EL34's or 5881 in Traynors?

[britishgeetah]

so in my quest fo' a amp, I've come across two things that look quite schmiggity. Traynor custom Valve amps.
I'm looking at two, the RW 40wt and the BLUE 50wt.
They boook look quite similar except for the watt difference and the colors and the tubes.

BLUE uses EL34's
RW uses 5881

can someone tell me the tonal chracteristics for either one, and also what you think of Traynor in general. Are they good? Why are they cheaper then most amps? etc.

 

[britishgeetah]

Re: EL34's or 5881 in Traynors?

bump cos this is on the second page.

 

[jeremy]

Re: EL34's or 5881 in Traynors?

ive never heard either of those but those two tubes sound quite different.

i just had the pleasure of working on a traynor custom 80, it was put togeather in an odd way but im sure it was a more efficient manufacturing method.

 

[SoCalSteve]

Re: EL34's or 5881 in Traynors?

The WR40 and the 50Blue are voiced differently. American and British, respectively.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: EL34's or 5881 in Traynors?

I've played both of them quite a bit . . . they're both very nice amps! Personally, it came down to which side I wanted to lean to . . . the blue does pretty good cleans and a great distorted channel, and the red does great cleans and a pretty good distorted channel. I love my effects and cleans, so I went with the red. Another point of interest . . . the wine red one has a lot of highs/high mids which may be too much for you if you use really bright guitars. With the extension cab this problem is greatly reduced, but I figured that you should probably know. The blue traynor is a little darker sounding. Honestly though, I have no problem recommending either amp.

 

[britishgeetah]

Re: EL34's or 5881 in Traynors?

Thanks GuitarStv!
So, I'm thinking that the 5881's are similar to 6l6's like those in Fender amps and they seem to be voiced like a Fender amp. I use lots of effects too, but I use them with distortion. Is it that the RW distortion works best with effects or you just use the RW's clean?

I maybe going with the Blue though. Thanks for your help.
P.S. Do you know what either of them cost (and their Extension Cabs?)

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: EL34's or 5881 in Traynors?

Yeah, you've got it right . . . the 5881s are nearly the same tube as 6l6s. I just use the clean channel mostly on my amp . . . the distortion is cool, but I'm just more used to my pedals and their sound. I also prefer to put my effects first (not through the effects loop - not that there's anything wrong with the effects loop, I just like to plug everything in in front) so the less distortion for me the better. I payed about $650 (amp) + $350 (cab) on sale at Long and McQuades, but that's canadian dollars . . . where do you live?

 

[metallicaxlxl]

Re: EL34's or 5881 in Traynors?

i just bought the 50blue. both cleans and od are amazing. i hear from people that have tried both that the cleans are pretty close, maybe the 40wr has them a bit better, but thats to be expected because of the 6l6's. i got mine new from musicians friend for $649.99 american. just find it for cheap on the internet anywhere that isnt auctions, and ask for a pricematch and theyll do it. shipping from mf is free too, and no tax or anything. the thing is, im hearing in a lot of places that you absolutely need a tube change. the tubes that it comes with are pretty bad. get jj/tesla el34's, they give the amp a nice warm touch which is what i think its lacking.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: EL34's or 5881 in Traynors?

The tubes that come stock are far from unusable . . . I'll probably upgrade them at some point in the future, but for now I think they sound great.