Mesa/Boogie 55 manual

Owner's Manua l 1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954 USA The Spirit of Art in Technology[...]

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 [...]

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 be[...]

Precautions Overview & Instant Gratification ________________________________________________________ 1 - 4 T ips for the Desert ___________________________________________________________________ 4 - 5 FRONT P ANEL CONTROLS & SWITCHES Gain, Master and Presence ____________________________________________________________ 5 - 7 T reble, Midd[...]

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 M esa/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 pr[...]

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 VINT AGE where a more liquid,[...]

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 s[...]

No matter which of these many Nomad platforms you have chosen, the basic operation is the same and the experience playing them is oo...fun and exhilarating. Before we get to specific Controls and Channels, here are some tips to get you playing and enjoying your Nomad right away; (1.) The REVERB Controls for all three Channels are located on the Rea[...]

PA G E 5 Quick Demo Settings: Before we get to each individual control and how they interact with each other , there is one thing they all have in common. The y all have “sweet spots”. These regions move around the clock face in accordance with several factors such as the style of sound you are dialing for , pick-up height, pick-up strength, yo[...]

PA G E 6 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 ea ch channel looks identical, the GAIN Control for ea[...]

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 a wid[...]

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 PR[...]

PA G E 9 BASS: ( Continued) The Bass frequencies are, as we mentioned, different in each channel and appear as follows: 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 extensi[...]

P AGE 10 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 entir e amplifier and transforms what you thought to be a tame an[...]

PA G E 11 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 full[...]

PA G E 1 2 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[...]

P AGE 13 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. Follow the cold start procedure described in the previous section titled “H[...]

FOOTSWITCH SOCKET : This 7 Pin DIN type socket located on the underside of the chassis accepts the Nomad Footcontroller cable. T o use the Footcontroller to select the channels and features; 1.) Connect the Footcontrollers’ attached cable here by lining up the tab on the cable with the detent on the cable sleeve. 2.) Select “Footswitch” on th[...]

P AGE 15 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 m[...]

SEND, RETURN & FX MIX: Y our 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. T o us[...]

P AGE 17 REAR PANEL CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS: (Continued) 50 / 100 WATT : (Nomad 100 Only) This is the “half power” switch found only on the 100 watt Nomad. The two inside power tubes are put in a standby mode when the 50 watt position is selected reducing the RMS power to approximately 50 watts. This switch may be operated at any time during[...]

P AGE 18 REAR PANEL CONTROLS & CONNECTIONS: (Continued) SLAVE TO POWER AMP CH2 CH1 REVERB 4 OHM SLAVE: This jack captures a signal directly from the speaker jacks and is “padded” to provide a way to use the entire sound ( pre- amp & power stage ) and send it on to other power amplifiers. This enables you to use your Nomad as the master [...]

PA G E 1 9 CHANNEL 1 - Factory Sample Setting Page NOTE: All Settings pertain to all Nomad Series amps INPUT PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE CLEAN (NORMAL) PUSHED CH1 CHANNEL 1 - W arm Vintage Clean HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Neck Single or Humbucker INPUT PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE CLEAN (NORMAL) PUSHED CH1 CHANNEL 1 - Hype[...]

P AGE 20 CHANNEL 1 - Factory Sample Setting Page NOTE: All Settings pertain to all Nomad Series amps INPUT PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE CLEAN (NORMAL) PUSHED CH1 CHANNEL 1 - W arm & Round HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Neck Single or Humbucker INPUT PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE CLEAN (NORMAL) PUSHED CH1 CHANNEL 1 - Old Scho[...]

PA G E 2 1 CHANNEL 1 - Factory Sample Setting Page NOTE: All Settings pertain to all Nomad Series amps INPUT PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE CLEAN (NORMAL) PUSHED CH1 CHANNEL 1 - Agro Crunch HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Hot Rear Humbucker INPUT PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE CLEAN (NORMAL) PUSHED CH1 CHANNEL 1 - Fast T rack Solo H[...]

P AGE 22 CHANNEL 2 - Factory Sample Setting Page NOTE: All Settings pertain to all Nomad Series amps CHANNEL 2- Fat & Purring HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Neck CHANNEL 2 - V iolin Vibe HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Most Pick-Ups HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO CHANNEL 2 - Pretty Clean & Brown Neck or Multiple PRESENCE BASS [...]

PA G E 2 3 CHANNEL 2 - Factory Sample Setting Page NOTE: All Settings pertain to all Nomad Series amps CHANNEL 2- Rotundo HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Hot Rear Humbucker CHANNEL 2 - Edge HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Most Pick-Ups HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO CHANNEL 2 - Agro Solo Hot Rear Humbucker PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN[...]

P AGE 24 CHANNEL 3 - Factory Sample Setting Page NOTE: All Settings pertain to all Nomad Series amps HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Strat, T ele Style CHANNEL 3 - Clean Clone HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Most Low Output Pick-Ups HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO CHANNEL 3 - Rocked Out Hot Rear Humbucker PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN T[...]

P AGE 25 CHANNEL 3 - Factory Sample Setting Page NOTE: All Settings pertain to all Nomad Series amps HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Hot Rear Humbucker CHANNEL 3 - Blues Punch HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO Most Pick-Ups HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO CHANNEL 3 - Implosion Hot Rear Humbucker PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE MODERN[...]

P AGE 26 REAR OF CHASSIS TUBE TASK CHART Nomad 45 NOTE: Before changing tubes, turn the POWER SWITCH to the off position or to STANDBY. CAUTION..Tubes are HOT when they have been in use. Partial View Of Chassis 12AX7 V 2 V 3 V 4 V 1 V 5 B A B A (Each 12AX7 contains two separate Triodes) B A B A B A AC Receptacle Footswitch DIN plug View looking dow[...]

P AGE 27 REAR OF CHASSIS TUBE TASK CHART Nomad 55 6L6 6L6 NOTE: Before changing tubes, turn the POWER SWITCH to the off position or to STANDBY. CAUTION..Tubes are HOT when they have been in use. Partial View Of Chassis 12AX7 V 2 V 3 V 4 V 1 V 5 B A B A (Each 12AX7 contains two separate Triodes) B A B A B A AC Receptacle Footswitch DIN plug View loo[...]

P AGE 28 Description of Tube Functions V1 A & B = (paralleled) input stage V2 A = 2nd Stage Channel 1 V2 B = 3rd Stage Channel 1 V3 A = 4th Stage Channel 2 & 3 V3 B = 3rd Stage Channel 2 & 3 V4 A = 2nd Stage Channel 2 & 3 V4 B = FX Return Stage V5 A & B = Phase Inverter REAR OF CHASSIS TUBE TASK CHART Nomad 100 6L6 6L6 6L6 6L6 N[...]

TUBE NOISE & MICROPHONICS Y ou may occasionally experience some form of tube noise or microphonics. Certainly no cause for alarm, this quirky behavior comes with the territory and the T one. Much like changing a light bulb, you don’t need a techni cian to cure these types of minor user serviceable annoyances and in fact, you’ll be amazed at[...]

P AGE 30 DIAGNOSING PRE-AMP TUBE PROBLEMS: Because your amplifier is an all tube design, it is quite possible that you will at some point experience minor pre-amp tube noise. Rest assured - this is no cause for alarm and you can take care of the problem yourself in a matter of minutes by simply swapping tubes. Let us begin by saying; It is a “ver[...]

P AGE 31 BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Part of a continuous series) An Article written by Randall Smith that we thought you might find interesting. Here’s a question we often hear: “Why doesn’t M esa put bias adjustments in their amplifiers?” Well, there’ s a short answer and a long answer to this question. The short answer is that during my 12 years[...]

P AGE 32 BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Continued) When you scrape your feet across a carpetted floor in dry , wintery conditions, your body can become charged with 50,000 to 100,000 volts of static electricity . And when you reach for the door knob, a spark jumps and you feel it! The voltage is super high but the current (measured in micro-amps) is tiny - othe[...]

P AGE 33 BIAS ADJUSTMENT: (Continued) But don’t these alterations imply that you are second-guessing the amp designer and that there’s a better set of operating conditions that the designer missed but the tube sellers have discovered? Now some players may like the sound of their amp altered by tubes with extreme characteristics and with the bia[...]

IMPEDANCE: Wiring up speakers to provide the most effective load and making sure that all of them are in phase will help in creating the best sound possible. This is not too difficult, as long as you understand a few things about loading and how to connect you r speakers to provide an optimal resistive load. M esa Boogie amplifiers can handle 4 and[...]

P AGE 35 PARALLEL: When wiring in parallel, the resistance of the speakers decreases. T wo 8 ohm speakers wired in ( hooked-up ) Parallel results in a 4 ohm load. It’s easy to calculate the ef fect of a resistive load when all the speakers are all the same resistanc e. It is really not suggested to wire different resistive load values in Parallel[...]

P AGE 36 1 2 5 4 4 Ohm Cabinet 3 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM Partial back view of some Mesa amp 8 Ohm Cabinet SAFE MISMATCH WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets 4 OHM 8 OHM 16 OHM Partial back view of amplifier 16 Ohm Cabinet 4 OHM 8 OHM 16 OHM Partial back view of amplifier 16 Ohm Cabinet SAFE MISMATCH 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM Partial back view of amplif[...]

PA G E 3 7 8 OHM 4 OHM 4 OHM Partial back view of amplifier 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet 6 8 Ohm Cabinet 16 Ohm Cabinet 8 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM Partial back view of amplifier SAFE MISMATCH 8 OHM Partial back view of amplifier SERIES BOX 8 Ohm 4 Ohm 4 Ohm 4 Ohm Cabinet 4 Ohm Cabinet 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM Partial back view of amplifier PARALLEL BOX 8 Ohm 16 O[...]

P AGE 38 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM Partial back view of amplifier 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet SERIES BOX 16 Ohm 8 Ohm 8 Ohm 8 Ohm Cabinet 10 SAFE MISMATCH 12 4 OHM 4 OHM Partial back view of amplifier 16 Ohm Cabinet 16 Ohm Cabinet 11 8 OHM 8 Ohm Cabinet 16 Ohm Cabinet 16 Ohm Cabinet 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM Partial back view of amp PARALLEL BOX 8 Ohm 16 Ohm 16 Oh[...]

P AGE 39 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM Partial back view of amplifier 8 Ohm Cabinet 8 Ohm Cabinet SERIES BOX 16 Ohm 8 Ohm 8 Ohm 16 Ohm Cabinet 13 SAFE MISMATCH WIRING SCHEMES...Amplifier to Speaker Cabinets 4 OHM 4 OHM 8 OHM Partial back view of amplifier 16 Ohm Cabinet 16 Ohm Cabinet PARALLEL BOX 8 Ohm 16 Ohm 16 Ohm 16 Ohm Cabinet SAFE MISMATCH 14[...]

With apologies to Friends and Relatives from the Emerald Isle - who will make their appearance soon enough - the humor which follows is dedicated to the memories of Spec McAuliff and Fae (Rafael) McNally , two of the True Greats. As their numerical references suggest, the terms Diode, T riode and Pentode indicate the number of elements within the v[...]

Thus a diode tube - one with a cathode and an anode - is mostly used to rectify alternating current into direct current by passing it without restriction, but in one direction only . This also explains why closing time is stricly enforced at Irish pubs: During normal op eration, the traffic flow is similarily unimpeded and uni-directional toward th[...]

PENTODES: (Continued) Thus the proper cocktail waitress - visible through the louvers - is scantily clad so as to be all the more effective at reinforcing the attractive influence of her bar and by being located in between the door and the bar , she serves as bait to lure customers past the door ’ s negative influence. Once through the door howev[...]

P AGE 43 FUSE FRONT PANEL Nomad 45 REAR PANEL Nomad 45 RECORDING 8 OHM 4 OHM 2 A SB ALL 3 KNOBS pt# FUSE pt# JACK pt # JACK pt# POT pt KNOB pt# SEND RETURN JACK pt # MINI TOGGLE SWITCH pt # 4 OHM SPEAKER JACKS (all 3) pt# SWITCH CH1 CH2 CH3 FTSW SLAVE TO POWER AMP USE WITH TWO 8 OHM SPKR COMBO SPKR JACK pt# SPKR SPKR NOMAD ALL TUBE AMPLIFIER HANDBU[...]

P AGE 44 FUSE FRONT PANEL Nomad 55 REAR PANEL Nomad 55 RECORDING 8 OHM 4 OHM 2 A SB ALL 3 KNOBS pt# FUSE pt# JACK pt # JACK pt# POT pt KNOB pt# SEND RETURN JACK pt # MINI TOGGLE SWITCH pt # 4 OHM SPEAKER JACKS (all 3) pt# SWITCH CH1 CH2 CH3 FTSW SLAVE TO POWER AMP USE WITH TWO 8 OHM SPKR COMBO SPKR JACK pt# SPKR SPKR NOMAD ALL TUBE AMPLIFIER HANDBU[...]

P AGE 45 HI VOLTS ON AC MAINS ON OUTPUT SOLO INPUT MODERN (NORMAL) VINTAGE PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE PRESENCE BASS MASTER MID GAIN TREBLE VINTAGE (NORMAL) MODERN CLEAN (NORMAL) PUSHED CH2 CH1 CH3 JACK pt# ALL KNOBS pt# POT pt POT pt POT pt POT pt POT pt POT pt POT pt POT pt POT pt POT pt POT pt POT pt[...]

The Spirit of Art in Technology OO GI E B M ESA Thank you for trusting MESA/Boogie to be your amplifier company and we wish you many years of toneful enjoyment from this handbuilt all tube instrument.[...]

The Spirit of Art in Technology 1317 Ross Street Petaluma, CA 94954 USA (707) 778-6565 FAX NO. (707) 765-1503[...]