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Sadowsky “Madcat”

Electric Guitar
Sadowsky “Madcat”
The actual Sadowsky “Madcat” used by Prince.

The Sadowsky “Mad Cat” is an electric guitar played by Prince on the Purple Rain and Parade tours. They are copies of Prince’s Hohner HG-490 and are given the nickname “Mad Cat” here in lieu of an official name. Sadowsky built several copies of the HG-490 for Prince to use on the Purple Rain tour:

  • Two HG-490 copies without the Hohner logo
  • Two HG-490 copies with a tube for squirting liquid over the audience for the song “Baby, I'm A Star”
  • One HG-490 copy with a custom pink floral finish by Wayne Jarrett
  • One HG-490 copy with a custom purple floral finish by Wayne Jarrett

Sadowsky Madcat Reverse

The purple Sadowsky appears in the America video and was used by Prince and Wendy on the Parade tour. It was later given to Sheila E and was recently auctioned for $317,500.

The natural-finished copies were still taken on tour as late as the Nude tour as a backup. There are several “Mad Cat”-style guitars still in the collection at Paisley Park, one of which might be a Sadowsky.

The pink Sadowsky was not used as frequently as the purple and natural models. It is currently in the collection at Paisley Park.

Associated Eras