No loss in sound with Long cables, build in gain adjustable overdrive a frequency range greater than any pickup on the market, louder and cleaner sound. A great guitar to use with a transmitter and keeping the overdrive sound!
Paua shell inlay on the string trees & rod cover | |
Carved in Cobra and Paua shell 3-d Bridge |
I happen to like Langcaster instruments because they are unique and of an outstanding quality. So when their distributor R.S.L. b.v. from Holland asked me to test the new Langcaster Cobra I was curious what Joh Lang had created this time. When I opened the case I was looking in the eye of a cobra. And that's serious folks because the eye catcher of this guitar is a beautiful sculptured cobra. It's surrounded by pieces of Paua shell and the eye is glistering clear jewel. The cobra sculpture is filled with clear epoxy which results in a spectacular 3D visual sight especially when the guitar is moved in various directions. This sculpture forms a part of the Tele shaped body with a thickness of 43 mm which is made out of one single piece of 1000 years old Kauri, a native high density hardwood with excellent tone qualities. This wood has a honey colour and the very lively grain is accentuated by the clear 2 components hardener lacquer, which is polished to mirror-like lustre.
The controls are simple but
effective: a volume control for the clean mode, a passive tone
control for the clean mode and a volume control for the overdrive
mode in which the tone control acts as a intensity control for
the overdrive. A separate plate houses the push button for the
overdrive, the picking indicator LED and the 3 way pickup selector.
The Cobra has two outputs; the upper one is for the clean+overdrive
mode and the lower one for the clean mode. The clean+overdrive
output acts as battery check; in overdrive mode the picking indicator
LED flashes when a jack is plugged in.
The supply of the Cobra is very comprehensive and includes: heavy-duty hard shell case, 2 counter parts for the Schaller strap locks, spare 0.010 E1st string, cleaning cloth, adjustment keys for bridge, Langcaster documentation set and a Langcaster T-shirt or strap, battry testrer and more!.
Playing the Cobra
I'm a bass player; the saying goes that every bass player is a
frustrated guitarist and for me this true too. But this dream
machine brings out the best in my guitar mind. Despite it's slab
body the Cobra is very comfortable, it hangs well balanced around
the shoulder and also in sitting position playing the guitar goes
easy. The factory set-up is impeccable; straight from the case
and all the way from New-Zealand. A low action- 1 mm ( 0.04")
at the nut and 2 mm (0.08") at the 22nd fret without any
rattle. The ebony fret board feels good and thanks to the well
polished medium jumbo frets string bending is so easy.
The first sound test takes place in the huge P.A. demonstration
room of R.S.L. b.v. so more or less stage conditions. I use a
Peavey Van Halen 5150 tube amp for this, but the normal input
cannot handle the Cobra, the amp goes in overload. So I use the
less sensitive input and I cannot believe my ears, even in the
clean mode this guitar is bloody f. loud! The characteristic Telecaster
sound is there but with much more power and sustain, full and
even over the total frequency spectrum without any peaks and like
Chuck Berry sang "ringing like a bell".
Then I push the overdrive button and I'm stunned, this is a total
different guitar. Full of guts, juicy overdrive, heavy crunch,
screaming lead; it's all there and just like the clean mode without
a trace of hum or hiss, this is sensational. Then I take for comparisation
a handmade American Melancon Custom Tele model, which I used to
like very much because of its sound qualities. But compared to
the Cobra the Melancon sounds like a cheap Korean guitar.
For me this is the ultimate super axe, but to be sure I asked
Tim an accomplish guitarist form the R.S.L. staff to have a go
and in the hands of a real guitar player you can hear what this
Cobra is capable of. Tim was so enthusiast that he wants to sell
his guitars to buy a Cobra.
Then I took the Cobra home for further testing. I connected the
clean output to a 1973 Fender Champ tube amp to the left and the
clean+ overdrive output to a modern Fender Frontman 15 transistor
amp to the right. So you become a stereo image having a clean
sound on the left and a clean/overdrive sound at the right and
with the various controls and switches you can get a wide range
of interesting and useful sounds.
The Ultimate Lo © pickups are really something else, its
mighty sounds cut through. For a further comparisation a I took
three of my highest output guitars, a Gretsch BST 1500 with DiMarzio
Super Distortion humbuckers of 12,5 Kohm, a Burns Vibra-Artist
with original Tri-Sonic single coils of 12 Kohm and a Music Man
Sabre I with 12 Kohm. Compared to the Cobra it's a difference
between day and night. With the neck pickup you get that bluesy
feeling and with the tone control turned down you have jazz sound.
The neck pickup gives a biting lead sound, whilst with tone down
it sounds like the middle pickup of a Stratocaster. With both
pickups on you have a crisp and tight sound with a twang which
reminds me of a vintage Jazzmaster. Very impressive.
But with a push of the overdrive switch the Ultra Drive ©
is activated and you're in the power house. From the sweet mellow
Garry Moore tone to the penetrating Santana sound it's all there
any much more; it's all up to your imagination and the use of
the various controls of the Cobra.
An exiting ability of the Cobra is that when you are in the overdrive
mode and bend a note it clips easily into a natural overtone for
which you normally need a full stack and not a small amp like
the Champ.
I also found another interesting application, which is perfectly
suited for recording purposes. The clean + overdrive output is
connected to an amp and the clean output is fed into a mixing
console allowing the engineer to add outboard effects. Of course
you can also connect the Cobra to two different channels of the
mixer. I tried it out with a Behringer Eurorack mixer and it sounded
great. And because of the low impendence of the Ultimate Lo ©
pickups there is no need for a D.I. box. You can also connect
the Cobra to your computer, provided that you possess the required
programs.
Most people underestimate the importance of low impendence pickups.
You can apply 25 K pots instead of 250 K so less resistance in
the signal path and it is a well known fact that with high impendence
signals lose tone and power with long cables. The Ultimate Lo
pickups resolve this problem.
The Cobra is in every way an outstanding and innovative guitar, comparing it with any conventional guitar is like having a Volkswagen racing against a Ferrari.