Traynor Darkhorse

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Traynor Darkhorse

Postby Alain Benoit » Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:16 pm

First Impressions

1) Lives up to its name, I assumed it was a marketing gimmick, more on that later.
2) Three preamp modes, ^ Brit, > Pure, v USA. I immediately went to Brit expecting a Marshally mellowness, NOT!!! Ignoring the PURE mode assuming some kinda cleanish setting I went straight to the USA mode, big improvement, better balanced tone. The PURE mode on the other hand was here this amp is most comfortable, leading me to think that the Brit and USA modes were afterthoughts.
3) The EQ is a simple two band, the treble's center is closer to the midrange and the bass control a little higher due to there only being two bands I suppose. I found as with a lot of <15 watt amps that the bass needed to be cranked especially with a 4 x 12 cab. By the way I will be using a Carvin Legacy C412 cabinet for all test involving heads only. It is loaded with Celestion Vintage 30's.
4) The output section has two modes, 6V6 and 12AT7. The max plate dissipation on a 6V6 tube is 14 watts. The max plate dissipation on a 12AT7 is 2.5 watts. I found the 12AT7 mode useless in a practice/jam environment, someone may like it through a smaller cabinet in a recording scenario.
5) During jamming I miked the 412 with a Blue ball and fed my drum mix while my guitarist played, I found the sound very pleasing and not one bit fatiguing. The settings were as follows, Bass 100%, Treble 60%, Mode Pure, gain 75-80%, Volume 90%, Output 6V6.
6) Overall it took a bit of tweeking to find the sweet spot on this amp but once I did it delivered something quite unique and very pleasing.

A.
www.fluidaudiogroup.com

"No one has time to do it right, but we all seem to have time to do it twice."
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Re: Traynor Darkhorse

Postby macrae11 » Sat Apr 28, 2012 8:30 am

Don't suppose you have any audio clips? :twisted:
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Re: Traynor Darkhorse

Postby Alain Benoit » Tue May 01, 2012 4:56 pm

Alain Benoit wrote:I do.

I volunteered to pick up, return, install, invite and blog about the amps, who is volunteering to record them?

Malcolm, Roach, Scott?

Remember folks this is your forum.
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Re: Traynor Darkhorse

Postby Scott DeVarenne » Tue May 01, 2012 5:48 pm

While graciously honored by the unwarranted inclusion in the company of such accomplished recordists, I must regretfully decline due to but not limited to the following areas of difficulty: equipment, transportation, scheduling, ability, anxiety.
Respect and gratitude,
LSD
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Re: Traynor Darkhorse

Postby Alain Benoit » Thu May 03, 2012 12:01 am

Last night Al Galant played through it for his band's entire rehearsal!
My impressions were echoed.
Nuff said.
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Re: Traynor Darkhorse

Postby Alain Benoit » Thu May 03, 2012 4:40 pm

Obligatory gut shots.

Made in Canada, Pickering I suspect.
Traynor like Peavey has long had a reputation for solid and durable builds, this unit seems to hold up that credo.
I look at things like socket brand, chassis build, the fact that they used FastonĀ® connectors on the transformer leads, precision resistors where needed etc.

One thing I do not like is PC mounted external connectors, plugging a guitar cable in and out plus the weight of it will invariably break those solder joints, I'd have to say that that is the single most common repair that I perform here at Fluid Audio Group. The answer is as always, flying leads.

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A.
www.fluidaudiogroup.com

"No one has time to do it right, but we all seem to have time to do it twice."
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