Your message prompted me to finally take the amp out of the case. You are absolutely right - it does have the turret boards instead of the cheaper eyelet style boards used in Fenders and later Traynors! I have never seen them in a guitar amp before. Mine does not have a serial number stamped on the rear painted aluminum panel, unlike all the other Traynors I have, but it does have a number written in marker on the inside of the chassis "253".
This must be the serial number. On closer examination, one of the 12AX7/7025's has been replaced with a 12AU7 - I will reassemble it with the right tubes. It really is a pain to disasemble the early Traynors - one of the 4 nuts is almost inaccessible behind the power transformer. The tubes have to be removed to avoid crushing them. Oh well.
I sent pictures of the Bass Master to Daniel Cermak-Sassenrath today for his Traynor page Velvet Black:
Eric
As some may recall, I have a YSR-1 Traynor Custom Reverb, circa 1970. It has 2 RCA 6CA7s, and I think it has something called a "REO drive" and a choke. It has 6 preamp tubes which are a mixture of 12AX7s and 12AX7As. (The schematic calls for the 7As but I never noticed that having a mixture impacted negatively on the tone.) At any rate, lately I have been getting some intermitant "motorboating" (put, put, putting) which I read is caused by old filter caps that need replacing. It also makes some hissing noises and sporadically the volume drops way down. It makes some scrathcy sounds that occur when I'm not turning any pots. All the tubes are at least 15 years old, and for awhile I didn't use it too much. I've never needed to work on it before now.
So I'm looking for any feedback that anyone can give me on these problems. A couple questions that I have are:
Should I go ahead and change the caps myself? (I know, or think I know, how to not get myself zapped doing it)
If I do that, and it's still not right, what's a fair price to pay for having it diagnosed and does anyone know a trustworthy amp tech in the Buffalo, NY area? Would Yorkville do any repairs? (They're an hour away)
What causes the above "symptoms"? Do any sound like transformer problems or other expensive fixes?
Thanks for any help.
Dave
Eric Knudsen wrote: >capacitors look original, but have no date code. It has a script logo similar to Fender's, rather than the later block parallelogram logo's.
I had no idea the script logo was that old. The one I saw matches the description and came complete with the 2x15 for $225 US. I was unemployed at the time (although far from broke) and since I already have two Bassmasters I passed. It sold.
I got the Custom Special back today from the shop. My amp man had some interesting stuff to say and some interesting stuff for me to photocopy including a owners manual for a Custom Special. I'l post when I have it.
KO
Have you had any luck in finding a Traynor YBA-3 head as yet? I have a budget of $300.00 for one Rick in Yellowknife.I was in Manchester (UK) today and spotted a Traynor that is a model that is new to me in a shop on Oxford Road, near the univeristy. I didn't check the serial number as it was under a load of other old heads, and I didn't want to get the staff to dig it out, and I don't have enough money or space to seriously consider it, even though it is only 65 pounds.
It is a Traynor TS50B. The syling is much like a Fender bassman with only a single channel (if that makes sense). In fact a friend of mine had some solid state Fender bass head with very similar styling. Basically a cuboid around twice as wide as high or deep, with a control panel on the front top surface angled back at 45 degrees. The control knobs are oversized (not a bad thing on a darkened stage as this amp was basically all black) with (in order) gain, mid, bass, treble, volume, on/off rocker. Given the general look of the styling/lettering I'd imagine it is one of the later heads, but does anyone know for sure?
Aaron Turner
>I was in Manchester (UK) today and spotted a Traynor that is a model that is new to me in a shop on Oxford Road, near the univeristy. I didn't check the serial number as it was under a load of other old heads, and I didn't want to get the staff to dig it out, and I don't have enough money or space to seriously consider it, even though it is only 65 pounds.
>It is a Traynor TS50B. The syling is much like a Fender bassman with only a single channel (if that makes sense). In fact a friend of mine had some solid state Fender bass head with very similar styling. Basically a cuboid around twice as wide as high or deep, with a control panel on the front top surface angled back at 45 degrees. The control knobs are oversized (not a bad thing on a darkened stage as this amp was basically all black) with (in order) gain, mid, bass, treble, volume, on/off rocker. Given the general look of the styling/lettering I'd imagine it is one of the later heads, but does anyone know for sure?
> Aaron Turner
As far as I know, all Traynor amps that have names starting with TS are transistor rather than tube. The ones I have tried have been solid and competent, but not very interesting - typical transistor amps of that era. The models I see around Ottawa are the TS10 and TS15 - small guitar practice amps. I suspect the number in the model designation refers to the power output. I think they all date from the mid seventies to the late seventies when the Traynor name was dropped.They don't seem to work!
Eric
On the other hand, the daughter of the drummer at band practice got a Yorkville 100B(?) - seems like a 100 watt solid state head with a single 12". I plugged into it for a song at practice and I was relatively impressed. It didn't sound much worse than my AMP BH-420 into my Carvin 2x10 Redline wedge, which is a pretty good sounding rig (for solid state).
I brought the Custom Special back to practice the other night. It kicks out pretty well. I didn't replace the power tubes yet - they've got maybe 6 months to a year left in them.
Why is it that you can't turn the preamp gain up past "2" (7 or 8 o'clock) before you are into serious distortion? Has anyone rebuilt the preamp so it has a little more intuitive operation? This thing could be pretty close to my dream amp, but I wish that the preamp gain weren't so touchy. An effects loop and a DI out (with ground lift switch) would be nice, too, but I can live without them.
KO
Are you running the master volume wide open and controlling the overall loudness with the preamp volume? Or using a bass with active electronics? My experience with both my YBA-3s ( one master vol, one w/o master vol) is that the master vol amp will distort sooner than the other one, especially with master vol wide open. This seems backward, but its what Ive run across. The non master, by the way, can run waaayyy up before distorting, but it doesnt have the overall loudness of the master vol model.
Overall, two totally different beasts. I've noticed both amps seem to like my L2000 in passive mode rather than active. Could also try a 12AT7 or a 12AU7 to tame gain in preamp stage.
Ive also noticed that a proper bias adjustment goes a long way to improving the sound. I recently modified the non master to 6550s(thx, Kevin O.!) and re-biased both heads. The master vol head bias was signifigantly out of range, and when brought back into range, the tone improved greatly. After conversion, the non master head got noticably louder, tone got big, clean and fat, much like my beloved '72 SVT.
On another note, I've got a business trip to Buffalo next week. I will have several days at the end of the week open, and I simply cannot pass the opportunity to cross the border and go Traynor shopping in Southern Ontario. (the faithful returns to Mecca...;-) )
Anyway, Can any list members point me to some locations which may enhance my chances of finding some gear(I'm driving, so I'll have plenty room!). Im familiar with some of the music stores in Toronto, but in conversations, they have told me they dont mess with the old gear too much because they cant offer a decent trade in on it. Any suggestions would be great, anywhere from London to Ottawa is fair game. THX!!!
Mike Levy
Some shops with lots of Traynors in Toronto are:
- Songbird Music: 801 Queen W. - Encore Music: 40 Danforth Rd.(probably the richest source) - Richmond Trading Post: 151 Chruch St.
Ed' Music in Peterboro had a few the last time I was there, howevever, I don't have an address for them.
There's also a place in Hamilton, named Guitar Clinic (I think), which advertises Traynors for sale.
Good luck with your search..
Scott Blake
Dear Sir/Madam,
I was wondering if you had a Traynor 6400 Series 2 Mixer/Amplifier or just a Traynor 6400 Mixer/Amplifier? If so, do you have a circuit diagram for these mixers as mine is broken? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also do you know the URL or the Official Traynor web site? Thank you, from Matthew Williams
I would like to join the mailing list, i dont how it works but.. I recently bought an early YBA1 for $115 Cdn. What drew me to it was noticing that it had the 5AR4 rectifier and 7027 output tubes. I have since fallen in love with this amp. It was all original except for the filter capacitor cans, but i have since done necessary mods/upgrades to it to keep it in top performance.
I have replaced the AC cord with a 3 prong version, ive added a bias pot , and will soon be changing ALL the electrolytic capacitors, including the ones in the preamp and the bias supply. Everyone emphasizes replacing the high voltage cans, but theres more to it than that. I will be using JTM45 value caps in the power supply, since the non original ones in there now are most likely values followed from a later solid state rectifier YBA1. Another thing im doing is replacing the output tube sockets, in my amp here, they removed the socket pins that werent being used. So having been wired for 7027's, theres no way i can try some EL34's in there, so i will replace and rewire the sockets to accomodate either (NOTE: 7027's and EL34's are not interchangeable, the sockets must be adjusted each time the tube is changed from one type to another. Rewiring the socket will also allow me to try out some KT66's ala the JTM45's (although i dont have any KT66's, too bad). Cosmetically its in pretty good shape, the tolex is perfect, the grill has 2 tiny snags over at one end.
but It seems this amp may have fallen face first at some time, when i got it there were only 2 of the 'chicken head' knobs, and the front panel screw holes were stripped, so you could just pull it off. Theres no dents or anything in the faceplate, not even a scratch, internally its perfectly clean, no dust or gunk anywhere. Anyway, i just thought i'd share this with all the traynor lovers. Thanks
Jonathan Krogh
I have just been on you Web page and wanted some pictures or the Traynor Catalogue but the files aren't there. It just says that the file is on this server ??
If you have pictures the YGL MK III Then I would be most grateful
Regards
DAN
Hey, thanks for the info! The serial number on mine is 0910, located on the back panel,there are no serial #markings on the chassis itself. the circuit is buillt on the fender style tag board, which comes after the turret lug models i believe? Youre right about those 0.1mf caps, i just took a look, and i noticed the slightest blacking on them, like if theyve been overheated. Know a source? (are you in toronto?).
I guess mine is early '66. I was posting endlessly all over the place trying to nail down the age,
So far its my oldest amp and the one in the best condition!! I feel bad that ive dug into it to do as much work as i have, but its all necessary for its health.
When i got it, all that had been changed in it were the cap cans (the board mounted electrolytics are stock), the main bias dropping resistor, and the bass channels pot had been replaced with a 3Meg pot of questionable quality, i put a good CTS 1M in there, but if the taper is thrown off too much id hunt for a proper replacement. No other changes. I dont know if the output tubes are stock, but its a pair of Sylvania 7027's.
The rectifier appears to be the original Mullard GZ34. The 12AX7's are one phillips-branded mullard, and 2 are branded "Rodgers amplifiers", but i cant tell what origin they are. I would be interested in a copy of the power supply schem. Right now the cap setup is as found on the 66 YBA1 with the SS rectifier. Which i think are too high values.
I had seen this amp sitting in a certain pawnshop for months, next to a mint condition later YBA1 (ss rec.).
When I went home i was kicking myself all summer for not buying it, as i then realized how early/rare it was, and that it was a JTM45 clone rather than a plexi 1987 clone. When moving in this semester, i was passing by the store with a buddy and i told him to pull in so i could see if the amp was still there. The mint condition one was gone, but this one was still there! I tried it out briefly, not caring whether it worked well or not, and it sounded great! I bought it on the spot, after beating them down from $135+tax to $115 out the door. Thanks for all the info, and id be happy to answer any question, i have a lot to ask!
>Jonathon,
>Your Bassmaster is actually a fairly rare model. You are the fourth member of this list who has identified themselves as an owner of this model.
>A couple of questions:
>- does your amp have a serial number? (mine is 199) - does your amp use a phenolic circuit board with turret lugs?
>I currently have two Bassmaster heads. One is an early model like yours which has been on loan to a friend for a couple of years and the other is the Oct 1966 model with the solid state rectifiers. The latter is my main jamming amp. These can be very versatile when used with a good distortion pedal.
>On the tech side, it's important to replace the two .1uf coupling capacitors between the phase splitter and the power tubes. If these go bad, you can be looking at power tube meltdown. I've had this happen on a couple of older amps. It sounds like you've already done the other standard maintenance fixes.
>I've got a copy of the original power supply schematic if you are interested in maintaining the original part values.
>BTW, $115 Cdn is an excellent deal...good find!
>Scott Blake
I have a Traynor Signature with 7027's of the same vintage that also has a pin removed from the socket. This is to prevent techs used to 6L6 based amps from using it as a tie point (pins 1 and 6 are not used on 6L6's, but are used for duplicate connections (and therefore are live but do not need to be wired) on the 7027. The simplest solution is to use 6L6's instead of the 7027s. The socket wiring and bias is correct without need to alter the amp. This works well with any low voltage 7027 Traynors, but is more controversial with the high voltage models such as the early Mark II, and Custom Specials.
I hadn't noticed it til you mentioned it, but you are absolutely right - EL34 and 7027 sockets are incompatible. EL34's and 6L6's can share the same socket (ignoring bias), as can 6L6's and 7027's, but not EL34's and 7027's. Oh well.
Eric
Hi JC! I was trying to download some of the schems and after I do... by the way, it takes forever.... my browser and my off line reader says that all the downloaded gif files are not valid .GIF files. ?? Ever seen that before.
I am using AOL and a program off line called JASC Image Commander. Pretty weird.
Cheers! Bruce
Hello fellow Traynor collectors,
Here's a pic of my Custom Reverb for your viewing enjoyment. I bought it 3 years ago for $100 US. It was totally stock. I have since replaced the original filter caps with LCRs and added a resistor in the bias supply. I recently put a 1 meg pot in channel 1 to give me a little more control of the volume and also added a .1 uf cap across the preamp cathode resistor and a 220 pf cap across the volume control. I clipped the cap in channel 2 and put in a 220 uf cap across the cathode resistor. I use this channel for bass. I tried a couple of Kevin O'Connor's master volume circuits but they were buzzy and I didn't want to start changing a bunch of the parts for fear of getting it too far from stock.
The cab it sits on is a home-made Fender-sized 2x12 with Celestion G12M-70s. The rig sounds pretty good.
BTW, there is one fo these on the Ebay auction now but the opening bid was $189 (a dealer listed it) and the reserve is above that. Most of the dealers that put stuff there have it priced well above market. It probably is worth $200 or more as a player's amp but without the Fender name plate it will never bring as much as, say, a very similar Bandmaster Reverb head (which I also have.)
Lee
Hello again everyone, Im the new guy who posted a few days ago about an early tube-rectified YBA1, Today, my friend came back from the same pawnshop, with a 72 YBA1, and a 4x12 cab that looks about the same era. All this was had for $230 cdn. Now, i opened it up after noticing the 2 output tubes didnt match, one was an original Mullard EL34, and the other appears to be a Siemens (has the dimple on top), 2 of the preamp tubes are philips branded Mullards, and the driver tube is a japanese GE labelled 12AX7. Now , I opened and pulled out the chassis, and theres the original schematic in there! Further inspection revealed all solder joints were untouched, so it looks like im the first guy in there since it was buttoned up at Yorkville, i felt like i had opened a tomb! anyway, we got down to the immediate problem, we decided to put in a bias pot, and the 1 ohm cathode resistors to measure bias. I put in a pair of russian groove tube EL34's i had lying around. Now of course, its all lovely and exciting to find an amp and clean and bone stock as this, but of course its not always best to leave things as such, the amp hums quite a bit, so a cap job looks emminent< and so does a conversion to the 3 prong AC cord.
Also, the big 470 ohm 10 watt B+ dropping resistors look like theyve been running pretty hot, so much so that the tag board below them is cracked from heat.
Overall though, i was kinda dissapointed in the decrease in transformer size compared to my '66 model, I mean, the power transformer on mine looks like it could handle any 100 watt amp, and the output tranny is pretty hefty for a 50 watt, but on this here '72, its all smaller, still damn good by todays standards, but nonetheless a marked decrease. Also this version has no choke.
As for the 4x12 cab, does anyone know what speakers would have been in this cab? i dont have the numbers stamped on the magnets handy right now. One speaker has been replaced with a Realistic radio shack thing. All in all, a beautiful score for my friend, another traynor has found a loving home.I think Traynor made model #YN-412 around that time. It had 4 Norelco 12" speakers. "Free moving speakers with 'whizzer' cones for ultimate highs while retaining deep rich body. Must not be used for Bass." Dimensions: 32 3/4 x 30 1/4 x 13 (That's in US inches) - 107 lbs.>Do you have any idea what year it was made? I keep trying to pin mine down and based on the schematic updates, I think it is a '69. I notice mine has two lights on the front (green =on, red=standby) whereas yours only has one. I also don't have the chrome strips wrapped around the ends, and (although its missing) it looks like the name plate was off-set on the left hand side of the grill cloth. If I knew the year of yours, it would help confirm my other info. BTW what are LCRs and why did you choose them for replacement caps?
Thanks,
Dave
Hey guys! First of all, let me say congradulations to all you lucky dudes scoring these great amps for next to nothing. It seems that most of you live in Canada and come across these more often than here in the U.S., although they are here.
O.K. here's my subject. I picked up a YGM-3 at a San Francisco shop about a month ago for $150 U.S. It sounded so sweet in the store, it had just an unbelievable amount of tight bass response and the volume was way higher than I'd expect. A buddy of mine had one about a year ago and I don't remember his being as loud. I knew before I got it that the Tremelo was not working in the amp but I couldn't pass it up. I got it home and it played great for awhile but I started to notice that something was fishy with the bass control. Occasionally the bass response would just drop out altogether and leave the sound without any bass at all. When turning the knob it would crackle and come back on for awhile. I figured it was just a dirty pot. I downloaded the schematic for the YGM-3 84 out of the archive and opened her up (not a hassle at all with this 1x12 combo). It turned out that the Speed and Intensity pots were not wired to anything at all. I figured I could rewire them according to the schematic but when going over the whole works, I noticed other small changes that had been made. Which brings me to question #1 Is there significant differance between the YGM-3 and YGM-3 84? I am assuming that the 84 is a later model. My speaker is dated Nov. '72 and the Ss# is 2110133, how can I tell the date from this? I have written Yorkville for the YGM-3 schematic in hopes that it will clear up some of the changes I've noticed,, such as capacitor c28 is missing. So this is my big question. Does anyone know of a common mod someone would make to this amp that would improve bass response and volume at the sacrifice of the Tremelo? I cleaned the bass pot (which had been replaced) with no result. One more thing,, input jacks 2 and 3 do nothing although they are still connected according to the schematic.
I know this is a vague plea for help but I'm hoping that someone will have a good idea of what this thing has been through,,, like a commonly known modification for this amp. If no one knows what the hell I'm talking about, then I will assume that someone worked some custom mojo on it that can only be fixed by putting it back to stock condition and losing the cool bass/volume improvement while making it more stable and getting the Tremelo back. Hit me with some info, guys!
Thanks, Charlie
>Do you have any idea what year it was made? I keep trying to pin mine down and based on the schematic updates, I think it is a '69. I notice mine has two lights on the front (green =on, red=standby) whereas yours only has one. I also don't have the chrome strips wrapped around the ends, and (although its missing) it looks like the name plate was off-set on the left hand side of the grill cloth. If I knew the year of yours, it would help confirm my other info. BTW what are LCRs and why did you choose them for replacement caps?
I'm pretty sure mine in '70-'72 vintage. I have the pull-out chassis, not the flip top. Mine the the transformerless reverb circuit. The earlier ones used a choke in the reverb circuit. There are probably people at Yorkville Sound who can help you date yours. They have been helpful to me.
LCRs are the 50uf x 50uf x 500 volt cans that are used in Marshall. I used those because they are more readily available and cheaper than the Mallorys.
Lee
hi: just checked out your traynor site...very nice. i thought you would be interested in hearing from me.
john bride and i organized the traynor day at song bird! the tor star picture is one i took when i travelled a couple hours north of the city to visit pete and sue at their rural home. they live on an RR and when we turned in to the road from the highway, we saw many fabulous mansions! i thought to myself...of course...pete designed traynor amps...he must have a huge house....all that money...all those amps they sold.... well...we got to pete and sue's house...a very modest affair, almost cottage sized...you can't imagine how nervous i was, not only being in mister traynor amps' house, but also charged with taking a photo of him as well for the toronto star!
...pete came downstairs and immediately put us at ease with one of the most enthusiastic personalities i have met...by the time we left and i'd taken the picture (the traynors in the picture were brought by us for the photo shoot..the only traynor i saw at pete's place was a grey tolex ts series something or other (mebbe a 120) (!)), i was genuinely impressed by the man.
of course he had a trailer full of parts and shit from the tube era, but we never got a good look at 'em.
he likes his privacy, dislikes the city, has a great stereo system and does computer graphics these days... i don't have time now to tell you some of the great stories...like the steve miller concert when all the traynor amps blew up or the all night drinking stories with bob abbot or pete jamming on bass at our party.... later man
jeff beardall edgewater music toronto
Do you have a schematic for the yba-2 bassmate? I have a head/cab and it is in need of some help. I have two problems: 1) I need to see the tube configuration because mine currently has 2 x 6V6, 1 x 12AX7, and1 x 12AU7. The tube chart is ripped off and I don't know if this is correct. I saw a combo in the store yesterday and it had 2 x 6BQ5 and 2 x 12AX7
2) Lots of noise when the amp does not have an instrument plugged in. I would like to check some values out.
Any help would be great
Mark Draycott