Black Magic Woman amp settings — Fender Blues Junior IV
The Santana guitar tone for “Black Magic Woman”, dialed in for a Fender Blues Junior IV with a Fender Stratocaster. Studio album cut, Abraxas (1970) — iconic lead guitar melody and solo
1968 Gibson Les Paul Custom (neck humbucker) into early Randall Smith modded Fender Princeton/Twin Reverb (Mesa Mark I prototype)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 4 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Mid | 8 |
| Treble | 4 |
| Reverb | 3 |
| Master | 5 |
01Behringer CS400 Compressor/Sustainer
Provides the endless singing sustain characteristic of Santana's early Mesa prototype tone.
02Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9
Acts as the primary overdrive source, pushing the Blues Jr with a fat mid-hump to simulate Mesa cascading gain.
03Boss DD-3T Digital Delay
Set for subtle warmth and spatial depth behind the notes without cluttering fast runs.
To replicate Carlos's Les Paul neck humbucker on a Stratocaster, the guitar's neck tone knob is rolled down to 4 to cut glassy bite and fatten the fundamental. The Blues Junior naturally has scooped mids and a high treble shelf compared to the early Mesa Mark I prototype, so treble is pulled back to 4 while mid is pushed to 8. The TS9 adds the missing mid-gain push that the Blues Jr cannot deliver cleanly on its own. Fast latin outro rhythm: switch to bridge pickup and turn guitar tone knob up to 10.
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These settings are for a Fender Blues Junior IV. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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