Nomad 45 4x10 Combo (Conversion?)

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FastEddie

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New member here and a all-around noob to forums...always a lurker never a member usually but I love this amp so much and wanted to get some advice/opinions from the well-informed.
I was considering converting my Nomad 45 410 to a head and pairing it with a 4x12 Recto cab. Or should I just swap out the current speakers for some Celestion G10s? I guess those are supposed to be the 10" version of the V30?
This is my 1st Mesa amp too by the way. I went into a music store last week with a mint ESP KH-602 and was offered $500 in trade value. I was ready to about-face and leave then I saw it. The Mesa logo from across the room. I went over to investigate and sure enough it was the Nomad 45 410. I never knew such an amp existed. I've been a thrash metal fan since the mid-80's and I've played in a dozen different bands and I've always, always wanted a Mesa. I'd see other guitarists with them and be instantly and insanely jealous but alas, my paltry paycheck as a mechanic would never let me reach the mountaintop.
So I'm looking at this big-assed 410 and I noticed that there was some seperation at the top of the cab between the top panel and the right side panel. Nothing major and it seemed structurally sound. The price tag was $460 and it came with the stock footswitch. Hmm. That's when the KH-602 and I parted ways and I left the store with my first Mesa (and left behind a happy shop owner I'm sure).
I was with a buddy at the time and we got back to my house and into my studio and fired up the amp. I was playing a Les Paul with the EMG Het Set and holy balls I was impressed right away. My buddy has a gift for tweaking even the most ornery amps and he quickly dialed in a pretty sick tone on channel 3.
It's been a love affair ever since. I got a chance to better inspect the cab seperation and it's still rock solid although I bought some black wood putty and wood glue and plan to repair it, because I think it deserves to look it's best.
Then I got to thinking...how much better would this sound with V30s? Or the 10" equivalent at least? That train of thought led me here. I'm sure there's a dozen threads about converting a combo to a head but hell if I know how to find em. I did try the search function and came up with nothing, further confirming my noob status.
But yeah any advice is welcome, I'd love to know if there's someone who's experienced in making head enclosures for these amps. Or maybe I'll be good with a speaker swap? I'm sure there's other mods I can do and I'm eager to learn as much as possible. Thanks for reading this long *** post!
 
Welcome to the board! I cannot help you concerning the 4x10. I did have one for a very short time, but wanted a 1x12 instead. I'm sold on the 45 though. It fills a niche in my amps not covered by my Mark IV and TA 30. Channel 2's soft and something thicker drive is very nice. For me, it was worth the price of admission.

I did switch out my enclosure from the stock plywood to quilted maple. Maybe it's user bias, but I like the tone a bit better. It wasn't a huge change, but it did seem to get a bit looser.

I use a switcher to switch between my combos and their speakers. For what it's worth, my Nomad sounds best with the Mark IV's Black Shadow!

There is a thread dealing with a lot of the Nomad mods. Some sound good.
 

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