NAD: 1978 Traynor YGM-3

I just picked up a 1978 Traynor YGM-3 today. Amp is in very good condition. 25 watts. 2 X EL84's with reverb and tremolo. 12" speaker. These were made right here in Ontario, Canada from 1967 to 1980. Great clean tone and a very natural overdriven sound. Built like a tank. Weighs about 50 lbs.

That's a stout little EL34 machine.
I might look out for one that has migrated south.

That's a stout little EL34 machine.
I might look out for one that has migrated south.

Thanks Elwood. This one has EL84's in it and is called a Guitar Mate. The 25 watt output comes from running 400V on the plates of the EL84's!! Great amps. Pete Traynor used to test new amp designs for durability by throwing them off the roof of the factory in Toronto. If it powered back up with no issues it was good to go.

They're still fairly easy to come by here in Ontario. Usually one or two of them on Kijiji. I got this one for $400 CDN with the Eminence GB128 speaker in it. The original Marsland speaker in them were crap.

Pete Traynor used to test new amp designs for durability by throwing them off the roof of the factory in Toronto.

LOL...killer , like the Mesa Boogie hammer test (don't know if they still do that)
...or the guy bouncing on the G&L neck

nice amp for sure !!.... what's that baby weigh ??

nice amp for sure !!.... what's that baby weigh ??

Thanks! At least 50 pounds. It takes two hands to carry it!

I came very close to pulling the trigger on one just like yours a couple of years ago. Just when I was ready to buy it, the shop got an '86 Skyhawk in and my priorities changed. I still think about that one that got away. I loved the way it sounded.

Ken

I came very close to pulling the trigger on one just like yours a couple of years ago. Just when I was ready to buy it, the shop got an '86 Skyhawk in and my priorities changed. I still think about that one that got away. I loved the way it sounded.

Ken

They really are an under appreciated amp. The caps in it are the Mullard mustard caps so revered by Marshall players. Hammond transformers too. Accutronics spring reverb tank. I had it running wide open this morning for a bit...it is very loud with a deep bass!! The reverb is very nice.

Traynor built some very cool amps. Great find! -- Darwin

Traynor built some very cool amps. Great find! -- Darwin

Thanks Darwin. I've been reading up on the tone stack on these. It uses a Baxendall tone stack rather than the more familiar Fender. It's very unique; with both bass and treble at 5 (out of 10) the tone stack is flat. With bass and treble on 0 you get maximum mid boost. With bass and treble on 10 you get maximum mid cut. I've also been researching some mods to improve the tone of the amp a bit. C1 is a .1 uF interestage coupling cap that gives a bass response of 8HZ; way too low and it creates some flabbiness and farting in the bass. I'll be changing it to a .01uF cap to raise the low end to 80HZ which will sharpen up the bass reponse.

Cool amp.

Does it give you that Vox crunch or does it stay on the clean side? Plenty of sparkle and chime?

Pretty hefty poundage on that bad boy. Built for endurance!

Cool amp.

Does it give you that Vox crunch or does it stay on the clean side? Plenty of sparkle and chime?

Pretty hefty poundage on that bad boy. Built for endurance!

I've never tried a Vox but it does a good impersonation of a low watt Marshall. Plenty of drive when cranked up and with the high plate voltage it really smacks you in the face. It will also clean up well with quite a bit of headroom. The C1 cap change and removing C11 which is a presence cap gives it more negative feedback in the top end to keep the fizz away and a cleaner bass in the bottom end to give it some beef. Two very simple changes that make a world of difference.

Traynor amps were built for the rental market and as such were really overbuilt.

Hello Case24,

I just purchased the very same amp. I am really enjoying the versatility of the tone controls and the fender/marshall with some voxiness I am getting. My only problem lately has been I have been trying to get the amp to overdrive and have yet to be able to. I have been only a few slots lower than all the way up but still - low or no overdrive. Any Tips?? Any other insights into this amp. The guy I purchased it from said that the previous owner had done something with the BIAs (he was an electrical engineer) maybe that is the issue?? I am still ignorant on these more technical aspects. I also paly an ASAT Tribute Special (Which I love). Thanks for your help!

-Christian

One thing you could try is to swap out the first preamp tube.
The bias adjustments were most likely for the power tubes. Preamp tubes can
be swapped without rebiasing, and can dramatically change the voice of the amp.

elwood

Hello Case24,

I just purchased the very same amp. I am really enjoying the versatility of the tone controls and the fender/marshall with some voxiness I am getting. My only problem lately has been I have been trying to get the amp to overdrive and have yet to be able to. I have been only a few slots lower than all the way up but still - low or no overdrive. Any Tips?? Any other insights into this amp. The guy I purchased it from said that the previous owner had done something with the BIAs (he was an electrical engineer) maybe that is the issue?? I am still ignorant on these more technical aspects. I also paly an ASAT Tribute Special (Which I love). Thanks for your help!

-Christian

Have you tried turning both the bass and treble pots all the way up. That should get it to break up. The amp uses Baxandal tone controls which will add gain as they are turned up. I have modded mine quite a bit since my original post and it is now a very Marshall like gain monster if I want it to be. It starts to break up at around 3 on the volume dial. Google "Pat Furlan" mods or "Parkhead" mods for Traynor amps. Pat has some great videos on You Tube. These amps have a non-adjustable fixed bias so if anyone has changed the bias they would have had to change the bias resistor values. One word of caution, DO NOT go poking around inside of a tube amp even if it is unplugged if you do not know what you are doing. You have to make sure that the electrolytic caps are properly discharged as there is over 400 volts DC inside of one of these amps and it will kill you dead!