Eastwood Guitars is famous for their copies of rare guitars, and they're stepping into Prince territory with a Mad Cat model. Enough people put down deposits guitar sight unseen ($200) for it to get made, and finally they've released a prototype pic. I hope they think again about that pickguard before the final versions roll out...

crimesofparis said:

casi1 said:

crimesofparis said:

Eastwood Guitars is famous for their copies of rare guitars, and they're stepping into Prince territory with a Mad Cat model. Enough people put down deposits guitar sight unseen ($200) for it to get made, and finally they've released a prototype pic. I hope they think again about that pickguard before the final versions roll out...

Yeah that pickguard is questionable... I understand that the correct material is no longer available but there are closer patterns out there. I wonder how much this copy weighs and it’s fretboard radius. I held an original once and it was heavy as hell. I still wish the Estate could work out a deal with the original factory (to make maple bodies as opposed to ash) for same price as the Clouds.

And use the normal Telecaster style headstock instead of that weird hook headstock they're building.
It seems it's more a cheaper version of that $2700 remake from a couple of years ago with that hooky headstock (see image below) instead of the original with the normal Fender Telecaster headstock.

Remake:

Ack..Take my money!

Something was needed between the chinese knock offs and the Japanese Mad Cat's $3000. $1200 is not too bad but would need to know more about its weight, the pickups, electronics, tuners etc.

I cobbled my own build when I found a decently made body on Reverb by I guy who claimed to have made it himself. Added a custom made pickguard, Wilde Bill microcoil pickups, locking tuners and a cheap Might Mite neck and happy with it but weighs a ton (around 10lbs).

Tempted about this.

JorisE73 said:

Note - if true to the original it will weigh a tonne + to any novice...you will NOT sound like Prince anytime soon if purchasing!

Anyone know how many MadCats P actually had?

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

Note - if true to the original it will weigh a tonne + to any novice...you will NOT sound like Prince anytime soon if purchasing!

Why would it weigh a tonne?

[Edited 11/10/19 4:06am]

ian said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

Note - if true to the original it will weigh a tonne + to any novice...you will NOT sound like Prince anytime soon if purchasing!

Why would it weigh a tonne?

[Edited 11/10/19 4:06am]

if its made of the same wood & therefore true to the original....it will weigh a tonne! simple.

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

ian said:

Why would it weigh a tonne?

[Edited 11/10/19 4:06am]

if its made of the same wood & therefore true to the original....it will weigh a tonne! simple.

That's not correct. I make guitars in my spare time, honestly a block of the same species of wood can vary MASSIVELY in terms of weight. I've had ash telecasters that are really light, and ash telecasters that are really heavy. They vary so much.

My Madcat vintage reissue v2 is quite light for example.

[Edited 11/10/19 8:59am]

Sure but I've read the real Mad Cat from that era was about 10lbs which is pretty weighty by today's standards.

ian said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

if its made of the same wood & therefore true to the original....it will weigh a tonne! simple.

That's not correct. I make guitars in my spare time, honestly a block of the same species of wood can vary MASSIVELY in terms of weight. I've had ash telecasters that are really light, and ash telecasters that are really heavy. They vary so much.

My Madcat vintage reissue v2 is quite light for example.

[Edited 11/10/19 8:59am]

emesem said:

Sure but I've read the real Mad Cat from that era was about 10lbs which is pretty weighty by today's standards.

ian said:

That's not correct. I make guitars in my spare time, honestly a block of the same species of wood can vary MASSIVELY in terms of weight. I've had ash telecasters that are really light, and ash telecasters that are really heavy. They vary so much.

My Madcat vintage reissue v2 is quite light for example.

[Edited 11/10/19 8:59am]

both very valid points. My info is based on reviews of the original & also player reviews of the firts reissue from Honer a few years ago...I wanted the stunning black version but all reviews mentioned the weight etc.

Interesting that ash varies dramatically though.

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

Anyone know how many MadCats P actually had?

.
He bought two (one in late '79 and one in early '80). One originally came without the Hohner Limited Edition headstock inlay. Later he bought a HS Anderson-branded MadCat for spares (I guess that one was taken apart).
.
I believe that eventually he ended up with just the two original ones but from the late '80s onward he only really favoured one of them right until the end. Contrary to rumours he did not have replicas made (the Sadowsky-made guitars are not MadCat-replicas, they were Tele-copies).

.

Kares said:

PURPLEIZED3121 said:

Anyone know how many MadCats P actually had?

.
He bought two (one in late '79 and one in early '80). One originally came without the Hohner Limited Edition headstock inlay. Later he bought a HS Anderson-branded MadCat for spares (I guess that one was taken apart).
.
I believe that eventually he ended up with just the two original ones but from the late '80s onward he only really favoured one of them right until the end. Contrary to rumours he did not have replicas made (the Sadowsky-made guitars are not MadCat-replicas, they were Tele-copies).

.

The Sadowsky replicas were later Hohner TE Prinz (with the tortoise shell pickguard) replicas not true tele copies.
Somewhere in the 2000 Prince's people bought a couple of HS Anderson Madcats from a Dutch retailer (this was reported on back then on the radio here) who had an ancient stock left from the 70's/80's for assumably spare parts. Around 2008 some German guy who sold 2 HS Anderson MAdcats on eBay said he sold them to Paisley Park Enterprises.

[Edited 11/13/19 0:05am]

JorisE73 said:

Kares said:

.
He bought two (one in late '79 and one in early '80). One originally came without the Hohner Limited Edition headstock inlay. Later he bought a HS Anderson-branded MadCat for spares (I guess that one was taken apart).
.
I believe that eventually he ended up with just the two original ones but from the late '80s onward he only really favoured one of them right until the end. Contrary to rumours he did not have replicas made (the Sadowsky-made guitars are not MadCat-replicas, they were Tele-copies).

.

The Sadowsky replicas were later Hohner TE Prinz (with the tortoise shell pickguard) replicas not true tele copies.
Somewhere in the 2000 Prince's people bought a couple of HS Anderson Madcats from a Dutch retailer (this was reported on back then on the radio here) who had an ancient stock left from the 70's/80's for assumably spare parts. Around 2008 some German guy who sold 2 HS Anderson MAdcats on eBay said he sold them to Paisley Park Enterprises.

[Edited 11/13/19 0:05am]

.

You're right, the Sadowskys resembled the TE Prinz more than a Tele but I wouldn't use the word 'replica' at all, tbh.
And yes, I knew he bought at least one HS Anderson MadCat for spares, but thanks for the extra info.
.

It's funny though that the most fragile part of the MadCat is the celluloid pickguard, so you would think that it's something he must've replaced over the years with one from the HSA-branded models he bought much later, but no – on all the photos I've seen I can only identify 2 different sets of pickguard patterns and they are definitely unique, cannot be replicated with the same pattern. At one point during the '80s he has replaced the bridge pickguard on one MadCat with the bridge pickguard of the other one, but it was just a (deliberate or accidental) mixup between the two original ones he bought initially. But the two distinct pickguard sets were all I ever saw on photos, never seen a third one appear.

.
He did have a neck replaced in the mid-'80s though.

.

[Edited 11/13/19 1:13am]

Here's a link with lots of info from Hohner Madcat...love the Sexy MF guitar btw!

http://www.madcatguitars.com/

Sexy MF

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.

You Sexy MF'r!!!

Kares said: