Not taking into account the Korean '80s Hohner, in over 30 years there has never been a re-issue of P's favourite axe, until now...

I'm pretty proud to announce the final specs of the H.S. Anderson vintage re-issue Mad Cat guitar!

- 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
- Bill Lawrence USA S1 & S3 pickups
- 1 volume control, 1 tone control, 3-way switch
- Polyurethane lacquer, custom made for Moridaira
- Unique headstock shape
- Pearloid H.S. Anderson logo
- Stamped serial nr on back of headstock
- Leopard pickguards and black body binding
- SKB-66 case with full-length neck support
- Left-handed available at an extra charge, but with black headstock logo
- exclusive model for Europe

This store already has a preview online:

http://maxguitarstore.com...uctID=9103

Some eye-candy of the prototype (the final version will have a pearloid headstock logo):

[img:$uid]http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w395/vlammie/Vintage%20re-issue%20Mad%20Cat/MadCatVintageReissue18.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w395/vlammie/Vintage%20re-issue%20Mad%20Cat/MadCatVintageReissue08.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w395/vlammie/Vintage%20re-issue%20Mad%20Cat/MadCatVintageReissue04.jpg[/img:$uid]

If you think it's expensive, keep in mind it's handmade in japan, with USA pickups and saddles, really a hi-end guitar from the same factory that made Prince's Hohner in the 1970's.

The first ones will be available in november 2012, but the factory can only produce 6-7 pcs a month, so there will be some waiting time.

There was a limited edition 45th annviersary model produced between 2009-2012, but this model is closer to vintage specs (black binding, vintage saddles, strat pickups, ...), and it's also not a limited edition.

I co-designed this model, and used my '79 Mad Cat as a reference, so I'm really curious about your opinions on this.

nice, but too expensive for me

Yea, it's really nice. But kind of expensive.

Still, would really love to have one though to add it to the collection. And yes, I play and it would be put to use.

Why did you use the Bill Lawrence pickups and not the Kinman pickups later installed in his?

jpnyc said:

Why did you use the Bill Lawrence pickups and not the Kinman pickups later installed in his?

Well, according to www.madcat.ch, he doesn't use kinman's but regular fender vintage noiseless.

Using those is a no-no, and I actually think the BL's are better than these. (I have VN's in my strat)

Anyhow, the pickups are not the biggest contributor to 'the sound' in this case, it's really the wood construction. My old '79 Mad Cat actualy has very weak pickups (and pretty noisy), but it still sounds good nevertheless.

THere's also another connection, in the '80s Mad Cats were made by Moridaira under the Bill Lawrence brand, with gold hardware, tele pickups, hook shaped headstock, so we thought these pickups would be a good choice.

What I like about these pickups in a Mad Cat is that changing the pickup height can have a dramastic influence on the sound, so play with this and adjust to what you like.

I hope you could give it a try someday...

Thanks for the info. I wish I had the money for one of these. It really does look like a great tribute to a great guitar.

The prototype is finished!

I'm really proud of it, and it's a fantastic instrument, not only for prince-fans.

sneak peek:

[img:$uid]http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w395/vlammie/Vintage%20re-issue%20Mad%20Cat/MadCatprototypecut.jpg[/img:$uid]

We' re working on a official website, I'll post more info when it's finished.

Some close-ups, showing the vintage correct knobs and switch (attention to detail!):

[img:$uid]http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w395/vlammie/Vintage%20re-issue%20Mad%20Cat/madcatprototypeCU1.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w395/vlammie/Vintage%20re-issue%20Mad%20Cat/madcatprototypeCU2.jpg[/img:$uid]

Did I mention it sounds great?

There a huge orange drop cap inside, 600V rating.

didnt the original madcat have black writing?

i'd prefer one that said hohner with the same pickups as prince uses, and about an eighth of that price. let me know if you can make that happen

unique said:

didnt the original madcat have black writing?

i'd prefer one that said hohner with the same pickups as prince uses, and about an eighth of that price. let me know if you can make that happen

the '70s Mad Cats had black writing, in the '80s they used pearloid with a black line around it too.

Prince's Hohner had pearloid, so I thought it would be a nice thing on the re-issue.

We couldn't copy the headstock shape, so 100% correct was out of the question anyway...

I heard Prince uses Fender Vintage noiseless strat pickups, so you can put those in. (I have those in my strat, and think the Bill Lawrence's are nicer, but to each his own).

The price is what it is... it's built in Japan, handmade, and it takes 8 weeks to build one. Add to that shipping costs, import duties, the low € (compared to the Yen), and european VAT (19% in holland) and you'll end up at this price point.

It's in the same league as the cheapest Fender Custom Shop offerings, not talking team-buit etc.

If you take into account how exclusive these are, I think the price is justified.

I bought a 45th anniversary myself, and will take one of the re-issues too, so to me they are definately worth it, but I agree it's not a cheap guitar.

you should send me a sample and i'll review it and give it a good home next to my hohner and see if they will make little tele babies

vlammie said:

Some close-ups, showing the vintage correct knobs and switch (attention to detail!):

[img:$uid]http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w395/vlammie/Vintage%20re-issue%20Mad%20Cat/madcatprototypeCU1.jpg[/img:$uid]

Looks great, but my Hohner HG490 Mad Cat, which is all original save for the pick ups which are Kinmans, has a round cap on the pick up switch like on your first pic in your first post.

I don't know about the switch on an H.S. Anderson Mad Cat, but did that one have a standard Telecaster pick up switch??

Because if so then this isn't a proper Hohner reissue but a standard H.S. Anderson Mad Cat reissue...

Neversin.

Neversin said:

vlammie said:

Some close-ups, showing the vintage correct knobs and switch (attention to detail!):

[img:$uid]http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w395/vlammie/Vintage%20re-issue%20Mad%20Cat/madcatprototypeCU1.jpg[/img:$uid]

Looks great, but my Hohner HG490 Mad Cat, which is all original save for the pick ups which are Kinmans, has a round cap on the pick up switch like on your first pic in your first post.

I don't know about the switch on an H.S. Anderson Mad Cat, but did that one have a standard Telecaster pick up switch??

Because if so then this isn't a proper Hohner reissue but a standard H.S. Anderson Mad Cat reissue...

Neversin.

No affiliation with the non-moridaira hohners, but Prince's Hohner has the same knobs / switches as my original Mad Cat (pretty obvious since they were made in the same factory by the same people), and this re-issue model is the closest we could get to these.

So yes, the top-hat knob is vintage-correct, as are the straighter volume and tone knobs, on the pics on top we still had the rounded knobs which were also on the 45th anniversary Mad Cat.

Check the musicology video, some really close-up pictures of the Mad Cat in there.

I'm glad I'm not the only one interested in silly details like this.

By the way, Prince has Vintage noiseless strat pickups in his Mad Cat now (rumours are...), but in my opinion a bigger contributor to "that sound" is the body construction.

I have a '79 Mad Cat, a 45th anniversary (with tele pickups) and compared to the upcoming vintage re-issue model (with strat pickups), they all have the same sonic footprint, although the pickups of course make a little difference, but it's not a huge difference. Changing the pickup height can have a bigger impact pn the sound than changing pickups themselves...

vlammie said:

No affiliation with the non-moridaira hohners, but Prince's Hohner has the same knobs / switches as my original Mad Cat (pretty obvious since they were made in the same factory by the same people), and this re-issue model is the closest we could get to these.

OK, so this is an H.S. Anderson Mad Cat reissue, not a Hohner HG490 reissue like mine or Prince's...

I thought, as per your topic name, it would be a proper Hohner reissue which it isn't...

So to avoid confusion for people searching for a Hohner HG490 I would change the subject title...

Neversin.

aiden said:

Was really excited about this then saw the price... Yikes way too expensive! I may pay that for a brand new original cloud... For what it is I think this is a crazy price!

It's certainly not cheap. But building a guitar like this is expensive, especially if you take into account it's handmade in Japan, takes about 8 weeks to finish one, and the production numbers are very low...

Keep in mind, the body is composed from a walnut center strip, sides of ash and maple top and bottoms, so that's 7 pieces of wood just for the body. But you wouldn't get that sound any other way.

And it's built in the original factory, as this is the only way to do it right.

I tried drilling 4 holes in the prototype's neck, and ruined 2 drills while doing so, the wood is that hard / good. The neck fit in the pocket is as perfect I' ve ever seen.

It's just a top-notch instrument, not a gimmick for Prince-lovers (not saying bad things about the hohner copies, never tried those myself...).

But I vertainly agree the price point is not for everyone. It's what it is.

Nevertheless, I bought one myself and didn't regret the purchase at all. Same thing for 2 friends of mine, none of them prince-fans by the way, just guitarists impressed by the sound and quality.

So "for what it is" it's certainly worth it, maybe you'll get a chance to play one and you'll agree with me.

I completely understand these things are outrageously expensive compared to the Korean Hohners, so more people will be disappointed when they see the price.

We could make it in china or Korea and that would be cheaper, but that's just another 'close but no cigar'-clone, and this is as close to the real thing you'll get.

We tried to keep the prices as low as possible, but the € currency exchange rate lost a lot compared to the Japanese Yen last months, so that's also an issue. Once the EU economy recovers a bit, they might get a bit cheaper because of this...

Hope this explains the pricing a bit?

start spreading the news...

http://www.premierguitar....uitar.aspx

hablo espanol?:

http://www.guitarrista.co...ue-mad-cat

et pour les francophones:

http://fr.audiofanzine.co...20042.html