Mesa Nomad 45, 55, 100

[Whey]

Experience with all three what are the advantages of each and disadvantages? I'm looking at the 100 as of now but its a little high prices compared to the 45, I can't try it out so can you guys help me determine what is what. I know the 4 has differnt tubes but what is best for the $.
Thanks

[adamcbest]

one thing between the 100 and the 45/55 is the 5 band eq like the mark iv. the 100 has one, but the 45/55 don't. I will say that i love the 5 band eq on my Mark iv, so it might be one thing to consider. I've played both a 45 and a 55, but not the 100, and they both sounded good

[wildealien]

i have one, and LOVE it. i know that a few others have ones on here, Drew and track7 i believe.

if you do a forum search, you'll find lots of reviews and settings for the 45 in particular

[Drew]

yeah, swear by the thing. I've had a Nomad 45 2x12 about... hmm. 5 months, maybe? And that's the longest I've ever owned an amp without being tempted to trade it in for something else.

If I ever sold it, with the amps currently on the market, it'd be for a 100 head and cab, or POSSIBLY a Road King, if it could nail the smooth Mark-IV like lead tones that the nomad can hit. (And the RK's the only Rectifier I've played that I like)

Channel 3 Vintage is heaven.

-D

EDIT- http://www.jemsite.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=31554 This thread should help you.

[Whey]

is there any difference in sound between the 45 and 100? I know there are differnt tubes and the 100 can push the volume a bit higher before it gets a little static but yeah

[adamcbest]

I was thinking about getting a nomad 100 head to use in conjunction my mark iv. but i'm not sure if there is enough sound diference to make it worth it. I've heard i can get pretty close to that heavy recto sound, but i'll have to play one first. when i was deciding on a new amp, it was between the Mark and the nomad 100, but since i never got the chance to play the nomad 100, i got the mark instead (which i do really love).. if anyone has a 100 head, let me know how it sounds.

[Drew]

never played the 100, but it's supposed to be in the same ballpark as the 45 (tubes aside- meanwhile, the 55 was supposed to be noticeably brighter), and let me assure you, this amp gets SERIOUSLY heavy. It's like a Recto with more personality.

-D

[Al M]

I have a 100 and i'd simply say its louder, sweeter sounding and more versitile than the others.

[jono]

The nomads are great I think Glen's got a 45 as well.

The 100 has the added advantage of the graphic eq. the 45 withthe smaller tubes tends to sound "greasier" if you ask me, and doesn't have the boom that the 6L6 equipped amps have.

Do they still make these beauties or did they replace them withthe F series?

[track7]

Ok ithought i'd let the un-biased guys chime in first before I come in to a thread about nomads as i always do and to my Two-Hands bit

Quite simply any of the nomad range 45, 55 and 100 are the best kept mesa boogie secrets. For the comparativley small price you get one of the best amps PERIOD! It spans the full spectrum of tone,

clean/pushed/shimmer/chime

to

blue spank/blues twang/SRV grunt/Searing singing blues rock leads

Then switching channels you get to the heavy tones!

Chanel 2 is definately grounded in the Mark series type tones. And you can get anything from bubbly fat fusion J.Scofield tones to trad rock rhythms and dialing it right up to hard heavy John Petrucci mark series metal tones.

Channel is exactly as Drew said, a refined Recto. It gets very close to recto face melting while at the same time can dial back and have that triaxis images and words kinda tone in the vintage mode. Channel also has some of the best clean/blues settings when you knock the gain right down

This applies to all nomad models. Well I've now owed the 45 and the 100 i'd guess the 55 is gonna be the same.

The 45 has something extra special wheere the el84 can be revoiced in what they dub extreme! mode. This truly tripples the output volume and makes everyting super tight and heavy for even more ridiculous amounts of tone!

The 100 has 6l6 as standard which I find right off the bat gives a tighter heavier tone but on top has the graphic EQ which again can re-shape and tighten up the tone like adding another boost/channel to the amp.

Ultimatley you wont be dissapointed. Be sure to crank them when trying make sure you're not trying one with shafted valves and take in some of my settings (you can do a forum search for them or email me) and i gaurantee you'll fall in love. #

A whole history of mesa tones in one kind of cheap (if you live in the US) amp!

Long live nomads

David

[track7]

They still make the 45 and 100 2x12 for the us market but thats all. From what I was told to get one in england require a 4 month potential waiting list as they aren't stocking/shipping to england anymore due to the popularity of the supposedly superior F-Series....

Sad really

[Drew]

Good thing he's in Canada.

I'll add a few personal user notes- Channel two vintage with the gain back (say, 3-4), mids up, treble flat, and prescense at zero, driven by humbuckers, is heavenly. Warm, singly, santana-esq. Throw it into modern and push the gain a bit higher and scoop the mids while boosting the prescense a touch, and you get an excellent crunch tone- no one would ever confuse it with a plexi, but it "feels" right for the same applications.

channel 3 vintage with the prescense at zero (i tend to gravitate to low presence for lead settings on every amp I've played, it seems "smoother" and less buzzy, and when you turn the prescense up for rhythm, it gives good seperation between tracks), mids 6-ish, and gain a touch above halfway is, as I said, VERY reminiscent of a Mark-IV in lead, or the proverbial Mark-IIC+ -think live petrucci G3. I'm in love, this is the closest I've gotten to nailing that elusive tone in my head. Modern, with the presence up, gain at or just below 5, and mids slightly scooped (say, 4) is devastatingly heavy. My only gripe with this amp is I can't footswitch between these two modes.

Headroom is a little lacking in the 45, especially in Extreme mode, but trust me, this thing's a LOUD amp, and a little bit of compression and breakup is part of what I love about low-wattage amps anyway. So, I hardly consider this a problem.

-D

[Gresh]

OK...wilde, track and drew: stop beating around the bush, do you like these amps or not??


just busting your chops

[Whey]

Yeah I can get a Nomad 45 (2 x 12) to my door for a little over $2150 canadian, is that expensive or what?

Nomad 100 - 2375 + 15% Tax + 60 bucks shipping

Nomad 45 - 1850 + 15% Tax + 60 bucks shipping

Probally going to go with the Nomad 45 was looking at all the other series as well but i wan diversity this model looks like the one to take unless somone else has a better idea.

[darren wilson]

Where are you getting those prices from, Whey?

I've been thinking lately that i might ditch my rack + Genz Benz setup for something simpler and more tubey. But over 2 grand is a lot of money to cough up.