How to get that great Santana sound ?

[Robert Burns]

Hopefully from a Marshall...EVH art series guitar, and GT-8 processor.
Do you have to go Mesa Boogie, and buy a $5K PRS to do it? :-)
Any quick tips?

[hippietim]

get a router. you're going to need a neck pickup.

[Endrik]

Marshall is the worst thing for Santana tone. Mesa would be excellent.
Still if you try it with Marshall, get a good EQ and try to boost the low range mids and cut the high range mids. Santana's tone has tons of mids (low frequency mids). It's not trebely tone, so don't use a lot of highs. Use right amount of bass to make the tone beefy...not more.
I know that many people hate Boss Metal Zone pedal but it helps me to get a tone very similar to Santana's with almost any amp.

[toejam]

get a router. you're going to need a neck pickup.

Might as well route for a tone control, too.

[Endrik]

yup, a neck pickup and a tone controll are very important for Santana's tone

[Norton]

Get a midrange priced LP copy.Don't drill that guitar.

[hippietim]

you can do a reasonable santana with a marshall - you have to crank the power amp though. you will not get it to sing right with preamp distortion.

also, his fundamental tone has more high end than you might think at first. he's manipulating his guitar volume, tone control, pickup selection, and touch to get the tones he does. for instance, if you listen to black magic woman on abraxas, you can hear him manipulate the volume control within the first 10 seconds and he keeps doing it throughout.

he is definitely one of those players where the tone is more in his hands than in his gear. of course, i really don't like his music or playing very much so what would i know.

[akoch]

"i really don't like his music or playing very much so what would i know."

+1 I also don't consider him an example of 'good' or interesting tone. But it is all subjective.

[mab8485]

I think he definitely WAS an interesting player. Until he started releasing those duet albums

[hippietim]

explain to me how santana is interesting? most of his songs suck. he plays the same 5 tired licks over and over. even when he played with john mclaughlin he played those same stupid licks - if ever there was an opportunity to stretch out that was it .

[mab8485]

I'm the first person to admit he hasn't developed as a player in probably 30 years. But there's magic on the classic Santana band albums. He has an instantly recognisable tone and style. Do I find what he does now interesting? No. But his old stuff is able to hold my interest over an album.

It all comes down to personal taste.

[Endrik]

I think Carlos is lucky as hell, first he has played with almost everyone...and he is the only one these days whos MTV hits have A LOT guitar solos.

He is very repative but he has a good sense of melody and he is a very emotional player.
But his band is VERY insteresting. He has the best musicians available, sick ass grooves and syncopated latin rhtyhms, rarely you'll see such insane stuff going on.

[Guitardude86]

I can't stand Santana's latest releases, but I love those songs he made in the 70's. Seems he's afraid of taking chances these days, but put on a song he made back then and it'll make the hair stand on my arms.
It's a little too slick for me these days, sure great production, great band, but Carlos Santana the guitar player is beginning to sound VERY repetitive there.

[toejam]

Don't drill that guitar.

It's the only way to get that guitar to do what he wants. Hell, Eddie experimented and drilled his guitars out to fit his need, why not the EVH art series?
:ROTF:

[mab8485]

I can't stand Santana's latest releases, but I love those songs he made in the 70's. Seems he's afraid of taking chances these days

That's exactly how I feel. The thing that irritates me most about him is that he released 'supernatural', it became a huge unexpected hit, so he releases 2 more albums of the same stuff. Boring middle of the road pop songs. Maybe it's the record company putting pressure on him to churn out more of the same? Maybe there's an endless list of singers wanting to record with him. Whatever it is, i'm sure he could be doing something more interesting if he wanted to.