- Vintage re-issue Mad Cat v2
- Sexy MF
- Limited Edition Mad Cat
- Discontinued
- History
- Reviews
- FAQ
- Where to buy
To honor the artist who made our brand iconic, we chose to release this new H.S. Anderson model on April 21st. As most Japanese manufacturers during the 70’s, H.S. Anderson didn’t only produce original models like the Mad Cat, Kite and Houston, but also ‘tribute’ guitars like the HS-4 singlecut.
Fast forward 40 years. The first ideas for what would ultimately become the Sexy MF came to the drawing table 4 years ago, and after years of research and testing prototypes it’s finally here.
The concept behind this model is the Japanese “Onkochisin”, which means :
“Developing new ideas based on study and learning from the past”
The Sexy MF was never meant to be the ultimate vintage-correct singlecut guitar, but it’s definitely not a modern recreation either.
Things we learned from the past and included are :
- Long neck tenon
- One piece mahogany body
- One piece plain maple top, or bookmatched 2-piece flame AAA maple top
- Indian rosewood fretboard
- Nitro non-glossy finish
- Monty’s Guitars UK PAF plus pickups
- Neck shape measured from an original ’58 which is slightly more comfortable than a typical ’59 shape
Things we felt we could improve :
- Gotoh locking tuners
- Non-bleached bone nut cut to perfection
- Rolled fretboard binding
- Passive master treble/bass controls replace individual tone controls
- No fret nibs
- Only quality hardware, from Gotoh, CTS, Sprague and Switchcraft
- Strategic tone chambers to improve acoustic properties rather than weight
Pickups
While other winders replicate one specific set of pickups, or design something based on a recorded sound, Matt from Monty’s Guitars, based in London, has worked on a lot of classic guitars belonging to the biggest names in the UK. Because of this experience, which includes working with A LOT of vintage PAF pickups, his own creations certainly deliver that ‘fat tele’ sound. His handmade pickups are being used by Mark Knopfler, Pete Townsend, Tim Pierce, etc. The pickups in the Sexy MF are a custom wound made exclusively for us, and needless to say, they sound fantastic.
2x Volume, Bass, Treble circuit
We kept the independent volume controls, but assigned the 2 other knobs to master treble, and master bass. The way the treble control is wired is similar to 50’s wiring, so expect useable sounds no matter where it’s set.
The bass control is completely passive, and gradually rolls of low-end energy. At 10, your tone remains unaffected.
Rolling back the bass control will give you clean sounds you haven’t heard from a LP yet, or filtertron-style twang, and even telecaster sounds are within easy reach. The bass control also excels with heavy fuzz or cranked amps to tame the mud.
The master treble and bass controls really expand the tonal palette in exciting new ways, while keeping all the classic sounds still within reach, unaffected. It’s also easily reversible by our dealers should you prefer more traditional control.
A lot happened since we first released the Vintage Re-Issue Mad Cat in 2012. Thanks to feedback from owners of original mad cats, our dealers and customers, we learned a lot. We also acquired another original Mad Cat from 1984, which was the basis for the second version of the Vintage Re-issue model and the Limited Edition Mad Cat.
This specific 1984 Mad Cat has a very comfortable neck profile, with a smooth rounded fingerboard.
Since our necks are made by hand, it was fairly easy to adjust to this new neck profile.
The 1984 pickups, although noisy, also sound fantastic. Even in the bridge position, which is positioned in a typical angle, almost parallel to the bridge.
We asked Heartbreaker pickups to clone the sound of these pickups, but without the noise, and they delivered.
Every guitar ships with an individual measurement of the pickups, compared to the reference curve.
The version 2 Mad Cat ships with a 4-way switch installed, which gives the following combinations :
Position 1 : both pickups in series
Position 2 : neck pickup
Position 3 : both pickups in parallal
Position 4 : bridge pickup
The leopard pickguard material we use is more durable than what was used on the original mad cats. Therefore, we decided to stop using a recessed output jack and went back to the original 70s style jack.
Specifications :
- Vintage Correct Re-issue of the original 1970’s H.S. Anderson / Hohner Mad Cats
- Handmade in Japan
- Walnut / Ash / Maple body construction
- All maple neck, 21 frets, C-shape
- 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
- Unique headstock shape
- 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
- Left-handed available at an extra charge, but with black headstock logo
- worldwide exclusive distribution by Amptec
Vintage re-issue Mad Cat, left-handed
Identical to the version 2 Re-Issue Mad Cat, with 2 exceptions.
The headstock logo is black not pearloid, and we use a different SKB case since the SKB-66 doesn’t fit the left-handed model.
All other features are identical.
Left-handed models are custom-order only, and slightly more expensive. Contact your local dealer for more details.
In 2017, we discovered a stash of European Sycamore from the 1980s in the Morris factory. Sycamore was used for the original 70’s mad cats, and has a different grain pattern from the north-American maple used in the ‘standard’ re-issue mad cats. Only 25 guitars will be built using this stock of wood, and will be individually numbered on the headstock.
Since 2012, we acquired another original Mad Cat from 1984, which was the basis for the second version of the Vintage Re-issue model and this Limited Edition Mad Cat.
This specific 1984 Mad Cat has a very comfortable neck profile, with a smooth rounded fingerboard.
Since our necks are made by hand, it was fairly easy to adjust to this new neck profile.
The 1984 pickups, although noisy, also sound fantastic. Even in the bridge position, which is positioned in a typical angle, almost parallel to the bridge.
We asked Heartbreaker pickups to clone the sound of these pickups, but without the noise, and they delivered.
Every guitar ships with an individual measurement of the pickups, compared to the reference curve.
The version 2 Mad Cat ships with a 4-way switch installed, which gives the following combinations :
Position 1 : both pickups in series
Position 2 : neck pickup
Position 3 : both pickups in parallal
Position 4 : bridge pickup
The leopard pickguard material we use is more durable than what was used on the original mad cats. Therefore, we decided to stop using a recessed output jack and went back to the original 70s style jack.
Specifications :
- Limited Edition of the Vintage Re-issue Mad Cat
- Individually numbered x/25 on the headstock, with a dedicated certificate of authenticity
- Handmade in Japan
- Walnut / Ash / Sycamore body construction (NOS 1980s Sycamore)
- All maple neck, 21 frets, C-shape
- 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
- Unique headstock shape
- Pearloid H.S. Anderson logo
- Stamped serial nrs on back of headstock
- Leopard pickguards, leopard output jack plate and black body binding
- SKB-66 case with full-length neck support
- No left-handed version available
- worldwide exclusive distribution by Amptec, only available through 4 dealers: Music Street UK, Mesa Boogie Hollywood, Max Guitar and Leo Caerts
Released in 2012, the original Mad Cat finally returned.
We tried our best to stay as close as possible to the original specifications. An original ‘70s Mad Cat was used as a reference model, and after extensive testing we finally settled to what we believe is a worthy successor, which even surpasses the original in some regards.
Subtle upgrades were performed :
Tuners were upgraded to Gotoh SG360 with a higher gear ratio
The original Keiyo pickups were upgraded to Bill Lawrence USA vintage S1/S3
The output jack is more sturdy, so no more signal drop-outs
All other specifications are equal to the ‘70s Mad Cats, we designed these guitars with the highest respect to the sound and feel of this legendary guitar.
Each one is hand built in the original Morris factory by Japanese craftsmen, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
Moridaira 45th anniversary Mad Cat (discontinued)
In 2009, Moridaira decided to celebrate its 45th anniversary with the release of a very limited production run of the Mad Cat.
Unlike the Vintage Re-Issue Mad Cat, the 45th anniversary had some modern features like a 280R (11” radius), Bill Lawrence USA T1-T2 tele pickups, modern-type bridge saddles, and leopard body binding.
It sounds and feels closer to a typical modern telecaster than a re-issue mad cat, mainly due to the pickup configuration.
The Moridaira Guitar company has been building quality handcrafted instruments in Nagano, Japan for a long time. Mr. Toshio Moridaira, the founder, was the first distributor in Japan to carry both Fender and Gibson lines. In 1964, due to his working relationship with Gibson, Mr. Moridaira was able to visit the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan. An employee at Gibson nicknamed him “Mori” at that time. In 1967, he founded the Morris Guitars company. He named it Morris, taken from the nickname given to him a while back. Morris produced copies of dreadnought and small jumbo models based on Martin and Gibson designs. To this day, Moridaira’s main production are Morris acoustic guitars.
Moridaira’s philosophy has always been to keep a continuing dialogue with musicians, and combined with the company’s expertise in acoustic sound technology, know-how in woods and electronics to produce instruments which push the boundaries.
Moridaira has been a leader in development with its fresh ideas and will continue pursuing the possibilities of creating new sounds with our superior technology and close contact to the artists, hereby contributing to the creation and the development of music.
Mad Cat History
In 1973, the H.S. Anderson brand was launched by Moridaira, and one of the employees Mr. Shiino Hidesato (HS) designed what would become an iconic guitar, the Mad Cat.
While most Japanese companies in the ‘70s produced copies from famous US-models, the Mad Cat was something completely unique. The body construction was based around a walnut center strip, with sen ash sides and tiger maple top and bottom.
The hardware and pickups were not what people would normally associate with a tele-type guitar, but is more similar to a hardtail strat-style guitar, and the unique leopard-style pickguards further distinguished the Mad Cat.
A little over 500 Mad Cats were made during the ‘70s, including a small batch made OEM for Hohner USA with a Hohner logo in the H.S. Anderson style.
Pop artist Prince discovered one of these rare guitars early on in his career, and used it live and on countless hit-records like Purple Rain, 1999, Controversy, etc. for over 30 years now.
Original vintage ‘70s Mad Cats are very rare and hard to find guitars, sought after by numerous collectors.
Gitarist review (dutch) :
Gitarist 338, mei 2019.
for more see www.gitarist.nl
Premier Guitar review :
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/H-S_Anderson_Mad_Cat_Electric_Guitar_Review
Grand gtrs review :
click here to download pdf
YouTube channel :
http://www.youtube.com/user/Madcatguitars/videos
Facebook page :
https://www.facebook.com/hsandersonguitars/
Prince’s guitar has a hohner logo?
Yes it has. H.S. Anderson built this guitar OEM for Hohner USA with a Hohner logo.
I have a Hohner The Prinz (or TE Prinz) guitar, was it built by Moridaira?
These guitars were built in Korea for Hohner, and are in no way affiliated with Moridaira / H.S. Anderson.
I’m left-handed, can I order a lefty Mad Cat?
Sure, but keep in mind we do not offer the
pearloid headstock logo on a lefty, only the
black logo.
Left-handed models are not stock items, so a
waiting period is inevitable. Please contact
your local dealer for pricing and delivery
times.
What’s the current delivery time?
Manufacturing a Mad Cat takes 8 weeks, and production numbers are small (only 6-7 pcs a month), so some waiting time might be an issue. Contact your local dealer for up to date info.
What’s the price of the Vintage Re-issue Mad Cat?
Contact your local dealer for pricing.
I don’t like these vintage saddles, the screws hurts when palm-muting with the right-hand.
A set of modern-type saddles will be included with every Mad Cat. They will give you a bit more sustain, with slightly less harmonic content. Ask you dealer to set up your Mad Cat with these saddles for you.
What type of strings are on my Mad Cat?
The factory ships all Mad Cats with GHS Boomers 10-46.
Do you also sell original ‘70s Mad Cats?
These guitars are very hard to find, a little over 500 pcs were made. We currently don’t have any for sale.
Germany :
ProMusicTools
www.promusictools.com
Sudetendeutschestr. 8a, 80937 Munich
info [at] promusictools.com
Phone : +49 89 54784657
United Kingdom :
Music Street Guitars Ltd
www.musicstreet.co.uk
10 Chequers Court
Huntingdon
PE29 3LF
Contact : Andy Childs (Sales & Marketing Manager)
sales [at] musicstreet.co.uk
Phone : 01480 431222
Australia :
Found Sound
foundsound.com.au
155 Elgin St (Via Markov Place)
Carlton VIC 3053
Contact : Lewis Boyes
Phone : +61 (0) 407 462 223
The Netherlands :
Max Guitar
https://max.guitars/en-eu/
Doctor Lelykade 12 - 2583 CM Den Haag
Contact: Robbert van der Ende
robb [at] maxguitar.nl
Phone : +31 (0) 70 4490333
The fellowship of acoustics
www.tfoa.eu/en/
Moerheimstraat 144
7701 CJ Dedemsvaart
Info [at] tfoa.eu
Phone : +31 (0) 523-232205
Belgium :
Leo Caerts Rockstore
www.leocaerts.be
Naamsestraat 90-94 - 3000 Leuven
Contact: Leo
rockstore [at] leocaerts.be
Phone : +32 (0) 16 230777
Omega Music
https://www.omega.be/
Av. J. Wauters, 143
B-7000 Mons
Info [at] omega.be
Phone : +32 (0) 65-35.51.71
The Guitar bar
https://theguitarbar.be/en/
Lange Koepoortstraat 63
2000 Antwerpen
Info [at] theguitarbar.be
Phone : +32 (0) 3 232 00 29
Austria :
Musik Hammer
www.musikhammer.at
Storchgasse 4 – 8020 Graz
Contact: Hannes Hammer
Gitarre [at] musikhammer.at
Phone : +43 316-72200013
For general questions, or dealer inquiries, contact info@hsanderson.eu