Nomad 45 - any love?

[jerseydrew]

My local guitar shop has a Nomad 45 combo for sale. It looks near mint. I didn't get a chance to play it. What are these things going for on the used market? I may purchase it.

I don't hear much about these as they were discontinued pretty quickly. I do like the idea that it has 3 channels. Any love for this amp?

Just to let you know, I already own a DC-3 combo and an LSS head. I used to own a MkIII head but sold it. I couldn't get used to the shared eq and couldn't dial up a good sound for all 3 channels.

any advice and opinions?
thanks in advance,
jerseydrew

 

[sunder]

Yo, I love my nomad 45. It's my next favorite after my mark iv. Actually, sometimes I love it more. It is really light. I have a combo, but I had a custom head made for it. Also, it is not as finicky as the mark iv when the volume is changed and it seems to do better at lower volumes.

The EL-84s give it a different tone than most other tube amps I've played. The clean is really good and so is the orange channel. The red is also pretty good, but I seem to like that one more in "exreme" mode for some reason.

That being said, I am close to getting a RK2 to round out my collection. I've wanted a recto for a few years now, but the clean is useless to me (until now, since it has the lone star channel). I had a tremoverb for a while. Thought the clean sucked. Got different tubes, it still sucked. Sold it. But I love that recto rhythm. ****.

 

[sunder]

Oh, they usually go from $600-$800 for good to near-perfect condition.

 

[jerseydrew]

Thanks for the reply

If you had to pick an "issue" or something negative about the Nomad, what would it be?

I've heard that there's a slight delay when you step on the footswitch to switch between channels. Is this true? Anything else.

Why did they discontinue it so quickly?

I have a DC-3 combo and I love it. The only thing that I wish the DC-3 had was 3 channels instead of 2 and a solo button. The Nomad has this. On paper, it sounds like a winner. What happened?

Maybe I need a dual recto?

 

[sunder]

Hmm, I guess it is kinda hard to tell which way the knobs are pointed if it is dark.

Also, you can do some nice heavy palm-muting, but it is almost too tight for the fast stuff. I want it to "give" a little, like a recto. But that's why I'm getting a road king.

I've heard about that delay, but I don't have that problem. I've played on another nomad 45 (a long head), and it didn't have that problem either. I think maybe some of the earlier units may have had that issue, and it is probably greatly exagerated. Try it out before buying.

It's a great amp and I think you'll like it. I can only guess as to why it was discontinued. I think some of the earlier ones had issues with the pots, but boogie is a stand-up company and I think they resolved it. If you believe some of the reviews, they all fall apart every time you twist a knob.

It will always have a place as my backup amp, and as an easy one to take up and down between my different recording rooms. I have a lot of stairs.

 

[earachemyeye]

Yea I've heard the terrible pots story too but I've owned mine for over 3 years with no probs at all (55 not 45) and I gig out. Never had a delay with channel switching either. Mine is a keeper. Thinking about getting a 45 just for the different tube flavor and because they are one hell of an amp for the money.

Joe

 

[Xspider FingersX]

i had a nomad 100 head for a long long time and i loved it. A little muddy in the distortions, but some might call that "thick". It was straight though no big big issues.

 

[jerseydrew]

Thanks everyone. Like I said earlier, my local guitar shop has one and it sounded awesome. I just wasn't sure why I haven't heard too much positive feedback about them.

 

[dylan7620]

i just let go my 45 head because of money issues but that was a **** good amp. great cleans, great lead on the orange channel (IMO better than a recto with it boosted) and great marshally tone on the red channel. got a 5150 at the moment. which i'm really diggin as i'm goin through an EVH thing right now. but someday (in the near future) plan on getting a nomad 100 (i need an EQ!)

 

[jerseydrew]

I just picked up the Nomad 45 combo from my local dealer and I'm glad that I did. I love this thing and I've only had a chance to play it for an hour so far. I run the combo through my Marshall 4x12 cab and it sounds awesome.

I might be crazy, but I like it better than my Lonestar Special head.

 

[sunder]

You aren't crazy. It's a very underrated amp.