All user reviews for the Traynor YCV40WR Custom Valve

I have about 15 years experience playing in bands, teaching guitar, and playing in stage musicals

Bought new, $750 CAD

Built to last, very versatile

Reputation of Traynor does this amp no justice. I looked for a long time at amps worth a lot more before I found it - the worst thing about this amp is that I will never get back what I paid for it though it's worth a lot more!

Bulletproof. Celestian Seventy 80 can't keep up with the low end at higher volumes, but it's 'take-your-head-off-loud" anyway! No need to turn it up!


I would recommend this amp to anyone looking for an affordable, versatile tube amp any day of the week. Fender, MArshall, Mesa-owning friends have converted!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I went to Long and Mcquade for their november yorkville promo month looking for a traynor amp. I had previously played one a couple of times and I absolutely loved the sound. Nothing i had heard before had ever compared to it. I got 0% financing on it and with all taxes, it was just shy of $800 canadian. I stand by the fact that it is more than well worth the money.

Like I said before, value for money. It is an awesome amp. It is only 40 watts but it's output power is WELL over 100 easily. When I go to band practice with a drummer who hits frigin hard, 2 guitars and one loud bass (plus a singer), i play at a volume of only 2.5 literally and im at the same level as anyone else. I could very well never need another amp ever again. Definitely an amp to gig with no problem. I absolutely love this amp and even though it cost a bit of money, its worth so much more.

I dont think there is anything I don't like about this amp. The natural tube distortion sounds great so I can't even put that down.

Very solid construction. I like to stand on it at band practices at times ahahaha. Definitely built to last.

Overall, definitely an amazing amp. Couldn't be happier. I can even compare it to a Marshall half stack easily (but we all know how much money those are) so it's very nice to have something a bit more affordable. I really don't think I'll need another amp for the next 20 years atleast (if not ever).

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

I purchased this unit at Ground Zero Music in Indianola, Iowa. (Fantastic place to shop) Priced at $594.00. I had been reading the reviews on this amp and it sounded like a good quality tube amp. And the reviews are correct!!! So I brought it home.

I play Carvin guitars. This amp has a fantastic sound. The clean channel is so clear and the distortion has a great harmonic tone to it. I heard sounds coming out of my Carvin guitars that I had not yet heard. It has two red back Celestion 10 inch speakers that are nice and tight in midrange tone. It also has a bright switch on the clean side (unswitchable) and a switchable lead boost on the distortion side. You can get a wide range of sound out of this amp, and it is 40 loud tube watts.

This amp may not be the holy grail of tube amps. But for the price, quality, and sound I really have no complaints.

This amp is made of high quality plywood. The tolex cover is nice, and the grill is both a painted steel grill covered by a nice grill cloth. It has nice large chicken head knobs, and a nice large logo on the front looks pretty cool.

I am a real picky musician when it comes to my equipment. I've passed up alot of good amp deals because the sound didn't meet my standards. This amp has a sound that just sticks with you. It was Guitar Player magazine 2001 pick of the year. Go play it once and you'll see why.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Got this glorious tone-glutton from Texas Music Emporium on 1960. Walked in, asked about tube amps and the salesman directed me towards the amp of my dreams. The prodigal son had returned. Once I plugged in I had to have it. Was on sale for $499.00 and then he threw in an amp-stand for $25. Overall it cost me near $550.00, friggin WELL SPENT!!!

40 watts, don't be mistaken, in a well-built amp like this 40 watts seems like 200!! 3 12ax7a preamp tubs, 2 6l6g8 power amp tubes. Autobalancing bias supply, low-noise power supply, 12" celestion speaker. Clean channel and OD channel, with boost makes it like 3 channels. Bright switch on clean fills room with shimmery goodness. Comes with pedal. Core overdrive on this amp is creamy and warm with sweet tube distortion. Clean channel is soft and saturated. Rich gain structure. Extremely loud when turned up. Quite frankly, best amp I have ever had the honor of playing.

I would have to say NOTHING!! This amp is perfect. It was the GuitarPlayer Editors Pick for pete's sake!!!You can't go wrong with this baby.

Strong, durable plywood construction with beautiful bluish black tolex and chrome plated corners. Perforated steel grille.

Bottom Line-This is the first and last amp I'd ever need. If ever stolen I would hunt down the man that did it and get a brutal revenge...and then I would replace the amp as soon as possible. Excellent amp for gigging, when mic'd this amp sounds GORGEOUS! Best amp I've ever played.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The Traynor YCV40WR is an older model design that works well for musicians looking for something that has a decent variety of tones in a simple and portable package. This particular amp is loaded with 5881 (6L6) power tubes and puts out 40 watts of power. It has two channels, each with its own EQ (bass, middle, treble) and volume controls. The drive channel also has a gain knob and an onboard boost. There is also a master presence control as well as reverb too. It's loaded with the classic Celestion Vintage 30 speaker as well. There is also an effects loop located on the rear panel of the amp for pedal fiends as well. Definitely a great feature-set that combines everything you need with nothing that you don't!

UTILIZATION

Getting a good sound out of this amp is pretty easy to do overall. It was designed to be a sort of jack-of-all-trades kind of deal, something that will cover a whole variety of tones that really work well for everything from jazz or blues to some rock and possibly even metal tones as well. They're not exactly designed to do extremely KILLER cleans or the highest gain of metal fury tones, but it will get a great balance between the clean and drive modes for the gigging/jamming musician who needs everything all in one.

SOUNDS

This amp sounds better than some of Traynor's newer offerings that at all mention the phrase "high gain," that's certainly sure. It's definitely got a pretty classic vibe to it overall... The clean channel is very Fenderesque to my ears. The 6L6 tubes and typical Fender style tonestack provide some great classic clean tones. They don't quite have the woodiness/glassiness of the classic Twins and Deluxes but as a reasonable facsimile they're not bad. The drive channel is nice for what it is. It's smoother in tonality and I find it works best for lower gain crunch tones (for blues or early classic rock styles) or for smoother lead type tones perhaps using an overdrive pedal as a booster. It's not a ridiculously high gain amplifier by any means, but if you hit it with the right pedal you can get into some harder rock or metal tones.

OVERALL OPINION

All in all I think the Traynor YCV40WR is pretty good. It's nice and versatile and does clean and drive tones all in one. The tones are good and lack the overcompressed nature of a lot of newer Traynor gear. Being that I'm in Canada I run across a LOT of these amps in gig and jam scenarios so I've learned to work with them the best I can. They can be had for about $500 used which is a decent deal considering that you're getting a good sounding quality tube amp that will work very well for everything from jazz to classic rock.

Class AB tube amp with an output of 40W
- Preamp: 3x 12AX7WA
- Electric power: 2x 5881
- Celestion Vintage 30 speaker
2 channels + boost on boosted channel:
- Canal including clean volume, treble, mid and bass
- Canal crunch / lead including volume, treble, mid, bass, gain
Adjusting the presence and reverb (Accutronics) independent of the channel

UTILIZATION

Configuration of the simplest, one branch, open ears and adjusted.

SOUNDS

My config: Duesenberg Starplayer TV-> Wha boss pw10-> tuner-pourri> marshall Bluesbreaker-> Ibanez TS808-> EH Nano Small Stone Phaser-> Line6 DL4-> amp.
With my band, I play rather large rock spot, more aggressive than RATM but less than the metal.

The power of 40W is amply sufficient to cover a lumberjack and drummer can play in a small room, which will be more difficult with a stack of 100W. For large scenes, the moment we are back in front, it is also OK.

- The sound of the clean channel is smooth and hot, I feel like playing on cotton with micro single in the neck position of the Duesenberg is a real treat.
- The channel distortion can get sounds ranging from bluesy crunch smooth (the way) to its saturated fat metal type using the microphone twice the scratching in the bridge position.

A small concerns, the (only) speaker tends to saturate the heavy attacks with a high gain and low bcp, so I am thinking of buying the optional HP box that goes with the amp.

OVERALL OPINION

I use it for three months and it is what I wanted.
At first I wondered if he would be powerful enough, because the sound more to me right away and I'm not disappointed.
Likes:
- Its sound, clean or saturation
- The price (I got nine to 650 Euros)
- Weight, size
- His mouth, it's really a beautiful object
- The fact that it is a little known brand
I do not like:
- The fact that high volume and high gain saturates the HP sometimes (I play with earplugs in this volume)

I have tried other amps: Fender Twin, Marshall 18W, koch Studiotone, krank, bulksonica ... and in this price range, I have not found any amp that was the weight.

If I were the hay, I bought one. In any case I will buy the optional subwoofer.