Is a Toronado worth it?

Peter Bond · Post by **Peter Bond** » Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:04 pm

There is a Toronado for sale on the NHS intranet where I work. There are no pictures, it says nothing about the year or anything. Just says "Red. Good condition Â£350. Selling because I am emigrating".

Having never played one I wouldn't know the what they are like so I thought I'd ask around here for some opinions. The seller doesn't work on the same site as me so I have to arrange a meet to have a proper look/play of it but I wouldn't really want to do that unless I was serious about buying, this is because I'm a lazy twat and cant be arsed ringing and going somewhere or doing anything.

In theory, is it worth it or do they suck?

James · Post by **James** » Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:14 pm

There are a few models that could be.

Made in Korea GT - Fran has/had one. Solid guitar but probably worth more like Â£250

Earlier MIM version - Going to play a fair but like a decent MIM model, maybe even feel a little like a MIJ. Maybe worth Â£300-400

I think this one is MIA - my guess is worth more like Â£500

Those prices are complete guesses. They're good 'workhorse' type guitars if you're into the pickup setup they have. The TOM ones feel very much like a Fender with a big body and Gibson hardware, the one with the musicmaster style bridge probably feels a bit more Fender like. Again not certain but I think they're all 24.75" scale.

James · Post by **James** » Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:17 pm

My guess is it's probably the one with the stripes and is a bit overpriced but either of the other style would be worth it I think.

Some decent info in this thread at

.

Peter Bond · Post by **Peter Bond** » Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:27 pm

Thanks. Yeah I thought it would probably one like that but I might give her an email just to see. I think the stripe looks a bit stupid really, makes it look incredibly tacky.

aen · Post by **aen** » Mon Jun 17, 2013 9:05 pm

I only like the MIM ones. But I like em plenty!

StevePirates · Post by **StevePirates** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 1:44 am

Peter Bond wrote:Thanks. Yeah I thought it would probably one like that but I might give her an email just to see. I think the stripe looks a bit stupid really, makes it look incredibly tacky.

I'm a sucker for a racing stripe. Esquire GT, compstangs, pawnshop mustang bass.... whatevs man, you put a stupid stripe on it, and I want it 20% more than I previously did.

iCEByTes · Post by **iCEByTes** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 3:08 am

they GT is Awsome , i played on one years ago

itÂ´s looks like a fender but itÂ´s sounds like something-not-a-fender
itÂ´s sounds amazing Warm something close a gibson
but cleans not bad.
neck is comfy , frets on good size not too thin not too big.
the profile is not a Super Baseball bat or a super thin mustang , is something like a nice C

i think the owner changed the bridge to Gotoh Tune-o-matic duo rust on original , no idea what happned
anyway the Gotoh Bridge he put was super stable , playing for hours not even single not was out tune.
tuners was original was good to setup.

pickups are JB and 59" , they are good at his own.

matte30is · Post by **matte30is** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 3:26 am

I like the orange toronados. They are pretty rare. I should have bought one back in the day.

Peter Bond · Post by **Peter Bond** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 9:36 am

I'm a sucker for a racing stripe. Esquire GT, compstangs, pawnshop mustang bass.... whatevs man, you put a stupid stripe on it, and I want it 20% more than I previously did.[/quote]

I like compstangs and that but there is just something about it on the toro that doesn't sit right with me.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 1:20 pm

[laughs] Funny that, I have access to the same intranet! Talk about coincidences...

It's a bit of a shame that there are no pics - all I'm seeing now is the same vague ad you're seeing. I'd recommend you contact the seller for more info...if only to take the temptation away from me if you do buy it. The last thing I want just as I'm about to move into a new flat is another bout of GAS!

Peter Bond · Post by **Peter Bond** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:17 pm

Concretebadger wrote:[laughs] Funny that, I have access to the same intranet! Talk about coincidences...

It's a bit of a shame that there are no pics - all I'm seeing now is the same vague ad you're seeing. I'd recommend you contact the seller for more info...if only to take the temptation away from me if you do buy it. The last thing I want just as I'm about to move into a new flat is another bout of GAS!

South Tees NHS? I emailed her but she hasn't got back to me yet.

robert(original) · Post by **robert(original)** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 2:38 pm

i wouldn't pay more than 400.00 for a mint with a case toronado(usd)
i have personal exp with 2, they are great lil work horse guitars, but they aren't reallly my cup of tea. pretty straight ahead rockers tho.

Post by **dots** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 5:26 pm

i miss my toronado (it was like the third pic in james' post). brilliant sounds and great neck.

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:11 pm

Peter Bond wrote:
Concretebadger wrote:[laughs] Funny that, I have access to the same intranet! Talk about coincidences...

It's a bit of a shame that there are no pics - all I'm seeing now is the same vague ad you're seeing. I'd recommend you contact the seller for more info...if only to take the temptation away from me if you do buy it. The last thing I want just as I'm about to move into a new flat is another bout of GAS!
South Tees NHS? I emailed her but she hasn't got back to me yet.

Yep. I work at the Northallerton end, but there are quite a few people - in my department at least - who go between the sites quite frequently. From what I saw of the ad, e.g. spelling the brand name wrong, it looks like a family member is selling it on the owner's behalf.

I must admit the Coronado looks nice...like Fender's take on the SG or something. One of the guys from Explosions in the Sky plays one iirc, but that's all I know about them.

jbuonacc · Post by **jbuonacc** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:06 pm

Concretebadger wrote:I must admit the Coronado looks nice...like Fender's take on the SG or something.

yeah, i can totally see that... or something.

Peter Bond · Post by **Peter Bond** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 7:32 pm

I didn't even notice the spelling mistake. I work in the labs at James Cook

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:01 pm

jbuonacc wrote:
Concretebadger wrote:I must admit the Coronado looks nice...like Fender's take on the SG or something.
yeah, i can totally see that... or something.

I was referring to the scale length, 2xhumbuckers/4x knobs and hardtail bridge. It's kinda cool if you want the SG scale length and circuitry in a Fender shaped body I guess.

@Peter: coincidentally, I work in the labs in Northallerton.

There are a couple of other guitarist types in the department, but the ones I know seem to choose Gibsons over Fender shortscales. I haven't seen many guitars for sale on the intranet, but TBH I didn't expect to see many so never paid it much attention. It might be worth looking into this Coronado, although if the seller doesn't know much about it they probably don't have a clear idea of the guitar's value either. Which could make haggling tricky!

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:02 pm

The GT model is a great guitar, high spec with a solid tone similar to a good Gibson SG. The MIM model is a bit meh as far as sounds go but was more popular because it was more Fender looking than the GT.

I sold mine for Â£400 three years ago, Â£350 is a decent price as they pop up on ebay around Â£500.

BobArsecake · Post by **BobArsecake** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:28 pm

Fran wrote:The GT model is a great guitar, high spec with a solid tone similar to a good Gibson SG. The MIM model is a bit meh as far as sounds go but was more popular because it was more Fender looking than the GT.

I sold mine for Â£400 three years ago, Â£350 is a decent price as they pop up on ebay around Â£500.

Yeah, I would have thought it'd be relatively easy to get rid of without losing money if you didn't like it.

Peter Bond · Post by **Peter Bond** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 10:32 pm

I'm micro so we got all of the friarage lot over here last year. Guitar types at your end? I never bring up guitars here because I can't stand the blank faces. Do you ever go cross site?