Framus Cobra Modding...

[PhloridaMan]

Hey guys... I haven't gotten much interest on selling my Cobra so I think I might keep it and mod it a bit to see if I can get a better more "organic" tone out of it...

I found a mod post on HC to turn the Cobra into a Dragon, but all the img links are dead to the schematics and I have never heard a Dragon so I don't really know if thats the direction to go. I want something a little more natural sounding and not so processed and compressed sounding. The cobra just sounds too Computerized to me.

If anyone has tackled a Cobra and made an attempt at major modding please let me know and hopefully share what you've done.

Much appreciated!

 

[the4thlast1]

There is a gain mod to the Crunch channel thats pretty cool..Its a simple mod but a bit off a pain in the ass to get to. Makes the Crunch channel sound more fluid and saturated, less raw. Do a google search for a saturation mod, should come up.

 

[Mailman1971]

I found this one....

its about 1/2 way down the thread.

http://www.harmonycentral.com/t5/Amps/g ... -p/9153370

 

[chunktone]

Hey guys... I haven't gotten much interest on selling my Cobra so I think I might keep it and mod it a bit to see if I can get a better more "organic" tone out of it...

I found a mod post on HC to turn the Cobra into a Dragon, but all the img links are dead to the schematics and I have never heard a Dragon so I don't really know if thats the direction to go. I want something a little more natural sounding and not so processed and compressed sounding. The cobra just sounds too Computerized to me.

If anyone has tackled a Cobra and made an attempt at major modding please let me know and hopefully share what you've done.

Much appreciated!

What are you looking to change about your Cobra? I recently got a Dragon, and am extremely happy with it! Any good amp tech should be able to mod 1 into the other as they're virtually the same amp.

 

[guitarman967]

There is a gain mod to the Crunch channel thats pretty cool..Its a simple mod but a bit off a pain in the ass to get to. Makes the Crunch channel sound more fluid and saturated, less raw. Do a google search for a saturation mod, should come up.

The satch mod. Hehe

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Why spend so much on an amp just to mod it. Keep trying to sell...

 

[PhloridaMan]

Kapo, If it would sell then great but in the mean time I have no ambition to play because I am bored with my tone... As lame as that sounds, without a current band... having a tone that pleases my ear is what keeps me playing.

 

[PhloridaMan]

My tech currently is looking over the schematics... He has already noticed the clean is designed similar to a Fender Twin and the Crunch and Lead are fairly close to an SLO. He's trying to think of a way to marshallize the amp a little more.

Basically my complaint with the cobra overall is its too plain. I like that "ring" or "chime" that a marshall has but i also like the dark nature of the framus at the same time. He's trying to see if there is a way to keep the darkness and bring that marshall like chime to it. I will keep you guys posted... Maybe a new mod for the cobra coming soon lol

 

[baron55]

Yep the Framus amps are all SLO clones. They use a Bandaxall Tone stack which has very flat mids across a wide band frequency range. Nothing close to the standard Marshall/Fender style tone stacks most amps have.

 

[PhloridaMan]

He's gonna give it a go... I know absolutely NOTHING (though I am trying to learn) about the technical aspects of amplifiers... I know just enough to re-tube and bias amps on my own and replace tranny's. That's the extent of my current knowledge. I have been thinking of tackling a JCM800 100w Kit amp for fun to see if I can do it and learn a few things at the same time... I figure what can it hurt other than my pocket Gotta learn some how tho and there is no better way than to try I guess...

 

[D-Rock]

Obviously the voice of the amps circuit plays the biggest role, but changing pickup magnet/output/brand as well has experimenting with lower gain preamp tubes can help with what you are trying to do.

 

[PhloridaMan]

I've done that as well actually. JB's Pearly Gates, Burst Buckers, EMG's... Even tried some Bill Lawrence Pickups my old man had and an old nicely seasoned (from the 80s) SD Invader... The JB's sounded best except for in the ESP which is going back to EMG's so my Dean can get the Seymours.

 

[PhloridaMan]

if I mod it... I am keeping it forever or until it croaks. I understand the gamble but I am not gonna pull the trigger on a mod any time soon. I really do like the amp and don't want to get rid of it... This amp has a long story behind it's close call with death... Maybe I will post the pictures some time lol It still smells like smoke But I got lucky and there isn't a damn thing wrong with it Other than it sounds like a stale piece of bread for anything other than heavy shit. But honestly... I may do a little modding to it to liven it up with the Cobra to Dragon mod... and leave it like that... I am looking to pick up a 5150 and DSL for a layered rig I want to build also and then a JVM410... so if I had the cobra with all of that, I would have a nice selection of amps... Not to mention I have an AC30 Combo and Ruby Riot II Combo as well which sadly don't get near enough use by me. They get used more by my old mans jam band haha!

 

[DC Vision Music]

I'm in the middle of getting my used and disfunctional Framus Cobra repaired and modded. I'm finding out that a lot of the plate resistors and other components are turning out to be a real let down. My tech showed me the abundance of 1/8 watt resistors that come stock in there. He says that that would definitely contribute to the extremely noisy gain channels. He's already replaced several with much higher quality 1 watt resistors. So, as soon as he tracks down the main problem, which happens to be a really strange thing happening. As I roll the volume on the guitar or the gain on the amp down, instead of cleaning up naturally like a tube amp should, it has a clean sound that gets louder as the gain kinda fizzles out real nasty like. He believes it's attributed to a series of programmable little chips that control the gain somehow. He's scratching his head looking at the design of this amp. He's done TONS of other amps like Marshall, Fender, Mesa, Diezel, etc. And NONE of them are built this weird and with such cheap parts!

Anybody have any input on this? I'm trying to get the most out of the amp and maybe ended with something uniquely cool in the process!

 

[moltenmetalburn]

Thought my dragon sounded way better than the cobra, darker thicker, less shrill.

 

[RJF]

The Cobra sounds badass to me, especially with a 7 string. It's probably the most brutal amp I have ever heard. I am completely happy with it's tone, and would be happy with just a way to make it not so noisy. That is the only thing that bothers me. I went with KT77's in it a while back and that helped get rid of some of the fuzz in the tone.

 

[guitarman967]

Ive had at least 5 or more different Framus amps including Cobra's and Dragons and never had a noise issue. Weird to hear that. With good preamp tubes, correct bias and clean jacks, pots, I havent found any inherent problem there.
I will add that all the amps I had were ones that were made before they switched to Chinese assembly though

 

[guitarman967]

BTW, the Dragon is definitely more of the tone you're going for.

 

[RJF]

Ive had at least 5 or more different Framus amps including Cobra's and Dragons and never had a noise issue. Weird to hear that. With good preamp tubes, correct bias and clean jacks, pots, I havent found any inherent problem there.
I will add that all the amps I had were ones that were made before they switched to Chinese assembly though

Hmm, The Cobra is kind of known for being noisy. Later ones are made in China? Do you know when or what serial number the difference is?

 

[DC Vision Music]

Thanks for the info guitarman67. I'll check with my tech tonight and see if we can find out. I would be willing to bet it is Chinese made.