EKO Cobra

This is a Eko Cobra part of the new line of italian made guitars. The serial number says that it has been made in 1999, you can have an overview of this line at the website www.ekoguitars.com
mine is finished in black with black pickguard. it's a solidbody guitar that is similar to a Fender. to be clear this is an old model from the '60 revitalized. the body is made of poplar, swamp ash and alder are not so easy to find in europe, with a bolt on maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. I said that this guitar is similar to a Fender but it's similar to a gibson too. infact it's equipped with 2 P 90 pickups, original Seymour Duncan and had the tipical angle betwee neck and body of a Gibson. Other features are 1 volume control, 1 tone, bigsby style tremolo sperzel locking tuners and bridge. No case or bag included.

The guitar is a winner. I have always liked the sound of P 90 and the feel of a bolt on guitar. The Cobra is equipped with thw high quality and screaming Seymour Duncan P 90 that are ready to go, both with clean sounds and crusching distortions. My other guitar is a 2000 American Serie Stratocaster which i really like, compared to the Strato the Cobra is way more louder, much more aggressive but it has the really nice tone of the P90 in clean settings. Neck pickup id great for jazzy stuff or clean arpeggios, or fuzzy distorted sounds, the bridge pickups has the tipical nasal sound in clean settings and it's really good for surf style music with a good reverb unit. with both pickups engaged the sound is less dynamic and more 'hollow' just like a Strato in position 2 or 4. the guitar has a strange and unique neck that is smaller that my strato but equally great. it may need a little to be understood, but it's a great neck profile, i can't make comparison because no other guitars i have played were similar. Different is the word. Good variety of sounds, even if not as versatile as a Strato, great both in clean and overdriven situations this guitar is a keeper. No noises from the pickups and a really really soft neck to play, i use 0.10 strings. Frets are vontage style medium not as big as those on modern Strato, bending is so easy here!!

When i tried the guitar in the shop the setup was good, nothing great but good. when i decided to buy the Cobra i had a free setup. the guitar is equipped now with 0.10 Ernie ball strings. normal fret buzzing. no flaws. the craftmanship is similar to the American Serie Strato i own, maybe a little less good in quality, but for sure comparable pickups and hardware are top notch to me. i had the occasion to remove the pickguard and take a look: good shielding, correct routing (no swimming pools here..). i am satisfied with the overall quality of the guitar.

i can depend on this guitar for sure. i play this and my MIA Strato 50% each. hardware, finish, frets are good as the Strato. I'd use it on a gig without backup because is great sounding, enough versatile and solid. never a broken string.

never dealt with Eko. can't say.

I play both guitar and bass. I am 27 years old and ply since 14 yo. i use this guitar with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, Electro Harmonix Big Mugg, Visual Sound Route 66, Vox Wah. I also have a Pod 2 that i use for home recording. My other guitar is a Fender Stratocaster MIA 2000. i love this guitar because is a Hybrid, a bolt on guitar with classic no frills design and 2 Seymour Duncan P90 pickups which to me are the best sounding pickups around. The neck is great for me, the sound too. i can't ask more. Maybe a different finish, green or something more '60 and sparkly than all black, but i like black guitars. i use this both for jamming, live and for recordings. and i love the Bite of the Cobra!!