Nomads...don't hear much about them on here...why?

[Turumbar82]

I played on them a couple times in the store and thought they were decent amps.

Why is it that not many people on here talk about them?

Just wondering

 

[nomad100hd]

idk, i love my nomad head it rocks!

Some people have a hard time dialing in channel 3 but i don't. If mine died i'd buy or try to build another one.

The global switchable Graphic eq is amazing! My only complain is wish the chassis was at the bottom of the cabinet.

 

[Riff Blister]

I've thought the same thing.
Apparently it's not for everybody but what amp is.
My 55 watt combo served me well gigging for four years. I still have it.
I now use the Stiletto Deuce with the band. I wanted a head and cabinet to compliment my band mates Bogner and the Deuce does just that. IMHO

I did have some trouble getting the 3rd channel to cut through like nomad100hd mentioned but I mostly used channel 2 so it never was an issue really.

Maybe I am not too fond of the clean channel but I once lent it to my buddy to use in his band one night and he couldn't stop raving about it.
So, there you go.

 

[nomad100hd]

It's a blues amp, and the clean is a little more bluesy it took me a while to learn how to set it. Channel 3 took me a minute to learn if you use less gain it's easier to get it to cut, and mids use plenty of mids.

 

[cscotto]

I just picked up a Nomad 100 2 X 12, and I love the amp. I had a DC-10 a while back (I liked that amp too), and this amp is the big brother of the DC. I don't think of it as a blues amp, although it does get great blues sound. I can get nice metal tones too, especially with the footswitchable EQ. It doesn't give you the exact Recto sound, but if that is the sound I am looking for, I just use my Recto Recording Pre and 2:100.

 

[nomad100hd]

agreed it can give you some great metal tones, and if you want recto get one!

Mesa marketed it as a blues amp is why i said it was a blues amp.

 

[cscotto]

agreed it can give you some great metal tones, and if you want recto get one!

Mesa marketed it as a blues amp is why i said it was a blues amp.

Wow, they really marketed it as a blues amp? It seems like a great all around rock amp. I am going to have to find some old marketing materials.

 

[Alivefor5]

If one were to get a Nomad I think it should be the 100 because of the GEQ. I had a 55 1x12 and never could quite get what I needed out of it.

I sold it to a friend and he plays it every day and loves it.

 

[wilson]

agreed it can give you some great metal tones

what settings do you use for a good metal tone on yours? i have the nomad 100 and i just got a 2x12 recto cab off craigslist. i play a 91 sg so our setup is just about the same.

 

[longhair55]

I noticed the same thing,it's not mentioned very much.

I had thought I would unload mine after buying the LSS,..but nope,...I'm keeping it!
Salesman at a local guitar store keeps asking me if it's for sale, everytime I go in there!

As far as channels go,..I 've stayed on channel two for years!

 

[nomad100hd]

for a good metal tone, i usually run on the red channel treble 2-3, mids 9-10, bass 11-12, and presence from 1-2. I think those are my settings with my recto cab. I use just enough gain to get a good punchy bass and sensitivity. I also use a sonic stomp in a serial modified FX loop. I should mention i use JJ tubes.

 

[BobL]

The Nomad is what it is. Nothing special, just a good sounding amp. I owned a pair of 50 watt Lonestars w/ 4x10" Jensens, loved them when I first started using them, and then grew tired of the tone. Channel 1 is OK for clean tones, Channel 2 is OK for some grind, channel 3 just sucks.

My genre is predominantly blues, and I don't ever remember Mesa saying this is a blues amp, although the consensus was that it would react like a Super Reverb on steroids. See link below;

It never met that expectation and was soon phased out by Mesa. After dumping the both my Nomads for more than I paid for them I replaced them with a pair of Lonestar 50/100 watt single 12" classics. The LSC is ten times the amp and the tone of the LSC puts the Nomad to shame, however, as versitle as the Lonestar may be, metal is not the genre for this amp. And, after recently replacing the stock C90 (Celestion G12-80) with a Weber 50 watt ceramic Blue Dog, I would put my Lonestars up against any pure boutique amp on the market including a Dr. Z, Bad Cat, 65, etc.. I don't think any amount of tweeks could put the Nomad in that league.

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Out_of%20_Production/Nomad_Designs/nomad_designs.html

 

[nomad100hd]

oh i could tweak it, but it would be a pain. I've never seen a PCB so densely populated in a tube amp! However i like the sound how it is and would like to get the smaller version, for a backup.

 

[phyrexia]

I chose an F50 over a Nomad a long time ago.

 

[nomad100hd]

i played an F50 once, but i never compared the 2. i'd prefer to have the GEQ than a contour knob.

i liked the F50 better than the Dual Rec i played

 

[BobL]

The Nomad is what it is. Nothing special, just a good sounding amp. I owned a pair of 50 watt Lonestars w/ 4x10" Jensens, loved them when I first started using them, and then grew tired of the tone. Channel 1 is OK for clean tones, Channel 2 is OK for some grind, channel 3 just sucks.

My genre is predominantly blues, and I don't ever remember Mesa saying this is a blues amp, although the consensus was that it would react like a Super Reverb on steroids. See link below;

It never met that expectation and was soon phased out by Mesa. After dumping the both my Nomads for more than I paid for them I replaced them with a pair of Lonestar 50/100 watt single 12" classics. The LSC is ten times the amp and the tone of the LSC puts the Nomad to shame, however, as versitle as the Lonestar may be, metal is not the genre for this amp. And, after recently replacing the stock C90 (Celestion G12-80) with a Weber 50 watt ceramic Blue Dog, I would put my Lonestars up against any pure boutique amp on the market including a Dr. Z, Bad Cat, 65, etc.. I don't think any amount of tweeks could put the Nomad in that league.

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Out_of%20_Production/Nomad_Designs/nomad_designs.html

Correction - Should read Nomads, not Lonestars

 

[lostcause]

After 2yrs of alternately loving and hating the Nomad I think Im at a place where I both love and hate it at once. Love it because I can tweak it to mimic so many different classic amp voices and hate it because it only sounds right at a volume that bothers the neighbors.
I conducted sonic experiments with a few other amps and the Nomad was easily the equal of all tone wise.
In fact I learnt more about the Nomad in 2 days of tweaking it to sound like other amps than I did in the last 2 yrs of owning it.
The Nomad is completely under rated.
Its so tweaky so maybe thats why it gets such a bad rep. You have to be patient and know what your trying to get out of it.
Im glad I got to understand this amp better because I was ready to smash it with a sledge hammer.
Heres a pic of some of the amps I used as tone templates for the nomad to emulate. It did very well. Very well.

[/img]

 

[fabien]

I have a Nomad 45 1x12 for 5 years now. I just bought an F50 a week ago (probably got one of the last one available new here) primarily because I wanted to have 6L6s again and I only used channel 1 and 2 on the Nomad.
Though I liked the tone of the Nomad clean and lead, the F50 is a class above. Much more dynamic, single coil funky comping do slice through now, much more bass due to 6L6s and larger cab.
Much more headroom, the Nomad 45 was topping on the clean channel and starting to growl where I wanted real clean and needed an extra 1x12 cab to fill the room.

Downside is that the Nomad was topping on channel 2 too and that gave a fat lead tone I don't get with the F50, so I don't think I'll let the Nomad go (it's more portable too) but what I gained in dynamic with the F50 makes it up. And my bass player and my drummer like it too. 8)

I still need to tweek the F50 quite a bit but I feel I could get close to Robben Ford's tone too. Did anybody say Dumble?... well I said *close*

Cheers
Fabien

 

[cscotto]

I have a Nomad 45 1x12 for 5 years now. I just bought an F50 a week ago (probably got one of the last one available new here) primarily because I wanted to have 6L6s again and I only used channel 1 and 2 on the Nomad.
Though I liked the tone of the Nomad clean and lead, the F50 is a class above. Much more dynamic, single coil funky comping do slice through now, much more bass due to 6L6s and larger cab.
Much more headroom, the Nomad 45 was topping on the clean channel and starting to growl where I wanted real clean and needed an extra 1x12 cab to fill the room.

Downside is that the Nomad was topping on channel 2 too and that gave a fat lead tone I don't get with the F50, so I don't think I'll let the Nomad go (it's more portable too) but what I gained in dynamic with the F50 makes it up. And my bass player and my drummer like it too. 8)

I still need to tweek the F50 quite a bit but I feel I could get close to Robben Ford's tone too. Did anybody say Dumble?... well I said *close*

Cheers
Fabien

There must be quite a difference between the EL84 Nomads and the 6L6 Nomads (55/100). I don't experience any of things you find problematic with the 45 on the 100. I feel the 100 is like a hotrod version of a DC-10, which I use to own. I agree that the amp is very tweakable. I am really amazed at the range of sounds I can get out of it. Also, I think this is the first Mesa amp I have owned that actually somewhat matches Mesa's description of the sensitivity of the tone controls.

 

[fabien]

There must be quite a difference between the EL84 Nomads and the 6L6 Nomads (55/100). I don't experience any of things you find problematic with the 45 on the 100. I feel the 100 is like a hotrod version of a DC-10, which I use to own. I agree that the amp is very tweakable. I am really amazed at the range of sounds I can get out of it. Also, I think this is the first Mesa amp I have owned that actually somewhat matches Mesa's description of the sensitivity of the tone controls.

I agree with you, the difference must lay mostly in the type of output tubes, that's why I wanted a 6L6 amp again. I first thought about looking for a Nomad 55 but since I only used channel 1 and 2 on the Nomad 45 I went for an F50, back to simplicity.

Cheers
Fabien