[Codyyy]

Here I am again with another probably annoying thread in my amp search

In short, I've played a Cobra and I liked it a lot. But I've heard Dragon clips, and they give me a Hugh G. Wreckshun. I want to know which one you prefer, and why.

Also, it is unclear exactly what the difference between the two is. Tonally speaking, of course...

POLLZIT!

This should be good, because there are quite a few owners of both amps here.

[lambofhowe]

In my opinion the Dragon (which I own) is more open and less compressed. There is not a ridiculous amount of gain and I wouldn't describe it as being a tight amp, but with a boost the crunch channel gets VERY thick and retains definition. You can actually get some pretty djenty tones as well with the proper picking technique. The cleans are very chimey and beautiful, best cleans of any high gain amp I've heard.

The solo tone is KILLER and very dynamic when boosted, but you have to be able to play really well to sound good on it-I owned a Madison previously and there is a difference. You have to really dig in with your fast picking runs etc....to me it's worth it for the dynamics. It is a very versatile amp, I play progressive metal, butt-rock, blues and attempt jazz once in a while and it satisfies me.

Never played a Cobra, but from my understanding it is gainier, more compressed, and brutal sounding. I don't think it has the same characteristics with the lead tone. Not as dynamic, probably easier to shred on.

For versatility, relatively organic, thick rhythm tone and singing solo tones (Dream Theater, Lamb of God, Pagan's Mind, Aghora, Porcupine Tree, John Petrucci/Nuno/Guthrie solo tone) the Dragon is PERFECT. Nevermore-styled tones are there but to me it's more smooth sounding.

For total djent and brutal tone as well as a more processed lead tone (Necrophagist etc) I think you'd want the Cobra. Note the Dragon when dialed correctly can do this style of music as well, and the Cobra can be quite versatile.

Honestly, if it says Framus on it it's not going to suck

[budda]

I opt for less gain for a more "punch-to-the-chest" palm mute tone when going "high gain" so i imagine the Dragon would do nicely for that.

[ibznorange]

i went with the cobra, since it really accents my playing more. wierd, fast, gallopy, overly painfully syncopated shit.
You did ask which we prefer after all

that said, knowing what you keep asking about in terms of want, id say the cobra is much more up your alley

[JohnnyC]

as a former cobra owner of over 2 years, who has also have many hours clocked up on the dragon...i would advise you to get the cobra IF you are using a Greenback loaded cab.
I used my Cobra with the Dragon (vintage 30) cab as well as the Framus CS212(vintage 30) cab and dont get me wrong...the clean and lead chanel sounded decent HOWEVER the Crunch channel (which is the main reason you buy the cobra) was pretty dissapointing.

With Greenbacks the Cobras Crunch eq is much more effective (which makes sense as framus designed the cobra around the greenbacks)

try it and see.

if youre like the sound of Vintage 30s or G12T75 etc...the dragon is the way to go. also the dragons lead channel really responds well to a clean OD/Tube screamer boost...more so compared to anyother amp...including the cobra.

something to think about. i love the way framus designed 2 diffrent sounding amps around 2 distinctly sounding speakers.

in the end...i ended up with the 30W Framus CS (EL84) as i downsized the Dragon cab to just the 2x12.
what can i say...voxish tone with a modern high gain twist.works great with a boost.

[Thin_Ice_77]

The Cobra for me. I haven't tried a Dragon, I'm sure they're great amps but the Cobra to me sounds thicker, way more brutal. But its just a question of what you need.

[petereanima]

tested both and for me the cobra was it which won the battle.

i would not say that its more "compressed" (its a very unforgiving amp) as the dragon but its way tighter while the dragon is more on the loose side. groundtone is pretty similar, you can hear from miles that these amps come from the same factory. but the dragon has way more gain and what i really like was the curnch channel with real cranked gain - deep palm muted stuff on that was punching your stomach in an awesome way. loved that.

lead channel was somehow dual-recti-like i thought...similar kind of "grind"..

i didn't test the dragon that much, because for my ears it was like "okay, the dragon sounds pretty the same but has less gain or a not-so-hard-gain and is more loose" - and i am more on the tighter side of the force.

but i also have to say that i tested BOTH on the same cab, which was then the cobra cab with greenbacks. might be a factor why the cobra soudned better to me as the dragon is more a V30 amp.

[Cadavuh]

Yea like they have all said the cobra is really tight, also could be a lot gainier. I would go for the cobra because it suits my style better and its nice and clear. What kind of music do you generally play?

[ShawnFjellstad]

Originally Posted by Thin_Ice_77

The Cobra for me. I haven't tried a Dragon, I'm sure they're great amps but the Cobra to me sounds thicker, way more brutal. But its just a question of what you need.

there's no fucking way the cobra is thicker. more brutal? yeah, probably.
thicker? absolutely not. the dragon is the thickest, yet most articulate amp i've ever played through.

IMO, dragon ftw, for my style of playing, at least. lambofhowe pretty much nailed it in his description.

[Thin_Ice_77]

^^ I've only played through a Cobra, I'm judging the Dragon off soundclips and whatever. Probably not the best way but oh well. But the Cobra I was playing what boosted with a TS9 so that may be why. But being as though you have one I believe you