No love for the Nomad?

[Koreth]

There's a thread in the Tubes forum about NOS in the Nomad. Currently I'm running a RCA shortplate 12ax7a in V1, a GE longplate 12ax7 in V2, a Ge longplate 12ax7 in V3, a Matsushita 12xa7a in V4 and another RCA in V5. Power section is all JJ EL34s. The Nomad may get great tones out of current production tubes, but the old production tubes seem to bring the amp to life, IMO.

 

[nomad100hd]

i put a reissue mullard in mine the day before yesterday really improved the tone. i've also biased mine warmer.

 

[longhair55]

I've got a Nomad 45.
Thought I would get rid of it,once I picked up the LSS,..but Nah!

 

[jaquetapus]

+1 for the Nomad subforum. It'd be nice to have it all in one place, rather than searching for everything. Hopefully UPS can find mine!

-dave

 

[lerxst88]

I would be up for that!

MODERATORS!!! WE WANT A SUBFORUM!!! please?

 

[MrBear]

I think that we're quite fortunate here. Either we already had our Recto phase or missed it entirely, and found these wonderful little gems called Nomads. It's funny how many positive comments I get about my tone from other guitarists. Mine is running 12AX7's and 6L6's now (all Mesa, don't know much about tubes) and has served me well over the last 3 years. I bought the Nomad 100 head version, though I'm going to see if I can switch the chassis with my Heartbreaker combo chassis, so I can have different stack setups...

Seriously, Mods, what would it take to have a Nomad section established? Do we need to get a certain number of requests for one? Let us know!

 

[scottcrud]

$750.00 a good price for a 100 watt Nomad head?

 

[lerxst88]

Thats what i got mine for at Guitar center including tax. Offer $650 and exopect to go up to $700

thats what i would do anyway

 

[MrBear]

$750 is what I paid for mine, bought from some guy in a Dallas-based metal band. He was happy to unload it to get his hands on a Dual Rec, and the Nomad was my first "gig-worthy" guitar amp. Assuming everything works, has both power and footswitch cables and a footswitch, I'd say it's a good deal.

 

[nomad100hd]

i think the reason channel 3 sounds bad is because channel 2 is so rich. i just crank the mids round to 2 or 3 on channel 3 and it rocks! I just can't decided if i like the 85 or 81 best in bridge the 85 just so hudge sounding!

 

[Koreth]

i think the reason channel 3 sounds bad is because channel 2 is so rich. i just crank the mids round to 2 or 3 on channel 3 and it rocks! I just can't decided if i like the 85 or 81 best in bridge the 85 just so hudge sounding!

Emphasis mine.

I recall reading in the manual that one should be careful on the EQ knobs for Channel 2, especially the bass knob because if one wasn't careful one could get what the manual called EQ overhang, causing the other channels to sound thin by comparison.

 

[Dolebludger]

Well, no matter what I do, I get better sustain out of channel 3. Unless the Nomad 100 has a better active graphic EQ than my Mark III did, I think the addition of an outboard graphic EQ in the FX would help not only channel 3, but the other channels as well. At least, that has been my experience with the Mark III (which had a graphic EQ on it) and the Nomad 55 (which has no graphic EQ on the amp).

 

[nomad100hd]

The manual does say that! I really like the graphics on my amp but i use it for solo eqing only.

 

[Dolebludger]

And the EQ on the Mesa amp (if you have one) is very good for adding edge for soloing. But my experience is that it does not have sufficient frequencies or power to identify the frequency "where the mud is" and zap it. with my amp and the way it is adjusted, the "mud" (or a good part of it) comes in at about 1000HZ. The 12db "zap" helps with all functions of this amp.

 

[Koreth]

That doesn't make sense to me. From what I've read, mud is around 200hz, in the lows/low mids. 1000hz is getting into the mids and highs. Cutting 1000hz I could see cutting unwanted fizz or sizzle, but not mud.

 

[nomad100hd]

try a sonic stomp?

 

[Dolebludger]

First, my terminology may be a bit off, as I have only been playing for three months after a 20 year hiatus. So I may really mean fizz and sizzle when I say mud. But, I note that, for the best sound, I have selected about a 3db BOOST at 250HZ, so maybe this solidifies the mud? What I do know is that I am not a fan of Mesa's on-board eqs. If I understand correctly, they are "passive eq devices", which means they only cut various frequencies using caps, and have no artificial boost. Mesa does this to preserve the pure tube circuit tone. So, in other words, if we took all our eq knobs and sliders and set them to the max position, we would be getting pure unaltered amp tone. This manufacturing philosophy does not produce the tone I want, but putting a graphic eq (or similar device) in the FX is a quick and cheap fix. I used to use an outboard active tone control (though it was rotary, not slider) when I played through my former Mark III, even though it had a built-in graphic eq.

Second, I confess that I do not know what a Sonic Stomp is! I would appreciate info on it, such as a link or the like.

 

[nomad100hd]

um your wrong bout the eq, they have caps and coil, and middle is flat. a sonic stomp is a bbe sonic maximizer for guitar.

 

[Dolebludger]

Nomad 100hd:

I will confess that I have not played through a Nomad with a graphic EQ. Everything I said about Mesa's graphics comes from my Mark III ownership experience. So maybe the graphic on the Nomad is different and better. If so, what I said is wrong.

As far as the "mud" at 200 HZ is concerned, I tried my Nomad with a 12 db cut at 250 HZ on my outboard graphic EQ (the closest I could get with my EQ in the FX). It sounded real "grindy" and generally like crap. So, I doubt the "mud" is coming in at that frequency. As a further test, I boosted that frequency to about 7db, and cut other bass frequencies a bit to keep from shaking the floor. Now this made for even a "rounder" tone, even on the higher notes. What this tells me is what you do to EQ the 200 - 250HZ frequency is rather critical to the Nomad's channel 3 sound, as is what you do EQ - wise at about 1000HZ. So I recommend that Nomad owners (especially those with 45s and 55s without built in graphic EQ) to get some sort of outboard active EQ that will allow you to get control of these frequencies. This is what I did, and the thing just sings! And its song is sweeter than the new Lonestar through which I played just today.

 

[nomad100hd]

the sonic stomp cleared up all the mud 100% Amazingly clear.