Traynor YCV20WR Tube Amp

Overview

The all tube Traynor YCV20WR is a great little 1×12 combo amp that is geared toward clean and overdriven tones. If you are into jazz, blues, or indie rock you will probably really dig the sound of this amp. If you are looking for something with a ton of gain this amp is definitely not for you.

If you hate carrying around huge amps but still want a great tone this amp is a pretty great option. It is only 15 watts, but it is all tube so you can really get plenty of volume out of it. The separate gain and volume knobs for clean and dirty channels really give you a lot of flexibility when dialing in your tones.

Price - 7.5/10

You can pick up a Traynor YCV20WR for around $720, that’s really not too bad for an all tube amp that sounds very nice. When compared to other amps in the same class, I think that this one is pretty competitively priced.

Sound Quality - 8/10

I have to admit that I am biased here because I love tube amps, and EL84’s are my favorite power tubes. The warm tone on the Traynor YCV20WR is powered by two EL84 power tubes.  The overall vibe of this amp is not very aggressive. The clean tones are nice and fat while the overdrive tones are very reminiscent of the kind of tone you would get out of a tube screamer. I really liked the spring reverb and the independent gain controls for each channel too. The 1×12 Celestion G12M Greenback helps to round out the classic tube tone that this amp creates.

Build Quality - 8/10

This is the first Traynor amp that I have ever messed with for any substantial amount of time. I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the overall build quality. It felt very solid and like it could really take some abuse, not that that I recommend abusing your amp.

Features - 8.5/10

• 2 Button Footswitch

• 2 EL84 Power Tubes

• 4 12AX7A Pre-Amp Tubes

• Spring Reverb

• External Speaker Jack

• D.I. Out

• Headphone Jack

• Plywood Cabinet

• Wine Red Leatherette Finish

• Oatmeal Grille

• Class A Power

• 1×12 Celestion Greenback

• Dual Volume And Gain Controls

• Channel 1 Boost

• Channel 2 Bright

• Weight 37.9 lbs

• Effects Loop

Ease of Use - 8/10

This amp has quite a few really cool features on it, but it is still very easy to use. All of the controls are very intuitive. Once you learn the basic layout of the knobs and switches it is super-easy to just dial in your tone and go.

Pros

• Great tone in a small package

• Reasonable price

• Independent gain and volume controls for both channels

Cons

• A bit heavy for the size

Overall Rating - 8/10

If you are looking for a small tube amp with great tone and some really cool features, I recommend checking out the Traynor YCV20WR. It has a little different flavor than the more common brands of tube amps on the market. The clean tones are really warm and the overdrive tones are pretty smooth. If you are looking for an amp that goes all the way from clean to super-high gain I would probably take a look at something else.