Should I Repair It, Or Sell It?

[colchar]

Are you in the GTA? My amp tech is very good and reasonably priced. He works out of his house so overhead is low.
He knows Traynors. (this is where they were built after all)
I think he actually owns the same model as yours.

Yes, I am in the GTA.

But I've been thinking a bit since first posting this. I am moving in the fall, from a detached house into a townhouse. Because of the shared walls, I will need to be considerate of neighbours (my dog is going to have to learn to play more quietly!!!). So a monster like the Traynor doesn't make much sense, even if it dows have master volumes.

I am therefore considering one of two to options:

1) A modeller and a studio monitor (or two) as a speaker. That will enable me to get tones, from clean to overdriven, at any volume. I currently have a Boss GT-100 that I can use when getting used to modellers, and I can upgrade later. The problem is that I am a bit of a technophobe and don't want things to be too complicated.

2) A low watt tube amp that can be scaled down. Something like a Vox Night Train or an Orange Rocker 15 Terror. These would fit my desire for simplicity, but would they be as versatile as a modeller?

So I figure I should get the amp back from the tech and sell it for however much I can, and then choose one of the two options just mentioned. The problem is tha I honestly cannot decide which would be best for me.

 

[colchar]

They're really, really great amps.
Spend the 460 on an identical one with no problems and keep the other for when people wake up to them and the prices double.

There is one available about 45 minutes from me for $500.

 

[colchar]

My son was looking for a decent tube amp so I looked on Craigslist and spotted a YGL3 close by for $375 and told him about it. I told him what to look for in the amp and he went to go check it out. The seller had a tech do work on it about 2 years earlier and showed him the receipt. The tech wrote how he replaced a resistor that went bad and had found other issues that needed to be dealt with but the customer chose not to do the work.

it basically said this cheapskate didn't want to spend a dime fixing the amp. Hysterical lol!!

My son used that to get the guy to cut another $50 off the price and bought the amp. I ordered new electrolytic caps for it and a WGS VET30 and a ET65. The pop top lid made doing the work so damn easy. No need need to even pull the chassis. I used JJ caps and Ruby EL34's in the amp. The amp still had most of it's original Philips labeled Mullard tubes throughout. I tested them all and only found 1 dead preamp tube. The power tubes were pretty worn as I expected they would be but all the ECC83's were strong.

Traynor's are the greatest vintage bargains out there. Over spec'd Hammond transformers, mustard caps just like in vintage Marshalls and vintage Mullards....amazing. The amp is a total BEAST! Like the spawn of a Twin Reverb and a Marshall Plexi. It is the loudest amp I've ever heard in my life.

That's a great amp my friend. They don't make them like that anymore. I have a '71 YBA-1 I did a cap job on and a did a few minor Plexi mods and it's also an outstanding amp. It has totally legit vintage Plexi snarl. I'll never sell that amp.

I understand your hesitation. $460 is A LOT of money to spend on the repairs. The electrolytic caps for that amp were under $50. I think that amp took the same dual 50uf caps I used in my YBA-1. I don't remember exactly what the matched quad of EL34's were but I remember them being very reasonable like around $80 (it was several years ago). The work was super easy and quick because of the brilliant pop top lid. $460 is way too much. The tech will be in and out of that amp in no time unless it's a basket case. The WGS speakers really woke that amp up. The Marsland speakers they come with are really lackluster speakers.

That's the one I have, but see my post above about moving.

Another option just occurred to me - keep the Traynor and get it serviced by someone else, and then buy an attenuator of some sort so that I can keep it and use it in the townhouse.

 

[pedecamp]

Yes, I am in the GTA.

But I've been thinking a bit since first posting this. I am moving in the fall, from a detached house into a townhouse. Because of the shared walls, I will need to be considerate of neighbours (my dog is going to have to learn to play more quietly!!!). So a monster like the Traynor doesn't make much sense, even if it dows have master volumes.

I am therefore considering one of two to options:

1) A modeller and a studio monitor (or two) as a speaker. That will enable me to get tones, from clean to overdriven, at any volume. I currently have a Boss GT-100 that I can use when getting used to modellers, and I can upgrade later. The problem is that I am a bit of a technophobe and don't want things to be too complicated.

2) A low watt tube amp that can be scaled down. Something like a Vox Night Train or an Orange Rocker 15 Terror. These would fit my desire for simplicity, but would they be as versatile as a modeller?

So I figure I should get the amp back from the tech and sell it for however much I can, and then choose one of the two options just mentioned. The problem is tha I honestly cannot decide which would be best for me.

I think you'd like the Supro Delta King 10, a tube amp perfect for a townhouse.

 

[Riffraff]

That's the one I have, but see my post above about moving.

Another option just occurred to me - keep the Traynor and get it serviced by someone else, and then buy an attenuator of some sort so that I can keep it and use it in the townhouse.

Yeah, I get it. It's a lot of amp and not one you can get the most of in living situations where you need to keep your volume low.

I have the same issue with a bunch of my amps but something has changed for me in the last year so I'm really glad I didn't sell them off. I'm doing a lot of recording these days and run my amps with an attenuator set to full attenuation and run the line out from my attenuator into my computer interface so I can use them in my DAW. My amps have never sounded better and the volume is extremely manageable. I'm not using speakers with my amp, I'm using Two-Notes cab IR's. There are a bunch of great, free downloadable cab IR's and effects plug-ins on the web. All of the sound comes my monitors so the volume couldn't be more managable.

I set up my first DAW a year ago and it's been the most fun I've ever had playing. I used a cheap interface with an equally cheap desk top PC loaded with Reaper ($60). The beauty of Reaper is it's been around forever and there are a million how too videos on the web so whenever I want to know how to do something I just do a Google search and watch the video. That has made learning how to use the software very easy. I've never even looked in the manual.

I do all of my recording from 4 a.m. & 6 a.m. In the morning so being quite is absolutely neccessary. My tone really doesn't suffer in this set up.

Here's a recent recording I started with a Bassman 70 (another loud AF amp) and finished it with a Egnater Tweaker 15 run through a Weber Mass100 attenuator with the line out run to my interface. I used Michael Nielsen's Big Hairy Cab IR's in Two-Notes Torpedo and Valhalla's Supermassive plug-in for a touch of delay.



If you end up doing something like this make sure you buy an attenuator that can handle the output of your highest powered amp at full attenuation. Getting one with a selectable impedance is also a good idea so you can use it with any tube amp in your collection.

 

[colchar]

I've been reading up on modellers today and think that I need to get over my technopobia and embrace their versatility. Once patches are set up I could go from EVH tones, to Priest, to pristine cleans, to country, to blues, to Zeppelin, to whatever else I wanted simply by clicking a button.

 

[Dean Swindell]

I have a 1978 Traynor YGL3 Mark III (for those who aren’t familiar with it, those are their version of the Twin Reverb but with master volumes to make the sound levels controllable). It is currently with a local amp tech. He has taken a look at it and thinks it needs a little work, as well as a full cap job for which he recommends Sprague Atom series caps. The total cost for the work would be $460.

I paid $650 for the amp and cannot decide whether to put the extra money into it or not. Are these amps worth the $1100 I’d be into the amp for after the repairs? Should I get the work done, or just sell it on and hope to get as much of my $650 back as I can?

Of course, do it. If you got a smokin' deal on a car you wouldn't sell it just because it needed new tires. And these "tires" in your amp are going to last about fifty years. Still a good deal.

 

[colchar]

Of course, do it. If you got a smokin' deal on a car you wouldn't sell it just because it needed new tires. And these "tires" in your amp are going to last about fifty years. Still a good deal.

I didn't get a smoking deal. I bought another Traynor for $650 and then traded that for this one.

I am Canadian and live just west of Toronto, so I live in the land of Traynor right in its home turf. They are easy to find here so if I were to sell this one and later decide I wanted another (ie. when I move out of the townhouse as I only plan to be there for a year or two), I can easily find them.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

Yeah, I get it. It's a lot of amp and not one you can get the most of in living situations where you need to keep your volume low.

I have the same issue with a bunch of my amps but something has changed for me in the last year so I'm really glad I didn't sell them off. I'm doing a lot of recording these days and run my amps with an attenuator set to full attenuation and run the line out from my attenuator into my computer interface so I can use them in my DAW. My amps have never sounded better and the volume is extremely manageable. I'm not using speakers with my amp, I'm using Two-Notes cab IR's. There are a bunch of great, free downloadable cab IR's and effects plug-ins on the web. All of the sound comes my monitors so the volume couldn't be more managable.

I set up my first DAW a year ago and it's been the most fun I've ever had playing. I used a cheap interface with an equally cheap desk top PC loaded with Reaper ($60). The beauty of Reaper is it's been around forever and there are a million how too videos on the web so whenever I want to know how to do something I just do a Google search and watch the video. That has made learning how to use the software very easy. I've never even looked in the manual.

I do all of my recording from 4 a.m. & 6 a.m. In the morning so being quite is absolutely neccessary. My tone really doesn't suffer in this set up.

Here's a recent recording I started with a Bassman 70 (another loud AF amp) and finished it with a Egnater Tweaker 15 run through a Weber Mass100 attenuator with the line out run to my interface. I used Michael Nielsen's Big Hairy Cab IR's in Two-Notes Torpedo and Valhalla's Supermassive plug-in for a touch of delay.



If you end up doing something like this make sure you buy an attenuator that can handle the output of your highest powered amp at full attenuation. Getting one with a selectable impedance is also a good idea so you can use it with any tube amp in your collection.

more riffraffage i see.
i think i want one of those 2notes but i dont know if i really need it.
not sure of all the things it can do yet.

 

[Riffraff]

more riffraffage i see.
i think i want one of those 2notes but i dont know if i really need it.
not sure of all the things it can do yet.

The Two-Notes Torpedo Wall of Sound software is a free download for use in a DAW. They make their money selling you cab IR's to use with it. Many are low cost. I bought a few different IR's from them. What I use the most is Michael Nielsen's Big Hairy Cab set which I bought on sale for $39. I like his Green back loaded 412, V30 loaded 412 and Greenback loaded 112 cabs the most. I typically use a combination of them. The Wall of Sound software also has a number of popular mic sims, different rooms (I like the reverb in the halls), power amp sims and an EQ section.

The other free software I use all the time is Valhalla's Supermassive plug-in. It has excellent delay's. It also has reverb and some modulation effects like chorus but the delays are excellent.

There's a lot of cool stuff available out there for free or next to nothing. My total investment in my DAW was less than $150.

Now that I'm a year into it I'm ready to upgrade.

 

[Torren61]

Fix the amp. Its hand wired turret board construction will outlast most of the amps that are currently PCB constructed. In a few more years, these will be collectable.