From donniemac88@yahoo.com Tue Feb 21 21:11:23 2006
Subject:Re: Traynor K4 Keyboard Amp -- Initial reaction? Thumbs Up!

The gig with the K4 went great -- I've decided the K4 is a keeper --
but I had a little trouble after the gig with a broken compression
driver (actually, the plastic lens was broken, not the driver
itself).

Anyway, as far as stage volume, for my needs the K4 is plenty loud.
I play in a 9-piece band (including 4 horns, bass, guitar, and
drums). Although we run everything thru the FOH, we're still pretty
loud onstage -- but the K4 kept right up. In fact, I only had the
Master gain set at about 35-40%, and could hear myself very well all
night -- and I was set up next to the bass amp and drum kit.

The tubes on Channel 1 are way cool. I ran my Roland VK-8M thru that
channel, and loved the growl that the tubes bring out. I play piano
parts (using a Yamaha S90) layered with the organ parts, and I was
impressed that the amp could reproduce that growl while the piano
was still crystal clear.

As far as your question about the low end, I'm not sure how to
answer your question. The K4 has plenty of bottom for me, but I
don't kick bass pedals with the organ, so YMMV.

Because of the way we were set up, I had the K4 sitting beside me to
my left, tilted up. Since the amp was at my side, rather than behind
me, it sort of defeated the purposes of using a stereo amp, but it
still sounded great. I think I'd prefer having it set up either
behind me or more in front, tucked beneath my keyboard stand.

All in all, I was very happy with it during the gig, and will
probably keep it, despite what came next.

As I was loading out after the gig, I found out that one of the HF
compression drivers had physically broken. The driver didn't blow,
the plastic lens actually broke and the driver fell down inside the
cabinet. As I was carrying the amp out to my truck, I could hear the
driver rolling around inside the cabinet. I don't know when it
happened, but I know it wasn't like that when I received the amp,
nor when I loaded my stuff to go to the gig, nor when I carried the
amp INTO the venue. My guess is that the lens had developed a crack
somewhere along the way, and the vibrations from playing the gig
caused it to give way. Although it's a pain, I don't really blame
the manufacturer. I'm working with Yorkville to either get a
replacement part, or even a replacement amp, so I hope to be back up
and running soon.

Oh, and the knobs appear to be metal, but I might be mistaken on
that. The amp has a solid feel to it, despite the problem with the
compression driver.

> we're at it, are the knobs metal or plastic?
>
> Thanks, Bill