Framus

The Framus Cobra 4x12 is a rugged and reliable cabinet meant to deliver metal tones with that vintage-esque overtone. The cab is made out of poplar, and it has Celestion Greenbacks wired in 8 ohms total. It also has a metal grill to help protect the speakers instead of a normal grill cloth. The Framus cabs are pretty cool because they’re unique in both construction and speaker choice. While they’re marketed towards those who are playing metal, the speakers inside them are well known for delivering those classic rock tones. The poplar helps add some cool flavor that the birch woods don’t seem to have. First of all, while these Greenbacks are mostly used for classic rock, they can work great for heavy metal. I’ve played death metal with these without much of a problem. The speaker distortion that occurs can actually benefit if you know how to work your rig correctly. The metal grill also adds a different tone because of the way the sound is dispersing through them. It’s a bit more direct sounding than a normal grill cloth, but it can also be a bit of a pain to mic. The mic will pick up all kinds of bizarre frequencies unless you get it just right or take the metal grill off all together. The tolex on this thing is probably its biggest issue. It’s a thin tolex, so it rips easy. Those of you who are hard on cabs might want to look into getting some sort of hard case for this if you’re concerned about looks after touring. Aside from that, these are pretty rugged and reliable cabs. I’ve never experienced any issues with them, and they sound fantastic. Some people might dislike them because of the Greenbacks, but give them a try and see how it works out. You might be pleasantly surprised.

For many years I'd wanted to try a Framus Cobra 100 as I'd heard that they were some of the greatest amps for metal that existed. For about two years I wondered about the sound... until recently when I had a chance to finally put one through its paces. It is a three channel amp (with a boost too) that does everything from pristine cleans to British style crunch to molten metal riffage and lead tones. It is a three channel amp that is laid out the same way as the Mesa Dual Rectifier as far as controls. Each channel has gain, volume, bass, middle, treble and presence knobs, and each channel has a small switch on it that changes the voicing of that channel. Here is the full list of specs: 100 watts Tubes: 5x ECC 83 by JJ, 4x EL 34 by Electro Harmonix (selected quartet) 3 channels (Clean, Crunch and Lead) Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble and Presence controls for each channel Notch switches for Crunch and Lead Parallel effects loop Effect Mix control Deep control to set the amount of low end in the power amp stage Master 1 and 2, switchable Integrated MIDI interface 4, 8 and 16 ohms speaker output impedance, switchable Metallic grill front face Weight: 21 kg Dimensions (W/H/D): 0,72 x 0,28 x 0,26 m Made in Germany UTILIZATION Dialing in the Cobra 100 is a bit more of a chore than many amps because of the gain structure it uses. It's similar to something like a Mesa Boogie I find as far as how the controls react, but it still took me a bit of time to figure it out. Once I got past the initial learning curve, I found myself really enjoying the tones that were coming out of this amp... everything from the cleans to the highest of gain distorted tones. My biggest caveat with this amp's design is the effects loop, which is just not well designed at all. It doesn't accept stompbox units in the loop, only rack processors. This means that if you put your delay in the effects loop and it is a stomp box, it sounds garbled and not pristine like it should. Kind of a frustration to have a $2,000+ amp that won't accept stompboxes in the effects loop, only rack gear/processors. SOUNDS I tried this amp out with an EMG loaded Charvel San Dimas and a 2010 Gibson Les Paul Standard with Burstbucker pickups. I definitely preferred the tone of the active pickups with this amp, which is surprising given my general dislike of EMG pickups. The clean channel is very hifi sounding. I can't quite put my finger on what amp it is that this amp's clean tone reminds me of, but it's the opposite of a warm vintage Fender... very bright and in your face. It is an impressively pristine clean tone for such a high gain amp. The crunch channel reminds me a lot of an old Marshall. It's a bit more mid focused than the lead channel and has a bit of that awesome Marshall raunch lurking within. Don't get me wrong, it's still a high gain channel, but it offers a good blend between the classic and modern textures. It also cleans up really well with the volume knob on the guitar which is a plus. The lead channel is my favourite one. It's like someone took a Dual Rectifier and a 5150 and combined the best features of both into an awesome, awesome high gainer amp. It packs GOBS of gain and saturation, but it's still extremely tight and clear. It's not so dry/tight that it sounds sterile, but it's not nearly so loose as to cause buzziness and flub out as some Rectos do at times. OVERALL OPINION All in all I feel as though the Cobra is a near perfect amp for the serious metal musician. It is very expensive ($2,000+) but you can find them for about $1,400 used if you look. The three channels are all top notch in their design and when you find the sweet sound, look out! It, like the Peavey 5150 is a LOUD amp, so keep that in mind, and the sweet spot is at higher volumes. I (along with the owner of this particular Cobra 100) feel as though the effects loop is basically useless and should be redesigned, but that's only really necessary if you're a devout pedal user. If you want some of the best metal tones to ever slither across the earth, give the Framus Cobra 100 a shot. Don't worry, it won't bite. ;)

Framus has two main amps -- the Dragon and the Cobra. The Cobra tends to be a bit more popular, but the Dragon isn't too bad. The amp has three channels with 100 watts of power (EL34s), 5 12AX7 tubes, a parallel effects loop, MIDI, switchable master volumes, independent EQs, and a deep control. UTILIZATION The amp is laid out EXTREMELY well. In fact, this is how every amp should be. It's fully MIDI functional, so you can control everything with your own MIDI board if you'd like. Each channel has its own EQ, which in this day and age is a must. It has a pretty nice parallel loop, delivers tons of power and is perfect for touring. The only real issue is that the tolex on these models can be a bit thin, so the tolex might rip if you handle it roughly. SOUNDS The Dragon tends to not be as popular as the Cobra, and I can see why. The channels are all pretty nice sounding. Clean is good, crunch is good, lead is good. The problem is that the amp itself is fairly dark. I can't get a totally chimey clean channel, and I find myself really cranking the presence on the crunch and lead channels to get that bite that I tend to look for. It takes boosts nicely, and it can really tighten up this amp to bring it into another dimension. OVERALL OPINION If you're looking for a nice head on the cheap, check out one of these amps. Just the fact that it has three fully independent channels with MIDI built in is ridiculous considering how cheap these go on the used market. I think Framus has a marketing issue as these are some real steals on the market. Just be sure you like darker tones as the amp is voiced pretty dark.