Considered by many to be the holy grail of metal amplifiers, the Framus Cobra is something we have been looking to acquire for quite some time. Framus produced the cobra in the early 2000s, however ceased productions, while similar amps (5150, dual recto) have been around. The subsequent Dragon, while holding its own, is not the same beast.

Today the Cobra (let alone one in good working condition) is somewhat of a rare amp to come across. Even more elusive is the matching cabinet. Though different cabinets work well with the cobra head, the original true cobra sound is only achievable with the matching cabinet.

After intensely scouring the market for several months, we could not believe our luck when an add popped up on tutti.ch. A nice chap, by the name of Patrick, was selling one with the matching cab. While being a bit battered and bruised, Patrick was a touring musician after all – so it was only natural that the amp had seen some wear.

After a quick phone call, we popped down to see the amp. Patrick invited us into the basement of an old brewery where he and his band had their practice room. He asked us if we would like to hear the amp. Naturally, we nodded yes, and eagerly awaited to hear the savage sound. Moments later Patrick started singing away to a soft-rock/pop song that he had written, strumming away on the clean channel. While we had to contain ourselves, it certainly demonstrated the versatility of the amp. Patrick asked us, what kind of music we like to which I answered “uhm, something a little heavier” and maintained our contained smirk. We came to an agreement we were all happy with and loaded the 60kg of heavy metal into the car.

Once back at Valiantz Studios, we plugged it in, went straight to the lead channel and cranked it up. It was certainly a keeper, where we decided to give it some much needed TLC, and what better way to do that than a complete refurbishment and modification?

What did we modify?

We completely stripped the head and cab down to its bare wooden frame, sanded them, and reglued some joints which were a bit loose. Taking off the old Tolex and what appeared to be ancient glassified glue was a pain in the [insert word of your choosing here], and messy as hell. Protecting your mouth, nose, and eyes is recommended. Nevertheless, in pursuit of excellence, it had to be done. We then proceeded with the changes and modifications below:

• Replacement of old black tolex with new, thicker, and better quality white tolex, ordered from tube-town.de
• Repainted cabinet front black
• Blackened the grills using “Groove Juice Cymbal & Cleaner”. The cleaner has a chemical reaction to the original silver paint, turning it from Silver to Black, and ghosting the writing.
• White Valiantz logo added to grill
• Black hardware (apart from new grip, and original knobs) fitted
• New “Framus” logos ordered directly from Warwick
• Replaced the strip of red LEDs with blue LEDs
• Replaced power light with blue one
• Cobra Emblems added to the sides
• Built-in power supply frame to back of the head to hold a “Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus” which powers the actual amp, and few pedals that we use (one power cable for it all!)
• Complete technical check by our favourite amp technician, Paco Casanovas (casanovasolutions.ch), who not only serviced the amp, but also corrected some sub-optimal design elements. No tube changes (for now).

The result

After approximately 50 hours of work, and a good dose of patience, it feels as though it is a new amp – a legendary one, in pristine condition, and in a custom colour and configuration. The black and white colour scheme, with gleaming blue lights, really fits well in the studio and with its gnarly sound, usually results in quite a reaction from anyone who happens to be in the studio at the time.

Many amps have come and gone; however, this beast is here to stay.

Why the Cobra and is it even relevant anymore in the 2020s?

While many vintage sounds have remained timeless, metal tones have comparably evolved quite rapidly, especially over the last 20 years. So, is the Cobra still relevant in 2020?

Abso-fucking-lutely.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that the sound achieved with the Cobra by Ola Englund in 2010, is still one of the most epic metal tones to date. We were so impressed by the tone, that we wrote an article investigating how he achieved this tone.

Music producer and engineer, Ermin Hamidovic (Architects, Northlane, Periphery) describes the Cobra as the amp “he loves the most” even if he believes that the EVH 5150 technically sounds the best. “Nothing else sounds like this [the Cobra].”

Metal band The Monument’s lead guitarist, and metal gear enthusiast, John Brown tested the cobra in 2020 to see if it is still relevant and went on to say “What a great sounding amp. Wish I hadn’t sold it. I don’t know why I sold it. I’m an idiot.”

The Cobra has been used by several major bands, primarily in the metalcore genre, such as Killswitch Engage (check out the album End of Heartache) and Parkway Drive (check out Horizons).

Having said all this, there are many other phenomenal amps out there which we also admire and can which potentially outperform the Cobra. Amps such as the aforementioned 5150, Mesaboogie’s Dual Rectifier, and Peavey’s Invective 120. Then again “art is in the eye of the beholder” as is tone in the ear of the beholder.

How to acquire a Cobra?

You could try at your local pet shop, but chances are that since the Cobra is not produced anymore, the only way to attain one is on the secondary market. We found that one needs to check various sources, remain patient over several months, and be ready to jump on an offer – once it turns up. They are rare, but they do still pop-up every now and again. Here in Switzerland, we were lucky enough to find one on www.tuitt.ch. Internationally, you could check out sites such as www.reverb.com. If you do get your hands on one, it is worth budgeting in a bit of dosh, to take to a good amp tech for a full service. This way you can be confident in the unit’s performance and sound.

Can I achieve the same sound digitally?

We are big fans of digital units, such as the Kemper, and Axe FX. We tested approximately 30 different profiles of the Cobra and found some of them to be excellent. While a digital unit won’t give you the thump, air movement, and attack the tube amp and cab gives you in a room, the Kemper profiles capture and reproduce the sound of the cobra excellently. If we don’t want to mic up the real thing, the Kemper works phenomenally well for recording. We found the profiles created by xRay Profiles, especially good. We haven’t tried creating a Cobra preset on the Axe yet, but we just got the new Axe-FX III – Mark II in, so we will keep you posted if we come up with something proper.

Some final words

While there are plenty of sources around which go into detail of dialling in tones on the Cobra, here are a few items we thought worth mentioning, if you do get one:

• It is a pretty noisy amp, and has no noise gate built in like some other amps (e.g. Engl Powerball). Consider investing in a noise gate. Maybe one up front, as well as one in the effects loop, and turning the loop dial all the way up.

• We found that pedals such as the Horizon Devices – Precision Drive, can really tighten it up considerably and further shape the tone. By the way, the Precision Drive has a built-in noise gate. Did we mention we recommend noise gating?

• The amp requires some patience to really dial-in, but is fully worth it

• The “notch” settings are a bit strange, as they scoop the crap out of the EQ. Maybe OK-ish sound if you are playing by yourself, but if you are hoping to cut through the mix or have any mid-range punch, better to leave it off
  
  
• While the amp has a reputation for metal, it is fully capable of pristine cleans, which have compared it to the Fender Baseman. The cleans may also be due to the amp being voiced for Celestion Greenback speakers which are not typically used in metal. Don’t be surprised if pairing the amp with V30s may sound a bit, meh.

Specifications

Amplifier Head

• 100W
• Tube Amplified with 4 x EL34 tubes (Electro Harmonix), and 5 x 12AX7EH (Electro Harmonix) tubes
• 3 Channels (Clean, Crunch, Lead) with separate bass, middle, treble, gain, level, and presence control, and “notch” (scooped sound)
• Global depth control
• 2 master volumes
• Parallel effects loop with mix control
• MIDI controllable channels and master
• 4 button footswitch for channels and master 1/2
• Speaker output impedance (ohm): 4, 8, 16
• Dimensions (cm): W: 72, H 28, D 26
• Weight: 21kg
• Made in Germany

Cabinet FR-412

• 200W 8 ohm or 2 x 100w 16 ohm (stereo)
• 4 x 12”
• Celestion Greenback Speakers
• 17mm poplar wood
• Dimensions (cm): W: 72, H 28, D 26
• Weight: 41kg
• Made in Germany