kind with the mods it has.I own fender,marshall,hiwatt and traynor yba-1 heads,this and my 67 yba-1 are my faves by far.

All you need in an amp to sound great. If you really take the time, you can get an almost infinite variety of tones.
2 channel/2 input per channel (GREAT for jumpering channels), separate Volume controls, Treble, Bass, Reverb, Trem Intensity and Speed, and my favorite- CLASSY 2 Jewel lamps for Standby/Operate! You can mix and match colors on these for ultimate style! The best feature on this amp, though, is the tone. Without great tone, an amp is worthless no matter how many gizmos are on it.

This amp sounds gorgeous. Keep it down and you get a great sparkly clean. Crank it, and it screams with great classic rock tone. Reverb and trem are both to die for. The EQ is also very interactive, making for a wide variety of sounds. A Midrange control is entirely unnecessary.

It's a Traynor. It's built like a brick ****house. I routinely gig without a backup.

NA

This amp is incredible especially for the value. Handwired with quality parts. You can't go wrong with a Traynor. I also own a Bassmaster which rocks, but now our bass player uses it and boy does it sound fat! Traynors rock.

This is an amp head built in June of 1971. Features are basic but there are a few things that stand out... The unit has 2 independent channels w/2 inputs each. Each has a distinct tone (1,thick and 2,bright)and can be used separately or can be chained together (with a patch cord) to create a blended sound of both. This feature is incredible and works just like older Marshall heads... But here's the kicker! The lower jack in each channel is substantially "hotter" so you should go into the bottom jack of 1., jump out of the one above it and go back in the lower jack on channel 2! This will almost double your output potential!!! The two tones are also very hot so be prepared to cut them back... WOW! The only reason I gave it a 9, is no mid control. The sound is off the hook though!!!

The amp is basically a one trick pony but boy whatta' trick! I set the amp for the best possible "clean" tone I can get with the guitar full up. I use an Ibanez Tube-King for my "mean" solos and chunk and an old Yamaha Distortion pedal with the gain cranked back and the output 1/2 up for clean solos or intro's. This combination virtually gives me 3 stages of gain that covers everything. With the right combination of pedals, you could play almost any style of music with this thing; from fat-Jazz to Fire-breathing Rock. By the way, I forgot to mention, this thing is loud as s#%t!!! I use it with a '64 Fender Bassman cab. w/2X12 CTS and the those 2 EL34's just sing in that box!!! P.S. Still has org. tubes!!!

Thirty-six years old, has all original tubes and does'nt make any funny noises... Not too worried!

Point to point wiring and comes apart in 2 minutes... I'll fix it!

I've been performing "pro" for just over 40 years and Ive had a poop-load of great amps but this one is a "Zinger"! Had a YBA-1 back in the early 70's and I used that with a Marshall 8X10 cab. and "holy-crap" whatta' sound that was. Could'nt get it loud enough though 'cause the cab. had 32 ohms! Just gobbled up the power. These Traynor heads run best at 8 ohms handle 4 if you put a fan pointing at the back.My main guitars these days are a '93 Peavey Predator Strat w/Fender Jeff Beck Hot noiseless pick-ups and an '86 G&L ASAT Special for better inside shows. It's vintage now and the Peavey plays and sounds incredible anyway. I've also got a Crate V30H head but that's another exciting story!!!

Mine are a 1968, and 2 1970s (yes I own 3 of these)

The features have been listed over and over, but I give it a 7 because it has no mid control and could use a master volume (45 watts true non-clipped power... louder than life)

I have no modded any of mine (and I never will) safe from a 3 prong plug. Many people install a master volume in place of the ground switch.

2 non-switchable Channels (with hing and low inputs for each) and 2 volume controls which can be circuited together with an internal mod, or externally with a patch chord (very nice)

These amps (with the right tubes of choice) will get you the best clean tones anywhere.
Mine are fitted with JJs...

If you know/used Traynors, no additional comments needed here: They are tanks.

Schematics available online. Any amp tech can work on them.

If one of mine were stolen, I would be extrememly upset; however I have 2 others so it is not that big a deal.

If my '68 was stolen, I would making a serious insurance claim (That one cannot be replaced)

For the price you can buy them for, they are a steal as compared to other vintage amps. I am not putting MArshall or Fender amps down, but they are not worth 5 times as much as these (from a sound and durability perspective). If you want to buy a name, buy a Marshall; if you want to buy a great amp at a fraction of the price, look no further.

Mine is a 73-74 era, was a 4x10 combo, cut down by the previous owner into a head. 2 x EL-34. This is the most hi-fi Marshall plexi beater you will find for under $500.

I recently installed a cheap chinese 12AT7 in the V1 slot, and if you haven't tried it, man you MUST. This amp was meant for a 12AT7 in V1. Period. I've owned it for about 20 years, it is one of the best sounding amps I've ever heard/played through, and I've been playing electric guitar (blues, jazz, rock) for 25 years.

With a 12AT7 in V1, you can turn it all the way up (Master and Volume), set your tone controls on your guitar (this is best with Humbuckers), and control clean to SCREAM from your guitar volume knob alone. This is one inexpensive Trainwreck Express (it does not have the hi-gain character, but it has much of the rest of the character of the very expensive boutique amps).

humbuckers. Will do the blues thing with single coils, great Stevie Ray Vaughan sound

Always dependable

I love this amp. If you've never tried one, you're missing out.

I`m 52 years young.Considering the price tag on an all-tube amp nowadays,I consider myself lucky to get this amp in a trading.Mine is stock exept for 6L6 tubes.I run it through a Beringer Ultrastack with Jensen speakers.I wish for a master volume control & midrange control.Ihave another reverb unit so I don`t worry about the amp factory one.Tremolo was a novelty way back in the 60`s so if you play that type of music try to fine-tune it.It comes a litle to strong for my taste.Because of sealed-back speaker cab,I can use an equalizer to help with the midrange.Use an overdrive effect.I do and I like what I hear. Clean sound:satisfactory.Tone:depends on you.Otherwise good.Change to a 3 prong power cord asap.SHOCK HAZARD.It`s reliable.Mine is a 50 watt 1968 head.Cost? The trading comes to $45.

I have a Jackson,Les paul&Strat.I play reggae,classic rock,blues.The amp is versatil with an equalizer.It`s loud for a 50 watt,but I don`t like it`s distortion.Remains pretty clean all the way to about 7 & breaks kind of transistor type.Get an overdrive,remember no master volume unless you modify.

I depend on this amp,but I`m wise enough to always have a back-up.I live in Puerto Rico & electricity down here is unstable.
It can take output transformers,although this amp has held up well.

No problems "yet" So I`m not qualified to answer.Just look ahead of time for a good repair place,parts just in case.

I`ve been playing since I was 12 now I`m 52. Do the math.The way this amp responds in general,I don`t want to think of stolen or lost.Back-up amp? I have a Twin reverb WITH master vol. AND mid controls,but there`s a particular "warmth" about this amp,that I like best.I also have a Bassman 50 & both Fenders have broken down.Not the Traynor.Not for sale.