PRS Santana Retro FW

PRS Santana Retro FW: a specification-led review

The PRS Santana Retro FW is a double-cut electric guitar with a mahogany body, flamed maple top, and set-in mahogany neck. Its specifications identify Carlos Santana as the associated artist and list the model as Santana. The instrument has been available since August 2020. No customer reviews are available for this product, so this assessment is based solely on its published specifications. It does not make claims about playing feel, sound quality, reliability, or owner experience.

The listed price is 5399, with no currency specified in the supplied data. The guitar weighs 3.72 kg and comes with a PRS case. A gig bag is not included. Its faded whale blue finish is described as nitrocellulose lacquer, and the hardware is nickel. These details establish the supplied configuration, but do not indicate how the finish or hardware will age in use.

Body, neck, and fretboard

The body combines mahogany with a flamed maple top. The neck is mahogany and uses a set-in construction, while the rosewood fingerboard has bird inlays and faux-bone binding. The listed neck profile is Santana Pre-Factory. These are useful identifiers for comparing this guitar with other Santana models, although the specification sheet does not provide measurements for neck thickness or fingerboard radius.

The fingerboard carries 24 Santana jumbo frets. The higher fret count provides positions beyond the typical 21- or 22-fret layouts, while jumbo fret dimensions are specified without exact height or width measurements. Those figures would be necessary for a detailed comparison of fret geometry. The supplied information also does not state whether the frets are stainless steel or another material.

Scale length is 622 mm, also given as 24.5 inches. That is a relatively short stated scale compared with many standard electric guitar designs, but the listed measurement is the relevant reference point here. Scale length alone cannot establish string tension or playing feel, since string gauge, tuning, setup, and other factors also matter. The supplied strings are.010 PRS.

Pickups and controls

The pickup arrangement is HH, with a Santana bass humbucker in the neck position and a 58/15 treble humbucker at the bridge. The product details call out the two pickup models and their positions, but do not include electrical output, magnet type, or frequency response. Any description of their precise tonal character would therefore go beyond the available evidence.

Controls consist of one volume control and one tone control, plus a three-way toggle switch. The listed control layout is straightforward to document, but no wiring diagram or additional switching options are provided. Buyers comparing the guitar with other models should verify whether they need coil splitting or other pickup combinations, since none are specified here.

Tremolo, tuning hardware, and included items

The bridge is a PRS Gen III tremolo, described in the general specifications as vintage-style. The tuning machines are PRS Phase III locking machine heads. Together, these details identify the guitar's bridge and tuner systems, but the listing does not describe setup procedures, tuning stability under tremolo use, or adjustment range. Those are performance questions that require hands-on testing rather than inference from the parts list.

The listed finish is nitrocellulose lacquer, and the hardware is nickel. The included PRS case offers a defined storage and transport accessory; no gig bag is supplied. The item number is 500356, the serial number provided is 298239, and the sales unit is one piece. The product is not identified as a limited run.

What the specifications establish

On paper, the PRS Santana Retro FW is defined by its mahogany body and set-in neck, flamed maple top, rosewood fingerboard, 24 jumbo frets, 622 mm scale, two humbuckers, and PRS tremolo and locking tuners. The faded whale blue nitrocellulose finish and included case complete the listed package. These concrete details make the instrument's construction and hardware easy to compare against other guitars.

Several points remain unverified by the supplied data: neck dimensions, fingerboard radius, pickup electrical specifications, factory setup, and real-world response. There are also no customer reviews available to fill those gaps. This is therefore a technical overview, not a playing test or a report of user experience. Anyone assessing fit should seek a hands-on trial and confirm the final price and configuration with the seller before purchase.