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Owner's Manual
The Spirit of Art in Technology
1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954
USA
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Greetings from the Home of Tone and Welcome to the Mesa/Boogie Family! We would like to congratulate you on the purchase of your new Nomad Amplifier. If you have not yet realized the power and versatility of this instrument, we hope this manual will provide an enjoyable tour through the many stylistic regions this exciting platform was born to roam. Hopefully after getting to know the channels and their modes and how best to apply them to your music, the Nomad will lead you to the yet unexp
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Your Mesa/Boogie Amplifier is a professional instrument. Please treat it with respect and operate it properly. USE COMMON SENSE AND ALWAYS OBSERVE THESE PRECAUTIONS: Do not expose amplifier to moisture, rain or water, direct sunlight or ex- tremely high temperatures. Always insure that amplifier is properly grounded. Always unplug AC power cord before changing fuse or any tubes. When replacing fuse, use only same type and rating. Avoid direct contact with heated tubes. Insure adequate air circu
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Table of Contents Precautions Overview & Instant Gratification ________________________________________________________ 1 - 4 Tips for the Desert ___________________________________________________________________ 4 - 5 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS & SWITCHES Gain, Master and Presence ____________________________________________________________ 5 - 7 Treble, Middle and Bass_______________________________________________________________ 7 - 9 CHANNEL MODES: Channel 1 - NORMAL & PUSHED ___________________
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A L L T U B E A M P L I F I E R Overview: Nomad amplifiers are available in many configurations in terms of power / speaker combinations, as well as “head only” formats. All Nomad amplifiers share basically the same pre-amp and since most Mesa/Boogies are available in many choices as to power and speakers, for all practical purposes, Nomad refers to this pre-amp. Pre-Amp: The Nomad pre-amp is comprised of three discreet Channels which may be footswitched between. Each of these channels o
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Overview: (Continued) Channel 1 switched to PUSHED reveals a much gainier region, perfect for all types of dirty chording or can be maxed for urgent high gain soloing. Channel 2 may be switched down to MODERN to unleash a tighter, meaner nature that works great for crunch rhythm or searing solo sounds. And Channel 3 can be switched down to VINTAGE where a more liquid, forgiving nature appears that when set low, can double as an amazing clean mode. After the initial gratification of these classi
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Overview: (Continued) The NOMAD 55: represents the deal of the century with its robust 55 watts produced by two 6L6 pentodes. With ample headroom for clean styles and a slightly brighter, more aggressive nature than its bigger brother the Nomad 100, the 55 lives in the region many players consider the perfect wattage arena. This Nomad is also available in two chassis sizes so it can be configured to taste and need. A widebody 1x12 combo optimizes the characteristics of a wider cabinet and a r
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Overview: (Continued) REAR VIEW Nomad 100 CAUTION ! CH3 CH2 CH1 CH2 CH3 NOMAD ALL TUBE AMPLIFIER HANDBUILT IN PETALUMA, CA 100 WATTS SWITCH MUST MATCH TUBES CH1 FTSW REVERB REVERB 50 WATTS 10% FX MIX 100% 6L6 BIAS EL34 FUSE 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM SLAVE SPKR ON SPKR SPKR 3 A SB WARNING: To reduce risk of fire or electric shock, WARNING: To reduce risk of fire or electric shock, replace fuse with same type and rating only. Do replace fuse with same type and rating only. Do not expose
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Tips for the Desert: (Continued) Quick Demo Settings: Clean Channel 1 PUSHED Crunch Channel 1 NORMAL CLEAN CLEAN (NORMAL) (NORMAL) CH1 CH1 GAIN MASTER PRESENCE GAIN MASTER PRESENCE TREBLE MID BASS TREBLE MID BASS PUSHED PUSHED INPUT INPUT Purring Blues Liquid Grind Channel 2 MODERN Channel 2 VINTAGE VINTAGE VINTAGE (NORMAL) (NORMAL) GAIN MASTER PRESENCE GAIN MASTER PRESENCE CH 2 CH 2 TREBLE MID BASS TREBLE MID BASS MODERN MODERN Spank Blues Channel 3 VINTAGE Violin Gain Channel 3 MODERN MODERN
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The Controls: (Continued) GAIN : This control adjusts the predominant gain stage in each channels’ circuit with the function and taper being optimized for each individual channel. Remember that your Nomad is really three separate dual mode amplifiers built onto one chassis, so though each channel looks identical, the GAIN Control for each channel comes in a different place and adjusts a Most Balanced different point in that channels circuit. Brightest Warmer In most guitar amplifiers, and esp
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The Controls: (Continued) MASTER : This control is the master feed from the end of the pre-amp to the driver stage and the Effects Loop. As you can see each Channel is fitted with its own MASTER Control, enabling the three channels relative volumes to be matched regardless of their extremely different sound styles and gain signatures. The MASTER Control makes possible MOST SENSIBLE RANGE a wide range of sounds through its ability to use very low Gain sounds at high EASIEST TO BALANCE CHANN
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The Controls: (Continued) TREBLE : (Continued) The one place you may want to throw caution to the wind and set the TREBLE Control above this median zone presents itself in Channel 1. In both modes ( Clean & Pushed ) the TREBLE Control can be used to dump extra gain into the mix. This is especially effective in the PUSHED mode for crunch sounds. When doing so use the PRESENCE Control to roll off some of the more than ample top end for a more compressed feel and fatter voice. As you might surm
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The Controls: (Continued) The Bass frequencies are, as we mentioned, different in each channel and appear as follows: BASS: (Continued) CHANNEL 1: Enhanced low and sub-low regions provide warmth and most importantly, breath for clean sounds which produces a bouncy, elastic feel and natural sounding fundamental, yet with plenty of air. CHANNEL 2: Sub-low extension defines this channels bottom end character and produces the deepest sounds in your Nomad. This is the fattest channel for singl
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Channel Modes: (Continued) PUSHED: This mode is a radical departure from the sweet shimmering blend of the CLEAN / NORMAL modes low gain character. Huge increases in gain early on in the first stages of the pre-amp produce one of the biggest differences between modes in the entire amplifier and transforms what you thought to be a tame and gentle clean channel into a raging crunch machine. This incredible amount of gain also creates one of the most expressive solo modes in your Nomad. Because
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5 BAND GRAPHIC EQUALIZER : ( Nomad 100 Only ) If you have purchased the Nomad 100 you have probably already realized that the bonus gift of the On-Board 5 Band Graphic Equalizer is well worth the omission of the beautiful, but stoic, Nomad logo. This long time Boogie tradition is a powerful shaping tool and when added to the already fully evolved Channels of the Nomad, any sound you can dream of is at your fingertips. It may be assigned to the signal path globally or footswitched In and HI
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FRONT PANEL CONTROLS: (Continued) OUTPUT CONTROL : This control determines the overall output volume level of the amplifier. After the GAIN Controls have been set for the desired sound style and the three channels levels have been balanced with their respective channel MASTER Controls, the OUTPUT Control allows you to change the playing volume level of the entire amp by adjust- ing a single control. The OUTPUT Control is also wired as the Effects Loop Return Level Control. Should you ever
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FRONT PANEL CONTROLS: (Continued) AC MAINS : This switch delivers the A.C. power to the Nomad. Make sure the unit is grounded (all three terminals of the A.C. power cord must be connected whenever possible to avoid injury to the user as well as to the unit) and that the proper voltage is present. HI VOLTS AC MAINS Follow the cold start procedure described in the previous section titled “HI VOLTS” when powering up ON ON your Nomad. Well, now that you have an understanding of the controls an
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REAR PANEL CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS: CAUTION ! CH3 CH2 CH1 CH2 CH3 NOMAD ALL TUBE AMPLIFIER HANDBUILT IN PETALUMA, CA 100 WATTS SWITCH MUST MATCH TUBES CH1 FTSW REVERB REVERB 50 WATTS 10% FX MIX 100% 6L6 BIAS EL34 FUSE 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM SLAVE SPKR ON SPKR SPKR 3 A SB WARNING: To reduce risk of fire or electric shock, WARNING: To reduce risk of fire or electric shock, replace fuse with same type and rating only. Do replace fuse with same type and rating only. Do not expose this unit to
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REAR PANEL CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS: (Continued) RECORDING OUT : This 1/4” jack captures the sound of your Nomads’ pre-amp and shapes the sound, enabling direct insertion into a console for both recording and live reinforcement applications. It produces a mono signal and can send a level that should be adequate, if not optimum, for most mixing consoles. The level of each Channel is dependant on the Channels’ MASTER Control. Less saturated sounds will produce greater dynamics and therefor a stro
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REAR PANEL CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS: (Continued) SEND, RETURN & FX MIX: Your Nomad is fitted with a parallel effects loop to provide optimum interfacing of outboard signal processing. In this way the maximum amount of pure amp signal with its attack character and warmth is retained because a large amount of dry amp sound can be mixed with a small amount of a very wet processed signal. To use the Effects Loop for your processors follow CAUTION ! CH2 CH3 SWITCH MUST MATCH TUBES these steps. CH1
