Signature guitar with flamed maple top, Santana pickups and PRS hardware
Carlos Santana Signature Guitar from the PRS Core Models series, made in the USA
Serial number 0384601
Transparent gray high-gloss finish
Set-neck construction with 24.594" scale length (624.68 mm)
Mahogany body
Flamed maple top with natural binding
Glued mahogany neck
24-fret rosewood fingerboard with bird inlays
"Santana Retro" neck profile
One PRS Santana Bass humbucker in neck position
One PRS Santana Treble humbucker in bridge position
3-way circuit with controls for Volume and Tone
PRS Gen III Tremolo
PRS Phase III Locking machine heads
PRS guitar case included
Santana Signature guitar in "Pre-Factory" style
With the PRS Santana Retro Charcoal, Paul Reed Smith revives basic design elements of the Santana model from the "Pre-Factory" era and combines them with modern detail solutions to create a unique electric guitar with high playability and a creamy sound. The flamed maple top has a pronounced contour, while carefully selected mahogany is used for the body and set neck. The rosewood fingerboard also features traditional bird inlays to mark the positions. With two PRS Santana humbuckers in the neck and bridge position, the PRS Santana Retro delivers the typical Santana sound on the guitar amplifier with a sustainable Sustain and singing mid-range spectrum. Last but not least, the Santana RetroCharcoal guitar features a PRS Gen III Tremolo and PRS Phase III locking tuners.
The PRS Santana Retro Charcoal #0384601 comes with a solid curly maple top and picks up on design features from the "pre-factory" era of the guitar maker from Maryland.
The glued mahogany neck of the PRS Santana Retro features the "Original Heel" and the comfortable "Santana Retro" profile.
First-class woods and classic "pre-factory" design
For the design of the Santana Retro, Paul Reed Smith relies on classic "Pre-Factory" lines. Accordingly, the curly maple top not only has an evenly drawn flame, but also a pronounced curve with a dish-carve. Carefully selected mahogany is used for the body and the glued neck with "Original Heel", while the rounded "Santana Retro" profile sits comfortably in the hand. Last but not least, the Santana Signature model has a rosewood fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets and the classic PRS Birds to mark the positions.
The combination of PRS Santana humbuckers in the neck and bridge position promises the typical Santana sound.
PRS Santana Humbucker
Two PRS Santana humbuckers are used as pickups on the Santana Retro, which are optimally tuned to the electric guitar and Carlos Santana's sound ideas. On the neck, the PRS Santana Bass humbucker with moderate Output provides a harmonically balanced sound that is equally suitable for transparent cleans and singing leads. The PRS Santana Treble humbucker on the bridge also has a moderate Output and delivers a vintage-oriented sound that has a high assertiveness thanks to defined basses and pronounced mids. A classic 3-way circuit with general volume and tone controls provides full control over the pickups.
Six PRS Phase III locking tuners guarantee precise and stable tuning even with frequent use of the vibrato system.
PRS Tremolo and clamp tuners
Perfectly coordinated hardware equipment completes the Santana RetroCharcoalSignature guitar. The bridge is the PRS Gen III tremolo, which impresses with optimum sound characteristics and smooth handling for harmonic pitch modulations. On the classic Santana-style headstock, furthermore PRS Phase III Locking tuners ensure precise and stable Tuning even with frequent use of the tremolo system.
Love the scale and the feel of the earlier PRS body shape. Great fretboard access. Pickup mix superb esp. that bass emphasised neck. Beautiful finish. I've been playing a while and I've been fortunate to be able to obtain some good modern repros. I've still got my old SG w/vibrola purchased new from Selmer (1967). A difficult instrument to better. This Santana model feels like an improved update of it. Cannot give a better acolade than that. Well done PRS. Good service from DV24/7. Item well packaged and delivered within reasonable time frame over Easter break. Thank-you.
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(This review is from the same product in color Cobalt Blue)
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