Is the Traynor YGM 1 guitar mate amplifier a great guitar amp? Does a Traynor YGM 1 amplifier sound good? Are Traynor YGM 1 guitar amplifiers durable? How good are the controls of the Traynor YGM 1 guitar amplifiers? These guitar amplifiers are really not that familiar to some guitar players, so if you recently bought one and are curious about its overall quality, you are now going to find if you have made the right decision.
So, what is Traynor? Traynor is a musical brand of guitar and bass guitar amplifiers, which was first formed by the Canadian company Yorkville Sound. Its brand name was from its founder and amplifier designer Peter Traynor. The brand was founded in 1963 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and has become popular in the country for its affordable versions of the Fender and Marshall amps of the time.
Peter Traynor was a music shop repairman for Long & McQuade, a popular music store in Canada, and was used to customize amplifiers to help save costs for the business. With his experience, he was able to create a bass guitar amplifier he called the Traynor Dynabass. After some time, he was able to enter a business partnership with the owner of the music store he was working with and came up with the company name Yorkville Sound.
In 1965, Traynor began to experiment with some guitar amplifier designs. Two of the first products that resulted from his experiments were the YGA-1, a 45 watt guitar amp head, and the YGM-1, a 1×12 20 watt tube guitar combo amplifier. In 1966, the company decided to produce the two guitar amplifiers fully and introduce them to the market.
In 1976, Peter Traynor decided to leave Yorkville Sound as he was already suffering from a bad back. The brand was slowly phased out in the music industry over the next 17 years until it was reintroduced in the year 2000. As of today, all Traynor products are made in Pickering, Ontario.
Does A Traynor YGM 1 Guitar Mate Reverb Amplifier Sound Good?
The Traynor YGM 1 is a tube guitar amplifier that was produced in the 1960s by the Yorkville Sound under the Traynor brand. These guitar amplifiers were all manufactured in Canada and have already been discontinued for a long time.
The guitar amplifier comes with volume, treble, and bass controls. It also has reverberation, speed, and intensity knobs for its tremolo controls. Additionally, it has a 12-inch guitar speaker and has a power rating of 20 watts RMS.
The Traynor YGM 1 is an all-tube guitar amplifier, and it is compatible with EL84 tubes. The EL84 is a known tube for its really good value, as they have a reputation for being more affordable and reliable tubes. EL84 tubes usually produce a very bright high end and punchy mid-range. It also produces a warm and powerful low-end sound.
Fender, Marshall, Mesa Boogie, Peavey, and more guitar amplifier manufacturers are known to use EL84 tubes for their products, which is why the Traynor YGM 1 has a near-identical sound, especially with those amps made by Fender. These amps are able to produce a very nice clean guitar tone similar to what Fender guitar tube amps are, but in a more affordable version.
The guitar amplifier has a very beautiful tremolo effect that can match some high-end guitar amps at that time. With a bit of distortion to it, it can sound close to a Marshall guitar amplifier too. Its Marsland 12-inch speaker, which is also an alnico-magnet speaker, helps in producing an overall beautiful guitar tone.
If you plug a guitar pedal with it, it is still able to produce a very nice sound with a little bit of compression that comes from the tube. There is no problem even if you put some distortion on it, as it takes heavy distortions very nicely and can also get loud even with its 20-watt power.
Although you cannot buy new Traynor YGM 1 guitar amps as of now, there are still many used amps that are being sold online, and for the price they are offering, it is still a great deal. Even though these amps are old, they still sound good as what they are advertised to be.
Are Traynor YGM 1 Guitar Amplifiers Durable?
Traynor YGM 1 Guitar Mate Reverb amps are really durable as you can still see many of these amps being sold in musical stores and online websites that are selling used guitar amps. Considering that they are made in the late 1960s, you can still see some of these amps that are working.
The guitar amplifier is hand-wired and comes with the renowned original Hammond transformers. Its reverb transformer is also similar to what you can see in Fender guitar amps that have built-in reverb effects on them. Its 12-inch Marsland speaker is an Alnico magnet speaker, so it really sounds warm and sweet.
This guitar amplifier also comes with three guitar inputs, which is unique, as you can rarely see a guitar amp that has three inputs. As a tube guitar amplifier that is compatible with EL84 tubes, you would really know it can produce a nice clean sound but is also able to produce overdriven tones without any problems.
The Traynor YGM 1 has two built-in effects: Tremolo and Reverb, and they are switchable by using a footswitch. Its tremolo and reverb circuits are really durable as most of these amps that are sold online by music stores still have their tremolo and reverb effects functional without any hitches yet.
This guitar amplifier has a closed-back design, which gives it a loud sound. It is really loud for a 20-watt amplifier, but it is also understandable as it is a tube guitar amp. It is great to use for a practice amp, but you can also use it in stages, but you will need to mix them up.
Overall, the Traynor YGM 1 is a great guitar amplifier in its time. Having a tremolo and reverb built-in effects really adds some flavor to its all-tube sound. With a nice clean sound similar to Fender amps and a good overdrive tone like Marshall amps, the Traynor YGM 1 is really a great amp for its price.
Even though they were discontinued a long time ago and the amps that you can see in online stores right now are already old, they are still great amps as they are highly known for their durability and nice sound. These guitar amps are perfect for practice use.
