My Mom found an amp in the trash!!! (not an April fools joke!!!)

[brettk7]

Yes this is real. No this is not an April Fools joke!!!

My Mother was out apartment hunting yesterday and called and asked me if a "Traymore" amp was a good one. I told her yes, they are made in Canada and are pretty well respected. She carried on asking me all sorts of questions, if it was worth any money, how old it was, etc. Kind of leading me on to believe it was one of her friends and after a little bit she eventually told me she found SITTING BY A DUMPSTER next to an empty guitar case with a "furry" interior and a band stand in an apartment complex she was checking out.

She told me it had two tubes that said E-L-3-4 on them and that it was called a BASSMASTER and had the lettering "YBA-1" on it. As soon as she told me it had two EL34s, I figured this was going to be really cool!!! After some research and YouTubing it appears that this was Traynors take on the Bassman/Plexi style circuit!!! A friend of mine also told me that Geddy Lee used these heads early on in Rush, so they are probably pretty cool for bass too.

Not sure what speakers this guy is running in this set-up, but it essentially just cranked up with a THD Hot-Plate. It seems like these have a pretty decent cult following online. I don't think I will sell it, considering it is essentially a free Plexi ( ), but I am curious to see what kind of tones I will be able to cook up with it!

Traynor YBA-1 Bassmaster, cranked with Hotplate Attenuator, normal channel - YouTube

Traynor YBA-1 Bassmaster, cranked with Hotplate Attenuator, normal channel - YouTube

And yes, I know "pics or it didn't happen!" but, my Mom hasn't made it back home yet with the amp, so I haven't got to see it yet!

[bufbills]

Cool

[alexb17]

noice! My favorite! The free kind!

[Luckynumber3]

You lucky person, you! I want a "traymore" too now.

(Although I would need at least a master volume and probably an attenuator to run it)

[brettk7]

Originally Posted by Luckynumber3

You lucky person, you! I want a "traymore" too now.

(Although I would need at least a master volume and probably an attenuator to run it)

It's ok, Mom's aren't supposed to know how to pronounce guitar amps!

[Luckynumber3]

Originally Posted by brettk7

It's ok, Mom's aren't supposed to know how to pronounce guitar amps!

If my mom found a free, plexi clone with working potential next to the trash, she could call it whatever she wanted to!

[Pinkie]

Very cool give Mom a big hug.

[lespaul01]

Sounds great ,an. Congrats on a great score.

[hipofutura]

Brett if this isn't a joke, you hit the mother load (pun intended)!

The YBA-1 is the pinnacle of Traynor amps. Some are better than others depending on the year, but they're all outstanding!

You can turn that thing into a Plexi with very little effort. Jim Marshall copied Leo Fender's Tweed Bassman, and Pete Traynor copied Jim Marshall's Plexi.

Post the serial number.

[LPV]

If this is legit you basically have an amp (after you get it working) that is right up there with a plexi.

[chrisuk]

What if it's your mum's idea of a joke! You've told us all your getting it and then you'll have to do a runner like the guy who's mate owns the Beano.


"Hey son, have you ever heard of an amp called a 'Mars Hall'? It looks really old, It's black and gold and has a plastic looking panel with controls on it..."

[michaelinokc]

Originally Posted by Pinkie

Very cool give Mom a big hug.

After she showers...

[thexmadxtopxhatter]

That things probably shot to hell if it were to be thrown away... hoping for the best though!

[THowie]

Originally Posted by chrisuk

What if it's your mum's idea of a joke!

That would just be cruel. Your mom definitely deserves a hug or two if she's not pulling your leg.

[LPV]

If she's pulling his leg she remarkably familiar with vintage amps.

[frizzleblink]

Hope it works!

[SoWhat?]

You should send your mom out dumpster diving more often.

She may find you a 59 Lester...

[chrisuk]

Originally Posted by SoWhat?

You should send your mom out dumpster diving more often.

She may find you a 59 Lester...

120% of those have already been found!

[Luckynumber3]

Originally Posted by chrisuk

120% of those have already been found!

[Scooter2112]

GREAT sounding amp!!!!


Congratulations on such a fantastic find.

[brettk7]

Originally Posted by hipofutura

Brett if this isn't a joke, you hit the mother load (pun intended)!

The YBA-1 is the pinnacle of Traynor amps. Some are better than others depending on the year, but they're all outstanding!

You can turn that thing into a Plexi with very little effort. Jim Marshall copied Leo Fender's Tweed Bassman, and Pete Traynor copied Jim Marshall's Plexi.

Post the serial number.

The number is 1120194!!!!!

Ok, so here is the rundown... It is actually in great shape. A few imperfections here and there, but VERY good condition considering its age. The amp powers on, but presently is not operational. I think to myself hm... Wonder why! And look in the back of the amp... There are no preamp tubes! But, there are two old looking EL34s in there non the less. I am going to take it to my amp tech tomorrow and have it inspected and retubed. Plus side though, it has what appears to be a recently added three-prong power chord, so I am going to be optimistic. Along with the Traynor amp, my Mom also found a TKL Les Paul case that is in pretty good shape and a music stand. This thing was definitely getting some use.

I seriously thought she had done some serious Googling and decided to pull a prank on me... But, it's here in my home. I am REALLY stoked about this amp! I haven't herd it yet, but getting it up and running and seeing what it can do is going to be a really, really fun experience.

Originally Posted by LPV

If this is legit you basically have an amp (after you get it working) that is right up there with a plexi.

It's legit!

Originally Posted by chrisuk

What if it's your mum's idea of a joke! You've told us all your getting it and then you'll have to do a runner like the guy who's mate owns the Beano.

"Hey son, have you ever heard of an amp called a 'Mars Hall'? It looks really old, It's black and gold and has a plastic looking panel with controls on it..."

My Mom is really into classic rock, she definitely would of recognized that.

"Brett, I just found this old "Park" amp sitting outside? You know anything of it?" hahaha..

Originally Posted by michaelinokc

After she showers...

Hey now! She wasn't dumpster diving or anything crazy, it was just sitting by a dumpster that she happened to drive by while apartment/condo shopping.

Originally Posted by thexmadxtopxhatter

That things probably shot to hell if it were to be thrown away... hoping for the best though!

It definitely needs tubes, but aside from that it appears to be original and in good shape! Definitely lucked out here!!!

Originally Posted by THowie

That would just be cruel. Your mom definitely deserves a hug or two if she's not pulling your leg.

Multiple hugs were given, no legs were pulled!

Originally Posted by LPV

If she's pulling his leg she remarkably familiar with vintage amps.

I was thinking "ok, this has to be too cool to be true" but, I really couldn't think of how my Mom would of came up with such an elaborate and random story involving a rather obscure Traynor amp from the late 60s ha.

Originally Posted by frizzleblink

Hope it works!

Not working just yet, but I will definitely report back after I get back from the tech!

Originally Posted by SoWhat?

You should send your mom out dumpster diving more often.

She may find you a 59 Lester...

Who knows at this point!?

I know my Mom has never ever entertained the idea of actually doing that, but this is pretty awesome and ridiculous circumstance that surely will have me paying attention to any dumpsters I happen to be driving by .

[LeftyF2003]

[brettk7]

It's also apparently rated at 45-watts! I can't wait to crank this thing up after I get it fixed. Too stoked right now.

Also according to Traynor's website and the serial number, mine was made between 65' and 66'!

[5F6-A]

nice!!

[Seceded]

Pics or it didnt happen.

[0x00]

Hope this isn't another Dumble thread.

[SoWhat?]

I bet a former tennant of one of the apartments got too far behind on rent, and got locked/kicked out. The superintendent of the building probably had to clean out the apartment, and threw it out if it didn't work when he plugged it in.

Great find. I'd give mom a big hug!

[hipofutura]

Originally Posted by brettk7

Also according to Traynor's website and the serial number, mine was made between 65' and 66'!

That's the best of the best! You're going to be stunned at how loud it is. I know, I know, everyone always says how loud there amp is. It's true of the big Traynors.

What's the condition of the cab?

[LPV]

I would say " why t f would somebody throw that out?" if I didnt at one time throw out a late 50's Gibson acoustic. That was fkn stupid.

[triplehold]

Sweet BrettK7! A few years back the guy that ran the local dump knew I like guitars and amps and I told him to be on the lookout for them. I told him anything that looked like an old suitcase from the old days might be an amp. He dug rock and roll because he was an old biker and truck driver for The Stones on The Steel Wheels Tour. He told me Keith use to eat with the road crew a lot. Anyway one day he called me and told me to come on by. He had a '65 Princeton Reverb that looked like it was in the closet forever. It was only missing the tube chart sticker on the inside. It fired right up. I gave him a case of ice tea for it. I traded it to my local vintage dealer for a Marshall 900 straight cab right out of the box that I use to this day. Another time he said something shiny caught his eye in the metal pile. He grabbed it and gave me a call. It was the most pro pedal board from the '70s I had ever seen. The builder must have be an electrical guy because it was killer. I never knew anyone that did that back in the day, we use to just have the pedals on the floor. I had an old chrome Morley Fuzz Wah, an EH Big Muff, an EH Small Stone phaser and big chrome Morley Pik Percussive foot pedal. It was sick. I stripped it apart and cleaned all the stuff up. The all looked new when I was done. I took it to the vintage guy after I had tried them all out. They all worked fine although the Pik Percussive pedal was suppose to have a metal pick wired to it. It sounded kinda wild just turned on, reminded me of the sounds Marc Rizzo gets on Soulfly tunes. The vintage guy's helper told me they were reissues. The vintage guy knew they weren't and we did a trade for some new Boss pedals. I have had a ton of stuff but I only hang on to stuff that works in our band and I don't have room or the inclination to keep all kinds of gear. A little while went by and my friend called me up again. Whoa, the minute I caught a glimpse of a brownface Deluxe sitting on his office floor, I was stoked. He didn't want anything for it but I had a 20 on me so I insisted he take it and put it in his gas tank. It was missing the leather handle but other that that it looked good. It had a funky musty smell to it but it fired right up. Had a 12 inch Utah and sounded nice. After a couple of days the funkdog smell was a little too much and the old lady said get that thing outta here. It's all good but I dig my old Marshall. Anyway I got $300 cash for it the next day. I have had a bunch of scores but I really only miss the '57 tweed Tremolux I got for $70 and maybe the '61 blond Bassman with a 2/12 cab that I scored for $40 back in the day. I am glad I am not a packrat though. Oh yeah, I found an old Ampeg 2/12 cab at the local landfill and got 200 bucks for it. Cleaned up nice and had a Stones 70s vibe to it!