Fender Toronado: Not to Be Confused With Grandma's GM Oldsmobile

This is not to be confused with your Grandma’s old boat of a car, the GM Oldsmobile Toronado! This is a guitar folks. This is one breed of guitar that has both confused and interested me at the same time. When it first came out a few years ago, it caught my eye because it, at first glance, looked like an alternate version of the Jazz Master. But let me say straight up that a Jazz Master it is not... and to be fair, nor was it intended to be.

So what the heck is it?

I thought you’d never ask. To tell you the truth, there’s not a lot of info out there on this guitar. I mean, even on the “official” Fender website there is just a small blurb about it, but no real info of what and why this guitar needs to be here on planet Earth. I mean we have the Strat, Tele, Jazz Master, Les Paul’s and 335’s… what else really do we need? Well hell… why not another hybrid that looks like this... plays like that… but doesn’t sound like any of them!

My Toronado is Japanese-made and I got it used off E-bay from Gear Closet Audio.

When it arrived, I was very surprised how solid this guitar feels. In many ways, it’s a lot like a Jazz Master as far as the styling and how it hangs around my neck. This guitar is a lot heavier than my 1964 real Jazz Master or even my Strats for that matter. It’s actually close to my 1970 Les Paul Custom… maybe a pound less… give or take.

The Feel

For me, I like a guitar to feel solid and not too light. I don’t mind heavy guitars like Les Pauls or whatever. I like to feel like I have something “real” hanging around my neck, not some flimsy toy. This guitar feels and hangs good, and since it is styled after a Fender Jazz Master, it hangs nicely and balanced. The neck is the maple modern c shape which means it feels very much like a Strat neck. Same thing with the frets; they are “medium jumbo” much like standard Strats. So this plays a lot like a Strat, very comfortable and familiar for me, since I have played Strats for over 20 years.

The Pickups, Electronics, & Tone

The tone controls are layed out like a Les Paul: 2-Volume and 2-Tone controls with a standard 3-way toggle switch. The pickups are a Fender design called “Atomic pickups.” I’m not sure what that means or if they are actually made by Fender or OEMed from someone else like Seymour Duncan or the like. They sound pretty darn good. In fact, I think they sound very much like my Classic 1970 Les Paul Custom but slightly beefier.

My 1970 Les Paul has the standard “classic” PAF pick-ups in it and those have aged with a nice sweet sound. The Toronado humbuckers are actually “Hotter” than my Les Paul. I played it through my trusty Blues Junior and my modified Marshall DSL401 and was able to get a great, wide range of tones.

This guitar likes to rock out HARD!!!! In fact, I think it would make a great Heavy Metal weapon. Dude, these are the stock pickups to boot!!!! In general, this guitar does not sound anything like any Fender guitar ever made. In other words, it does not sound like a Fender at all.

The Actual Specs from Fender.com

• Model Name= Toronado
• Body= Alder
• Neck= Maple, Modern “C” Shape,*(Satin Polyurethane Finish)
• Fingerboard= Rosewood, 9.5” Radius (241 mm)
• No. of Frets= 22 Medium Jumbo Frets
• Pickups= 2 Atomic™ Humbucking Pickups (Neck, Bridge)
• Controls= Volume 1. (Neck Pickup), Tone 1. (Neck Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), 3-Position Toggle

The Verdict

My guitar comes built from Japan, as stated, but I was surprised to find some on E-bay that were “American” made too. Those are priced higher. It also appears that Fender is offering a new version of the Toronado. This guitar is a no-nonsense, no frills, solid performer. Straight off the shelf it’s a great playing and sounding guitar, with a hint of “classic” styling with a slight twist for those who want Leas Paul chunk instead of the typical Fender Twang. For the money, I recommend this guitar for beginners and pros alike who are looking for something a little different than the “tried and true” work-horses that we often gravitate to.

The only thing you need now is your Grandma's old Oldsmobile Toronado to load up your Fender Toronado on the way to your next gig!

Thanks for reading,

Mark Darnell

Groovebelly Productions

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