Carvin 112-Nomad

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.

The Nomad is a 50 watt, all tube, 1X12, channel switching, vintage style amplifier. It has an effects loop and nice sounding direct out.
As for other features, it's got an on switch and input. What more do you really need.

This amp is great!
I bought this amp off ebay to fill the void selling my DR Z MAZ Jr caused (I only sold that because of a divorce). In all honesty, I wasn't expecting too much. I just wanted a small tube amp that I could practice with and not have to lug my Marshall in and out of the house. It cost me $300.00 plus shipping so I thought I wouldn't regret it much. I am now running the amp through a 4X12 cabinet (I could help myself) and using a strat with joe bardens. I've never used an amp that can be controled so well with just the guitar volume. I stay on channel 2 and just use the volume to clean it up. It reminds me of cross between early Neil Young and Malcome Young's tone. I read the other reveiws before I bought this and I must say that I disagree with many of them. Channel 2 rocks, makes playing fun, and it's VERY easy to find many great tones. I do feel that this amplifier responds better to single coils than humbuckers. The Barden's were made for it. I've been playing hard rock for 30 years, have owned countless amps, and have no problem saying that this is a very nice amplifier.

No worries so far.

I haven't had to deal with customer support.

Mine was new in 2001.
It does everything but "nu".
2ch, footswitch, tube/spring reverb. Good enough for me (but wish it had tremolo). It does bars, studios, and home just fine. for larger venues, it can be miked... all the usuals, 4xEL84's, 5x12AX7's. I have only recently needed retubing, and will replace the originals with Ruby's. Unlike other reviews, mine came straight from the factory with quality American tubes, and they've lasted me many live and studio gigs. Mine has the original non-Celestion Carvin speaker, the one Joe Walsh likes, and it sounds killer with every use.

I use an original George Washburn HB-35, and 2 Carvin Bolt-T's that I've custom ordered and done the builds on myself (one friend did paint one of them). I've also played several other guitars through this amp, including Fenders & Ibanez's. I play many roots and contemporary styles, both as a performer (blues, swing, roots, bebop, country, funk, etc) and as an educator (all jazz but the most abstract: also metal, "classic" rock, and all the others I've already mentioned). The clean channel warms up nicely between 6 and 9 for Texas and Chicago blues styles, as well as NY Funk and Miami Latin. It always cleans up super nice when I roll off on the guitar. The distortion channel can be incredibly brutal but retain a distinctive note-to-note clarity, especially for shred or fusion soloing, yet be phatt enough to produce a Carlos or Larry C. tone on command. I don't augment/diminish the tone with stompers, it comes from my hands/etc. I still don't get the "need" for built-in bedroom efx, or "scoop-tone": if a player's technique is adequate enough, the desired sound occurs at will WITHOUT additional processing.

I've never suffered a real breakdown with this amp. I played a clinic gig at a local music school with it once where it (for whatever reason) was incredibly sensitive to the power buffering of the local line voltage, and gave forth a couple strange little sounds. It was them, not the amp. As I previously mentioned, it now needs to be retubed: c'mon, that's never the amp! I only mention this because I feel the need to comment on other tube amp posts on this forum where users complain about tube replacement. C'mon, dudes, tubes wear out! It's not the amp that causes wear and tear on the tubes, but sometimes potentially vice-versa! Be nice to your amps, and they'll treat you much better...!!!

Carvin has always treated me well. I've previously owened one of their vintage basses, as well as a 212 BelAir combo, and currently own 2 Bolt-T "strats" and the 112 Nomad I'm speaking of. No repairs necessary, EVER. Warranty unnecessary, PERIOD. Like I said, I've had this gear a long time and have needed no repair or warranty service at all. WAY TO GO, CARVIN!!!

Been playin' guit-box since dirt was invented. As well as the guitars mentioned above, I have an old Peavey Bandit 112 amp (highly abused and repaired) that I use for backup and the occaisional & extremely rare "don't wanna tube-amp" gig, & also a Fender StratAcoustic that's great for non- electric swing/country/blues gigs.
If someone were to steal this amp, it would be a miracle if I didn't hunt them down and kill them in their own kitchen. I can't lose it, as I value my gear more than my car, as much as my own body (it's a part of me), and second only to my Lady in all practicality. Can't do the job without my Tools!!! I've compared this amp to Fender, Boogie, Crate, Marshall, and Peavey, and find them all lacking. Way To Go, Carvin! The only amps I like as much as Carvin are Ampeg Diamond Lead, and that's for the sounds I love that this one doesn't get: there's a big difference between EL84's & 6L6's. If I could have any additions, it would be a rotary presence control on the Lead channel, and a tube Tremolo curcuit (footswitchable).

The only thing else I can share is that (as I said above!) I find it very hard to accept the increasing amount of "players" that want instant, bang-for-the-f**k gratification from their musical equipment purchases. I come from a time/place when a person decided for a Strat, or a Paul, or a Tele, or an SG, or Whatever, and then 'shedded for enough years to get their sound/touch/etc. from the instrument of choice, rather than expecting everything to be a "band-in-a-box" type of "drive through the burger window and order from the menu" gear option. I've been playing for 46 years, gig all the time, teach 20+ lessons weekly, and am actually happy doing it. The work pays off: slackin' don't. If you can't get "your" sound out of your gear, perhaps it's time to refine your most important musical instrument, YOUR SELF!!!
Peace, out.

2 channel,50 watts Tube,12 inch speaker.
Clean w/3 band EQ, dirty w/gain and 3 band EQ, Reverb
Effetcs loop,Presence knob(useless-not much change in sound). Footswitchable channels and reverb. Line out.

I bought this used and Unmodified from factory except for two preamp tubes swithced with Groove Tubes.
It has the 100 watt speaker that everybody is swithcing out, I might do that when I can afford it.
This Amp looks small but is pretty freakin loud. It has no problem pushing a 4 speaker cab.
My roomates marshall has seperate reverb for each channel. That would be nice for any amp.

I haven't been playing guitar for very long.I play Rockabilly/Psychobilly,Punk, and a lil surf. I listen to a $%^&load music. So I know what sounds I'm after for the genres I'm playing.

I play a Squier Standard Tele,Oscar Schmidt OE30,Teisco EP-90T and a ET-210. I use a BOSS OD-20 for distortion,and a Rocktron Short timer for delay.

This is my first tube amp so I was expecting to sound like Dick Dale and Scotty Moore right off the bat. In reality I was just hoping for sounds that where in the right ballpark but flexible enough to make my own.
The sound has been described on the other reveiws so, I will just say that the Clean wasn't as bright as I would like it for rocking twang. It did sound pretty old school,especially with my delay pedal.
THEN THERES THE DIRTY CHANNEL! The distortion is basically a crappy pedal stuck in your amp. I play punk and I think it sounds like $%^&. There's no way you could ever call that tube overdrive.
So I did the mods posted on here.It took like an hour(max) to do it. I removed the diodes and modfied the tone stack. I didn't do the cap job because I don't want a thicker tone.
Well The amp is fixed! Real overdrive for my rockabilly! No more outrageous mids either.
So it will get a low rating cuz stock sucks.

Haven't owned it enough to know about reliability. It will probably last me a long time cuz I just play in my bedroom. It seems to built pretty well though. Nothing broke or looked flimsy when I took it apart.

Used so no warranty. But Carvin's website has a manual PDF avaiable.
So that's cool.

Overall for me this was a cool experience. I found a CHEAP tube amp. It looks nice and is built well.
It's to loud to play in my room, and the distortion is $%^&.
If your not the type of person that opens things up and changes them than buy another amp. If you customize everything and are'nt afraid to &^%$ things up for a good cause. Get this amp, especially if you can get it used. I had fun opening it up. I will enjoy my new sound.

If it got stolen I would probably try out the Traynor YCV-20wr It's features are appealing and it's 15 watts which is what I want.

50 watt, 4 x EL84 tubes, 5 x 12AX tubes, two channels, footswitch, cheesy fake tweed, line out.

Wow no lows, no highs, lots of mid!!!!

EL84 just don't last lond in this amp. Carry a spare set.

No problem, but sometimes some of the Carvin guys seem to attempt to speak down to you as if they are all knowing.

Lots of mids, EL84 don't stand up well, using a 12DW7 in V1 and a 12AT7 in V2 makes a big difference worth doing. I even tried the Hasserl mods. I liked the amp on paper, but it just didn't suit my tastes. No matter what, the "soak" sounded bad with or without the dioes and a lot of mids! I even tried modifying the tine stack. All well.

It has all I need. 2 Channels. Obviously, 1 clean and 1 not clean. Get the footswitch! You can change channels and you can turn on the reverb with the other switch or run the effects loop. I don't need or like on board effects. Usually they don't sound as good as getting some boxes and I'll decide what I want.

The clean is very nice and the distortion is pretty good. I mostly play clean. I haven't gone past 4 on the volume. Haven't needed to. This sucker will rip your face off! The loudest 50watt amp I've ever heard.
I have an Ibanez Jet King 2 with a Pearly Gates in the bridge and '59 in the neck. A 72 strat with the Dimarzio heavy blues virtual vintage's, and an Artcore AG85 with a JB.
All sound sweet.

don't know yet. Hope so. Just got a used one.

Again unsure.

I've been playing for 25 years. I play blues, classic rock, and classical.
I would replace it if stolen. After I found the guy/gal who did it and kicked their F$&%ing A@#!
I compared it to the Blues JR, Palamino, VOX Valvtronix, and Kustom 36.

I would have bought the Kustom if I hadn't had found this one. The reverb on the Kustom is killer. The best I've heard. and you can adjust the tone of it.