Boogie curious. Nomad, .50 cal or DC-5

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bubbastain

bubbastain

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Seen a few Mesa's for kinda cheap lately. I've tried a few models in the store and couldn't really get a tone I liked most likely due to user ignorance and being use to set and forget type amps. So I'm thinking about the Nomad, .50 cal + or DC-5 (everything else is too expensive for me) to pick up and just play with for a little bit at home. Not planning on keeping long but you never know. Please tell me your experiences with any of these amps if you have any. I would be playing it through a 4x12 even if it was a combo. Flubby or farty are the enemy. Maybe that will automatically eliminate one.
 
I've had both the DC and the .50 Caliber+. The .50 Cal is more raw, probably a little less gain but the clean sounds more full and just better to me. The DC is smoother and darker to me and the clean channel seems more hi-fi or modern sounding. Depends on the tones you're after.
 
I have a DC-5 and it is a killer amp for the money, 50 watts 6L6, two channels and EQ. I have the wide body combo and use it paired with a widebody 3/4 back 1x12

DC5medium.JPG
 
Had three Nomads, one 45 1x12 that was good, and another 45 1x12 and a 100 head that were not good. The first was bulletproof and sounded great (search Mesa Nomad on Youtube and my clip is the first thing that pops up), the next one wasn't, and the 100 sounded like ass. They're not popular amps, but I would say avoid the 55 and 100 if you wanna try one. The EL84 version just has a nastier, more pleasing tone IMO. You'll run out of clean headroom if you play loud, but running a cab might help that.
 
had a few DC-5's. Always my go to for a nice sounding cheap amp.
 
Not really hearing anything bad about the DC-5. There is a .50 Cal+ head for $500, A DC-5 combo for $525 and a Nomad 100 head for $450 all within driving distance. Still a lot of driving I want to avoid. I'm leaning towards the DC and .50 Cal because they are smaller and 50 watters. I don't really want another 100 watt head. I'll try to set up a check it out session with one of them.
 
$525 is funny as that is what I paid for my DC-5 combo back in 2004 + shipping. They are great amps and it hangs with my other amps quite nicely. I'd jump at that if in good condition

On the top right...
amps4s.JPG


Don't be fooled by 50 watts, it will blow your hair back ;) It has a great clean channel with plenty of headroom. Not sure what type of music your into but the DC-5 is fairly versatile.

Check through the pdf's of the manuals and see if that helps your decision.
http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/user_ ... tml#gpm1_2
 
Yep, DC-5, was my first Mesa product, great amp, very loud 50 watts, sits somewhere between Recto and Mark (with a lean toward Mark). Sounds like what you are looking for.
 
Owned a DC5 combo since they first came out and gigged a ton with it.....
So reliable and versatile tone wise
 
I had two DC5's. A head that was a revision A and a combo that was a revision B. I liked the head but thought the gain on the rev B combo was to grainy. Decent amps, I would spend a couple more bucks and get a Mark III.
 
Nomads are the black sheep of the Mesa line. Not many fans of those, but the people that love them really do.

The Nomad line had three models, 45, 55, and 100. The 45 used 4 el84s so it had a pretty different character than the 55 and 100 which were 6L6/el34 based amps. The 45 had and "extreme" mode which killed the negative feedback loop and made the overall output louder and hairier. The 100 had a graphic eq.

I used a 100 for a few years and it was a very dark amp. I had it modded pretty extensively per the threads on the boogie board and it made a lot of difference. I added a switch for extreme mode and it really made the amp sing. It could be hard to dial in and ultimately I traded it to see if the grass was greener elsewhere. I've heard the .50 is great and the DC-5 is great too. If you find a nomad 45 or 100 for cheap they might be worth rolling around with. I'd stay away from the 55 because even with mods, it lacks the graphic eq, so it doesn't offer enough tweakability to dial it in when necessary.
 
Pretty much what I said, too......the Nomad 45 is the best version, unless you're into modding amps.
 
Loved my DC 5 same with the DC 3.

Big Fat cleans, more useable gain than a recto or 5150 imo.
Impressively built, boutique quality and features, etc...

I currently have a Mark III combo that fullfills all things Mesa for me
but I gotta tell you all these $500-$600 MADE IN USA Boogies are a No Brainer
vs most any other similarly and many higher priced amps.
http://i61.tinypic.com/2hgxnc5.jpg
 
gibson08":3seco6cj said:
Yep, DC-5, was my first Mesa product, great amp, very loud 50 watts, sits somewhere between Recto and Mark (with a lean toward Mark). Sounds like what you are looking for.
Click to expand...
Forgive me my necrobump (due to the bot above me that just got triggered by the word Nomad), but I recently acquired and sold a DC-5 because I felt the drive channel was leaning too much towards Recto.
Thick, chewy, but almost impossible to get surgically tight by itself like a Mark can, unless you cut all bass and still use a boost in front.
I loved the clean headroom and how lush and wide the clean channel sounded, and I got really good drive sounds out of it too, but I favor the Mark tone more.
 
50 cal + had one since 91 very marshall sounding boogie/ COC
 
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