Traynor YCV40, YGM3, Princeton Reverb, Or Blues Jr?

TheBear · August 15th, 2008, 03:04 PM

Hi Guys

I'm one of those players with too many guitars and just a couple of nice amps. I currently play through a Univox U255R and sometimes through a Fender Princeton Chorus 65. I'm ready to step up and I may be able to get a used Traynor YCV40 for about $400.
I want something with good cleans and exceptionally good reverb. I love Fender Amp sounds and I need it to be quiet (no hum!) enough to record with and play at home but loud enough for the occaisional gig.

The YCV40 is one of the ones with the Red Label Celestion Seventy 80 Speaker.
How does it compare to the older YGM3 which can be had for about the same price?
I've always liked Blues Jr's, should I just get one of these or should I just save up and get a Princeton Reverb.

Any others you could recommend?

tdu · August 15th, 2008, 03:38 PM

Tim Armstrong will chime in with me soon, but the YGM3 is a killer amp. Really nice reverb, and one of the coolest tremolos I have heard. Beautiful clean and breakup tones, and a nice wattage.

I'd like to bring up one other great option in the price range though. A vintage Ampeg Reverberocket. I picked up a 1966 Reverberocket II last year and it's an incredible amp. It will sound like blasphemy on this forum, but I actually prefer it to my 68' Princeton Reverb.

I believe there is a new Ampeg Jet combo that has been getting great reviews on the forum as well.

cminor7b5 · August 15th, 2008, 03:42 PM

I just got a 78 SFPR. It's like coming home to me. Hard to get any bad sounds. The reverb is to die for and the tremelo is probably the best you can get in a Fender amp.

I had a Blues Jr but could never bond with it. Lousy reverb that seemed to be all on or all off.

I used to own a SF Pro Reverb. Getting the SFPR is very familiar territory. It may not do a lot of different things but what it does it does well.

Not sure if it's loud enough for loud gigs though.

soundhound6 · August 15th, 2008, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBear

Hi Guys

I'm one of those players with too many guitars and just a couple of nice amps. I currently play through a Univox U255R and sometimes through a Fender Princeton Chorus 65. I'm ready to step up and I may be able to get a used Traynor YCV40 for about $400.
I want something with good cleans and exceptionally good reverb. I love Fender Amp sounds and I need it to be quiet (no hum!) enough to record with and play at home but loud enough for the occaisional gig.

The YCV40 is one of the ones with the Red Label Celestion Seventy 80 Speaker.
How does it compare to the older YGM3 which can be had for about the same price?
I've always liked Blues Jr's, should I just get one of these or should I just save up and get a Princeton Reverb.

Any others you could recommend?

I play thru a YCV-20 (15w,plenty loud),which was Traynors version of the blues jr.I found it to be a great little amp,even with the stock Celestion 50w
"rocket" speaker.Got it for $620 about 5 years ago and the day that puppy goes out the door will be the week after my cremation!! JMO...
Go forth..and play! Jan

Natstrat79 · August 15th, 2008, 10:46 PM

Ive owned both the ygm-3 and the blues junior in the past. I sold the blues junior because I never bonded with the tone. It was very boxy and seemed mushy in the bass department. The ygm-3 was an amazing amp I loved it and may own another someday. It was just too much amp for at home. The ygm-3 is built like a tank and has gorgeous clean tones. Mine also loved pedals. I think the ygm-3 is as good as a princeton reverb and better in some ways. I consider the ygm-3 to be in a different class than all the other amps you listed. Based on its quality of construction its in the same league as other and extremely more expensive boutique and vintage amps. Definitely a step up from your average mass produced pcb amp. One hint though, don't ever evaluate the tone of a ygm-3 while it still has the stock speaker in it. The stock speakers are awful.

TheBear · August 16th, 2008, 01:53 AM

So it sounds like a used YGM3 is the most popular choice... Is it really that much better then a YCV40? How does it differ? Who here has played both?

Thanks

tdu · August 16th, 2008, 10:59 AM

New Traynor amps are really nice amps, but tone wise they are similar to a lot of other amps in the price range. To me, vintage Traynor amps had a totally unique tone. They were sort of based on other amps from the time, but were unique. That is why you hear a lot of people say the YGM3 was 'like' a Deluxe Reverb. It was similar feature wise, but totally has it's own sound IMO.

I sold mine for similar reasons that Natstrat79 posted. At around 22 watts, it was a little loud for the basement playing I was doing at the time. Also, as he mentioned they are built like a tank....which also makes them a pretty heavy, and physically large amp.

I totally miss mine though. Since selling it, I have realized that while it was a louder amp, it had a breakup to it that none of my amps I have replaced it with have had. A beautiful, smooth overdrive tone. I will likely own one again at some point, and I may look into converting one into a head.

91xlntS-3 · August 17th, 2008, 02:18 PM

Bear,
I've still got my YCV40, but until I get it repaired won't be using it for a while. If you're looking for a Fender-y type of clean, you won't find it with the YCV40. The Clean channel has a pretty dark tone to it. The distortion channel is better, EQ wise than the clean channel, not as dark sounding.

Of all the amps I currently own, my favorite is the Blues Jr., I now gig with it 100%. My other amps include: Fender Blues Deluxe RI, Traynor YCV40, Kustom '36 Coupe, Fender FM212R, and Peavey Revolution 112.

As much as I love a good Fender amp tone, if I wanted to use one of my other amps for a gig, it would be the Kustom '36 Coupe. It's a more versatile amp than either the BDRI or the YCV40.

BTW, to get a tone that I liked out of the YCV40, I had to do a speaker swap and go thru 3 sets of tubes. Had I known the amp was going to sound so dark and need so much "attention" to get a good sound, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. Then after 2 years, just after the warranty ran out, it went down just before a gig. I haven't had it to a tech yet, which is a shame since I've got so much time and effort into it, but it just wasn't a "special" amp to me and was a challenge tonewise at gigs. YMMV.

August 15th, 2008, 03:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
TheBear Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ks Posts: 387	Traynor YCV40, YGM3, Princeton Reverb, Or Blues Jr? Hi Guys I'm one of those players with too many guitars and just a couple of nice amps. I currently play through a Univox U255R and sometimes through a Fender Princeton Chorus 65. I'm ready to step up and I may be able to get a used Traynor YCV40 for about $400. I want something with good cleans and exceptionally good reverb. I love Fender Amp sounds and I need it to be quiet (no hum!) enough to record with and play at home but loud enough for the occaisional gig. The YCV40 is one of the ones with the Red Label Celestion Seventy 80 Speaker. How does it compare to the older YGM3 which can be had for about the same price? I've always liked Blues Jr's, should I just get one of these or should I just save up and get a Princeton Reverb. Any others you could recommend?

August 15th, 2008, 03:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,433 11 Photos	Tim Armstrong will chime in with me soon, but the YGM3 is a killer amp. Really nice reverb, and one of the coolest tremolos I have heard. Beautiful clean and breakup tones, and a nice wattage. I'd like to bring up one other great option in the price range though. A vintage Ampeg Reverberocket. I picked up a 1966 Reverberocket II last year and it's an incredible amp. It will sound like blasphemy on this forum, but I actually prefer it to my 68' Princeton Reverb. I believe there is a new Ampeg Jet combo that has been getting great reviews on the forum as well. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

August 16th, 2008, 10:59 AM	#7 (permalink)
tdu Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Ontario, Canada Age: 32 Posts: 2,433 11 Photos	New Traynor amps are really nice amps, but tone wise they are similar to a lot of other amps in the price range. To me, vintage Traynor amps had a totally unique tone. They were sort of based on other amps from the time, but were unique. That is why you hear a lot of people say the YGM3 was 'like' a Deluxe Reverb. It was similar feature wise, but totally has it's own sound IMO. I sold mine for similar reasons that Natstrat79 posted. At around 22 watts, it was a little loud for the basement playing I was doing at the time. Also, as he mentioned they are built like a tank....which also makes them a pretty heavy, and physically large amp. I totally miss mine though. Since selling it, I have realized that while it was a louder amp, it had a breakup to it that none of my amps I have replaced it with have had. A beautiful, smooth overdrive tone. I will likely own one again at some point, and I may look into converting one into a head. __________________ Torn Down Units brand Rock n' Roll My Solo Stuff:

August 15th, 2008, 03:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
cminor7b5 TDPRI Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: toronto Posts: 89 10 Photos	I just got a 78 SFPR. It's like coming home to me. Hard to get any bad sounds. The reverb is to die for and the tremelo is probably the best you can get in a Fender amp. I had a Blues Jr but could never bond with it. Lousy reverb that seemed to be all on or all off. I used to own a SF Pro Reverb. Getting the SFPR is very familiar territory. It may not do a lot of different things but what it does it does well. Not sure if it's loud enough for loud gigs though.

August 15th, 2008, 10:46 PM	#5 (permalink)
Natstrat79 Tele-Meister Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 147	Ive owned both the ygm-3 and the blues junior in the past. I sold the blues junior because I never bonded with the tone. It was very boxy and seemed mushy in the bass department. The ygm-3 was an amazing amp I loved it and may own another someday. It was just too much amp for at home. The ygm-3 is built like a tank and has gorgeous clean tones. Mine also loved pedals. I think the ygm-3 is as good as a princeton reverb and better in some ways. I consider the ygm-3 to be in a different class than all the other amps you listed. Based on its quality of construction its in the same league as other and extremely more expensive boutique and vintage amps. Definitely a step up from your average mass produced pcb amp. One hint though, don't ever evaluate the tone of a ygm-3 while it still has the stock speaker in it. The stock speakers are awful.

August 16th, 2008, 01:53 AM	#6 (permalink)
TheBear Tele-Meister Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ks Posts: 387	So it sounds like a used YGM3 is the most popular choice... Is it really that much better then a YCV40? How does it differ? Who here has played both? Thanks

August 17th, 2008, 02:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
91xlntS-3 Tele-Holic Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 722	Bear, I've still got my YCV40, but until I get it repaired won't be using it for a while. If you're looking for a Fender-y type of clean, you won't find it with the YCV40. The Clean channel has a pretty dark tone to it. The distortion channel is better, EQ wise than the clean channel, not as dark sounding. Of all the amps I currently own, my favorite is the Blues Jr., I now gig with it 100%. My other amps include: Fender Blues Deluxe RI, Traynor YCV40, Kustom '36 Coupe, Fender FM212R, and Peavey Revolution 112. As much as I love a good Fender amp tone, if I wanted to use one of my other amps for a gig, it would be the Kustom '36 Coupe. It's a more versatile amp than either the BDRI or the YCV40. BTW, to get a tone that I liked out of the YCV40, I had to do a speaker swap and go thru 3 sets of tubes. Had I known the amp was going to sound so dark and need so much "attention" to get a good sound, I wouldn't have bought it in the first place. Then after 2 years, just after the warranty ran out, it went down just before a gig. I haven't had it to a tech yet, which is a shame since I've got so much time and effort into it, but it just wasn't a "special" amp to me and was a challenge tonewise at gigs. YMMV.