Santana Knob Positions

[horax]

I live in an area that never gets Santanas.

I'd love to get one, but my question is for those who have played them and have eperience:
How do the positoins of hte knobs affect how you play? It seems like they're too close to be able to move one without moving the other.

Thoughts?

 

[bodia]

I love where they are. Out. Of. The. Way.

Seriously though, the Santana is a fantastic guitar. Everyone should have (at least) one

 

[sergiodeblanc]

The ultimate guitar.

I deal just fine with the position and don’t consider any with the “wrong” knob layout. Volume swells are a bit of a reach, but still do-able for me, it’s kinda like half an SG knob layout.

 

[jak3af3r]

Some of them have the McCarty layout.

 

[Going Modal]

They're okay back there. Out of the way/unobtrusive like @bodia says.

Sometimes yes I do have to stop and think, "Okay, reach all the way back there to switch pickups;" however I also do that on my McCarty (pickup switch behind the bridge) versus some of my others that have the pickup switch closer to the strings. I agree with @sergiodeblanc here--I deal just fine with it and it does remind me of an SG, ES-335, etc.

 

[Andrew Paul]

I remember discussing the subject somewhere along the line. I also think I remember Sergio explained it nicely, (I’m paraphrasing): knobs/switch are out of the way so you can rock that guitar without banging into them! Made sense to me

 

[sergiodeblanc]

They're okay back there. Out of the way/unobtrusive like @bodia says.

Sometimes yes I do have to stop and think, "Okay, reach all the way back there to switch pickups;" however I also do that on my McCarty (pickup switch behind the bridge) versus some of my others that have the pickup switch closer to the strings. I agree with @sergiodeblanc here--I deal just fine with it and it does remind me of an SG, ES-335, etc.

You can cure yourself of that by only playing Santana’s.

 

[bodia]

You can cure yourself of that by only playing Santana’s.

Solid plan!

 

[AZGiant]

Never been an issue for me. I just adjust to the guitar as they are all different. Though I do have to say on the Santana, being able to change pups and have the controls right there too is nice.

 

[horax]

The tone and volume seem very close....good or bad in your opinion?

 

[AZGiant]

Personal preference I think. Really depends on how you play and how much live tweaking you do of the knobs as you play.

 

[aphantomvaper]

I've had a couple SE Santanas and it was not any problem. I really need to see what all the Hubub about the Core Santana is all about (I kid, I'm in love with it and don't even have one...yet)

 

[Rod/]

I love where they are placed… And I ride the knobs all the time……Carlos knows…He probably wanted as much wood mass as possible around the bridge and pickups…..

 

[BrianC]

not for me as I ride the volume knob

 

[11top]

Carlos likes ‘em.

 

[markie]

I sourced a fair amount of Private Stock Guitars over the years & had the volume knob moved back towards the butt end of the guitar on all non Santana style guitars. I did this to get them out of the way of my occasionally flying little finger. This became known as “The Markie mod” Hehe! I like the Santana positioning

 

[Senor Verde]

I have a DC22 with the same layout. I thought I wouldn't like it, but it is OK. I would rather the layout was like a McCarty, but the Santana layout doesn't bug me at all.

 

[László]

If you order one from a dealer with a reasonable return policy, you'll know whether to keep it in under a minute.

 

[SinSir]

It's posts like these that make me thankful for where I live.. CME, 2 GC platinum rooms, and Music Gallery near by and then there's always Daves not too far. Heck even SW is a turn and burn in a day.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

If you order one from a dealer with a reasonable return policy, you'll know whether to keep it in under a minute.

Mmmm…. Maybe 5-10 mins.

But, if you fall for a Santana it’s still pretty quick. And then you realize you’ve wasted your whole life on trash guitars.