H.S. Anderson Houston

guitarz.blogspot.com

H.S. Anderson is a sub-brand of Morris Guitars that is itself a sub-brand of Moridaira Guitars, Morris being Mori anglicised - we're talking 1960s Japanese guitars there, and H.S. stands for Shiino Hidesato, a Moridaira employee who designed the famous Mad Cat - well actually famous as Hohner's 'the Prinz' (played by Prince) - a typical rebranding by Hohner USA of this Japanese take on the telecaster (I know, it's getting complicated, and we didn't even start on the pictured guitars).

Here we're having two different versions of the remarkable 'apple guitar' released by H.S. Anderson in the 1970s - the green one is the Houston model, the redburst one with the single coil being a Houston HS-A1. I saw different gear combinations - single coils, humbuckers, pickup rings, wraparound bridges... - and different finishes on many models but only on Japanese websites, so I can't tell much more about, sorry...

Bertram D

© 2013, Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - the blog that goes all the way to 11!

H.S. Anderson Kite - pointy 1970s Japanese guitar made by Morris

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This pointy guitar looks like it could have so easily have come from the 1980s, but perhaps the lack of a locking trem - or actually a trem of any kind - gives the game away that it is actually an earlier creation from 1970s Japan. It's actually an H.S. Anderson Kite, H.S. Anderson being a brand name of Morris who also made guitars with other brandnames such as Hurricane.

Other H.S. Anderson guitars included the "Houston" (a.k.a. The Beatles Apple, although it was never played by any of The Beatles, Abba's Björn Ulvaeus was known to use one) and the "Madcat" Telecaster-style guitar favoured by Prince (before they were re-branded with the Hohner name).

The Kite looks as if it could be quite an ergonomic guitar; although not quite so curvy, its shape is not a million miles away from that of the Ovation Breadwinner and Deacon guitars. This example looks as if it has seen a lot of action over the years, bearing a lot of battle scars. It is currently listed on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $1,200.

G L Wilson

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H.S. Anderson Houston Guitar, a.k.a. The Beatles Apple

Despite its "also known as" tag of The Beatles Apple, this H.S. Anderson "Houston" Guitar has nothing whatsoever to do with The Beatles. Its nickname is derived from its body shape, which has been likened to The Beatles' Apple logo as seen on their record labels. (Personally, I think one green apple looks much like another and wouldn't have made The Beatles connection at all). Still, it's an interesting design, and one that I haven't seen before.

According to the seller, H.S. Anderson were responsible for building the original skunk-striped Telecaster style guitar as used by Prince. It was originally called the H.S. Anderson Madcat, but was licensed to Hohner and eventually became the (much sought after) Te Prinz model.