What Guitar Does Carlos Santana Use?

Since 1966 Carlos Santana has been playing the guitar professionally. He has played many guitars and worked with numerous artists. For a full list of Carlos Santana’s guitars and equipment keep reading. 

What Kind Of Guitar Does Carlos Santana Play?

During his early years of playing, Carlos Santana played a Gibson SG special which had P-90 pick-ups. That was the guitar he played at Woodstock in 1969. Since 1988 he has played Paul Reed Smith PRS Santana signature model guitars. He currently plays a PRS Santana II Model guitar and a PRS Santana MD “Multidimensional guitar”. Other guitars he owns or has played include;

• PRS Santana MD-10
• Yamaha SG2000
• PRS SE Santana II
• Gibson L6S
• Gibson Les Paul Standard (1961 SG)
• PRS Santana I
• Alembic Santana Custom
• PRS Santana 25th Anniversary
• Gibson Les Paul SG Custom
• Yamaha Pacifica 1421
• Yamaha SG-175B
• Gibson Les Paul Special
• Yamaha SBG2000 Double Cutaway Neck-Thru
• 2013 PRS Santana Custom
• Carlos Santana Vintage American Fender Telecaster
• Fender Stratocaster Electric Guitar

Carlos Santana Also Plays Acoustic Guitars Including; 

• Alvarez Yairi CY127CE
• Takamine EG522C Acoustic nylon guitar

Who Has Carlos Santana Worked With During His Long Career?

Carlos Santana has worked with many famous artists over the years including;

• Alex Band
• Chad Kroeger
• Everlast
• Juanes
• Lauryn Hill
• Mana
• Michelle Branch
• Rob Thomas
• Shakira
• Steven Tyler
• The Product DMB
• The Wrecking Crew
• And Many More

What Strings Does Carlos Santana Use?

Carlos Santana uses D’Addario 9-42 gauge strings.

What Amps Does Carlos Santana Use?

Carlos Santana uses a number of different amps depending on the size of the auditorium and the sound he is trying to create. Including;

• PRS 4×12 Cabinet
• 1970s Mesa Boogie Mark I Snake King
• Mesa/Boogie Mark I
• Dumble Steel String Singer
• Tone Tubby 1×12
• Dumble Overdrive Reverb Head
• 1950s Fender Twin
• Bludotone Custom Amp
• Matchless HC-30 Guitar Amp Head

What Effects Pedals Does Carlos Santana Use?

Carlos doesn’t use that many effects pedals, but he has used or is using the following;

• Boss CE-2 Chorus
• Budda BudWah Wah Pedal
• Dunlop GCB95 Cry Baby Wah Wah
• Electro-Harmonix EH-3003 “Triangle” Big Muff Pi V1
• Fulltone FullDrive 2 10th Anniversary Mosfet Edition
• Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
• Mu-Tron C-200 Volume-Wah
• Neunaber Wet Mono Reverb Pedal
• Pete Cornish LD-1
• Pete Cornish SS-3
• Real McCoy Custom RMC4 Picture Wah Pedal
• T Rex Replica Delay

What Pickups Does Carlos Santana Use?

Carlos has used many guitars over the years all of which had different pick-ups. He is currently using PRS Santana III nickel-covered pick-ups.

What Chords Does Carlos Santana Use?

Carlos Santana uses a mix of minor harmonic chords in the keys of Am,D, G, and Em.

What Pick Does Carlos Santana Use?

Carlos Santana uses two different types of pick. He uses Dunlop large triangular picks which he has used for many years and the V-Pick freakishly large round pearly pick.

What Kind Of Music Does Carlos Santana Play?

Carlos Sanatana plays jazz fusion, Latin rock and blues rock music.

How To Play Guitar Like Carlos Santana

To play guitar like Carlos Santana you will need to understand the workings of the Dorian mode, plus be an expert blues player. He favours both major and minor keys, to get his sound or something like it, you will need a PRS Santana guitar or similar with PRS humbucker pick-ups, through a flux 5 pedal, a creamer and an Ibanez tube screamer. 

What Age Did Carlos Santana Learn Guitar?

Carlos Santana was 5 when he learned to play the violin and 8 when he started to play guitar. His father was a Mariachi musician and taught him how to play guitar. He formed the “Santana Blues Band” in 1966 and they were subsequently signed to Columbia records who shortened their name to “Santana”.

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