Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

[jgcable]

There are so many qualified Mesa players here I figure somebody can answer these questions.
I am interested in a Nomad 45 head.
Let me preface my questions by saying that I currently use a Line 6 Flextone HD live with 2 Randall 4 x 12 cabinets wired in stereo stage left and right. My band plays:
G&R
Old Metallica
Journey
Dokken
Ratt
Priest
Journey
Def Leppard
Queensryche
Tesla
Winger
Kiss
Aerosmith
Basically all 80's music
My plan is to run the Mesa Nomad with an A/B channel switcher along with the Flextone. Both amps will have cabinets stage left and stage right but I want to use the Mesa for the songs that require less gain like the Journey and the Aerosmith. Now to the questions...
How is the gain on a Nomad 45?
Does the gain and the overall tone sound anything like like a Dual or Triple Rectifier or a Mark IIC or is it more of a Fender blues deville type gain? I have no problem putting a pedal in front of it if I have too. What are your "expert" opinions of this amp or should I be looking for another Mesa.

[data187]

Re: Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

i have a nomad 45 combo and in my opinion, it sounds nothing like a rectifier.

the cleans are really nice on this amp.

the gain channels are very flexible and i think it sounds more like a jcm 900 but with a thicker fuller sound.

i think its a good choice for 80's rock and it really does a good job getting those in between tones that the modeling amps have a hard time replicating.

i play similar stuff and i use an axis into a gt6 into nomad 45. most people that hear me play say my tone is pretty close to the record...unfortunately, my playing is pretty bad...lol

[jgcable]

Re: Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

The inbetween tones are exactly what I am looking for. The Flextone sounds great but it doesn't react well to volume changes from the guitar. I need to dial down the crunch from my guitar and a tube amp is the only way to do it. What about the Mesa Mark III ?? There is one up for sale that I could probably swing too. Does it compare at all to the Nomad 45? The reviews on the Mark III are really good. I have played a Mark IIc that was killer so I would assume it must sound a little like it.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

not to be a dick. but i do not like the nomad series. i think they are week and hard to dial in.

however i do love the mark 3's and had one for a few years. i think you'd be much happier with a mark series. and the 3 is the easiest one to get great sounds from.

~JW

[data187]

Re: Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

i agree with you that it does take a bit to dial in a good sound.
i think its because of how many options you have with the amp.
i was trying to sell mine because i had a tough time dialing in a great sound.
then i went on a cruise and one of the entertainment band's guitar player had a nomad 45.
i talked to him about it and basically stole his settings.
now i love my amp and the tone is awesome.
the key is not to turn the gain to 10 and not to scoop the eq too much.
this amp is not a dual rectifier and using those types of settings make it sound terrible.
i use my nomad for clean sounds, semi clean and rock type of distortions and when i need all out metal, i use my gt6 to get the rectifier/5150 sounds.
i also agree that the mark 3 is an excellent amp.
really can't go wrong with a mesa.

[finnman]

Re: Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

data187,
Can you please post how you run your cables.
Guitar-to-(input GT6)-(Gt6 output)-to-(________)
and the rest of the routing ??
Thanks
Finn

[Shawn]

Re: Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

I have a Nomad 55 head coming in Tuesday, and am looking forward to toying with it.

I believe it comes with a different tube setup than the 45.

We shall see.


Shawn

[jgcable]

Re: Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

Originally posted by Shawn:
I have a Nomad 55 head coming in Tuesday, and am looking forward to toying with it.

I believe it comes with a different tube setup than the 45.

We shall see.


Shawn

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Shawn, I am absolutely interested in how it sounds!! Let me know bro... Thanks

[nandrewjackson]

Re: Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

I had a NOmad 55 (2 6L6 tubes) about three years ago. I didn't really enjoy it, but I could always get a good Aerosmith sound out of it.
The cleans were good, and the dirty Aerosmith type sound was right-ON!
But I was under the impression it could also scream with high gain, but it Can't!
So I got rid of it for that reason.

nandrew

[data187]

Re: Mesa Nomad 45 Head questions??

finnman,
i am currently running the gt6 straight to the front of my amp.
the 4 cable method you are talking about is also very popular.
i tried that method and it didn't make that big of a difference for me.
you can go here:
http://bossgtcentral.com/modules.php...e1ea6ccc68c9a3
and get all the gt6 info you can every want.