learning about my modified Traynor Mark 3

[stormbringer]

Yes, you were clear that you have a missing third prong. Juan was discussing the need or lack of need for extra wiring, WHEN A COMPLETE THREE WIRE CORD AND PLUG IS INSTALLED. We know you need to replace the plug or the cord. You were asking in post 5 whether it was possible to connect the chassis to ground. WHEN YOUR NEW FULLY FUNCTIONAL THREE WIRE CORD WITH THREE PRONG PLUG IS INSTALLED, then your amp chassis WILL be grounded to earth.

Thanks for clarifying things for me, Enzo.

I read one of your old posts in which you said that you measure AC volts from chassis to earth regularly and sometimes see the full 120VAC on the chassis. I know this won't happen on a fully functional 3-wire cord, but since I have a broken cord (I assume a previous owner pulled it to eliminate hum or something) I am wondering how to test for VAC on a chassis.

[Jazz P Bass]

Test for Vac on the chassis by using a DVM set to read Vac.
One lead to chassis, one lead to a properly grounded 3 wire outlet (ground lug)

[g1]

To test for AC on the chassis, connect one end of you meter to the chassis, the other end to the 3rd prong round hole in your wall receptacle. Measure the AC voltage. This is assuming your wall outlets are correctly grounded.

[stormbringer]

Thanks guys.

[J M Fahey]

Hi stormbringer: any idea as to what those speakers are?
Any labels/writing/stamps on them?
Thanks.

[g1]

JM: IF those are the stock speakers, Traynor's of that era usually used RSC (Radio Speakers of Canada) or Marsland. Apparently some RSC also say Jensen on the label. Some info about RSC posted by Wild Bill here:
Vintage speakers ... Info needed .. if you have it..

[Ronsonic]

Don't worry about sounding rude
I was considering taking it to the shop simply because it would be faster and cheaper than having a power cord shipped to me from an some online stores. Mojotone charges $25 for ground shipments to my address! It looks like Tubedepot.com is much cheaper, and I do want to do the work myself.

Why not just get a new plug at a hardware store?

Even if the entire cord needs replaced, it doesn't have to come from a guitar amp specific company. Often the most convenient and economic source is to start with an IEC cord and cut the plug off.

[stormbringer]

Hi stormbringer: any idea as to what those speakers are?
Any labels/writing/stamps on them?
Thanks.

Hi JM. These are the stock speakers, with no labels and a couple of visible stamps. One stamp is the date (1975); the other is "DWF5 7383". As g-one said, Traynor used Marsland speakers and some others. In another thread, someone thought this "DWF5" stamp might be tied to Dearborn Wire speakers. I have no idea.

It's difficult to say whether these speakers are good without swapping in some different speakers. I'm not sure I want to invest that much money for this amp, as I am not sure I'll keep it.

[Ronsonic]

No, it is not properly grounded without the ground lug on the plug. Replace the plug. The corner hardware store has your answer.

Soldering the ground wire directly to the chassis works. If you want to change that, clip it off from the chassis solder it to a ring lug and then bolt the ring lug down with a transformer bolt. It will still be connected to the chassis. Personally I'd not worry about it if that solder connection to the chassis is solid and uncorroded.

[stormbringer]

No, it is not properly grounded without the ground lug on the plug. Replace the plug. The corner hardware store has your answer.

Soldering the ground wire directly to the chassis works. If you want to change that, clip it off from the chassis solder it to a ring lug and then bolt the ring lug down with a transformer bolt. It will still be connected to the chassis. Personally I'd not worry about it if that solder connection to the chassis is solid and uncorroded.

Thanks for the input, Ronsonic. I'll take a photo of the AC ground to chassis later on today (hopefully). I recall that it didn't look neat. I also have a foggy recollection that the PT bolts were used for other things (possibly ground for a new filter cap assembly). I'll take photos of that too so you can have a look.

[stormbringer]

Ok, so I took a look and some photos. The AC ground goes to a blob of solder that seems to have a lug in there. Also, the PT bolts are still available. So things are not as bad as I had thought.

Connecting a new power cord will be simple. But I will be honest, this AC circuit has a lot more components than what I am used to (check out the photos of my Allen Accomplice built over in the kit section). This modded Traynor has an accessory AC outlet, a breaker, but the stock ground switch was removed. There are some caps in there that I think are part of a modded power supply ("bullet proof" mod).

[J M Fahey]

Hi stormbringer, thanks.
I was curious because they look a lot like my own.
Call it professional curiosity.
Beyond that, they look much better than the Marslands I had seen elsewhere, maybe a more modern version , or even from another maker.
On looks only, they seem to be in a class similar to Jensen or Oxfords.
Not bad, the standard speaker in that age.
Frames tell a lot; yours are almost hidden but what little is shown reminds me of Oxford or CTS.
Thanks again.

[stormbringer]

Why not just get a new plug at a hardware store?

Even if the entire cord needs replaced, it doesn't have to come from a guitar amp specific company. Often the most convenient and economic source is to start with an IEC cord and cut the plug off.

Another good tip. I grabbed some from work (a university with tonnes of old computers; i have about 40 myself), but the longest cord I could get was about 7' long. It would probably do, but it is considerably shorter than the one on the Traynor now. I'll check a normal hardware/electronics shop for a longer one.

The local amp repair shop offered a 'hostpical-grade' plug and cord for only another $10. Funny those cords cost about $4 online. I wonder what makes them H-grade...

[stormbringer]

Hi stormbringer, thanks.
I was curious because they look a lot like my own.
Call it professional curiosity.
Beyond that, they look much better than the Marslands I had seen elsewhere, maybe a more modern version , or even from another maker.
On looks only, they seem to be in a class similar to Jensen or Oxfords.
Not bad, the standard speaker in that age.
Frames tell a lot; yours are almost hidden but what little is shown reminds me of Oxford or CTS.
Thanks again.

JM: Here is a better photo for you since you are curious.
When I purchased the Traynor back in the mid 90s, the modder guessed the speakers were Eminence. He wasn't sure, but suggested I keep 'em since they sounded good (and I was running out of money).

[mondo]

Marshall to Twin in one amp!!!

I have the same amp modded slightly differently. I also live in Vancouver. Mine is the head only version YGL3a and I run it through a pair of Celestion Vintage 30s in an avatar cab at 4 Ohms. I was wondering if Mr. Ho did the mods on yours. He modified mine before I bought it and I really like the amp . Mine has the tremelo circuit intact and the reverb tube is now an extra 2 gain stages I think. I don't know if there is a Hot Rubber Monkey in there but there is a small PCB with new caps and resistors tucked in. This amp still has the stock filter caps made by Mallory and I'm not sure if they absolutely need replacing. Having been modded already this thing is no museum piece but some people say it's not necessary to replace them. The normal channel now has a fantastic overdrive sound that I prefer to any other amp I've owned. It's reminicent of an old JCM800 but more harmonically rich and musical sounding. I play fairly agrressive but melodic rock in the punk vein and I don't turn the gain past 1 o'clock unless I'm playing Sabbath type stuff. The clean channel is very "Twinny" sounding with tons of headroom but has the EL34 flavour. I'll bet a speaker swap would make a huge difference in your combo. I think that many of the old Traynors speakers left a lot to be desired and that kept Traynor out of the big leagues. The Marslands are not well liked by a lot of players but some of the speakers were good.