In a music career spanning over 40 years, Carlos Santana has revolutionized the sound of rock music. During the early 1970s his band Santana developed an innovative new sound which combined rock music with Latin styles and jazz fusion. Santana’s unique sound showcased blues-based guitar sounds against African and Latin beats which featured percussion instruments including congas and timbales, which had not previously been heard in rock ’n’ roll.

Born in Mexico, Carlos Santana was heavily influenced by blues standouts B.B. King and John Lee Hooker. Santana was also shaped by the gypsy/jazz sound of Gábor Szabó during the mid-1960s and borrowed heavily from his guitar licks on his #1 hit “Black Magic Woman.” During the Woodstock festival, Carlos Santana drew attention with a red Gibson SG Special guitar with P-90 pickups. He has loves to play different Gibson Les Paul guitars and the Yamaha SG 175B.

The most important factor to match Carlos Santana’s sound is the amplifier setup. The unique guitar sound stems from PRS Santana signature guitars that are plugged into several amps. The best amplifiers to replicate his sound include a Dumble Overdrive Reverb, a Mesa Boogie Mark I and a Bludotone amplifier.

Santana says that the tonal sound of each amp is comparable to a singer that has a heady or nasally quality. A special pedal board with a three-way amp switcher allows the rock God to switch back and forth to different amplifiers. He frequently blends the unique tones together to create a richer, complimentary sound. Santana does not usually use effects pedals. His