Tube Amps...

[sour29]

Thanks! Going out to pick it up in a couple of hours. I'll be sure to let you know how it sounds tomorrow! :)

[I.T.]

I've worked on several Traynors. The Bass Master heads are truly untamed Canadian beasts of amplification. Good bang for the buck, with plentiful tone and volume. Lots of volume. The circuit is much closer to a Marshall than a Blackface.

One thing to consider about the Bass Master MKII... the power tubes are running at over 500VDC, so tube life-span and overall reliability is not exactly great. They run hot, and the fan is there for a reason. At least the schematic is glued to the underside of the top panel for convenience :]

There is another model called the Custom Special, which is similar to an Ampeg SVT if I remember correctly. I have played the Guitar Mate and Bass Mate combos and wasn't thrilled by the tone.

[Patr!ck]

Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought Marshall Stacks (The Marshall head and the flat cab on bottom, angled one on top) are way too huge, and don't have the sound to back up 2k being spent on it.

Plus, how the hell do you cart that around?

[sour29]

Picked up what looks to be a late-70's YBA-1 on Craigslist for $350. Condition's great; now I just need a decent cab. Since it's mostly going to be used for home and maybe band practice (and very, very maybe small gigs), I'm going with a 2x12. I'm interested to see how this baby handles. The tone of the YGM was good -- but didn't pack enough power to cut through the band. I will miss the built-in tremolo feature, though. I've been reading a bit more about them, and am slowly learning all sorts of different things that I never knew about amps and cabs...slanted/straight, open/closed/convertible backs, speaker and cab ohms, linking channels -- it's enough to make a n00b's head spin.

Good thing I read that it's terribly unwise to use a 1/4" instrument cable to connect amp and cab, and rather need a 1/4" speaker cable. I probably never would have stopped to consider that there might be different musical cables with 1/4" connectors! What did people do before the internets?

[John]

Well, they burned up their amps is what they did. And then after they burned up their amps by using an instrument cable instead of a speaker cable they learned their lesson and never did it again. Same with ohm ratings. I used to run my Traynor through a 1x15 cabinet that sounded like god, until I melted the speaker.

Congratulations on the new amp. You Canadians get all the good stuff.

[sour29]

Ugh. Hate to hear that. Although the idea of seeing a speaker melt in front of my eyes from too much rock is strangely appealing...

If you need me to keep my eyes open for any Canadian gear, let me know. I'll keep my peepers peeled.


EDIT: Wow, within minutes of me posting this message, look what popped up on Craigslist. ;)

This is the later Mark II, but includes the fan; and for only $300! You're right -- we're ridiculous.

[Patr!ck]

Has the world caught on to these Traynors? I've been looking on Craigslist/eBay and they're not nearly as cheap as I want them to be. Would it be worth it to make a trip into C-Land one weekend and just browse used music shops?

[sour29]

You see them on Craigslist up here a couple of times a month. I picked up a 70s one -- not as coveted as the 60s, but more or less the same from what I've read -- for $375CAN. You're probably better off buying directly from a seller as the used music shops will either a) sell it to an employee for close to cost, or b) mark it up unreasonably, given the perceived street value for the amp.

But let me warn you -- if you live with people who don't want you to play and/or uncool neighbours, stay away from the YBA-1! With this thing's volume knob set to a hair over level 2, it shakes my walls and makes the lights in my ceiling vibrate. And that's only through a little 2x12 cab. But yeah, if you know you're making a trip up here for a weekend, browse the local Craigslist site for a month or so before hand and you will almost certainly come across one. Some prices aren't much better than eBay, but I think there's an implied flexibility with the pricing on most CL ads. Good luck!

[NatureBoy]

You know who has a neato Traynor amp as part of their backline?

SLOAN.

[kategottli]

I am so stoked to see all this Sloan love lately. They are one of the few bands from my childhood that are still making music I enjoy as an adult.

[sour29]

Does anyone have $638 dollars to spend? Don't worry -- that's Canadian dollars.
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/msg/1616205551.html

[John]

That's the one! I used to bridge the two channels by running a short cable from the "B" input of channel one to the "A" input of channel two. Because it wasn't ridiculously loud enough as it was.

[sour29]

That's the one! I used to bridge the two channels by running a short cable from the "B" input of channel one to the "A" input of channel two. Because it wasn't ridiculously loud enough as it was.

I've read that actually makes some really good sounds, and was thinking about trying it out myself, but I'm not sure my neighbours would appreciate the extra volume. Maybe I'll do it when their car's not in the drive way. Thanks for the warning! Every time I play, I keep an ear open for a knock at my door from the police regarding various noise complaints. Ha!

I have the later model, that looks more like this one: http://media.photobucket.com/image/yba-1/davespics/100_0151.jpg . A bit more distance for linking inputs, but shouldn't be hard. Do you just use a regular patch cable, like you'd use for your pedals?

Also, this may belong in another thread, but I remember you talking about how much you enjoyed the H20 chorus/reverb pedal. Care to share your settings?