Pete Traynor

Pete Traynor was a Canadian guitarist, bassist, [1] businessman and designer of Traynor sound amplification equipment for the music industry.

Career

As a young man, Traynor played guitar in three bands with Robbie Robertson: Robbie and the Robots,[2] Thumper and the Trambones, and The Suedes.[3][4] He later played with Ronnie Hawkins.[1]

Traynor worked as a repair technician at Long & McQuade's first store in Toronto. In the 1960s he began designing specialized sound amplifiers and other related equipment for the store's customers.[5] His hand-wired bass amplifier, which he called the DynaBass, was in demand, so Traynor teamed with his employer Jack Long to create a company, Yorkville Sound, to manufacture and market the products he designed under the Traynor brand.[1][6] Another of his designs was the BassMaster tube amplifier.[7]

The Traynor line of equipment has been sold worldwide and is manufactured in Pickering, Ontario.[8]

Traynor died in May 2016 related to undiagnosed diabetes.[9]

References

1. Keenan, Edward, "Pete Traynor, Toronto’s quietly legendary sound man: Keenan". Toronto Star, May 10, 2016
2. Levon Helm; Stephen Davis (1 October 2013). This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band. Chicago Review Press, Incorporated. pp. 66–. ISBN 978-1-61374-879-4.
3. Jason Schneider (2009). Whispering Pines: The Northern Roots of American Music from Hank Snow to the Band. ECW Press. pp. 54–. ISBN 978-1-55022-874-8.
4. "Proudly Canadian: Scott ‘Professor Piano’ Cushnie". Cashbox Canada, 10/31/2013 Sandy Graham
5. Dave Bingham (22 October 2015). Noise from the North End: The Amazing Story of The Ugly Ducklings. FriesenPress. pp. 43–. ISBN 978-1-4602-6651-9.
6. "Pete Traynor The Man, The Music, The Struggle". Cashbox Canada, Bill Delingat, September 30, 2011
7. Jean-Claude Maillet (2002). Inside Fender and Marshall tube amps. Author. p. 243.
8. " Meet the Canadian companies making noise in music". David Fielding and Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail, Aug. 23, 2010
9. "Liner Notes: Bullet News for May 11th". FYI Music News, By David Farrell 05/11/2016