Who has a Nomad 55..opinions please

[SydMark11]

Tell what you think about this amp?

 

[mincy]

I don't have the 55, but I do have the 100. Other than wattage and the 5 band graphic EQ, they are essentially the same amp. It's a nice amp, though nothing great. The Nomad's channel 2 is nice. It goes from 70s brown sound to metal. Channel 3 is mostly high gain and is a little harsh. The channel 1 cleans are nice, but on mine, it breaks up a little to early for my tastes. The reverb on mine is nice, but nothing great.

The amp has a lot of features with voicings on it. There is a pushed/clean switch on Channel 1 and vintage/modern switches on channel 2 and 3, similar to a rectifier. You can use either EL34s or 6L6s (I'd recommend EL34s based on how sterile mine sounds with 6L6s). Overall, it's a nice versatile amp, but it always seems to just fall short of being really good. If you're looking for a practice amp or something to kick around, a Nomad would fit the bill nicely, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone's main amplifier.

 

[fabien]

I too do not own a 55 but a 45 combo and the difference is the EL84 power section instead of 6L6, so the power section has a different character but the preamp section should be identical.

I'll be more positive en enthousiastic than mincy was. I really like the tone of my Nomad. Channel 1 on the Clean mode (I never use the crunch mode) gives a very warm and round tone (for me clean must be sparkling clean, not raw or on the edge) with a lot of punch, quite typical boogie bark.
Channel 2 on vintage mode, I'm quite addicted to it. It's fat and quite dark so boosting the trebble and cutting the bass is a must to avoid mud but then it's fat thick overdrive still with dynamic.
Channel 3 I'm not so fond of it. I use it now and then as a low crunch tone, trebble cut, mid and bass boosted but I get slightly better result with either my Fulldrive II or my BYOC overdrive.

Now that said it is still an entry level Boogie as it was meant to be and if you do want to compare it to a Mark keep in mind that it is also half the price of a Mark IV.
So mincy could have a point by saying that it falls short of beeing really good unless you consider price/quality, but I certainly would recommend a Nomad as a main amplifier, especially to someone who can't or doesn't want to shell the money for a Mark II, III or IV.

Of course it's all a matter of taste so you have to try one to see if you like it and if you do, keep in mind that it has a Mark as forefather so it's not an all-settings-on-12-o'clock sort of amp, tweaking is a must.

Mine is a 1x12 combo and I use it (live) with a extra 1x12 extension cab loaded with an Eminence Texas Heat. I also replaced the MC90 with a Eminence Red White & Blues and as for now I like it better so, it's a bit smoother.

 

[Alivefor5]

The Nomad has been described on this board as "jack of all trades - master of none".

I bought a pristine 1x12, 55 from this board and after working with it for a month could not get what I needed from it. A good friend heard it, bought it, loves it. Go figure.

I felt the 55 really hurt from lack of the EQ. I own a bunch of Mesa EL84 amps and Fabian may have the Nomad I would like also.

In the 55 class the MUCH better amp, IMO, is the DC-5. Similar prices too.

 

[Nomad]

Yeah I would prefer the DC-5 over the Nomadd 55.

I owned a 1x12 Nomad 55 and it was a good amp. There were certain things about the available Tones I didnt like. If I rember correctly the Clean wasnt quite there, the Crunch was too soft and didnt have enuff Corn Flakes in it, and the Solo Tones werent ever close to Classic Boogie. It would do some nice things though.

It was a good amp and was very flexable in the respect of how much it would do having three seperate channels.

All that being said I would much prefer a Mark III to either the Nomad, od DC-5.

 

[dodger916]

The Nomad has been described on this board as "jack of all trades - master of none".

I bought a pristine 1x12, 55 from this board and after working with it for a month could not get what I needed from it. A good friend heard it, bought it, loves it. Go figure.

I felt the 55 really hurt from lack of the EQ. I own a bunch of Mesa EL84 amps and Fabian may have the Nomad I would like also.

In the 55 class the MUCH better amp, IMO, is the DC-5. Similar prices too.

I think he bought it from me, and his response basically echos my experience as well. I was able to coax some nice tones, but they needed to be coaxed. After trying a Mark IV I was immediately hooked, only to be further blown away by a Mark IIC and C+. I prefer the more vintage sounding amps, and I felt the Nomad struggled to deliver that genre. I would describe the Nomad voice as very "modern" sounding with a coarser and shallower tone palette than other Boogies I've tried. I'd take a Recto-verb 1x12 combo over the Nomad 1x12 combo anyday, and used ones are only a few hundred higher than Nomads.

 

[Alivefor5]

Yep Dodger it was yours. Nice amp but just never quite in focus.

 

[fabien]

I think he bought it from me, and his response basically echos my experience as well. I was able to coax some nice tones, but they needed to be coaxed. After trying a Mark IV I was immediately hooked, only to be further blown away by a Mark IIC and C+. I prefer the more vintage sounding amps, and I felt the Nomad struggled to deliver that genre. I would describe the Nomad voice as very "modern" sounding with a coarser and shallower tone palette than other Boogies I've tried. I'd take a Recto-verb 1x12 combo over the Nomad 1x12 combo anyday, and used ones are only a few hundred higher than Nomads.

I quite possibly would be hooked to if I tried a Mark but that's exactly my point: if you can and want to afford a Mark, skip the Nomad, it remains an entry level Boogie.
As Alivefor5 said mine is EL84 powered and a 6L6 55 might be less attractive sonically.

What Dodger says about Rectoverb is interesting, in my recurent GAS attacks I regularly look at these without having been able to try one yet (probably good for me sinds I might not be able to resist the urge of owning one ) and if Dodger has been able to compare the two and says that the Rectoverb is more Boogie than the Nomad, I'd certainly look at one of these too. I always thought that they would sound too modern.

@Dodger: could you give some more details on comparing Nomad and Rectoverb?