Gear Review: Sunspot guitarist and singer Ben Jaeger on his Fender Toronado with P-90 pickups

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Ben Jaeger, guitarist and singer with the Wisconsin based rock band Sunspot. The group definitely has a unique sound that I feel sets them apart from others in the genre and Jaeger was more than happy to speak with me about how he achieves it. Here is what he had to say about his Fender Toronado with P-90 pickups.

What one piece of gear do you use to obtain your signature sound?
Ben: A Fender Toronado with P-90 pickups.

What about it makes it so important to you?
Ben: It has that distinctive Fender clean sound and is distortion-friendly. It has enough bite for rhythm playing, but smooth neck pickups and plenty of sustain for leads. Being the only guitarist, I need a guitar that does both leads and rhythm very well.

What are the major pros and cons?
Ben: Pros – holds tuning, versatile, great clean sound, great rhythm sound, good tone in all ranges. Cons – there are other guitars that you can get hotter metal distortion. Not crazy about the plastic knobs. I might swap them for some textured metal ones.

How long have you had it, how do you use it, would you ever change it?
Ben: I have had the guitar for around 6 years. I use it at every show and most recordings. I would never change it, though I would of course explore other guitars.

Check out the song: “Deus Ex Machina”