Members foggy Posted December 15, 2007 Members Share Posted December 15, 2007 overdriven1, What kind of music do you play? Which artists? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members overdriven1 Posted December 15, 2007 Members Share Posted December 15, 2007 Pretty much anything that twangs a string my heart and hands but enough fluff. :blah:I write now but I started out crazy heavy metal all the time (in the eighties lol). Whitesnake, Scorpions, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest then onto Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Tesla and Nickleback and even some country and blues and southern rock(ala Skynard) now whatever hits me as cool sounding, good tone, good phrasing, interesting licks, that sorta thing is what I do now. And you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members foggy Posted December 15, 2007 Members Share Posted December 15, 2007 Actually, I like a lot of the same which is good as I've been considering many amps. Including this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members overdriven1 Posted December 15, 2007 Members Share Posted December 15, 2007 I would definetly recommend it if I was anybody of note which I am not by the way I just like a good sounding not hard to figure out amp, takes both types of tubes 6l6 or el34 as long as they match, speaker out, d i out, and two types of effects loop, my son sleeps directly upstairs, he's three, and I can have the tube tone at much quieter levels but still feel it fine. This amp seems to chug some sinister sounding power chords with the right settings of course, I also changed out the speaker to a Fane I had from my Laney that changed the sound also, not necessarily my taste changed it back but I'm sure with any amp ya gotta turn some dials regardless, it's been a joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdMan57 Posted December 15, 2007 Members Share Posted December 15, 2007 I would definetly recommend it if I was anybody of note which I am not by the way I just like a good sounding not hard to figure out amp, takes both types of tubes 6l6 or el34 as long as they match, speaker out, d i out, and two types of effects loop, my son sleeps directly upstairs, he's three, and I can have the tube tone at much quieter levels but still feel it fine. This amp seems to chug some sinister sounding power chords with the right settings of course, I also changed out the speaker to a Fane I had from my Laney that changed the sound also, not necessarily my taste changed it back but I'm sure with any amp ya gotta turn some dials regardless, it's been a joy. Wow,another rave testimony to the charms of the YCS-50.Btw overdriven1,how does the change to the EL34's effect the clean and overdrive tones?I have a pair of matched NOS Seimens EL34's and a box of NOS RCA,Sylvania,RFT and GE 12AX7A/ECC83/5751's in my closet...maybe a new YCS-50 could give some of them a loving new home. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members overdriven1 Posted December 16, 2007 Members Share Posted December 16, 2007 Honestly, British clean is one of my favorite sounds, so warm and full of body, add a touch of boost with the tech21 double drive and instant classic rock sounds, use the same boost into the distortion channel and such meatiness has never been encountered by myself, the USA clean is quite clean and sparkly also feels like I have a hint of chorus in my tone but I don't use chorus, someone else mentioned that the gain on the USA clean channel basically adds body to the tone of your instrument. Alas I have found that sometimes the highs on the clean USA channel are just a bit too sharp and piercing, easy to dial out even on the fly onstage. My only other gripe would be the voice option or presence and resonance controls, these crappy things misuse the signal by boosting certain frequencies in the lower spectrum but not necessarily in a good way, kind of adds extra crispy with the presence control, I still like this amp though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdMan57 Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 ...takes both types of tubes 6l6 or el34 as long as they match... So,is it as easy as just swapping out the 5881's for the EL34's?...or does the bias adjustment control need to set each time?The info is kind of confusing,as the Traynor manual talks of "bias sensing points for each of the output tubes" and then talks of a "recessed bias adjustment trim pot".So is it "true auto biasing",or just "easy to bias"?It would be cool to be able to have both a set of 5881 and EL34's handy to do quick power tube swaps.Btw,what do the EL34's do to the amount of available gain and to the amp's overall voicing,compared to the stock 5881's? Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tommythelurker Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 Bias sensing points are just test point where you connect a meter to measure the bias. No "auto biasing". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdMan57 Posted December 17, 2007 Members Share Posted December 17, 2007 Bias sensing points are just test point where you connect a meter to measure the bias. No "auto biasing". Thanks,lurk!Btw,I was in your neighborhood just this afternoon.It reminded me that we should plan a jam sometime in the near future.Maybe drop me a PM,or the like. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdMan57 Posted December 23, 2007 Members Share Posted December 23, 2007 Just a pre Christmas bump... Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members obgust Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 I've have both the YCS 50/15 watt combo and the 100/30 watt head. I have gigged both amps as a guitarist in an active wedding band. I've been playing and teaching professionaly for 35 years. I have compared these amps to my Hoffman plexi, Top Hat King (Vox ac30), and a 1962 Tremolux, although I have at one time played/owned everything from Ampeg to Zvex. These amps are loud, which in my case is not a good thing, but they do sound good at lower volumes when the master is turned down. Don't be fooled into thinking that the 15 watt A class mode on the combo is going to give you the interaction and tone of a vintage Vox ac15. Also, these amps are really rooted in the the Marshall camp. The Brit/USA switch on channel 2 gives you more clean headroom rather than "modeling" a twin and a bluesbreaker. It's a good clean sound, but not Fender clean. Channel 1 nails the plexi tone. The combo gives you the option to bypass the prescense/resonance circuit, but I find it to be so closely tailored for use with the preamps of both channels, that I can not get a good sound without it engaged. Same goes for the speaker. The amp seems to be optimally designed for use with a Celestion V30. I tried it with a Celestion Blue and quickly wanted to change back to the V30. I also find the modern and scooped switches to be less effective on the combo than on the head. I really like the effects level controls for each channel and they are where they should be--on the front! I wish the combo had the solo level controll/switch that the head has. For me that would have been more useful than the boost switch. BTW, the cabinet of the combo is REALLY big! Reverb on both head and combo is adequate.The head is definitely my preference. Although I find the 1st channel useless for what I do, like the combo, it nails the plexi tone on the 2nd channel. The adjustable solo level switch and effects level control make this head very useful in a live situation, more so than the combo. The on/off and stand-by switches are both on the front and chunkyier than on the combo. I wish it had a better quality midi cable for the foot controller and I also wish it had a 8 ohm speaker output tap on the 30 watt mode. For the money, you can not find better tone and versatility (and warranty!) than the Traynor YCS series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diddlybo Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 I've located a custom special 50 for demo but I've been sick in bed for a week and can't get over to try it out. This amp seems to be the perfect gigging amp for classic rock covers, which is my main thing. I can't wait to try one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdMan57 Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Obgust,thanks for the nice overview.A question or two,if you will.Do the EQ sections on the YCS-50 give up a decent amount of tone shaping flexibility?Also,are the preamp tubes as difficult to access as with the YCV Series combos? Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members obgust Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Obgust,thanks for the nice overview.A question or two,if you will.Do the EQ sections on the YCS-50 give up a decent amount of tone shaping flexibility?Also,are the preamp tubes as difficult to access as with the YCV Series combos? The eq's are very flexible and effective especially with the prescense/resonanse circuit engaged. The whole chasis has been redesigned making tube and speaker swaps alot more easier than the YCV series, but this comes at the price of a much larger cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members obgust Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 I've located a custom special 50 for demo but I've been sick in bed for a week and can't get over to try it out. This amp seems to be the perfect gigging amp for classic rock covers, which is my main thing. I can't wait to try one. Be sure to test drive the YCS 100 head and compare it to the combo. The head is alot more flexible for live performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Be sure to test drive the YCS 100 head and compare it to the combo. The head is alot more flexible for live performance. I have both. Honestly, I haven't been able to get the head to sound as good as the combo. The combo has a great master volume. The head really needs to be cranked to get decent sound whereas the combo can get good sound at almost any level. The head has a buzzier distortion that's not as musical to me. I'm getting it dialed in with an attenuator to where I think I could gig with it, but at least to me, it hasn't been instant love the way the combo was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 I've have both the YCS 50/15 watt combo and the 100/30 watt head. I have gigged both amps as a guitarist in an active wedding band. I've been playing and teaching professionaly for 35 years. I have compared these amps to my Hoffman plexi, Top Hat King (Vox ac30), and a 1962 Tremolux, although I have at one time played/owned everything from Ampeg to Zvex. These amps are loud, which in my case is not a good thing, but they do sound good at lower volumes when the master is turned down. Don't be fooled into thinking that the 15 watt A class mode on the combo is going to give you the interaction and tone of a vintage Vox ac15. Also, these amps are really rooted in the the Marshall camp. The Brit/USA switch on channel 2 gives you more clean headroom rather than "modeling" a twin and a bluesbreaker. It's a good clean sound, but not Fender clean. Channel 1 nails the plexi tone. The combo gives you the option to bypass the prescense/resonance circuit, but I find it to be so closely tailored for use with the preamps of both channels, that I can not get a good sound without it engaged. Same goes for the speaker. The amp seems to be optimally designed for use with a Celestion V30. I tried it with a Celestion Blue and quickly wanted to change back to the V30. I also find the modern and scooped switches to be less effective on the combo than on the head. I really like the effects level controls for each channel and they are where they should be--on the front! I wish the combo had the solo level controll/switch that the head has. For me that would have been more useful than the boost switch. BTW, the cabinet of the combo is REALLY big! Reverb on both head and combo is adequate.The head is definitely my preference. Although I find the 1st channel useless for what I do, like the combo, it nails the plexi tone on the 2nd channel. The adjustable solo level switch and effects level control make this head very useful in a live situation, more so than the combo. The on/off and stand-by switches are both on the front and chunkyier than on the combo. I wish it had a better quality midi cable for the foot controller and I also wish it had a 8 ohm speaker output tap on the 30 watt mode. For the money, you can not find better tone and versatility (and warranty!) than the Traynor YCS series. I'd agree with most of that, but to me the plexi tone is found in the Brit setting on the clean channel with the gain way up. I'm a former plexi owner, and they don't have nearly the gain that the Traynor's distortion channel does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArrMatey Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 I wish these were available at decent prices here in UK. They sound like a good deal for $899 (that translates to a bit more than Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AVWIII Posted December 27, 2007 Members Share Posted December 27, 2007 I'm about 85% sure this is going to be what I sell my halfstack for. Thanks for the thread! The hunt begins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members funkymonks16 Posted January 15, 2008 Members Share Posted January 15, 2008 I just bought one myself. So far, I really like it, although at times the tones a bit too bright for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diddlybo Posted January 15, 2008 Members Share Posted January 15, 2008 I had an opportunity to test drive the cs50 1-12 combo and yes, they are very nice. The tones are there and they were very easy for me to dial in. The amount of knobs and switches was a bit intimidating at first but everything was very intuitive and all the controls seemed to do what they were designed to do. I dialed in excellent blackface fender, vintage Marshall and 80's hot rodded Marshall tones, which is really all I would ever need. I didn't listen closely to the reverb but I remember it being pretty nice and it definitely didn't annoy me. My last combo was a Mesa Lonestar Special, which I was constantly tweaking. It had nice tones but they were way too hard to dial in. I spent more time trying to dial it in than I did playing it. In contrast, I was getting good tones out of the Traynor almost immediately. That's a big thing for me. I don't like amps that require you to "search" for the sounds. The cabinet is a little bigger than most 1-12 combos but the amp isn't too heavy. I would guess its around 45 lbs. The sound isn't boxy, as some combos can be, and I'm sure the larger cab contributes to this. The workmanship looks good and the amp appears to be pretty sturdy. I was very impressed with this amp. It reminds me of the Rivera combos I owned, in that they both seem to be going for the Fender/Marshall thing. However, the Traynor costs half as much and, IMO, sounds equally as good. This amp is truly a great bargain. Bottom line: I ordered one and it should arrive this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted January 15, 2008 Members Share Posted January 15, 2008 I had the YCV 50 Blue..and I thought it was a good amp for the money. My only issue was putting the delicate V30 inside. Cram a robust, meaty 12 in that can stand some watts, and the YCV no longer wilts under high volume. EV12L FTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted January 15, 2008 Members Share Posted January 15, 2008 My last combo was a Mesa Lonestar Special, which I was constantly tweaking. It had nice tones but they were way too hard to dial in. I spent more time trying to dial it in than I did playing it. In contrast, I was getting good tones out of the Traynor almost immediately. That's a big thing for me. I don't like amps that require you to "search" for the sounds. Once you find those nice tones...why would it be so much trouble? Not trying to flame...just seems like once it's dialed in...there you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diddlybo Posted January 15, 2008 Members Share Posted January 15, 2008 Once you find those nice tones...why would it be so much trouble? Not trying to flame...just seems like once it's dialed in...there you go. I could get good sounds from the Lonestar, but I couldn't fine tune it to get exactly what I wanted. Its like the sound was 95% what I wanted and I was continually dialing the knobs looking for that last 5%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 17 Tubes Posted January 15, 2008 Members Share Posted January 15, 2008 I could get good sounds from the Lonestar, but I couldn't fine tune it to get exactly what I wanted. Its like the sound was 95% what I wanted and I was continually dialing the knobs looking for that last 5%. Ah.....I see. Nice to be 100% blissed...but 95% is damn good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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