Traynor Guitar Mate Reverb

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

I recently picked up a 1971 traynor guitar mate reverb 18 watt 1-12" ..2 el84 and 4 12ax7 .. over the years i have played many traynor amps and sort of looked down my nose at them , they were always good amps but just never had that cool factor.. i have read on many forums about the build quality of traynor from the 60's and 70's and how they have a circuit similar to marshall .. vintage guitar has even said they may be the best kept secret out there and definitely score big on the bang for the buck scale.... anyhooo.. i bought this little jewl for 200 cdn dollars at a local music store .. took it home and replaced 2 cooked 12ax7 tubes and fired her up ... i was amazed with the overall sound the reverb was amazing and the tremolo is lush and throbing .. i did find the speaker a little thin and lifeless , so i popped the sealed back and replaced the original 12" marsland with a 1966 jensen c12n i had kicking around and the results were nothing short of spectacular... this little amp with its 18 watts was sounding more like a fender blackface deluxe reverb than a 200 dollar traynor .. more research .. some amp techs state that the guitar mate reverb sounds more british ie vox-like and marshall like than fenderish , recommending that the speaker be replaced with a celestion and as i have a old celestion g12m kicking around i will be changing out the jensen over this weekend .. i'll let you know the results ... anyway the major upshot of this post is that if you have the opportunity to acquire one of these little jems dont pass it up , real tube sound solid built like a tank and a full size spring reverb for cheap .. i've seen them on ebay for 250-350 cdn .. not a lot of money and the tone is classic .... and according to vintage guitar magazine shure to appreciate .... 6S9L

[Robert****]

Wow, after reading that, I WANT ONE! Thanks for the writeup, 6S9L!

[Nelskie]

69SL - Yet another vintage amp in your stable, eh? Sounds like you hit the jackpot with this little beast. Ya' got any pix of her? Just to follow up on another thing, too - your post mentioned the aspect of "appreciation in value". Since I know you have other "collectible" and / or "in-demand" gear, I thought I would ask you if resale value is something that plays a big factor in your gear-buying choices? I can't say it's ever been an issue with me, primarily because I've always been satisfied to coax the tones I like out of reasonably-priced gear. It'd be interesting to hear your take on that point.

While Vintage Guitar Magazine is an excellent read, I am often times disgusted with them for always "tipping" off folks to obscure and / or "underground" gear. Used to be that you'd get these kinds of tips after buying the lead guitarist a beer at the bar, after the band's last set. Now that info (once privy to actual players) is circulated to some 300,000 other people (including greedy, non-playing collectors and name-dropping businessmen), thus leaving the "pickin's" pretty slim for the folks like you and I, who actually PLAY and appreciate this kind of gear. Then again, maybe its just me?

Anyways, I'll get off of my soap box. Thanks for the tip on this amp. I know Robert has mentioned Traynor amps in a couple of his other posts, too.

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Yeah Nelskie I always buy with an eye to resale...a year ago i decided to augment my retirement ( still some 20 years in the future by the way) income by re-kindling my passion for vintage gear and spending my investment money on building a collection that will bring me a good return while having the pleasure of being a steward of some piece of craftsmanship and design , i say steward because i will eventually part with each and every piece ..ya cant take it with ya..well maybe just one strat so i can jam with jimi and stevie ...But i tend to buy what I like not neccessarily high end vintage stuff hence the traynor and i think if truth be told i would probably buy a cardboard box if it was covered in tolex and the gas is hitting hard..also it seems that you meet the nicest people who also share a passion for all things musical..so i guess really its a great hobby , i love researching and developing knowledge on the gear and there are so many resources out there and friendly people who share the same interersts..in short it beats the hell outta watchin tv.
Yeah sometimes vintage guitar is guilty of fueling the feeding frenzy , but i still love it , the adds for stuff for sale around north america is a great barometer for where the hobby is going and helps establish fair prices, its the savy buyer who makes the most of it , theres one thing fer sure though the stuff aint gettin any cheaper ..did you see Stephen Segal's collection in last months issue ...amazing.. he has albert kings 58 flying v and one of srv's firebirds plus a muddy waters tele , apparently he's a good player too , and oh yeah i nearly forgot .... MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HAUNAKA, AND JOYUS FESTUVUS... 6S9L

[Nelskie]

69SL - I know I speak for a lot of folks on this forum when I say that your posts on vintage gear & guitars are both very informative, and a lot of fun to read. Yeah, I did read that article in last month's VG about Steven Segal's collection. Maybe if he's as decent a player as they say he is, he should stop making those B-grade "tough guy returns to extract his vengeance" movies, and cut an album??!! Ha ha ha!

By the way - great pix. You have some very cool gear, for sure. One other question: what's the foam in the cabinet for? Sound-deadening, perhaps? Just curious.

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

you're right Nelskie the foam is a sound deadining agent, keeps the reverberations from rattling around and causing strange and melovelant uphevals in the sonic cosmos, you will find it in most sealed back cabinets and combos, fender used fiberglass insulation ( see pic)..thanks for the kind words regarding my posts , everybody likes a stroke now and then .
I know that you are a zztop fan , my wife gave me the new billy gibbons hardcover book for christmas and i am looking foreward to sitting down with a big single malt putting another log on the fire and checking out the rev's ramblings . lots of pictures of guitars and cars and a nice play by play of the tops history. If the group would ever like to do a vintage thread i'd be glad to help out. gotta agree on segals acting i hope hes a better player than he is an actor, still a cool guy in my book though , 6S9L

[Nelskie]

I am thinking of dropping a different speaker in my Peavey Classic 112E extension cab sometime later this winter (perhaps an Eminince Swamp Thang), and may just employ that foam trick. Cool tip - thanks.

Yeah, I saw the Rev's book out at Barnes & Noble, and made note of it to my wife, who stated that she'd already picked out a book for me for Christmas. I am happy to report that her selection turned out to be a most excellent reference: "According to the Rolling Stones". Tons of great insights by the band members, their entourage, various personalities of the day, etc. Loaded with awesome color photos, too. The book was also accompanied by the *new* Stones "Rarities" CD, which is absoultely KILLER! But I do believe that the Billy G. book will be in my library very soon.

Hey, I think a "Vintage Gear" section on the forum would be awesome! You should drop Robert a private e-mail, and let him know that. Or, he may just read this post, and contact you himself. Whatever the case, I think it's a great idea!!

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Update .. stuck that celestion gm12 in the traynor ..breaks up beautifully and carries the load , this little amp may just be a keeper ... really close to marshall tone , gonna try some new el84's next ...6S9L

[Nelskie]

Hey, sounds like you're really gettin' into that amp. I had kind of the same thing happening with my little Epi Valve Jr. a month or so ago. Even simple mods like speakers and tubes are a gas to do, and if you're getting some cool tones, it's even more fun!!

Say, what happened to your "Head Of A Pin" attachments? I wanted to hear that song again, and went back to that thread - the attachments were gone! Did you guys get signed or something?!! Man, if there was a way for you to e-mail me complete MP3 of that, I'd put it on my I-Pod, and be diggin' it all the time. Like I said before, that song has a sweet Kim Mitchell-type groove to it, and dude - I dig Kim Mitchell!!

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

Nelskie I'll pm ya on that .... have you heard the tone tubby speakers with the hempcone, they are getting quite a good reputation and the endorsements they have read like a who's who of tone ... i have not had an opportunity to check them out but they are definitely on my to do list ....6S9L

[Nelskie]

No, I haven't heard any buzz on the Tone Tubby speakers, but since you mention it, perhaps I will give them a look. I'm not in any real hurry on doing anything with that cab, as I have some Fender Custom Shop '69 p'ups on order for my MIM Strat. But I do appreciate the tip. Tone is definitely the name of the game, bro'!

[6STRINGS 9LIVES]

YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THOSE CS69'S ... maybe the nicest of all the cs pickups sweet and glassy they really capture that hendrix tone , i'm partial to texas specials as well but they seem to sound much better with a maple neck as opposed to a rosewood , to dark with rosewood i find but nice and open and hot with maple , fingerboard wood plays such a huge part regarding pickup tonality cs69's sound great withn either.... 6S9L

[Nelskie]

You're spot-on with the neck tip. That maple / rosewood fretboard thing was something I'd just found about a couple of years ago - again, thanks to some internet forum-searching. As surprising as it may seem, the type of neck really DOES make a huge difference in how the sound of the p'up "images". I'd read that one evening, and the next day, spend the better part of a morning at my local shop playing guitars with different kinds of necks through different amps. And I'll be damned if it wasn't completely true!! A good nugget of advice there for all of you fellow forum members reading this thread. As a matter of fact, either you or I should do a post on that, as it's really an important piece of guitar-related information.

Anyways - my MIM Strat is a nice 3TS model, with a sweet maple neck / rosewood fb. I am really looking forward to getting those CS '69's put in, as the stock p'ups (vintage style) seem a little bright, and maybe a tad brittle for the stuff I dig playing. When I get her back home, I'm going to spend a full afternoon in my studio "tone farming" with my Peavey tube rig. No pedals, no effects - just a Strat into a tube amp. Meat and potatoes, ya' know.

Hey - gotta' run - the Kinks' "To The Bone" just came on my XM (Deep Tracks - Ch. 41) - gotta' crank that one! Awesome tune!