player opinions

Mesa/Boogie Nomad 55

Mesa/Boogie Nomad 55

  1. Name: Arjan Blok

  2. Band: No Sense

  3. Model Year: -----

  4. Price Paid: $1400

  5. Performance

  6. Though it's hard to “set your sounds”, the results are great! Nice features, like a reverb for the three channels separately.

  7. Performance Rating: 9

  8. Sound Quality

  9. As I said, it's sometimes hard to find your sounds. But the result of turning knobs all day is astonishing. Great clean channel, very warm and Fender-like, a nice “classic” 2nd channel, perfect for stuff like Lenny Kravitz, Guns n Roses, etc. and a heavenly 3rd channel. You can get nearly every tone out of it from Santana to Metallica. Although my guitar isn't that great, and an outboard equalizer is recommended if you really want to play some hard metal, this channel has enough gain to break windows. The amp is also very loud, could be both an advantage as a disadvantage.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 10

  11. Construction

  12. Build like a tank, this amp can also travel with you. Although one potometer didn't work after I bought it, I'm very satisfied with it. Though the amp looks kinda basic, it has a bit of a classy appearance (especially with the cool purple light next to the cool on/off and standby switches).

  13. Construction Rating: 10

  1. Name: Mike

  2. Band: Botch Stevens

  3. Model Year: -----

  4. Price Paid: $1099

  5. Performance

  6. Works very well. If you're looking for an amp with the options and versatility of a Mark IV without the complication, this is the amp for you. It has 3 separate channels, each with two modes — Clean/Pushed, Vintage/Modern overdrive, then Modern/Vintage overdrive. There is also separate reverb controls for each channel. Then a solo switch on the footswitch to boost volume for... you guessed it, a solo! It has an FX loop and a direct recording input, and even a slave out put for the power amp. 5 12ax7's and 2 6L6's, and it is loud! But not ridiculously loud, perfect for practicing or jamming/rehearsing, and plenty of output for gigs, unless you headline at Madison Square Garden, even then it could do the job. It's just a great amp with a lot of options that are easy to use.

  7. Performance Rating: 10

  8. Sound Quality

  9. The tone is phenomenal, Mesa isn't called the home of tone for nothing. It is the closest thing I have found to an amp possessing the best of both worlds (clean and overdrive.) The clean can either be fat and warm or bright and sparkily. The vintage overdrive is just amazing and is by far my favorite feature of this amp. It is fat and warm no matter how you slice it. You can get great marshall-esque medium to high gain sounds or turn the gain down for a great blues channel. I like my gain just under 3/4 of the way for my lead channel, but it's also great for rhythm work because unlike a Marshall, Mesa's sound is real compressed making every note come out nice and clear no matter how High the gain. The modern overdrive is cool, I like it for more Progressive stuff where you need a little more edge. Right now, though, I have the gain turned just under half way for a nice medium gain bluesy channel. It's not what most people would call a bluesy sound which I like, it's just a real unique tone. This amp can suit either humbuckers or single coils, but I like humbuckers better, and they seem to unlock the true potential of most any Mesa. Sure the clean sound is not as ideal as say a vintage Fender Twin, but it is definitely a very blackface-esque sound, and personally I think the overdrive stands supreme over Marshall.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 10

  11. Construction

  12. This amp is rugged, man. It looks pretty with its purple glowing Jewel, but this thing is built to last as all Mesas are. The only thing that sucks is that Nomads don't come with slip covers, but you can spend an extra $30 bucks to get one. The footswitch is encased with some kind of metal on the bottom which makes it durable and sturdy so it isn't slipping away from you every time you tap it. This is a great all around amp. Many features packed into one set up with out sacrificing tone, it gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

  13. Construction Rating: 10

  1. Name: Mike

  2. Band: -----

  3. Model Year: -----

  4. Price Paid: $1099

  5. Performance

  6. Great sounding amp, has the options and versatiliy of the Mark IV but much less complicated.

  7. Performance Rating: 10

  8. Sound Quality

  9. Sounds great with humbuckers, has a warm and punchy tone on all channels, with single coils it's not bad with overdrive, but with the clean it seems to make the tone a little too fat, doesnt let the clear bell like sound of the pickups ring through.

  10. Sound Quality Rating: 10

  11. Construction

  12. It's a Mesa so it is quality, looks great.

  13. Construction Rating: 10

stats

  1. Average Ratings
  2. Performance: 9.7
  3. Sound Quality: 10
  4. Construction: 10
  5. Ratings Key
  6. 10: Excellent
  7. 0: Useless
  8. Company
  9. Mesa/Boogie

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