Mesa/Boogie Nomad 55 112

I love my Mesa Boogie Nomad 55! This is the best club amplifier I've ever found, and I've been through a lot of them. None of the crackle and fuzz of Fender DeVille or Deluxe amps, and much better sound than the Marshall club amps.

I love the 3 independent channels ... and w/ vintage/modern switches on each channel, it's like having 6 separate channels. (I typically like the vintage side of all 3 channels, but that's just because they suit my style better).

Each channel has Gain, Volume, Presence, Reverb, Treble, Mid & Bass controls. It also rocks that the amp's Master Volume is totally independent of each channel's channel volume, so you can set very heavy gain/distortion but keep the volume down if you need without losing any of the drive or sound quality as would happen with most other amps.

Plus there's a solo switch for extra volume or leads, and you can also adjust the amp's power from 5% to 100% on the back, which gives the amp more or less punch or volume.

Separate outs on back for effects loops, another speaker/cabinet, to a slave amp/head, direct to board/recording (or headphones for practice), AND you can swap the 6L6s out for EL34s (w/ bias switch) to get different response type of distortion if you prefer EL34s, but I find the 6L6s kick in quickly at low Master volume because you have separate channel volume and the power adjustment on the back of the amp so you can push them.

Are you kidding, ... in this class of amplifier, nothing beats it. All my friends that play Fenders, Marshalls, Vox, and lots of other brands are constantly wanting to play through my amp instead of theirs.

I set up Channel 1 clean, Channel 2 with a good amount of distortion (but not too much) --
and then I adjust them until I get the relative volumes on both channels to be equal. I use both channels for rhythm - either clean or distorted, depending on the song.

I then set channel 3 up lounder and heavily distorted for leads.
I also use my Tube Screamer over Channel 1 or 2 for leads.
Or you can use the Solo button on footswitch over Ch. 1 or 2.

So LOTS of great sounding options that are incredibly easy to access.

This is also a great studio amp for recording - particularly because of
it's ability to deliver great sound & distortion at low Master volume
and/or through or in combination with the direct recording out

I've never had a problem with the amp's performance or sound quality.

I did bust the 6L6s once when putting the footswitch in the back of the amp
(which is my only very minor complaint about this amp since there's not a lot
of room to squeeze the footswitch into it's resting case in back of amp),
but they are easily replaced. Went to Guitar Center, out in less than 5 minutes.
Now I just carry extra two 6L6s (or EL34s) and the channel tubes (four 12AX7s)
with my normal gig stuff.

Have never had an issue -- I've heard that Mesa Boogie is pretty good about standing behind their products.

This really is one of the most incredible and versatile club amps ever built.

Great clean tones for jazz & blues, or with a mild distortion for blues or rock,
or with the grunge, heavy rock or metal distortion - with nice squealing overtones.

Great versatility for almost any type of gig or situation with lots of tonal options.

3 channels with independent voicing for each. solo boost. reverb. effects loop. Exactly the features I would want in an amp.

Channel one (clean) Decent sounding. Not as sparkley as a fender, but with enough reverb and a strat it sounds alright. use the pushed feature to get kind of a tube screamer tone but the volume increases drastically with this switch.

Channel two (rhythm) I prefer to use this channel as the high gain lead channel. It sounds brighter and more full. Pretty versatile tone. Make sure not to turn the gain, mid & bass all of the way up. Becomes way too muddy and sounds like just noise. Its hard to distinguish different chords. Setting Suggestion: Gain-330, Master-8oclock, Presence-130, Treble-4oclock, Mid-1oclock, Bass-12oclock. with the switch turned to modern.

channel three (lead) Best used as a rhythm channel. Too much gain makes it muddy sounding. Setting suggestion: Gain-11oclock, Master-1oclock, presence-2oclock, Treble-4oclock, Mid-2oclock, Bass-3oclock. with switch turned to modern.

Not the exact tone I am looking for but I can work with it and all of the different features make it very convenient for me.

Mesa quality and reliability. No problems with the amp functionally.

Overall this amp is user friendly and convenient. could be considered the lazy mans amplifier. Once you dial in your tones, which isnt the easiest, its nice to have the 3 channels to choose from, a solo boost, reverb all in the 5 button footswitch & an effects loop.

Great set of features - just can't be faulted

Sound quality is amongst the best you will ever hear from a combo with a single 12" speaker

Had a few problems with the pots, they would basically fall apart, however Mesa Boogie replaced all pots free of charge! - Apparently there was a design fault with some pots - so to avoid problems Mesa changed them all, can't ask fairer than that

First class!

I play in a live covers band, lots of styles from floyd to reggae to rock to country and this amp does it all, most happy with it, there are some samples of the versitality of this amp on our web site http://www.storydogs.com, check it out!

55 watt tutto a valvole 6L6 finali,3 canali eq separata reverbero separato per ogni canale,molto versatile fornito di una bella pedaliera per il cambio dei canali e l'inserimento del reverbero
cono celestion da 90 watt che fa un ottimo lavoro uscita cuffie e direct line per il mixer o il recording...direi che ?? fatto molto bene e ha tutto il necessario per le pi?? svariate situazioni,il peso e l'ingombro sono nella norma (intorno ai 20kg +/-) quindi si trasporta senza eccessive difficolt??.
Il volume ?? soddisfacente per lo studio a casa(non tanto per il condominio con pareti di cartone),veramente buono per la sala prove e per i piccoli e medi club,attaccato ad una 2X12 il suono si apre alla grande e microfonandolo diventa adatto anche a situazioni di palco impegnative,tutto sommato un combo molto versatile ed un ottimo strumento di lavoro e di piacere.

La qualit?? del suono ?? eccellente,ma dobbiamo sempre considerare che un amplificatore molto versatile come questo perde qualcosa in carattere,la dinamica comunque ?? sorprendente ed ?? picevolissimo da suonare quanto a morbidezza e risposta al tocco.

CANALE VERDE(CLEAN):
Ispirato alla serie Mark ?? un ottimo pulito ricco di armoniche e pieno ,ovviamente non ci si pu?? aspettare il clean di un black face
ma sicuramente molto buono e utilizzabile

CANALE VERDE PUSHED:

WOW ...da sballo veramente molto bello si riescono a ottenere ottimi suoni blues e sonorit?? SRV,?? chiaro che non ?? lo stesso suono,chiunque suoni un minimo sa benissimo che per il suono di Steve ci vuole un Fender spinto da un overdrive,comunque il risultato ?? molto buono e apprezzabile...GRANDE!

CANALE GIALLO (CRUNCH):

Anche qu?? c'?? poco da dire un crunchettone della madonna sia nel modo vintage che modern si spazia molto tra suoni hendrixiani o ac-dc style, ma spinto molto diventa un ottimo lead sia dolce (santanoso)che molto rock

CANALE ROSSO (DISTORTO):

Qu?? sono rimasto contrariato,ho venduto la mia road king e mi sono comprato il nomad proprio per motivi di comodit?? e portabilit?? ed alcuni rewiew precedenti mi hanno stupito parecchio.
Infatti alcuni utenti reclamavano una certa mancanza di gain....MANCANZA DI GAIN???
L'ampli in realt?? di gain ne ha da vendere e ci si pu?? fare praticamente qualunque cosa,non ha il timbro della recto sono d'altronde ampli diversi, ma ci si f?? quello che si vuole con questo canale senza tanti complimenti.
Tutto sommato un bell'8 non glielo toglie nessuno, perde un punto giusto sul pulito,che naturalmente non ?? fender o hiwatt e un punto sul distorto che non ?? il classico dual rectified ma comunque un gran bell'ampli con ampia scelta di suoni.

Non lo so e spero di non doverlo scoprire.

Come sopra!

Tutto sommato un gran bell'ampli,la Mesa lo ha progettato considerando le esigenze dei musicisti e ne ?? venuto fuori un gran prodotto.
Unisce infatti versatilit?? e grande volume a leggerezza e trasportabilit??,i tre canali offrono una bella variet?? timbrica pur mantenendo un ottima dinamica e buona risposta al tocco.
Buono per provare a casa,eccellente per la sala prove e locali piccoli e medi ed infine attaccandolo ad una 2X12(nitrocab con coni vintage 30) si ottiene un miglioramento esponenziale sia della qualit?? del suono che del volume,trasformandosi in un ottima bestia da palco.
Di solito ci suono con una jem ed una PRS ottenendo risultati eccellenti,con la mia strato custom shop invece devo smanettarci un po di pi?? per sistemare il suono.
L'unico difetto che gli si pu?? imputare ?? la mancanza di un carattere preciso,lo si pu?? definire come il classico ampli di mezzo adatto al professionista che cerca una buona variet?? timbrica in un'ampli che rimane comunque un high gain,un classico jolly da tirare fuori per tutte le stagioni sonore possibili ed in tutte le situazioni.
Venduta la mia road king l'ho preso pensando di tenerlo un p?? di tempo e poi liberarmene,ma francamente con la versatilit?? che si ritrova devo cominciare a risparmiare perch?? la testata me la devo ricomprare senza permutare questo gioiello che credo far?? parte del mio permanent rig

Circa 2001. I've bought this amp used 1 year ago, I always used it in the gigs in clubs and open air show. I play folk-rock west coast music and I set channel 3 in this way: the gain control at 4/10, vintage type, other controls at half way with little more bass; channel 2: gain at 3/10, vintage type, other controls at half way with a little more high; channel 1: gain at half way, clean type, other controls half way with little more middle and bass.

I use it with a Fender Stratocaster Ultra (with Lace sensor B-G-RR) and another one american standard 2004. I can say that the sound is really good for each channel. This amp gives a full range of tones, so you need to spend some time to find your own sound.

No problems in 1 year. Now it needs to change the pre tubes for the first time.

I've been playing guitar since 1983 and I've got too many tube amps as Fender the Twin, Hughes & Kettner Triamp, Soldano Reverb'o'sonic, Fender Hot rod De Ville... so I can say that Mesa Nomad 55 is one of the best amp I've played and I could change it only with another Mesa Boogie.

After reading the reviews for the nomad, I noticed a big gap in opinions. It seems people either think this amp is perfect or absolutely terrible. In fact, the truth is somewhere imbetween.
This amp is loaded with features, and you can read other reviews to see what those are. Mine is a 99 I think. The amp is fairly versatile, but always has certain nuances to its sound that are either a curse or a blessing. Chaneels 1 and 2 are fantastic, channel 3 needs some work. Very bright and brittle, with a certain amount of drive that you can never get rid of. Channels modes are very nice, but with only one mode that gives a decent clean sound, you're often left with alot of overdrive tones that vary in usefulness. Other than that, this amp's pretty much got all the features you could ever want. Independent controls per channel are great, but constantly having to tweak them to suit your guitar can be a problem.

My setup: 1999 Jeff Beck Signature Strat through analogman ts9 into mesa boogie nomad. This amp is actually very quiet. The amp definetely has a "personality" to it, regardless of how many knobs you can tweak. Like many Mesa/Boogie's the bottom end is typically very, very loose. This creates a great "deep" sound, but in the overdrive channels the bottom end can be very difficult to tighten up, often leaving you lost in the mix. That is the first sonic issue with this amplifier. The drive is increwdibly meelow, fat and warm of channel 2 and 1 pushed, and actually sounds quite nice, but don't think you can get a fender-esque tight bottom end out of these channels. No matter how much you tweak the knobs, the drive personality is still dominant. Channels 3, in my opinion, is almost a complete waste. I'm the type of player that likes mild overdrive and being able to dial in a sound where how hard you play is how much drive you get. In channel 3 there is always a ceratin amount of drive that you can't get rid of. The tone is edgy and trebly, with a fast attack that I found to be rather unmusical. They should have just put another channel 1 or 2 in it's spot and this amp would become twice as good. Its frustrating because you buy a 3 channel amplifier assuming that you're going to have a use for all 3 channels, but when you can't get a good sound out of channel 3 to save your life you're really jst using a 2 channel amp.

Seems reliable, but tubes can always fail. Weighs a ton, so I hope its indestructable.

I have been playing for 12 years semi-professionally and have been on a quest to find the perfect amp for a while now. That quest will have to continue because while the nomad is flashy, expensive, and very deep it has some sonic flaws already mentioned that drag down the whole package. I just sold it to buy a cheaper, lighter, better sounding amplfiier. In my opinion these nomads are more hype than substance, and really don't deliver in flexibility and practicality like it should for its cost and reputation. Good mellow sound, but rather inflexible given the number of knobs that are on this thing. Channels 3 needs work. Channels 1 and 2 are very good, yet loose with a sometimes fizzy top end. I would buy this amp for 400, 500, but not for 1000. You can get better, lighter amps for less money.

Not sure what year the amp was made, but the serial number is below 50. If anyone knows how to date a Boogie please contact me!

This thing is extremely versatile for an all tube amp. 3 discreet channels, with 2 modes per channel, blendable effects loop, seperate EQ/reverb for each channel, direct line out, and a rugged footswitch to control most of the features.

I wish the footswitch had a button to turn the effects loop on/off like my old Marshall pre-amp had, but other than that I think it might have too many features!

Also, the amp has plenty of power. I've never had any problems keeping up with other guitarists/my drummer/or my bass player.

I play a PRS SE Soapbar II and a Fender Strat equipped with Texas Specials. The only pedal I use is my trusty tubescreamer. I usually run a Marshall 1965b 4x10 extension cabinet to fill out the sound.

I normally run the clean channel on the regular mode, and dial in an approximate Fender sound. I have found it sounds a whole lot better if I run it through my friend's open back Avatar cabinet as opposed to the stock Celestion Black Shadow. It gets a lot "fuller" sounding, and a lot closer to a typical "Fender" clean. This channel sounds great with my tubescreamer, which is one of my main requirements when amp shopping.

The orange channel is probably my favorite if I had to pick one. Very smooth gain, but when I kick on my Tubescreamer it gets raunchy as hell. I usually play with the TS off while my singer is in verse, but kick on the TS for leads/riffs/heavier parts. With the volume cranked up and the power tubes cooking this channel gets an awesome lead tone.

I don't use the red channel very often because of my single coil equipped guitars, but on occassion I will grab my friend's Les Paul and wail. The lead channel has a LOT of gain on tap in modern mode, and can pull off the "scooped mid" sound without hesitation. I play in an Indy rock style band so that's another reason I don't really use this channel.

Seems to be built extremely well, the footswitch is sturdy, no scratchy pots, nothing rattling loose from excessive volume, and overall I'm impressed.

I had a tube go out the first week of owning it, but it was my fault for trying to pull it out without releasing the clips that hold them in. Complete stupidity on my part.

Never dealt with them.

This is the jack of all trades amplifier. Not the best on any certain channel, but damn good nonetheless. Plus it's like having 3 amps in one. I hate amps that have common EQ's for different channels, because what may sound good for a clean sound might sound awful with gain on top of it.

Amp is one of the last 100 made. 3 channels,EFX Loop,Master Loudness, Comes with 2 6L6'S and 5 12AX'7s. I play this amp for all styles of music,PLENTY of power,,Loudest Darn 55 watts you wil ever hear.Mesa quit making their (IMHO)their best all around amp.This amp has tone for weeks,can tweak it to ANY sound stage you care to..and built like a Panzer Tank,,I dropped mine twice,,had the usual beer baptism,,no problems of any kind.

I have to many guitars to mention,,except to say i have been playing over 30 years,,all giutars sound great,,some you have to fiddle with,,but hey,,that's any amp..I must admit my Washburn HB 35 with seymore duncan jazz pickups just kills..but any style of guitar plays well,,just spend a few minutes to dial it in.

Being dropped,,soaked in beer,,road damage,,not a thing needed repaired

Have dealt with Mesa about tubes,,were most helpful,,just one hint to those like me who are tone freaks,,Nomadd 55 does not like JAN 12AX's.
I have fiund electro harmonix 12ax's along with winged "C" sed 6L6's do just fine

playing 30 plus,own a couple marshall's,,use them for recording,,ownn a old old Vox AC30,,I keep the Mesa because in overall terms i have found no amp that does so much so well, it's not perfect,,,but comes damm close

No sense repeating specs over & over again. The ?recording out? works pretty decent, but it?s no match for an SM57 into the board.

My Setup = Fender US Special Fat Strats > Dunlop 95Q Wha > Boss TU2 Tuner pedal > Boss OC-3 Octave > MXR EVH Phase90 > Nomad 55 + Mesa 1x12 Extension cabinet both with Celestion Black Shadow 90?s.

I find the Nomad Reverb to be fine. It does get progressively weaker as you go towards more gain, say from Ch1 where it?s very strong to Ch3 where it?s hardly there. That?s OK because, a high level of distortion with a lot of (pre-production) reverb sounds crappy.

If I really want to crank it out, I?ll use the effects loop to go stereo out to the clean channel on my Peavey Bandit 1x12. There I?ll have the Effects Loop at approx. 50% Mix, with a ART SGX T2 Multi-Effect Processor for your usual time-based effects like, Stereo Chorus, Delay, Reverb, Flanger. This setup is so addictive. Sometimes I?ll go for hours and not even realize it!!!

Word of advice ? spring for the $130 bucks for the NEW footswitch!!! The old FU2 has buttons that are spaced so close together that you need to wear cockroach killers to change channels in the heat of jamming

Ch1: Normal ? I use for when I play with my Country fellows. Otherwise I?ll turn up the Gain, back off the Master to compensate when I need a little more FAT (check out the manual for some excellent settings like Twang or ? Hyper Clean).

Ch1 Pushed ? Like an angry little ?champ?, personally, I don?t use it much. I prefer Ch2 with the volume rolled back to achieve this kind of a sound.

Ch2 Vintage ? Definitely my most heavily used channel. Nice ?gunka-chunk? well rounded, excellent sustain. Punch in the Solo button and this thing rips.

Ch2 Modern - I don?t use it much.

Ch3 Modern ? Ultimate heavy sound, back off the Treble and Mid controls to reduce the fizzy nature and it really sings. I love doing drop-D stuff, and add a little delay + wha, and it?s my pseudo Joe Satriani solo for days vibe.

Ch3 Vintage ? definitely NOT a clone of Ch2 Vintage, again I haven?t needed to use it.

As you can see, it?s like I?ve only tapped into half of the Nomads potential. You can spend hours finding new sounds. Personally I enjoy that kind of tone tweaking whereas other players may not. If you want plug and play, this may not be the amp for you (check out the F30 or F50, they kick ass too, and have a very basic front panel layout ? but - no solo button which is why I went toward the Nomad) I?ve found some cool stuff using the manual as a starting point and then experimenting from there.

I?ve done a bunch of gigs with it and haven?t had any problems. Hey ? it?s a tube amp - you must keep some track of the last time you?ve changed them. Was it last year, 6 months ago???? When your sound starts going in and out, or tones begin to sound flat with no changes in EQ ? swap them out. That?s the other beautiful part of a Mesa - you can really do all of that stuff yourself, and not have to worry about biasing.

Mesa Customer Service is the best !!!!!! 5 Star***** I always get to speak to someone, and if they?re not there, they WILL return your call. The receptionist sounds really hot too....

I?ve been playing for close to 20 years and have tried a bunch of stuff. I am partial to 6L6?s so please consider this when weighing my comments. This is the amp I?ve always wanted, that fits my playing and power needs at this stage in my ?so called? career. If I did hit it big, then it would be nice to have stacks of Dual Rectifiers in my back line, but for now if I need that much more I?ll just use power amps off of the Nomad to run 4x12 cabs. I?m currently looking for another Nomad (maybe just the head version) as a backup.

Not sure what year the amp was made. I had it for about a year. I do jazz, funk/rock fusion jazz, pop, classic rock, etc., but I mainly used it for praise and worship events in large and small venues. Also took it to a studio once to overdub guitar tracks for live recording. I think this amp suits blues, rock/classic rock or background guitar for contemporary pop pretty well. Three independent channels with separate controls per channel is a big plus. Effect loops have a level control and sound allright. I think it has direct recording or headphone jacks (not sure) but they are by and large useless in IMO. I can't really think of any major features that you need for serious channel switching that it doesn't have. 50W is adequate or probably too loud for the praise and worship venues that I play where guitar is not really the center of the band chemistry. All tube preamp and power amp sections.

I've recently down-size my rig a bit so right now I only have a light weight custom-shop LP with Seth Lovers, a cheap but awesome sounding ES-175 style jazz box and a strat that I put together. Somehow, my LP sounds really thin through this amp especially for solo work (probably due to the pickups). Stock 57's on LP sounded really nice and full on clean, but I thought they were a bit muddy on distortion, but now I'm starting to think that Seth Lovers are on the opposite end of the spectrum. So I need to find something inbetween. The jazz box doesn't sound good through this amp either. The clean sound from this amp is a bit narrow and focused in the mids for a nice full ambient hollow-body sound. But Boogies are not generally known for the Fender-style big, full, light clean tone anyways, so this is no surprise.

Anyways, because of the above, I always used the amp with the strat. My strat has an original Fender neck with a maple board and extra superlight two piece ash body, custom-ordered from Warmoth (this is a deadly combination). The bridge is L.R. Baggs x-bridge with piezo saddles. The acoustic sound from the L.R. Baggs piezos doesn't sound real/good enough to my ear so I barely use it, and also you sacrifice a little bit of Fendery snappy "quack" due to the piezo saddles that strings sit on, so I don't recommend this. For pickups, I go back and forth inbetween S-S-S and S-S-H but I'm using S-S-H format more nowadays. I used to have 250k pots for both volume and tone becuase I thought the amp was a little on the high-end side (from playing through the LP above and also compared to Heartbreaker that I used to have), but I recently switched back to 500k pots and the amp sounds pretty good. I'm using two Dimarzio Virtual Vintage pickups (blues model in the neck/regular in the middle) and a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge. Humbuckers are generically darker sounding than single coils, but JB's have enough highs to be compatable with the two Dimarzios.

Overall, the amp sounds really good with my strat:
- The clean on channel one lacks responsiveness and a bit focused in the mids, but with proper EQ, is decent enough for clean rythm works. The headroom is adequate and the breakup point is reasonable. The pushed mode gives you more of tweedy slightly overdriven sound, which I think the blues players would enjoy.
- Channel two is more of an extention of the pushed mode of channel one. The tone is very barky/fat/full/round while the sound opens up and projects more on the modern mode.
- Channel three is for high gain application and definately has the British flavor with a tiny hint of 80's compressed distortion sound. It has tigher bottom, more compressed, crunch and definition than channel two. The vintage mode softens up/rounds out the edgeness a bit. Right on the money for rock, classic rock, heavy blues, etc. The distortion can get pretty heavy & think, but not as much as the Rectifiers.
- The amp is generally quiet. Spring reverb sounds ok.

Never had any problems with it.

They usually return calls within the same day you call and are helpful.

I'm a live/studio musician and have tried/owned various amps in the past. Some old-time Marshall fans don't like Boogies, but Boogies definately have earned its own place in the guitar amp world, and Nomads certainly have that signature Boogie sound (fat-honky-syrupy etc). If you're looking for a channel switching blues and rock guitar amp, give this amp a try.

I bought this amp in december 2004.
This amp is great - the best amp I ever try. You can play all kind of music and you'll always be amazed by pure tube tone - full tone. I play Blues, Hard rock, Progresive rock, and Heavy metal.
I use all features (3 ch, rec out...) for live shows and studio. (6L6 tubes for live performance, EL34 in studio)
This amp loves good guitars. If you have $100 guitar, you'll get $100 sound. I play Ibanez John Petrucci plugged in Nomad 55. Effects: Alesis Midiverb4 and DBX 266XL.

This amp loves good guitars. If you have $100 guitar, you'll get $100 sound. I play Ibanez John Petrucci plugged in Nomad 55. Effects: Alesis Midiverb4 and DBX 266XL.

Clean channel is like all Mesa Boogie clean channels - The best! (I tested it with Fender Strat, Ibanez John Petrucci, some great old USA made Hamer models - sounds great!

Works great, but it's still new. I had problem with reverb, but changing two reverb cables solve the problem.

dont know, No customer support for Croatia (where is that?)

8 years of active playing - lots of amps, preamps, racks, pedal boxes...
Now, like I said: Ibanez John Petrucci plugged in Nomad 55. Effects: Alesis Midiverb4 and DBX 266XL. Hooked up with Planet Wave cables - and you are ready to ROCK

has a lot of features i'll give it that...maybe too many...see other reviews for the details

sounds ok. but ....it is not worth the $$$. it is too brittle and honky-read midrange...yeah i know ya have to work at it to get your sound out of it. why? why would i have to work at it? these are expensive amps. shouldnt they sound good with a standard setting,without all this tweaking,and then just get better as you tweak it.?i honestly wanted to give this amp a chance but it took to long for boogie to repair it...after it died...see reliability.

this is the good part... worked for a bout a two weeks it started acting up. the treble controls on all three channels died and would only work past half way after that they would suck all the tone out so it sounded like a moving blanket was just thrown over it......i took it in to my AUTHORISED RIPOFF CENTER ...READ: BOOGIE DEALER and they said they would fix it...fast forward to SIX weeks later...still no fixed amp...they are waiting on parts and are gonna replace all of the pots on the amp.they said boogie told them to just go ahead and do this...uh-huh....why? that was today.... they told me maybe by the end of the year it would be repaired i said like hell give me my money back &never buy another boogie again....

never bothered i took it straight to the dealer and got jerked around by them instead...

dont buy this amp. it has serious design flaws. boogie wont admit it. but they actually have now. cause they discontinued production. i can honestly say... this amp doesnt even come close to my Marshall DSL in sound,reliability,looks .you name it. it is over priced for the sound it delivers.i have heard the nomad 100 212 and it sounds alot better, but get this,and i am being totally honest here... my friend owns one and its been in for repair 3 times!!! once for the reverb , another for the channel switching and now the clean channel is making alot od strange noises. boogie needs to throw in the towel with these amps they are junk. they can sound decent when they work and have great features. but there is something wrong in the design. you watch they will stop production of the 100 and the 45 next within a year.if your gonna buy a boogie look for an older one maybe a mark2c or a mark 4. i have heard these amps and they can sound great. but i think the new boogies arent what they should be. my marshall sems a litle cheap when com[plared to build quality of the boogie. ok i'll admit it. but they sound killer and they are alot cheaper at least here they are. so good luck if you get a nomad.you'll need it

I bought this amp three years ago and I could not be happier. SO much versatility! You know the specs form reading other reviews so I'll save a half hour of your reading time, because they are so numerous. I use every knob, switch, and input/output on this amp to record, play live, dial in any sound imaginable.

I play with a Schecter C-1+ w/ PRS McCarty pickups, an Ibanez EX series, and a homemade strat-type guitar w/ 3 Texas specials and each not onyly sound great, but sound unique. This Amp lets the tone come through in a blaze of glory. I play everything: jazz, bluegrass, folk, jam, rock, metal, shred, funk, fusion...the list goes on and on, and this amp takes me to all of those palces. My favorite aspect of this amp is thta not only cna I dial in the tone of any guitarist that I listen to and wish to mimic...but I can dial in MY TONE, which is why I bought this amp in the first place. There are many knobs and toggles to twist and flip in order to get to wher eyou want, but the journey is worth it. The tone controls are also very sensitive , which to me, is a good thing. Some have complained of this, but I see it as more oportunity to experiment. You can dial in the cleanest sound ever heard by man, and then boost the treble and all of the sudden you have warm fuzz...a little more and you have more grind. Definitely read the manual, even before you go and try it out at your music shop.

This is definitely a dependable amp...at least mine is...I've read some horror stories about changing tubes every-other-week, but mine have there stock MesaBoogie tubes (now 3yrs old) and they sound great. I take great care of all of my equipment and have never had any trouble thus far. I gig with it all of the time without a backup...sometime I know this will bite me in the ass, but it won't be because my Mesa is junk...every once in a while things need replacing i.e. tubes, switches, etc... No problems after 3 yrs of regular use...I can't complain at all.

I have not dealt with these fine people...My warranty was a 6 yr one, and I don't expect to have to use it.

I've been playing for 8 yrs now, and do not claim to be an expert in the art of guitar; however, I can say that through much use this amp has been kind to me. The sounds that I can dial in (it does become easier after getting used the sensitivity) and the reliability alone would make me buy this amp again if it were lost or stolen. I compared this amp side by side using my #1 guitar (something I recommend everyone do) with Marshall tube and solid state amps, fender tube amps, and a vox AC30 and found this amp to be what I was wanting...not to say anything bad about the other brands, they just did not suit my tonal tastes.

Don't know year, and paid $900 US. A real tube amp. 3 "real" channels with switching pedal. FX loop, outs, speaker out patch bay with ohm matching. Direct out, with speaker mute feature to record. Used on stage and studio.

Les Paul, 335, Tele, Strat and Ibanez "F" hole jazz guitar. This was the amp I waited for all my life. I've only used Fender's and Music Man amps in my life. I've tried many amps over the years, but like most "old school" pickers, I'm a Fender Deluxe guy. I've read otehr reviews and everyone is bitching about the noise when this amp is over driven, and that's like a Strat, "the noise is part of the sound on stage." I didn't want brutal distrotion, as I'm a Blues, R&B, Soul, Funk, Oldie and Jazz guitar player. I did need more than my Fender Deluxe could offer. Fender is the "blues" amp dating back to "T" Bone Walker. Many new era players like Santana and Chris Cain are using Boogie amps. Now I know why. They sing sweet, but are very clean too. They offer many settings of tone and overdrive.

Boogie seems to be way better than Fender, Gibson or Ibanez. They are responsive to players like Paul Reed Smith. Hopefully I'll never have to find out, but most pickers say the try their best.

See above.

Like I said, I need a Fender sound, but with real channels. Fender DeVilles and Deluxes only have two channels with a "more drive" on channel 2. This amp has actual 3 seperate channels, 3 tone settings, 3 reverb settings, and solo "more drive" on each channel. On stage, I need this. Clean for Jazz and Standards. A little bite for Blues and Funk, and some crunch for Boogie tunes - All without fiddling with the knobs all the time. What do they say on TV, "Set It & Forget It.

This is 2002 Mesa Boogie Nomad, 55 Watts, with Custom 90 Celestion Speakers. Three channels (green, orange, red), with 3 separate reverb control, channel master volume, and presence control. It has one toggle switch per channel for 2 different sounds per channel (total 6). It does not have a built in equalizer. For finer tuning, a built in equalizer would definitely be a plus.

There is a separate Master Output, solo boost & effects loop, headphone & recording output, plus a channel switching pedal. I never used the solo boost or effects loop. I prefer preamp & power amp distortion, and will use the effects loop on the mixer board. A slave out is provided to connect to separate power amplifier. I never use a separate power amp.

The downside to all the features is that it will take at least 6 months before you will feel comfortable with it. I have had this amp for more than a year, and I am still finding new tones. I feel like a nomad, traversing the complexity & myriad of guitar tones! If you like plug and play, AVOID THIS AMPLIFIER!!!

Guitar: Schecter C1 with George Lynch Screamin Demon in Bridge & Pearly Gates in the Neck

Style: I play rock, heavy metal, blues; some jazz & alternative. It can perform all styles very well. It will excel in the styles of classic & 80's rock, alternative, blues; as well as country & jazz. It does a a fair job with nu-metal. However, if you like rectifier/Diezel/Bognar/Soldano distortion, this is not your amplifier. The Nomad's distortion is smooth, reminescent of 80's rock & metal; great for blues! It's also mid heavy & bright. If you like to scoop your guitar sound, STAY AWAY FROM THIS AMP! IF you want to chance it, try a distortion or eq pedal, or go for the Nomad 100 (which has an EQ). Mesa Boogie amps lean towards the midrange. I prefer a mid-range tone, ala Santana, Zakk Wylde, SRV, Slash, etc. This amp has tons of mid range complexity!!!

Green channel (8/10): Normal is very clean with much mid range. Can distort at higher levels. If you need headroom, consider a Nomad 100. Custom 90's (speaker) are wonderfully balance, reproducing lows well, and providing much needed shimmer. It is Mark I'ish, and not quite Fender Delux Reverb, Lone Star, F-50. Great for jazz & country due to its warm tone. Push mode is great for blues. When the gain is dialed up (3 O clock), you can get Fender Delux like distorted sounds.

Orange (9.5/10): The vintage mode is the bread and butter of this amp. It is FAT!!! Classic mesa boogie. At lower gain settings, it sounds like a Mark I distorted. Incredible classic rock sounds (iron butterfly anyone?) At higher gain settings, tends to sound like a Mark III, with much less distortion. There are tons of lows. When connected to a 2 x 12 (TQ) Mesa, it provides a heavy, crunchy sound. Great for Metal & Alternative. The modern mode is less useable. The master volume is much louder than any other channel, making it impossible to switch to this channel without bursting an ear drum. There are too much blistering highs. If you set the eq just right & crank the distortion, this will easily sound like a Dual Rectifier with tube rectification & in vintage mode!

Red (9/10): The theme is how tight & fast can you play. At lower Gain settings, the modern mode is reminescent of Marshall Plexi. Great for classic rock (thin lizzy, early van halen, etc) & blues (buddy guy, srv). It cleans up very nice as well. Great alternative to channel ones clean. At higher gain settings (pass 1 o clock), the sound transforms into Mark IV rhythm channel. It doesn't have quite the same distortion as the lead channel, but you can definitely shred (think dream theatre, Metallica)! It provides tons of chunk when connected to a 2 x 12. The bass is set higher so shredding is much easier. The downside of this channel is that it can be too bright. Finally, the vintage mode. One of the best blues sounds at low gain. Sounds much different than the red modern or green mode. Very dynamic & touch sensitive! blues players will love this channel at low gain settings. Higher gain settings sound identical to the modern mode, but it is much warmer. Great lead tone, actually better

Overall, I would rate it a 9. There is an enormous amount of midrange complexity. If you take the time, you can dial in just about any tone you like. I have tried a vintage 30 speaker, it sounded horrible. It loss the tight low end & shimmering highs. The vintage 30 compressed the sound, and brought out even more midrange. I would avoid this speaker, unless you like that tone. If connected to a Mesa Boogie 2 x 12 close back (or 4 x 12), it turns into another animal (since Mesa boogie cabinents tend to sound darker than other cabinents). It isn't as bright or midrange heavy. There are loads of low end. Great for metal/alternative riffs.

Very dependeable! I have change the power tubes once without a problem. I don't have a problem with the fixed bias. This makes changing tubes easier. If you like your tubes to burn out quickly or want a "warmer tone," (p.s. there are so many other ways to get a warmer tone....mahogony body/neck, alnico guitar pickups, different speakers, heavier strings & picks, different types of tubes, etc) you can have the bias adjusted by a guitar tech. I prefer longer lasting tubes. This amp is heavy, & has solid construction. I expect it to last several years/decades. If you gig, always have extra tubes & fuses on hand. As always, great care and attention to subtle problems early will cause your instrument (amp) to last forever.

Tim Mckee & Kevin Robertson are outstanding, knowledgeable support technicians. They always called me on same day, and willing to help. I haven't had a problem with the amp, and did not need service. I don't think I will have a problem. They are prompt, helpful, and very courteous!

If you are a patient individual, in search of that elusive tone & prefer a smooth, mid-range heavy distorted amp; with tons of features, and outstanding service & reliability, consider a Nomad. If you are a perfectionist and want one great tone, consider a lonestar, matchless, komet. If you want over the top distortion, no midrange, overzealous low end & piercing highs, buy a Rectifier. The Nomad is not for everyone, reserved for those who use distortion to serve and not dictate (from Randall Smith).

This is a new (2003) model. Amazingly I got this for 599.00 from GC since it's being phased out. Play mostly Blues (SRV) and old ZEP. This amp had 3 seperate channels AND a SOLO. I thought my CyberTwin was versatile but this thing is amazing. Imagine and amp that has 3 absolutely seperate channels WITH Reverb control for each. What you should know is there is 6 controls for each channel on the front. They are Gain, Volume, Presence, Bass, Mid, Treble. HOW SIMPLE IS THAT? There are 3 clusters of these 6 controls across the board and it's amazingly simple and fast to understand. At first I was a little intimidated but read the book (excellent by the way) and had it down in around 20 minutes. Each Channel has it's own mini-toggle for overdriving the tube just a bit. Head phones and parallel loop effects grace the back in a simple and straightforward manner.

Well, anyone like me who loves different guitar sounds and versatility would understand why I bought a CyberTwin by Fender. But there is NO MISTAKING TRUE TUBE WARMTH. I love the Fender Clean with Reverb and in this setting the Fender shines. I honestly didn't think I could find anything in a true CLASS A amp with versatility until Mesa Boogies Nomad 55.

I play a G&L Commanche (2002) with a gun oil neck and will save up to buy a hand-built guitar or amp. This is a triple single coil that is offset to give it a Z type look on the pickup. The idea was to have them quieter yet slightly hotter by offsetting the pickups just a bit. Well guess what - it works!

Well, if you love that glassy clean reverb tone that only a strat can usually produce, then this is your amp. Why? I mean you could buy a Fender Amp.? Well, that's where the distinction comes in. This amp uses 6L6's tubes which gives that ultra clean and that frankly a EL34 or EL84 can not. Don't get me wrong, the EL's are a great sound too - (more Marshall sounding) What's really cool though is how you can flip to "vintage" and push even the clean tone just a bit to really make it sound like the older blackface twins.

Now, if you like ZEP, Gilmore, etc. you need a Marshall sound too right? well, by having only 55 Watts it breaks the 50w barrier when most amps start using 6L6's. This is a big Power tube and to get that truly thick awesome rock sustain and sound you would normally have to have a Big Wattage Amp pushing the sound so loud it's impractical. This thing just breaks up a little earlier without ear splitting levels and the sound nothing less than remarkable.

Click the Solo footswitch and you have that classic Santana mellow "sustain for days" that made Mesa famous.

True spring reverb with seperate controls for EACH channel is unheard of to me. This alone makes the amp better sounding when switching from cleaner rhythm to a heavily distorted chord progression to a lead.

I hate a noisy amp especially since today's technology can give us much better tolerances and tighter specs. There is nothing smart about having a noisy amp. If you've ever read Aspen Pittmans Tube Amp Book you'll know this is NOT a sign of quality, it's more a sign of poor connections and components.

Well, this thing is amazingly quiet considering the number of tubes in it. Keep in mind this is the "oldest" part of the amp. Tube technology has stayed basically the same for 50 years. The difference is that they are "seated" better and can be matched almost exactly. The only "noise" you might hear is if you crank up the gain all the way WITH the volume, you'll hear a slight hum. But why would you do that anyhow?

If you can't get enough variety between Channel 1 Clean, Channel 2 Marshall / Mesa and Channel 3 Super brutal, then you need multiple amps and the headaches that go with that.

I know everyone raves about what they bought, but I really feel so good about this "GEM" of a find I thought it would help others to at least check this out. MAKE SURE YOU SIMPLY SET THE CONTROLS AT THE STORE TO THE SUGGESTED SETTINGS IN THE BOOK FOR THE SAMPLES OF EACH CHANNEL. YOU COULD LEAVE THE AMP AT THOSE SETTINGS AND BE HAPPY I'M SURE.

I don't gig now but can't imagine this not being miked up perfectly. It's ruggedly built and heavy for a 1 x 12. Much like my Trace Elliot wide cabinet and the workmanship looked flawless.

Mesa actually calls you back PROMPTLY for even the simple questions. NEED I SAY MORE?

I've been playing for 35 years. Have owned everything from big Marshall rigs to digital rack Groove Tubes boutique end gear. But this one, and I mean it would be replaced in a minute.

You know I originally wanted to get one of the Mark IV's since it's essentially the same layout but with more power. But after owning this I can't imagine how more power could make this tone and dynamics any better.

I really hope this rather lengthy review will help someone. I know I read up on these amps plenty before I started driving around in the cold up here in Chicago to find this one. The many contributions are really a treasure and helped me tremendously - I hope this helped someone out.

I won?t go into too much detail, as you probably either already know the features or can read them below. 3 channels, 2 modes per channel, 1x12 Black Shadow speaker, 4:12AX7s and 2:6L6 good for about 55 watts. Independent reverbs, loop, silent switch, and separate solo boost level knob. More features than I typically want, but all are useable without too much headache.

Channel 1 normal: Lots of headroom available. Despite reports below that this channel/mode is excellent, I think it could be much better. It?s not bad; but feels a bit flat and one dimensional to me. It lacks some of the bounce, depth, and sweetness of a truly great clean channel. It?s a bit stiff and lacks any real booty. To its credit, it does sound good in a band context.

Channel 1 pushed: This reminds me of the clean on an old Sunn ? loud, brash, beligerent mids, and breaks up and barks with authority. The tone is thick and firm and the gain can dial in some good barely-overdriven and classic rock sounds. Sounds like a sweaty, obese vintage amp cranked up. I like this mode a lot, but unfortunately don?t have much opportunity to use it in my current band.

Channel 2 normal: This is my favorite mode of the Nomad. The booty is thick, the midrange is syrupy and the highs are sweet and creamy. I use this as for my leads and it is just the ticket. The enormous girth is perfect for single-note comping and harmonizing. The big fat mids cut through without being overbearing and there is a perfect amount of slight looseness on the bottom. This mode itself is worth the price of the Nomad. Vintage Boogie.

Channel 2 modern: This is similar in voicing to the channel 2 normal mode, but with more firmness and control. The booty is firmed, the highs are extended, the presence is increased and it feels a bit stiffer and more defined. Good for edgier solos and more defined chords without sounding too modern. It bridges the gap between channels 2 and 3.

Channel 3 normal: This mode has a much tighter bass, more present highs, and a solid tight midrange. The tone has more bite and edge, but is still pleasing and doesn?t get harsh or raspy unless you use extreme tone control settings. Don?t expect a Recto here ? although there is plenty of gain and moderate aggression, it isn?t as raw as a Recto. It is a bit more refined and has more of a ?modernized-vintage-amp? thing going on. I use this as my rhythm channel. It is great for big chording and sounds killer in a band context.

Channel 3 vintage: Very similar to normal mode, except it loosens up the overall character and gets a bit fatter and less focused. There are some very good tones in this mode, especially if you want a less modern take but more tightness than channel 2 normal. It is easier to push around than the obese tones of channel 2. This channel also sits perfectly in a band context.

The reverbs are pretty nice, as is the solo boost feature.

Although this is a new amp, the reverb switching from the footswitch only works about 40% of the time. This switch is IC-driven and not relay driven, so I?m assuming it is either the footswitch cord or one of the pin receptacles on the amp or switch. Not a big deal to me since the reverb levels are independent for each channel, and probably very easy to fix, but a little frustrating. Although it is too early to give a rating, the amp is very well constructed and all components from the cabinet to the innards appear to be of excellent quality. By nature, more complex amps are prone to more problems, but Mesas have a good track record.

Excellent support, especially considering their size and how busy they are. If you call them, they will call you back, usually the same day, and will make sure you are completely taken care of before they end the call. Can?t ask for more than that. They even manage to remain friendly despite the fact that they certainly have to take calls from young Recto-toting punks with more money than brains.

A good sounding, well-constructed, versatile and gig-worthy amp that I got for $599 new. You can?t beat that. The overall tones are great (although the clean leaves me wanting) and it fits the bill perfectly for modern rock with a vintage nod. I would buy it again if I could get it for the same killer price.

Amp made in 2003
The amp is very versitile and this is a second review that I believe will be very helpful.

I play PRS exclusively the amp sounds very different with each one as they have different pick configurations. The amp is very quiet and has an infinate number of sounds. I have owned it for several months and I am still dialing in preferences.

Up to this point no problems.

I talked to Boogie when ordering an extension speaker and they were very friendly and helpful. I also talked to them about tubes and again very helpful and persistent in paging and leaving messages for me.

My opinion of this amp has increased greatly based upon the fact I added a 12" speaker in an extension cabinet. The additional speaker at least tripled the quality of the sound. If you are planing on purchasing a Nomad plan on buy an external cabinet.

Another problem I had was I was straight lining my effects thru the guitar input. The sound became muddy and I was searching for a cleaner sounding tube set. Well..I finally used the effects loop and the entire situation changed and the amp sounds fabulous.

I would absolutely replace with a Boogie product probably a Nomad because I have figured out how to achieve my sound. I have played many amps including a boat load of old black face Fenders. This amp has all the tone you need and a very expansive distortion even at low volume settings.

Purchased new in 2003. If you're reading this then you've probably seen all of the specs. If not visit the Mesa/Boogie web site. I will say that I wish it had a switchable effects loop (to switch out my processor/effects completely). Also note that some previous reviewers strongly disliked the black knobs because the settings were hard to determine. Mine came with decals you can put on the knobs to help indicate relative positions.

You really need to play this amp with YOUR setup and spend some time with it. It sounds completely different with my American std strat. with EMG DG pickups vs. my ES-335 Gibson. Furthermore, each pickup setting sounds drastically different. When you couple these variables with all of the permutations for gain and tone the Nomad affords you, then sounds and tones seem infinite. This things oozes tone, but you will need to spend a considerable amount of time familiarizing yourself with the adjustments and their affect. As others have said, the clean is not "Fender", but I own a good Fender and this clean is nice in its own way. The dirty channel does not quite get Rectifier nasty, but it does more than I need for classic rock and blues. If you want a Fender, get a Fender. If you need Rectifier distortion, get a Rectoverb (etc.). If you love Boogies, spend some time demo'ing this one.

Fairly new owner so can't say.

I bought directly from Mesa/Boogie at their Hollywood, CA store. They retail and do repair there. Staff seemed freindly and very competent.

I'm a hobbiest that owns a lot more and better gear than I need. Been noodling around for over 30 years. Own American Std. Strat. with EMG active pickups (ala Gilmore), an ES-335 Dot Reissue Gibson, Rickenbacker 360-CW 12 string and an Ovation Elite. I've loved the sound of Boogies since the MK-1 in the very early 70's. I love the boogie sounds and this one has a lot. I chose this particular amp due to its versatility. I'd replace it if stolen. Only wish is that it had a switchable effects loop.

Just purchased this amp believe its a 2003. The features appear to be very good. I had purchased a number of Fulltone boxes in the past that don't seem of much use now. I am still experimenting daily with the controls trying to achieve my "sound".

At this point I am very pleased with the sounds I have found. There are new discoveries all the time. At first I loved the Modern setting on channel three. But I then tried the modern setting on channel 2 and it was even better, less muddy. Channel one is beautiful for clean and jazz tones.

I can't really speak to reliabilty as the amp is brand new. I read the Harmony Central reviews after the purchase and hope that Mesa has addressed all of the problems that have arised out of earlier models. I would like to feel very comfortable with this amp. It sounds great I hope it continues to perform.

I am very close with the dealer I purchased the amp from. I have no reservations about the customer service through him. I am planning on contacting Mesa about the reliabilty indicated in the reviews.

I have a hard time believing it, and my playing doesn't always reflect it, but I have been playing for 40+ years. If the amp were lost or stolen I would probably buy another. I love the workmanship and the flexibility. I chose it because several artists I truly admire play Boogies and I have come to like the sound.

I just want to say the following: Every channel sounds great, and you can get EVERY sound out of it, if you know how to tweak.
For the guys who want more distortion on channel 3: It's not about distortion, guis! This Channel 3 with Gain to 12:00 sounds as deep and heavy as my Recto, BUT: you have to attach a closed 4x12 Cabinet! Don't blame the combo for something it just can't be.
we play heavy rock to metal. I normally play my Recto Top with Marshal 4x12, but in smaller venues, I play the Nomad, and can get my tone!
BTW, I normally play Robin Guitars, FR-Strat Style, but the best matching partner for the Nomad is definitely a Gibson Les Paul, and you can get ANY tone you want!

Wohever rates tone in numbers has completely no point about TONE.

Nomad is by far the most versatile amp I have played. There are few amps that can really handle many styles like rock, pop, and jazz at the same time, and Nomad is one of them.

It is almost impossible to get really bad sound of this amp, once you take the time to learn how to use the controls. There is not just one good sound for each channel, but plenty - it takes several months to explore all the possibilities. Take time to look for the sweet spots, it is definitely worth the patience. It's not noisy, once you put in the right good quality tubes and swap them once in a while. At the beginning, there was a slight extra hum coming from the amp. As soon as I replaced the Mesa stock tubes with better ones, I found out that the slight hum I had experienced was from the bad tubes, not from the amp itself. With the right tube combination, the amp is very quiet, even with higher volumes.

I have owned this amp for two years, and it has never broken down on me. However, as the manual states, if you turn the gain all the way up, it will wear your tubes out very soon.

I haven't contacted Mesa.

I have owned several high-end amps (from Mesa, VHT, Marshall), but this has been the best of them. Nomad is like the swiss army knife - there's a sound for almost any circumstance. I would buy it again, because I haven't found another amp that can cover as much styles as Nomad and still sound so good. It think it's among the most versatile tube amps there is.

I have the 2000 model and bought it new after a terminal failure from a Marshall TSL.
I find this amp to be amazingly versatile - after nearly two years I am finding out most of what it can do.
I use the effects loop to feed a mesa 20/20 power amp with some wet processing.
Features are well described in earlier reviews. I tend not to use the clean channel for gigs as the volume does not match too well with channels two & three.
Plenty of power from 55 watts for all the gigs we play.

Nice quiet amp. I play mostly rock covers. This amp does everything I want and more.
Sounds best with my Gibson standard Les Paul.
I love the sounds and the distortion.
Basically I am writing this review because I was so pissed off reading the reports that slate this amps sound.
I really can't believe that the lousy reviews are based on any real experience. It takes a long time to begin to understand all the tone options, but it is worth every effort.
So you don't like the sound of a Boogie? - O.K., fine don't buy a Boogie!! - but this amp can do most things better than most.
The versatility is staggering.
I agree that the controls are all but invisible on stage - problem solved by bits of sticky paper - not elegant, but easy.
The only other practical problem is that in carrying the amp in to gigs, I often accidentally move the knobs a bit - and as others have pointed out, that changes the tone a LOT - but what a problem to have - how can any amp have too much tone?? -and I can't believe that any half serious musician could really fail to notice a change of tone and not know how to put it back on track PDU!!

I don't think any valve amp is entirely reliable.
Mine has never actually let me down, but I have had one of the pots changed and another is going - as another report says in the last third of the travel.
But this is not much after a couple of years of lugging it around in the back of cars/vans etc.
My Marshall was nothing but trouble.
I would never go to any gig without total backup of everything.

Pot changed under warranty - took two weeks.
I can't be bothered to deal with the current pot problem as it still works and is now out of warranty.

I have been playing for 40+ years and still gigging.
This is by far and away the best amp I have heard.
I would certainly buy another if stolen.
Above all, don't listen to those whinging reports about the sound -
As I said above, I've had this amp two years and I play it nearly every day - I'm not in the first flush of love here - but I do still love it.
Don't just go into a shop or get it out of the box, plug it in and say 'it doesn't work properly' - that way you are just showing your ignorance.
This is an amp for those who want a partner for the long term - not just the lastest gimmick.

2002 model,3 channels with 2 tone sounds each,55 watts, all tube
power, footswitchable between channels also solo boost,reverb on\off.
Each channel has separate controls fo EQ,gain,volume,reverb,presence.
There are several output jacks, recording\headphones,slave and an effects loop.WOW! Nuff said? If you want versatility,like to tweak to
see what this does ect.,and don't like the sound of solid state amps,
you should include this one in your trials.A word of caution,GET THE MANUAL,you can download it from Mesas website.It explains what each knob does in the separate channels because they are not simply duplicates of each other.For a tube amp,I give it a ten. In the stores in my area,there wasn't anything that compared to it.

I currently play a G&L Asat Special with the stock pickups.(P90 style).This amp suites my playing styles well.(Rock,Alt,Jazz,Hard Rock,Blues,you get the pic.)It has a multitude of sounds in it that cover a broad spectrum from crystal clean to ripping,snorting overdrive,BUT you must be willing to tweak to find them all and once you do, WRITE THEM DOWN so you don't forget.It is a little noisy,but this could be the tubes or my pickups,for now it's not too bad.This is not a box stock metal amp,you'll need a pedal to go there.A closed back cabinet would be a nice addition to this amp,I'm going to get one and I can't wait to hear the sound of this amp pushing 4-12's!!HUNDAMAHYAH!!I'm speaking in tongues!!

I haven't had it long,but so far so good.Again,GET THE MANUAL,it has critical information about taking care of the amp,tubes,ect.If you don't read the manual you will wreck the tubes again and again by useing the amp improperly.OK?,OK.

Never had to call,but the first thing I did was go to the website and DOWNLOAD THE MANUAL so I could make sure I used it the right way.
Is there something subliminal going on here? Hmmm.

I have been playing for 18 yrs. I have owned many different amps and guitars.I compared this amp back to back with a Peavey Classic 50,a
Marshall Combo,Fender Hot Rod,and some others I can't remember.While I loved the sound of all of them,and would like to own them all.For my budget,this amp covers a broader spectrum of tones that I need to use for my playing style.I hope this review will dispell some of the negatives I have seen mentioned. They may not all be perfect,(they ARE made by humans),but this amp is certainly NOT junk.BALANCE!!

lots of features. tons of stuff, 3 channels, 'verb, etc... see other reviews. nice looker too

the second and third channels sound like crap. has a nasally high midrange you CANNOT DIAL OUT! needs the 5 band EQ that my Mark IIC has to help it out, but stock? yikes! pretty good clean channel though!!
save your money and buy a Triaxis. Tthat's the most versatile preamp I've ever owned...and with a 2:90 power amp...you'll never even think about owning a Nomad. what a non-musical paperweight these Nomads are....

no problems. Mesa make great stuff (I have tons of it (Mark IIC, Studio 22+, Triaxis/2:90, Solo 50 Rectifier, etc.) but this Nomad sounds bad...REALLY BAD

great folks. always extremely helpful and go the extra mile.

well built with lots of options, BUT IT SOUNDS TERRIBLE! avoid at all costs, Mesa makes other great amps...

This amp has a lot of features. It has 3 channels, effects loop, and a solo boost (a feature now offered with their Rectifier series). Each channel has two modes. Pushed/Clean on Channel 1, Modern/Vintage on channels 2 and 3. It also has a direct output for recording and reverb. A Built in Bias select switch allows you to put 6l6s or El34s in. This amp is a very loud 55 watts.

This amp has a lot of features, and you can get a lot of sounds but none of the tones this amp offers are very good. I have a 91 Gibson SG with Lindy fralin humbuckers and a 2000 Fender American Deluxe Fat Strat, and the tone left a lot to be desired. I'm mostly into heavy blues and hard rock (Aerosmith, AC/DC, SRV..). This amp's clean channel is not as good as a fender's, the distortion is not as good as a Marshall's and it doesn't have enough gain for metal, the gain is also extremely harsh. If you want a lot of tones then this amp might be for you. I'd rather have one great sound than a lot of mediocre ones.

This amp's lack of reliability is astounding. The Nomad I owned had a factory defect in the preamp which was not corrected by the dealer. This led to the amp's blowing up while jamming. I mean, this thing just started billowing smoke during a song! I took it to an authorized mesa/boogie repair shop, who took 3 months to fix the problem and when I got it back it blew up again! Buyer beware, mesa/boogie has a reputation of making durable amps...that reputation is valid for their older amps (Mark IIs and IIIs, old Rectos) but the newer Mesas are garbage.

Never dealt with mesa directly. The necesary repairs were made under warranty. Mesa has a good reputation for service and will always call you back. Stay away from the Nomad amps and you probably won't need to call them anyways.

This amp is not worth it. The Nomad is supposed to be versatile, and it is, its tones are just useless. The clean channel is by far the best one here, and who buys a mesa for a clean sound anyways? I sold this amp and bought a JCM800 2204 which is much better for me than the Nomad.

I just wanted to tell anybody intrested in one of the Nomad amps to check all the pots for proper function. Especially in the last 3rd of the range. I've tried tree Nomads in tree different stores and each one had a pot or two who would crap out in that range.

2001 model.The amp has lots of features. If you're reading this i'm sure you know them already. This is probably one of the most versatile tube amps out there.

First of all, anyone who knows anything about Mesa amps knows that the controls react like no other amp out there. To get a good sound, you have to know how to use the eq and tone controls. READ THE FREAKIN MANUAL!!! I play just about every style of music except for metal. This amp covers all of them wonderfully. My main guitar is a strat plus with lace sensors. What's amazing about this amp is the vast array of distortions that you can get out of it be tweaking the controls. I love the rhythm type of distortions that you can get out of channel 1 (but you have to read the manual to understand how to get these sounds). Channel 2 is classic boogie and is probably one of the fattest lead sounds out there (sounds amazing with a les paul). I don't use channel 3 as much as the others but it sounds just as great as the other two. It seems that a lot of people complain about it being too weak and thin. Again you gotta know how to eq. it right and to get a recto type of sound you will need some sort of closed back cabinet since this combo is open back. Hook this thing up to a recto cabinet and you'd be surprised at just how similar it sounds. In any sense, if you want a rectifier sound, JUST BUY A RECTIFIER!!!

Only problem is the solo boost is messed up. I'm sure it could be easily fixed but I don't really care because I've never used it anyway. Its very heavy, but what tube amp isn't?

never dealt with em

This is a great amp that is very reasonably priced (although i think its selling for $1300 these days). Anyhow its well worth the money. Know how to use it and you'll be more than satisfied.

My amp's a 2001 model. Need not elaborate on it's features as it has been thoroughly covered by other owners. But generally has 3 channels with 2 mods each. Clean, Mid gain Boogie lead and Hi-gain(somewhat almost recto kinda gain with teh right pickups and power tubes!!).Just love that warm and mid-rangey boogie lead tone on channel 2, but be warned you gotta spend time tweaking it first.

I'm using a PRS CU22 with Dragon II's. I'm a suker for the Santana nasal-womanish kinda tone and I would say that it does get the job done convincingly. No noise so far with the amp.

Do play jazz, blues and rock. Again, to get these genre of stules, need to use the right axe, pickups and finally tweaki, tweak, tweak.
To be honest this is not a p;ug and play amp. When i fist got it, was so darn disappointed with the amp, that's until I read the manual and understad the EQ controls. Be careful here, just by changing them a bit would alter your sound and feel. Experiment with all different combinations and you'll be rewarded. Am very pleased with the one so I'll give a 10 in practical use terms.

SO far so good. But would always carry backups aor tube replacements!!

Excellent I must say. Contacted them with some questions and they replied in a jiffy. Very helpful and friendly.

Been playing for 15 years. Owned Marshalls and Fenders and I must say this is the one which has nailed my tonal preferences the most. My main amp now. If it were stolen would get the 100 watter with EQ instead. However, do remmember spent some time understanding the EQ controls and then try different combinations and you'll unlock many usable and awesome tones.

I guess I don't have to expand on the features of the Nomad as it has been thoroughly explained by the other users below. Go to boogie's website should you require more info on this. In practicality sense, every function seems to be useful in accomodating my musical preferences and live work. The 55 watts of pure tube power of this beast is able to boast a tremedous amount of power and volume for various medium/large size venues. Should you need more power, change the power tubes and let 'er rip baby!! At the moment, my Groove Tube 6L6's is more than I ever need!! Hence I would give it a 10.

I run this baby through a PRS Custom 22 with shileded humbuckers (for those classic tones) and an Ibanez Prestige S1540 with Dimarzio high-out put hummers, for more aggresive and harder tone.

Have read reviews by other users that there's not enough gain, or sounds too thin, etc. Hey man....there's no perfect amp in this world which can do everthing can it? If there is, we would all be in Heaven already!!!

First of all, tis amp was design for more of the "Old School" kinda vibe. Now dun get me wrong, this does not mean that it cannot cover various musical styles. As a matter of fact, it can cover almost all types of music Jazz, Rock, Metal, etc... rather convincingly.

Now the question is how is that so? It actually boils down to your gear, i.e type of guitar, pickups, speaker and cabinet you amp is driving and most importantly...your playing techniques and dynamics.

If you have shit gear and pathetic playing style, don't expect this amp to shine..blame it on yourself first. Secondly, do remmember that this is an all tube amp! Do some study on the vast and different tubes available in the market place today and find the one which suits your style and you amp wold definetely meet up to your expectation...that's GUARANTEED!!

Despite the above bein said, in general this amp has got a very warm and rich characther. However, it can get Fenderishly twangy in Channel 1 and anything else in between without any problems. Channel 2 is the "Sweet" lead tone ala Santana and Carlton. Channel 3 is your hottest channel whereby the overdriven sounds an more aggresive an bighter, suitable for more high-gain rock/metal appication which I rarely use. However, before U can get your tone, please read the manuals as every EQ control on each channel is a bit different. Understand them and you'll find what your looking for.

As for me, all thrre channels are equally impressive to my ears and as such deserve a 10!

So far so good. But would definetely carry spares when gigging or a spare amp!!

Had some queries for Mesa and they e-mailed me back in a jiffy. Excellent service!

PLayed different kind of amps throughout my 15years of playing. In my sonic conclusion, it's a very versatile amp. Of course this is not a a completely "Do-it-all" amp, but does the job rather convincingly. I'm so impressed with it that I'm thinking of getting the 100watter with EQ for further tone shaping.

tons of features, loaded. see other reviews.

muddy, mid-range laden lead channel 3. channels 2 & 3 have a nasally pinched sound that just won't go away. this could benefit from a 5 band EQ like the mark series has. clean tone is pretty good. reverb is nice on clean channel, but is unusable on channels 2 & 3.

couldn't stand the terrible tone long enough to find out.

mesa support is always top notch

lot's of features, but the tone is terrible. waste of money. there will be others trying to convince themselves that it sounds good, to justify the money they spent, but don't be fooled.
you can put all the greatest features on an amp and if the sound blows, the amp does!!!!

A great sounding amp but not enough for the money. The clean channel is never truly clean unless you are at very low volume. Very noticable hum. No markers on the knobs which are all black very difficult to see settings in low or medium light. The spring reverb is useless. Nice crunch at low volumes tho and generally rich tone except for lack of a good clean channel. I didnt buy it I tried it out with my band for a day and we decided good amp but much better can be had for the cost or a little more taking it back to try out something else - Maybe a Mark IV or a twin reverb

This is my third review. I've been going through my typical "lets try something new" phase. I can't find anything out there that I like better than my Nomad. Being a true musician it will not suit everybody but it should get close if you know how to work it. I'm planning to put a THD Reactive Rectifier in it to add some sag to the amp. I miss that in all modern amps (except for those with a tube rectifier, not many out there).

First of all, ignore the statements that its not a high gain amp. It is very high gain, hence people frying their tubes. But, it is different than Marshall or Recto distortion. Marshalls and Recto's are very "in your face" and ear splitting. The Nomad is rounder with a less harsh top end. Its like a super higain 70's amp or vintage Marshall. If you use the Modern setting on Channel 3 or 2, it will sound very close to a Recto or Marshall. Keep in mind it is NOT a tube rectifier circut. That's a BIG part of the Recto magic. NOTE: to get the best distortion, the master on each channel should be at least set at 1:00 to 2:00 and use the Output to vary the overall volume. The best gain is from 12:00 to 2:00 on the gain control. If you have the Channel Master set low, the gain is buzy and not very tight. If you try this in the music store, don't crank the knobs all the way up. Mid point (12:00) is the best range of tones on the treble, mid, and bass. Bass can be altered dramatically. I wouldn't move the treble or mid above that range. Also, a very slight tweek of the controls yields very DRASTIC changes in tones. Changing the midrange from 11:00 to 11:30 yields an audible change in tone and feel. Thats barely an 1/8" window on the tone knob. Wo what i'm saying is ASK TO SEE THE MANUAL IF YOUR TRYING IT IN THE STORE, OR BETTER YET, DOWNLOAD THE MANUAL FROM MESA'S WEBSITE AND PRE-READ IT.THEN YOU'LL BE BETTER ARMED TO MAKE A GOOD DECISION IN PURCHASING.

No problems as of yet.

this is my 3rd mesa system. they've always answered emails and have sent schematics when requested.

Features mentioned earlier, though a basic review of them would include: 50 watt, three channel amp, each having two specific modes, seperate preamp/master volume and tone controls. One overall master volume control and a solo control used for boosting...you guessed it, solos. 1-12" Mesa/Celestion speaker rated at 90 watts. Sounds like a higher powered Vintage 30 to me.
Parallel effects loop with mix knob. Bias switch for using EL-34 or 6L6 tubes. Mute switch for bedroom recording.
Nice footswitch containing 5 switches, used for selecting channels 1-3, solo and reverb.
I can't think of any other features I would need. Maybe a foot switchable effects loop that would take my rack gear out of the loop for true bypass. (as opposed to just switching the effect off).

The bottom line is that this amp sounds great.

Channel 1 is a perfect fender clean sound, with the added ability of getting some low gain distortion sounds with the flip of a switch.

Channel 2 is a medium to high gain affair, but with a very roundish if not soft type of sound. Perfect for Stevie Ray type sounds.

Channel 3 is the real gain channel. Vintage mode is perfect for strat style single coil pickups while modern mode really excels with humbuckers.

Note: I use the channel 3 modern mode, but with a little less treble and preamp gain. It sounds like a midpoint between the two modes.

Another thing I've found is that if you keep the channel 3 volume lower, then crank up the overall master volume, the amp is more grainer/buzz like. Reverse the two settings and the amp becomes smoother. There really is a nice interaction between the preamp and master controls.

There can be some hissing from the amp at very high gain. I haven't heard a high gain tube amp that didn't.

I've gotten some nice Jimmy Page, Eric Johnson and Gary Moore sounds out of this amp. Chickin pickin using a Strats two front pickups on the clean channel produces a quack like sound a duck would envy.

I do feel the sound of this amp improves with the use of a closed back cab. (It's well known most amps do. Still, One may want to consider purchasing the Head version if portability isn't an issue).

To my ears, this amp does not sound like a Rectifier or any newer Marshalls (as some have said). It's not as agressive as those amps. A reviewer before mentioned it as having a smoother/fuller quality. I would have to agree.
It does have a 70's rock type vibe, but with higher gain and more features. I would use this amp for any style of music except the so called "Nu-Metal" which I don't play anyhow.

This is my current playing out amp and I couldn't be more pleased with the sound it.

I bought this amp new in late 2001. Hence the 9 month wait til I had enough experience using it in a variety of situations.
(I love when people play a guitar or amp in a store for 20 minutes and feel they can write a well informed review. How about playing with other people or in a studio. You know, that's what we actually do when we play music).

While not any major problems with the amp, I did have a preamp tube go microphonic very early on (first month). This is much more common when using combo amps as the increased vibration from the speaker can affect the internal mechanical parts of a tube.

This is in no way a fault of the Nomad, just a basic problem with combos in general.

The tube was still under warranty. I didn't bother to call Mesa as I had some old Mullard preamp tubes that sounded even better.
(I know Mesa tests all it's tubes. Problem is their using cheap chinese preamp tubes to begin with. Hey Mesa switch to a Russian preamp tube. It will save you alot of phone calls).

This amp has been used in the studio as well as on stage. Hasn't let me down yet, as I consider tubes to be a seperate issue.

I called Mesa to see if they had any channel switching mods.
They actually have a mod to break out the channels to 1/4" jacks. This would allow me to use a Ground Control/GCX switching unit two not only change channels, but also effects via midi at the same time.

I actually left a message for a Mesa tech. I was called back in less than 24 hours with the exact info I was looking for.

I've been a guitarist and amp collector since I was 15(Yikes, that's 20 years ago), and can honestly say this is a great amp for most situations.

The price is very reasonable, considering I haven't seen a better amp for less money.
I needed a great sounding, portable, gigging amp so the hunt was on.
This amp was compared to Peavey, Crate, Randall, Line6, Marshall, Tech21, Laney and Fender combos in the 50 watt range, both Tube and Solid State.
None of these amps had the sound along with the features of the Nomad 55. (Granted, most of these amps were cheaper, but not even close to being in the same league as the Mesa. It was worth the extra $$$)

I also checked out other Mesa amps as well. They all sounded pretty good, though none of them sounded quite like the Nomad 55.

One thing to note. I own many of the great classic British tube amps of the 70's (Marshall, Orange, Hiwatt, Park, Soundcity. These amps were actually very cheap when I bought them used back in the mid 80's).
They all have a particular sound that make them unique and even sought after today.
The Nomad 55 sounds as good as any of them, but with the added versatility of usable modern features.

Will I ever sell my classic amps? NO, but I won't be selling the Nomad either.

Take care,
Chris

This beauty is the gymnast of the amplifier world-- flexible as the day is long. Each of 3 channels has two modes, for a total of 6 preamp combos. It also has a spring reverb unit and a parrelel effects loop, making it the perfect tube combo for any musical application.

AHHH. Sublime. Channel 1 has nice chimey highs when played with the middle pickup of my strat, and gets some delightful meaty tones when you flicked into pushed mode. Channel 2 is incredibly fat (even with single coils) and i find it excellent for slow, burning blues. Chanel 3's modern mode is a little too gainy for my style of playing, but i usually run the gain at abouut 2.5 and the master at about 5 for some great old school tube overdrive sounds. It also can produce those wonderfully nasty tones of early Led Zeppelin and The Who (think communication breakdown!) Absolutely wonderful.

I have only had one small altercation with this amp. once the knobs on channel 3 got banged in and the pots lost their connections or something, but all it took to fix it was a quick call to Mesa to get knew pots, and then a few days with the local tech to get it up and running again. my channel one is a little noisy, but it probly just needs to be replaced as its been in there for well over a year now.

With only around 80 employees worldwide, when you call the mesa headquarters, you know that you're talking to someone who knows the amps. when i had to get new pots, they just sent them right out, and didnt charge me. i give them a nine because the guy was a little condescending when he was telling me to be careful with the knobs (like i didnt already know).

I play a mexi strat with duncan pickups (i love that guitar!)through a boss CE-5 and a boss DD-5 into the boogie. I mostly play blues and classic rock (Page, Clapton, Vaughn), but this amp sings with any other style too. it does take a little while for you to bond with the amp and learn its sweet spots, but let me tell you, its time well spent. Terrific!

Good grief - this amp has EVERYTHING on it, and then some: most versatile amp I've ever laid hands on: three channels, eahc of which has its own treble, mid, bass, gain, volume, presence, and reverb knobs; ech channel also has a toggle switch: bright/fat on the clean, and vintage/modern on the two dirty channels; finally, a master output and solo level control is available... oh, and of course an effects loop. Tubes: 2x6L6 for power, 6x12AX7 for preamp. My combo was obtained used and had a Celestion Vintage 30 in it instead of the stock speaker.

I've played through it with an Ibanez RG770 (Tone Zone, Hot Rails, and Paf Pro pickups), and G&L strat with Kinman pickups, and a stock McInturff Sportster with Zodiac pickups.

The clean channel is excellent: great reverb, and great bite to the sound. The dirty channels are also very good.

My only problem with this amp is, if you don't like the "Mesa midrange" that tends to limit Mesa/Boogie amps to being useful for nothing more than death metal and so forth, then you won't like this amp either - it's got the Mesa midrange that cannot be gotten rid of. I knew about the problem with mids when I got the amp, but figured with individual controls on each channel, including presence controls, I thought I'd be able to dial it out. I was wrong: unfortunately, overall, I just don't like the tone of this amp. I won't bag on it too much, though: it sounds like a Mesa/Boogie. If you have a Dual Recto, and want something in a light, lower powered combo format, this is your amp. If you want a happy marriage between Fender and Marshall, look elsewhere.

n/a

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I've been at it 14 years or so... my main guitars are listed above. I've played numerous amps thus far, and my main one at present is a Rivera Fandango 55-212. In fact, I got this Nomad since the Rivera is currently on the fritz. When the Rivera is fixed, I'll sell this off again. It's nice (VERY nice), but the Rivera doesn't have the problem of too much midranginess. If stolen, no I wouldn't buy it again.

Love: the versatility... Hate: the excessive midrange.

See my review below. This is just an addition.

Try THD EL84 Yellow Jacket convertors in this amp. This is what you'd get if a Mesa Combo mated with a VOX AC30. VERY WICKED!!! The amp is loud, chimey, and harmonically rich. Low end is sacrificed but its like getting a hyper-moded VOX. The cleans are sinfully glassy with single coils and toneful with humbuckers. The distortion is incredible. Very tight, focused, upper harmonics leap out of the speaker, and shreds. Killer, I don't think I'll go back to EL34's or 6L6's.

see below

see below

Just wanted to add in another review. This amp is so versatile that I wanted to exploit it even further. As mentioned in my previous review, the amp was great in stock format. No other amp in its price range (and in the stores)could hold a match to it. With the addition of the Weber speaker and THD yellow jackets, I just added a whole new dimension to the amp. The perfect marriage of American gain and British tone. The amp just sings now. Gain is so wickedly smooth,chimey, and readily available from the lowest settings.

Feature loaded amp. Its like getting 6 different amps. To my ears, its more like 4 different amps. The clean is one, the pushed another, then the two other modes. The other two modes (2 and 3)have Vintage and Modern switching. They do sound different, but not so much to consider them totally different IMHO. Footswitching and a great Solo boost function.

IF YOU OWN A MESA NOMAD AND WANT TO KNOW HOW TO IMPROVE THE SOUND FOR AN EASY $75 FIX? BUY A WEBER THAMES 12" SPEAKER (UNDOPED OR LIGHTLY DOPED). THE MESA IS TRANFORMED INTO A SUPER DYNAMIC, CHIMEY AMP. CHANNEL TWO IS VASTLY IMPROVED, TIGHTER AND MORE FOCUSED AND ALL AROUND SWEETER TONE. Stock the amp sounded great, but the speaker was too tight and "flatulant" sounding to me. The Celestion has a harsh upper end and doped so much that the texture and dynamics are killed. TRUST ME, CHANGE THE SPEAKER, YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED. Even without the change, the amp is phenomenal. PSSST - try a Crispy Creme Treble booster (WWW.Treblebooster.com) through channel two....you'll wet yourself (it will make a Triple Rectifier blush).

I've only had it a few days now. Mesa's tend to be very reliable, we'll see (fingers crossed).

They've been great in the past. I also own a Mesa Triaxxis / 20-20 rack system.

I've been playing for 18 serious years. I'm in 3 differnt bands and I needed something smaller and portable with plenty of tone and volume. I've tried and returned the following: Replitone, Flextone, Behringer, Fender HotRod Deluxe, Marshall AVT, and Traynor. They are all cheaper and lighter, but I've been playing long enough that tone, feel, and dynamics are the most important. I can't play a crappy amp, I just lose interest. Sure the Nomad is heavy and expensive, but at least it fits in your back seat and will crunch and shred with the best of them. Also, the clean pushed gives the sweetest Funk 49 sound ever!!! Its just a great amp. You can play everything from country, funk, blues, rock, and metal and the amp will sound awesome for EVERY one of those styles. Not many amps can do that.

Nomad 55 1x12 combo has three channels with totally independent controls (even presence). For each channel, there are two voicing options. There is also a recording output and speaker mute (so you can use headphones/record out only), and for the effects loop you can use an effects mix control, which I find particularly handy. I think that "versatile" is the word to describe this amp.

I use Nomad mainly for jazz, some rock and pop music. It has plenty of power, more than I ever need, I think. For power tubes I use original 6l6 (green), for preamp Mesa 12ax7:s with two 12AT7's (a bit less gain) in the beginning of the signal chain. This has fixed the "hum" that some have commented, and also opened the sound a bit.

My main guitar is a stratocaster with texas specials and a pearly gates plus in the bridge position. In the effects loop I use Rocktron Intellifex for reverb, chorus and delay. I find Nomad very suitable for modern jazz sounds (Pat Metheny) and plugging in a Brian Moore Custom some high-gain material (Steve Vai, John Petrucci, Brett Garsed).

I think that the strength of this amp is that it sounds "soft". Even with a good amount of gain it won't really sound harsh. On the other hand, this might not be the amp for those who like a Marshall half-stack full cranked, or those playing punk. The sounds or this amp are more of a "rounder" profile.

This amp can make several good sounds. It is very hard to distort the clean channel in the normal mode, but if you switch it to "pushed", you can get a warm overdrive and increasing the gain a good distortion (put treble and bass controls near zero and increase the mid control for gain).

The second channel is voiced quite "fat". I mainly use it for rhythm sounds while letting channel three handle the solo sounds (in vintage mode). The third channel gives sounds that are bit more tighter or focused than in the second channel.

This amp has not broken down on me. One minus, however - if you are not careful with the amount of gain, it will fry your preamp tubes in a second. If you can settle to reasonable amounts of gain, it will work just well. As the manual says: Don't turn the gain all the way up!

I have also a Mesa/Boogie Studio .22+ that I could use as a backup, but as I said, Nomad has functioned great thus far.

Haven't dealt with Mesa.

I have had this combo for about nine months using it on gigs as well as playing at home. I think Nomad has the most versatile controls of the amps currently in the market. However, be prepared to tweak it a lot. Nomad doesn't surrender the greatest sounds easily. Take the time.

It's too bad that some of us have got negative experiences with this amp. It is hard to comment on them, for I have got no big problems with Nomad. All I can say is that this amp is definitively worth to try.

3 channels....by now you know the deal...a great sounding amp but with a tendency to break down. I have alot of experience with this amp using it for gigs sessions etc. It is a great sounding amp. Channel 3 can get a killer Stevie Ray Vaughn tone, channel 1 when pushed is great for country, channe 2 is thick and good as well.

Enough said here...a very good tone.

Very unreliable in my experience. The problem with the nomad is the tone controls (and their are 20 of them) get uncrimped inside and will cause all kinds of cutting out, noise, crapping out and shorting out like problems. The problem is the "Thomas" pots. If you have these pots mesa will replace them. Mesa claims that this problem is caused by handling and what-not but my experience is that the knobs can get loose just from using the amp. I think mesa is working to correct this problem but this amp has been a bit of a pain.

I am one of those irresponsible people that never reads manuals or send in the warranty card...I just expect for a thousand bucks the amp should work. I called mesa to complain and was actually called back and they are currently sending me some washers which may correct the problem in the meanwhile the amp is sitting useless as a doorstop, while I have to haul out my back up a way to powerfull for clubs triple recto. Mesa was cool though and admitted that there is a problem with the amp and were helpfull, so I give them that.

a five for not being reliable if this amp was a warhorse i would give it a 9.

very early nomad, one of the first made. extremely versatile for any style, 3 channels-6 modes, solo boost, has plenty of power for live gigs, but i mostly work as a session player and this amp covers everything.

sounds fantastic with most any guitar, i mainly use a '91 les paul standard with duncan jb/custom pickups. makes the usual noise expected from a high-gain tube amp. any sound you want if you have the patients to experiment with settings.

bought used, i've heard tone of quality complaints with all but the initial run of nomads, if you want to buy one find an early one like i did. the only problum i've ever had with the amp is that some of the tone controls on channel 3 had taken a solid hit at some time before i got the amp and sometimes would cut out, it was an easy fix as i also work as a pro tech and was certainly not mesa's fault.

this is the second used mesa i have bought. mesa's customer support is awesome, they are friendly and willing to bend over backwards to help people buying mesa gear new or used. they helped me get manuals and replacement tone post for the nomad.

i've been playing for 7 years, i also have a mesa heartbreaker head with a 212 cab, a fender champ, an ibanez lawsuit les paul copy, and a couple of strats that i assembled myself. this is an amp that i would replace without a doubt, but i'd be careful to find a good one. i compared this amp with everything i could find and the only thing i liked better said bogner on it and cost $3000.

I play a very wide range of music, Allman Bro's to Tool. This amp can do it all.

Cleans are very "Blackface" in origin. Channel 2 in the "Modern" setting is much better for leads than channel 3. Channel 3 in the "Modern" setting actually sounded very vintage to me. We play a lot of classic covers and this channel covered all of the tones that I needed.
It is very noisy. Tubes are generally noisy, but this amp seems to not be filtered very well at all. It's a small sacrifice for killer tone. You can get great sustain at low volumes. I use a crappy old Ibanez Custom 542 R (predecessor to the Joe Satch model) with Duncans in it, and I could get any sound I wanted out of it.

I don't think this amp would have been reliable. I only owned it a month, and it started making a metallic rattle on the clean channel only. At first I thought it was the reverb spring or a tube holder, but I couldn't find where it was coming from.
I had this amp for a month and sold it for $150 less than I bought it for just to get out from under it.
This is the second Mesa that I have owned. I sold my Dual Rectifier (older 2 channel) to buy this hunk of crap that sounds and looks great, but breaks within a month. If my car breaks, I fix it. IF it breaks under warranty, even better. If my shiny, brand new, fresh out of the box amp starts to break and I have to ship it somewhere to get fixed, then I sell it or throw it in the ocean.
If you have one of these beauties, I hope you got a good one. From what I have read, 2 out of 5 are junk, and the rest golden. Not bad for the price.

Here's the deal. I bought this amp from a store that had lost it's dealership with Mesa. After you read this you will know why. The salesman that I talked to on the phone was very nice and informative. He said that since they were no longer an authorized dealer, he could give me a deal. I only had $400 that day so he said I could lay it away for the sale price, $1000 even. It lists for $1199. I get to the store and there is another salesman, very pushy, who informs me of my ignorance. "No deals on layaway." Okay, I like the amp so I get it anyway. A week later when I sell my old amp and get my new one, the salesman (rude guy), tells me a little story. It seems that he has gotten the guy that I talked to on the phone fired for offering me a deal. I take my amp, thinking this guy is a CHUMP and a half, and split. Three weeks later the amp starts to buzz. The only guy left at this fine establishment says, "You gotto contact Mesa, we are going out of business and don't handle any returns." Good riddance.
As for Mesa, I called them when I got my Dual Rectifier, and they were very helpful. They made a manual for me. They actually copied one for me by hand because it wasn't available on their website. I don't think their quality is as low as some people say, I just think that the Nomad amps keep their repair guys very busy. I think they are either using cheap parts in this model or it is a design flaw. They try to put too much in them, and it looses reliability.

This is a great amp for playing around the house, or at practice. It sounds amazing (although I miss the monstrousity of the Dual Rectifier). I wouldn't take it on a gig if my life depended on it.
Wait a couple of years for them to iron out the bugs before you buy one.
After I sold the Nomad, I was going to buy my old Rectifier back. I called the friend that I had sold it to and he told me that He had blown it up on the 1st gig he used it on. This guy's not very technically inclined, he plugged a 4 ohm cabinet into the 16 ohm output jack. The 1st chord he played, the amp started cutting out. Did he go out to the van and get his backup??? No, he had someone wiggle the speaker cord for a whole set becuase this seemed to help. The next day he took it to the shop and realized the entire output circuit was destroyed.
Would I gig without a backup? After buying 1 Mesa, I couldn't afford to buy a headphone amp. I would buy 2 older used Mesa's instead of a new piece of crap. Get it together Mesa, and give the world a call when you do.

As noted below, this amp comes fully loaded, with 3-channels, two voices per channel, solo boost, recording out etc, etc... This was probably one of the first ones to come into Canada (#226) and I've been playing it almost exclusively for about two years. This is my second Mesa/Boogie and probably won't be my last.

My main guitars are a PRS CE 24 and a 52 reissue Tele. This amp loves the PRS and does well with the Tele also. Very versatile overall, I mainly use the second channel with a few boost pedals for extra punch when needed. I find it's heavily biased for mids, but that's a Boogie for you. Clean channel is fine and the 3rd channel (boost) lacks a bit of body for my taste. Maybe I'll try the 5071s Mark suggests. Overall, this amp has performed well for both home and club use. It's definitely the biggest sounding 1x12 I've ever played.

This thing eats tubes for breakfast. I know it's the nature of the beast with a 3-channel high gain combo, but it's been quite a challenge finding good clean tubes to run in it. Boogie tubes have been among the worst I've tried. Apart from that, the solo boost quit a while back, which is not a huge problem since I'm mostly recording with it now anyway.

I have always found Mesa/Boogie's support to be helpful and responsive. I've not had the need to contact them about this Nomad yet, so the rating is based on past history.

I've been playing just over 20 years and feel this is the best 3-channel combo you'll find without selling the farm for a Bogner or some other boutique amp. If it were stolen I'd take another hard look at the Single Recto, but am quite happy with the Nomad overall. No regrets about switching to Boogies 8 years ago. Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.

*3 chanels *Switchable with foot switch *Independant tone controls yada..yada...yada.. you know the drill

I use a Tom Anderson Drop top, with a variety of pick up configurations. This Amp is fairly versatile The only real complaint I have (or should I say Had) was the voicing on chanel 3, I play more blues and classic rock, chnl.3 is more "modern voiced" so I changed the two Ax7's in valve 3&4 to 5071's (lower gain ) this works due to the indeprndant gains on each chnl. I ususaly run chnl.1 clean Chnl 2 slight crunch and chnl 3 solo. Before I changed these tubes chl. 3 was too harsh now it melts...COOL

VERY!

Always fbeen there when I needed em' this is myb 3rd Boogie the other two are a old MKII, and a subway rocket

This is a 50 watt all tube combo with three channels. It haspenty of features (24 knobs and 5 switches...) but I don't use the effects loop. I use this amp primarily for classic rock and blues/rock, but I ocasionally cover other styles as well.

I am using a PRS ce22 and a fender hotrod fat strat. This amp fits my musical styeles well, providing a great clean and a variety of nice overdrive/distortion sounds. Assuming you keep to sane gain/volume settings (and use your master volume correctly) there is no audible noise except for the ocasoional channel switching pop. I have never turned the clean channel up far enough to power tube overdrive - this is a LOUD amp. 1 gripe - the reverb wet/dry mix knobs don't let you add much reverb to the gain channels/modes. This is obnoxious. Oh, and the eq on the gain channels is a pain in the ass. Moving one knob changes the feel and effect of the other knobs. I've docked it a sound point for these - it really does sound good, but getting it there is a pain.

Only 3 weeks - no opinion, but reading here I'm worried...

no opinion

This amp really sounds quite good, and I plan to keep it for life. If it were stolen, I might replace it strait up, or save up and buy a Bogner Shiva or something. This amp really works well with my ce22 and no effects - it also has an afinity for single coils on the clean channel. I compared it to the fender HR series, and it had as good a clean (although different) and much better overdrive. It also spanked the marshal dsl/tsl combos. Despite the two flaws mentioned under sound, I really like this amp and am using it exclusivly now. If it were't so much more expensive than the compitition, it would have gotten a 10.

alot of features that can take your
tone all over the place

distortion is not even close to a dual recto
as that is what I expected. To my ear the distortion was
wussy my digital junk is way better than it.
Clean channel was ok I wouldn't brag but no one buys
mesa for clean channels

Built like a rock
looks like one too
.....With lights

nice guys call you back
had no problems but complained just to see
if that call back stuff was true

the amp is ok
the tone is not so great
it sometimes felt dead

Nomad 55 W power amp, bought it new in '99 from Guitar Center. Amp seemed fairly versatile and easy to use. The control knobs are super, super sensitive, though, and once I found a tone I liked I never wanted to change any of the settings because I didn't want to go through the hassle of finding my old tone again. I mostly used channel 1 for clean and channel 3 for distortion rhythm, channel 2 for distortion soloing.

Used it with an ESP KH-2 with EMG pickups. Sounded great and it was quiet, occasionally a channel switching click. Also used it with a Squier Strat, and it sounded like junk. Very loud amp, too loud for apartment use. The more I turned up the better it sounded. I had it set up in my apt facing away from my sliding glass door to my balcony. Because the cabinet is open in the back, it was loud enough to get me a noise violation from complaints from the other building across the parking lot from me. I put EL34's in it once, but it was too trebly and squeaky with those tubes.

Had 2 problems with the amp. First, there must have been a bad connection between the cable and the footswitch because it would click and buzz every time I moved the footswitch. Took the cable + switch back to Guitar Center and they gave me a new one. Then I kept blowing power tubes. Since they have a 6 month warranty, I kept getting new ones from Guitar Center. After I'd blown 3 tubes in 4 months (all the in the same socket, by the way), I called Mesa and they told me a repair place to take it to. I put it off because I was going to sell the amp because I wanted to get a Triaxis (easy to change your settings on that one). I sold it to a friend, and then it blew up. So I took it to the repair shop and the guy said that that one tube socket was bad, and it kept making the tubes bad, and the last tube that blew took out a transformer or something with it. He fixed it free under warranty (took about a month). I bought a Triaxis/SimulClass 290 and gave my friend his money back and sold the amp to somebody I didn't like.

Mesa was great (I bought more of their stuff, didn't I?) and when I sent them email or left a message, they got back to me within 24 hrs. Didn't give me a problem about anything.

If this amp was stolen, I'd send the thief the warranty information. It was a good amp, except for it kept breaking down and I didn't like fiddling with the settings for an hour to find a sound I liked, then losing that sound when I went after another one. But I guess all amps are like that except for the triaxis because it has all those handy presets. But since this combo amp costs a third of a Triaxis, a power amp, and cabinets, I guess you can't complain too much. Would have been better if the amp worked all the time.

By now I think we all know most of the features so I will enumerated them concisely. I mostly want to review this amp to counter some criticism, at least from my own point of view.

This is a very versatile amp, and yet it has it's own character. I love the fact that it has three channels which are quite distinct from each other and can be accessed easily with footswitch. Each channel has two modes, which can wildly change the tone (channel one)or subtly affect the tone (channels two and three). All three mode changes produce a stark difference in volume.

Spring reverb has a control for each channel so you can surf on channel one and dry out on channel three, for example.

Solo control provides as much boost as you want in order to reach over and above while keeping the same tone. Priceless.

Each channel has independent Gain, Master, Presence, Treble, Mid, and Bass controls. So not only can you shape the tone of each channel without affecting the others, you can balance the volume of each and control the overall output with a global output knob. Beyond that, the footswitchable Solo control provides as much boost as you want in order to reach over and above while keeping the same tone. Priceless.

Headphone/Recording output and speaker mute. Slave out. Effects loop.

I can play any style with this amp. I can imitate other amps if I wanted

I play nothing but single coil pickup-equipped guitars (fender style, p90s...) and this amp is friendly to all guitars. Because of it's versatility it can radically change the character of a particular guitar.

Channel One in Vintage mode is clean all the way up. Turn the global it up to eleven and it breaks up a little, but it is mostly just clean. For some sounds that I want I find it hard to dial in, so I use a Boss GE-7 graphic eq in a v-shape. It has a vintage vibe that way.

Channel One Modern mode was a puzzler at first. It sounded weird and unusable at low volumes. Muddy bass, not much sustain, but overdriven. I recently cranked the global using an attenuator and now I can see what the fuss is about. This is a nice channel with a tighter bass and singing highs and tons of sustain. Very 'classic rock'.

Channel two is the fatt boy. The bass is a little loose so I don't have much use for it when playing chords. It's a fine lead channel, though, thick as toothpaste. I can't hear a lot of practical difference between the modes, except for a volume difference.

Channel three is sometimes my favorite. It's very gainy with a very tight bass. Makes my Fender Jaguar sound like a shred monster. The lead tones are silvery and stinging. Kind of reminds me of Fripp's solo on "Baby's on Fire". Very sweet. The great thing about channel three is that I can play disonant chords and you can hear the notes as clearly as if I were playing an acoustic guitar. That's with high gain, mind you. The second mode is only subtly different to my ears. This channel is also useful as a clean channel. It's voicing is fairly high, so it is not an all-occasion clean for me, but it does have a good sound.

This amp isn't noisier than any other amp. It has some background sound, part from gain, part from single coil pickups. Nothing unmanageable.

Here's the controversial part. I haven't had an ounce of trouble with mine. I got it when they first came out, if that means anything. Before any complaints were logged into Harmony Central and all reviews were positive.

Mine is built solid with good materials.

It seems that most problems logged here were tube problems. Would I gig without a backup? I have another Boogie to rely on, but I don't feel unsafe with this model.

The Nomad seems like a love it/hate it instrument, but the discouraging thing is that people seem to hate it for failures rather than character and features.

See customer support....

For their own sake, I hope that Boogie addresses the reliability issues that others have had. How about a recall, or something like that? This is a fantastic amp that too many people have had terrible problems with. Many of those problems were fixed with simple tube replacements, but nevertheless I would hope that my beloved Mesa would take responsibility for poor stock tubes.

Anyway, anytime I've talked to Boogie they were very knowledgeable, generous and had great customer service. I've never had major problems and sometimes they were a little too busy to get back to me same day, but they have gained my trust.

I've been playing for 22 years. I've played vintage Fenders mostly, but prefer this amp for it's versatility. It has clean, pushed, and gainy regions that make it all-in-one for me. It also has a unique character that sets it apart from other amps.

I also currently play an '81 Mark IIb, which has the single best clean sound that I've ever had the pleasure of playing. If the clean channel on this amp were closer to that, this would be the miricle amp. Nevertheless, I give it high ratings.

I compared it to other interesting amps (Fender Vibroking - sorry, one trick pony, Bogner combo - out of my price range) and this is a good fit for me. Versatile, decent price, durable...

I wouldn't mind having a graphic eq on mine, but for whatever reason they're only available on the 100 watt Nomad. I use a stompbox which is only a minor hassle.

As far as the looks go, I think it's a fox. I like the tolex, I love the leather corners, I dig the pattern of the grill cloth. I also love the purple light.

A lot of players have criticized the knobs. I like them. As far as I'm concerned, the numbers on a knob are just arbitrary. This amp has small knobs with no numbers and an arrow that is molded into the shape of the knob. I think it's classy: i set it up before the lights go out and change it if needed by ear. The layout is so logical, I just reach for the knob and it's clockwise for more, counter- for less.

I wouldn't be discouraged by the bad reviews. Evidently there are some bad apples in the cart and I hope Mesa steps up to fix or replace them. We expect the best by buying Mesa and they can prove it by having good customer service.

This amp is not really worth the time it takes to review it, except to warn others not to go near this piece of crap. I play in drunk clubs mainly, and vary between hard rock/blues, contemp covers, jazz whatever. The amp was designed for versatility with 3 channels each with state switches between vintage and normal, but you don't need all this jazz; besides it's not really worth the necessary effort to form your career around all its settings. You can use 6L6 or EL34 power tubes which are okay in just about any other amp. But not in this one for some damn reason. Bottom line: versatility traded for quality control.

I play a lot of different styles, (using modified strats/ Gibson ES-225, Les Paul custom, ES-175/ Jackson)and use Fender Twin, JC-120 or Mesa Boogie. I customize sound for whatever band. So it seemed like the versatility and the price of the Nomad would work fine. Wrong. It generally sounds like someone riding a rabid pig through a glass factory. Maybe that's what you're looking for, but even so, make one little volume change (up or down) and you'll have an entirely different sound. The second (lead) channel is your best bet. But essentially, there's just no compression here; your sound will go up exponentially to a complete high-end shriek, or you get a flimsy, nothing whimper. Very difficult playing above the drums with any quality except for all-out rock, maybe. A word about noise: if you buy this turkey, learn to love tube noise, because that's what you'll get. Taken with constant hiss, the amp quality sounds uniformly cheap. And its not just manageable, regular tube noise such that all tube amps have; this amp sits there and spews out a rasty standby noise that not even punk players should have to endure. Keep a finger on your guitar volume knob if your songs end during a set.

Constant trouble. After going through 3 tube changes to get rid of a high frequency (>60 Hz noise) whine, its still there. After changing the driver tube twice with new ones, rearranging the other tubes into different patterns, servicing pots, conferring with Mesa technicians, no luck. At one point I thought a warranty shop fixed it. So then I had two more band rehearsals as probationary. Seemed okay. Then I take it to a relatively small bar (playing low) and we start up with a Springsteen cover (what else? This is Jersey). Then on the last chord of the song...WHINE!!! That was it. Traded it for a Rivera

The guys at Mesa are okay. But you can tell from speaking with them that they've dealt with a lot of problems just like the one you'll be describing. They've obviously heard it all about the Nomads.

I've been playing a long time; as a kid, I bought Zappa's first album off the rack and learned how to play "trouble comin every day". So I've gone through a lot of amps (my first amp was a Sears silvertone in-the-case amp) So take that for what its worth: either experienced or out-of-touch. I was hoping someone would steal this amp (I insure everything) but no takers. I loved the amp until I turned it on. How could you go wrong with Mesa Boogie? Finally, I should point out that after buying the first Nomad 55, I took it back to the dealer, exchanged it for another one, and then another one. 3/3, they all sucked alike.

I bought my Nomad when they first came out a couple of years ago. One of the main reasons was the versatility. I like having three channels with independant volume, gain, tone and reverb settings. The effects loop is nice and the solo boost is a great feature to have live. I can't really think of anything Mesa left pff this amp that would make it a more versatile tube combo

I grew up in the 70s so I know what the old tube amps sound like. I've always liked cranked Marshalls, Fenders and Ampegs from the 60s and 70s and have tried all the stuff that has come out through the years that try to sound like them but give more versatility. I have to say that while its not perfect the Nomad is the closest I've come to those sounds yet. I play a variety of guitars (82 model American 57 reissue strat w/ custom shop 54s, stock 99 American 57 reissue strat, 2000 American Deluxe Strat ash body/rosewood w/Texas Specials, stock 95 American 52 reissue Tele, Les Paul Classic w/Fralin HBs, and a stock 91 PRS Custom) and the Nomad lets the distict charactor of each one come through. One of the nice things about the amp is you canput EL34s in it, put the master vols on 10 and use channel 3 to get really close to the sound of an old non-master volume Marshall cranked. Of course you loose the versatility but ot does sound sweet :) A word about tubes: I've tried several of the different Mesa 6L6 and EL34 tubes in the Nomad and it really changes a lot fron one to the other. Mine came stock with the 6L6 STR-420s (Chineese tube) which sound a little more focussed and compressed than the 6L6 STR-454 (Svetlana) which I personally prefer. If you have a Nomad I highly suggest trying different tubes to fine tune the sound to your liking. I'm going to rate the sound at 9 since I think theres always room for improvement.

The only problem I have had with mine is preamp tubes getting microphonic, but that's not Mesa's fault as any high gain combo is succeptable to this problem.

I've called them a few times to ask questions and they always call be back and help out. Also their regional sales rep was very helpful and spent about an hour on the phone with me talking about the amp and things I might do to dial in all the sounds I like.

I've been playing for 20 years in all sorts of bands. This is the first time I felt the urge to past a comment on any of my gear but after using it for 2 years I'm so happy with the Nomad I thiught I should. One more thing to keep in mind if you're checking out a Nomad (or any Mesa) in the store. It may sound a little on the mid-rangy side when you play by yourself but that really makes it cut through when you play live with a band.