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Traynor YCV20WR Custom Valve 20 1x12 Combo Amp

The Traynor Custom Valve 20 is an attractive, compact all-tube 20-watt Class A combo. With two switchable channels, real spring reverb and EL-84 power, the Custom Valve 20 has enough power for gigs, but thoughtful features that make it ideal for practice or recording.

The Traynor Custom Valve 20 features:

  • 20 watts Class A 
  • (2) 12AX7 preamp tubes, 12AX7 Phase Inverter
  • (2) EL-84 power tubes
  • Diode rectification
  • Channel 1 - Gain, Master and Boost
  • Channel 2 - Gain, Master and Bright
  • Shared Treble, Mid and Bass Controls
  • Celestion Greenback G12M 8 ohm speaker
  • External speaker jack with internal speaker defeat switch
  • 4 ohm minimum speaker load
  • Accutronics long spring reverb
  • XLR Line out
  • Series effects loop (doubles as a pre-amp out send)
  • Footswitch included for channel select and boost.
  • Headphone jack
  • 37 pounds
  • 9.5D x 18W x 17H
  • Designed and built in Canada

The Traynor Custom Valve 20 an all-purpose amp can be used for gigging, recording, practice, or just fooling around. We tried it with several guitars including a G&L ASAT Savannah, Knaggs Severn Trembuck, and a Godin Montreal.

The control layout of the Traynor Custom Valve 20 has the traditional "clean" and "lead" channels, but both channels have master and gain controls. Channel 2 with the bright switch is intended to be the cleaner of the two channels, while Channel 1 is thought of as the lead channel with an additional boost enable. Both channels share a common three-band EQ, and the included footswitch switches both the channels and the boost feature.

Using Channel 1 as the lead channel, there is plenty of small Marshall grind available. The overall sound is tight, not overly fizzy as some preamp distortion tends to be, and nice for both leads and crunch tones. It can also be toned down to a level of light breakup, which is refreshing for those who tire of lead channels that are totally over the top.

Channel 2 is the "clean" channel, but it's a bit of a misnomer; as while there is reasonable clean headroom available it's not infinite. If you were using the Traynor unreinforced with a live band, you might not find a master/gain setting that would be both loud and totally clean. This is likely a function of the Class A cathode biased design, which trades harmonics and character for overall volume. That being said, there is a wide range of tones from clean to "reasonably clean" to outright hot and crunchy all available on the clean side of the street. Given that the amp shares the same EQ for both channels, the bright switch is handy for getting good presence out of Channel 2 when favoring the EQ for Channel 1.

We had a good time with the Custom Valve 20 using it "backwards." By that we mean using Channel 1 as the semi-clean side (low gain, high master) and Channel 2 as the lead side (high gain, low master). This configuration provided a slightly greasy rhythm tone on Channel 1, while the lead tone on Channel 2 sounded like a cranked amp rather than lots of master/gain distortion. If you never play totally clean -- and many don't -- this could be the hot setup.

The venerable Celestion Greenback speaker provides smooth British tones with a decent low end, and punchy upper midrange. But the compact cabinet size and 20-watt Class A design is never going to provide the type of bass you can only get with more speakers or bigger cabinet volumes. Traynor comes to the rescue with both a built-in extension cabinet jack, and an XLR direct out. You can plug in a extra cabinet of at least eight ohms, or switch off the Greenback and use an extension cabinet of down to four ohms. The XLR out is meant to go directly into a mixing board or recording console without having to mic the amplifier. If volume is not your problem, you can defeat the internal speaker and plug into the the headphone jack for private listening.

It's no secret that guitar amplifiers have been shrinking in size and wattage. This is both a reflection of the large number of hobbyists with no intentions of regular gigging, and the capability of modern club PA systems. Large amps and cabinets are more a physical statement than a true necessity, and these days everything is mic'd or even direct. The Traynor Custom Valve 20 achieves a very good balance of tone, portability, and features that make an excellent all-purpose amplifier for stage, studio, or den.