Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

[CapoFirstFret Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close CapoFirstFret]

I found one of these Traynor Mark II short heads (50 watts, EL34, point to point wired) for $175!! I've just gotta sell something to get it! Now to figure out what I want to part with


Anyone have any experience with these heads? I will definitely end up needing an attenuator and a good cab (hello Avatar!) .....if anyone knows of any good mods for these things, let me know too!

[CapoFirstFret Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close CapoFirstFret]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head!

no one knows anything about these? I could use some help. If/when I get it, I'm gonna have to change out the power cord...is there anything else I should look for that might need changing?

[kevlar3000 Bullet Proof Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close kevlar3000]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

If you are talking a Bassmaster MK II from the 60s or early 70s then 175.00 is a huge score. The Mk II puts out around 90 watts with those two tubes with over 600v on the plates, so tube carefully or if your lucky you will have some vintage 6CA7 goodness in there already. With my MK II, I clipped the WAY too bright cap off of volume 2. (This is the normal channel, opposite of a Marshall). A 330 ceramic cap worked well with mine, but mess with em til you get what you like, in some cases no cap sounds great. The gain/bottom/treble response can really be altered by this tweak alone. You can change the volume pots from 4 meg to 1 meg for a less squishy feel to the note. It will be more Marshall like that way. I swapped out the .1 presence cap for a .68 and love the difference it made. Gives the amp more snarl and mids.

I have 4 Traynors, 3 of em Bassmasters and one a bassmate. I love these amps, perhaps the most reliable vintage amp ever built with those lovely Hammond transformers. Each one of mine has a few minor tweaks and each of them sound amazing.

[CapoFirstFret Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close CapoFirstFret]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

wow, yeah, I'm talking about the bassmaster (YBA-1A)....great looking amp, I can't wait to snag it. I think I'm gonna try to trade for it. I'll definitely get back in touch with you once I get it! now I just gotta get a cab for it

[kevlar3000 Bullet Proof Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close kevlar3000]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

Hey Capo,

Did you get this amp? If not is it still for sale?

[CapoFirstFret Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close CapoFirstFret]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

no I snagged it man...I'm loving it and can't wait to get a cab for it. I'm gonna order an Avatar cab ..2x12, semi-open back, wheat cloth, black covering and i"m gonna order some wheat cloth and recover the front of the amp so it'll match the cab. It's gonna be killer

[kevlar3000 Bullet Proof Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close kevlar3000]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

Sweet,

Where on earth did you find it so cheap? Is it original?

[tenniso Super Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close tenniso]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

i think the old Traynor amps had a lot to do with the "mysterious" tone that Ty Tabor of KIng's X used to have. i loved that tone.

[CapoFirstFret Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close CapoFirstFret]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

it's local, all original, and I know the guy who owns it. I've gotta do a few mods to it.....most important as I said is changing the plug from a two prong to a grounded three prong..but I may leave it stock beyond that. I absolutely love this amp!

[kevlar3000 Bullet Proof Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close kevlar3000]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

it's local, all original, and I know the guy who owns it. I've gotta do a few mods to it.....most important as I said is changing the plug from a two prong to a grounded three prong..but I may leave it stock beyond that. I absolutely love this amp!

You clip or change the volume cap on volume 2 ( this is the better channel for guitar IMO) to a lower value and that amp should be good to go. I just love those amps!!!

[CapoFirstFret Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close CapoFirstFret]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

oh yeah, I love this one. I've been bridging the two channels like you would on an old marshall, is that not advisable on these? it sounds pretty good....but I'm not really hip to how these are wired on the contrary to marshalls

[kevlar3000 Bullet Proof Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close kevlar3000]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

Bridgeing is fine, your ears will put you in the right place. Channel 2 is your bright channel, the opposite of a Marshall. On channel 2 there is a 1000pF cap soldered onto the volume control. ( Mine had that and it was stock) the cap value makes that channel extremely bright. By lowering dramatically, 470 or lower you can really revoice that whole channel and have a much more useable bright channel.

On the other side, Volume 1 ( your dark, or bass channel) you could put a brighter cap on that volume control and make that side brighter if you like.

Inputs are exact opposites of 4 hole Marshalls. The bottom are your Hi Gain inputs and the top inputs are low gain.

[CapoFirstFret Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close CapoFirstFret]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

hmmm...I'm glad you've given me all this info...because I would have never known....gonna have to make a little chart for myself so I'll remember how it's supposed to be hooked up Man, you've been an absolute wealth of knowledge for me about these old amps. I appreciate it.

Btw, I spent a summer in Minneapolis...beautiful city, hope to make it back up there sometime. Spent quite a bit of time over at Famous Dave's on Lake Street (I lived on the third floor above a duplex converted into a church on 5th Avenue South.

[CapoFirstFret Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close CapoFirstFret]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

Hey kevlar, do you know what ohm these things are? I'm assuming 8 ohms, but i need to know for cab/attenuator reasons!

[kevlar3000 Bullet Proof Toneologist Find all posts View Profile Close kevlar3000]

Re: Found a Traynor Mark II short head! any advice? mods?

I lived Uptown for many years, been known to eat a bit of Dave's... 5th Ave S, do you remeber the cross street? It is lovely here, esp when the lakes are thawed!!

That amp is 8 ohms. Avatar speakers is blowing out GB12s for 29.00 each. Get a pair of those and you will have a great sounding speaker with that amp.