Nomad 55 head + Cab. need some expert advice :)

[i.are.the.erth]

hello all

im recently in the market for a decent amp because i have some gigs coming up and pretty much have nothing for amplification.

thing is im in uni. and broke as hell. no money at all.

so i need to find a good quality amp that's actually affordable and good at the same time. however, im delightfully intrigued by mesa boogie amps although they arnt known for having light price tags.

moving right along.

i found someone looking to sell a Nomad 55 head with a 1x12 cab (i think the cab is of the nomad series as well although im not entirely sure. mesa anyway) for a grand total of $1200 CAN.

here it is
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/drh/msg/894307131.html

this, to me, seems like a decent deal...im just not sure where these nomad heads gauge of the mesa/boogie quality scale.

for me, i play very technical music that demands a bassey clear clean channel (jazzy you could say) and also a strong overdrive capability for heavier metal. it has to be somewhat versatile but im not looking to tour with sting or anything. just something thats good. not AMAZZING. budget in mind.

so with this all said. is this amp what im looking for? should i make the hour journey to give it a try? what kind of experience do you guys have with this set up?

any input will be greatly appreciated

 

[fabien]

Hi, welcome to the board

I've had a Nomad 45 for about 5 years and although the power section is different, the preamps are identical so some things can be compared.

The Nomads have 3 independent channels, 1 clean and two overdrive/lead, each with two different modes.

N.B. what follows is of course IMHO :wink:

Clean channel (ch1) is very good and works perfectly for Jazz (I played in a jazz 6tet all this time), tone shaping is extensive though like most boogies it takes time to tweak. Headroom here is very good considering the output section (on the 45 but I expect the 55 to be even better).
This is all in the clean mode, the other one, named 'Pushed', I didn't care for but it probably can work for others.

Amber Lead channel (ch2) is typical Boogie lead (I didn't say it was an exact replication, I said only: typical) VERY fat and singing, can be a bit flubby on high gain settings (>2:00) in vintage mode but the modern mode makes it tighter, but too raspy for my taste. Here too the tone shaping possibilities are large.

Red Lead channel (ch3). Well this one I never succeeded to shape it for me to use. It has a vintage mode where things get muddy and a modern mode much tighter. It's supposed to be more Marshall like. But did not work for me.

Quality is fine, never had a problem in five years.
Both lead channels aren't the quietest but nothing dramatic.

My 45 didn't shine at low gain, I got better results with pedals

I'd say for your purpose, it's a good match and certainly worth the hour trip to test it.

I don't know what speaker is in the cab but I find MC90 better for Boogies then V30s or other speakers.
Also keep in mind that a retube with the right tubes can do wonder on an amp that sounds a bit tires/depressed/lifeless, what Nomads are certainly not.

Be aware that Nomads aren't much loved by the guitar comunity. So I woudn't be surprised if you get some bashing as feedback here. Sure, a Roadking or a Mark IV is certainly better but is not the same price, certainly here in Europe.

For the record, I recently bought a Mesa F50 (the Nomad's successor), not because the Nomad wasn't good anymore but I wanted a 6L6 amp again, and this amp is awesome and certainly an option for you too.
It's a bit tighter than the Nomad with plenty of bass, thanks to the larger cab (widebody) and the lead is sooo fat, though the tone shaping on this channel is more restricted.

I hope this helped. Good luck with your quest.

Cheers
Fabien

 

[lostcause]

I use a Nomad 55 hd and a 212 box.
Ive spent a long time tweaking this amp.
Now I have ch1 and ch2 where I want them.
Ch3 sounds not so great at home but in a band mix seems to work.
If you are happy to tweak away for a while the nomad can be cool but if you just want to plug in and play maybe look for something else.
I really like this amp but others hate it.
I think a LSC and a stomp is all I need though.

 

[Rocky]

I use a Nomad 45 and get constant compliments from other players on my tone.

I use channel 3 as a blues channel....I based it on 'Ice Blues' in the owners manual. It is my fav sound on the amp.

 

[nomad100hd]

I love my nomad 100 HD with a 2x12 recto, the clean and channel 2 are my favorite for lower gain stuff. I get a good sound from channel 3, but you have to turn up the mids! Also the graphic eq with a mid boost and channel 3 makes for a great lead sound. I use it more than i do the solo volume level for a lead boost. A lot of people seem to like the amp better with el34's.

 

[wilson]

i like my nomad. mine is the 100 watt head version. i don't ever use the full 100 watts though, i use the half power switch. i think the only real difference between the 55 and the 100 is that the 100 has a five band eq which is nice. i believe the nomad 55 has the bias selector switch which lets you switch between 6L6 and EL34 tubes.
i think i paid $600 US for mine off of craigslist. (for just the head)

 

[nomad100hd]

The only difference is the 5 band eq. I often use mine in 50W mode, and have plans to mode for lower power. The amp does metal, but it's not rec metal tones.