Traynor YBA1 Bass Master (1968) repair

[Archie Speed]

Regarding transformer buzz, I've had success following a suggestion by J M Fahey where the errant tranny was removed & immersed in oil base marine spar varnish, removed & left to drip/air dry for 24-48 hrs. Reinstalled & no more lamination buzz. Just a thought.

[Bloomfield]

I think you should be able to straighten out those tabs without disconnecting the transformer; just remove the screws and use some flat-jawed pliers to carefully straighten out the tabs. Just go easy with the bending; the metal may be stressed and/or cracked and I've seen those break off before. Might be good to slacken the mounting screws on the other side to give you some more working space. I agree with Leo on the 50/50 @500v caps with the clamps; they work well and are certainly a lot cheaper than the CE cans. Unless you are concerned with keeping a more original look I'd go that route.

Good luck, they're great amps when working well

Andy

[Arhythmic]

Thanks Justin and Andy! I also prefer to stick to the factory way of mounting, but the previous cap job will leave some holes from the sheet metal screws... Sigh... Unless, I fill those with my TIG welder, but I would be worried of heating the rest of the aluminum chassis too much (and all of the attached components). However I might use some thermal paste to absorb the heat propagation. Because leaving those mounting holes will drive my OCD nuts At least now I have different options.
Yeah, the internet cork sniffers always have tendency to dilute and distort the reality!.. So, your suggestion Leo_Gnardo would be to use 50/50uF instead of 40uf on the schematic? So basically, I can just redo the soldering of the existing ones and leave them in for now.
Thank you for the suggestion Archie Speed, I will definitely try that solution! I always prefer the DIY way, even if it fails you still learn something! And if I remove it anyway for resealing, I will straighten those tabs at the same time

[Arhythmic]

Another quick question: the big iron... how big should it be? Is 80W sufficient or we're speaking more about like 150W soldering guns?

[Leo_Gnardo]

Thanks Justin and Andy! I also prefer to stick to the factory way of mounting, but the previous cap job will leave some holes from the sheet metal screws... Sigh... Unless, I fill those with my TIG welder, but I would be worried of heating the rest of the aluminum chassis too much

I think that chassis is steel. And it may have some plating, possibly cadmium. If that's the case you don't want to heat it up with welding gear unless you have real good ventilation. I'd drill out & clean up any ragged holes if they bother you, use a nut & bolt to plug them. Might be handy mounts for ground lugs or tie strips. You know how it is these days, reuse & recycle, even if it's a hole in sheet metal.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Another quick question: the big iron... how big should it be? Is 80W sufficient or we're speaking more about like 150W soldering guns?

I've had good success with an 80 watt Weller "pencil". They're popular with stained glass builders, you may be able to find one in a hobby shop that caters to those folks. Also available from Mouser, and even seen on Amazon. Should run about US$30.

https://www.amazon.com/Weller-SPG80L...GF04DXQXDAH8E7

Looks like there's now a fancy schmantzy version with LED headlights, US$ 50, ow!

I find soldering guns don't work so well on chassis, the tip cools down because it's much less massive than the "pencil" type. Other techs manage to make 'em work though. There's an unorthodox method where you remove the gun tip & press the two electrodes onto the chassis metal, it heats up because of all the current running thru it & makes it easy to solder. So I'm told. I've seen it done but never have managed to make it work for me.

There are also bigger "pencil" irons from Weller, 120W and 160W. In case you want to solder copper gutters & drainpipes I guess. And if it turns out that chassis metal is cadmium plated, please have plenty of ventilation, be careful cleaning up dust & drillings, wash hands thoroughly when you're done.

[Arhythmic]

Thank you very much again for advice Leo_Gnardo!
There's this one: Mastercraft 80W Soldering Iron | Canadian Tire and it is very close to my house, so I will probably try to get it tonight.
And yeah, I will just clean those holes, put some bolts and nuts to make it more secure and bearable.
On that recycling and reusing note: I bought a couple of years ago an old projector amplifier from Howell and Bell from the 50's, an old tube PA amplifier and an late 40's/early 50's Northern Electric LR type amplifier (a monster thing with like 16 tubes and spitting 234W). All of them to make some conversion to bass or guitar amplifiers. I didn't touch them and now I'm really hesitating... I mean those are really cool projects, but at the same time, how many guitar amplifiers do we need on this planet? So they just sit on my shelf, like in a museum...

[Leo_Gnardo]

Thank you very much again for advice Leo_Gnardo!
There's this one: Mastercraft 80W Soldering Iron | Canadian Tire and it is very close to my house, so I will probably try to get it tonight.

Looks like a terrific deal, and the iron looks just like the Weller. We need some Canadian Tire in the USA!

$20 + savings, ought to keep you afloat in poutine for a week or 2.

Note the top review: he only uses it for half an hour at a time & gets a long life out of it. Who knows what the others were doing? Best bet is use it then unplug it, no point in letting it bake for hours. Also, have a really good holder for it. The heater gets red hot - you can see it in the dark - and can set things on fire, so handle with caution.

[Arhythmic]

Hahahahaha Poutine is strictly winter for me though! That stuff is heavy, delicious, but heavy
And you do have Canadiant Tire equivalent in USA: it is called Harbor Freight

[olddawg]

Thank you very much again for advice Leo_Gnardo!
There's this one: Mastercraft 80W Soldering Iron | Canadian Tire and it is very close to my house, so I will probably try to get it tonight.
And yeah, I will just clean those holes, put some bolts and nuts to make it more secure and bearable.
On that recycling and reusing note: I bought a couple of years ago an old projector amplifier from Howell and Bell from the 50's, an old tube PA amplifier and an late 40's/early 50's Northern Electric LR type amplifier (a monster thing with like 16 tubes and spitting 234W). All of them to make some conversion to bass or guitar amplifiers. I didn't touch them and now I'm really hesitating... I mean those are really cool projects, but at the same time, how many guitar amplifiers do we need on this planet? So they just sit on my shelf, like in a museum...

I don't know about you, but 99% of the time I have no use for a 100 watt tube amp anymore... even with an MV. Yeah turning down the MV allows you to slam the preamp if you like that sound. I guess some people like the clean overhead if you are look for a clean pedal platform. Consider a speaker attenuator/power brake if you want to get real crunch out of that beast at a sane volume.

[Leo_Gnardo]

I don't know about you, but 99% of the time I have no use for a 100 watt tube amp anymore.

Arhythmic's in Canada. An extra room heater, not such a bad thing, eh?

[Arhythmic]

I used to think that I don't need a 100W amp either actually, so I bought a 15W Laney which is really all I wanted. But then I started to notice that the guitar on my humble recordings didn't sound as "fat" as I wanted. Especially in the higher octaves; notes were dry, lifeless and sterile. So I got curious and started searching for answers and stumbled upon technical discussion of my all time favorite guitarist Scott Henderson. And everything he suggested, I tried and adopted. For instance, he suggests to attack strings with rounded side of the pick instead of the pointy part. Result? The notes have more impact and weight. He also suggest to use higher watts amps in order to get some authority in the notes, especially in the single note lines. He uses a 71 Plexi 100W (or a SH100, basically a copy of his 71 Plexi that John Suhr built him) or a Hot Rod Deluxe for a smaller venues.

Now I tried to achieve that thick, lead tone (I don't use a lot of gain, just on the edge of breakup) with my Laney and just doesn't quite work. Notes do not have the necessary weight. Then I bought BassMaster with 2X15, which is "only" around 50W and instantly understood what Scott was talking about. Every note has presence, weight and authority and I was not even pushing the amp hard. So for me it is not about the overall loudness, but about the quality of sound that higher watts can produce. And at some point, when I gain a bit more experience, I would love to try to install Kevin O'Connor's Power Scaling kit in the YBA1.

Also, it is always pleasant to have some reserve volume when playing with a enthusiastic drummer and PA is already saturated and you still can't really hear yourself
Also, your tea is always warm on top of your amp
Also, 234W is silly, but maybe it could be useful for a bass amp with almost infinite headroom

[olddawg]

I used to think that I don't need a 100W amp either actually, so I bought a 15W Laney which is really all I wanted. But then I started to notice that the guitar on my humble recordings didn't sound as "fat" as I wanted. Especially in the higher octaves; notes were dry, lifeless and sterile. So I got curious and started searching for answers and stumbled upon technical discussion of my all time favorite guitarist Scott Henderson. And everything he suggested, I tried and adopted. For instance, he suggests to attack strings with rounded side of the pick instead of the pointy part. Result? The notes have more impact and weight. He also suggest to use higher watts amps in order to get some authority in the notes, especially in the single note lines. He uses a 71 Plexi 100W (or a SH100, basically a copy of his 71 Plexi that John Suhr built him) or a Hot Rod Deluxe for a smaller venues.

Now I tried to achieve that thick, lead tone (I don't use a lot of gain, just on the edge of breakup) with my Laney and just doesn't quite work. Notes do not have the necessary weight. Then I bought BassMaster with 2X15, which is "only" around 50W and instantly understood what Scott was talking about. Every note has presence, weight and authority and I was not even pushing the amp hard. So for me it is not about the overall loudness, but about the quality of sound that higher watts can produce. And at some point, when I gain a bit more experience, I would love to try to install Kevin O'Connor's Power Scaling kit in the YBA1.

Also, it is always pleasant to have some reserve volume when playing with a enthusiastic drummer and PA is already saturated and you still can't really hear yourself
Also, your tea is always warm on top of your amp
Also, 234W is silly, but maybe it could be useful for a bass amp with almost infinite headroom

There is more than one way to Egypt. Many classic recordings were made using Champs. Somehow (probably because I'm usually reading my phone and frequently high...) I missed that it was a 2 xEL84 amp. My apologies. Personally I love a JMP 50 watt combo. But you will play most clubs once having fun with one nowadays where I'm at. At 50 watts all the better using an attenuator for that poor man's plexi. The magic is in the sweet spot. The trick is not to squash it, but take the edge off.

[Arhythmic]

Olddawg, it is actually a two EL34 amp But on a phone and especially if you're high, a ''3'' can look like a ''8''

Also, I got the last 80W iron they had yesterday, so this weekend I will start some real work

[olddawg]

Olddawg, it is actually a two EL34 amp But on a phone and especially if you're high, a ''3'' can look like a ''8''

Also, I got the last 80W iron they had yesterday, so this weekend I will start some real work

Yeah... a typo on my part.