Modding my Traynor to Super Reverb-ish specs?

JamesSGBrown

Hi, everyone. So I bought a lovely Traynor YRM-1 off of @markl last year. It's served me very well indeed and I love it. It's due a service after a year of regular use, and I'm thinking of having it modded to SR-ish specs (a vintage SR is my dream amp but waaaay beyond my means). As it is, it's an extremely bright amp. I think the EQ is active (?) because when all set to 0 there is no sound. I'd ideally like it to be less brittle, with slightly more headroom, but without losing the attack that I love so much (pedals just 'pop' and it sounds fantastic in a live mix).
Traynor YRM-1SC Reverb Master 4x10 Combo SchematicThis was Traynor’s model that competed with Fender’s Super Reverb and share some of the same features but is voiced differently.The YRM-1 is a 45 watt, master volume amp with reverb and tremolo. It features one channel with two inputs at different input sensitivity levels. The front panel controls and indicators are: Treble Boost switch, Volume (input gain), Bass, Middle, Treble, Reverb, Tremolo Intensity, Tremolo Speed, Master Volume, Standby Switch, and Power Light. It has the original four 10” speakers which appear to be Jensen C10Q ceramic type. All in good condition with no signs of damage.Currently fitted with TungSol 12AX7s in V1 and V4 (Input and PI), EHX 12AX7s in V3 and V5 (Reverb and Tremolo), old stock Philips EL84 in V2 (reverb driver) and a matched pair of TungSol EL34s for the power section.  

ICBM

The EQ is not active, it's just wired so that zeroing all the controls takes the tone stack output to ground - Fender tone stacks are also wired like this, Marshall aren't.

From a quick look at the schematic it looks to be an almost exact Super Reverb copy, like other Traynors (eg the YGL-3, which is a Twin), with 6CA7 output valves and an EL84 to drive the reverb.

One noticeable difference is in the reverb mixer, which is wired differently but I wouldn't expect to make the amp much brighter. Supers are bright amps...

The first thing I would do is replace the EL34s with proper 6CA7s - I just did this to a customer's YGL-3 for exactly the same reason and it made a noticeable difference, less of that slightly harsh upper-mid brightness. You can get JJ ones from Tube Amp Doctor in Germany.

If the amp hasn't been recapped I would recommend doing that too, which should also help - TAD also sells these. You will have to improvise a bit for the two large 40+40uF dual caps, I used the 'Marshall style' 50+50uF cans mounted sideways and secured with clips.

JamesSGBrown

Thanks @ICBM you're a wealth of info! It is that harsh upper mid range indeed. So if I'm taking it for a service, investing in both those tubes and caps should help speed things along?
I'll probably replace the speakers at some point. @ Ragin Cajuns and 2 others, maybe Copperheads. 
Would it be worth taking the MV out of the circuit, or is this just snobbery on my part?

ICBM

JamesSGBrown said:

Thanks @ICBM you're a wealth of info! It is that harsh upper mid range indeed. So if I'm taking it for a service, investing in both those tubes and caps should help speed things along?
I'll probably replace the speakers at some point. @ Ragin Cajuns and 2 others, maybe Copperheads. 
Would it be worth taking the MV out of the circuit, or is this just snobbery on my part?

If anything the MV will help soften the sound slightly.

If it needs servicing and hasn't already been recapped - either fully or partly - I would do the whole lot, every electrolytic cap in it. It's not actually a big job on these amps, they're extremely easy to work on.

darcym

I'll be really interested how this turns out

DJH83004

As IC quite rightly says Traynors are great amps to work on, even easier than Fenders in many ways, so you shouldn't have any problems getting your local amp tech to sort it for you. I have owned a couple and worked on a few YGL-3s over the years, the EL84 reverb driver is a bit quirky but does work well, I have to say +1 for IC spotting the difference between 6CA7s and EL34s. Not sure if the cardboard Mallory electrolytic has been changed yet, but it def needs to be as a minimum    

ICBM

DJH83004 said:

Not sure if the cardboard Mallory electrolytic has been changed yet, but it def needs to be as a minimum    

The ‘stick of dynamite’ caps, by appearance and behaviour!

bbill335

ICBM said:

If the amp hasn't been recapped I would recommend doing that too, which should also help - TAD also sells these. You will have to improvise a bit for the two large 40+40uF dual caps, I used the 'Marshall style' 50+50uF cans mounted sideways and secured with clips.

Jon @ TLC/Branston amps fashioned new brackets to hold the new F&Ts in my YGM3 when he pulled the stock dynamite Mallorys. 

JamesSGBrown

bbill335 said:

ICBM said:

If the amp hasn't been recapped I would recommend doing that too, which should also help - TAD also sells these. You will have to improvise a bit for the two large 40+40uF dual caps, I used the 'Marshall style' 50+50uF cans mounted sideways and secured with clips.

Jon @ TLC/Branston amps fashioned new brackets to hold the new F&Ts in my YGM3 when he pulled the stock dynamite Mallory's. Is that the guy at robanas?

JamesSGBrown

Quote fail. Is that the guy at robanas?

JamesSGBrown

Where might I source these caps from? Or do most half decent techs have this stuff around? 

DJH83004

You don’t have to worry about sourcing caps yourself, all amp techs carry stocks of can caps, or can get them at short notice from their suppliers.  

robinbowes

I've probably got a few kicking around if you get stuck.