1999 PRS Santana II - Purple - Brazilian Rosewood board - RARE

1999 PRS Santana II - Purple - Brazilian Rosewood board - RARE

The PRS Santana II is a high-end, USA-made iconic signature electric guitar built by Paul Reed Smith Guitars in close collaboration with legendary guitarist Carlos Santana. While the original 1980s Santana I came in only one signature shade, the 1999 Santana II model allowed for much more customization. Produced in a variety of standard and custom colors, these guitars featured highly figured, bookmatched flamed maple tops, the translucent stains were specifically chosen to highlight the intense wood grain of the instrument, with a deeper top carve, a 3-way toggle switch, and a coveted Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. It remains a benchmark for singing, sustaining tone. It is highly sought after by players and collectors for its distinctive ergonomic body shape, premium tonewoods, and smooth, singing sustain. Because the Santana II features restricted tonewoods like Brazilian Rosewood, it is no longer produced in the standard core lineup, making it a premium collector's piece. 27 year old guitar in excellent condition. 100% original, complete with hang tag and PRS hard shell case.

Key Technical Specifications

The Santana II was designed to fulfill Carlos Santana's precise ergonomic and tonal requirements: 

• Body & Top: Symmetrical double-cutaway mahogany body with a deeply carved, highly figured Maple Artist grade top, accented by custom abalone purfling, finished in Purple. 
• Scale Length: A short 24.5-inch scale length. This creates less string tension, making string bending much easier and contributing to a thicker, mellower fundamental tone. 
• Neck Profile: A chunky, rounded "Santana Wide Fat" mahogany neck with an 11.5-inch radius. This profile provides substantial mass to maximize sustain.
• Fretboard: A premium Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard featuring 24 frets and classic PRS old-school abalone bird inlays. 
• Headstock: Features a Brazilian rosewood veneer adorned with an abalone PRS Eagle inlay, and Santana Om Symbol on the truss rod cover. 
• Hardware: PRS Patented Tremolo bridge and PRS locking tuners. 

Electronics and Sound

• The 3-Way Toggle Switch: The most defining upgrade from the Santana I to the Santana II was the switching system. PRS replaced the dual mini-switches of the original model with a single, highly practical 3-way toggle pickup selector alongside master volume and master tone controls.
• Santana Humbuckers: The guitar is equipped with a pair of uncovered PRS Santana humbucking pickups with zebra bobbins. These pickups yield a prominent, vocal midrange punch. When paired with a high-gain tube amplifier, they easily produce the rich, liquid-smooth lead tone and blooming feedback that Santana is globally recognized for. 

Carlos Santana: 

Words like “icon” are often thrown around these days, but Carlos Santana is an artist truly worthy of the term. A genuine visionary, the impact that Carlos’s five ­decade career has had on PRS Guitars, the electric guitar itself, and the greater culture cannot be overstated. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Carlos has amassed ten Grammy awards, not including his three Latin Grammys. He is a recipient of both the Billboard Latin Music Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award and the Billboard Century Award. Carlos received the 2021 Legend Award at PBS’s 34th annual Hispanic Heritage Awards. From humble beginnings emerging from the 1960's Bay area counter­culture scene to his legendary performance at Woodstock - Santana has grown into a cultural institution. 

The PRS Santana II has been Santana’s go to axe for years now, and is customized specifically for his needs. If possible he prefers to play a whole show through with one guitar, and so the main reason he is going to switch guitars is if one goes out of tune. Some of the changes to facilitate this are PRS Phase III locking tuners being put in, as well as a Prototype locking bridge system and brass nuts. The guitar features a maple top and mahogany back as well as a solid rosewood neck and fingerboard. Interestingly, because of EU import regulations Santana has this guitar essentially duplicated, but with an Indian rosewood neck and fingerboard.

Used – Excellent

Price

$9,000

+ $350 Shipping