Carlsbro cobra-90 is it rubbish?

[mikeyg]

Oppurtunity to purchase a carlsbro cobra 90 head. Anyone got any opinions as to whether its any good or what its worth?

Cheers.

[JTUK]

It isn't so great.

It may have its uses but it needs to be dirt cheap, IMV

It is the sort of thing they might have at a poor rehearsal room and everyone brings their own kit because iof it..tbh..

[Moos3h]

Depends on what you are used to. They have quite a fair amount of power for their 'meagre' 90 watts, they actually put out a lot of noise.

If you're a player who puts a good sound into the amp (i.e. have a good bass, technique and perhaps a decent preamp) - you'll get a good sound from it without doubt.

Cheers,
James

[Sjonnie]

I'm not familiar with the head, but I have played over a cobra 90 combo. I haven't gigged with it, but for rehearsals it was ok, the sound was ok too.

I don't think it is rubbish, but not valuable either. What is the price?

[chris_b]

Don't, unless it's [i]very[/i] cheap.

[BassBod]

I used one in the late 80s - very light (nothing in it!) and usable for small gigs. Don't expect it perform like an old trace elliot....

If you are on a very tight budget and won't be playing very loud its ok....but I'd suggest a trawl through evil bay to see what they go for?

[Krysbass]

I bought one new back in the '80's and I seem to remember it cost around £130 back then, so they shouldn't be asking much for it now.

I bought it because it was compact and had day-glo green graphics, which reminded me very tenuously of the look of the UV-illuminated Trace Elliot heads a certain Mr King was using at the time. But sadly, there any similarity ended.

I used mine with a compact 1x12" cab and it seemed loud enough for just 90 watts. It has a compression circuit, but the compression isn't adjustable and I could never really detect any audible difference between whether it was switched on or off.

Edit: Just remembered that it has a parametric EQ for the mids which I liked.

Edited August 1, 2009 by Krysbass

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

It might come in useful as doorstop.

[voxpop]

[quote name='chris_b' post='556997' date='Jul 31 2009, 11:55 AM']Don't, unless it's [i]very[/i] cheap.[/quote]


+1 I had one and it sounded crap.

Hope this helps.

[xgsjx]

I bought one in the late 80's & just put it in the bin last week.

Cost about £80 back then s/h & sounded sh!te. My bro blew it up in the late 90s, then 2 years ago me like a fool, put it into a cowboy music shop in Stirling to ask if it was worth getting fixed. Phoned me back a week later to say they'd fixed it & that would be £45 thank you, tw@s. That's more than it's worth in a working condition.
I got it back & then about 4 months later I plugged it in for about the 3rd time & it packed in!
Kept it for a while as I thought I might use some bits off it & then last week I had a clearout of rubbish.

If it's more than a tenner, don't buy it, they sound total crap.

[Saltlamp]

Wow! 2009!

 

I just got one of these heads along with a goodman 50w speaker cab and I don’t know anything about it?... is the amp a valve amp? My one cost me £20 but it needs a service and the speaker cab needs a repair..

Edited February 27, 2021 by Saltlamp

[Dan Dare]

On 27/02/2021 at 00:43, Saltlamp said:

I just got one of these heads along with a goodman 50w speaker cab and I don’t know anything about it?... is the amp a valve amp? My one cost me £20 but it needs a service and the speaker cab needs a repair.

It's a tranny amp. See xgsjx's post above. Fixing it will cost more than it's worth. Save your money and put it towards something newer/better.

[stevie]

Wasn't this amp voted the worst amp in the 'What's the worst bass amp you've ever used?' thread?

[gjones]

It must be ready for the skip by now.

I bought the combo version, 40 years ago. 

Say to whoever has it, you'll take £20 to take it off their hands.

[xgsjx]

Haha. I forgot how crap that amp was. Just burn it. 

[BassManGraham]

I had a Carlsbro head in the 70s. I have had well over 60 amp/cab/combos since then, and sadly the Carlsbro stands out as the worst. To quote ZZ Top I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole! Sorry I can't be positive about it.

[gafbass02]

I had one in the 90’s briefly. It was utterly awful!

[SewerRat]

Can anyone here please tell why is this amp so hated, i found one for  80€ and i love the looks and vibe, it cant be that bad can it? 

[snorkie635]

Poor sound. Poor reliability. Could do with a little bit more power for some larger/noisier gigs. Fairly limited range of controls. Cheap construction. No real character to the sound that sets it apart from other similar 'Cash Generator'-type  'finds'. I'd avoid it (as I did whenever I found one lurking in some awful rehearsal place). 
 

HOWEVER, you say you like the vibe and how it looks, so, in that case, give it a go. Don't pay much more than £40 for it.

[Elfrasho]

my first proper amp was a carslbro. not this combo but a bigger greener one. It was loud but so lifeless. Probably the worst amp I've owned.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I played through one more than once. It wasn't rubbish — it was much worse than that.