Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp 

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

This amp for me is the best I have ever used. I owned a Roland KC-100, KC-300 & a KC-550. Unlike some, I do not hear any buzzing in it. For the amount of power & size, I was real pleased on how light it really is! There is a small button on the front, like a turbo boost. It really makes this thing LOUD! I generally leave it off unless I am outdoors.
If there was anything that needs any caution, it is this: this is a tube amp. It needs to be handled like a tube amp. My Rolands can be literally tossed into a truck & not worry about any real damage. You need to pamper this a little more. Aside from that, it is a keeper!!

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

The two 12ax7 pre-amp tubes warm up the sounds of my keyboards, and the selector switch does have minor variations to the overall sound. I keep it on the "live" setting. The amp makes my keyboards sound great.

This amp can get loud and can easily hold its own against lead and rhythm guitars, drums, etc. in a band. Besides keyboards, I sometimes use the amp for guitar (electric and acoustic),and vocals running from an external mixer into the amp, and it handles them very well. I run my electric guitar through a multi-effects pedal and then into the Traynor and was surprised at how good my electric guitar sounds through it especially with clean sounds - good punch, sustain, and clarity. For my distortion sounds, I had to slightly tweak the EQ on the multi-effects pedal, and they now sound great too.

The amp is very well-built, and I have great confidence that it will hold up for a long time. The two cooling fans in the chassis go on as needed, and the amp is very quiet. I changed the original tubes to JJ's, but I had to unscrew over 30 screws to get to them. They explain clearly in the manual how to do it, but, again, it's a lot of screws to go through.

The only thing I would say that is a slight negative is that this amp weighs 57 lbs which is lighter than many keyboard amps, but still up there for me.

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

I do a lot of improvised jamming with a bunch of bigger Amps. I bring to that table a JP-8000 and a V Synth GT by Roland and various circuit bent toys along with this amp, It keeps up with the 5 other people adding to the sound scope. ~9 Months ago when I was thinking of buying it I thought not enough wattage compared to the other more pro equipment I was facing when I first played through it that vanished. Those 300 watts are rather efficient at pushing the sound. Only down side in my opinion is add another you get an amazing stereo sound field. :)

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

This review is for the Traynor K4 keyboard amp. I wanted something that was a step up from my Roland KC-350. Unfortunately, this had problems of its own. I tested it using a Nord Electro 3.The bad...Despite all the reviews that said this is a quiet amp, I could hear a quiet hum from the speakers, even with everything at 0 volume.The stereo effect is VERY minimal, I don't even know why they bothered adding the cost of separate amps / drivers.The amp does not have flat response, not even close. I compared it straight with my Dynaudio BM6a studio monitors (very nice). It is very hyped in the mid range, giving snares / pianos / guitars a very unnatural quality. It can sound good, sure, but not like I would anticipate. I could manage to get a studio monitor-like response from it (voicing 4, bass / mid / treble tweaks) but that really doesn't help in a live situation because the EQ is applied BEFORE the line out. This is unacceptable if you plan to use it as a stage monitor only, unless you want your sound man to hype your EQ because you've dehyped it so that your stage monitor sounded ok.But the worst part is that pianos sound shrill and boxy no matter how much EQ I applied, which is quite a shame for a 'keyboard' amp. I used Nord's Grand Lady D which I think is a very nice patch. Electric pianos sounded ok though.Now the good...I love the silver finish and the fact it can be on its side, back, or bottom.It's not too heavy for me and I can fit it in the trunk of my 2 door coupe. The handles are awesome.It can get LOUD. I pumped up the volume and couldn't get it to start distorting before it hurt my ears.Musician's friend matched another competitors price and their return policy is generous.All in all a shame really, because I really WANT to like it, it just didn't come through.

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

I have had the pleasure of using this amp at our local community theater. It's owned by my co-keyboardist. It has a wide variety of great tones at both soft & loud volumes. We are running a Kawai MP8, Kurzweil K2600 and a Nord Electro through it simultaneously. It will be my next gear purchase.

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

The Traynor K4 amplifier is great for a multiple-keyboard rig run in stereo. I've owned mine for about 8 months now and I love it! Compare the features this amp has to other options on the market, and overall, I believe you'll come to the conclusion that this product is a winner. I use my K4 to amplify 4 keyboards, all run in stereo: A Korg Triton Extreme 88, a Hammond XK-3c, a Yamaha Motif XS-6, and an Alesis Micron. I use it in my 80s/90s/current rock/pop 5-piece band, with a praise band at church, and for my solo gigs with a Yamaha P-140 digital piano. Its great to have a built-in direct box with XLR outs, with a level independent from the main amp volume. Its also cool to have a seperate monitor in - this has occasionally been a lifesaver for me when soundguys show up with not enough monitors. For these occasions, I usually keep a couple XLR - trs adaptors, so the soundguy can pass me a monitor feed from the stage snake. I also find myself using the "Tube Lead Mode" when my band covers material with two guitar parts - the "grunge" added by the tubes goes a long way towards making me sound like that second guitar, especially when taken in context of the total mix. (Given a good guitar sample to start with, of course.) Traynor also adds versatility by having twin RCA connectors plus and XLR mic slot. I've even occasionally used the extra mono-summed balanced output on back to feed xtra reinforcement monitors when there's no soundguy. Overall, when you look at the features this amp has, and the versatility it will give you, you won't want to accept one of the lesser "vanilla" amps available. The 3-way speakers and tri-amped setup sound great in just about any live situation. I find I almost have a relationship with this amp like that of most guitarists and their amps...along with my keyboards, its part of my sound palette.

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

I've owned mine for four months. I spent a lot of time checking out amps before I bought this one. I was very pleased with this amp from day one, but it really began to come to life after about 30-40 hours of use. It is very flexible, has all the features I need and its built like a tank. Its a great Canadian product I'm proud to own. Its a little pricey, but worth every penny.

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

I use a Hammond xk-1, Roland Piano, and Fantom with this amp. The K4 has plenty of power, but also has the best sound I've heard. I have used the other popular amps, in fact I still own them , but they stay in my studio. I was a little uneasy buying this amp without ever hearing it, but it has so much flexibility and looks like it is built much sturdier than any other amp I own. I would suggest letting the amp cool down completely after a gig before moving it, to save the tubes.I use an amp stand to get it up off the stage and that seems to work well for projecting the sound.Other amps (Bose, Motion Sound) can suffice in certain applications, but overall I have not found a better sounding amp.A little pricey, yes. You can get soundthing that is just OK for much less, But remember, You get what you pay for.

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

This amp is clean and true, with power to spare. For under 50 lbs, it's amazing what it does for its small size and weight. I agree with the previous reviewer that it sounds SO much better than the popular names brand amps everyone always defaults to - as if Keyboardists don't have a choice or don?t care. I've always commented how Guitarist and Bassists are always very particular about what amp they use - it's so much a part of their sound. On the other hand Keyboardists are accustom to plugging into "whatever" it seems (I'm generalizing, exceptions noted), and are often conditioned to be content with mediocrity ? ?mind if I plug into the PA tonight? ??. Or, they?ll plug into the usual garden-variety mono amp that's supposed to be great, but always sound awful, especially on acoustic piano patches. However, this amp changes that. It's the Keyboardists equivalent of the "Guitarist-amp". Keyboard players can get ?fussy? with it in the same way, and it?s GREAT! The K4 doesn?t color or muddy the sound like the others and you have so many great options to tweak it. The result is extremely natural and musical (what a concept). With all the varied rooms I?ve played in with it so far, I?ve been able to tailor the sound as needed without trouble. I play mostly acoustic piano and I?m amazed at the difference. I always get compliments on my sound.

Comments about Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp:

I've been a fan of this amp for a long time. Used it in a touring band where I had to play Keyboard and guitar. Because I need stereo effects and balanced stereo sends, this amp was the perfect choice. It performed flawlessly for thousands of hours on hundreds of gigs. Then tragedy struck. Our van was parked near a ravine when a flash flood inundated the van and everything in it.Alas... no equipment insurance! The vehicle insurance would not pay for professional audio equipment contents either... schmucks! I rented equipment until we got back home and bought another K4. Traynor was nice enough to drop ship it to us internationally, so i got the new one in time before we headed back out.Wait... it gets better. The amp was soaking in water inside the van for five days before we could get our stuff out. So the speakers were completely shot. I sent the amp back to New York and had my tech guy see if it was salvageable. He called back the next day. After cleaning the mud out, spraying the pots and replacing the tubes, it still works!Of course, I had to replace the speakers anyway, so I built a custom cab with Selenium drivers and still use this head to power it. When he took the amp apart to service it, we found out that Traynor uses really high quality speakers in this amp. It was expensive finding speakers of comparable quality. So, just be aware, when you get this amp, you are getting a bargain on the speakers that come with it. By the way, we also had four QSC power amps in the van... all four still work! This amp not only sounds great, it has to be one of the best-designed, well-built, over-engineered audio products ever conceived. I was completely happy with the amp because of its sound and features. Now, I am also amazed at Traynor engineering and manufacturing quality.I am not a Traynor endorsee, nor do i have any business affiliation with Traynor or Yorkville. I just wanted you all to know about this amp.It might seem expensive, but I know from personal experience it is worth every penny.