Express 5:50 or Nomad 55?

I've pretty much always had a DC or Recto.
I'm looking for something different.

I want 50 watts max (although I love 100 watts) for a backup/practice amp. I have a 2x12 Rivera combo that weighs 100 pounds. I don't need another boat anchor, otherwise, I would get a Roadster combo.
It has to be a combo.

I'm thinking Express + 5:25 or Nomad 55
I am fully aware of the Nomad's shortcomings, but I'm pretty sure I can handle it.

Which amp would you guys choose and why?

I play in an all original band that gets pretty heavy, but not metal. I would say that the heaviest we get would be Incubus or Jimmie's Chicken Shack.
We have lots of clean and dirty parts in our songs.
I also need a loop that is flawless and works well with a G-Major.

Here's how I see it:
Nomad - decent amp that needs some help to make it shine. crappy reverb, buzzy distortion, etc., but a good foundation for a mod platform.
I do really like the looks of the new Express + 5:50 though!

Express - I had the 1x10 combo and it just didn't work with my band at all. The burn channel just couldn't keep up with a medium volume practice.

Wow, tough one.

I'd like you to get a Nomad and mod it and share all the exciting details with us.

With the exception of the impossible to fix SS reverb circuit, the Nomad should mod up to be one of the most fantastic amps Boogie ever (almost) made. Its got a great start with the parallelled triode front end that gives an incredible range of tones from deluxe thru twin through quasi bassman on Ch1.

Go Monsta Go!

I could always add a tube and make a real reverb circuit.....

Monsta-Tone said:

I could always add a tube and make a real reverb circuit.....

Click to expand...

If a JCM 800 doesn't have reverb, neither should the Nomad. You just need a 'real' room to play it in. Like a stadium.

It would be cool to find something else to hook those mini-RCA plugs up to though. Hmmm....

Wonder if I could use the circuit as an extra/footswitchable gain stage........ :mrgreen:
A friend of mine called me last week and said that his reverb was overdriving the amp like crazy. I told him to swap the rca plugs around and the issue went away.
Makes me wonder if you can get more gain just by unplugging or reversing the plugs.

How about a Heartbreaker head with a EV Theile... nothing says you have to put the head on the cab.

Monsta-Tone said:

Wonder if I could use the circuit as an extra/footswitchable gain stage........ :mrgreen:
A friend of mine called me last week and said that his reverb was overdriving the amp like crazy. I told him to swap the rca plugs around and the issue went away.
Makes me wonder if you can get more gain just by unplugging or reversing the plugs.

Click to expand...

Funny....got me thinking tho....how about take that op amp in the reverb circuit and configure it into a tubescreamer....HAHA.....tooo bad its at the end of the chain. But....how about borrow from the Marshall 2205 and get those protection diodes clipping real hard! Truth is, I don't mind SS clip in the right situation. Of course it doesn't go well with my low-medium gain era I'm trapped in right now. But wait, I was an 80's pop metal hound, so marshall 2205 it is!

Truth of the matter is this. Peavey, for as much crap as they get for a lot of their stuff, perfected the art of marrying an op amp to a accutronics reverb about three decades ago. I think we have to dig into the peavey schematics and get that nomad reverb working like a Peavey! or, better yet, borrow Peavey's phaser schematic....get some time effect stuff going on. phsychedelic nomad.

Well get out the soldering gun if you buy a Nomad because that parallel effects loop will have to go bye bye. Mine did (POD500 user). It's now a serial loop. Don't care about the reverb since I've got a dozen outboard ones to choose from.
I tried the 5:50 and thought it sounded pretty similar to the Nomad. Maybe a tad crunchier ch.2 version but with only 2 channels. Didn't inspire me to sell mine at all. It's hard to beat the versatility of the pesky Nomad once you get it tweeked to your liking so you know which one gets my vote.

Couldn't find a Nomad that was cheap enough, so I ended up getting a DC-3 (for $375).

I'm still looking for a Nomad though........I'm pretty curious about what can be done to them.

Well that's a hell of a deal! And a great sounding amp to boot. Congrats.