La Telecaster HS Anderson Mad Cat a été rééditée en début d'année (45th anniversary reissue) fabriquée à 400 exemplaires et rapidement épuisée. Elle coûtait environ 1850 euros en achat au Japon.
http://www.amazon.co.jp/H-S-Anderson-HS ... 631&sr=8-1
Un vendeur d'instruments en Hollande a eu l'idée devant la demande de la refaire fabriquer dans l'usine Morris au Japon en y apportant des modif. Autant vous dire que ça n'a rien à voir avec la réédition HOHNER et le tarif non plus autour de 2800 Euros et sera d'après mes infos tirée à 100 exemplaires.
Voici un avis paru dans la presse avec les modifications des micros :
The H.S. Anderson Mad Cat guitar is famous as Prince has performed with it quite frequently. In 2009
it was reissued but only available in Japan. As of today, the last 15 pieces are available for the rest of
the world through the Belgian company, Amptec.
By Steven Faber
The first H.S. Anderson Mad Cats were produced between 1973 and 1979 by the Japanese company
Moridaira, also well-known for the acoustic guitars they make under the Morris brand. Prince fans will
most certainly know that his guitar shows a Hohner logo. This because Moridaira sold the rights to sell
this model in the USA to Hohner. Moridaira kept on building the guitars itself, the only difference being
the headstock logo. In that period around 500 pieces were made in total, one of these was acquired
by Prince, and he’s been using it since 1980 for recordings and live performances.
Design
The Mad Cat is clearly derived from the Fender Telecaster, just as other models of H.S. Anderson are
derived from the Stratocaster and Jaguar/Jazzmaster. Yet Moridaira has opted for a completely
different body construction than the one we know from the classic, which has led to a clearly
distinctive sound. Whereas for Leo Fender one of the key points when designing the Telecaster was to
be able to build the guitar easily and quickly, the production of a Mad Cat takes considerably longer
because of its construction: these handmade guitars take about 8 production weeks. The most striking
detail of the Mad Cat is the dark stripe running through the middle of the body. This is a strip of
walnut, with on both sides a log of ash glued to it. This piece of ash is covered on the front and
backside with a layer of beautifully flamed maple, which makes for a very nice looking ensemble.
The bridge is not of the Telecaster type (on which the element is also mounted), but a standard
hardtail model with six individual saddles with strings going through the body. The bridge element is
attached to a plastic plate in leopard design, the same material which is used for the pick guard. The
neck pup is mounted onto the pick guard with two screws and is not -as is usually done with Tele-type
guitars- screwed on the body. With the standard three-position switch and master controller for
volume and tone, the electronics don’t show any surprises.
The neck and fretboard are made from high quality maple. The grain is regular and runs parallel to
the fretboard rim. The peghead shows the Gotoh tuning mechanics, the serial number (12018) and -at
the front- the brand name and cat head logo. The shape of the bottom of the peghead differs from
the common Telecaster design; undoubtedly this has something to do with the copyrights of Fender.
Sound and playability
When playing the Mad Cat acoustically, you’ll hear a clear sound with nice, rich basses, a delicious
snap and a good sustain. The neck shares the same width as a standard Telecaster with an average
thickness and has a good grip. The fretboard radius is a bit bigger than the classic 7,25 inch from
Fender, so you won’t have problems with dead notes while bending.
As expected, when amplified we can recognize the acoustic qualities of the sound very well. What is
striking is that this instrument –together with the original- has got a huge dynamic range. We
compared both instruments with an American Vintage ’53 Telecaster reissue and a Strat with an ash
body, but they couldn’t come close to the dynamic range of the Mad Cats. The clarity of the reissue
was a bit too much for me which made me turn down the treble control on the amplifier a tad. There’s
a frequency range in the mid-highs to highs that is quite prominently present. This has got to do with
the construction of the body, because the original Mad Cat has this too, even though this specific one
sounds a bit more rounded. Because of the guts and dynamics of these guitars, they can be very
quick, tight and fierce when using them during well-played funky parts. Maybe this is what appeals to
Prince?
When we used some effects playing the guitars, another characteristic came up which appeals to the
little American: because of the clearness and snap, the Mad Cat sounds very good with modulation
effects. Even though you turn as much chorus or detune into you sound, adding quite some delay, the
first attack keeps cutting through very well. Conclusion
The H.S. Anderson Mad Cat is a very exceptional guitar. Not just because you can admire Prince
playing it in innumerable pics and videos and not because of its looks: a bit showy yet traditional. No,
it’s mainly a special guitar because of the unusual construction which impacts the sound of the guitar.
Perhaps it won’t appeal to every Tele-guitarist but with these guitars the statement 'some love it,
others might not' is really the case.
The building quality is outstanding and the price is more than reasonable for this hand build guitar. So,
if you’re up for a dynamic guitar with a quick response that sounds very well with effects, than you
really need to try this one. But don’t hesitate: they won’t be available for long.
Royal descent: the original Mad Cat
At first sight, the two Mad Cats seem almost identical but when you look closer, you can list quite a
number of differences. Starting with the head, which has another shape and logo and is equipped
with other tuning machines. The neck is almost the same, only the frets of the original are a bit
thicker (or could this be jumbo frets replacing the original ones?). The ’79 body has a black binding
whereas the new version has got the same leopard design as the pick guard. The elements are
different too, although we are not sure what was mounted on the original version. The front and back
of the new MadCat are in beautifully flamed maple; this is less eye-catching on the old guitar. Finally
the new design has a metal jack output. On the old version, this was mounted on a little plastic plate.
Clearly an improvement.
So, the reissue has got some visual differences with the ’79 original but the construction remained the
same and you can hear so. Even though the original sounds (and feels!) more lived and perhaps a bit
deeper and darker, you can assume that the reissue will sound and feel the same after a while. The
timbre (clarity, rich basses, a good sustain and a high dynamic range) are clearly present in both
guitars. In addition to this, the reissue has a nicer top and back and looks fancier with the leopard
binding. Conclusion: this is a worthy successor of a legendary guitar.
Test results
Construction 4,5 / 5
playability 4,5 / 5
Sound: 5 / 5
Price/Quality 4 / 5
Opinion 4,5 / 5
We liked: timbre, dynamics, build quality, vibe
We didn’t like: sound won’t appeal to everyone
ADVISORY PRICE: € 2556,-
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan
TYPE: solid electric guitar with single cutaway
BODY: ash sides with walnut center strip and top and back in flamed maple
NECK/FRETBOARD: one part maple; fretboard radius: 11 inch
FRETS: 21, Sanko SBB23
SCALE: 648 mm
WIDTH NUT/12E FRET: 42,8 mm/52 mm
NUT: bone
ELECTRONICS: Bill Lawrence USA T1 (neck) en T2 (bridge) singlecoils, volume and tone control,
three-position switch
HARDWARE: chromed, Gotoh tuning mechanics
WEIGHT: approx. 3,3 kg
FINISH: polyurethane
COLOUR: Golden Brown
LEFT-HANDED: no
EXTRA: SKB case included Translated from Dutch, original article appeared in Gitarist Magazine issue 257, August 2012
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