Oye Como Va amp settings — Fender Deluxe Reverb
The Santana guitar tone for “Oye Como Va”, dialed in for a Fender Deluxe Reverb with a Fender American Ultra Stratocaster. Studio version, Abraxas (1970)
1968 Gibson Les Paul Custom (neck PAF humbucker) into early Randall Smith modded Fender Princeton/Twin Reverb (proto-Mesa Boogie)
| Knob | Setting (0–10) |
|---|---|
| Gain | 7 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Reverb | 3 |
| Master | 6 |
The Fender Deluxe Reverb lacks a dedicated mid knob and natural high-gain preamp saturation, so driving the Volume/Gain to 7 produces the necessary power-tube breakup. To emulate Carlos's fat Gibson humbucker on a Stratocaster, the neck pickup tone knob is rolled back to around 5 to shave off single-coil glassiness and emphasize vocal midrange. Adding a Tube Screamer down the road will allow you to drop the amp volume down while retaining this singing sustain at lower room volumes.
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These settings are for a Fender Deluxe Reverb. ToneAdapt matches any song to whatever amp, guitar and pedals you own — first match is free.
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