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MGR/vanwarp « Yorkville Traynor Custom Valve YCV80-212 »
Published on 01/22/02 at 15:00I'm a guitar amp fanatic. My wife says I have an amp tone disorder of some sort. Just can't seem to get enough of it. So I've been looking at amps for quite some time. I can't afford THE BEST money can buy so I have to find that magic in an affordable amp.
A year ago, the Traynor Custom Valve 40 (YCV40-112) came close, but I held out. I was seriously considering getting a Peavey Ultra 212 when the YCV80-212 came about. I just had to try one out to compare...
It is an awesome deal even at its listed price of $999! But you could get it for less
As far as the features go, this amp is very versatile and its got tone! You get 80 watts rms, 4 - 6L6B power tubes and 3 - 12AX7A pre-amp tubes, auto-balancing bias (means you dont need to match tubes - great feature for emergency tube replacement), 2 channels with individual tone controls, on the lead channel you get a boost switch (for leads) and a scoop switch (deep bass boost), and on the clean channel you get a brightness switch and an expander switch (adds deep bottom and sparkling highs). To complete the rest of the front panel attributes are a standby switch (to keep the tubes warmed up during breaks), master reverb knob (Accutronics reverb with dual springs) and a master volume control knob.
The rear panel includes one visible 1/4" exterior speaker jack (actually has two, if you disconnect internal speakers, you can connect two 4 ohm external speaker cabs, nice feature guys), speaker mute switch (for silent recording or when using headphones), one channel select/boost 1/4" footswitch jack, Balanced XLR line out (with speaker emulation), a headphone jack, one loop thru jack (for effects pedals), and a parallel effects loop with individual level controls for send and return.
Finally, the amp is loaded with 2 - 12" Celestion 70/80 speakers...sounds different than Vintage 30's but that's OK!
No separate reverb controls for each channel, no footswitch jack to switch the reverb and the FX loop on/off. The scoop function can not be activated by the footswitch. Also, the footswitch does not activate the brightness and/or the expander switches on channel 2. The dual footswitch comes with a 10' cable...20' would have been better.
Also, there is NO impedance select switch in order to match loads if you wanted to add something other than a 4 ohm cab.
Don't get me wrong, Im not complaining here, Im just stating the facts...cause I LOVE this amp!
All plywood cabinet with black leatherette covering. The grill is perforated 18 gauge steel with silver cloth covering. Very nice vintage look. The chassis is slightly indented in the cab for ultimate protection of control knobs. The amp is portable but it weighs 65 lbs.
This is a great blues/rock amp. You can clearly see it was designed with tone in mind since both single coils and humbuckers sound awesome through it.
The tone is very warm and smooth. Experiment with the master volume and the channel volume knobs. If you max the master volume and lower the channel volume, you get a crispier sound, very close to a Marshall sound. If you lower the master volume 3/4 and raise the channel volume at 6/7, it sounds warmer. You will not be able to maintain this "warm" sound if you need to play louder, as you will have to increase the master volume and unfortunately you will get a crispier Marshall sounding tone.
Single coil guitars are particularly well suited to this amp. Guitars with humbuckers require "midrange" tone adjustments.
So you can dial in blues and rock no problem. Now you want the amp to do metal...no problem! Just set the gain knob at 10 and activate both the scoop and the boost. Try it with the master volume set at 10 and then set the channel volume as you wish. (Important FACT: the more channel volume you add, the more brutal metal sound you get!). OK, start with the treble and bass tone controls set at 10. Midrange control knob at 1. Adjust the midrange tone control knob depending on your guitar and the pickups you use. Add midrange until you find the metal zone you want. You can experiment with that sound by reducing BASS and TREBLE and readjusting midrange control knob. Dont forget how the channel volume affects your sound...(OK, Ill admit that I enjoy metal music, bands such as "In Flames" and "Soilwork" get me going, while other heavy death metal bands such as Cannibal Corpse DON'T!)
Anyway, back in the studio, the amp is quiet but yes there is a small amount of speaker noise when the volume is turned up. Guitars with active pickups make it worse. When playing with your band get into the habit of always deactivating the boost between songs to minimize speaker noise when on stage.
The clean channel starts to break up with the volume channel set above 5.
Experiment with the brightness and expander switch to see what you like best. This added versatility is great if you are a musician who loves variety. With this amp I should be able to learn a few "In Flames" songs without the need for a second amp for acoustic passages.
Just a joy to play through!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
A year ago, the Traynor Custom Valve 40 (YCV40-112) came close, but I held out. I was seriously considering getting a Peavey Ultra 212 when the YCV80-212 came about. I just had to try one out to compare...
It is an awesome deal even at its listed price of $999! But you could get it for less
As far as the features go, this amp is very versatile and its got tone! You get 80 watts rms, 4 - 6L6B power tubes and 3 - 12AX7A pre-amp tubes, auto-balancing bias (means you dont need to match tubes - great feature for emergency tube replacement), 2 channels with individual tone controls, on the lead channel you get a boost switch (for leads) and a scoop switch (deep bass boost), and on the clean channel you get a brightness switch and an expander switch (adds deep bottom and sparkling highs). To complete the rest of the front panel attributes are a standby switch (to keep the tubes warmed up during breaks), master reverb knob (Accutronics reverb with dual springs) and a master volume control knob.
The rear panel includes one visible 1/4" exterior speaker jack (actually has two, if you disconnect internal speakers, you can connect two 4 ohm external speaker cabs, nice feature guys), speaker mute switch (for silent recording or when using headphones), one channel select/boost 1/4" footswitch jack, Balanced XLR line out (with speaker emulation), a headphone jack, one loop thru jack (for effects pedals), and a parallel effects loop with individual level controls for send and return.
Finally, the amp is loaded with 2 - 12" Celestion 70/80 speakers...sounds different than Vintage 30's but that's OK!
No separate reverb controls for each channel, no footswitch jack to switch the reverb and the FX loop on/off. The scoop function can not be activated by the footswitch. Also, the footswitch does not activate the brightness and/or the expander switches on channel 2. The dual footswitch comes with a 10' cable...20' would have been better.
Also, there is NO impedance select switch in order to match loads if you wanted to add something other than a 4 ohm cab.
Don't get me wrong, Im not complaining here, Im just stating the facts...cause I LOVE this amp!
All plywood cabinet with black leatherette covering. The grill is perforated 18 gauge steel with silver cloth covering. Very nice vintage look. The chassis is slightly indented in the cab for ultimate protection of control knobs. The amp is portable but it weighs 65 lbs.
This is a great blues/rock amp. You can clearly see it was designed with tone in mind since both single coils and humbuckers sound awesome through it.
The tone is very warm and smooth. Experiment with the master volume and the channel volume knobs. If you max the master volume and lower the channel volume, you get a crispier sound, very close to a Marshall sound. If you lower the master volume 3/4 and raise the channel volume at 6/7, it sounds warmer. You will not be able to maintain this "warm" sound if you need to play louder, as you will have to increase the master volume and unfortunately you will get a crispier Marshall sounding tone.
Single coil guitars are particularly well suited to this amp. Guitars with humbuckers require "midrange" tone adjustments.
So you can dial in blues and rock no problem. Now you want the amp to do metal...no problem! Just set the gain knob at 10 and activate both the scoop and the boost. Try it with the master volume set at 10 and then set the channel volume as you wish. (Important FACT: the more channel volume you add, the more brutal metal sound you get!). OK, start with the treble and bass tone controls set at 10. Midrange control knob at 1. Adjust the midrange tone control knob depending on your guitar and the pickups you use. Add midrange until you find the metal zone you want. You can experiment with that sound by reducing BASS and TREBLE and readjusting midrange control knob. Dont forget how the channel volume affects your sound...(OK, Ill admit that I enjoy metal music, bands such as "In Flames" and "Soilwork" get me going, while other heavy death metal bands such as Cannibal Corpse DON'T!)
Anyway, back in the studio, the amp is quiet but yes there is a small amount of speaker noise when the volume is turned up. Guitars with active pickups make it worse. When playing with your band get into the habit of always deactivating the boost between songs to minimize speaker noise when on stage.
The clean channel starts to break up with the volume channel set above 5.
Experiment with the brightness and expander switch to see what you like best. This added versatility is great if you are a musician who loves variety. With this amp I should be able to learn a few "In Flames" songs without the need for a second amp for acoustic passages.
Just a joy to play through!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com