Tanabe's Santanabe Drive totally nails those Carlos Santana Singing Sustaining Lead Tones
Before we get into the detail of the Santanabe, it’s important to note that both the May Queen and Santanabe pedals are derivations of the the core Zenkudo circuit - with certain EQ, Voicing and Gain Tweaks / Alterations. For instance the Gain curve on the Zenkudo and May Queen has a Linear B Taper, while the Santanabe is of the Logarithmic A type curve.
Both the May Queen and Santanbe have significantly more gain onboard than the Zenkudo - with 3 times the amount of the Zenkudo at Max levels. The May Queen and Santanabe also have higher input frequencies, and slightly different Mode / Voicing options / calibrations.
You do notice a similarity in dynamics - while all 3 of those core pedals sound distinct from each other, and wholly manifest the artists and genres they represent. You still need the skills to play in the style of Brian May and Carlos Santana, while their key signature tones are immediately and instantly apparent. They totally nail the timbre, fluidity and sustain of those magical signature sounds.
I’ve long been a fan of Carlos Santana - endlessly riffing off the legendary tones of Samba Pa Ti, Black Magic Woman, and Europa in particular - but plenty more besides - Soul Sacrifice, Santana Celebration and Maria Maria included! And the Santanabe totally delivers in every which way - obviously has those same superb Zenkudo dynamics, guitar volume cleanup etc. - while the output has been very specifically adapted to deliver those sweet smooth Santana tones.
Controls - Gain, Volume, Tone, Jali (Smooth > Rough Character), Voicing : Red Treble Style / Blue Finger Style / Green Main (Europa!).
My own favourite settings are : Gain @ circa 1:30 o'c, Volume @ 3 o'c, Tone @ 3 o'c, Jali (Rough > Smooth) @ Noon. All on Main Green LED Europa Mode of course!
Toshihiko Tanabe further instructs on how to get the core Santana tone :
- Set the guitar amp to crunch
- Set the guitar to the front Humbucker pickup
- Set all four knobs of the Santanabe to centre / noon
- Set the side Mode / Voicing switch to Green Main Mode
- You turn up the Volume knob further to produce the feedback sound
The 3 Modes are :
- RED : For rich High Frequency
- BLUE : Santana Finger Picking sound
- GREEN : 'Europa' core main singing sustain lead sound
I am in awe of all 3 of my Tanabe pedals, where there is some degree of overlap as noted, but each one sounds distinctly right for its intended purpose. I have a few 'Brian May' style pedals - and none of those nail it as well as the May Queen, likewise I have a few pedals that I use for Carlos Santana tones, but none of those can really hold a candle to the Santanbe's brilliance!
As I love each associated artist it makes sense for me to own all 3 pedals - and I'm proud to have all of those now finally in the reference collection. They are for sure some of my favourite all-time drive / distortion pedals. In fact I'm happy to now solidly confirm that the Zenkudo is my all-time favourite Dumble Drive. I've had a few of my favourites back on the board recently - and while each of the other ones is also superb - there is something extra special in the tone and timbre of the Zenkudo - that lively vibrance which feels so good under the fingers, and sounds somehow more dynamic and more open than the rest of that genre.
The Santanabe is available from the Tanabe.TV Webstore for $330, plus $40 for shipping to the USA and UK. And I paid a further circa £60 in customs and import fees, so a significant investment for sure - yet for me, definitely worth it! You can read up further details on the Tanabe.TV English Info Page. And if you want one of these you need to send an email with address and PayPal details to tanabe.tv@tanabe.tv. Tanabe-San makes all of these to order - so it can take up to a week or so to get yours made on current timings, where mine all arrived in and around one week.
Note also the easter egg of a suitably hued PRS Santana guitar in the background!
Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
