Jump to content

UNLOCKING THE MYSTERY OF THE FRAMUS COBRA


guitarman967

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I've been meaning to write a thread with some Info that would help some users of this amp with hope's that everyone could then post some of there own secrets.

 

No other amp that I know of has generated a wider variance in opinions about how it sounds than the Framus Cobra.

It's a real Love/Hate amp but I can't help but think that maybe some users settings and tips could help the people who can't get any good sounds out of it..

As alot of you know I've been intrigued by the amp since I got it 2 and a half years later I'm still learning how much I never knew about it.

Alot of my discoveries were spurred on by things I had read here.

Big thanks to ragnvald..Man that dude is smart. He's way ahead of everyone with this amp I believe and I think a good portion of my big discoveries have come from a useful post by him.

Tons of great conversations with Rotinpain ( Kyle knows what's up with the Cobra) :evil: Another Great thinker. And Mike (Cobrahead).

 

One of the things that makes it so difficult to give effective Advice on a great sound with the Framus Cobra is that it is very Sensitive to just about everything. (Pickups, Cabs, Tube's)

For the most part this explains the vast differences in opinons and sounds people can achieve but really that just scratches the Surface.

 

Putting aside the External factors for a second, and Focusing on the amp itself, there are way too many variations you can achieve with just the EQ..

It took me a while to realize how powerful it's EQ is.

The tone Shaping is just amazing on this amp but it seems most people never explore even half of it's ability. For me, i've found That most of my frustration with tone's has come from approaching the amp's EQ in the way I would on an amp with more of a traditional Marshall EQ where each band just boost that particular Frequency but doesnt effect the other bands much..

Cobra's EQ is way more interactive.

 

The first thing that ever alerted me to this was a setting I read here on HC that was very different than mine. I figured that it would sound very bad because it had overextended the Controls to a point on the dial that I knew was nowhere near my " Tone Zone". Besides the gain, I had been running the Controls pretty much at Noon at that point.

 

Some Obvious stuff to start. The Cobra's MID is a control for the Low Mids. You'll notice that in order to set the Mid's higher and retain a good mix it's important to set the bass lower. Those two controls work Closely together.

Try Bass at 12:00 and MIDS at 10:00 and compare that to bass at 9:00 and MIDS at 3:00. Two Very different settings that yield very different tones.

Very Cool way to become familar with what can be done with the EQ.

 

The next Big Breakthrough for me was the Presence and Treble Combo.

Just about any type of tone can be achieved with different settings of these controls.

This is where you get the vast differences in opinons w/ People who say the amp is Bright, dark, Clear, Buzzy ETC...

In a Nutshell The presence Control on the amp basically Acts as a High Pass filter. It Alows how much high end frequency passes through and then the Treble further Shapes the Intensity of the Frequency where the Presence is set. This is true for All three Channels. Since this Discovery I've achieved a warmer articulate Clean, and Smoother, Clearer gain Channels, without changing any tubes..

It's one of the key's to the amps with Eq's like this (Rectifier's come to mind as well) and the reason why some people say it's buzzy and other say it's refined. If you want to tweak out that last bit of fizz, put down the Tube's for a minute and try some different EQ settings..

 

With a Noon Setting for Both Controls the amp has plenty of Attack and Cut. Too much for alot of people as they tend to say it's Buzzy or too bright.

To eliminate this High "Buzzy" frequency You have to know that it's originates in the Presence Controls as the Filter is set Too High.

Try a lower setting of Presence. 10:00 range and get your highs with the Treble Control. You'll find that the Buzz Frequency is not present in the Treble. This is important For Players who say the Lead Channel is too buzzy.

Conversely, try leaving the Presence at 12:00 and lowering the Treble to decrease the Frequencies Effectiveness.

This is also a very good way to Achieve the Warmest Sound possible on the Clean Channel. Right Now it seems to be Low presence and treble at Noon, But The opposite is quite nice also

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 282
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

 

Do you think the Cobra is more compressed or more open?

 

 

When I think about the Cobra, Compression does not come to mind.

It's probably one of the most uncommpressed heads I've ever owned and the vocing is fairly open sounding. The Diezel stuff being the Most compressed.

The Cobra just feels Alive at loud Volumes..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

The Cobra EQ isn't active. It is different than the common EQ circuits used in many other amps, but it's not an active EQ.

Jerry

 

 

I think thats what he meant, moreso a more interactive and dynamic eq! Just bad wording by him I assume!

Josh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

The Cobra EQ isn't active. It is different than the common EQ circuits used in many other amps, but it's not an active EQ.

Jerry

 

 

Jerry could you please elaborate on this?

Seems like it can Boost and Cut Frequencies but I might be wrong. I'm far from an expert in this area though...It's very similar to a Parametric at times

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Im not sure about dialing out the fizzyness, I found the stock EH tubes imparted a fizzyness regardless of how I eq'd the amp, it took me changing the preamp tubes to fix that!! Also curious - do use lots of different settings when you play through the cobra? I find that once you have dialed in a sound you love you generally stick (more or less) to that. Also I dont think the Cobra has as much tone shaping capability as say a dual rec, I think the tone of the cobra is better, but the eq's allow marginal color alteration while maintaining essentially a consistent fundamental sound - albeit an awesome sound!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Im not sure about dialing out the fizzyness, I found the stock EH tubes imparted a fizzyness regardless of how I eq'd the amp, it took me changing the preamp tubes to fix that!! Also curious - do use lots of different settings when you play through the cobra? I find that once you have dialed in a sound you love you generally stick (more or less) to that. Also I dont think the Cobra has as much tone shaping capability as say a dual rec, I think the tone of the cobra is better, but the eq's allow marginal color alteration while maintaining essentially a consistent fundamental sound - albeit an awesome sound!!

 

 

Changing tubes will help get you where you want to some extent. The EH tubes can ben kind of Bright and thin. There's some info on HC about that stuff but it's quite possible to overlook the obvious things you can do with a Versatile EQ. I know I did.

 

Try the First MID/BASS suggestion I posted..

Then try setting the CRUNCH's Presence control low and Treble High..

Then try the Opposite. If this is obvious, I apologize but very different tone's can be achieved that way especially on the Cobra.

 

Things can get really Crazy when you add in stuff like the Clean's Bright switch or the Notch Switches.

Very Cool stuff with Bass/Deep Combo's as well

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

it seems like maybe the deep knob on the cobra is active, but the rest isn't? i could be mistaken


some good info there...i'm too tired right now, or i'd chime in with some of my own findings


i probably will tomorrow

 

 

Mike, I was thinking about what happened to your Clean channel when you put JJ's in the poweramp and how you said you had to keep your Treble control down fairly low afterwards(9:00).

 

Inspired by your comment I found two useful settings for the Clean concerning it's Highs.

Presence 12:00, Treble 9:00 like you have them or for a warmer sound

Presence 9:00 and Treble 12:00.

Not sure which one I prefer more yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Changing tubes will help get you where you want to some extent but I think there's enough Info On HC about that stuff and it's quite possible people overlook the Obvious things you can do with a Versatile EQ. I know I did.

Also, I disagree with you on your assement of the Cobra's EQ.

Please try the First MID/BASS suggestion I posted..

Then Try setting the CRUNCH's Presence Control Low and Treble High..

And then the Opposite. Very Different Tone's can be achieved

Things can get really Crazy when you add in stuff like the Clean's Bright switch or the Notch Switches.

Very Cool stuff with Bass/Deep Combo's as well

 

Cool, Ill give it a go tomorrow night and let you know how I go :thu:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

presence noon & treble 9:00 is about where i set mine

 

 

If you get a chance Mike,try the opposite, It's seems warmer at high volumes..That's how I'm setting mine now and I love it. I compared it to my Diezel Herbert's Clean w/ Midcut engaged and they are very similar

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

:thu:

 

All EQ on the Cobra is passive filtering, but nontheless an effective EQ.

Before I saw the schems I believed otherwise. I mistook the opto-couplers (channel switching) for op-amps.

 

Try dial lows at full counter cw, you'll almost filter out the whole signal.

 

The Cobra is a pretty organic, open sounding, breathing thing, so I find I need to notch and boost it in the Death/Grind band I am in at the moment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Cobra I remember this one clip you had a long time ago where you were doing palm muted like bar slides down towards the first few frets and it sounded so damn raw I loved it. It wasnt a song from your band, just a random cobra recording you did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

i'll give it a go next time i get a chance...i'm actually quite pleased with my clean tones, it's just wierd having to set em up that way

 

 

I'm going back and forth on how I like these Controls set...It seems the greatest Variation in Tones come from the Presence control but the Clean's Treble seem's pretty powerful regarding how much of the Highs pass through.. You can get alot of interesting tones depending on the mix of those two

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

:thu:

All EQ on the Cobra is passive filtering, but nontheless an effective EQ.

Before I saw the schems I believed otherwise. I mistook the opto-couplers (channel switching) for op-amps.


Try dial lows at full counter cw, you'll almost filter out the whole signal.


The Cobra is a pretty organic, open sounding, breathing thing, so I find I need to notch and boost it in the Death/Grind band I am in at the moment.

 

Passive huh? I thought there was Opamps in the Circuit.. I'm not sure how that effects everything but it's nice to now I can get alot of Variations depending on where each control is set. I remember a dual rectifier being similar

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yup, as in - there are no discreet components or ICs that are boosting or cutting anything from the signal.

 

Signal path is: Gain -> OD/Clip -> Filter -> Volume.

 

If you want to compress the amp you should drive the volume pretty hard. I think it is vital for the amp to sound good and it must be why most have their volume controls set to around 3:00.

 

For me this is a problem right now as I am running an ISP pedal in the loop. I need to wire up a cable with a passive signal pad or something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...