NAD: Carvin Nomad...

[guildman63]

I just received my Carvin Nomad today, and while I have only tried the clean channel it sounds fantastic! I play mostly jazz these days, and I cranked it up to 6 and got not even a hint of breakup...perfectly clean! The tube amps I have played in he past have primarily been Fender, but my first impression of this amp is that the clean channel blows away that of the Hot Rod series, and to me is even better than the Twin, although the Twin is clearly not going to perform optimally unless pushed. I am interested to hear how the gain channel sounds as it has a saturation control to increase tube saturation at a lower volume. The build quality appears excellent with a solid wood cabinet, and at 40 pounds it is fairly easy to lug around with one hand. For $550 this is a much better value than any of the new Fenders, but that is just MHO.

Does anyone have any experience with this amp?

 

[guildman63]

Pictures just added.

 

[fronobulax]

Pictures just added.

Thanks.

 

[shihan]

I have not played one personally, but they seem to be considered a 'sleeper' amp by a lot of people. I think you got a good deal; you could not touch an older Fender for that price. I'd be curious to hear what you think about it after you've had it for a while.

 

[RussB]

NICE!

My first amp was a Carvin, bought new in 1979

 

[guildman63]

I had a chance to work it out a bit today. The clean sounds fantastic, and from my limited expertise the gain channel was very nice as well. The soak control allows more gain at a low volume, and while my playing did not do BB King or Gary Moore justice, at least this amp allowed me to get very close to their tone. I even got a good November Rain tone, but need much work on the playing. As for the clean channel, it was very good for jazz. I read that Grant Green got his tone by turning the bass and treble to zero, and the mids to 10. That wasn't bad, but with this amp I set the bass and treble to 9:00 and maxed the mids, and that was nearly spot on with my GSR Starfire VI. I then ran my Vox Pod through the effects loop, and the result was excellent! I have no way of knowing how accurate the Vox tones are, but I would be willing to bet that they come pretty close to the originals that are being emulated. All in all, this was $550 very well spent! What's nice is that Carvin provides several color options as well as a python option, all free of charge. I believe tweed to be standard, but I figured green was jazzier. Besides, if I want a tweed amp one day I will simply get a Fender.