Pictured is nephew Tim just after receiving a Deep Ocean Blue Burst, Cobra S for his birthday. It is a rare treat when we are able to experience a player’s first moments with his new Anderson. Euphoria is a good word to describe the atmosphere in the room. He was very happy. It brought joy to our hearts to see his delight. And the sound quality that filled the studio from that monumental first strum was overwhelming. “Could anything sound better than this!?” was the question. Just a smile was the reply. Sometimes nepotism has its privileges but he deserves it. He is a great guy who we love very much.

The pickup selection is rather interesting and does sound wonderful. For the neck position we chose an HO1-. Its character is an expressive, low-power, focused humbucker that sings with fullness from its neck location. Closer to the bridge resides an H2. It possesses a slightly hot-rodded output which balances nicely with the neck’s coils. They both split extremely well to deliver the added benefit of great single coil tones. With the inclusion of piezo pickups located in each saddle of the bridge, this instrument can also render serious plugged-in acoustic guitar sounds that can be played alone or blended with Cobra’s magnificent electric capabilities.

I looked over at Tim. He was playing a bar chord at the 15th fret and it rang out perfectly in tune. I asked, “Did you notice that bar chords way up the neck are in tune? That’s because of the Buzz Feiten Tuning System.” He replied with a chuckle, “I know. I can’t do this on my other guitars and have them be in tune.” Smart guy!

There is a freshness that comes with newness. Do you remember your first bar chord, the depth of your first solo, the dimension from your first arpeggio and the feeling of limitless possibilities from your first great guitar? It is a feeling worth holding onto for the rest of your life. It is creative energy.

GUITAR SPECIFICATIONS:

 MODEL: – Cobra

 FINISH: – Deep Ocean Blue Burst with Binding

 BODY WOOD: – Quilted Maple Top with Mahogany Back

 BODY WOOD BACK COLOR: – same

 NECK WOOD: – Mahogany with African Rosewood Fingerboard

 HEADSTOCK COLOR: – Matching

 NECK BACK FINISH: – Satin

 NECK BACKSHAPE: – Cobra Standard

 NUT WIDTH: – 1 11/16th-inch

 SCALE LENGTH: – 24 3/4-inch

 FRETS: – Heavy

 BRIDGE: – Fixed with Piezo Pickup

 HARDWARE COLOR: – Chrome

 PICKGUARD: – n/a

 NECK PICKUP: – HO1-

 MIDDLE PICKUP: – n/a

 BRIDGE PICKUP: – H2

 SWITCHING: – 5-Way with Push/Pull for 6 Sounds

 PICKUP COVERS: – n/a

 PICKUP RINGS: – Cream

 STRING GAUGE REQUESTED: – .010-.046

Editor's Note: For those of you who have followed the “Nephew Updates” of the past few years, you may be trying to figure out the lineage of where Tim fits into all of this. Tim is Chris’ brother and is 1 ½ years younger. Chris is the nephew of the “Nephew Update” fame. It is these two that have helped me to never grow up.