The Fender Toronado was an

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

made by

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC, or simply Fender) is an American manufacturer and marketer of musical instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment; however, it is b ...

. Introduced at the

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual trade show in the United States organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which describes it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

in 1998, it is a part of the "Deluxe Series" of Fenders produced in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, generally to higher specs than most "Standard" models.

Design

The Toronado features two Fender Atomic

humbucking Mains hum, electric hum, cycle hum, or power line hum is a sound associated with alternating current which is twice the frequency of the mains electricity. The fundamental frequency of this sound is usually double that of the local power-line fre ...

pickups, a

rosewood Rosewood is any of a number of richly hued hardwoods, often brownish with darker veining, but found in other colours. It is hard, tough, strong, and dense. True rosewoods come from trees of the genus '' Dalbergia'', but other woods are often ca ...

fretboard, and four chrome knobs (2 volume and 2 tone). Many models also include a tortoise-shell pickguard. The

headstock A headstock or peghead is part of a guitar or similar stringed instruments such as a lute, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and others of the lute lineage. The main function of a headstock is to house the tuning pegs or other mechanism that holds the s ...

features the Fender "spaghetti" logo and sports vintage style Gotoh/Kluson tuners. The body shape shadows the designs of Fender's

Jazzmaster The Fender Jazzmaster is an electric guitar designed as a more expensive sibling of the Fender Stratocaster. First introduced at the 1958 NAMM Convention, it was initially marketed to jazz guitarists, but found favor among surf rock guitarist ...

and

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

guitars. The Toronado also has a 24.75" scale length—an unusual feature on a Fender guitar, as this scale length is usually associated with electric guitars manufactured by Gibson. Fender Toronado CTP90

The Toronado was reissued in 2004. This reissue has several differences from '98–'03 models, featuring more modern colors like Midnight Blue, Caramel Metallic, Blizzard Pearl and Chrome Red. The pickups are also open-coil as opposed to the covered

humbucker A humbucker, humbucking pickup, or double coil, is a guitar pickup that uses two wire coils to cancel out noisy interference from Single coil guitar pickup, coil pickups. Humbucking coils are also used in Microphone, dynamic microphones to can ...

s featured on the earlier models. The 2004 models were discontinued in 2006 and are rare due to their short 2-year production span. The Fender Toronado GT HH (05–06) was crafted in Korea, sporting a mahogany body with SH1N (neck) and SH14 (bridge)

Seymour Duncan Seymour Duncan is an American company best known for manufacturing guitar and Bass (guitar), bass Pickup (music technology), pickups. They also manufacture effects pedals which are designed and assembled in United States. Guitarist and luthier ...

humbuckers. It was part of Fender's "Big Block" series. The guitar came in metallic finishes with a painted headstock and a racing stripe in a reverse L shape going from the left side of the body to the upper right horn. Unlike other variants of the Toronado, it has no

pickguard A pickguard (also known as a scratchplate) is a piece of plastic or other (often laminated) material that is placed on the body of a guitar, mandolin or similar plucked string instrument. The main purpose of the pickguard is to protect the guita ...

. Fender also made US Special and Highway One Toronado models, featuring Atomic II humbucking pickups or Black Dove

P-90 The P-90 (sometimes written P90) is a single coil electric guitar pickup produced by Gibson Guitar Corporation since 1946, as well as other vendors. Compared to other single coil designs, such as the Fender single coil, the bobbin for a P-90 ...

style pickups. These models were available in a number of finishes, including Butterscotch Blonde, Black, Chrome Silver, Pewter Grey Metallic and Crimson Red Transparent. Later models were upgraded to feature a Fender Tech-Tonic one-piece wrap-around bridge and black headstock. Both the US Special and Highway One Toronado models were discontinued in 2004. Also around this time, Fender produced a short run of set neck Toronados out of Korea. The Toronado CT P90 featured a mahogany body with carved maple tops and were available in different sunburst colors. As of January 2007, all Toronado variants had been discontinued by Fender. In 2020, Fender's budget brand

Squier Squier is an American brand of electric guitars owned by Fender. The former manufacturing company, established as "V. C. Squier Company" was founded in 1890 by Victor Carroll Squier in Battle Creek, Michigan, producing strings for violins, ban ...

reissued the Toronado as part of its Paranormal Series. The new model was available in black or Lake Placid blue, with an Indian Laurel fingerboard. In 2021, these finishes were replaced with 3-tone sunburst and Mystic Seafoam.

Notable Toronado players

* Mariko Gotō (

Midori Midori (みどり, ミドリ, , , ) is the Japanese word for "green" and may refer to: Places * Midori, Gunma * Midori-ku, Chiba * Midori-ku, Nagoya * Midori-ku, Sagamihara * Midori-ku, Saitama * Midori-ku, Yokohama People Given name * M ...

) *

Aaron Turner Aaron Turner (born November 5, 1977) is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands Sumac (band), SUMAC and Isis ...

(

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

) * Al English (

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) * Alex Fischel (

Spoon A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...

) *

Alex Kapranos Alexander Paul Kapranos (born 20 March 1972) is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and lead guitarist of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand. He has also been a part of the supergroups FFS and BNQT. Early life Alexander Paul Kapranos ...

(

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Fran ...

) *Bill Campbell ( The Throes) *

Brian Molko Brian Molko (born 10 December 1972) is a British-American musician who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist of the band Placebo (band), Placebo. He is known for his nasal voice and high registered vocals, feminine/androgynous appearance ...

(

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

) *

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is a British Rock music, rock and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist from Middlesbrough. Known for his distinctive voice and his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty-five studio albums, ...

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes (band), Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos (band), Desaparecidos, the Faint (previou ...

( Bright Eyes) *

Jim Root James Donald Root (born October 2, 1971) is an American guitarist. He is one of two guitarists for heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #4, as well as the former lead guitarist for rock band Stone Sour. Life and career Ro ...

(

Slipknot The slip knot is a stopper knot which is easily undone by pulling the tail ( working end). The slip knot is related to the running knot, which will release when the standing end is pulled. Both knots are identical and are composed of a slipp ...

) *

Joe Trohman Joseph Mark Trohman (born September 1, 1984) is an American musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the American rock band Fall Out Boy,Joe Bosso.The Fall Guy. ''Guitar World''. January 2009. 47–50. as well as t ...

(

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

) * Liam Lynch * Giulio Signorotto (

I Am Sonic Rain I Am Sonic Rain are an instrumental and post-rock band from Treviso, Italy. They formed in 2001 in Treviso, Italy. They have released two albums on Deep Elm Records. They are made up of Giulio Signorotto (guitar), Francesco Vettor (guitar), Marc ...

) * Loren Rivera (

Whirr Whirr (originally known as Whirl) is an American shoegaze band from Modesto, California. Formed in 2010, the group currently consists of vocalist and guitarist Loren Rivera, guitarists Nick Bassett and Joseph Bautista, bassist Eddie Salgado, an ...

) *Mark Smith ( Explosions in the Sky) *

Frank Iero Frank Anthony Iero, Jr. (, born October 31, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist of the rock band My Chemical Romance and as a guitarist in the supergr ...

(

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

) *

Truls Heggero Lukestar was an indie rock band based in Oslo, Norway. , the band was signed to the label 'Tuba Records', among others. They are known for their musical fusion of hardcore punk and indie rock. Biography The band was formed in 1995 under the n ...

(

Lukestar Lukestar was an indie rock band based in Oslo, Norway. , the band was signed to the label 'Tuba Records', among others. They are known for their musical fusion of hardcore punk and indie rock. Biography The band was formed in 1995 under the n ...

) *

Vic Fuentes Victor Vincent Fuentes (born February 10, 1983) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the post-hardcore band Pierce the Veil, which he formed with his brother Mike Fuentes in 2006. Early life F ...

(

Pierce the Veil Pierce the Veil is an American rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 2006. It was founded by brothers Vic Fuentes, Vic and Mike Fuentes (musician), Mike Fuentes after the disbanding of Before Today, which formed out of the San Diego Pu ...

) * Neige (

Alcest Alcest () is a French post-black metal band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige (musician), Neige (Stéphane Paut). It began in 2000 as a black metal solo project by Neige, then became a trio, but members Aegnor and Argoth left the ...

) * Mike Duce ( Lower Than Atlantis) * Neill Fraser (

Villainy Villainy may refer to: * the activities or character of a villain * Villainy (band), an alternative rock band from New Zealand * Villainy Inc., fictional characters who battle Wonder Woman * "Villainy", a song by Local Natives from the 2016 album ' ...

) *

Don Henley Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician who is a founding member of the rock band the Eagles, for whom he is the drummer and co-lead vocalist, as well as its sole continuous member. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles ...

* Toby Lind ( Redwood Hill) *Allen Hudson ( Allen Hudson and The Halfmoons)

References

{{Fender guitars Toronado Musical instruments invented in the 1990s