Carvin 112-Nomad

Basic 2 channel tube amp. Seperate eq per channel. Gain (Soak) on ch 2, effects loop. Presence control on back for ch 1 . line out, footswitch for channel select and reverb toggle. Light- 40 #, Compact and pretty.

I bought this amp used with Hasserl mods (Clipping diode removal, and tone stack mod on soak channel) and a Texas Heat speaker, so I cant rate the stock tone, but the tone as I got it is perfect for the small club work I do (Country and Oldies band). When I first tried amp at home, I thought it might be too mid-rangey, but it sounded perfect with the band. Very well defined in the general mix from where I stood. Many favorable comments. I used a 50th Anniversary strat, and an Ibanez SZ360 (2 Duncan HB's). Both sounded good. This amp delivers a real tube feel, and inspires your best playing.
The clean channel has a characteristic I feel Carvin should emphasize. Withe the bass control at 6 and below, clean channel has a mid rangey quality (good for rock). Kind of woody or barky. Set the bass at 7 or above, and this seems to roll off mid rangyness,in favor of a smooth round(and bassier) sound, more like vintage Fender.
Very usefull for ballads, abd Jazz. This was a bonus I didnt expect.
I can see that this amp may not be suited for very loud rock, or Metal, but distortion sounds great to my old ears with my Boss ME70.

Not enough time to judge

Have not contacted.

This is the best gigging amp I have used yet(30 years gigging), and Ive owned a fair amount. This replaced a Traynor YCV40, Which performed well, but felt a little lacking in the sound quality I was looking for. I have used Fenders(Twin, Blues Jr, Cyber Deluxe, Super Champ (XD), and Vox AD50VT, and Roland Cube 60, Legend Rock & Roll 50, and probably some others. TheCube 60 is the best solid state I've used, but doesnt quite have that nice tube feel.
I would definitely get again if neccesary.
While shopping, I tried Vox AC15 and 30, Fender Super Sonic, DrZ Maz 18, Budda, Bogner, and Egnater. I think I could have been happy with any of those. They all sounded good, But the Carvin offered the best mix of features, sound, and Price (far cheaper than any others I tried)

Purchased new in 2009. I had read all the flap about the nomad and it "Muddy" problem. I figured with all the harping about the muddled sound in overdrive, Carvin would have done something about it. Never ASSUME anything! They still have the SOS with the new ones. So, I had a new Eminence Legend speaker laying around, so I popped it in. Amazing difference already! Then, I did some reading and thought I would change a tube or two. A matched set of JJs in the power section helped a little more. Then, I decided to go a little deeper into this madness. Replaced the Pre-amp tubes with JJs, too. A little snarly! Took out #1 and put the Solvek Groove Tube back in. I think I love it now. You shouldn't have to experiment with a NEW amp, but I am very pleased with the result. Every player has a sound they are looking for and I found it.

I play Contemporary Praise and Worship music. Some of it rocks, so I need to blow it out now & then. After the mods, I can get most every sound I want with a little knob tweaking. I used a Godin Solidac, a couple of Telecasters, a C-1 Schecter, and a modded Aria with 3 gray bottom overwound single coils. All team up well with the Nomad, except for a slight buzz from the pickups on the Aria. That is the guitars' problem, I'm sure. I can get "chimy" on the clean side and "gritty" with class on the O.D. side. The "soak" feature usually serves best at about 50% with the changes. Just enough distortion to stand out. Any more than that and it starts to "MUD-UP" again. I never turn up above 3 or 4, so I have all the power I can use at my disposal.

New - Don't Have An Opinion.

Haven't had to deal with them.

I have been playing for 35+ years. You're never too old to rock and roll - don't ever stop!! There is always a gig somewhere. I also play a 314 Taylor through a Genz-Benz Shenendoah. I like a moderate degree of quality in my equipment. I take good care of my gear and would be really pissed if any of it were lost or stolen. I would replace everything I have with the same stuff. Stolen ???!!!?? I would summon the "Wrath Of God" down on that person. I use it for His glory and I don't believe He would take too kindly to it being stolen. I have played, experimented, tried every new thing that came out for the last 20 years. I finally have all I need to get every sound I want. This Nomad was the icing on the cake.

This is an update after a couple more years of use. Like most other users, I have experimented with tubes and speakers. I bought a second Nomad, also Hasserl-modded, which I keep at our practice space.
After trying out more than a dozen different speakers, I went with Hasserl's recommendation, and now my gig-Nomad now has an Eminence Tonker. My tube lineup is:
V1: Groove Tube 12AT7
V2: JJ ECC832 (12DW7)
V3 UOS (used old stock) Amperex 12AX7
V4: JJ ECC81 (12AT7)
V5: UOS Amperex 12AX7
Power Tubes: Matched JJ EL84s

I usually run it at half power. I pulled two tubes out of my practice amp, and my gig amp has a 25/50 toggle switch installed to cut out two tubes. Since my band mics everything, it rarely goes past 3. For big shows, I run it at full power with a matching (Lopoline) closed extension cab with a 12" Eminence Neo.

Cleaner cleans with nice breakup, in part due to less gain from the preamp tubes. Both channels handle pedals well, and I cascade a Keeley mod TS9X, a Boss Deluxe Reverb pedal and a lot of other stuff to get a variety of OD and distortion sounds - some with Ch 1 and some with CH2.

The infamous "Carvin rattle" has been all but eliminated. If you have one, try bagging your reverb and for God sakes get those stupid retainer clips off the tubes. They won't fall out, and 9 out of 10 Carvin players have found them to be the source of tube rattle.

Nothing original has ever broken, and I bought both my Carvins used, and schlep them around. A lot. However, one of the resisters used in the modding process went bad and knocked out my overdrive channel. My amp tech figured it out right away and replaced it.
Keep decent tubes in it and you should have no problems.

I dunno -- I hear stories, but the only time I ever called, I got a friendly guy who knew his stuff.

I'm a Geezer who has been gigging since the 60s and don't plan to slow down anytime soon. This is a great amp for around 500 clams. I have played better, but they all cost more than $2,000. I can get my sound from a Nomad without turning it past 2, so I'll take two and keep the extra grand.

I just purchased a Carvin Nomad and matching extension cab used for $400-US, mint condition. Wow! What a deal, and what a great amp!It's a 1998 model. Great looking on stage and great tone! 2 channels clean, and gain [soak].The only feature I wish it had was indicator lights on the footswitch and on the amp telling you the current selected channel. Maybe it would look less vintage then so I'll cut Carvin some slack here on that issue. It looks very vintage, and the tweed tolex is very cool.

Sound quality is fantastic!I owned the 2X12 version of this amp the Bel-Air, at one time, and sold it [a mistake I think!].Anyway, glad to have this amp back in this set-up of a single 12 amp stacked on a matching cab.If you buy a Nomad new or used, I highly reccommend you also purchase the matching cab. It looks great on stage and also gives you a bit more low end and elevates your amp for better tone projection for yourself and others on stage. This thing has a great clean channel, and the 'soak' channel is pure vintage grunge when that soak control is cranked.Playing Cinnamon Girl at a gig the other night, that amped cooked sounding just as good as Neil Young's Fender Champ in my opinion.A very versatile amp that works well on the clean channel with stomp boxes or processors as well.

Very well laid out and constructed. The amp weighs in at around 40 lbs and the matching cab at about 24 lbs. Lite, portable, good looking, and great tone.First gig out absolutely no problems.

Carvin has always been excellent to me. My current Carvin roster---Legacy 2X12 Combo--V3 head---XT-112 Combo----Carvin X-60 single 12" combo's [2 of them]----Carvin Nomad and Cab---Carvin RX 1200 mixer.All are excellent products. Carvin builds great gear!!

You know what, this amp is an incredible deal new or used, like most Carvin products.I mean, come on! $549 new for this great little amp, and only $240 for the matching cab?? I've tried Fender amps, re-issue Bass-man's and Deluxe amps, and I'd put this thing up easily against any of those.This amp is 1/4 the price and 100 times better because of features, tone, and the added Vintage Soak Channel.Much more versatile than those other vintage amps.Carvin can not be beat especially with the quality at the reasonable price asked.I highly reccommend this amp. Get the matching cab if you can.It gives you the option of using it for bigger gigs or whatever, or just taking the easy to move amp, solo, to more cramped gigs.The amp alone will be more than fine for any situation, but the two together look and sound awesome! Buy one, you won't be dissapointed!

Bought the amp new in 2002. It is a 2-channel amp that you can actually use either of the two channels. Every style of music from country to classic rock, jazz and blues. I wouldn't suggest it for Pantera type music though. Came with a footswitch and has effects loops etc. It is used daily onstage or in the studio. At 50 watts it has more than enough power. All tubes, 5 preamp and 2 power tubes (EL-84's). This is the amp I used when our band won the 96 Rock House Band competition in Raleigh in 2008. See/hear it at Reactorband.com

I use many different types of guitars and pickups but my main axe is an old strat with Seymour Duncan Jr's in it. Rich full bodied tone even at lower volumes (of course it's better when cranked but how often can we do that these days?) Very touch sensitive which I love! Not many amps truely are but this one is! Clean channel is rich and clean at any volume and the gain channel is clean and all but silent until you turn the gain above 7 but then again my gain never runs above 4 so it's whisper quiet. The overdrive is very smooth and adapts very well with pedals if that's your thing. I personally like pedals so that was important to me.

In 25 plus years of playing professionally I have used many amps including Marshall, Hiwatt, Hughes and Kettner (Triamp) and this amp is every bit as well made and dependable as any of those. I have used it many times without back-up and was perfectly comfy with it. It has never let me down and I don't think that it ever will.

Carvin has kept me in the best gear since the 1980's and they were then as they are now top of the line when it comes to customer service! I've never had to have it repaired but have had it retubed annually and the man who does the work for me has said it is very easy to work on and very well built. The warranty was for one year but that ran out 5 years ago and I've never had trouble with it. The X amps from Carvin I've had for 20 years and still have done nothing but retube them!

Ive been playing for 30 years and have been using Carvin amps forever now. I loved the X-100B so much I bought the Nomad. Loved it so much I bought the MTS-3212 combo and now I also own the Carvin Vai Legacy. All wonderful amps. I would absolutely buy another Nomad if anything ever happened to it. I bought it because I needed a small easy to move top of the line sounding amp for quick set ups for smaller shows and this one won out. I tried all the Dr.Z's and all those "boutique" amps and I bought this one because of the tone! I had the cash so that was not a determining factor. The fact it costed a fraction of those other amps just made it that much sweeter.

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.

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.

50 watt,2 channel, all tube, 1x12 combo, reverb, tweed covering, effects loop, footswitch(not included), wish it had headphone jack

I play a gibson explorer, ESP 400 strat, and ibanez artstar(335 copy) Very nice vintage sound, always loved the clean channel, the "dirty" channel was good, but not great. had to much distrotion in with the overdrive. very well suited to blues. the best thing i did was a couple of mods i found on the internet. check out this link.
http://www.geocities.com/rlhassebrock/nomaddioderemoval.html?200513

check out this link. the Clipping Diode Removal Mod and the Attitude Control Mod rule!!!!!!!!!

seems very soild, have not had an issue

i called them about the mods, and the tech on the phone said he did them to his and said just be careful "in there" very nice, and helpful

If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again? in one word YES!

If you have this amp do the mods! it sounds nice stock but better modded. but my motto has always been:
"do you want the exteneded warranty?", "does it cover me modding it?" "no", then "no i don't!!"

bought this about 5or6 years ago , have gigged many times with it , recorded with it and feel i've lived with it long enough to post a review .after the first year i took a handsaw to the box and made a cool little tweed "head" out of it. paired it with a peavey 112 closed back loaded with a r.e. green back , pulled the two inner 84's and felt fairly happy with a very unique look and tone .

i play a wolfgang stoptail , i have used this amp for heavy , loud rock and for clean lounge jazz . by using it at 25 watts thru a closed back with the r.e. greenback i can get some rich and articulate distortion , for rock i have used it with soak on 3 and all tones on 7 and volume on 7 and using only a touch of danecho with the hi cut set @9 oclock i got a very classic 70's stadium rock tone,for my clean loungew gigs i set bass 7 mids 2-3 highs 5-7 and presence 7 with verb @2-3 and using the wolfies volume rolled to 7 on the neck pu i get a very warm and beautifull clean.However my main tone is a brazen attempt at ripping off the "brown sound".I set a boss sd1 with level full, tone 12-1 oclock, and dist @ 9 oclock , run it into the nomad set @ 1.25-3 on the soak bass- 3-7 depending on venue , mids 2-4 and hi's 6-7 , verb off and a danechoe in the loop set with an aggressive hi-cut , and with the two pulled tube goodness off the remaining 25 watts pushing that closed back greenie to its utmost (master volume 7-8) I get a unique tone that i can use tones that are as close to early VH as I'd want to get and still keep my self respect .The verb on mine makes very loud noises but i only use it on the clean channel set at 2-3 .i love the tone i get with the g.b. speaker , the definition and presence goes perfectly with the nomads previously muddy tone .the closed back gives me a bit of that 4x12 bottom character i was missing for rock and when using it clean some tape over the center cures the icepick hi's . The tone of this amp is well worth working with-very warm almost muddy , i often cut the soak channels bass to 3 when volume is set @7 in live situations .The very present green back does wonders in giving this amp a better definition , and at 25 watts it still is loud enough to carry over a very physical drummer .

Just updating a little info...
I solved the rattling problem some users complained about, just by replacing one tube. usually its the v4 that causes some rattling related problems.
Also replaced V1 with a 12AY7, and both channels improved.
Now I turn the soak up to 5 and still have crunch with enough dinamics to keep the tone close to the clean channel, and usually never turn the volume of both above 5.

All tube (12ax7 & el84). 12" speaker. Independent EQ for each (two) channel. 50 LOUD watts. Extra speaker output for additional cab. Direct cabinet voiced output that's good for recording or going direct.

Clean channel (Channel 1) on this thing shines! Great for jazz, also for country or rock. At 50 watts, it has good headroom.

Dirty channel (Channel 2) is great for bluesy distortion. Also fantastic with the Soak (gain) down real low for a slightly overdriven clean sound. Not great for metal on it's own. But can be more than sufficient for metal is you crank the Soak and put a overdrive like a tubescreamer in front.

Been gigging with it for 5 years so far and will keep doing so. Only 1 problem with it in which I had to take it in to replace a dead diode (I think). Otherwise, never a problem, I just regular tube amp maintantence like replacing tubes every year or so.

Call them up, they're more than happy to help. They've also emailed me a schematic with no problem.

Been playing 11 years. I love the Carvin Vintage Series amps. I've owned the head/cab version as well, but the 1x12 Nomad combo is the size for me. I also own the Vintage 16, which is the 16/5 watt baby brother of the nomad.

The Nomad is great for jazz, rock, country, fusion, jamband, etc. It's a STEAL for the price too. Made with quality and care in the USA.

carvin gt speaker, 2 channel clean and dirty 12AX7 preamp el84 power tubes

Tele riogrande tallboy neck - muygrande bridge
72 tele custom fender wide range Humbucker neck - Seymour duncan vintage for broadcaster bridge
epiphone sheraton z90 harmonic design neck and bridge

I mostly play pop/rock brtish style music and kinda of alternative pop folk music. I need a good clean sound and sweet overdrive sound that's all
The clean stay clean till 3 then it breaks up in bad way very muddy no detailed sound

dirty channel totally unusable!! very very bad

Seems to be weel built. I've gigged a couple of times everything good but yes I'm going to sell it

never dealt with Carvin

I've been playing for 15 years I've owned a trace elliot super tramp (transistor), and Laney vc30. Sold the laney to by the carvin....the laney was way better than the carvin

A very good output pannel, wich allows an extra cabinet(wich pumps this little thing to an even greater sound) nice line output, and effects loop...its quite complete to me...the only thing that lacks is that the footswich is not included...
The size versus power is amazing, its one of the lighter amps I had, with a great penetrating sound

The eq is very versatile, for any guitar altough I only use single coils normally...and the clean sound is that voxy tone I love...
works very good arround 5 on the claean volume...
On the drive channel, I like to crank it up arround 10, then soak between 2 and 3, wich gives me a lightlly saturated OD...
Responds extreemlly good with the Line 6 crunchTOne, giving the versatillitty I need...I also use a GT-3 on the loop, for modulation and delays...
Rever is a quite good low profile Reverb, that does not saturate your playing...
If it wasn't for the tube rattlling caused by the cabinet vibration, I would give it a 10.

I will try to relly on it...but I dont have it for that long to speak...and of course it needs maintenance like any tube amp
Oh...about the handle, some other review sayed it was weak...well, if you look closer, the rubber is arround a metal flexible hanlde...and the amp is very light.

Like I sayed...I use a Gt-3 for spacial and modulation effects, a Line 6 crunch tone, and my main guitar is a Nashvile power Tele, I also use an American Strat... I play mostelly Jazz-Fusion...
I really like all the features of this amp...and except for the tube rattling, I have no complaints so far... and I prefer its tone to the Hot Rod Deluxe, wich was the number 2 on my list when I bought it...so Guess if it was lost, I would buy it again...
I have to say it again...it is very easy to carry it arround, and its 50 watt all-tube! Its the best relation of tone-power-price-and size I found... and you can add a second speaker if you like...

Well i have been looking for an all tube amp for as long as ive been playing. All i need from an amp is to independent channels (as regards eq/volume) and reverb, and this model has that. It also sports an effects loop (which i have not tried out as yet) and also a cabinet voiced lineout and a socket for adding an external speaker cabinet. The speaker has been changed on this amp (i got it second hand for #225) to a clestion vintage 30 (16 ohms) and there is a switch on the back panel to match the speaker impedence to either 4/8/16 ohms. Next to this an acoustic presence control to give a bit more sparkle to the sound if you shold need it. So as far as im concerned it meets all my criteria so im marking it high because of this.

I use a Squier pro-tone fitted with di-marzio virtual vintage pickups and also a custom bulit twin humbucker guitar (also with di-marzio's but with split pickups so i can pull the colume pot for each of the pickups and go single coil mode) and play lots of different styles of music for my own amusment at home and in the limited time ive had the amp i must say for me it cuts the mustard. The clean channel chimes musically (although i have to lay off the high and mids at low volumes) and all manner of recognisable tones pop out from it. Ive never owned an all tube amp before but i know the sound im after and this amp has them. There is not stiffness to the tone just a relaxed elsatisity to the tone that just sounds better the louder it gets, you just cant help sounding astounding. The reverb adds a lovely depth to the sound, although again you dont need to much to get in the right place tonally. Onto the overdrive channel, mmm nice! It has that compressed liquid smooth overdirve that i hear on so many recordings but that i could never get with my solid state/hybrid amps such as a marshall valvestate, with the soak control up at about 3 or 4 its crunchy blusey territory time, but notch it up just a little more and we are into tube overdrive heaven, thick, defined warm all the good stuff! With a splodge of reverb this channel just sings to me. It does not do death metal though (but neither do i) but what it does do is claasic rock tones to die for.

Cant really comment on this (although the handle seems a bit worse for wear so am going to change that when i can find a suitable replacement).

Doubt i will ever have to get in contact with them as i bought it second hand and i live across the Atlantic.

I have always wanted a tube amp and now i have one and am more than pleased with the tones it is kicking out, it is very loud and musical and looks so cool as well.

3 yrs' and still rocking .Got it in 2001 and have gig from state fairs to small clubs . Two channels,reverb,F/X loop,one 12" speeker,in a nice tweed cab .

I play a 70s' fender reissue strat,a nashville tele ,335 and I play blues , rock , country. Each has its own sound stand out with this amp . I'm useing just a volume pedal and channel swicht .I was useing a Cry baby into a DOD delay into a Marshall jack hammer into a Boss blues driver into a Big muff Pi into a volume pedal and also use the channel swicht . I found I could get the same sound with better tone with just the volume pedal and channel swichter.I turn the volume up to 7 on the clean channel with single coils and 5 for humbuckers . The dirty channel changes to what gain I need for a lead .I've have change some preamp tubes and change the speaker to a Peavey shiffield 1230 . I know some pepole change power tubes but its the speaker that makes the amp sound muddy .The sov-tek EL84 are best J.J.s' will not last as long stay away from Chines tubes too.

the first thing to go was the channel swicht . The handel need to be replace because the one that it comes with is cheap .I had to replace a copacitor it was rolling around in the chasse ? and cover the reverb pan

TO HELL WITH Carvin !

I love the tone of this amp I've been playing for 17 yrs . I would replace it if something happen.

This review is for a 2004 Nomad. It is a straight-forward amp that has a nice array of features and tonal options. It also comes at a great price. This amp is quite loud, and as a result, I've pulled 2 of the 4 power tubes to reduce the volume. It enables me to turn the amp louder so that I can dig deeper into the great tube tone. The effects loop is a nice addition, although I put my effects into the front of the amp. As for wishes, it would be nice if the front of the amp included a light to indicate which channel was activated. I read that Carvin wanted to really preserve the vintage vibe of the amp and therefore opted not to include a light. The only other area of improvement would be the amp handle. The plastic handle does the job, but the great look of the amp would be complimented by a nicer handle. In summary, the vintage look (it oozes coolness) and the quality construction really make this a great amp.

I play blues and classic rock and like to dabble with some jazzy tones as well. I am using a Gibson CS 336 (smaller version of the 335) with an analogman King Of Tone boost pedal. I swapped the stock tubes for some vintage Telefunkens in the preamp and some JJs in the power section and I tweaked the bias a bit to make the amp run a bit hotter. This combination is killer. The clean channel sounds great and offers lots of headroom, but the Soak channel is my favorite. I set the soak between 1.5 and 2 and really juice the volume. This gives me a nice vintage tone (think 1970's Alex Lifeson) without lots of distortion. Every note rings clearly and the harmonics really jump off the fretboard. I can hit the string hard for a nice bite or I can lay back and coax cleaner tones from the amp. The King Of Tone provides a nice boost and really rounds out the sound. Together, the amp and pedal create the finest tone I've ever had (and I've owned loads of big named amp in the past 20 years). This amp can cover great jazz, blues and classic rock tones. Switching to the neck pickup with the clean channel has me jamming for hours! Warning: these tones could be hazardous to your social life! You won't want to stop playing.

As with all tube amps, regular maintenance and love along with common sense should keep the amp cranking for many years. The Nomad is beautifully constructed and features many appointments that similar amps lack, such as a solid cabinet and corner protectors. As I've only had this amp for a few months, I won't rate this category, as I really don't have the long history with the amp that is required to make a determination. But, I have no doubt that the fine folks at Carvin will be able to help if the amp does experience any problems.

I've been buying gear for many years and I can say with 100% honesty that nobody provides service that even come close to Carvin. They are the best in the business. The first Nomad I received had a bit of a problem with the speaker, and 3 days later a new Nomad was at my house ready to roll. I've read some of the reviews that bash Carvin's service, but as a customer who purchased a Carvin Legacy about 3 years ago, I can say that the service (which was great back then) has gotten even better. Thanks to James, Marco and Carl. You guys rock! Also, you can check out the Carvin bulletin board for loads of information. The people on the board are awesome and they always offer great suggestions and ideas. In fact, there are some great mods for the Nomad that I discovered on the board. I won't attempt them until my Nomad is out of warranty, but when I'm ready, I know that there will be many people willing to offer help.

I have been playing guitar and buying gear for 20 years. I've owned lots of different amps, all of which were good in their own ways, but the Nomad really knocks me out. The size and weight are perfect and I can add the Carvin 1x12 cabinet if I decide that I need more volume. The tone is perfect for me and it really inspires me to play. I played many other amps in my search for great tone, but the Nomad won in all categories. At this price and level of quality, you simply cannot go wrong with the Nomad.
The Nomad normally sells for $529, but Carvin frequently run sales on much of their gear. I snagged the Nomad during their year-end, $50 off any amp sale. It really was a no-brainer for me.

Features are good--in the sense that it adds modern elements like an effects loop to the 'vintage' features. Since they went to the trouble of adding a line out, though, it would be nice to also have a headphone jack. Probably asking too much at this price point, but I'd be really impressed with a parallel effects loop.

I use an early 80s ESP Telecaster copy (nice guitar to begin with, now has a Seymour Duncan L'il '59 in the bridge & a DiMarzio neck PU) and a 2002 Gibson Les Paul Special. After a year of owning it, I'm still just lukewarm on the Nomad's tone. Clean tone is good, but can't match my 1962 Ampeg Gemini II for vibe, overdrive channel still seems grating to me--plenty of dirt but a LOT of harsh overtones with either guitar. I'm glad to have the tube warmth but still haven't found the smooth overdrive I want. The best OD sounds I've gotten yet come with judicious use of a Carl Martin compressor to even out the biting highs. (And yes, I know how to use my guitars' tone knobs.)Sounds best LOUD, which makes me wish it were a lower wattage.

Hate to say it, but here's the dirt. Preamp tube 2 on my first Nomad actually caught fire. They were great about the return, however, and got me a new amp really fast. My new amp played fine for 8-9 months, then started fizzing. I took it to a good amp tech here in Birmingham and it needed one replacement tube each for the preamp and power sections. He noted that one of the screws setting the reverb unit in place was broken off (probably down into the pan) and showed me how the Acoustic Presence knob wire was twisted completely around the pot. I damned sure didn't do either in my "basement gigging." BTW, the speaker impedence switch on the second amp came from the factory set at 4 ohms instead of the proper 8. This is sloppy, sloppy shit, and makes me think if I replace this amp, it won't be with another Carvin. MAYBE you could chalk up two tubes in a year to wear and tear (MAYBE), but the rest . . . ?

As I said, great and fast on the return.

Been playing almost 20 years. My ideal sound would be Dickey Betts on the clean side and Crazy Horse Neil Young on the dirty. This is my second tube amp, and I've been underwhelmed by it. I have a pretty respectable collection of analog pedals (EH, Maxon, Carl Martin) and bought this amp looking for a good deal on a vintage-vibe amp. If it were stolen I'd file for the insurance and look seriously at one of the Fender Deluxe amps or reissues. Given that MF is selling the Hot Rod Deluxe for about the price I paid for the Nomad, I'm wondering if I should have stuck with a proven winner.

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.

Purchased on 10/30/2002

This amp can accomodate any style of music and it has 50 watts of tube power through an 8 ohm 12" speaker. This amp has more power than what I need in most instances. It has two channels; a clean and distortion (soak ) channel. The switching between channesl is very clean ( No pops or hums ). It has effects loop jacks on the back that are very good. All of my effects pedals and guitar processors sound good through them( Very clean ). A voiced cabinet output jack on the back of the amp sound very good in our mixer board as well as for recording. The sound through the speaker and the vocied cabinet jack are very similar. ( No loss of sound quality ). The FS22 foot switch engages the reverb unit ( which is not as good as my Fender Amp )and performs channel switching. The FS22 footswitch should have indicator lights and a jack to unplug the stereo cord attached to the footswitch. ( Like my Fender Amp Has )

The Nomad 112 has a speaker output jack and an ohm swith to select other speaker cabinets. The ohm switch is recessed into the cabinet, and you need a screwdriver to move the switch up or down ( 16, 8, 4 ).

The Nomad 112 has a presence knob on the back which produces sounding harmonics on the clean channel only. I usually leave this on max.
The standby and power switches on on the rear of the amp.

It would also be nice if the Nomad 112 had a switch on the rear that would allow on to power up only two of the power tubes instead of all four. This would enable one to get a full tube quality sound at a lower volume. I have to remove two of the power tubes to get this effect with the Nomad 112.

This amp's light weight in a small cabinet demensions make it a easy amp to carry around. Even though this amp is small in size, it nearly the same sound quality as my larger Fender Amp which is twice the weight and size. A good choice to purchase because of this feature alone.

I use this amp for large and small gigs, playing everything from blues, gospel, rock n' roll and country. It sound good on Eric Clapton all the way up to AC/DC. Your sound can be found in this amp somewhere. If you like the real heavy metal ( High Hz Sounds ) you may want a tube screamer or distortion pedal. The chicken head knobs are easy to see at a distance and all knobs are on the front, easy to get at. ( Not like my Fender and Peavy Amps )

The tweed texture and coloring looks nice. I wish the handle were leather instead of rubber. The upper Mid-West Winters are hard on plastics and rubber.

because of the amps' excellent sound enclosed in a small cabinet that is light to carry around, I would say this was the main reason I selected this amp.

I have a Gibson Les Paul Classic, American Fender Strat and Tele, and a Fender accousit with a fishman pickup. All of these guitars sound good through the amp. The signle coil pickups are a little more noiser than the humbuckers. I like the sound of my Fender Strat through this amp the best.

The clean channel is very good, other than the reverb sound is a little weak to my liking. The Fender reverbs sound better. The overdrive channel is very good. ( better sounding than my Fender Pro 1000 or twin reverb ) I don't like the master volume sound of the Fenders. The Carvin overdrive is more natural and warmer in tone. Both channels good responses in the low ranges. ( Better than Fender )
With the Lows around 7, Mids around 3, and the highs at max works best for me.

The clean channel distorts very little with the amp maxed out. The Fender Twin is just a little better here. Otherwise very impressed.

The distortion channel has everthing I need. I like to use the soak ( gain ) around 3 - 5 on most styles of music. If I want the AD/DC sound or heavy metal, I will move the soak beyond 5. The higher the soak at high volume, the more feedback is encounted. The distortion channel is very warm ( Tube Sound ) and doesn't have the solid state ( tin sound ) at high volumes like my Fender Pro 1000.

If you experiment with the equilization and soak knobs, you will find your sound out there some where. I know I did...

I have not had this amp long enough to give a hard opinion on this. The amp case is strong and the components are of good quality. I don't expect to have any more problems that my Peavy of Fender Amps.

I have not had any problems with this amp yet.

The company support was very good. They made a mistake on my account and I was held up two weeks in shipping delays while they had to commucicate with their computers. The right hand didn't know what the left had was doing. ( Shipping / Accounts )

The amp was shipped out of San Diego California, and it took about 7 days to get to the Fargo North Dakota area once shipped.

The warranty is 90 days on tubes and 1 year on all other components.

I have been playing since 1973 and have had many types of amps and guitars. ( Fender, Gibson, Peavy, Ampeg, Marshall, Music Man, Ibenez, Univox ) For the money, sound quality, and size/weight, this is my best purchase yet.

If it were stolen, I would go out and order a new one right away. I have not found any other amp out there for the money that does what this amp does, in the size of cabinet it is housed in. The power it has will take you by surprize. Almost as good as my Marshall, without the 2-12 cabinet.

I tried several amps at music stores in our area ( Peavy, Marshall, Fender, Line 6, etc. ) This amp for the money and size out did all of them. To get into an amp with comparable tube sounds would have cost me between 800 to 1500 dollars. I already have these amps in my collection. I wanted something that was easy to haul around, had enough power, and still had a good tube sound. The Nomad 112 did this for me.

Very useable clean and dirty channels. Bought it after seeing three or four different pictures of Chet Atkins playing it on stage (after he was no longer an endorser of Carvin amps) and after reading the Guitar Player Magazine comment about the "poor man's Matchless". I figured I could return it if it wasn't as good as I needed or wanted.

Independent clean and dirty channels - EQ isn't shared and doesn' effect the other tone controls. Fender tweed cleans with a touch of AC30 (VOX) when loud. The presence control adds glass to the strat.

Distortion... Allan Holdsworth meets Carlos Santana. : )

It has been beat to crap and it still holds up, looks good and sounds great.

Haven't any needs to call after the purchase but before the sale everyone was helpful and no pressure. THey're not commissioned but they get rated by how many people they help - Makes them want to help more I reckon.

5-star rating on all aspects. Sounds equally great with my Gretch Tennesseean (I'll have to look at the spellng on that again), my 335 and my scalloped Japanese strat. Its a keeper!

Just recieved two weks ago. See above reviews for standard features. The footswitch could use some lights. It would also be nice if Carvin offered the TWEED with a 50/100 watt switch like the Legacy and others. Nice cover. Plastic handle...thought it was leather. They shipped it with the VL-12 speaker but the catalog implied that it would have a GT-12 speaker Hmmm. I like the simplicity (just try to tackle those new modeling amps on stage) also unlike the Fenders, the control knobs are easy to access and view from afar. Why does Fender place those knobs on top of their amps in the back?? Anyway Carvin amps are user friendly.

When I pulled this out of the box and plugged in my strat the amp was noisy and the volume, soak, and reverb were so weak I thought the amp was damaged. However, when I plugged in my es-335 it changed everything. Good response, great clean sound, no humming or sizzle like I heard with my single coil. The reverb however was still unimpressive. What is the long-tail supposed to sound like? It is the worse reverb I've ever owned (Fender, Roland) My stage guitar is a loaded Carvin 400 with a fishman acoustic bridge. When I played with that guitar the amp responded similar to the Gibson ES-335 with a little less gain (I was also competing with the band). The acoustic sound is fair through the amp (though I am still adjusting the tone controls and my effects etc. to find the right sound for the acoustic bridge). I'm not sure if somehing is wrong with the amp but seems like it should have more power. I've never had to turn an amp up to twelve o'clock, or 9'oclock for that matter.

Too soon to tell. But on low volumes...when I'm all alone...I can hear the tubes rattling with the reverb. The volume seems weak on the Soak channel and is depemdent on the Soak control level. I am still unsure whether it is working right. I'm not used to tubes (despite owning the vintage fenders...see below... which I never play)

They have been great. Especially Art, he delivers. This is my 4th purchase from them. My guitar I must say looks like it cost 3000.00 and it sounds almost as good as my ES-335 (can't quite get that bass tone of the hollow body) but the versatality of the sounds are incredible. Oh yeah I was supposed to be talking about the customer support!

19 years playing, My gear: 1972 ES-335 dot neck...2001 Carvin Solid Body DC 400, 89 Fender Strat USA, 86 Ovation Collectors series (crap sound but pretty), 1985 Roland Jazz Chorus 80w, 1968 FENDER BASSMAN 50W Head, 70's silver face twin reverb 100W, Fender Performer 1000, J-Station and pedal board, Chandler Tube driver, Boss ME-5, wah wah pedals, I should sell some of this stuff shouldn't I? Inquire within.

If it were stolen I would buy another because I like the way it looks, sounds and it does't break my back or my bank.

I chose this mainly because it was so damn cute! I also read the reviews and counted on Carvin's reputation. 10 day money back guarantee helped.

Like I said, I wish it had a lighted footswitch...sometimes when I'm playing with the band I can't distingish what channel I am playing (I play my soak very clean for most of the music I play). Then again it is new.

And a better reverb.

Check out the TomBoys.com web page coming soon...All female rock and roll!

Amp was made in 2001(I think), 1x12 tube amp, tweed covering, two channels, 50 watts, effects loop, optional cabinets available. Definately loud enough for gigging and more than enough power(unless your playing huge arenas). Of course there are other features that would be nice, but this amp was made to rock!!

With the Nomad I use a Carvin DC127(alder w/ maple neck through, stock c22 hums) and oh the tone is SOOO NICE!!!! The clean is just so beautiful! Crips, clear, just rings out! Also has a cool acoustic presence knob on the back of the amp for the clean channel.

At first I was unsure about ordering this b/c I wanted a good rock distortion, but was worried this might be too bluesy. Boy was I wrong! This thing can ROCK!!! Lots of bass, chords are actually distinct(unlike so many muddy amps out there), and just kicks butt! I wouldnt recommend turing the soak knob past 6 or 7 though, kinda gets muddy, but around 5-6 is just awesome distortion.

Seems reliable. I just got it today so we'll see how it lasts. I wont give an opinion yet.

Very cool people. Ive always had great service from Carvin!

I havent been playing too long, but I know good gear and this amp just rocks! Perfect for all types of music, except maybe like death metal, but with a good pedal of some sort it could be doable. I'd definately buy it again if it were stolen. Great cheap price with tube goodness!

effects loop, reverb, two channels, external speaker, speak ohm setting.

I was hoping for more. This amp was a let down for me. The clean channel was nice, but the distortion channel leaves a lot to be desired. Very muddy. I am sending this back immediately.

Footswitch did not work, nor did the reverb right out of the box.

Carvin is fine. They guarantee that you can return within 10 days for a complete refund. Good for me in this case.

I was very dissappointed in this amplifier. I will think twice before ordering something I cannot test before purchase. In Carvin's defense, this may have been shipping damage. I own a couple of Carvin guitars and you can't go wrong for the price.

2001 model, 50 watts, 4 EL84 and 5 12AX7 tubes, dual channel (clean and overdrive), both channels have bass/treb/mid pots, master volume on the overdrive channel0, 12" speaker, FX loop, spring reverb, line out w/presence control, comes with a channel/reverb footswitch, rugged 5 ply cab that's tweed covered, built *tough*. Check it all out at the Carvin site - http://www.carvin.com/

Used for jams and recording, this amp is totally gig-worthy. Quiet in operation, bright blackface Fender-like clean channel, overdrive ("soak") channel has less emphasis on treble but a very smooth distortion that goes from subtle to in-yer-face. The spring reverb is very tasty and not harsh or tin-city hollow. I use this versatile amp for blues, new millennnia surf, jazz-rock, pop, ragtime, whatever - it can handle it all, for me (I mostly play fingerstyle, sans pick). I prefer using single coil toned assembled Strats and Teles with Lawrence L290 pickups, a modified DeArmond M-77T that I retro-fitted L290's, but also a choice DeArmond Starfire that I loaded with Rio Grande Texas/BBQ humbuckers. Bottom line - this amp does 'em all, and with sonic style.

Built like a brick sh!thouse out of quality materials.

No need to call 'em for a problem, but they were extremely response and helpful to questions.

I've had *LOTS* of amps over the last 4+ decades, many were vintage Fenders, Ampegs and Gibsons, some were boutique customs that were made to my spex ... this stock amp is just as good - if not better - at a much better bang for the buck. It combines a proven preamp and power tube circuit into a well built combo. It's fairly easy to find your sound in there, somewhere ... I know I did.

THE CARVIN NOMAD 1 X 12 NOMAD IS REALLY A VERY NICE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT. THAT IS AS LONG AS YOU DON'T BELIEVE THE RIDICULOUS RANTING'S OF ONE NATE RALPHER. IF YOU READ HIS REVIEW ON THE AMP YOU MAY THINK THE WORLD IS GOING TO END SOON. HE IS A VERY 'GLASS IS 1/2 EMPTY' KIND OF PERSON. I HAVE HAD GOOD SUCCESS WITH CARVIN OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS. THEY MAKE MODERATLY PRICED EQUIPMENT THAT WORKS VERY WELL AND SOUNDS VERY GOOD. HAVING TO DO WITH THE VINTAGE LINE OF AMPS, YOU WON'T FIND A BETTER MADE OR SOUNDING 1 X 12 TWEED COMBO FOR 500.00. THEY EVEN GIVE YOU A DUEL FOOTSWITCH THAT TURNS REVERB AND EFFECTS LOOP ON AND OFF AS WELL AS CHANNEL SWITCHING. SERIOUSLY FOLKS, TO PURCHASE A REAL "VINTAGE TWEED" AMP MADE AND SOUNDING LIKE N.R. DISCRIBED YOU WOULD SURELY BE LOOKING TO SPEND AT LEAST 1200.00 OR MORE. THIS AMP IS ONLY 500.00 BRAND NEW WITH WARRANTY. YOU CAN'T BEAT IT. IN MY OPINION YOU CAN'T DO BETTER. THIS IS MY TRUE FEELING'S AND I DON'T WORK FOR CARVIN SO STOP THINKING THAT.

I PLAY STRAT GUITAR'S AND THAT'S ABOUT IT. THEY WORK FOR ME WELL AND I LOVE THEM DEARLY. THEY SOUND REALLY GOOD EVERY WAY THROUGH THE CARVIN. I PLAY CLASSIC ROCK AND TEXAS BLUES ETC.ETC. THE AMP WILL PRODUCE ABOUT ANY CLEAN OR OVERDRIVEN TONE YOU COULD WANT....WELL THAT IS UNLESS YOU WANT TO PLAY IRON MAIDEN OR THE LIKES. WELL THEN IN THAT CASE JUST ADD YOUR BASIC EVERYDAY METAL DISTORTION STOMP BOX AND YOUR ON YOUR WAY. THE ONLY THING THAT MAY BE A BIT OF A PAIN TO ME IS THAT WHEN YOU TURN THE DRIVE CHANNEL UP 3/4 OR FULL FOR MAX. OVERDRIVE IT TENDS TO BE KIND OF NOISY. GUESS WHAT? EVERY OTHER AMP FROM MARSHALL TO BOOGIE TO FENDER DOES ABOUT THE SAME THING SO LEARN TO LIVE WITH IT. I ONLY USE THE OVERDRIVE THAT DRIVEN ON A FEW OCCASSION'S ANYWAY.

I HAVE HAD NO OUT OF THE ORDINARY PROBLEMS WITH THE AMP. AS IN ALL TUBE AMP'S YOU NEED SOME UP KEEP AND NEW TUBES FROM TIME TO TIME.
HAVING TO DO WITH THE SO CALLED CRAPPY TUBES N.R. TALKS ABOUT. WELL BUD, IF YOU WANTED TESLA, SIEMAN'S OR MAYBE SYLVANIA OR THE LIKE'S YOU WOULD THEN EXPECT TO PAY 75.00 TO 100.00 MORE FOR THE AMP. WHEN THE SOVTEK'S DIED, I PUT SOME MORE EXPENSIVE TUBES IN IT WHICH DID MAKE THE AMP SOUND RICHER. THAT'S A PLUS FOR CARVIN IN MY BOOK. WHEN YOU DECIDE OR DON'T DECIDE TO INSTALL TUBES OF YOUR CHOICE YOU CAN INHANCE THE AMP'S TONE. I THINK I WOULD BE COMFORTABLE GIGGING WITH THE AMP WITHOUT A BACK UP BUT I RESPECT MY BAND MATE'S AND THE PEOPLE LISTENING SO JUST IN CASE I HAVE AN EXTRA.

I HAVE ONLY HAD TO DEAL WITH CARVIN ON A FEW TECHNICAL QUESTION'S AND THEY WERE GREAT.

BEEN PLAYING 20 YEARS NOW.I ALSO HAVE A COUPLE OF STOMP BOX OVERDRIVE'S AND A CRY BABY WAH PEDAL. GOT ONE OF THOSE NEW ZOOM 505 2 FOR CERTAIN DELAY'S AND TREMELO EFFECTS BUT THAT'S ALL I USE IT FOR.
I THINK I WOULD HAVE ANOTHER IF THIS AMP GOT LOST. I LOVE THE VALUE OF THIS AMP AND THE HIGH QUALITY WORKMANSHIP. IT MAY NOT HAVE RIVERA OR MESA BOOGIE QUALITY BUT IT SURE SEEMS TO AND IT'S 1/2 THE PRICE OR LESS. I HAVE HAD A COUPLE OF DOZEN AMPS IN MY LIFE AND ALOT OF THE NAMES BRAND. THIS IS THE 2ND CARVIN AND I WISH I STILL HAD THE VINTAGE 33 I LET GO 5 YEARS BACK...THAT WAS DUMB. I BELIEVE IF YOU WANT A REASONABLY PRICED NICE SOUNDING TWEED STYLE AMP WITH ALOT OF NICE FEATURES AND A KILLER EL84 TUBE TONE YOU SHOULD GIVE ONE A TRY.
IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, HEY IT WASN'T BUT 500.00 NEW OR 300.00 OR SO USED. YOU CAN ALWAYS SELL IT AND GET MOST OF YOUR MONEY BACK ON ONE OF THE INTERNET AUCTION'S.

The features of this amp have been cvered by the previous reviewers in the database. A 50 watt two channel amp with channel switching, effect loop. reverb etc. Pretty much standard features for a modern two channel amp.

I've played both single coils ( strat w/ Duncan Alnico II pickups, American Series tele, Hamer Artist w/ p90's) and Humbuckers ( Gibson '56 Historic Les Paul, '62 ES-335, Historic Les Paul '59) the amp doesn't not seem to favor single coils or humbuckers. The clean channel is very clean throughout its range and the tone controls certainly have a very wide range. But the clean is too sterile for my tastes. The "soak" channel can be adjusted to get a great deal of overdrive but with setting above 12o'clock they are too brittle and not very warm. It is not the tone of a vintage amp which is what i believed Carvin target in the design. The amp doesn't sound bad it's just not "vintage" tone.

The amp is well built and should stand up to the rigors of the road. But as with any tube amp, the tubes must be maintained for optimum performance.

I have not had the opportunity to deal with Carvin's service.

I have been playing guitar for over thirty years and have owned or had a chance to play through most amps that are out there. The Carvin certainly offers a lot of bang for the buck but for my tastes the tones are too sterile and the soak channel's tone is something I would not use at all.. Give me a Fender Pro Reverb or deluxe with a fulltone fulldrive anyday!

Wow, I must be some kind of idiot. Here I was thouroghly enjoying this little amp. Little did I know how bad it was, until I read Nate Ralpher's review. Jeezz, what a jerk. Hey Nate, are you the same guy who killed the Corvair? Seriously, the features of this amp have already been covered by others. Pretty standard stuff really. The fifty watts are plenty enough for all the sights I gig at, and I am able to turn it down for home use and still get good sound out of it. The extra speaker cab available from Carvin adds some volumne, and matches the amp in appearance, nice!

I play a '59 Tele and a '62 reissue strat, but my current favorite is my Gibson ES135 w/ P90 pick ups. These guitars through this amp give me as good a sound as anyone I have ever heard. Amazing sounds come out of this little amp. I have been playing since '70, I have played on many amps, and listened to many more. I have searched a long time to find an amp with this kind of tone. The clean channel is every bit as warm and full as the best amps I have heard, even vintage Fenders and high dollar boutique amps (Top Hat, H&K), it really is that good. But the drive channel is where this amp really shines. I don't know what is up with those other guy's complaining about tubes, I don't even know what brand are in it. Who cares, this thing is sweet. I think some guys get too much into brands and types of tubes and wiring and such. They like to talk about it like they are some kind of amp wizard or something. I say, shut up and play guitar! I play Classic Rock, Blues Rock and Blues. I am getting more into the early rock sounds. This amp works for all of them. Forget about Metal or Grunge or Punk though. My kid plays Metal and he doesn't like it at all (of course he plays everything on the bridge pickup through a Metal Zone box to a Crate solid state amp and everything cranked all the way, no tone at all). On the clean channel I can play good clean Blues, full chords where every string rings true. Palm the pick and finger pick quiet lead lines where every note sounds nice and crisp. Oh yeah. Then switch it over to the drive channel, set the soak at about 5 with the ES 135, about 6-7 with the Strat or Tele, and I can control the amount of drive with the guitar volumne and the pick attack. Lots of drive for some tasty slide work, or squeze out some nice squealing lead riffs. Awsome! Nice fat tone. With the Strat I can get SRV type overdrive easy. With the Gibson I can get some good Duane Allman or Dicky Betts sounds, even with the single coil pick ups (I have learned how nice P90s are).

I have owned this amp since new in '98, never had one problem. I've had a Carvin guitar since about '79, it is a very high quality, proffesional guitar, extremely well made. The kind of guitar that holds it's tune forever, a good working musicians guitar that is ready to work every night of the week, it just doesn't have the tone quality of my Fenders or Gibson. Carvin PA gear too. All very dependable.

I have never had to have anything repaired at Carvin.

Again, I have been playing for 31 years, I have a bunch of stuff, amps and guitars, I just keep buying stuff and never get rid of my old stuff. If I lost this amp I would definetly but another, it is the best amp available for my needs. It is the right size for me, it is easy enough to carry, not a back breaker like a Twin Reverb. It is loud enough yet it can aslo be played quietly. I do have a Siver Face Fender, and other "vintage" amps to compare it to. (I have a nice little collection going) Yeah, the Fender sounds really nice, but it is a non master volumne amp. To get some good sounds out of it you need to crank it up, or use an overdrive pedal, then you loose the "all tube sound". And compared to a master volumne Fender amp this amp blows them all away. It is not fuzzy or buzzy like they are, I hate master volumne Fender amps. The Hot Rod Deluxe and Deville suck. If you are considering one of these, don't do it, get this amp. I tried every combo amp I could get my hands on before I bought this one, the guy's at the music shops must have got tired of seeing me come in and hang out and play on everything, then walk out and not buy anything. Most of the other amps I played had either a nice clean channel, or a nice drive channel, but none of them put both together in one amp, and none sounded better than the Carvin. You can pay more but you cannot buy a better sounding amp!

This 50 Watt "tube" amp has the basic features such as bass, mid, treble on both channels, reverb, and pre-amp/master volume on the dirty channel. The stand-out feature is the presence control on the back of the amp which affects the clean channel only: wonderful. Reverb and channels are footswitchable; again, standard stuff. It also has an effects loop which I don't use. It needs an anti-hum switch. This is done with one additional capacitor and a 3-position switch. It could have been done using a different stand-by switch even. I don't know why Carvin cut this corner. It should have an aux AC outlet like Fender; it doesn't. Again, corner-cutting.

Don't expect to find the "sweet spots" right out of the box. Carvin finally got the clue about those crappy Sovtek tubes in the front-end anyway. Mine came with Groove Tubes in the first two positions. One problem with these tubes is that they are high gain 12AX7s (ECC83s). With a Les paul, my clean channel distorts at 2 1/2!! This is stupid!! I replaced the first tube (each tube section of V1 is the first amp on both channels) with a high reliablity 12AU7 (5814A). This calms everything down because it is a lower gain tube. Before changing the tube, the dirty channel was just crazy with distortion.
It doesn't help that Cavin uses "clipping" diodes in the preamp to add buzz and tonelessness. (Ask carvin why they call this "ALL-TUBE".) Above 7 on the "Soak" control, just noise and transistor-like buzz. Again, the tube change helped tremendously. I wish Carvin didn't use the Eminence speaker. Because it is a "loose" speaker, it vibrates the crap out of the amp. You had better use good tubes in this amp or you will kill them with vibration!!

I haven't had it long enough for reliability on a heavy-use basis. Use good tubes because of the vibration! I recieved the amp with all the chicken head knob set-screws loose! The channel switch was installed at a 45 degree angle. Unacceptable. I hope this doesn't speak of the long-term reliability.

They are helpful but you need to poke and prod them for technical info. They sent me a schematic but it looks about 20th generation photocopy. Very sucky indeed. They do say "please and thank you" like the drive-thru at McDonalds though. (Wan't fries with your mass-produced amp?) If it breaks under warranty, I will fix it myself. I will not pay shipping for a warranty repair like they want me to.

My early 80's Fender was head-and-shoulders above this amp as far as construction and mechanical integrity goes. I wouldn't tour with this amp. I did get it to sound very good AFTER tube-tweaking. I think this amp is over-priced by about $100. I wish Carvin switched the Reverb AFTER the pan, not before. The speaker vibrates the springs with the control up and the footswitch off, hence, reverb through the speaker when it shouldn't be. Not exactly rocket science here folks.
Cookie-cutter assembly techniques are not always best. Carvin needs to train their Production workers on how to use a screwdriver and socket driver (relative to loose knobs and crooked switches). If you can get past the obvious corner-cutting, it is a good amp.