Mesa Nomad 100 Head

[groverj3]

So, my local Guitar Center has one of these used for $800. I figured I would try it out when I dropped in today. Granted, I have little experience with Mesas as they are impossible to find in Michigan. Just wondering what this amp is supposed to sound like.

I fiddled with the EQ and set up the graphic into a V but no matter what I did the low end sounded loose and it was very fizzy, yet, there wasn't as much gain as I expected even in the modern mode on channel 3. This was going into a Marshall 1960 cab. I tried flipping it to the half power mode and noticed almost no change in tone or volume, so I was wondering if it's possible that it has some bad tubes.

They said they'd be willing to give me a deal since it's been sitting in the store for over a year and nobody likes the way it sounds. If this is a good amp that just needs a re-tube and bias in order to sound killer there is no need for me to tell them that before taking it off their hands . However, if it normally sounds like this then forget about it.

[jgcable]

Nomad's aren't high gain amps. They are medium gain and loose. Organic is how most put it. Great for jazz, blues and some types of rock. They are very reactive to cabinet and speaker types. The 1960 you tries probably had V30's in it. Nomad's don't work well with V30's. Too much fizz. Mesa's sound best with Mesa cabs. Especially the Nomad.

[groverj3]

Yeah, I figured that the cab wasn't a good match. I guess I was just expecting to be able to tighten the lows. Guess it's not the amp for me. Thanks for the info. From the appearance I thought I'd be able to get something resembling Mark series high gain tone, but you can't judge an amp by its looks!

[tonemonster]

but you can't judge an amp by its looks!

same as hookers.