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Vintage Traynor Series
Vintage Bass Amps

Founded in 1963 in downtown Toronto, Yorkville Sound was formed out of the back room of the first Long & McQuade music store. The repairman at that time was Peter Traynor, and his first development was a Bass Guitar amplifier, the Traynor Dyna-Bass. From there the Traynor line of Bass Amps have had a very successful and dynamic growth, attracting attention not only in Canada, but the USA and worldwide. It should also be mentioned that many guitarists back in those days were plugging into Bass Amps, as there was a fine and blurry line between what was strictly a bass amp, and what was strictly a guitar amp. The following links detail the history of Traynor Bass Amps.

YBA-1 -- Bass Master
YBA-1A -- Bass Master Mark II
YBA-2 -- Bass Mate
YBA-2A -- Bass Mate
YBA-2B -- Bass Mate
YBA-3 -- Custom Special
YBA-3A -- Super Custom Special
YBA-4 -- Bass Master
YBA-5 -- Mark II
Mono Block B
Mono Block II

YBA-1 Bass Master
Features
Dual pairs of inputs, dual volume controls, bass, treble, high and low (mid) range expanders, also good for guitar - tubes were 2 6CA7 outputs and three 12AX7A's in the preamp (early models had 7027A o/ps and a 5AR4 rectifier).
Approximate Serial Number
0003 to 0400's=1963 to 1966
0500 to 6500 =1966 to 1970
006#### to 911####
Years Made
1963-1979
Amp Type
Tube Head
Power
45 Watts Sine Wave @ 8 Ohms		 Comments
Originally named "Dynabass" (1963-64), this was Pete Traynor's first amp design. Bass Masters were often used for guitar and worked very well in that role. Later, the basic electronics would be incorporated into several of Yorkville's Traynor products.

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YBA-1A Bass Master Mark II
Features
Same as YBA-1 except for a fan mounted in the side (1960s) or internally (1970s), also good for guitar - tubes were also same as the YBA-1
Approximate Serial Number
0200 to 1800's = 1968 to 1970
006#### to 605####
Years Made
1968-1976
Amp Type
Tube Head
Power
90 Watts Sine Wave @ 8 Ohms 		Comments
Same output tubes (two 6CA7s) as the YBA-1?! Yes, bigger transformers filter caps and fan cooling made it work.

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YBA-2 Bass Mate
Features
Dual inputs, volume, bass treble, 15" speaker in open-back enclosure with controls at the back. The tubes were a 12AU7 & a 12AX7A in the preamp and two 6V6 outputs
Approximate Serial Number
0015 to 7000's = 1965 to 1969
Replaced by YBA-2B in 1969
Years Made
1965-1969
Amp Type
Tube combo (1x15"cube)
Power
20 Watts Sine Wave @ 8 Ohms 		Comments
The company's first bass combo, YBA-2 was cube-shaped with the controls and a smallish square opening at the back.

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YBA-2A Bass Mate
Features
Same inputs & controls as YBA-2 - tubes were two 12AX7As in the preamp and two 6BQ5 outputs
Approximate Serial Number
5500 to 6300's = 1967 to 1970
006#### to 306####
Years Made
1967-1973
Amp Type
Tube head
Power
25 Watts Sine Wave @ 8 Ohms 		Comments
Generally used with the YS-15 (1x15") bass cab, the YBA-2A head also sounded very nice with a Les Paul or Start through the appropriate speakers, eg. a YT-12.

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YBA-2B Bass Mate
Features
Same inputs & controls as YBA-2 but in a standard combo format, sealed enclosure with controls at the front - tubes were two 12AX7As in the preamp and two 6BQ5 outputs.
Approximate Serial Number
313000 to 32000's = 1969 to 1970
006#### to 911####
Years Made
1969-1979
Amp Type
Tube combo
Power
25 Watts Sine Wave @ 8 Ohms 		Comments
Replaced the YBA-2 - slightly more power & slimmer profile.

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YBA-3 Custom Special
Features
Dual inputs, volume, bass, treble, high & low range expander & presence controls + treble & bass boost switches - tubes were three 12AX7As in the preamp and four 6CA7 outputs.
Approximate Serial Number
0400 to 2500's = 1967 to 1970
006#### to 203####
Years Made
1967-1972
Amp Type
Tube head
Power
130 Watts Sine Wave @ 4 Ohms 		Comments
Used with the YC-810 "Big B" cab for bass or YR-412 "Rogue" for guitar. The addition of a master volume in 1971 turned the YBA-3 into a really superb guitar head.

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YBA-3A Super Custom Special
Features
Same features as YBA-3 plus a 2 Ohm/4 Ohm impedance switch (it had to be used with two YC-810s or YR412s)
Approximate Serial Number
0120 to 1700s = 1968* to 1970
006### to 203####
Years Made
1968-1973
Amp Type
Tube head
Power
250 Watts Sine Wave @ 2 or 4 Ohms 		Comments
Identical to the YBA-3 but double the power (max continuous output was well over 400 Watts), YBA-3A was the most powerful bass head on the market when introduced & probably also the heaviest at apx.100 lbs. *(prototype made in 1968)

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YBA-4 Bass Master
Features
Same as YBA-1 - tubes too
Approximate Serial Number
310#### to 911####
Years Made
1973-1979
Amp Type
Tube combo (1x15")
Power
45 Watts Sine Wave @ 8 Ohms 		Comments
The YBA-1 chassis shock-mounted in a combo cab with a single fifteen. In 1976 it was redesigned and shock mounting was no longer needed.

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YBA-5 Mark II
Features
Same as YBA-1A except by now the fan was mounted to the chassis inside the cabinet (ditto for YBA-1A after 1971) - tubes also same as YBA-1
Approximate Serial Number
Unknown
Years Made
Appx. 1974
Amp Type
Tube combo (1x15 C-V)
Power
90 Watts Sine Wave @ 8 Ohms 		Comments
Only a few were made. With the Mark II Chassis and a Cerwin-Vega fifteen it weighed enough to earn the nickname "Arm Stretcher".

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MONO-B MONO Block B
Features
Dual inputs, volume, bass, low mid, high mid, treble & master volume controls, preamp in/out jack
Approximate Serial Number
310#### to 609####
Years Made
1973-1977
Amp Type
Solid-State Head
Power
325 Watts Sine Wave @ 2 Ohms 		Comments
Heavy cast aluminum end panels were heatsinks for the output devices. At the time of introduction this was the most powerful solid-state bass amp on the market. Replaced by the Mono Block II in 1977.

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MONO-II MONO Block II
Features
dual inputs, volume, bass, mid, treble and master volume controls, 5-band graphic EQ, preamp out & power amp in jacks.
Approximate Serial Number
705#### to 010###
Years Made
1977-1980
Amp Type
Solid-State Head
Power
325 Watts Sine Wave @ 2 Ohms 		Comments
An updated version of the original with EQ. Both amps were quite usable for guitar as well as bass.

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Vintage Traynor Series Overview

The DynaBass The following takes look at the history of original and groundbreaking Yorkville products. Each link above represents a comprehensive archive of our Traynor creations and experiments. If you are the owner of an original Traynor product, you can reference serials numbers to specific models and years.

If you are interested in finding out more about Yorkville's history there is a very detailed document written by Yorkville's Mike Holman that you can get by clicking here. It is quite an interesting read.

SOME EARLY TRAYNOR/YORKVILLE HISTORY
1963-1970

Pete Traynor and Jack Long joined forces in 1963. Jack, a brilliant music retailer and owner of Long & McQuade Music, saw promise in Pete, a young bass player with creative skills at repairing things. Later it turned out that Pete could design things too. Thus began a relationship which would result in the formation of Yorkville Sound and development of many of the world’s leading amplification and pro audio innovations.

Peter Traynor Today, ongoing breakthroughs keep Yorkville at the forefront of music industry technology. Still, we look back frequently at those early days, usually in response to worldwide web enquiries. The present, and even the future it seems, will always pay homage to history.

Here are some early milestones along that 37-year pathway:

  • 1963
    • the YSC-1 portable PA column (6x8" speakers, 150 watts, 5.3 Ohms) filled a huge gap. Portable PA was unknown at the time and they could be used with any commercial PA amp.
    • the "Dynabass", later re-named the YBA-1 "Bass Master" was a tube head (45 Watts rms, no clipping @ 8 Ohms) cleverly designed to please bass and guitar players alike.
  • 1966
    • the YVM-1 "Voice Master" 4-channel, 45-watt PA head
    • another "first". But this one had a few extra "firsts". All inputs and speaker outputs were standard 1/4-inch jacks, there were In and Out effects patching jacks, switchable speaker impedance matching and a Master Volume control!
  • 1967
    • the MX-1, a battery-powered mini-mixer could add 4 channels to any PA
    • the YBA-3 "Custom Special" (130 Watts no clipping rms @ 4 Ohms) made it the most powerful bass head then on the North American market, and possibly in the world.
    • the YC-810 (200 watts, 4 Ohms) "Big B" bass cabinet with eight ten-inch drivers was the first of its kind and originally came on a massive tube steel "swivel dolley".
    • the LS-1 lighting system (8 floods on 2 t-bars with switch controller) was many years ahead of its time.
    • the TRC-2A "Roto Master", rotating horn box for guitar, was a unique forerunner to the flanger and chorus.
    • the YGM-1 "Guitar Mate" tube combo (12" speaker, 20 watts no clipping rms @ 8 Ohms) was an instant success and, when replaced by the updated, 25-Watt YGM-3 in 1969, quickly became one of the industry leaders for its quality and versatility.
  • 1968
    • the YBA-3A, "Super Custom Special" fan-cooled bass head (minimum 250 Watts rms no clipping @ 2 Ohms) could put out over 400 watts if driven hard enough and had to be used with two YC-810 "Big B’s". The 100-pound monster used four 6KG6A TV verticle hold tubes for output and was a "first" for Yorkville, and the world.
  • 1969
    • the MX-8, a nonpowered 8-channel mono mixer brought club PA into the multi-channel era.
    • the YPM-1 mono power amp (100 watts @4 Ohms) went with the MX-8 & MX-24.
    • the MX-24 was the world’s first 24-channel, multi-bus mixer designed specifically for full-scale live sound contracting. Such an operation was run by Pete Traynor from 1969 to 1971 ("Strawberry Fields", "Lighthouse at Varsity Stadium", "Gordon Lightfoot at Massey Hall", "Johnny Winter at Maple Leaf Gardens", "Steve Miller in Toronto", etc., etc., ). With no others known to have been in existance yet, this operation was a "first" in its own right.
    • the YSR-2 "Signature Reverb" combo (4x10", 2 chan., 45 watts) was a "first" in that it introduced the guitar amp world to one of its most enduring features
    • the Master Volume control.
    • the "wedge" floor monitor was created for Pete’s contract system. A later spin-off, the YSM-1 (not to be confused with the present day studio monitor), was another "first", not only because it was a wedge monitor when there were no others, but also because its unique design provided two different up-facing angles.
This covers the first seven years and only some of the products introduced in that era. There are many more innovations to be found in our history.

Vintage Traynor Series Characteristics

The following links are to sites developed by Traynor fans from around the world. We have no association with any of these sites, so the information contained there is not necessarily correct or the view of Yorkville Sound. You know the drill !!

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