Vintage Traynor Bass Mate

[Eye Banez]

Hi All,

I have a vintage '67 Traynor Bass Mate. It is the 6V6 model. I was considering taking the original re-coned Radio Speaker Canada 15" (Jensen most likely) out and replacing it with an Eminence Red Coat Big Ben.

Amp is rated around 15 to 20 watts depending on what you read. The Big Ben is rated at 200 watts, is this going to be enough to drive the speaker? I'm trying to get a little more volume, the amp itself sounds great with the JJ's in it. The Big Ben gets pretty good reviews and is budget priced.

Side bar question...anyone run a Maz Jr. with a 15" speaker?

[doctorx]

I have a Big Ben in my old Kay 720 I restored, which is about a 15 watt amp. The Big Ben would be great in that Bass Mate. The original speaker is more likely a Marsland or CTS.

[bosstone]

Before buying another speaker, you can take the rear baffle off on those older Bassmates. See if you like the sound that way better. I did. You can also experiment with partially blocking the back off with a partial baffle. You would have to remove the rear baffle anyway.

[riker4208]

Hey Banez....I just picked up one of the 6v6 bassmates. Mine gets really overdriven quickly with humbuckers. By 4 on the volume dial I'm getting some marshallesque distortion. How is the low end on yours? Mine is a bit loose in the bass.

[ROKY]

I changed the speaker baffleboard for one w/ a 12" hole .

Much better for guitar and now I have a whole bunch of choices in
speakers, since I don't use mine for bass. Also removed the back
panel, as someone mentioned, already.

[drbob1]

A speaker upgrade is almost inevitable on those amps. Even when fresh the speakers seem kind of soft and flabby. Are you using for bass or guitar? For guitar, I might almost consider something a bit softer edged than the Emminence, even though you'll give up a bit of volume. A real vintage P15Q would sound killer in that rig! On the other hand, I've got an EV12M in my (EL84) Guitarmate and it sounds killer, so it'd be worth a try. Buy used and you're only out the shipping if it doesn't work...

[alltone]

Something else you could try if you want a really crunchy amp.
Replace V1 with a 12AX7 and.... a simple mod giving another gain stage.....
Since V1 only uses half of the tube.....
A couple of 220k resistors and a.005 poly cap and a 100k plate resistor on the other half of V1. Also a 1k5 resistor and a 25mfd. @ 25v. cap on the cathode...
You can refer to the bassman diagram re. this mod
..The .1 in the diagram is a bit too much , a .005 gives enough low end response to the mod.Omit the .001 that is across the 220k in the diagram.
I have done a few of these,sounds great..If you don't like it, it's easy enough to undo.
Sounds like a MINI MARSHALL!:BOUNCE

[Eye Banez]

Thanks for all the feedback. I don't think there is a baffle in this one. It's a simple cube style and the chassis is mounted to the back plate of the amp with the volume and tone on top. The speaker is an RSC original that's looks very much like a Jensen. I believe the Marsland's came a little later on. It is a YBA-2. I use it with my Tele and a P-90'd Godin LG.

I'll look into the mod as well. I don't want to change the tone I'm getting already just a little louder so it can kinda keep up with my Maz Jr. switching back and forth. I do have a Sparkle Drive that boosts the clean volume...I'm just searching ideas.

Any thoughts on a Maz Jr. and a 15" speaker?

EB

[riker4208]

Eye Banez.....are you using 12ax7 or 12au7 for preamp tubes.

Also....how is the bass response on yours?

[FloridaSam]

Originally Posted by bosstone

Before buying another speaker, you can take the rear baffle off on those older Bassmates. See if you like the sound that way better. I did. You can also experiment with partially blocking the back off with a partial baffle. You would have to remove the rear baffle anyway.

+1. Try it with the back off, I did and really liked how it sounded.

[Eye Banez]

I just re-tubed with JJ 6V6's and I believe V1 is an ECC83 and V2 is an ECC81.

I shot this off to Eurotubes when I was changing them out and that's what I think was recommended. With the Tele, it has plenty of twang and retains a pretty decent bottom end. I'll check back to see if I kept the email and the info as to why that combo in particular.

To the other suggestion...the chassis is mounted to the back plate so removal isn't an option. In this style there are no baffles in the cab, sort of like an old tweed style cab.

(how do you post pix?)

[riker4208]

here's pics of the guts of mine. anyone else got pics of there's..?

[Tone_Terrific]

The Emi Legend 151 is a very good speaker but may be a bit brighter than the Big Ben. The amp will easily push a higher rated but more efficient speaker and any current 15 will sound better, I'll bet. Back off for those old Traynors with guitar.