So for honesty’s sake, this isn’t really a NAD for me, this thing showed up a couple weeks ago. But I’m familiar with it now, I’ve got some hours on it and I’d like to start a discussion. In another thread @DudeManBrother and I started talking about the Cobra but it wasn’t on topic so I decided to start a thread. It’s an amp people seem to disagree over.
Awhile back I started a thread looking for advice on what I should do to satisfy my Soldano gas after seeing High On Fire play. One of the options I brought up based on info I had read was the Framus Cobra. I was told in that thread the Cobra would be the least Soldano-like among amps I was considering. I did a lot of research, listened to a lot clips. In the end I decided I want a Soldano, not a copy not an amp that will sound like a Soldano. The prices right now for used Soldanos are crazy so as far as that goes I’m waiting for the new releases he’s doing this summer. With that put on the back burner I was still intrigued by the Cobra. It’s described as an improved Recto. I would call it that, it achieves the “Recto” sound that I could never seem to get with a Recto. It does what I’m looking for when I dial in a Recto and can never seem to get. One thing I’ll mention is that it uses EL34’s and I’ve never played an EL34 loaded Rectifier. Maybe that’s what the Rectifiers I couldn’t get along with were missing.
Everyone that has owned or read about the Cobra knows the effects loop sucks. I can’t believe an amp company would release an amp with this shit design. I know Rectifiers have shitty loops, I’ve read that SLO’s have shitty loops, my 5150 has a great loop. The 4 amps are related, the Cobra came out after the 5150, why not copy that loop? They must’ve had their reasons and I’m not an engineer but for Christ’s sakes the loop is useless they could’ve left it out completely IMO.
The clean channel is beautiful. It sounds better than the modified silver face Bassman I had. I don’t miss that thing anymore. It sounds Fender-y to me, not as bright as the Pro Reverb we have here and way more headroom than my Bassman had. Definitely an Easter egg, I was not expecting to ever like a high gain amp’s clean channel as much as I like this one.
Crunch channel is what I’m using. I have the mids lower than what most people post for settings. I’m running it through a 1960TV, that thing is all midrange, no need to have the mids turned up. Everyone says the Cobra was designed with G12M’s in mind, it’s true, it matches with that cab perfectly. I always crank the lows on any head I’ve put on that cab, the Cobra has an ungodly amount of lows where the greenies are lacking. With the volume up the speakers compress and it becomes apparent they voiced the amp for greenbacks. The low end the amp can put out is incredible. I’ve got the depth knob at 12 o’clock, any more is too much. Boosted with a GT-OD it’s perfection.
The lead channel I can take or leave. It’s good, there’s nothing wrong with it but IMO it’s truly a lead channel. I use my 5150 on the lead channel for everything, I would never use the Cobra lead channel for anything other than playing leads. It’s smooth and thick. TBH I haven’t spent as much time with it, now that I’ve got the Crunch channel dialed in I don’t have much interest in the lead channel. Maybe I’ll come back to it if anyone thinks I’m missing something.
I’m running it with my favorite amp my 5150. The 5150 is set up to grind and the Cobra pumps out lows and has the nice chime on top. I know 5150 + Recto is THE combo, I’ve tried it, it’s great, I like this combo better.
People seems to love or hate the Cobra. I read reliability horror stories, this is a V1 and it’s still going strong. The effects loop is a major disappointment, I run a noise gate in my 5150 loop and I wish I could run my other one in the Cobra loop but I can’t make it work. Instead of running my 2nd Endless Blockade in the loop I’m stuck using an NS-2 up front. I can deal with it, the Crunch channel is worth it. Anyone else still using a Cobra? Anyone get to play one before, what did you think?
Awhile back I started a thread looking for advice on what I should do to satisfy my Soldano gas after seeing High On Fire play. One of the options I brought up based on info I had read was the Framus Cobra. I was told in that thread the Cobra would be the least Soldano-like among amps I was considering. I did a lot of research, listened to a lot clips. In the end I decided I want a Soldano, not a copy not an amp that will sound like a Soldano. The prices right now for used Soldanos are crazy so as far as that goes I’m waiting for the new releases he’s doing this summer. With that put on the back burner I was still intrigued by the Cobra. It’s described as an improved Recto. I would call it that, it achieves the “Recto” sound that I could never seem to get with a Recto. It does what I’m looking for when I dial in a Recto and can never seem to get. One thing I’ll mention is that it uses EL34’s and I’ve never played an EL34 loaded Rectifier. Maybe that’s what the Rectifiers I couldn’t get along with were missing.
Everyone that has owned or read about the Cobra knows the effects loop sucks. I can’t believe an amp company would release an amp with this shit design. I know Rectifiers have shitty loops, I’ve read that SLO’s have shitty loops, my 5150 has a great loop. The 4 amps are related, the Cobra came out after the 5150, why not copy that loop? They must’ve had their reasons and I’m not an engineer but for Christ’s sakes the loop is useless they could’ve left it out completely IMO.
The clean channel is beautiful. It sounds better than the modified silver face Bassman I had. I don’t miss that thing anymore. It sounds Fender-y to me, not as bright as the Pro Reverb we have here and way more headroom than my Bassman had. Definitely an Easter egg, I was not expecting to ever like a high gain amp’s clean channel as much as I like this one.
Crunch channel is what I’m using. I have the mids lower than what most people post for settings. I’m running it through a 1960TV, that thing is all midrange, no need to have the mids turned up. Everyone says the Cobra was designed with G12M’s in mind, it’s true, it matches with that cab perfectly. I always crank the lows on any head I’ve put on that cab, the Cobra has an ungodly amount of lows where the greenies are lacking. With the volume up the speakers compress and it becomes apparent they voiced the amp for greenbacks. The low end the amp can put out is incredible. I’ve got the depth knob at 12 o’clock, any more is too much. Boosted with a GT-OD it’s perfection.
The lead channel I can take or leave. It’s good, there’s nothing wrong with it but IMO it’s truly a lead channel. I use my 5150 on the lead channel for everything, I would never use the Cobra lead channel for anything other than playing leads. It’s smooth and thick. TBH I haven’t spent as much time with it, now that I’ve got the Crunch channel dialed in I don’t have much interest in the lead channel. Maybe I’ll come back to it if anyone thinks I’m missing something.
I’m running it with my favorite amp my 5150. The 5150 is set up to grind and the Cobra pumps out lows and has the nice chime on top. I know 5150 + Recto is THE combo, I’ve tried it, it’s great, I like this combo better.
People seems to love or hate the Cobra. I read reliability horror stories, this is a V1 and it’s still going strong. The effects loop is a major disappointment, I run a noise gate in my 5150 loop and I wish I could run my other one in the Cobra loop but I can’t make it work. Instead of running my 2nd Endless Blockade in the loop I’m stuck using an NS-2 up front. I can deal with it, the Crunch channel is worth it. Anyone else still using a Cobra? Anyone get to play one before, what did you think?