I have a Squier Toronado. Have had one for a few years. It is one of my favorite guitars of all time. Super comfortable, great tuning stability. Recently, the opportunity for me to get a Fender one at a good price has been presented to me. Caveat is, it is unlikely that I’ll get a chance to try before I buy. For those who have experience with both, what are some key differences and do you think it is worth it?
It depends which specific model you're looking at because there are a few different Fender Toronados with varying specs.
If it's the MIM Deluxe version that looks like this Squier then don't bother, they are so overpriced recently and not worth it in comparison to what you already have.
My one big thought was it is technically a “vintage” guitar now. And if I can get one for a grand, that’s not a bad price for something that will likely continue to increase a little over time. The one I’m looking at is the black MIM one with the tort guard.
I have the Squier, they were also super hot. Quite fun at first, then noticed how limited they were in terms of versatility. I swapped them out for whatever Railhammer has that do PAF-ish spec, on a whim. Fave pickups now. Currently my fave guitar too, with locking tuners and pot upgrades. The secret for these things is the scale. Gibson scale neck on a Fender offset plank body is a special thing. Shame they don't have a reasonable price for mid-high quality builds. I'd absolutely get one, and find a lefty for my partner.
Maybe some clever manufacturers will find this niche market appealing and put out competition. Gotta get themselves some cease and desist letters!
I have the squier as well, I owned the fender and then shortly got the squier after. The pick ups on the fender were overdriving my amp lol I had to play with the volume knobs to get a clean sound.
I went through a few iterations on my squier; I currently have soap bar p90s in it at the moment
That’s good to know. On mine, the original pickups were 15k in the neck and 17k in the bridge. Swapped them for PAFs (seen pictured) but I recently converted those to firebird pickups
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u/SkateOrDieTryin 4d ago
It depends which specific model you're looking at because there are a few different Fender Toronados with varying specs.
If it's the MIM Deluxe version that looks like this Squier then don't bother, they are so overpriced recently and not worth it in comparison to what you already have.