The first guitar amp that brought the Traynor name back into the world of modern tube amps was the YCV40, and it continues on today. Real tube overdrive is provided by three 12AX7WA dual triode preamp tubes while real tube power is provided by two 6L6G beam power tubes. The internal gadgetry in this channel switching amp provides good flexibility, but makes it very easy to get a great tone. The combination of the tube power and the Celestion™ speaker is magical. The three basic tones (clean, crunch and overdrive) are easily defined. With great tone at low levels, and shine and punch at full tilt, the Custom Valve 40 has received rave reviews for over 10 years, including Guitar Player™ magazine’s Editor’s Pick Award in 2001.

Although signal-to-noise is not normally a specification that is discussed where guitar amplifiers are concerned, the ultra-quiet Custom Valve 40 makes it an issue. Experienced professional users will appreciate the auto-matching tube circuit that maintains bias balance as tubes age ensuring hum free performance. Listen carefully. Although the YCV40 has a tremendous amount of gain it remains virtually hum free.