Members GCDEF Posted April 4, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 4, 2008 Well, my replacement CS50 was delivered to me yesterday and this one kills the first one. Gone is the harshness, the inconsistent tones, and the constant fiddling of knobs. This pretty much confirms my suspicions that my first CS50 was a lemon and probably has a malfunction going on. It would be good one day and horrible the next. But it was never as good as this one. I played a LP, a Tele, and a 335 and they all sounded awesome. Channel one is 70's and 80's era Marshally goodness. Nice, fat tones with plenty of gain on tap for me. Probably more than I would ever use. I can't say enough good things about channel 2. I love it on both the USA and the Brit settings. With the gain and the master dimed on the Brit channel, I get nice Clapton Bluesbreaker tones. On the USA channel, I can get stinging Albert King blues licks, chicken pickin country tones and some pretty decent jazz tones. My only complaint is I will have to choose between the Brit and the USA settings when it comes gig time. The 335 thru this amp is a perfect match. The only other amp I've played that did the Fender/Marshall combo as good as this amp was my old Rivera Suprema, which cost more than twice this amp, weighed 30 lbs more and didn't have as many gig friendly features of the Traynor. Many thanks to the guys at Traynor and Pro Audio Star for their customer service. They replaced my first CS50 with no questions asked and no shipping charges to me. I can't ask for better treatment than that. Excellent. That sounds more like my experience with that amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stephan1980 Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 heh yeah.... was wondering if I just have terrible taste in sound/tone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diddlybo Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 I spent some more time with the amp yesterday and I like it even better. The buyer's remorse I was starting to experience is all gone. I can't wait to use it on a gig this week. I checked the bias at the bias points and the readings were 68 and 72 mv. The owner's manual suggested the bias to be set to 75 mv, +/- 10 mv. I wonder if I should bump it up a bit hotter? Also, are the bias readings of 68 and 72 mv for the power tubes too far apart? Are my tubes mismatched? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stephan1980 Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 I doubt it will be a problem but it's up to you... personally I set the bias as close to 75 as i could... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vteckid22 Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 So Im super close to pulling the trigger on this amp...sounds like its exactly what im looking for! Too bad the closest place that i can try it at is about 100 miles away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diddlybo Posted April 14, 2008 Members Share Posted April 14, 2008 Well, I used the new amp on a gig for the first time Saturday and it performed superbly. The music played could best be described as bluesy pop rock and the guitar used was a telecaster. I used the clean channel set on the Brit setting for most of the show and used the high gain channel for solos and louder stuff. The tele with the clean/brit setting is awesome. The high gain channel was a bit on the nasal side but that was the guitar, which usually sounds that way with higher gain. I used a tremolo pedal and a Barber Tone Press comp and they both worked great with the amp. The amp sounded nice and full in the band mix with a nice presence and a snappy responsive feel. I liked the clean/brit setting so much I think I could do with out the high gain channel. Don't get me wrong, I like the high gain channel but I just keep going back to the clean/Brit setting. That and a few good pedals could get me thru any gig I would do. Easily two thumbs up for the first gig. :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Slaymoar Posted June 10, 2008 Members Share Posted June 10, 2008 I use to own a couple YCV's. Both sounded great, but not amazing. Retubed and re-speakered both and with good results. I was not expecting what happened today. Whoally SH@T!!! This amp is AWESOME. This price tag is MEGA bang for the buck. It just sounds SOOO good. I want it, and will buy it as soon as possible. What I did is try the 4 preset settings displayed on the tag on top of the amp. Features are on the website above. Clean, spanky and fenderish.Brit, crunchy and very articulate and responsive, awesome.Rock, my favorite, sounds brown and just so tight and perfect.Metal, A little looser, with a similar voicing and gain to a 5150/6505 It does those VERY well, all of them. I played with the settings, and from the rock, you can get a very bluesy and gritty sound, just by lowering the gain. The response from each knob is actually useful. There is a satisfying tonal change with every push and twist. Gain cleans up very well as one would expect from a good tube amp. Traynor really rocked the world with this amp, I am simply impressed with this amp. Sound I would expect coming from a modded JCM800 to much higher price tagged boutique amps. If your looking for a new amp, CHECK IT OUT! With a 15/50 watt setting, effect loop and all the gain palette from Clean to British to Brown to metal, with a Celestion Vintage 30, There is NO going wrong. BTW: Watch the Reverb... it sucks IMO, but Reverb is not my thing in the first place I guess. -D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stephan1980 Posted June 10, 2008 Members Share Posted June 10, 2008 It's mine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sigma-X90 Posted June 13, 2008 Members Share Posted June 13, 2008 another proud owner of the traynor ycs50, thanks to this thread:thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 98 les paul Posted June 13, 2008 Members Share Posted June 13, 2008 I want one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ataxia Posted June 13, 2008 Members Share Posted June 13, 2008 i got mine few hours ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BadCompany89 Posted June 13, 2008 Members Share Posted June 13, 2008 How much do they go for used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 98 les paul Posted June 13, 2008 Members Share Posted June 13, 2008 i got mine few hours ago You've made me jealous, now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stephan1980 Posted June 14, 2008 Members Share Posted June 14, 2008 How much do they go for used? I don't think you could find one used, they came out just before the new year I believe. I will sell you mine though for $2000. That will allow me to buy another one as well as get a few NOS tubes and high quality cables... maybe, maybe an amp stand and a few boxes of strings.... maybe another guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcodger Posted June 18, 2008 Members Share Posted June 18, 2008 I've had my YCS50 for a couple of weeks now, but I'm experiencing some of the problems teetop and others noted...sorta. The clean channel sounds great, but I'm not feeling the love for Channel 1. Very thin and brittle and...here's the surprise...especially with my humbucker guitar. I've tried all types of settings, to no avail. I'm hoping that it's just biased too cold, but I'm waiting to get some feedback from Traynor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stephan1980 Posted June 19, 2008 Members Share Posted June 19, 2008 well it took a while to break in the v30 speaker. try the method on the celestion site. also could be your tubes. retubing it makes a big difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EdMan57 Posted June 19, 2008 Members Share Posted June 19, 2008 I'm not seeing much about the YCS90 Celestion Vintage Neo loaded 2-12 version.It's somewhat of an oddity in that it actually weighs a few pounds less than the smaller YCS50 1-12.Anyone play or own a YCS90? Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcodger Posted June 19, 2008 Members Share Posted June 19, 2008 well it took a while to break in the v30 speaker. try the method on the celestion site. also could be your tubes. retubing it makes a big difference. Regarding a tube swap, I already did that. Dropped in Tung Sol 5881s and Tung Sol 12Ax7s. If anybody can walk me through checking the bias on the YCS50, I'll give it a try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dudeman1967 Posted June 19, 2008 Members Share Posted June 19, 2008 I've had my YCS50 for a couple of weeks now, but I'm experiencing some of the problems teetop and others noted...sorta. The clean channel sounds great, but I'm not feeling the love for Channel 1. Very thin and brittle and...here's the surprise...especially with my humbucker guitar. I've tried all types of settings, to no avail. I'm hoping that it's just biased too cold, but I'm waiting to get some feedback from Traynor. I know its been mentioned by others earlier but I just want to make sure (this is a very long thread). Your individual channel volume controls need to be at or above 12:00 to get any sort of decent low end. Then control overall volume with the master volume. Otherwise make sure to get a new amp from Traynor. Thats what the warranty is for. I drove about 80 miles round trip to a music store just so I could demo the exact amp I planned to purchase. I'm glad I did. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members diddlybo Posted June 19, 2008 Members Share Posted June 19, 2008 Regarding a tube swap, I already did that. Dropped in Tung Sol 5881s and Tung Sol 12Ax7s. If anybody can walk me through checking the bias on the YCS50, I'll give it a try. I think there are biasing instructions in the owner's manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcodger Posted June 20, 2008 Members Share Posted June 20, 2008 I think there are biasing instructions in the owner's manual. Well, sort of. It tells you the target set point (75 mV +), and notes that there are test points and bias adjustment trim pots outside the chassis. But...and this will become very obvious...I know nothing about using a multimeter with those test points. Any safety concerns (I don't think so, but I am familiar with the "don't play inside tube amps unless you have fully drained the caps" admonishment), and where do you place both of the meter probes? (I assume that one goes directly to the test point, but what about the other? See what I mean about the obvious?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The_J-Train Posted June 20, 2008 Members Share Posted June 20, 2008 Well, sort of. It tells you the target set point (75 mV +), and notes that there are test points and bias adjustment trim pots outside the chassis. But...and this will become very obvious...I know nothing about using a multimeter with those test points. Any safety concerns (I don't think so, but I am familiar with the "don't play inside tube amps unless you have fully drained the caps" admonishment), and where do you place both of the meter probes? (I assume that one goes directly to the test point, but what about the other? See what I mean about the obvious?) You stick the red probe on the test point, and the black probe anywhere on the amp's metal chassis ( a screw, a hole, whatever, as long as it's touching the metal of the chassis for ground) Set your multimeter for 10 or 100 Mv DC, whatever range it has, and when you stick the probes on the amp it will read what your bias is at. Say it say the bias is at 50 Mv, too cold. Then you take a little flat head screwdriver and turn the bias pot clockwise to raise the bias. Check with multimeter again, and oh no you went to far its at 90 Mv. Turn bias pot a hair counterclockwise and check again. Repeat until bias is at or around 75 Mv or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stephan1980 Posted June 20, 2008 Members Share Posted June 20, 2008 You stick the red probe on the test point, and the black probe anywhere on the amp's metal chassis ( a screw, a hole, whatever, as long as it's touching the metal of the chassis for ground) Set your multimeter for 10 or 100 Mv DC, whatever range it has, and when you stick the probes on the amp it will read what your bias is at. Say it say the bias is at 50 Mv, too cold. Then you take a little flat head screwdriver and turn the bias pot clockwise to raise the bias. Check with multimeter again, and oh no you went to far its at 90 Mv. Turn bias pot a hair counterclockwise and check again. Repeat until bias is at or around 75 Mv or whatever. That is correct I believe but couple other things you need to do.... switch the amp to 50W setting... turn the volumes and gain right to zero and turn the amp off of stand-by (ie. make sure red light is on). I put the black probe on the right side speaker connecter and I have the tung sol 5881's I set them right around 70 too. Also I had to rebias after I cranked the amp for a bit after putting them in. Hops this helps.. also try using the presence and resonance controls to get more of a deeper sound. turn the resonance up and leave the presence down. With my amp I kept the treble down until the speaker broke in a bit. Now it's very smooth. Got a tung sol in the v1 and jj's in the v2,v3 spot. What does everyone else have in their amps that they like? Anyone got a Celestion Gold? O.o Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcodger Posted June 20, 2008 Members Share Posted June 20, 2008 J-Train and Stephan...many thanks. That is exactly what I needed to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sartana Posted June 20, 2008 Members Share Posted June 20, 2008 btt great thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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