TAP If you want to mount caps under the chassis, what I've done in the past is to use terminal strips. But, since I was concerned about drilling the chassis also, I bought myself a Weller Professional soldering gun which operates at 260 watts. These handy gizmos are about 40 bucks. If you put solder flux on the chassis, and around/underneath the mounting tabs, heat up the tab & chassis really well with the gun, and then apply solder, you will get a solid joint. Not only do these joints hold well, but if you want to take the parts out later, just reheat them with the gun and they come off. Nobody's the wiser. A word of advice, these guns are the "tactical nuclear device" of the soldering world, so don't even think of using them for any fine work. Craig --- In traynor-amps@y..., "TAP" wrote: Hey I wanted to get all of your opinions on recapping a YBA1. I've got a friend of mine's 70's YBA1 and I'd like to recap it. This particular model does not have the can caps but uses the can looking paper caps with lead wires, horizontally mounted on that wire bracket type thing inside the chassis. It uses 2 different "cans" for the power section and preamp sections. I've got enough room on the board to mount axial style Spragues for the preamp caps, but I'm trying to decide what to do about the 2 section power supply caps. I've thought about getting a friend to punch me a hole (there's plenty of room) and mount an LCR 50ufX50uf@500Vdc cap, but I HATE drilling holes in a "vintage" amp. I've thought about terminal strips, but I would still have to probably drill a couple of smaller holes. Any suggestions guys? tap ------------------ My girlfriend's out with her friends. And I'm alone with mine. I've a couple Traynors here. Looking mighty fine. Turn on the old BassMaster. Plug in my guitar. While the tubes are warming. I head over to the bar. Pour a glass of whiskey. I slowly take a sip. Put a finger on standby. Then I flip that switch. Sounds so warm & bluesy. Swirl around my head. Gonna play some Hendrix. And other songs from guys who're dead!!! I gotta stick to single malt. Have a great weekend all!!! Glen H. -------------------- Here's the entire Traynor catalog I have...enjoy! Kevin http://www.getonline.cc/uploads/images/catalog1.jpg http://www.getonline.cc/uploads/images/catalog2.jpg http://www.getonline.cc/uploads/images/catalog3.jpg http://www.getonline.cc/uploads/images/catalog4.jpg http://www.getonline.cc/uploads/images/catalog5.jpg http://www.getonline.cc/uploads/images/catalog6.jpg --------------------- Hi All, I have available new stock nickel plated Traynor handle end caps. The attached pics show these right next to an original Traynor handle and end cap. They are made by the same company that made the originals. They are available for $15 US or $22.50 CDN (both plus shipping). Anyone interested can contact me at info@garnetamps.com Also available for the D.I.Y. guys out there is an original pattern tolex. The attached pics show the new material on top of a clean vintage Traynor. Still workin' on grille cloth, handles and bumper material, and don't even ask about emblems. Pete To paraphrase TV's "American Musclecar".... "Don't throw 'em out the window. Restore them!" ----------------------- Tim, I changed my '66 YBA-1 from 7027A's to 6L6's with no modification. The socket was already directly compatable. The 7027A is essentially the same as a 6L6. I am using cheap SovTeks, which sound amazingly good, with a punchy low end and smooth, sweet, buttery highs. I WAS going to convert to EL34's, but I thought I'd give the 6L6 a try in this amp, and now I am not going to go to anything else (for now!). You should rebias for the new 6L6's, but I left mine as is because it sounds sooooo goooood!!! I also changed the volume pots to 1M (audio taper) specs and put a lower value ceramic cap (100 pF) across the bright (Channel 2) pot as per JC and Sean K's recommendations. My amp does not distort until higher volumes, and I really like it that way. The response is very similar to a Fendar Bassman crossed with a Hiwatt Custom 100. Here is some info., courtesy of Eric K., that I have found very useful: [Note: I will not be held accountable for misuse or accidents relating to others using this info incorrectly! Take caution in high voltage cicuits, and beware of those filter cap terminals, and other HV parts!] From: Eric Knudsen Date: Mon May 1, 2000 9:17pm Subject: Pinouts Pinouts of Traynor Power Tubes and compatible sockets: (I don't consider things like drive requirements/ required bias/or heater current that are a part of switching tube types - just socket wiring)The pinout of the 5881 is the same as the 6L6 GC - both are beam tetrodes. Americans tend to call them pentodes despite that the beam forming plates (similar function to the suppressor grid in true pentodes) are internally connected. Sockets for EL34/6CA7 and 6L6 GC/5881 can be made compatible if a) someone hasn't used the no connect pin 1 of a tetrode socket as a convenient tie point (easy to fix), and (b) if pin 1 is connected to pin 8 (like all Marshalls and many Traynors) - substituting an external connection for the internal connection on the tetrode 6L6GC/5881.Conclusion: While EL34/6CA7 and 6L6 GC/5881 sockets are not automatically compatible, it is easy to make them compatible. The 7027A (beam tetrode) tubes used on early Traynors are a problem. They are electrically similar to the 6L6GC, but they use the no connect pins 1 and 6 of the standard 6L6 for redundant connections - pin 1 is used for a second screen grid connection, pin 6 for a second control grid connection. 6L6GC/5881 sockets are not a problem, aslong as no one has used 1 or 6 as tie points. However, EL 34s use pin 1 for the suppressor grid.Conclusion: You can not use the same socket for EL34 and 7027A tubes without rewiring. 5881 Pin Element 1 none 2 Heater (Filament) 3 Plate (Anode) 4 Screen Grid 5 Control Grid 6 none 7 Heater (Filament) 8 Cathode 6L6 Pin Element 1 Shell-6L6 none-6L6GC 2 Heater (Filament) 3 Plate (Anode) 4 Screen Grid 5 Control Grid 6 none 7 Heater (Filament) 8 Cathode EL34 Pin Element 1 Suppressor Grid 2 Heater (Filament) 3 Plate (Anode) 4 Screen Grid 5 Control Grid 6 none 7 Heater (Filament) 8 Cathode 7027A Pin Element 1 Screen Grid 2 Heater (Filament) 3 Plate (Anode) 4 Screen Grid 5 Control Grid 6 Control Grid 7 Heater (Filament) 8 Cathode Have Fun!!! Glen H. ----------------------- Sorry guys I'm having a rough day. If anyone is interested in checking out the replacement handle end caps or tolex, here's the URL. http://www.escape.ca/~triadpro/Cabs/0009.htm Pete ------------ Doug BTW, I have started running 2K2 screen resistors in all my higher voltage Traynors. If anything, I think it improves the responsiveness and feel of the amps. I have been thinking about trying out 4K7's, just to see how they work. I've never tried to figure out how much that drops the voltage that the screens see, though. Craig --- In traynor-amps@y..., "Doug Woodall" wrote: You have to know what the plate voltage, then determine the proper bias current for a given plate dissipation. Given the rather large plate dissipation of the KT-88, I would start around 60% and see how it sounds as well as what's getting hot. I probably wouldn't go over 75% PA for the KT88. However, I don't think the 6550 are going to survive long in the high voltage MkII as their Vg is only about 450V (off the top of my head). At the very least you'll need to install 1.5K screen resistors (should do that anyway). Other than the screen resistors, I don't think there is a issue with installing these tubes in any Traynor I've seen. Doug Woodall http://www.familiarstrangers.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Doug Woodall To: Sent: Saturday, April 21, 2001 9:49 AM Subject: [traynor-amps] 6550's and KT88's - Caution actual Traynor content. What milliamps would you bias KT-88s at in a YBA-1A? Or 6550s - can the mark II YBA-1A take either of these tubes circuitry-wise? thanks. I put a quad of KT-88's in a Rivera 100 Dual 12. Actually sort of out of spite because a buddy was continually ragging me about the Rivera not getting a clean sound. Well, he hate crow on that one. I only bring this up to mention that I think the KT88 is a much better tube than the 6550. The other point worth mentioning is that until very recently there was not a true 6550 in production. I don't think the Sovtek 6550 were anywhere close to a real 6550 except for the label. I haven't tried the new Svetlana 6550, but I here it's pretty close. The new Svet KT88 is great. 800V max plate, 600V max screen. 42W dissipation. Someone needs to stick a pair of these in a late MkII (the really high voltage, high wattage ones) and give us a report. Doug Woodall http://www.familiarstrangers.com -----Original Message----- From: bruce@c... [mailto:bruce@c...] Sent: Friday, April 20, 2001 2:40 PM To: traynor-amps@y... Subject: [traynor-amps] Re: YBA-3 or 3A Oh ya, and if you can ever afford it, get NOS GE 6550's. the Russian and china tubes are OK but they pale in comparison to the NOS. Better life and sound. My buddies jcm800 was almost ruined by a new set of boutique Mesa crap china tubes. They where only 6 Months old. The last set of Mesa tubes lasted 4 years. SO it's like a crap shoot. But the NOS, they last long long time. --- In traynor-amps@y..., brent stewart wrote: i have a jcm 900 with sovtek 6550's that i think sounds great too. it is a 2-12 combo and i have never heard an amp like it before. i think it is great to hear that someone else appreciates these "underestimated" tubes, and there are a lot of great amps out there with 6550's in them. everybody thinks that el34's are "the" tube for tube amps, it is nice to see that someone appreciates the 6550's for once. since i got this amp i have heard nothing but disgust over "thats not a real marshall" and "those amps where junk" who cares? i bought it cause i like it, and i and a lot of people i know think it sounds deadly. where are these people coming from? lets give the 6550's a chance... Brent bruce@c... wrote: Here was my techs comments to yours. Looks like we are all in the ball park I guess. Seems like everyone has different opinions. I will be making the conversion because I HATE EL34 tubes. I hate the mid range sound that they put out. Our guitar player runs 6550's in his jcm800 and it kicks ass all overour lead players Sunn and Marshal heads that run EL34's. Plus SVT ran 6550 with good reason I think as they provide a nice clean bottom end to the sound. They are just fat f'ing tubes. :) I'll let you all know when I get the head.. should be fun project.. below Reid's comments have the > and my techs do not. The 6550's , but not necessarily a clearer sound. Wrong. There is the additional concern of running the 6550 screens at 560 volts. The screens of 6550's much prefer to be run at 400 or less volts and that is how it's done on an SVT. Not necessarily. 6550s are very rugged tube and they can handle 550 on the screens. The SVT runs the plates at 660v and the screens at 380v. This reduces the output power but increases reliability of the output tubes. A lower screen voltage can be generated on the Custom Special using a high voltage regulator circuit. Yes, it is an old hi-fi trick to regulate the screen voltage. But it changes the sound for guitar and bass amps. --- In traynor-amps@y..., Reid Harding wrote: I wouldn't attribute the muddiness to the output section. The 6550's will give a different sound, but not necessarily a clearer sound. There is the additional concern of running the 6550 screens at 560 volts. The screens of 6550's much prefer to be run at 400 or less volts and that is how it's done on an SVT. A lower screen voltage can be generated on the Custom Special using a high voltage regulator circuit. The Super Custom Special already has a lower voltage screen supply which would only require some tweaking. See Kevin O'Connor's books for examples of these regulator circuits. The EL34's are actually reliable in the Custom Special circuit. Even cheap Chinese tubes will last a long time in these amps, but I wouldn't recommend them. The fan helps a lot. If the fan noise is a concern, try a 220VAC fan in place of the original. These fans will usally spin up and run on 120 volts but at a much slower speed. The cooling effect on the output tubes seems to be equivalent. I will be trying KT88's in my Custom Special shortly. Probably in ultralinear mode. This will require changing the output transformer to a Hammond 1650T. The phase splitter will be changed as well to provide additional current drive as is normally required to run 6550's and KT88's. Changing the preamp circuits to run lower current and without cathode caps will do wonders for the tone for bass. I am currently running a variable gain circuit in my YBA-3 using the tube half that wasn't used in the original circuit. This is useful if you are using basses with active and passive pickups. But, I will be changing the preamp to Ampeg B15 specs soon as my Ampegs still sound better clean or distorted. Reid At 11:06 PM 4/16/01 -0000, you wrote: What tubes have you usually seen in these amps you used. I plan to upgrade to 6550's for a more SVT sound. Muddy is ok to a point as we play 70's influenced Doom Metal. A little fuzz be ok in this case. :) --- In traynor-amps@y..., Reid Harding wrote: You will need more than one Big-B cabinet to handle the power of aSuper Custom Special unless the speakers have been replaced withsomething a lot more robust. I have no direct experience with the Super, but have played a fair amount with a regular Custom Special. The tone for bass is a bit on the muddy side for me, but that can be improved greatly by changing the preamp circuit to something a bit more Ampeg like. I would change the tone controls to Baxandall type for bass use as well. It just makes it that much easier to dial up a good tone IMHO. No real changes would be required for guitar use other than fitting ear plugs and latter hearing aids to all the band members. Reid Harding At 09:31 PM 4/10/01 -0000, you wrote: Tone is all I care about. We don't gig enough for that to be a real issue. I want bone crushing tone to go with my 8x10 big-b cab. I lovethat cab. I got it free a while back. Funny thing, all my friends used to call me big B.. :) so I like it for that reason too.Looks like the tubes the 3A uses are still made by svetlana and plenty of NOS ones to go around. The 6550's are getting scarce. I have a good line on NOS 6550's as well as a new ruby chines 6550 that is supposedly pretty darn good as far as new tubes go. the 6KG6A or EL509 was an RF tube for RF sweepers. I guess it's a pretty beefy power tube if they can get 250 out of 4 of them. Also noted one site claimed one YBA-3A was tested to be putting out 400 watts!!!!