Fender Toronado

this is a new baby, yr 2000. its black
scale is 24 3/4
comes with a gig bag

this guitar was exactly what i wanted. for some reason i can only play fender necks, i can't explain why. i also love humbucker guitars, single coils suck.
here's my summary:
-initial setup was ok, but don't expect great setups from fender on any guitars, this is where fender really lacks
-the tone and volume pots, and output jack were loose, typical for fender
-the pickups were really nice and hot. they still had that somewhat strat sound, but really hot. i like the pickups, but not as good as PRS or gibson 490's humbuuckers.
-the nut on the guitar was a disapointment, not much craftmanship there
-the stupid string stoppers on the back of the body were loose and feel off when the strings were removed. Fender, your quality has really gone down hill. HOW HARD IS IT, to DRILL to THE CORRECT SIZE, HUH ??!!!! pull your F head out fender, your starting to make guitars like gibson. i ended up glueing them in.
- the paint job was top notch
-the 3 way switch on mine was quiet. but, very sensitive to touch, thus could go to center position if breathed on.
-the neck felt good. i had some slight buzzing when i went to 10's. i really don't know if the 10's fit the nut very well. i might take it in and have a bearing nut installed.
-tuners seem to work fine. i like the vintage tuner look also.
-nice bridge
-stupid volume/tone knobs are huge. you'll lose about 5 lbs in your guitar if you remove them.
overall, i don't think you could ask for a better guitar for the price. its really what i like, fender neck with bad ass humbuckers to get that thick overdrive sound for rock blues.

factory setup sucked. fender does this even on they're expensive guitars. i've bought PRS also, and they're setup doesn't impress me. carvin is the only one who knows how to set up guitars. gibson quality is the shits also. i really like carvin guitars.

pickups adjust fine, except the stupid screws aren't long enough and can come out very easily. its tough trying to get it back in the hole without taking the pickguard off.

after a while you'll start to break strings due to the saddles. this is the case with all fenders, parkers and PRS's. i had one hell of time with PRS bridges. i was breaking strings after 1/2 hr of playen. PRS your way over rated !!. i installed graphite saddles onto the toronado. they work great
the nut on this guitar was poor. it was meant for 9's.

the guitar seems pretty stout. what i really hated about this guitar was the volume and tone knobs. i would say each knob weighs about a pound and about 1" in diameter. i took the stupid things off. i'll buy some little ones from carvin.

don't know
i hope they read this review and fix their quality problem

been playen for 8 yrs ...
i've owned every dam guitar out there.
i'm getting sick of buying and selling
i think i'll stick with this guitar for a while. it does almost everything i want. i wish the humbuckers could split into singles.
i might put some new pickups in that allow the split to single.
i like this guitar for the reason of the fender neck and the humbuckers and the fixed bridge.
if it got stolen i would buy another. i'm thinken of buying another anyway, another color.

overall, i like the guitar. the setup and other problems i mentioned don't shock me, since i've owned many new fenders.
if i could get used to carvin necks, i would only buy carvin.
maybe i should sell all my fender stuff and just have carvin, that would force me to play and get familar with their 24 fret thin neck.

hmmmmmmmmmmm, here i come carvin !!!!

maybe PRS, GIBSON, and fender could take some lessons in quality from carvin.

anyway, the toronado is a cool guitar, with some minor setup problems.
the nut is the only thing that really bothered me, besides the huge volume knobs.

A 1999 Mexican made fender Toronado, 21 frets, I think, solid top sunburst finish. 2 volume and tone knobs with 3 way switch, two humbuckers like gibson. Poplar body, maple neck, rosewood fretboard. Cool offset boady, hard tail thru body bridge thingy. The tuners on it are stupid, fender should use through the post ones. 24.75" scale neck, came with a gig bag.

I play punk/emo/ska and the humbuckers work nicely for that. I don't really use any effects, my amp now is a Crate GX-15 I'll be getting a Stage 160 soon though. It sounds alot better than my Epiphone G-400, and a very nice guitar for the price I paid.

The guitar was set up well, Although I didn't like the 9s it came with, so I put 10s on it and raised a saddle and now and it is mucho good. No finish flaws, the guitar is a freaking rock.

It'll withstand live playing all right. It's quite solid. Finish is really good, i've bumped it constantly since I got it and it seems ok still. The strap buttons were ok, but I put strap locks on anyway. I can depend on this for just about anything. I'd gig without a backup with this guitar, its rock frickin solid.

I dunno, never used.

A very good guitar, quite versatile and well built. would recommend it to anyone, if stolen I'd get another one, in an instant. Very very good guitar. and for under $500 who can resist?

Mine is a 1999 Toronado, Black with tortoise pickguard, dual "Atomic" humbuckers, dual volume and tone controls, three way toggle switch, rosewood fingerboard, strat style neck, hard tail bridge with strings going through the body, vintage tuners. I give the features a 7 only because I ended up replacing the tuners and the saddles (see Action, Fit, Finish for details). I also glued the string anchors on the back of the guitar.

Awesome!! I demo-ed the Toronado through a Fender Twin, a Fender Prosonic and a Mesa Single Rectifier. Each amp, obviously, changed the sound drastically, but the guitar sounded fantastic through each one. I use overdriven sounds associated with punk, rock and metal, and clean tones for country and funk. This guitar does them all excellently. Coupled with my Prosonic, I can get truly wonderful clean, bright country sounds in all pick-up settings. As a lead guitar, this thing gushes overtones in all directions, which I love. The pickups are hot, but not biting and "too much" like some Les Paul humbuckers I've dealt with. All sounds, from quiet to full volume, are usable. The neck pickup is set back enough to rid it of the overmuddy effect of other 22-fret guitars. Lastly, the tone knobs actually work and do not kill the sound of the pickup when turned down. They sweep gradually across the frequencies, offering up tons of usable tones.

The factory set-up stunk. I gave the features a 7, only becuase I ended up replacing the vintage tuners with Spirzle locking tuners and replaced the retro-styled string brass saddles with All Parts graphite ones. The vintage tuners were flimsy and light weight; the Spirzles are rock solid and heavy (they change how the guitar feels on the body and in the hand). The sadles were uncomfortable when I rested my hand on the bridge becuase the adjusting screws had to stick out too far (tech-y note: screws stuck out due to neck angle, so a neck seat shim might have changed that). The All Parts graphites are great, providing a smooth surface, but I had to file down the sides of them to get them to fit side-by-side. All in all, I now have a perfectly intonated, more solid feeling and comfortable guitar. Also, it looks cool. The Spirzles are grey and match the Fender logo on the headstock, and the saddles are black, looking a bit modern. It's not as vintage looking this way. With about $80 and 5 hours of work, this guitar is fantastic. I also put a dab of superglue on the string anchors in the back of the guitar...an easy fix to them falling out.

Those tuners weren't enough for my heavy handed style (or for heavy strings). The rest of the guitar seems ready for the road.

Standard Fender warranty, but I usually do my own work, so I don't know about the CS.

I give the guitar a 10 because it does everything a Paul Reed Smith can do at about a 5th of the price (literally). I like having a great guitar that can sit out in a bar without me worrying about it. This guitar also looks fantastic, though I am interested in retro-fitted pickguards, just for fun. My other electric guitar is a custom shop Tele Jr., and my amp is a Prosonic. With these three items, I can get just about any sound I want, with the exception of those really Stratty sounds which only a strat can do. I'm close enough to a Les Paul through a Marshall to keep me happy. I'm also close enough to a Tele through a Twin to keep me happy. I compared the Toronado with the Paul Reed Smiths, the Ernie Ball Musicmans and the Fender Big Apple Strat. PRS is great, but so pricey. The Ernie Balls are great, too, but not classic looking. The Big Apple...well is it a Strat or not? The Toronado was cheap, classy looking and has it's own identity. It just needs a little work to finish it off.

Standard Toronado features, already described by other reviewers. Just like to mention that mine is in candy apple red. Beautiful. The neck is smooth and plays very well. One complaint is the large wood-chunk like thing where the neck is bolted onto the body; it making reaching the high frets difficult... but not impossible.
It came with a really nice gig bag too. When i ordered from musician's friend, they also "gave" me a guitar stand, tuner, cable and strap.

The toronado has great sound if you are looking for a rock guitar. The distortion i get out of this thing is amazing, and it's easy to get. However, it's clean sounds are more limited and it takes a lot more tweaking and time to find a good one.

Petty complaints aside - Bottom line: this guitar rocks.

The finish is beautiful. I love the shape and contours of the body. It's thin and lightweight, yet looks sturdy and solid. Everything was set up pretty well; nicely cut nut, smooth frets; good action etc. Came with a set of shitty 9's, which probably need replacing, but again, petty complaints aside, it's great, especially for a guitar priced in the middle range.

Some reviewers complained about the tone and volume knobs falling off, but i don't foresee any of these problems (just watch em fall off tomorrow). Looks solid as a rock; i would definitely feel secure without a backup.

Not sure, never dealt with them.

I've been playing for almost 3 years now; my first guitar was a shitty ibanez rg270. Some people rave about that guitar, but i'd be complimenting it to call it a piece of shit. That aside, i play through a Vox Cambridge and use boss effects and a POD. This guitar will definitely show up on my band's recordings and at rehearsals (if we finally get a gig, i will use this guitar without a second thought). Like i said already, the clean sounds are lacking a little, but this is more than compensated by the kick ass distortion you can get. Coupled with a nice price and beautiful yet unique look, it's just a great rock guitar for the player on a budget. Simple.

2000 Fender Toronado, Atomic Humbuckers, Sunburst Finish. "Classic" Tuners. Rosewood neck.

Tone is great. I usually play a Tele or Rick, so this added a new dimention to my playing. Seperate volume and tone controls allow infinate tonal possibilities.

I originally bought one that would not stay in tune. The intonation
at the 12th fret was way off. I tried everything to get it close, but ran out of adjustment possibilities. I returned the guitar and exchanged it for an other one. This one has great action and adjusts
fine. Would be nice to have American Standard hardware. The "deluxe"
hardware sucks. The wood finish/neck and electronics are great.

Great guitar for any situation. Very solid construction.

Don't know.

Good solid guitar with great tone. Excellent playability.

Bought new for $399 in late 1999, dual atomic humbuckers. This baby gets loud. Had problems restringing. Ive lost several of the small metal bolts that go in the back to hold the string implace. Plays like a strat, similar rosewood neck and fretboard. easy to play. Mine is black with a red pickguard, slick body design, looks as good as it plays.

I play a lot of bluesy rock, and harder rock, like led zeplin. Distorts exceptionally well, loud and obnoctious humbuckers give plenty of quack. have had feedback problems that i hadent had with other fenders, pickup switch provides a good range of quality sounds, from smooth murky rythm to high end cretching treble more sutable for soloing. Great for live performance, and for recording lead guitar parts.

This guitar plays like a dream. Quick fretboard, havent had to adjust a thing, (except minor bridge adjustments). Tuners don't turn exceptoinally well, and it would be nice if fende grew up and used loop through tuners like on gibsons. The finish looks great, but its prety hard to screw up black.

I donot nurture my guitars, and this one has taken a beating. Ive lost the metal cups that hold the ends of the strings. if you break a string live they just fall off. Humbucker fell into the guitar twice, requiring an hour or so to repair. I would always use a backup. but then again if i treated it a little better, it would probably hold togther a little better.

havent talked to fender

Overal good guitar, fun and easy to play. Excelent sound quality, and good versetility. However i downgrade it due to its lack of drability, wich i found surprising considering the fact that it is a fender.

I bought this guitar a few months ago, but I think it is a 99' or early 2000. I know it is made in Mexico. The neck and headstock are exactly like a Strat which is fine by me. Vintage tuners. Mine is black with an awesome red pickguard with black flakes in it. Looks like a 1973 ashtray. :) The guitar comes with two chrome covered humbuckers. The pickups look like something you would see in a Les Paul. I put Dimarzio strap locks on it because I like to move around a lot, but I think the stock ones are really sturdy. Nice big body. I really like the way this guitar looks. Looks so different than a lot of things out there.

I play a wide variety of music, and this is where the guitar shines. It really is a Strat crossed with a Les Paul. It is like they threw the two guitars into a pot, stirred it up, and this came out. The whole feel of the neck is Fender Strat. The body is thin like a strat also. The pickups, pickup selector and girth of the guitar all scream Les Paul. As far as the pickup sounds go, they really are amazing. Nice heavy chunky sound out of the bridge and more of a vintage sound out of the neck. You can get a good Pearl Jam solo sound out of the neck pickup. Like I said, so Fender strat. This guitar has a real full sound. Not harsh at all. Warm. I was using a Johnson Marquis 60 with this guitar and it sounded great. I bought a Mesa Dual Rectifier yesterday and now the guitar really sings. I love the sound so much I want to buy another one.

Guitar just feels really solid. At first I didn't like the vintage tuners because the strings didn't seem to sit tight in there. Now that I have changed strings, I love them. Easy to change strings, etc. The only thing I noticed (and it might be on all of them) is the area where the strings go through the guitar. The strings go through the back of the guitar and then are pulled through the bridge, etc. Well in the back, where the strings go through there are these little metal pieces that hold the strings. When you take your strings off, these things just come off with them. I wish they were glued, etc. to the actual guitar.

I defintely think this guitar can hold up. It feels really solid. Feels like a guitar costing twice as much. I have played shows with it and had no probs. I broke a D string at practice one day, but I think I had a bad string. It broke in a really weird spot. I have not had one snap again. Guitar stays in tune really good with 10's!

I have not tried to deal with Fender really, but I don't really care for their website because it locks up my computer when I go there. They have something wrong with their site. Fender is so big of a company that I probably would not try to contact them. It would probably be a pain.

Give this guitar a whirl. It is really inovative and is a refreshing change from all of the regular shapes out there. If you like Fender guitars then definitely need to try this one out! I would buy another without delay. Oh, also a really sturdy gig bag comes with it. It is a really padded, nice one. I think my favorite feature about this guitar is the way it looks. For it to sound this nice is an extra bonus.

The features on this guitar are great. Mine is a 1998 in black with a brown shell pickguard. 2 vol. and 2 tone knobs. 3-way selector. Stationary bridge. I was at first hesistant to try the guitar because I'm not a fan of poplar bodies; however, the guitar had a nice feel to it. I now praise the poplar body--it keeps the fairly large guitar light weight--awesome for playing live. The vintage tuners were a welcome change because I find it easier and neater to re-string my guitar. The tuners don't lock, but I've not had any intonation problems. The neck is fairly think, especially for my small hands, but it has a nice silky feel and is considerably stronger than most necks. The 22 med.-jumbo frets are finished nicely on the rosewood fretboar. The pick-ups are nice (humbuckers in neck and bridge), but I'm lightly considering ptting in a Duncan '59 in the neck and Duncan Pearly Gates in the bridge.

The sound didn't appeal to me at first--this was my bias against poplar wood shining through. The guitar has a comfortable weight and resonance to it, both due to the wood selection. I use the guitar into a either a Fender Deluxe or Princeton chorus. I play in two bands (one jazz/blues oriented, and the other hard rock oriented) and this guitar provides for both nicely. Playing live with this guitar is so nice, especially with the light weight. I play only rhythm guitar and this guitar does nice for me. The pick-up selector makes noise sometimes when switching. I don't, however, switch in the middle of a sing so this doesn't bother me much.

The action was nice with the factory 9's. When I switched to 10's I did have to raise the action a little, but it really was no trouble. The pick-up height was fine. I've had to do some truss-rod adjustment, but that to was not much of a hassle. The body finish is especially adept at taking abuse. There were no scratches, and after two years still none--even with using it to gig. There was a minor flaw on the fretboard, perhaps a tiny speck of glue, but I simply picked it off, and it left almost no trace. The rosewood fretboard seems drier than most rosewood fretboards I've used, thus, I oil the board more than I would deem necessary with the "standard" guitar.

This guitar has withstood two years of heavy use. The hardware will definately last through whatever you put it through. It is perfectly dependable and I can gig with out any backup. The strap buttons were ok, but I replaced them with a clip-lock strap. 100% durable.

I used to call Fender on a regular basis posing as a Fender dealer, and I received all sorts of wonderful information. Finding out the actual dealer prices were the greatest. I have not called Fender in a number of years, but friends have mentioned the support has been lacking recently.

I am in love with this guitar. There definately was a period where I wish I had bought a strat; however, over time the guitar grows on you. I have been able to easily overlook any limitaions it has because it plays so nice.

this is my favorite guitar i have ever played. it is a 2000 candy apple red fender toronado, 24 fret, 2 atomic pick-ups, ect, ect. the neck feels great in my hands, it is great for playing rythem and solos.

i am in one hardcore heavy metal band, and one jazz blues band, and this guitar does great with both. i use a boss-me30 multi efects proscesor, and the guitar does wonders with it.

guitars are just like girls, i look for the best action i can find. the toronado was just that.

it is built very, very nicely.

n/a

i love this guitar, the action is great, and it sounds beautiful.

This is a late 90s Fender Toronado. It has 2 Atomic Humbucker pickups, 2 volume knobs, two tone knobs, and a 3 way selector switch. It has a body similar to a Fender Jaguar. The bridge is a string thru. It has a neck just like a strat, and it has a great feel to it.

The Atomic Humbuckers are definitely atomic. They have a great sound that makes you think you're playing a Les Paul. The neck pickup sounds so full and deep and it has tone that you would die for. The bridge pickup rarely sounds nasily. I play through an old Seymour Duncan Tube amp and when cranked it sounds so great. I have two Danelectro distortion pedals and a Vox wah, and the guitar sounds good w/ all of them, especially the wah. My band plays everything from modern rock to punk to funk and this guitar works for all those styles.

The action and pickup adjustment are perfect. I would've given it a 10 in this category but the pickup selector is very noisy and needs to be replaced and both tone knobs are loose.

I've played this guitar live 3 or 4 times, and haven't broken a string during a performance yet, and the hardware seems very durable, as does the finish.

Haven't has to deal with them yet.

The Toronado is said to be the guitar that has the feel of a Fender with the sound of a Gibson. That is exactly what it is. I have been playing for two and a half years, my other guitar is a Squier Strat, so this was a big step up. When I was buying it, it was between this and an Epiphone Les Paul, this beat the Epi in everything. I love this guitar, and if anyone ever stole it, I would cry, and then hunt them down like the dog that they are.