Fender Toronado

This is One hell of an Axe. I knew Right away when I touched it, that it was mine, and it was meant for me (I named it Jessie). It speaks, sings, and rocks to me. And I'm glad that I bought it. It's A 2001 Mexican Deluxe Edition With Double Humbuckers. (Fender Atomics)-Passive. It has A black finish with a tortise shell Pickguard,(I wish to change to pearl white). It looks liuke a jaguar but it has a ve different unique body style. The tuners that are placed on it are custom lock ins. I don't know how they got there. The neck is fine, Can't complain, I wish it was smoother, however. It has standard dot inlays.

THe sound is amazing and very thick and bluesy. bluesiest and clearest guitar I've ever played. However It does not scream well for metal. I would never replace the pickups, i would Just get a Second Axe. The sound is too thick to play Metal, But some metal sounds can creep through, and still sounds good with distortion. However, I do get heavy feedback when close to the amp because of how large the guitar is, and however the elecronics are made. Overall The guitar has a good vaiety of Sound Though.

When I bought it, The guitar needed serious work on the action. It took me $100 Bucks to get everything adjusted. For whatever reason, my guitar will stay perfectly in tune for literally weeks on end. Its sick! As far as looks, I love this thing, I'm never selling it. There's a ding on the side of it, But I guess It is what it is.

THe Guitar is a tank. Its really Heavy and made with a ****-load of wood. I've never had any ploblems with it electronicalls. It's built to last. It's reliable as Hell.

???

I'm Going to be 18, and I've been Playing for 3 Years now. I'm actually a drummer, playing for 8 Years now. I'd rather play this than any other fender guitar. It deffinately sounds like a fender, and its one of the only ones with Humbuckers. If it were stolen I would have to get a new one. Its my best Friend.

I managed to score myself this Toronado GT HH for an absolute steal thanks to someone listing it wrong on Ebay ("Fender Guitar: Don't know what it is!"). It's Korean built with an alder body, maple bolt on neck and a rosewood fretboard (24.75" scale length). The real guts of the guitar are the Seymour Duncan humbuckers (a '59 at the neck and Pearly Gates at the bridge) which are independently controlled by 2 tone and 2 volumne knobs as well as a three way selector switch. In terms of the other harware, it has an Adjust-o-Matic bridge with an anchored tailpiece, a plastic nut and tuners which I'm affraid I don't know the providence of. The main point for me was the finish with the two racing stripes on blue with matching headstock. This won't be to everyone's tastes but to me it just screamed 'EGO GUITAR!' and I mean that in a good way. This thing should have carburetors rather than pick-ups. All in all, there's plenty to be getting on with this guitar and it covers all the bases I need well.

My first impression of this guitar was that it sounds MASSIVE. I play in a band that do Dillinger Four/NOFX type punk and to be honest, it just sounds too big for that sort of think and the trebble response could use a bit more omph. However, I also like to dabble in some Fu Manchu-esque Stoner Rock and in this line of work, it truely excels. The Duncans provide a red-blooded, gutsy sound ideally suited to some full-fat drop-D riffs. I still need to work on my amp settings (I play it through a Laney Linebacker 100R) to get the bass right, but it shows promise on the Stoner front. As for the punk rock end of things, I'll stick with my P90 Gordon Smith.

Can't comment on factory set-up and finish because I got it second hand and I get the impression that it was somewhat unloved by it's previous owner. Upon getting it, I had it properly set up and the action is pretty good. There's still a little buzz on the A strig at second fret, but that's something I can work out in time. Personally, I prefer a lower profile neck but I've played guitars that cost way more than this that don't feel as nice and I think that overall it's a solid effort.

It's a nice chunky slab of guitar that feels substantial without being overly heavy. The finish is still retina-burn bright and the tuners are great for at keeping it, well, in tune. The strap buttons are nice and big, but I still stick Grolsh bottle seals on them just to be on the safe side. At the moment, I'm not gigging with it, but if I did, I would be confident that it wouldn't give out on me.

No experience in this department.

I guess my favourite thing about this guitar is the way its looks match with its sound. Visually, this axe is a drag racer...masses of power, masses of vanity and a god given mandate to kick ass. The Duncans certainly make it come good on the promise of these expectations, providing a ton of horse power and throaty fury. Is it the most versatile guitar? No. If you want something that you can use in a bunch of different bands then I'd say go for something more generic. Is it the most refined guitar? Certainly not. My other axe is a Gordon Smith and I much prefer the feel of that. However, there's not much to complain about either as the overal feel of it comes across as solid and trustworthy. Would I buy this guitar if I didn't like racing stripes and stoner rock? Probably not. It's not bad but it's not stella and you could probably find something a little more refined for your money. However, if you into balls-out, does-what-it-says-on-the-tin road monster thats heading west at Mach 3, then this is a great guitar. Some people will say that it looks naff and that it's just too brash, but if your not affraid of ten tons of awesome then it's well worth a go.

I have an early 1998 Sunburst Model with a very dark tortoiseshell pickguard. Of course the classic Gibson 24 3/4" scale length that in all honesty is alot closer to 24.5". Body is standard Alder, while controls are decidedly Gibson-like (if you don't count a deluxe telecaster), upper bout 3 way switch with individual volume and tone controls with telecaster style knurled knobs. The maple neck with rosewood fretboard is one of the meatiest necks I've felt on a Fender. It fills the hand more like a Les Paul then the often thinner Fender necks. Some may not like it but to me it fits the more rock vibe of the Toronado.

Overall an 8 because the pickups could've been coiltapped, but this guitar doesn't really need it, for it is versatile enough without it.

I play mostly blues rock, and this thing is a beauty for my style. The Fender Atomic II humbuckers are not super high gain pickups, but instead are very dynamic and musical at low and midrange gain levels. I'm currently using a Line 6 Spider II 75 watt because I could only take one amp to college with me and I decided on versatility, but through my Peavey Classic 30 at home it sounds glorious. With the Spider, the guitar needs some EQ adjusting to get really dialed in but once you have it there you can forget about it. The two humbuckers have very distinct voices: the neck pickup is very flutey and rich sounding while the bridge pickup can twang with the best if you let it. Really, for being limited to 3 pickup combinations this guitar can play anything from ballsy country twang to hard rock and even a little bit of metal.

A+ job Fender on the Atomic II humbuckers. While not a typical Fender tone, they are unique enough to stand out while still delivering classic tones.

I got this baby at a Pawn shop nearly 8 years after it was made and it was honestly in mint condition. Besides some minor intonation issues, the thing was playable right off the wall. My only gripe is that the knobs are a tab bit scratchy, but I'm planning on swapping these out for some CTS pots in the future, so I have no beef with them. Action is low with a little buzz played unplugged but none through an amp. In my mind, as long as the audience can't hear the buzz it might as well not be there.

For a pawnshop guitar, this thing had a great setup and was very playable right off the wall

This axe is very gig worthy and it honestly has required almost no maintenance. Besides a light cleaning with pot cleaner and the standard rubdown of lemon oil on the fingerboard there have been no issues at all. The tuning is solid and all the hardware shows almost no signs of aging. The finish on this guitar is fairly thick, so I'm not so sure it couldn't survive some pretty insane guitar torture. I could gig this thing without a backup for sure.

This thing is rock solid. 10s

I emailed Fender my serial # to get some more info on the guitar and I literally had the info within 3 hours. Very informative records. Other than that I haven't had to deal with Fender.

I've been playing casually for about 8 years now, and have been getting fairly serious while in college. I only had the space to take with me the Toronado and an awesome Airline acoustic I scored at a garage sale. The Fender sounds great and definitely pisses off the neighbors, but they all think it sounds awesome. I wish I could replace it by just buying another one but it's getting tougher to find the older models without the stupid stripes. I would definitely want another of the original models if I had to replace it.

If you are looking for a classic humbucker sound from a Fender feeling guitar, I think the Toronado is a great choice. The guitar isn't made for any super high gain metal, but for general rock it sounds great.

Great guitar Fender!

98 Black with a red tortoise shell pickguard..Found it in a pawnshop miracle. It still had the sticker on the neck plate..Not a scratch on the beauty.

I play rock, blues, grunge..just about everything. I feel as if the toronado was made for me. I've always wanted a fender with humbuckers. The sound great to btw.

The finish is flawless and it's a decade. Everything is perfect with it.

I would def trust this guitar without a backup.

I've been playing for 2 years. If someone stole this guitar I would hunt them down!!! lol

THe price tag said 750, but ended up just trading the guy lots of stuff, including a mexi strat.

mine is an H/H with three way toggle and independent volume and tone. pickups are actually cool, Fender humbuckers. the height adjustment screws also have a tilt screw so you can have one side higher than the other. rosewood neck. kluson tuners- hated them at first, now that i know how to use them they are amazing, i can take strings off and put them back on with no kinks. three way switch is cool, nothing special anout this one, its just awesome to turn off one pickup, play a chord and flicker between the pickups. awesome effect.

i play a mix of blues, funk, ska, goth, dream pop, classic rock, and worship songs and this thing works pretty good most of the time. my current favorite guitar. i put push/pull coil taps for more tones. humbuckers have good tone NOT HIGH GAIN, which is better in my opinion, and when split sounds like early zeppelin when jimmy used that psychodelic tele. i removed the tone knobs for brighter humbucker tone. sometimes im irritated with one tone or the other, but thats just my tastes changing.

i bought mine for 125 at a pawn shop so it was beat-up to perfection. actions fine i lowered it, took like two minutes. the neck's straight.
some stuff is bent and tweeked. better than new in my opinion. banana yellow with paint coming off due to playing with a drumstick. looks great!

pretty reliable sound-wise. i hope the finnish will wear off, i dont want a guitar that is to pretty to use. this things a workhorse. if it breaks i'll love it more, adds character and authentic-ness.

ive been playing six years, i own fifteen guitars- american tele, squire tele, bc rich, strats lots of them, ibanez talman, two acustics- this ones my favorite right now. i wish they still made them cause my pick guard is warped or something, buts it gets the job done. its wired almost like jimmy pages les paul, but i like it better cause im not affraid to leave it in my car on a hot/cold day. it sounds great and is much more punk rock, not show-ee. people say they really like. cute guitar center girl likes it!

This is a Toronado HH, made in Korea.
Kind of looks like Starsky and Hutch's Gran Torino....slight metallic finish,beautiful red with white go faster stripe set.

I bought it used, but you can't tell it's anything but brand new....finish is pristine, and gorgeous. It looks about three feet deep. Jaguar body style, no tremolo, dual HB Seymour Duncans all the way around, '59s on the neck, Pearly Gates on the bridge, solid body, with really strong strap locks, and beautiful satin neck. 6 on one head, with inline keys, and 2 string trusses...

I'm a good rhythm player, but I had a neighbour kid come over to let me know what he thought...He was doing Steve Vai leads, AC/DC, blues, jazz, and letting me know as he was changing the sounds...this sounds like a Tele, this sounds like my strat.....I almost had to beat him up to get it back.....it sounded amazing.....

LIKES: looks, satin neck plays really well, smooth and fast, large frets give you lots of room for bending.....

DISLIKES: hard to say, haven't really found anything I don't like yet....

Action was a little high, and the '59 SDs were really low....intonation was off on 4 strings....and the output jack nut was loose, but I did buy it used....and it only took a few minutes to get everything just right again. Now I like it (dare I say) better than the USA strat my neighbour has.....I still love my LP better, but this is a sweet axe, with a thousand voices.....

This thing is rock solid....tune stays forever....I only check it for posterity...the hardware is strong, and well seated. everything feels solid, and I've heard even when these things drop, they hold up very well...sorry, but I'm not ready to test THAT theory.

the strap buttons feel like you could swing from them......not going to try that one, either, though.....

Haven't needed any, but their web page has a lot of neat stuff, like guitar and bass lessons, as well as interactive info on a lot of their products.

I've been seriously playing guitar for 9 years, and I've played everything from vintage hollow bodies to Les Paul to this toronado. I think that this guitar is better than the USA strats and teles, because of the pickups and the jaguar body style, this is far more versatile....

I still like my Les Paul better, but this is the second favourite in my arsenal.

I kind of like Floyd Rose, I might like it with one, but I can certainly live with it exactly as it is.

If you get a chance to play one, take it....you will be really happy you did.

I'll start with saying that this is all subjective. The guitar itself is beautiful... I have the dark metallic blue 2006 model (the final year it was made), the blue is so dark that it passes for black when most people see it. It feels like a Fender while sounding like a Gretsch, mainly due to the "Duncan-designed" humbucking pickups (which are open-coil, no chrome covers).

Thin Rosewood fretboard (easy to grip, great feel), amazing tuning machines (solid, never goes out of tune). Mine has two tone pods and two volume knobs (neck and bridge).

If you like a plain, yet solid and clean looking guitar with a classic body design, then this is your axe... good luck finding one! As of January 2007, all Toronado variants had been discontinued by Fender.

I'm using an all-tube amp... AS ANYONE SHOULD!

I'm using a "Pevey Classic 50 2/12 combo" (great amp by the way). The clean tone is amazing, it is very warm. You will NOT get your normal Fender twang out of these pickups, so if that's what you want stick to the Strat models.

The dirty tone is out of this world, again this is subjective and very dependent upon your amp. I'd say that you can probably achieve just about any dirty tone you want with the right amp and patience.

Here is where I would give this guitar its only negative rating... I paid nearly $700 for my guitar and was considering this a higher-end model due to the fact it was part of the "Deluxe Series". When my guitar arrived it was like it was halfway put together... The toggle switch run horizontally, instead of vertical and it was loose and would stick. The knobs weren't tightened at all. The bridge was high and had never been adjusted for intonation... this meant the guitar had terrible action. They did an all around piss-poor job of assembling this "Deluxe Series" guitar.

Expect to spend around $100 for a professional setup and intonation after you get this guitar...

This guitar will play like butter once you've had it setup professionally to your personal liking, as most guitars will. You should always plan on having your guitar maintained properly anyways.

If you played my Toronado you'd probably fall in love with it because of the care I have put into it personally... If you played one right out of the box, well then you'd probably send it back.

This guitar was made to be used in a live atmosphere. I use strap-locks so I've never dropped mine, but I've ran into things many times (ie:the bass player, the drum symbols, mic stands, etc..).

As previously stated, you want to have setup and intonation done by a professional, they'll tighten up all your pods, toggles, adjust your neck, action, bridge etc... It amazing how solid your guitar will feel and sound.

I believe the body is made from "Alder", which is a pretty dense hard wood. The neck is your typical maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. It's tougher than a strat, based on materials.

I've never really had to exercise one of my warranties before, so I'm not familiar enough with the experience. As far as dealing with the company, it's Fender, one of the largest guitar manufacturers in the world.

Overall the rating is an 8. I would have given it a 10 had it been setup better in the factory, but it wasn't... My guitar is a great guitar mainly because of the maintenance I've put into it myself.

The knobs on this guitar stink. I could never completely turn it off. The tone stinks too.

I'm not a snob but I have a sweet les paul, 80s american strat and a american deluxe tele. I thought this guitar would complement the collection. Nope. The tone is so flat. It offers me nothing. I truly love fenders but this was a flop. Next guitar will be the squier with P90s

The finish and color on the body was awesome. Gorgeous orange. The action was really nothing great. I expected more from fender.

I sent mine back. Heh, actually returned a guitar. Isn't that crazy? It was that bad.

No idea but I imagine its outsourced to India

I've played off and on for about 25 yrs. I'm not that awesome but I enjoy it. I really thought this would be worth the price. Nope. Buy a strat. If you have a strat, buy a tele or les paul. Then the other. Check out the squiers. I have the fretless J bass and it is awesome. Feels like a fender . . . unlike the toronado.

It has the features I expect it to have. I have the mex made version. Orange with a pearl pickgaurd. Atomic Pickups. Great finish on everything.

Here's the big deal, and I've read a couple of other reviews about this problem as well. It's not really a big problem, but when I buy a guitar I want it to sound good. At low volumes it was great, when the volume is cranked with distortion it gave out a microphonic pitch. I read one review where someonw had placed double sided mounting tape in between the pickups and the pickup case and that stopped thier problem. I tried that and it didn't work. So I just ended up removing the pickup casings all together, and it revield two zebra humbuckers. It looks cooler without the casings on them in my openion and it got rid of the unwanted pitch. After that it's great. It has a suprisingly dark tone for the guitar it is. I love it now that the problem has been taken care of. I play for a alternative pop band, and I do studio, garage projects as well, this guitar will fit with all of those. I got it mainly for stage work, but I'll use it in the studio when the time comes.

I get my guitars set up by the same cat that I've used for years. I never go with factory settings. The finish is great, not a flaw. I've read some people have had tuning problems, but I have not. Stays intune like a champ, even if I bang it around a little.

This is my main guitar live. It's built to be on the stage which is why I got it in the first place. The hardware seems like it will last, but I take good care of my gear. I always replace my strap buttons with a strap lock system regaurdless of the guitar. I have gigged with it, and I do have a back up. I haven't needed it so far, but I was in the boyscouts so I follow the "always be prepared" bit.

Never delt with them.

I've been playing for 14 years. This is my seventh guitar. I know what I like, and I know what to look for. I got this used at a pawn shop, and it's exactly what I was looking for. Other than the microphonic issue, I've been very pleased with it. Very comfortable, plays great, and there's a dark sound that's in this mellow looking guitar that I love. Everything else was perfect on it. My current stage set up is the Toronado, line 6 pod xt live-tube screamer, to peavey classic 50 4x10 combo. I get a variety of sounds out of it which is what I require out of all of my gear. I picked this up because I needed a solid stage guitar, and it looks pretty killer as well, you could get laid just standing next to it.

Toronado GT HH (red w/ white stripe) made in Korea. Seymour Duncan pickups, '59 in the neck & pearly gates plus in the bridge. Mahogony body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard. 3-way switch, 2vol, 2tone knobs. How do you rate features? Its got what its intended to have. I'll give it a 10 because there's nothing missing?!?!

Its been hard to put this guitar down. It just plays great, granted the shop where I bought it does a pro setup to your specs on every guitar sold, so it was already setup to my satisfaction. The pickups sound marvelous. I have had zero tuning issues with mine. The only problem I've had are scratchy tone pots(both of 'em), but I haven't bothered to open it up to try and clean them or replace them. I've run this guitar into a Vox ad50vt hybrid modeler, a 10watt Vox practice amp, and straight from a Korg ToneWorks multi-pedal into a PA, and it has been a pleasure in every instance. I love my tone with this guitar.

No flaws on this guitar. Everything was sound from day one.

This guitar just feels substantial. I don't mean heavy, don't get me wrong. It just feels like you could drop it a few times and it would still be just as strong(although I haven't dropped it...yet). A solidly built guitar.

The shop where I bought it (Morrison Brothers in Jackson, MS) handles all warranty repair work in-house, and they are excellent. I will probably never have to deal directly with Fender on this.

I've been playing for about 15 years, but only got sucked into the world of electric guitar about 3 years ago. I am meticulous about trying out gear and comparing locally before I buy. I have a regular weekly gig and am too poor to allow for my gear to fail on me(although I do have back-ups), so I make sure that what I buy will last. This guitar is exactly that, a piece of gear that will last. It doesn't get much better at this price.