Carvin 112-Nomad

Update!

I just got a Marshall 1965-A 4X10 cab for the Nomad. What a differents a 4x10 cab makes. The Soak channel is no longer mudy it's more opean and the EQ is usefull now. The clean channel can be a bit ice picky but the tone control on the guitar fixs it. I'm now splitting my signal in to two volume pedals runnig one to a Fender Super Reverb and the second to the Nomad/Marshall cab set on the dirty channel then blend or back off one amp then put the metal to the pedal for 8x10's blasting . I stop useing OD/distortion/Fuzz pedals and I can fit both amps plus the marshall cab that wieghs the same as the carvin and my three guitars in my car. Thish is the best set up I have ever had.

see last review

see last review

This amp is versatile little combo that can wear many hat's. The add 4x10 cab helps alot but still sounds great as a signle 12 combo.

For this price you do get a lot of amp. Effects loop, two channels, 50 watts, reverb, and seperate controls for both channels(footswitch option should be included)If you ask, usually the salesperson will through it in at no cost. But it should be offered as standard with the amp.

I wanted to get smaller tube amp for a while. I have an older Carvin X100B head and 4x12 cab and it's just to big for the house and jamming casually with others. My old practice amp is a solid state peavey that's just OK. So I looked, looked and looked and kept coming back to the carvin as far as features for price. I also looked at the Fender HRD and some others but the carvin just seemed to beat it in all it's features. Also these are still made in the USA and that did sort of sway me.

I happen to live on the east coast so I can't just try one out. Like lots of folks I ended up spending hours reading reveiws coming to the conclusion that Clean channel is great Soak channel is marginal. Still I thought with a pedal things would be okay or the famous hasserl mods would make the soak channel better. So I went ahead and ordered the amp almost expecting to do the mods soon afterwards.

I've had it about 4 months and found that the clean channel is all that everyone says. Very warm, tons of headroom. Fendery reverb that doesn't get too sappy. No complaints. The soak channel was also somewhat similar to reviews. Nice classic crunch up until 5 on the dail and then becomes muddier and muddier. I figured I'd just use my OD/Disotrtion until I did the mods. But a funny thing happened.

A lot of people complain about the mid range on this amp. But occasionally you'll hear someone comment on how well it cuts though the band mix when you're playing out. When I was practicing at home at modest volumes I had that subjective tone critizim going on in my head. But when I got together with a drummer and cranked it up the sound really did cut through. The drummer kept saying that the amp sounded sweet(the amp not me that is). And it really did. I had it set no louder than 5 and I could hear the guitar over the drums easily. While the soak channel does sound muddy over 5, at 5 with some volume you get a great classic distortion sound. Think James Gang, and great blues overdrive. Really great. So now I'm not so sure I want to do the mods just yet. I can still us my modded rat pedal for heavy stuff. But this amp really does sound great in a band mix. And while the soak can get muddy it still sounds great at modest settings and can be modded or used with a pedal. BTW pedals do great with this amp. I also would suspect that running the nomad through an extension cab would really deepen the bass up considerably. It is a bit mid-rangy. But not too much so.

As a point of reference I has a '57 strat reissue and a MIA standard strat. Both are s/s/s. I also have a H/s/s G&L but haven't played it thorugh the amp enough to evaluate.

Carvins are built like the old Peaveys in that they are rugged and hefty. While it's not a featherweight it is easy to tote around for a 50 watter. The covering is not real tweed. It's a tolex simulated tweed but still looks cool and is pretty scuff resistant. If this thing is built like my X100B it'll last as long as I own it. All the electrical components seem well put together and the amp is very moddable and not as fragile on the pcb as some others. No plastic switches(except rockers) or jacks. Everthing should hold up very well.

I found out that some of the reps at carvin are great and some are not so great. Keep calling back until you hit one that you like and you can work with and keep his extension. The rep I used was friendly and knowledgeable and very easy to work with. The guy gave me the footswitch for free so that was cool.

I would rate some of these guys as 5's and some as 9's so I sort of settled on a 7 overall.

I'm giving this a 9 based on sound/price/features. If it were stolen I'd be pissed but probably try someting else. Not that I don't like this amp. I do. But I might try to go for a botique amp. At this price range though I'd be tempted to get anther. You get great cleans, lots of options and an amp that can be modded down the road should you want to experiment.

I love the clean channel and the soak channel is growing on me but I still think it should smoothen out over 5 rather then get muddy.

I tried a couple of the crate products and the Fender HRD. I'd say that the carvin holds it's own with the latter. The crate has a good clean but it's od channel didn't impress me either.

If there was one thing I'd change(and I might) it would be to clean up the soak channel just a bit after 5.

However, it's hard to knock this amp for the price. Made in the USA too. If you considering the HRD, Crate, Peavey offerings consider the Nomad. If I were to go anywhere from this amp it would be to a botique point to point amp. For now this one will suit me fine for quite a while.

This is a basic 2 channel amp, one clean the other overdriven. It has a very nice reverb and an effects loop. The channels and reverb are footswitchable with the optional fs-22 footswitch. It is a very atractive amp with faux tweed covering. Both channels have bas, mid and treble controls and the clean channel has a Presence knob for added sheen.

Stock this amp is very versatile with a strong midrange. The clean channel is exceptional, the overdrive or soak, channel was a little too muddy for my tastes when I first got it. The clean channel is also extremely friendly with overdrive pedals. I decided to do some of the Robert Hasser mods and recommend them highly. This amp is now amazing! I did all of the stage one mods, the attitude mod and the master volume mod. I would say it is now a little bit old Fender Deluxe and Vox AC30. But there are many other sounds in between. It does a good job of handling just about every sound I need.

This is the third Carvin amp I have owned and they have all been bulletproof. I worry about the mods sometimes but if they fail that is my bad, not Carvin's.

The warranty is only one year but I have always found Carvin to be very helpful.

The amp is very good and LOUD stock and would handle everything except the hardest rock or shred. With the mods it is amazingly versatile with a ton of great sounds! I would not hesitiate to use with any type of band or music!

This is an update on features I have change from my last review I wrote Three years a go on my Nomad: I replace the the speaker again with a Emince Texas Heat and change V2 to a 12AT7 .

Going to a speaker with a high wattage I have more head room and all distortion is from power tubes in the clean channel or from pedals.The second channel has always been on the muddy side changing V2 from a 12AX7 to 12AT7 gave it more dynamics.The volume control guitar became more usefull on that channel and there is still alot of gain their for todays Blues,Rock and Country.I have also change out all my pedals my from my last review three years ago : Tonefactor Nebula> Aramat Mojo > HBE Germania > Fulltone Soulbender > Budda Wha > MI Audio Crunch Box > MI Audio Blues Pro > Nick Greer Sonic Boom > Nick Greer Black fuzz> Ernie Ball JR. Volume > ToneFactor Mobius Feedback loop with a old DOD FX 90 Delay in the loop for true bypass. I still have my Nashvill tele and 335 got ride of the '70s strat and got a Schecter Banshee.

Well the Channel changing feature stop working . I have not taken it to my amp tech and it wound not be first,second or third time it has been worked on . But, considering I have had it on the road for five years and work at every gig not bad but not great.

They suck!

I use this amp at practic and as a back up for gigs .I'm using a Fender Super Reverb RI as my main amp .For five years this amp has been good to me and I still find ways of improving tone. Not that it sounded bad in the first placeand also thinking of getting a ex.cab for it. I still love this little amp and I'll rock it to it's grave.

It's a 2005 Nomad 1-12" (Celesion Vintage-30) with Groove tubes.
It's a two channel w/ EL-84's (Clean and Overdrive channel)
It has effects loop, tube driven accoustronis control & 2-spring tank reverb. 50-watts is more then enough power for any size club, I only wish it had switch for 15 (bedroom) watts, it has a master volume knob.

The clean channel lack bass response and the overdrive channel's gain sounded like a jar full of Bee's. So I had Mike Ramey of Whittier, CA do some major mods to beef-up the bass and tighten up the clean channel...........AWESOME JOB MIKE! It sounds allot like the Fender Super Deluxe that Howard Dumble modded for Robben Ford.
The overdrive channel was trunned into a Monster full blown Soldano Hot Rod 50 after Mike bye-passed the clipping diodes, sounds so dawn fat and sustians like the no other Carvin amp I've ever heard.
I'm so luck to know Mike Ramey and have him mod my Acoustic G-100T, my Carvin Valve Master 1-12" combo and now my Nomad. You can contact Mike at: JCVessel2@msn.net, The best in the business.
When I used my Fender Strat is sounded full with the John Suhr V-60's, but the best damn sound I heard was my 70's Yamaha SA-2000 with WCR pickups (The Fillmore set) It ever out performed my Les Paul. Oh! by the way the amp went from Noisy to quite.

I believe Carvin makes good quality amps but cuts corners, they should take more time in there design stages, even if they have to charge a little more for it. (Take note Carvin)

Never had to deal with Carvin before.

I've been playing for 37 years and know my stuff when it comes to sound. I seldom ever leave anything stock because of the many options there are out there. From Pickups to wiring it better then stock anyday. If it were stolen I'd by another and again have Mike mod it the same way. If you own a Nomad (or) Belair take note if your interested in turning a vintage sounding Carvin amp into a true DR. Jeckel and Mr. Hide amp. If you play semi-hollow bodied guitars like Benson, you too will love the shit out of Mike mods because of the deep tight bass with a little bit of mid and treble make for clean like you have never heard before.
What helps me get that tight sound is my ported 1-12" extention cabinet I use with a Jensen Alnico, and the deep sustian (ala Carlos Santana) from the Vintage-30. THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.

The Nomad is a Simple 2 Channel Amp With Reverb and Presence control for the clean channel. It has an effects loop, and cabinet voiced line out. I use it in a Classic Rock cover band, and It has plenty of power.

The amp sounds very nice. The Clean channel is great, and so is the drive (Soak) channel. The drive (soak) channel captures that Stevie Ray Vaughn tone very well for solos. If your not into this vintage blues tone then don't buy this amp. I like having this tone at hand so I'm not going to Mod my amp like many say you should. For a sharper overdrive lead tone I'm driving the clean channel with a Marshall Blues Breaker pedal. The dirty channel also has a great crunch tone for rhythm. I don't agree with all the bad vibe about the soak channel of this amp. It does what its supposed to do, put out great vintage tone. For the money it's a great tube amp.

Time will tell. Looks very well built and solid. Better than than some of the tweed amps I've looked at.

Time Will Tell...

Been playing rock music for 30 years. I would replace it. Also, I'm thinking about getting the smaller 16/5 watt Vintage16 for home practice and recoring because this one is very loud. This amp is great for jamming with the band though.
No amp is perfect for everyone. This amp is very well made, and sounds great. I'm happy with it, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good tube amp in it's price range.

After reading some of the reviews here I would like to add a few things about the amp.

If you want a metal amp dont get this amp.

1). I have A/B'ed this amp with the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, a few of them. This amp is louder, it is more reliable and it sounds better and the overdrive is usable, at least sounds good to my ears.

2). You do not have to do the mods suggested on the internet. I have done them and though they changed the character of the amp somewhat, not enough that it was worthwhile to me. I am considering changing one of my amps back to the before it was modded.

3). I changed out speakers to Celestion and to Webers. The stock speakers are every bit as good as either of those. Again the character of the sound is changed somewhat, but I would not do it again. A JBL D series might make the biggest difference, but add ten pounds of weight to what it is now.

4).Tube changes do not seem to make that much difference either.

5). If your pickups do not put out much milli volts you may want to adjust the bias hotter. Certain of my guitars would benefit from this. With the stock bias setting the tubes run cool and last for ever.

I say this only because I have been using this amp since they came out and i have owned a bunch of them..i have had so many because my sons friends have been buying them off me.

Everyone has given the specs for this amp. It has enough features for what I want. I give it a ten.

Sound is subjective. I like the sound. The overdrive channel sounds like a smooth Eric Johnson, violin sound. Thats the EL84s, four of them. If you like the sound and dont need the hard-drive sound of the Marshall JCM then you will like the smooth sound. Beats a Hot Rod Deluxe for sound. HRD is jaggedy with its two power tubes, the EL84's smooth this out, like the Vox AC30, similar to my ears, except these amps wont break.
Clean channel can go Jazz to Chicken Cluck country but not Jaggedy in your face. Depending on your pickups you can overdrive the front end of the clean, or you may not have enough drive for your taste and so may need to bias the amp hotter.

BelAir, same amp with 2X12s I used every weekend for 9 years. Never replaced or did anything. Tubes never wore out, never popped a fuse or a speaker, oh and I was playing lead out of it.
I have owned 3 Nomads, 3 BelAirs and one VT50 ever since they came out. Usually I am playing every weekend. They have never broken, not a one of them. That is 15 years?

Dealt with them on other issues. They have always been helpful when they can.

Been playing 41 years. I try different amps but keep coming back to these 50 watt Carvins. For convenience and sound they are hard to beat and have never let me down. Sometime I go up to Austin and play with the snobs with their Bow-teak amps and Fender-Gibson crap. I have had it stacked up against, Dumble, Marshall, VHT, Hi-Hat, VoX and DrZ. None of those amps have convinced me to part with it (them), of course it helps to practice your tail off. If your licks are good this amp will show them off. If you play metal get something else, anything else with this amp is good.

By now you know the features. I waited to write this review until I had done 25 gigs and four nights in the studio with it. I bought it used on eBay and sent it to the original Hasse for the legendary hasserl mods. I gave it the full mod treatment except for Master volumne, which I saw no need for. It was set up with matched JJ EL84s and a good set of 12AX7s. This is an older version of the amp with the Carvin=branded 12" speaker.

The amp provides a huge range of tones. On gigs, I set up the clean channel for my Taylor T5 acoustic, going through a Boss compressor, with volume at 3, the tones set a little heavy on bass and flat on mid and treble. The dirty channel is set with the soak (gain) on 6, the volume on 2, bass rolled off to 3, with mid and high flat (5).
At those volume levels, the amp is loud enough on a club stage for the guys at the other end to hear it. We did a big concert last week, and I had to set the volume to 3. Here's the punchline: I've been playing this amp with two EL84s pulled, effectively reducing the wattage from 50 to 25. Now, I play in a 7-piece band and we mic everything, so I don't need stacks of volume...but I do need great rock and rock tone and this thing delivers better than any amp I've ever played.
The clean channel is super clean and I love using the tube-driven Accusonic tank reverb. It's the best portable reverb onthe market and one of the many things that makes the Nomad/Belair line a tremendous bargain.
The distortion is very melodic and tunable. Becouse I play ni a cover band, I go for a lot of different flavors. The natural power tube and speaker distortion is kind of bluesy. If you crank up the optional (hasserl mod) Attitude knob in the back, you start to get Marshall-esge recto sounds. I also, augment those tones with Bad Monkee and Nobel distortion pedals for some of the more modern-rock sounds.
The amp really chimes with Chorus, and because of the 5 12AX7s, I never feel any need to add compression to my solos. I only use the comp pedal to keep the gain on the acoustic and to add that Rick sound to my electric 12-string.
The only noise issue I've had is a mystery rattle (reverb spring?) which we heard at low volumes during recording.
BTW: My main gig guitars are a vintage 335, an EBMM Axis and Parker PM20, so I'm feeding the Nomad a steady diet of hot humbuckers. You'll have to ask someone else how this thing sounds with single-coils.

So far, it's been a tank. I do carry spare tubes and fuses, but have never needed them.

Never had to deal with them. If it aint broke, don't call.

Been playing 30+ years. Have previously owned and used a '65 Super Reverb, several Princetons and G-Ks, and a McIntosh 75 driven by a tube pre. I also record with a lot of other amps, as well as direct via Sansamp, Pod, etc. If lost or stolen, I would have to replace the Nomad immediately. In fact, I'm thinking of buying a couple just for backup and as investments. These things are the best value in amps. I can't understand why people are spending 2-3 grand for amps that are so similar.

The Soak feature is the best on the Nomad 112. It allows over all volume to be regulated with one nob, as well as presence, and gain.

There is plenty of power to play against even Marshall half stacks.

The Carvin Nomad combo speakers are butter smooth with a fuller sound than the Marshall JCM 800 Combo. Though Marshall combo has better high end for lead.

I play a Fender Metal Strat as well as a Rickenbacker 360 12 simulaneously through three amps including two Marshall 1912's, utilizing a Marshall JCM 2000 with Legion 412 for bass effects. All three amps are plugged in through a splitter cable and routed through two Line 6 pods.

The Carvin Nomad 112 combo with two Carvin 12's fill in very nicely between the Marshall JCM 800 and JCM 2000 half stack.

The Byrds, the Who, Beatles, Led Zepplin, Hendrix, and other vintage sounds fit in with the Carvin. It is a good all around amp combo.

I've been playing for 38 years and have two Taylors 6 and 12 string acoustics as well as electric gear in the Metal Strat and Rick 12. The Marshall JCM 800 combo is the best amp I have ever played and the Marshall JCM 2000 half stack is a close second. I also utilize a Peavey TNT bass amp for bass and also a Peavey solid state keyboard amp. The Peaveys are good for a cold hard sound, but they are solid state. Tubes are still the ultimate in warm sounds and the Carvin is the warmest sounding tube amp I have.

If the Carvin was stolen, I would replace it. The sound is uniquely smooth and full. It is not a Marshall, though it is a tube amp of the highest quality. What it lacks in high end it makes up for in an overall fat sound that is very warm.

The Carvin Nomad doesn't have a lot of features that I use. I just like the one setting in clean sound. For crunch and metal this is not the amp for you. But if you like a vintage 60's to 70's sound that is in some ways better in a fat, full sound than Fender and Marshall, this is the amp combo for you. In the early days I played lead and rhythem on a Fender Bassman, pre-CBS.

I Chose the Carvin for its size and portability, though it is heavy for such a small amp. I port the Carvin Nomad 112 through a 4X12 Carvin half stack with Celestions to round out the sound.

What the Carvin lacks is the high end tone and character of a Marshall JCM 800. But there aren't any other amps to compare to the
Marshall JCM 800. However, the Carvin Nomad comes pretty close.