MichaelBehuniak
New member
Hello all,
I just found this site, so I thought I'd start my first post with a review of a new amp I recently acquired (after succumbing to my VERY LAST G.A.S. attack...at least for the time being...)
Was searching for a long time for a small 15 watt all-tube combo amp, and finally pulled the trigger on this nifty Traynor:
Price: $395 (plus shipping)
General specs:
15 watt, all tube Class 'A'
3 12ax7's, 2 EL84's
standby switch
12" Celestion Rocket 50 speaker
2 seperate footswitchable channels, 'lead' and 'clean' (footswitch included)
seperate master/volume controls for each channel
3 band EQ
gain boost for 'lead' channel (footswitchable)
brightness switch for 'clean' channel
accutronics spring reverb
2 year warranty
Sound/Tones: (via Gibson SG Classic w/P90s)
Clean channel is very nice and sparkly (with bright switch), although I haven't really cranked it yet, so don't know the upper limit before it breaks up.
Spring Reverb definitely makes it's presence felt. Usually '3' is enough. Anything past '5' and you get drenched in waves of echo, which is probably the intention, to accomadate vintage 'surf' sounds?
Gain/Lead channel sounds great too and where this amp excels. You can dial in all types of distortion, from light OD to fuzz (with gain boost pushed on).
Nice overdrive to me is 'Live at Leeds/Brown Sugar' type of crunch. For fuzz I like a 'Purple Haze' fuzz-tone. No need for any OD pedals with this amp, at least to my ears, as it handles both types of OD and fuzz very nicely.
Another great feature is the master/volume controls. You can get great clean/distortion tones at bedroom levels without disturbing the neighbors. Like I said, I haven't been able to crank the 'clean' channel yet, so not sure how much 'clean' is on tap at loud volumes, but other reviewers have remarked it handles it well.
Overall:
Great sounding, very versitile all-tube combo amp for the price. I also considered the Fender Blues Jr and Crate V1512. The Traynor sounded as good, if not better than both, plus the Traynor wins hands down by having two seperate channels, giving the Traynor superior versitility for about the same price. Anyone in the market for a great little 15 watt tube combo amp should give the Traynor a tryout.
I just found this site, so I thought I'd start my first post with a review of a new amp I recently acquired (after succumbing to my VERY LAST G.A.S. attack...at least for the time being...)
Was searching for a long time for a small 15 watt all-tube combo amp, and finally pulled the trigger on this nifty Traynor:
Price: $395 (plus shipping)
General specs:
15 watt, all tube Class 'A'
3 12ax7's, 2 EL84's
standby switch
12" Celestion Rocket 50 speaker
2 seperate footswitchable channels, 'lead' and 'clean' (footswitch included)
seperate master/volume controls for each channel
3 band EQ
gain boost for 'lead' channel (footswitchable)
brightness switch for 'clean' channel
accutronics spring reverb
2 year warranty
Sound/Tones: (via Gibson SG Classic w/P90s)
Clean channel is very nice and sparkly (with bright switch), although I haven't really cranked it yet, so don't know the upper limit before it breaks up.
Spring Reverb definitely makes it's presence felt. Usually '3' is enough. Anything past '5' and you get drenched in waves of echo, which is probably the intention, to accomadate vintage 'surf' sounds?
Gain/Lead channel sounds great too and where this amp excels. You can dial in all types of distortion, from light OD to fuzz (with gain boost pushed on).
Nice overdrive to me is 'Live at Leeds/Brown Sugar' type of crunch. For fuzz I like a 'Purple Haze' fuzz-tone. No need for any OD pedals with this amp, at least to my ears, as it handles both types of OD and fuzz very nicely.
Another great feature is the master/volume controls. You can get great clean/distortion tones at bedroom levels without disturbing the neighbors. Like I said, I haven't been able to crank the 'clean' channel yet, so not sure how much 'clean' is on tap at loud volumes, but other reviewers have remarked it handles it well.
Overall:
Great sounding, very versitile all-tube combo amp for the price. I also considered the Fender Blues Jr and Crate V1512. The Traynor sounded as good, if not better than both, plus the Traynor wins hands down by having two seperate channels, giving the Traynor superior versitility for about the same price. Anyone in the market for a great little 15 watt tube combo amp should give the Traynor a tryout.
