Squier Paranormal Toronado. Am I Surprised?

This guitar has been out since 2020 but I never really thought it'd be interesting enough to review. I remember the original but I'd forgotten the somewhat unique features that makes it worth a look. Two humbucking pickups, a 24.75 inch scale, and a volume and tone knob for each pickup might make this appealing for Gibson and Fender fans alike.
Here I talk about it's strengths and weaknesses, and give the guitar a workout. I demo the tones both raw, and played to a backing track.

[@FrazySting]

Love the Paranormal series. They really offer something unique but still sound awesome. Thanks, Leonard.

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

I agree they’ve done a nice job with this series. Thanks for watching.

[@bryonmartin9221]

Great vid of what this guitar is all about! Thanks!

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Thanks so much, and thanks for watching.

[@dcamnc1]

I want one of these for some reason.

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

They are fun to play for not a lot of money. Thanks for watching.

[@SquirrelDarling1]

Be prepared to change the pickups, very microphonic.

[@caseylee12]

I just bought one (same color you have) from my friend at work for $100. What a great guitar! My favorite things about it are the 2 volume and 2 tone controls and the Gibson scale length. I think i got a deal.

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Well that’s a heck of a deal. Nice. Thanks for watching.

[@TheBoboMaker]

I got one in January, love it. It only needed a set up and some polishing of the frets around the 10th to 15th frets. I went to the store looking for an offset Fender MIM or MIA. Tried everything they had in the store, nothing spoke to me. Had never even thought of getting a Squier. But I was there and decided to pick it up. Played it for an hour and realized I was in love. My 2 favourite guitars are a Hot Rod 52 anniversary Tele reissue and a MIM 72 Thinline reissue. I've barely picked them up since.

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Yes, it’s been interesting. I’ve mentioned I had literally never picked up any Squier before starting this channel a couple years ago, and I’ve been impressed just how good they are. They may not cost a couple grand, but if you can’t sound good on one, well, I’d say it ain’t the guitar. Thanks so much for watching.

[@TheBoboMaker]

@@leonardgriffieblues5845 the best part is I had 175$ in gift cards and I got a 50$ gift card for the purchase. The guitar ended up costing me only 400$ Canadian. Which makes it the cheapest electric I've ever bought.

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

@@TheBoboMaker Well that’s quite he bonus.

[@danreid6712]

I'm diggin' my lake placid blue one...truly versatile & fun to play. Rock on, Daddy-O !

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Nice. Thanks for watching. 😎

[@TimmyJoePCTech]

I recently tuned up an original MIM in wine red for a buddy of mine. He hadn't cleaned it since 1999 because man was it grimy. But as soon as It was clean and set up I fell in love with it. It's the true definition of "if Fender made a Les Paul" in my opinion. I find the shape feels more natural than a LP body too, some can cut in to your wrist at the binding but no this body feels so smooth. The pickups in it were killer too, sounded a lot like 57 classics. I am now on the hunt for a Squire Toronado and I appreciate your feedback as I was really hoping the Squire kept the same feeling of quality. Thanks man!

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

I wish I could tell you something about how they’d compare, but I have no experience with the original MIM Toronado. The Squier, like a lot of modern Squiers, was a solid enough instrument that’s plenty gig worthy with a good setup, and, of course, inexpensive enough that even if you wanted to make some upgrades it’d still be pretty affordable.

[@lucifersam7771]

Ya know Len I've recently (11mths) picked up two Squires. First a Contemporary Strat that had all kinds of hardware fit problems, that now plays a dream next was Stratosonic which was perfect out the package, So yes ya never know; esp. with mail order! Always enjoy your perspective.

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Yes, consistency isn’t the strong suit with these inexpensive guitars, but so far, problems have been minor and easily fixable. Between you and me, I’ve actually seen more serious (ie: difficult to fix) problems with some expensive guitars. Thanks for watching.

[@dmac3316]

Cool video! I like these guitars. Played one at my local store and thought it was great.

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Nice. Other than some of the factory setups, Squier is doing some good things these days. Thanks for watching.

[@johnwalsh3919]

Another great video Leonard , cool guitar now I want one, it sounds fantastic in the right hands 👍have a great weekend ✌️🧷🎸

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Thank you my friend.

[@philnewton2011]

Monster playing!

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Thank you my friend.

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

It is nearly Halloween, so… 😂

[@guitarzan0515]

Dang Grif, you could make a Dead Skunk sound good! That’s a pretty cool sounding Guitar. Great playing as always!! Thx!!👍🤙

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Oh yeah, in my college orchestra, I was first chair dead skunk. 😆

[@stevemiller1203]

Hey Leonard, have you had a chance to look at the Vox V90 Bobcat?

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

I have not. It does look interesting though.

[@stevemiller1203]

@@leonardgriffieblues5845 yeah, especially at $499 with a hard case. I have a red one but I may pick up a black one at that price, a year ago street price was $1499

[@toperplay9716]

what is better, this or affinity series tele?

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Nothing at all wrong with either but I would consider this a step up. Thanks for watching.

[@safetydan97]

I always wanted one of these, but I'm a lefty so it will have to stay a dream.

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

Oh, that’s a shame. Seems weird that a guitar made in such quantities isn’t available as a lefty. Hopefully that’ll change. Thanks for watching.

[@SwedishMeattball]

quit calling this cheap you elitist😂 it cost 30 dollars more than an epiphone les paUl standard the nicest epiphone les paul they make this is not just a beginner guitar

[@leonardgriffieblues5845]

LOL. I’m going to assume you’re joking, because if you watch my videos, you know I never say any of those things. In fact, I’ve never call a guitar “cheap”. And I’ve never referred to any guitar I’ve reviewed as a beginner guitar. Those do exist though. They come in a box with a little solid state amp and usually a cord and a strap and are meant for young people just starting out. If you watch my channel, you’ll know I’ve been impressed with just how gig worthy these Squiers are, or can be with a good setup.