FAQ
Is the Prince tele original ?
No !
– The pickups have been replaced by the vintage noiseless Fender pickups.
– The tuners have been replaced by schaller models
– Pickups : Even if you can read that Prince use kinman pickups, it’s wrong. I have contacted Chris Kinman to know more about which pickups Prince ordered. They have no archive and do not know wich pickups have been ordered by prince or his guitar tech.
Then I got a message from Prince old guitar tech, Takumi, regarding the kinman pickups. here’s a copy of his message :
“hi there, i installed the Triditional set.
just so you know, that guitar is one of the best tele i have ever played. it is just so easy to play and sounds great. well, after i put the kinman in. those came out and was replaced by fender noiseless (toneless) and not the tele ones but the strat ones. i guess he likes that sound better because it’s what’s in it now still.
that tele has a bit hole in the back (one of his tech installed another single coil in the back to make it a hum b, eliminating the noise) but sounded like shit. that’s when i yanked the pickups out and put the kinman in. they were a recommendation from my friend Dave Russan. but like i said before… P really didn’t dig it. so just for shits and giggles i got a strat noiseless and he liked it. go figure…. all the funk are in his hands, it really didn’t matter what was in it.
i have to say that Prince is by far the most underated guitar player. to me, he is the most talented player i have ever seen. he may not play noodling solo like all the guys in guitar player mags but he really plays in the songs and also when it’s called for he really rips. and all without really trying. anyways, hope that answers your question. like i said… i love that guitar and it hurt me to find out someone dropped it and it and now broken in several spots.”
What is the difference between the the original and the 2007 Hohner artist guitar ?
Answer from Hohner, Rick Gagliano product manager :
· We used Tesla Alnico pickups; he had replaced the original pickups with Fender noiseless (of course we can’t use them)…the Teslas have the same “growl” and bite that the originals do
· The neck profile is slightly different than the original; over the years, he had sanded it down to a satin finish and put a light sealer on it. Also, the fretboard is almost completely flat (the original had a very slight curve like a stock tele)
· The headstock is different from the original
Who designed the original H.S. Anderson Madcat?
The original design is from the Morris company.
How many madcat have been made in the Morris factory?
around 500 pieces.
When the madcat has been made?
from 1972 to 1979
What was the price of a MadCat in the 70’s?
about 80’000 yens
What about the quality of the Guitar?
This instrument are hand made by a small team of 5 peoples in the 70’s. The equivalent today are custom shop guitars.
H.S.Anderson guitars, caused quite an upset at NAMM in the 70’s :
I can tell the guitar was very well made and of excellent quality…..It was made in japan and japanese instruments are normally cheaper to manufacture than USA made stuff… but when this guitar was released many Industry people at the NAMM convention in the late 70’s hailed it as one of the best japanese High quality instruments they had ever played…
How to date a H.S. Anderson Madcat
Read the serial number from right to left, I.E. mine is 216791. So the build date is december (12) 1976.