NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

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bah humbuck
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NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

Post by bah humbuck » Sun Sep 11, 2022 6:21 pm

Image

My bandmate passed this along to me for $100. I'm on the bus on the way home from plugging this guy in for the first time, and what a sound!! The pickup (which I've never seen the likes of) sounds great, very clear and articulate with a good amount of jangle to it. Body from an Eko Cobra 12 string that was apparently sitting in some water in a trash can and then rescued, taken apart and painstakingly revitalized into a working instrument, albeit with 6 strings and a buttery Tele neck.

I was convinced I would never be happy again because my paycheck was unexpectedly slim and thus i didn't have the funds to snag the Aria 1532t I've been eyeing for the past two weeks, and the next day I got the call from my guy. Hundred bucks? To me that's a "sound" investment! There's not a doubt in my mind that with some small adjustments this will be my #1.

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Re: NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

Post by CROSS_guitars » Sun Sep 11, 2022 9:27 pm

I have one of these. They are great guitars! It's a shame yours doesn't have the original neck.

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bah humbuck
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Re: NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

Post by bah humbuck » Mon Sep 12, 2022 4:32 pm

CROSS_guitars wrote:
Sun Sep 11, 2022 9:27 pm
I have one of these. They are great guitars! It's a shame yours doesn't have the original neck.
I've always been a sucker for a tele feel (& headstock), so I'm not complaining. The guy who put it together said the original neck was rather thin, would that track with your experience?

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Re: NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

Post by CROSS_guitars » Mon Sep 12, 2022 6:43 pm

bah humbuck wrote:
Mon Sep 12, 2022 4:32 pm
CROSS_guitars wrote:
Sun Sep 11, 2022 9:27 pm
I have one of these. They are great guitars! It's a shame yours doesn't have the original neck.
I've always been a sucker for a tele feel (& headstock), so I'm not complaining. The guy who put it together said the original neck was rather thin, would that track with your experience?
hmm. Not really. The neck on mine is kinda fat. Great neck! I'll dig up some pics.

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Re: NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

Post by SignoftheDragon » Tue Sep 13, 2022 3:06 pm

I was wondering if it was a 12-string originally when I was looking at the photo (before I read the text)

All the parts were there for the 12 version, although I must admit I've never looked close at a 6-string Cobra, if they even exist.

Off to the Google!

oh, and post more pics! I wanna see the full thing!

(There's an old addage I learned from the Jackson/Charvel forum: GTWGITS! - rough translation to English: Get The Whole Guitar In The Shot!)

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Re: NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

Post by Fiddy » Tue Sep 13, 2022 9:40 pm

That's a beautiful guitar, im jealous but..

What's the deal with the half page signature?

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Re: NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

Post by bah humbuck » Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:41 am

I'll snap some more photos when I can - I've been working a lot. These are just phone pictures, I have a digital camera I can use to get a more decent representation of what has fallen into my lap.

I've been playing it for maybe a half hour each night after I get home and I'm really amazed at how nicely the neck plays - the guy I got it from was given it by our bass player, who said he worked on the neck for hours to get it finished and feeling right, did some fretwork etc. I am a sucker for a Tele neck. Totally changes the whole experience of the instrument vs a Teisco (which, although I know it came from a totally different country and factory, is my only other experience with a "funky 60s guitar")

and you're right, my sig was getting a bit unwieldy. I moved the information over to the "my gear" section of my profile, where it should have been to begin with!

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Re: NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

Post by bah humbuck » Mon Aug 21, 2023 12:47 am

OK so I unexpectedly moved from California to Washington last year and left this with the aforementioned bass player, who swapped out the bridge and made some other adjustments. Just picked it up yesterday, and it plays better than ever!

Some new pics:

Image

Image

Image

Loving that burst on the back!

Still no idea what that pickup is. It's pretty high output and warm but somehow also has clarity at the same time. I think it's unpotted because it produces the most wonderfully screechy, antisocial feedback. Going to have my buddy / tech here add a kill switch to mitigate that.

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Re: NGD: Eko Cobra partscaster

Post by Buddy Bing » Mon Sep 11, 2023 11:51 am

What a sweet axe. I really love a guitar of many donors! I have a 22 inch Mustang on a Kent Polaris body. It has a plastic blob bridge ans original electronics. I thought it would a slide, open tuning type rig but it has a wonderful tone sweep in bends that I can't let go. She is red original paint and rare bridge only pickup with bright switch. So, not an eye catcher like your but still fun!

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