framus cobra or dragon

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I loved my Dragon.... I found all the channels useful and my only complaint was the damn'd FX loop. If you moved the Level knob anywhere other than noon on the front of my head, you'd loose some of the tone. It eventually left for a more versatile amp with a better loop.
 
I had a cobra thought it was awesome until I heard a Diezel in person. Never looked back.
Cobra was real thick compressed tight as fuck. Loud as all hell. Diezel just had more dynamics n tone.
 
JDinSC":3m0po2ta said:
I loved my Dragon.... I found all the channels useful and my only complaint was the damn'd FX loop. If you moved the Level knob anywhere other than noon on the front of my head, you'd loose some of the tone. It eventually left for a more versatile amp with a better loop.
Click to expand...
Loop is actually really transparent on both heads. I would bet it had more to do with what was IN the loop than the loop itself.
For instance, a 12:00 setting on the MIX control actually pads the return for stompboxes a bit hence the slight boost you hear, but the loop is actually set up for +4db gear. Not saying this is your situation but it seems players who use stompboxes in a line level loop sometimes blame the loop for the coloration I've found.
 
Dragonpicsmaller.jpg


This thread made me want to fire up the Dragon! Havent played it in about a year. Needed a refresher.
Honestly, It sounds better than I ever remember. Very mid-heavy. This thing just crushes live I remember, like a 5150 but with a smooth refined, tight tone. There's no fizz on this head..NONE. Very very sweet tone.
I do remember the later models started sounding kind of congested and fizzy.
 
To the original question: The Dragon is the better amp for me. It's more versatile. It's more mid heavy and has a much warmer high-end. Its very brown and bubbly sounding but tight at the same time. I havent heard any other head quite like it.
 
I prefer my Framus Dragon. I sold the cobra to fun my axe fx II and now only use that lol but I won't off my Dragon. it's a special one for me.

the dragon is lower gain (which is to say it's way more than sufficient for modern metal no boost on all channels but clean and even clean with a boost can do 60-70s lol)

the dragon is a little darker at low volumes but up high it's like a marshall on HULK. the Cobra is definitely more of a metal amp in it's added gain and dip switches for features but otherwise they're virtually identicle amps.

I am a modern metal guy and prefer the dragon. the cobra has better cleans but the dragon has a more organic but just grainy and angry enough gain to work in all apllications and WELL.

the cobra's metal and clean. more dynamic range in the drac.


so I sold the Cobra and still love my dragon.

I have a version 3 which was the last of the hand made line and that means it's the newest variant i'll buy but I like them enough that my sound was developed around them and will likely be my main tube amps for long period of time. I plan on buying more of them and more axe fx II's and that's about it.


I have some links here to mine. i'm a novice producer though:
https://soundcloud.com/diesect20022000/ ... nsion-demo

this demo is axe fx but go to my profile and you will find the old version of ascension and some framus tracks.
 
uli john roth to killswitch engage have used the Dragon. it's VERSATILE. Cobra is....metal and metal clean lol
 
guitarman967":ah78mjxd said:
To the original question: The Dragon is the better amp for me. It's more versatile. It's more mid heavy and has a much warmer high-end. Its very brown and bubbly sounding but tight at the same time. I havent heard any other head quite like it.
Click to expand...
yeah same here. it's very obviously marshall style on the crunch. it's kinda plexi meets 2203 with 5150 gain and tightness....i love it. only other device I've really loved is my axe fx II. that's all i use to record with. but i basically use tones like the dragon or my tma'd dragon lol. plexi's and such for metal.

i am currently using friedman brown eye and dirty Shirley for the song i'm working on but the nice thing abouit this thing is it gets any tone i want direct (and the feel is there) and i like different rigs for different things even in the same genre. like anything death metal like i like the metallic triple recto (only certain models though as it has to have that trashy but tight tinny sound) but almost all of my tones otherwise are based around the plexi and such. otherwise though the dragon is my baby. i'm never selling it lol but the axe fx is the ONLY thing I've found i can replace it with and be happy.
 
as always i prefer the dragon when running well but for metal RHYTHM work the cobra is better imho.
this is a tone matched framus cobra patch i made on my axe fx using a super lead.
new track so still raw but you can hear my comparative tones. (would be a Cobra with a V30 loaded 2x12). oh the solo is on a tone matched AFD (to the AFD sim it already has) as i like using the bright high gain slash tone for a dense metal mix because it can be set just over gritty.where it's still clean but barks and snarls and get a TREMENDOUS lead tone that just cuts!
so gear is:
fractal audio axe fx II (and i still use the real dragon when i can but this gets the tones direct)
random guitars but for this one it's all Schecter tempest custom in white with stock duncan designed pickups (HB-102's i presume but am not certain.
direct into the axe fx II which is direct into a home built PC with REAPER as my reocrding DAW.
Then EZ Drummer with Metal Machine.

i am not finished yet so there are no vocals and it's only half the song lol but the idea's intact here. I'm still new to self producing and JUST getting the hang of my ez drummer software (in the context of matching beats to my pre written melodies and quickly and conveniently at that)
so it's still rough but it has drums.

anyway i did nothing special to this. i DID of course pan the tracks (rhythm i pannned 100% l-r (i 2x each part for the sake of the mix but they're one track i just cloned) i panned at 40% L-R and Lead/solo and drums Center.
I plan on adding some clean melodic passages in the begining and middle and i will be utelizing my melodic vocal abilitiies as well as THU COO-KIE style for this track.

and here's the rough draft (one rhythm, one harmony, one solo and one drum section. i doubled each for the sake of mixdown. and adjusted their space but otherwise no doctoring. no comp,verb,q,eq,etc.


nao with MOAR BEATZ!! o.O :O
https://soundcloud.com/diesect20022000/ ... to-survive

if any more info is wanted on the amps or my songs or autism let me know!

SO, in essence i used a Framus CObra (that i tone matched to a superlead in the axe fx) for all rhythms and an AFD modified JCM 800 for the lead work.

and the axe fx's built in verb/delay and so on. i used a boost for both amps. the new 3knob overdrive.

but essentially the sound is framus cobra with vintage 30's. lol. and it does sound like a cobra too, dead nuts imho but i sold the cobra awhile back and kept the dragon. the cobra DID fund the axe fx i use here however so it's an ironic multi tier arrangement ! lol.
 
guitarman967":1rr3vnsp said:
To the original question: The Dragon is the better amp for me. It's more versatile. It's more mid heavy and has a much warmer high-end. Its very brown and bubbly sounding but tight at the same time. I haven't heard any other head quite like it.
Click to expand...
yeah same here. i sold my cobra to keep the dragon lol. now i use a cobra tone match i made in my axe fx II for those tones (rhythms for metal or death metal stuff0 otherwise i'm always a dragon guy. if i could pick one tube amp to have endless access to and supply of forever as MY amps it would be framus' Dragon. one of the best high gain amps around sound wise
 
Diesect20022000":3j75zd8u said:
I own a cobra modified dragon (cobra specs/dragon chassis) and a V3 Dragon. i like the dragon better. yes you can easily dial out the low mids and extra lows. the EQ's very responsive and easy to work.

click my signature ascend to abyss to hear a straight recording NO POST PRODUCTION of a Framus unmodified dragon.

i also have some cobra clips with no post eq or other confusion.

my framus cobra modified dragon's tight as hell.

these are HOME recordings at low volume with no doctoring so it's very much what you hear is what's really there.

my stock dragon can do moderately old school clean and classic rock to extreme death metal all in the amp. you just have to know how to work it.

the older dragon (v3 and earlier) sound and feel better to me but the newer models are great for turning into cobras:D
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I`m interested in the Dragon and would like to pick one up used. How can you tell if the amp is V3 or older (V1 and V2) ? Serial number or different features lie bias test points?
 
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