hs anderson prince guitar

HS Anderson

H.S Anderson Madcat Reissue

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.

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.

Original vintage ‘70s Mad Cats are very rare and hard to find guitars, sought after by numerous collectors.

Vintage re-issue MadCat

In 2012, for the first time in over 30 years, the original Mad Cat returns.
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.

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.

Subtle upgrades were performed:

Tuners were upgraded to Gotoh SG360 with a higher gear ratio
The original Keiyo pickups are upgraded to Heartbreaker voiced as per the Keiyo
The output jack is more sturdy, so no more signal drop-outs, Headstock shape.
And each one comes with a certificate of authenticity.

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 HS Anderson Madcat guitar.

Each one of these HS Anderson Madcat guitars are handbuilt in the original Moridaira factory by Japanese craftsmen.