Product details
Product Description
The Mad Cat reissue Version 2: A faithful rendition of the classic
The Japanese-built Mad Cat is impeccably crafted throughout. The all-maple neck with 21 vintage medium frets, 9.4" radius, bone nut and Gotoh SG360 tuners. The Mad Cat is outfitted with Heartbraker custom-made pickups and sports a medium C neck-profile that has a familiar vintage feel that’s very comfortable.The body is crafted out of walnut and ash featuring a highly-figured maple top and bottom, as well as top and back binding. The super-shiny polyurethane lacquer finish exudes a luxurious image that is nicely offset by the leopard-print pickguard that is very similar to the original (H.A. Anderson says the material’s supplier is no longer around and that the new version warps less).
Prince and Mad Cat
Prince will probably always be most associated with his H.S. Anderson-designed Hohner T-style that he used on albums like Purple Rain, 1999, and Musicology. Prince’s Hohner is a Japanese version of the H.S. Anderson Mad Cat, which was released in 1973 by the Morris company. The über-rare originals (there were only a little more than 500 produced) fetch top dollar whenever they pop up. This reissue is the best version ever produced.
In addition to his sheer musical genius, Prince has always had an eye for style. And as any experienced axe-spotter knows, it didn’t stop with the Purple Dandy’s amazing suits. His David Rusan-built cloud guitar and Jerry Auerswald-built symbol guitars became some of Prince’s most identifiable style trademarks. But though those larger-than-life guitars were among the flashiest of his accoutrements, Prince will probably always be most associated with his comparatively pedestrian H.S. Anderson-designed Hohner T-style that he used on albums like Purple Rain, 1999, andMusicology.
The Hohner’s subdued style had a way of enhancing the mystery around it. It wasn’t a vintage Fender, and yet one of the most inventive and ripping guitarists of the day was doing major damage with the thing—there had to be more going on than meets the eye. Indeed, Prince’s Hohner was more than just another cheap Fender knock-off. In fact, Prince’s Hohner is a Japanese version of the H.S. Anderson Mad Cat, which was released in 1973 by the Morris company. The über-rare originals (there were only a little more than 500 produced) fetch top dollar whenever they pop up, but there have been quasi copycats under various brands over the years, too.
Over the years, Hohner released several versions of the guitar—Prince’s Japanese version and a Korean incarnation made by Cort. In 2009, Morris got back into the action and released a limited run of the Mad Cat to commemorate the company’s 45th anniversary. But more recently, the original manufacturers, Moridaira Japan released the definitive H.S. Anderson Vintage Reissue Mad Cat. The reissue is handmade in small batches of about seven instruments a month in Japan at the original factory.
H.S. Anderson Mad Cat Vintage Re-issue Version 2 Features:
Vintage Correct Re-issue of the original 1970’s H.S. Anderson / Hohner Mad Cats
Handmade in Japan
Walnut / Ash / Maple body construction
Vintage correct bridge pickup position (see picture)
All maple neck, 21 frets, C-shape, rolled fretboard edge
42,8mm nut width, 240R (9,4”) Radius
2mm (0,0787”) x 1mm (0,0394”) vintage frets
2 string retainers
Gotoh GTC102 Hardtail Bridge, Callaham USA vintage bent-steel saddles (also included are extra Gotoh modern type saddles), 10,5mm string spacing
Gotoh SG360 Machine Heads, 1:14 gear ratio
Heartbreaker custom-made pickups with individual measurement report
1 volume control, 1 tone control, 4-way switch
Polyurethane lacquer, custom made for Moridaira, color matched to 1984 Mad Cat
Pearloid H.S. Anderson logo
Stamped serial nr on back of headstock
Leopard pickguards, leopard output jack plate and black body binding
SKB-66 case with full-length neck support