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.

2000, Mexican made, Poplar body with Candy-Apple finish, 24 frets, contoured offset body, 2 volume. 2 tone knobs, twin Atomic Humbuckers (they are not kidding when they say Atomic!), rosewood fingerboard with jumbo frets, satin finished skunk stripe neck (silk!), hard-tail string through body, vintage tuners (will change to Sperzel Locking).

I play mostly blues and classic rock. The humbuckers are HUGE and with the 2 volume/2 tone configuration knobs, there are endless tonal capabilities, absolutely phenomonal! Name your tone.......betcha I can get it! I use a Yamaha DG-100 2x12 and it mates with this guitar wonderfully. Switched from Matchless All Tube (all weight, all problems) to solid state Yamaha modelling amp and am extremely pleased. This amp actually comes on when you turn on the switch! Imagine that tube-heads.

This guitar and the Fender plant in Mexico are; at least for now; the best kept secret around. The Candy-Apple red finish is breath-taking. When was the last time anyone saw a Candy-Apple red Fender anything new? Pick-up height adjusted from factory and left.

Will use this as a primary guitar without back-up because it is what it should be....durable. Everything about this axe is built to last and will take a beating on the club circuit. This ain't yo' mamma's Oldsmobile, Toto!

It's a Fender..................never have, nor will I ever, need this service...........as I said, It's a Fender!

As I said before, this is the best kept secret around. The Toronado takes Fender down a different path, and boy are they running! Something this good will invariably saturate the market soon enough, but for now, we are safe. If someone were to steel this guitar; may God have mercy on your sould should we cross paths. I would beat you with the replacement.

I love this guitar--it's features have been extensively detailed by other reviewers so I won't bore you with that. Mine came with a really nice gig bag--so nice that I haven't invested in a hard case yet.

The sound is beautiful--full of rich bass. I'd have to agree that the pickups are a bit noisy when your hand is not in contact with the metal parts of the guitar, but if you are playing, that's not a problem. I play Clapton, blues, rock, etc. and this really fits the bill.

The first one I ordered was vintage white--mucho ugly--I returned it and got a candy apple red one--beautiful. More info on why I returned the first guitar is in the next section.

O.K. this is why I bothered to submit a review when there was already so many out there. I bought my Toronado from Musicians Friend and when I pulled it out of the box there was a huge chip on the bottom of the guitar--all the way to the wood. I have no idea how much force it took to make that chip because I couldn't believe how thick the finish was! They must have taken a sledgehammer to it! Needless to say I shipped it right back and they replaced it ASAP. Despite the bad apple I got the first time--kudos to Fender for putting such a nice, thick finish on this guitar.

n/a

If it was stolen, I'd cry for days and then overextend my credit limit to buy another.

I have a 1998, Mexican made, 22 fret, black Toronado. It has 2 volume and 2 tone knobs. It has dual humbuckers, an ugly pickguard called shell, and a finish from hell (compliment). This thing could take a brick wall down and have minor scratches. Much tougher than my Gibson. It has an offset body style that kind of resembles a jazzmaster or jaguar. Mine came with vintage style strat tuners, the thing is that the G strings tuner had a broken gear part so tuning wasn't possible without a screwdriver, but replacing wasn't had or expensive. It came with a gig bag, blah, blah, blah

I play everything from The Beatles to Dave Matthews Band to Meshuggah to Metallica (you get it) and this guitar really throws a crunch on distortion. It sounds especially great with any kind of BOSS metal distortion and chorus. It has a minor buzzing (which is easily ignored or eliminated with a noise suppresor). You can play anything with this guitar. I really don't have a complaint about the sound.

The action settings were fine as was everything else from the factory except the tuners which I mentioned earlier. The pickups were fine, very good actually. Really other than the tuner the guitar was perfect.

This guitar was withstood live playing, sweat, beatings you name it. Everything feels like it was built to last. The finish is perfect. This thing has hit the sharp edges of my bed many times and finally after months of doing this it got one minor dent in the bottom. The strap buttons have needed work so I replaced them with locking ones. This is one hell of a dependable guitar. The only thing that would ever give out would be the strings.

never dealt with them

It's well worth the money and maybe some more. This was the guitar that made me realize how badly some of my others sounded. I love this guitar, if it was stolen I would replace it but still hunt down the person who took and beat them. I got it because Fender was a big name, and this was string through and dual humbuckers, unlike most other Fender so I took a chance and love it.

This guitar..a black with red tortoise shell pickguard..is beautiful..solid hardtail string thru the back type thing...the tuners are fab..no problems with it going out of tune. the neck is thin..vrey comfortable..actually the whole body is contoured "off-set waist" so it really grabs your body when you cradle it. Medium jumbo frets..very cool..nothing gets in the way of your playing. Two Fender Atomic Humbuckers...decent pickups..but i think probably im gonna slap an EMG on it..since i favor that screamy dreamy tone of Zakk wylde...which is strange becuase i play more mellow rock/blues. It comes in a cool gig bag...the factory settings were ok...the factory strings blew chunks..they were like 9's..just rubber bands almost.

Becuase my influences are so broad...(tool, radiohead, led zep, clapton, kiss, g'n'r ,pink floyd..etc.) I HAVE to have versatility in sound..becuase i cant just swap guitars all night at a gig. So the toronado fits me perfect..do a little tweak with the tone knobs...and the sound just varies..its really a big difference...i love it. form a strat-like to tele-like to a warm, fat fender tone. Its a fender tone mind you, even with humbuckers.

factory settings were ok..but i did some adjustments of my own..since i had to take the factory 9's off..and slap some 12's on..my own demonicly favorite gauge. no flaws at all..every met my exacting standards..except the factory settings blew ass...bottom line..so definitely plan to learn to screw with truss rods and pickups. okie?

One of my tone knobs fell off..but a screwdriver and a little muscle...and the damn thing will be on there for years..but those knobs arent plasticky pieces of crap but heavy metal chunks..so its quality stuff! Im confident this guitar will keep on rockin after taking a few beatings.

never used it..but its got a fender lifetime warranty..so thats kind of reassuring.

this thing is a work of art...for the price its a steal...this should be like a 700 dollar guitar easily...one of my japanese friends..says that the toronados are getting popular in Japan..normally guitars are expensive there..and the toronado surprisngly can fetch a price as high as vintage strats..i can see why..these guitars have nice tone...built solid..look great...and are definitely unique...this guitar is for that unique guitarist...lookin for the unique sound.

MIM, medium-jumbo frets, dual humbuckers, hard-tail.

Play mostly R&B. I use it through a Hughes & Kettner Club Reverb. The bridge pickup in this combination sounds a lot like surf-style. The sound combinations are wide due to the individual volume controls.

I returned the first one due to a wiring problem in the bridge pickup. The replacement was nearly flawless with the exception of a loose string retainer. Finish is superb. Candy-apple red is beautiful with the back/red pickguard.

Seems solid as a rock.

No dealings with Fender, but Musician's Friend was very good at swapping the defective one. They sent UPS to my office to pick up the defective one.

This is rapidly becoming my favorite guitar. I have seven, including a Strat with Custom Shop '50s installed. It is my 'orphan' guitar when I go to select one, but each time I pick it up to play, I wonder why I don't do it more often. This is one fine guitar.

My toronado is a '98, made in mexico. It has 22 frets, is set up in the electronics department like most other dual humbucker guitars: with a three way selector switch and individual tone and volume controls. Mine is black with a red tortoise shell pickgard and chrome bridge, knobs, tuners, and humbucker covers. The shape of a Toronado is basically like a plump jazzmaster. The bridge is a 'hardtail', string through body design. The tuners seem to be really nice 'vintage style' non-locking tuners. I have had no problems at all keeping this guitar in tune (and I bend a lot). The scale length is 24.75", and it came with little whimpy strings that sounded like little faries trying to yell at you. The toronado is a beautiful looking guitar. If there is more you need to know, then there are other submissions. Oh, it came with a really nice gig bag. I hate gig bags, but every time I go somewhere with it everyone says "nice bag"... so I guess that is a good thing... if you like gig bags.

I like to play (or try to play) delta style blues, but most of what I play is indy rock type sound- you know; from melancholy slowness, to aggressive distortion, and then back again. I think this guitar works great for meeting my needs in the sound department. What I love about this guitar is that it is so versatile, I can adjust the tone to be bright and full like a nice jazz guitar, or i can make it muddy and dead like a blues guitar, or I can go for that fender 'thin' sound. When I'm trying to learn a new song, I can adjust my sound to be that of the guitar in the song I'm trying to learn... it's deadly versatile. The selector switch makes a little clicking when I switch it, and the humbuckers kind of (ironically) hum. The humming only starts when I'm not touching any of the metal contacts: like the strings or the bridge. I want to drop some new humbuckers in, but there are so many to choose from that I have been holding off until I have a chance to play with a whole bunch of other ones. I play through a little fender frontman 25r... not a bad practice amp. I have played it through twin reverbs, and ampegs... it still sounds like the same guitar, just amplified better. I think the sound is great in the versatility department, but I wish the pickups could go that extra mile, they tend to get a bit bassy when I have an open 6th string. Now, for the money, I think this guitar is great, but i want to change out the selector switch and the humbuckers (oh, what the hell. I'll put in shielded wiring and new pots too).

The action was fine from the factory. But the first thing I did was get rid of those wussy little strings and go for some blues strings with a wound third string, and that screwed up everything. I had to adjust the truss rod and reset the intonation... a bit of a pain, but worth it. Everything looks great on this guitar: the bridge, the neck joint, the neck is perfect, I went over this guitar a million times, and it is made wonderfully. I did notice that this guitar used to be red though. When I took off the back plate to see about the humming, I noticed that it was painted red inside...

this guitar is a beast. the paint is like 6 feet thick, and all the parts are made to last, the chrome should keep it from rust, and the thing weighs like 40 pounds. I have no doubts that this guitar will be around for the rest of my life. We get a ten here!

I took my guitar to a fender repair shop about the humming and it turned out that my amp was plugged into an outlet that wasn't grounded. The humming is much, much quieter now, but is still there, and the fender site has gotten much better with the fender discussion page... customer support is good, but I haven't really had any problems... I think the warranty is for a year, but I can't really remeber. The guy at the shop suggested that I get some duncans, and I will, but they make about 300 different pickups... they were nice though.

I think this guitar is a great design and I think for the money it rules. I mean I can spend under 500 and get a good guitar that can be made great, with just new humbuckers and maybe some graph tech saddles and whatever else you may desire... what I like is that this is my guitar. Everbody plays a strat, and they sound good, but this guitar has a unique sound and when I get through it will have MY sound. I would buy another one of these in a second, if I wasn't a bum who never has a job... but they have been dropping in price and I think I may score one if fender discontinues (please please). Don't buy one, 'cause I want fender to sell them off cheap so I can have a fleet of them. I've been playing about 2 years, but before that I noodled around on bass. I have a hummingbird, and my little fender frontman 25r, and a couple of basses, and another speaker cabinet... and a pair of pants.

The features have been described better by others here and I will only add that the Toronado is the only Non-Custom Fender that I am aware of where the volume and tone controls are mounted from the rear through the body, not a pick guard or switch plate (ala Gibson) which I felt made it unique. This guitar is a hard tail. While I am not a big user of a tremolo bar, it would have been nice to offer it with the Toronado. Fender has offered "humbucking" equipt units before butI feel none as successful as this. This is alot of guitar for the money.

I play country/rock and the Toronado offers up some interesting sounds that lends itself to a broad versatility. I play mine straight through a 59 Fender Vibrosonic and can tweek this combo to produce some classic Fender sounds that you swear were from a Tele or a Strat. The Toronado also has a zone of it's own by switching to both pick-ups setting and adjusting the neck pick-up just low enough to let the bridge pick-up take over slightly giving a unique growl unlike any Fender but unmistakenly Fender just the same. What a surprise find. If you think you're gonna get Les Paul sounds from this guitar because it's got Humbuckers forget it. This is a Fender! The Toronado will invite lots of experimentation with alot of tonal combinations. I certainly am not willing to trade my Strat just yet but glad I added the Toronadoto my arsenal.

This is my second Toronado. I returned te first because it was untunable. I called Fender who told me to bring it to an authorized dealer which I did. He could not tune it either. I returned it and opted to order another one. This one had some intonationation problems out of the box but was fixed in the set-up by my dealer. Tuning is still a bit finicky. A loose volume knob was annoying as is the G string popping from the nut when I bend it. The Factory set action was terrible. My Dealer tech took care of all the problems and I am quite satisfied with the outcome despite the piddly problems. Finish is excelent. Neck to body joint is fine. Control layout is good.

Well built despite the early problems as discussed. Don't make a big deal out of them. This guitar will last like any Fender

Fender was responsive and seemed genuinely interested in solving my early problems. I was somewhat annoyed with the first guitar when they sent me to a Gold dealer 60 miles away when they could have sent me to a silver dealer near my house. The difference, I found out later, was that the gold has a paint shop. The silver dealer was quite capable of solving the problems on the second guitar.

I have been playing for several years and have owned Les Pauls, several strats. teles etc. While not the greatest musician I feel somewhat capable of making an educated choice. If lost I would replace it. I love the fact that I can get more variation on a distinctly Fender sound. Tones that can not be replicated on a strat or a tele yet it can do a credible job of mimicking both. Good quality at very affordable price.

The Toronado is my first Fender. It is made in Mexico with a poplar body, maple neck, and rosewood fretboard. It has two of the new Atomic humbuckers. The set up is much like a Les Paul with the three way selector switch and two volumes and tones. It has a hard tail vintage bridge and vintage turners. The frets are pretty big. The body style ,if you have no idea what I'm talking about, is like the front of a Jazzmaster/Jaugar and the rear of a Strat or Tele. It came with a nice deluxe gig bag.

I have found it to suit my stlye very well. I play a lot of BUSH, Nirvana, and some lighter stuff for variety. The Atomic humbuckers are great. I play mostly rythm but this thing can scream out some leads as well. It also gives a great range of sounds, every setting gives a different, distinct, sound. My only complaint is that I have some kind of excess noise in the guitar. When the volume is up on my amp, there is a buzz that you can hear until I touch some of the hardware like the bridge or knobs. I'm sure that can be fixed with something simple I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Other than that this guitar has an excellent sound.

I like really low strings, the lowest I can possible get without a buzz, so I had to lower the strings and change the truss rod some, very easy stuff. Pickups were setup just fine, but I raised them just a hair, I guess just so I could feel like I did something. I found no flaws on the finish, however the "vintage white" was a little more like a light yellow. Honestly at first I didn't like it but it really grows on you and it is a nice contrast to the tortoise shell pickguard.

I haven't had it very long but this guitar looks and feels like one TOUGH S.O.B.

Haven't had any experience wiht it.

I've been playing this guitar for a little over a month. I also have a Peavey Raptor, my first electric. I usually play through my trusty Peavy Bandit. I would have liked to have seen the candy apple red model before I bought the other just to see which I liked better. I love the pickups and the overall style of the guitar. It has a look that demands questions and sparks curiosity because it is severly unique. I don't like the idea of buying something not American made, but hell there's no affordable quality U.S. made equipment except for Peavey, which is a great company. If someone stole it I would hunt them down and torture them, making sure not to kill them but to permenantly cripple them. I don't mean to seem brutal but come on I'm a collage student and don't have money just laying around and this is my first guitar from on of the big names like Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, etc. Overall a great guitar and I will be glad to answer any emails.

Made in Mexico, poplar body, maple(skunk stripe) neck w/ rosewood fretboard, 22 frets, 2 Fender 'Atomic' chrome covered humbuckers, separate volume and tone controls, 3 position toggle switch, hard tail 6-saddle/strings thru the body bridge and vintage tuning machines. Mine came in Candy Apple Red with brown, tortoise shell scratch-plate. This is an entirely new offering from Fender for 1998. The body design is offset and includes contouring at the waist and and bout. The guitar 'hugs' your body and is incredibly comfortable to play.

While I mostly play Telecasters, I had a need for a humbucker equipped axe. This guitar is absolutely marvelous sounding. The neck pickup can go from a warm-clean rythmn to a woody jazz tone with just a little tweaking of the tone control. The bridge pickup is is fat and clean and can even produce some Tele twang. Where this guitar really gets cool is using both pickups together. Now you have total control of your sound by how much volume and tone you apply from each pickup. I've only had the guitar for a week, so I'm still finding new tones. The ONLY thing I'll need to change on the guitar is strings! The electronics are dead quiet, the pots are smooth and the setup was perfect for me as it came from the factory. I'm a big fan of the vintage tuning machines because they have nearly-zero backlash which makes tuning and tuning stability easy. With a hard-tail bridge and these tuners it stays right where you tune it once the strings are broke in. This axe is built as solid as they come. With a little care it should last a lifetime.

Like I said above, the action was perfect for me right off the rack. It doesn't 'fret-out' or buzz. Barre chords are a breeze, even past the 12th fret. The neck is satin finished to perfection(I love satin necks), isn't too thick or too thin. The rosewood fretboard is very smooth. The frets are smooth with no sharp edges extending past the neck. Tight neck pocket fit and a great flaw-free paint job. I've looked this baby over real good and I can't find anything to complain about. Exemplary workmanship!

Like I said, with a little care this axe should last a lifetime. Besides, it's a Fender! That about says it all. In all honesty though, the guitars coming out of Fender's Mexican manufacturing facility are high-quality, low-priced instruments. I can't say enough about how nice it is to be able to buy a quality instrument at such an affordable price point.

I've never had a bit of trouble with any Fender product. They've always responded to my e-mail questions in a quick and friendly manner.

What can I say that I haven't said already? It's a great guitar at a great price. Kudos to Fender for making such a great axe that just about anybody can afford. Would I buy it again if it were lost, destroyed or stolen? You bet, without hesitation.

The Fender Toronado has the clean sounding "atomic humbuckers" which are also found on the cyclone series. Other than that, it resembles the jazzmaster in shape and feel. The pickguard covers the entire top half, which is a nice feature, and the body is poplar, with four, volume\tone controls, and three way switching. The frets are huge, but they don't seem to get in the way. The neck has a satin finish which feels like a Yamaha pacifica.

I love this guitar on every sonic level. From dirty blues, to crisp wails, I really haven't found an area that it lacks in as far as sound is concerned. The four volume/tone controls work together well, especially when looking for a 'fat' tone. Excellent vintage sound.

Great action, I think it came with Fender 9's, which suits the guitar well. One of my knobs fell off after three days, but I think it can be fixed with a screwdriver.

This guitar is incredibly solid. It has a good heft to it, and the finish seems thick. It's very durable.

I might have to talk to Fender about the tone knob, and the strap on the gig bag broke the first day. But until I talk to them, I guess I can't really say.

I'm in love with a fender. I looked at strats, teles, and gibson SG's before I found this guitar. For price, sound, and feel, I think I made the best choice in a new guitar under 500$.

god, i couldnt be more bias towards the fender toronado. i love this guitar and i think i would cry if i didnt have it. its got 22 medium-jumbo frets. great for whatever music you play. perosnally, i play a lot of punk like blink and mxpx, garage band stuff like weezer, and the classics like led zepelin and jimi. its got two of the most awesome pickups you could ever want. its not only the best sounded guitar with the 2 fender atomic-humbuckers but it looks great. even it the guitar didnt sound that great, its looks would make up for it. its got a contoured poplar body with an offset waist design. one piece maple neck with rose wood finderboard. its black with a tortis shell pickgaurd, with 2 tone 2 volume contols, 3 wayt toggle switch. it also comes with a fender delux gig bag.

this guirtar can go from being a heavey, hard rock plaiyng machine to a toned clean b.b. king playing guitar. the 2 fender atomic pickups are versatile with any thing you want to play. when set with distortion on an amp, it doesnt give to a crap load of feedback either. i like this guitar all around and in and out. its not only my style of playing, but any style you want.

i was amazed about how cheap i got this guitar for. i got it for 375.00 used. i dont know how fender pulled it off by getting this good of a guitar into the stores without charging as much as a strat or a tele. all i can say to fender is thank you. the thing that attracted me to this guitar most was, not only the looks but the pickups. 2 humbuckers with a chrome cap finish.

ive only had it for about two weeks because its brand new, made in 98, so i haveny had any problems with it and i dont think i will. i got it used and it came with a five year warrenty.i could bang this guitar around at gigs and not even need to worry about having a backup. everything on this guitar is built to last, period. thats all i really have to say about that.

havent had any problems with fender. they're great.

ive been playing for about 3 years now and ive had a fender squier strat, which sucked, no offense, a yamaha SE series, and a no name guitar. this guitar fits my needs in and out. i couldnt want any more form a guitar. if it got stolen or lost i would die. i dont know if you can even buy them in stores yet but they are great.i love the humbucking pickups the most. they are the clean, grungdy and warm at the same time. i love this guitar.

I really like this guitar because of the dual humbuckin' action this Bitch got! I love jammin on this thing 24-7!! It was made in 1998 and has med. Jumbo frets and I am not sure what the top coat has but I know it's good! Basswood body with a one peice maple neck and dot inlays. Humbuckers are Fender's new thing, there are 2 automatic humbuckers!! It has a 3-way toggle for the pickups a psycadelic offset body, 2 volume 2 tone controls. The bridge is what i like about this mean guitar is the way it NEVER gets out of tune because of the string-through-body " hard tail ". I am very surprised i got it with a gig-bag!!! It has a killer black finish with a red and black tortise shell pickgaurd and chrome hardware that covers the humbuckers!! As I said this is a mean geetar!!

The 2 fender auto-matic humbuckers really suit the musick i play that is metal, punk, blues and most of all suits the lead that i take in my band! It has a very rich sound that can take on blues to ska and keep going through metal, this is my dream guitar! It can get really noisy on the treble setting with the humbucker through my fender fronline amp. with reverb. I use many modulaters and pedals with this baby and it screams with all of them!!!!

When I ordered this guitar from musicians' friend ( cause they didn't have it! ) They finally called and when I saw it at the store in it's case I fell in love because i hate black guitars but this one was a major exeption! Both the humbuckers were in place, bridge was fine, the guitar was perfect and the action was too!!!!

I feel that I could leave this thing in the streets of philly all night and come back the next morning and i could still go to a live concert with out a backup! The straps a rock solid and I feel that the finish could with stand a beatin' with a bat with nails in it and it would still look good! the hardware is better than my Fender Strat. with a shiny finish and beatiful hardware!

My Strat had a F ' ed up wire in it and i called them and they were a big help!! It has a 90 day warranty with a lifetime free service from fender, so like if a wire was broke they would fix it free!!! Any way it is Fender isn't it?

At first i was looking at all of the fender off set bodies and came to this cause of the low price and the dual humbuckers it got loaded on it!!!!!I truly think that Fender are the dumbest company because of all the high quality they put into this guitar and for the low price it has, the must not make a big profit but, that is what we expect from fender. I will always and only play Fender guitars as my instrument because of all the high quality they have!!! I have a Fender Blackstained Flamed topped Strat with a mirror pickgaurd I bought a little after i bought the guitar. If it were stolen I would literly cry cause I am only 13 and I don't have the money to get another one , I mean come on I sold my Tele for it!! I love the dual humbuckers it has and the offset body is the only one that I know is extremely comfortable!! I have to say that Teles, Strats, Les-Pauls and even Toronado's family like, Jaguar, Cyclone, Jazzmaster, Mustang and the new Jag-Stang are good guitars BUT.....The Fender Toronado is the most inexpenisive, high quality, best lookin' guitar you could get with humbuckers and an extrremly bitchin' sound!!!!