If you crave the sound of the classic big British amplifiers, then you should check out amplifiers using the EL34 type power tube. The EL34 power tube was originally released by Mullard-Phillips in the 1950’s and in most common amplifier applications produces about 25 watts per tube. This is the power tube associated with the big British amps of the 60’s and 70’s produced by Marshall, Orange, Hiwatt and others.
The EL34 power tube has great harmonic detail, and a broad upper midrange that really fattens up the unwound strings of a guitar without making it sound muddy. Single note lines tend to have a lot of “meat” to them making amplifiers using these types of tubes sound both bright and thick at the same time. Traynor has two affordable amplifiers using the EL34 power tube, each with it’s own unique features.
Traynor Ironhorse – This Ironhorse is a “lunchbox” style of amplifier that uses (2) El34 power tubes and is switchable for either cathode or fixed bias. The fixed bias mode produces 40 watts, and is the tightest/brightest setting with the most available clean headroom. The cathode bias setting produces fewer than 20 watts and while still providing a good amount of clean headroom, has a little softer attack and a bit more “feel” to it. With a gain, master volume control and a three-way tone stack control it’s easy to dial in some natural crunch, or keep it clean and get your jollies with pedals. The Ironhorse is honest and tasty El-34 tone for great classic rock crunch in an affordable and lightweight package. It’s on the mark for all sorts of live situations, and with the money you save on this amp you can go get yourself a nice set of new or NOS power tubes. It comes with a nice soft gig bag too.
Traynor YBA Mod 1 – In Traynor-speak, YBA means “Yorkville Bass Amplifier, which is what the 40-watt YBA was originally designed as. But the YBA found favor with guitar players too, and the Mod 1 version adds the ability to place the bright and normal channels in series or parallel, and adds an attenuator. In series the volume controls act like a master/gain control, while in parallel they function like normal/bright channels that you can blend just like a Tweed Fender. The attenuator can vary the ouptut power from .5 watts all the way up to 40 watts. At low wattage settings you can get all sorts of massive rock clang at very reasonable levels, while 20 watts is good for even the loudest of stage volumes. It’s hard to imagine even needing the 40 watt setting. Like the Ironhorse, the YBA has the complex crunch and texture that EL-34 tubes do best, and the added attenuation feature makes it good for practice and recording. Not quite as portable as the Ironhorse and pretty darn loud, but the attenuator can essentially size this amp from a large club down to a bedroom.
If you are looking to change up your sound, think about your amplifier too, and not just your guitar. With the EL84 dominating the small amplifier market, many players have never sampled the brawnier more harmonically rich tones of the EL34. So for less than a high quality solid body, you can get a taste of the tone that powered the British Invasion.