Tonally speaking... Where does a Hollow Cobra S sit?

[blues junkie]

Well, I was talking to a buddy the another night and I was telling him about my Hollow Cobra S. He was asking if it sounded like a Strat , Les Paul or what and I had a hard time explaining where it sits tone wise to a strat,les paul,335 etc. So how would you best describe the Hollow Cobra S with Humbuckers?

[Thoth105]

I think the Hollow Cobra S sounds like nothing else. It covers every base with aplomb. It has the warmth of a semi-hollow, the bite of a strat, and some of the grind of a les paul, but isn't as gummy. More open sound that a les paul, I think. If you need a swiss army knife guitar, this is it - even though it doesn't sound like any of those things, it works where those would work.

[pipedwho]

I always feel that mine is halfway between a Tele and a Paul (BTW, mine's an MMH configuration with an all rosewood neck). Even though it has the S shape, the sound seems more like it belongs in the Tele / LP shape camps, although there is definitely some Strat in the mix.

It doesn't quite have the meaty sound of the LP, nor does it have the twang of the Tele. But, IMO it sits perfectly in between the two. It does the country sounds perfectly, and when pushing a bit of gain, it moves into perfect rock territory.

I think the reason it's so hard to describe it is that it doesn't overdo any of the 'classic' characteristic tones: ie. jangle, spank, fatness, twang, sparkle, throatiness, etc. (Although, I suppose the pickup choice might push it a little more into one of those directions.) So it can't really be described along those lines without saying that it sits right in the middle.

Some might say jack of all trades, master of none. I would disagree, as it's the guitar I seem to pickup first whenever I'm not trying to outright cop a particular tone. Not too much, not too little, but just right. Just like Goldilocks and the three bears. :D

[Pietro]

It can't be THAT different from a regular Hollow Cobra, can it?

If so, all I can say is that I have not ONCE found a situation where I had to put down my Hollow Cobra for another guitar because I couldn't get close enough to the sound I needed. I've only had mine about 6 months, but it is the most versatile main guitar I've had. A buddy has a solid Cobra S, and for me, the hollow is way more versatile for everything except really high-gain stuff.

[okstrat]

So how do they sound for high gain tones? Is it more of a 335 without feedback kinda tone, or chambered (weight relieved) Les Paul?

Pete

[tom]

i don't hear 335 in a hollow cobra. 335's are super narrow in tone, no bottom, no top, all middle. the hollow cobra has more definition all over.

[okstrat]

i don't hear 335 in a hollow cobra. 335's are super narrow in tone, no bottom, no top, all middle. the hollow cobra has more definition all over.

NICE. I have a couple of Les Pauls that I like, but two things bug me about them:

1) the upper fret access
2) the weight. I have a Les Paul Custom that feels like I have a cinder block around my neck, and I prefer playing my PRS Cu22 semihollow because it weighs much less.

If the other two Andersons I have are any indication, I may be retiring the LPs after the Cobra gets here. Dang, what type of guitar should I get if I sell the Gibsons? I wonder. :D


Pete

[Pietro]

Hollow Cobra doesn't have the midrange honk that a 335 has. LOTS of sparkle that you don't get from a 335. Lots of punch you don't get either. Dont' get me wrong, I LOVE a good 335, but this is a different beast.

It sounds to me like a really really lively tele in some positions, and like a super-strat in the lead-hum position, only with, as I say... some "almost out of control liveliness", meaning if you want a little feedback, yer gettin' it. Super sustain, and the little "bend the note down" trick I like to do works really well (mine has no trem).

I don't know if that makes sense. I only know my Hollow Cobra is the guitar that can make any sound in my head, from a humbucker raunch to a tele twang, and whenever I try to play something else on a weekend lately, I end up going back to the Cobra.