Carvin 112-Nomad

2 Channel Combo amp, 1 12" speaker (Carvin VL12 100 w.) Spring Reverb, effects loop, line out and impedence selector. 3 band eq on each channel, with a "presense" control on channel one, and a "soak" (gain) on channel 2. Footswitchable, and like many previous posts, I agree the addtion of a light would have been nice. Nice tweed covering.
I use this amp for both recording and live performance. Rated at 50 watts, it is amazingly loud for it's small size and weight.

My primary guitar is a '62 Strat RI w/ OC Duff handwound pick-ups. (Those p'ups are killer, btw!)I also use a variety of strats and teles.

I play country, rock and blues. I gig out 3-4 times a week and do local commercial and studio work. This amp is versatile and provides a contrasting voice to my Hot Rod Deluxe, which is my other "gigging" amp.

I have read many opinions here that the "clean" channel is the strong one, and the "dirty" channel weak, but I find just the opposite true. Not that I don't dig chnl 1, (up at 6+ it really does take on some Vox-like shimmer) but I LOVE the 2nd channel. The key I think is to take the volume knob way up, and bring up the actual amp volume up with the "soak" control. By the time you hit "3" You will get a great, tight clean tone right on the edge of breaking up at a righteous club volume. Noisy? Yes, but I am using this type of setting with a loud 4, 5 and 6 piece band, and the noise is lost in the live mix. For a more saturated gain I hit the front end with a TS-9.

I am not a metal player, but I doubt if this would be the amp for you if you are. I do not care for the fuzzed out sound of the soak control when turned above 6 or 7, but as detailed above, I don't configure it like that. This looks and sounds like it is marketed: a vintage sounding tweed combo.

Had this amp for 6 months. No problems after months of bumping around to gig to gig. Footswitch internal wire broke quickly, and I chose to do the solder repair myself. No problem, nothing to the switch, really.

Haven't dealt with Carvin yet, but have read many mixed things in this forum.

I have been playing both profesionally and semi-profesionally for over 20 years. Amp wise, I also use a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.

This is a great value for the price, and has some very happening tones! I really like it as a compliment to my fender (running in stereo), but have used it as a stand alone many times.

I considered just getting a 2nd Hot Rod deluxe, but am glad I went with the Nomad 112. Small, lightweight, loud, and tonefull.

Just Don't expect it to be a Fender, or Marshall or Matchless or whathaveyou and I think you'll really like this amp. It has it's own unique voice - check it out!

Same as in other reviews: 2 channels one clean one soak (tube overdrive); Effects loop; Reverb; Very loud.

Received late on 4th day of paid 3 day delivery. Plugged it in and played it that night for a couple of hours; next morning (Saturday) played for an hour or so; put the amp on stand-by; called my partner and read all the specs of the amp to him; went back in, turned the stand by off and my brand new late one day great sounding amp was dead!!!!!!

I must have caught them on bad days. When I complained on the fourth day of a paid 3 day delivery, I was told rather coldly that they do not guarantee it to be delivered in 3 days. I wanted my $40.00 back. In my mind, 3 days is 3 days. When I called them on Sat. and told them that my amp had died after only 3-4 hours of play, the person I spoke to was very nice and appologized, stating that I would have to call on Monday to speak to a service rep. I understand that these amps are made using different components which are tested and sometimes you get a lemon. It happens. (It happened once before with a carvin power amp, I sent it back, it was repaired and I still use it 12 years later, never to have a problem with it again.) When I called on monday I was eventually channeled to service/returns. I told him the problem....one transformer was warm, the other ice cold. I was immediately made to feel like an incompetent boob..."that's an ohm transformer which doesn't carry much out put". OK! I was told if I wanted to send the amp back it would be via UPS and they would come there in a couple of days. I explained what happened with the delivery (3 days were 4 days) and was told well that's sales' problem and I'm in returns. By the time I got off the phone with Carl, I would have liked to....well, never mind. Just know this....Carvin needs to have some internal customer relations training for its employees. By the way, UPS came the next day instead of a couple of days.

I've played for 40yrs. Main amp Peavy Clasic 4x10 and Roland JC 120. Practice amp, old Gibson BR-9. Gear 2112; Symetrics compressors; Rev-7; Roland GP8; Boss DR 770; plus many other toys. In fairness to Carvin, I've purchased equiptment from them in the past and had good success. The Nomad is a very loud clean sounding tube amp; the overdrive is so-so but that is a mater of taste.

This was bought new in September of 2003. I was looking a combo amp that was a single 12 tube amp with at least 2 channels. It also has an effects loop and cabinet voiced line out. The 4 EL84's are rated at 50 watts rms and there are 5 12ax7's in the preamp. I am always miked so the total output is not that important to me because I use the amp for more as a referencemonitor than anything else, however at 50 watts this amp will get loud. It has a impedence selector switch on the back that allows you to use different speaker/cabinet combinations. I think a this amp with a 4-12 cabinet would really rock. I wish Carvin made a head version. I play a variety of music from country,jazz,top40, adult contemporary, blues and rock. It's very good on just about everything I do with the exception of very heavy alternative or industrial stuff. The EL84's and a single 12 just can't deal with the bottom that stuff demands without getting mushy and cluttered. The clean channel is very nice and has a fender feel to it, but there are times it reminds me of my old MesaBoogie DC3
The only real complaint I have about the amp is the fact the tubes are mounted on the circuit board instead of the chassis. It hasn't been a problem yet but in the past amps built this way seem to have a problem with microphonic resonance form the tubes at higher volumes. It would also have been nice to see some leds on the foot switch to help with the switching but then again if you can't hear what channel your on then you may other problems not related to the amp.

I really use just one guitar most of the time, which is a Fender Showmaster SSH Custom. It has fender noiseles single coil pickups and a Seymour Duncan Trembucker in the bridge. I run a Tech 21 Comptortion, Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive, Ibanez Ts9 Turbo Tube Screamer,a Tech 21 TriAmp and a Vox Crybaby in that order on the front end. I use a Boss GEQ 7, a Boss Super Chorus, a Boss Chorus Ensemble, a Boss DD3 Digital Delay and a Boss DD5 Digital Delay in that order throught the effects loop. I find this to be the best way for me to get the tones that i Want and while it may not work for some it works for me.
I also have a Bedrock 1000 series 212 combo, an Ampeg VT-40, A Sundown 1012c and an old Peavey Bandit 65 I've had for so long I can't remeber when I got it.
The Carvin holds it own against all these amps. It does some things better and some things not as well but over is a very nice addition to my stable. The gain channel will get very nasty if you try to push the pre level up past 5 or so. I find that 3 to 3.5 and a quality overdrive pedal really sets that channel free. I particularly like the way this channel respond with the Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive. Again a great amp for just about everything except really heavy grinds. The gain channel really does not respond well to extreme levels of distortion. The clean channel is very nice and with the acoustic presence control in the back it gets very chimey and glassy. It can almost get too bright if your not careful. The clean channel will gain some at really high levels but I really haven't played that way much.

I haven't owned the amp long enough to give much of opinion here. We do use a lot of Carvin pa equipment and that stuff is extremely durable. So I am hoping the amp lives up to my expectations there.

Carvin has always been very professional and straight forward with me.
I have nothing but good to say about them.

I have been playing for 36 years and used so amny amps I can't remember them all. This amp is exactly what I bought it for. A small amp that's easy to carry. It sounds great and I would replace if it were stolen. I couldn't disagree more with Mr. Ralpher's review on this amp. This amp is a quality piece of equipment.

I got the amp in 2002, so I'm assuming it's a 2002 model...

This is a 50 watt all tube amp.
Tubes: four EL84, five 12AX7A

This amp has a clean channel and a "dirty" channel(more on that later) each with it's own EQ and a main reverb knob.

It has a line out for using cabinents or other amps, it also has an effects loop line.

The amp itself looks very nice, it has a tweed cover and nice knobs and lights.

It also comes with a footswitch for free.

I'm using a Mexican Stratocaster with this amp and it gets a very good vintage tone. This amp is great if you like classic rock, or if you like playing with a mainly clean sound.

The dirty channel on mine is not good because the tubes rattle when I use it, I know it's not this way on all amps, but mine had this defect. The dirty channel can give you a nice blues/rock tone.

I use this amp for metal(with the aid of my Ibanez DS-7 Pedal), I also use it for jazz, blues, rock and pretty much anything. It has a great sound and gives me good tone. You might need to replace the tubes, but for the price it's an amazing deal.

This amp is very good and I would depend on my clean channel.

The dirty channel is another story, the tubes rattle and makes lots of buzzing sounds. I am planning on having that fixed, or the tubes replaced.

You can gig with this amp just don't throw it around, because you don't want to break a tube.

It comes with a 1 year warranty and I called Carvin to ask about the tube rattling. They just told me that happens in shipping alot then said they had to go. I'm going to call them back and see what they can do about it. The customer service person was helpful but, they couldn't do that much for me.

The amp has a couple of defects that can be easily fixed. I would recommend this amp for people who want a vintage sound.

I like it, and I hope you will too.

THIS IS A NEW AM SINCE I PLAY ALOT F COUNTRY AND BLUES/JAZZ IT WORKS QUITE WELL (I ALSO USE A ROUTE66 COMPRESSOR FOR THE COUNTRY AND A DADDYO FOR OD ..PLAY OUT OF CLEAN CHANNEL ON ABOUT 3 WHICH IS PLENTY WITH THE 66 BOOST IT HAS CHANNEL SWITCHING AND THE OD IS VERY GOOD BUT NOT QUITE LOUD ENOUGH THE CLEAN CHANNEL IS PRISTINE AND VERY DEFINED

I USE MY TELE THINLINE WITH THE PEDALS I MENTIONED I CAN GET THAT DANNY GATTON THING AND ALSO A GREAT ROY BUCHANNON TYPE BLUES BITE IT GETS A BIT NOISY WITH MY COMPRESSOR AND MY DADDY0 ON BUT IN A LIVE SITUATION ITS NOT A PROBLEM IN STUDIO I TWEAK IT A BIT DIFFERENTY THE AMP DISTORTION IS BETTER SUITED FOR THE STUDIO I THINK IT CAN DEFINATELY ROCK AND HAS A NICE COMPRESSED KIND OF SUSTAIN THAT IS RARE IN A SAMLL COMBO VERY SWEET ..

I HAVE HAD IT FOR QUITE AWHILE I DO ALOT OF STUDIO WORK AND ALSO ROAD WORK AND IT HAS BEEN FINE ..I CARRY NO BACKUP ..WHEN I FIRST GOT IT THE OD CHANNEL WAS NOT KICKING LIKE IT SHOULD I TOOK IT BACK THE SAME DAY AND THEY GAVE ME A BRAND NEW ONE ..THE PEOPLE AT CARVIN ARE VERY PROFESSIONAL AND EASY TO WORK WITH

SEE THE PREVIOUS PARAGRAPH

I HAVE A HOT ROD DELUXE AND A ROLAND BLUES CUBE A CRUISE CUSTOM TELE AND A FENDER THINLINE A STRAT AND A DAN ELECTRO I HAVE BEEN PLAYING ABOUT 35 YEARS I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN NO QUESTION I LOVE THE SIZE AND THE WARMTH OF THE AMP ALSO THER ARE MANY SWEET SPOTS IF YOU ARE WILLING TO TAKE A FEW HRS AND SCOPE THEM OUT .I PLAYED SOME OTHER CARVINS AND SOME MODLING AMPS BUT THIS HAD THAT NICE CLEAN PUNCH I NEED AND I ALSO REALLY LIKED THE OD I WOULD LIKE THE FOOTSWITCH TO HAVE LIGHTS BUT THATS REALLY NITPICKING HERE ..IF YOU PLAY JAZZ BLUES ROCK ANYTHING BUT METAL ..CHECK THIS OUT YOU WILL DIG IT IT I AM SURE

Made in '03. Good versatility with the switching channels. I received it Thursday and played a gig with it on Friday night. I didn't take any spares and it worked fine.

I'm using aTele with Kinman avn48 pickups. I play mostly blues and jazz and some 60s motown. It's 50 watts through EL-84s seems to be plenty loud. The clean channel is very clean but can be a little tricky finding the sweet spot on the treble control. With the Carvin speaker it can get a little spikey. I had no problem getting jazzy tones and pop tones. The distortion channel has a good sound and the tone pots have a lot of travel. However the distortion channel is not very transparent somewhat masking the guitars more subtle tones. It is quite usuable. I don't care for the speaker though. It's rather harsh and lacks the very top end. I put a Kendrick black frame in it with a significant improvement but with a cut in overall volume. I'm going to try an Altec and an EV also. I think this is an amp that can benefit from tweaking.

No problems yet.

No problems yet.

For a $500 amp it's amazing. Like I said earlier I think it would benefit from some tweaking. If anyone has some ideas, other than the obvious switching tubes, please let me know. One thing I don't like is the naked reverb tank. I'll put it in a bag pretty soon. I don't really see how you could get more for less. I'll give it a 10 on that basis. I think my search will continue. The boutique amps will have more sparkle on top and I'll keep looking for an amp that can do it all. I'll probably end up with a Bad Cat or wait until Sonic Music Factory makes a 30 watt amp.

My amp is a Vintage Tube 50 watt Nomad 1x12 and was direct shipped from Carvin in fall 2002. The Nomad is very simple, straightforward tube (12AX7/EL-84) amp with two channels, footswitch-driven channel switching and reverb, and basic tone controls. It has an effects loop, but I don?t use it. Full documentation is available via PDF at Carvin?s website.

I chose this amp because it is tube-powered, small, relatively light, dual channel/foot switchable, very competitively priced for a tube amp, and has an external speaker jack that is adjustable to 4, 8, or 16 ohms to allow use of external speaker cabinets. I previously had a 2x12 solid-state amp and wanted better sound and more portability/less weight. I was also specifically interested in the EL84 tube sound.

I play primarily at home and occasionally with friends. I have played in an amateur band in the past and have played live numerous times. I play mostly 80s and 90s rock, although I occasionally accompany my wife on much quieter, vocal music.

I have a 1989 Fender Stratocaster Plus Deluxe with lace sensors and a Seymour Duncan Hotrails in the bridge position. I also have a 2002 Carvin DC-150, which was ordered along with the amp. (BTW, it is a great guitar.) I run both guitars directly into a Digitech RP-7 and then into the Nomad?s input (no effects loop).

At 50 watts, this amp is ***plenty*** loud for practice and gigs in small venues and would handle larger ones with a speaker cabinet or mic?ed up. Channel 1 is very quiet; channel 2 is noisy when turned up.

I have never owned a tube amp before, and cost was an object. After doing a great deal of research, I went with the Carvin based on its specs, the reviews on Harmony Central, and the price. My initial goal was to discontinue using the RP-7 for overdrive/distortion sounds and just go with the amp. As demonstrated by this site, tastes in sound are very subjective and personal. With that being said?

Like virtually everyone else who has rated the Nomad on this site, I think the clean channel is fantastic. I haven?t played every legendary tube amp there is, so I will just say that after playing through a solid-state, I would never want to go back. The sound is musical, responsive, and versatile. It is can go from clear and crystalline with twang on the Strat to warm with just a slight amount of breakup on the DC-150 -- truly exceptional.

Unfortunately, like a few other reviewers here, I found the overdrive/soak channel to be disappointing. It seems muffled, muddy, and inarticulate ? very bassy and dark and lacking the edge and attack that I personally enjoy. The distortion also gets very buzzy above about 5 (out of 10). Overall, playing through channel two feels like the sound is coming from the bottom of a well, regardless of the guitar or equalizer/tone settings used. I have read a great deal about changing tubes on this site but have not yet experimented with tube replacement.

As points of reference, if you like the guitar sounds on ZZTop?s Tush or Def Leppard?s Rock, Rock (till You Drop) or Rush?s Big Money, don?t expect to find them here -- at least, not as it is tubed from the factory. (In fairness, this is billed as a vintage amp, and it may be unrealistic to think it is intended for sounds like these.)

The good news is that ? out of frustration ? I threw the RP-7 back into the mix and love the sounds I now get from it in combination with channel 1. The RP-7 has a single 12AX7 tube in it, in addition to multiple effects. I had expected the Carvin to blow it away in terms of overdrive sounds, and I know the tube purists out there are probably having a heart attack right about now, but the combination of channel one and the RP-7 sounds great to me. It is highly flexible in terms of distortion sounds, going from tube-based to digital distortions. And, as an added bonus, I can also program and save settings and completely switch sounds on the fly with a single foot pedal -- no knob twisting required. This has been especially helpful for quickly changing equalizer settings between my two guitars.

I now just use channel one and rely on the RP-7 for everything else. I leave all of the Nomad?s tone controls at 12 o?clock and use the RP-7?s equalizer and reverb. Via this approach, the clean sounds are just as great as ever, but the overdrive is completely different. I can easily achieve all of the levels of distortion available via the Carvin?s soak, but I now get more bite, articulation, and edge.

Given all of this, you could reasonably ask why I even use the Carvin at this point. The answer is simple: the responsiveness and feel on channel 1. The sound is totally different than the combination of RP-7 and solid-state amp. The clean channel is ***way*** better than

So far, no problems. The amp seems very well made. If playing live, I would always want to keep a spare set of tubes with me and would probably like to have a backup amp, given that it is tube-based.

Excellent. Carvin is very good to work with and always willing to answer questions.

I have been playing guitar for 15 years. Overall, I am happy with the sound I am getting now but disappointed in channel 2 as noted. I also looked at a Mesa Nomad 45 1x12, but at 50 percent of the cost I decided to try the Carvin. To my ear and tastes, the Mesa has much better, more versatile overdrive/distortion sounds. Prospectively, I would take a much closer look at the Mesa Nomad if I replaced the Carvin. Still, I think the flexibility and versatility of the RP-7 combined with the clean channel on the Carvin are hard to beat for the price.

This is a brand new Carvin Nomad 1x12 50 watt combo. It is ideal for the music I play which is blues and classic rock. It has two channels clean/overdrive and comes complete with a channel switching and reverb on/off pedal. It also has an effects loop, speaker out and a cabinet voiced line out jack on the rear of the amp. It has 4 EL-84 power tubes and 5 12AX7 preamp tubes. It is a very simple amp but that's what I like about it. I have already used this amp for several shows (we play out 4-5 days per week) and it has brought the house down! I have also already done some recording with it and it is working out absolutely wonderful for both. At 50 watts it is plenty for me and we usually play fairly loud. Volume controls have stayed around 4 or 5 for all the shows we've done so far. It's all tube and how sweet it is.

I am using Fender Stratocasters (USA only) loaded with Dimarzio HS-2 pickups in the middle and neck position and a Dimarzio HS-3 in the bridge position. For playing the music I play it is the perfect amp for me. The clean channel is pristine, no noise at all and the overdrive channel starts to get some noise after turning the soak control past 7 (it goes to 10 of course) which is fine because I never turn the soak above 3 anyways. This gives it a very warm bluesy sound. If I need more grit I have Fulltone effects to add any extra that I need. Let's face it, it's all about tone and this amp has the richest most musical tone of any amp I've ever played! I've had the Hughes and Kettner Triamp, Hiwatt Custom 50's, Marshall Plexi's, Marshall DSL-401, Fender Blues Devilles and the Carvin X-100B but I like this amp better than any of them. The clean channel stays clean all the way up but will begin to growl at you after you pass 7, it's very nice and the distortion if cranked all the way to 10 is more than you'd think but like I said I like it best around 3.

I've only had the amp about a month but I used other Carvin amps for over 16 years and I'm not worried in the least about it breaking down. YES, I would use it without back-up, however I'm getting ready to order another one to keep around the house for my home studio too.

Carvin has been very helpful and very knowledgable about their equipment over the years. I've only good things to say about Carvin. They've been great. The amp comes with a one year warrenty but I know I'll never have to use it, I haven't yet in the past 16 years and that includes pro audio systems and guitar amps.

I've been playing guitar for over 20 years and as I said above will be buying another Nomad within the next month or two. This is an incredible little and I mean little (it's smaller than it looks in the pics) amp. I love the tone!!! I never buy anything without first looking around for the best product out there for my own personal needs. I wanted a combo that gave me tone and after trying out a multitude of amps (Mesa Boogie, Marshall, Matchless, Hiwatt, Bogner and Fender to name just a few, all of which were nice) I tried the Nomad and I liked it best, easily hands down. Money is never an object with me and my equipment, only the sound. The fact that the Nomad costed less than all the others was simply a nice added extra.

Made in 2003. The clean sound is very clean at a high volume like a dual showman almost. Very nice overdrive that is actually usable.
It has a slight operating hum. I used it at a concert recently and it was as good or better in that situation than a Mesa or a Fender. I've had them all in the past.

I use a strat with Joe Barden pickups and play everthing from jazz to surf.
Has a low operating hum. Some people don't like the reverb but it sounds great especially on a large stage.
I like the distortion it really cranks.

No problems.

Don't know. Ordered on internet.

I've played for 30 years. I'm a music director for a prominent songwriter. I like the amp. I have a Vintage princeton that sounds better but has less power and the Nomad does the job well.
Outstanding value. It amazing that you can use a $500 amp for real performances and its right up there with the so called great amps.

The features in this amp are very good. It has everthing needed to get a good alround tone. The footswitch would be better if it had light on it.

Firstly I would like to respond to Nate Ralpher's review on this product. Has this guy heard a Matchless amp. They do not seem to agree that el84 tubes do not produce vintage tones. Instead of the changes to the amp he suggests, I think he would be better spending his cash on new ears. Has this guy some hearing defect or what. This is a very tasty amp. The clean sounds are very good with good tonal variation options available. I think for the cost of this amp, the reverb is superb. The overdrive has a great sound also but I do not think it needs all the gain that is available. I agree with Nate on the issue of mounting valves on the pcb board (very unwise).
This amp will kick the butt of many amps that cost twice as much. I have read other reviewers complaining about the valves fitted to the amp are poor quality. I have owned Boogie's, Fender's and other top brands and beleive you me, if anyone out there thinks these amps are shipped with high quality valves, then they are mistaken. A lot of Groove Tubes valves are Chinese, which are VERY bad and I find Boogie valves some of the poorest I have had.
Fair play to carvin, good job good amp.

Never let me down yet

Never needed to deal with them.