Applause AE-38

it's an acoustic, so not a lot of feature. locking tuners, piezo pickup, bowl contour (yuck!) single cut.

unplugged it's pretty quiet and doesn't project sound very far. I think that the plastic/fiberglass bowl back really ruins the sound. Piezo pickup is very thin and bright (bad combo)

fair red trans finish, satin finish on the neck. The back is a nasty black bowl thing that i hate.

one thing that the plastic does do is make the guitar pretty durable. I've had it for a few years and I can already see the fretboard hangover part peeling up around the sound hole. the body is pretty solid, but the neck joint isn't.

never dealt with them, i think the warantee may have expired

buy a Martin or a Taylor. They sound better and are better quality and some can be fairly inexpensive. The bowl contour on this makes it difficult to play, when you sit down playing it, it slides forward, when you stand, the guitar goes top-up and you are playing sideways. I hate this guitar!

Early 1990's model, plywood top with really nice wood grain and tobacco burst finish. Sealed tuners. Under the saddle piezo p/u. Neck seems to be one piece Mahogany. Cutaway body. Controls are a slider for tone and one for volume. Bound fretboard.

Unplugged it has very little volume and it's all in the mid range. I would not recomend this guitar for unplugged playing. Plugged directly into an amp or mixer it has a piercing piezo sound that is way too bright for me. There is no pre-amp in the guitar so I put a Dean Markley accoustic pre-amp inbetween the guitar and the amp and WOW what a difference. Plugged in with pre-amp this is the best sounding plugged in accoustic I've ever owned.

Had to reposition the pickup, and, sand down the saddle about 3/32. the finish is great and now the action is too

This is one tough and dependable guitar

I haven't needed it for this guitar but I had trouble with the bridge on my applause mndolin and they replaced it , No questions asked

I've been playing for 40 years, I have a Jap strat, an Ibanez Les Paul Custom, a Jay Turser JT 136, A Takamine acoustic,a Fernandez Nomad deluxe, an epiphone spider bridge dobro, a charvel strat, an oscar teller classical and just wore out my first good guitar a n Ovation custom balladeer I bought new in 1975. This replaced my Ovation and while it doesn't sound anywhere near as good unplugged it sounds better plugged in.

Great guitar for the price even though I am currently looking to trade up. Surprisingly sturdy for the price (I paid under $300 in NYC). It pretty much has everything you could be looking for at the price-point: cutaway, acoustic-electric, holds a tune. Looks good IF you like the honey burst finish. Very light.

Rather reedy, thin sound unless you do a big strum with decent (Martin?) strings; but surprsingly balanced tone. Plugged in it sounds horribly thin.

Good action, comparibly small frets (and I have smallish hands). The strings a quite close together for an acoustic which effects the sound negatively. MY big problem is that there is such a pronounced V to the neck-back that it is painful to play rythm for even one or two songs. THIS is why I will likely sell. I made the mistake of ordering this without trying first. But, thin neck, good action and tons of high-fret access makes this a great note pickin' guitar.

Certainly durable for tossing around the house. Never played out with it but it's currently my only acoustic so I'd have no back up. Would probably not gig with it due to poor electric sound. Finish, parts have all held beautifully though.

Never tried/needed.

Playing over 30 years but only intermintent acoustic player. More a strat/tele blue/pop/rock player. Would NOT buy another Applause or Ovation .. just feels phoney and will never get used to that back. As for my V-neck gripe, no one else seems to have this so I may have just been unlucky with this model. I am all set to trade 'up' to a Washburn d10 even though it cost about the same, it feels and sounds like a real guitar though the Applause did have a few small advantages.

nice sound

drives well, slight split on top though,

been to hell and back, who needs a stinkin case.

none

5years,no, don't know, compare to the tinny sound of the squire strat this is just to cool.

The Applause is Ovation's lower-end acoustic company. They are made in Korea, with a high standard of quality, especially when compared with other low-end secondary companies like Squier's and some of Epiphone's products. Mine is an acoustic/electric guitar with a Lyrachord (roundback) body and a cutaway. The neck is a one-piece, ending in a three-piece heel for stability. The tuners are Ping enclosed. The fretboard is a bound rosewood with diamond shaped inlaid fret markers. The binding on the body is a simple white & black line patterns. The soundboard is finished in a beautiful purpleburst, fading from black at the edges to a purple-tinted bookmatched woodgrain in the center of the body. Beautiful. I do not know if the soundboard is a solid-top or not; I've been debating this with myself as long as I've had it. On the one hand, it had an affordable price, and on the other, I can't see the tell-tale grain change on the inside of the soundhole. The rosette is a white wood grain circle--I can't quite describe it. It is probably fake, but even if that's true, its an incredible simulation. The bridge is walnut. The piezo pickup is within the saddle. The electronics are passive, and the controls consist of a tone fader and a volume ("gain") fader. I give it a 9 for the beauty coupled with the price.

The guitar's body is a super-shallow roundback, which means that when played acoustically, it has a reduced bass and mid range. But when played electrically, there is less chance of feedback for the same reason. I'm currently using it with a Peavey Transtube Bandit 112, and its sounding alright. Not perfectly acoustic, but it sounds alright. The pickup itself is a good piezo, and string to string balance is excellent. The volume and tone faders work well. I keep the volume full up most of the time, but I'm learning to use it more like an electric; up for solos, down for rhythm. The tone increases the treble and over-all piezo qualities of the pickup. I don't like the biting brightness myself, and I keep it either off or slightly cracked. However, if you like a bright piezo tone, like Van Halen's "Can't Stop Loving You" you can accomplish it easily with this set up. Played acoustic, it has a nice tone, and excellent projection. I love Ovations for their roundbacks, the volume and projection they create is great. I would suggest trying several different Ovations or Applauses if you're buying one because the different bodies provide different sounds. Mine doesn't have the most incredible toneor volume, not as much as I'd like, but when played electrically, these losses can be made up for. I give them a 7 for the sound, higher than average.

I felt that the guitar was set up adequately by Applause. The action was high/medium. However, the intonation was off on the higher frets when I played around 12th or so. Off enough to really irritate me. I took it back to Guitar World where I'd bought it from and asked for help. They said that my strings were too heavy (BS in my opinion) and that the action was too high. I bought that part. They took it in to file down the bridge, and ended up breaking the piezos. I found out and took it back they replaced the bridge, and filed the bridge at the treble strings. Later, I found that they developed a buzz on the B and E strings, especially with a D chord. I'm going to get that fixed. The only other things that have gone wrong with this guitar is that the volume fader is more loose now, and the input jack is also loose. That's normal wear and tear alone. They get another 7.

This is a good performance guitar. The tuners are solid and smooth, the nut and the saddle have remained intact-no cracks. The finish is excellent, and its taken a lot of abuse. I strum hard, occaisionally with a copper pick and the scratches from my playing are there, but aren't noticeable. Just a slight haze below the soundhole. The frets have worn a little flat in a few often used sections, but not enough to affect playing. The strap buttons are alright, and hold the guitar well. I can depend on this guitar live without a backup. I give it a 9 for dependability.

Haven't had to use it. Applause was quick to respond to a brochure request however, if that can be taken as a good sign.

I've been playing four years. I started on a p.o.s. Harmony acoustic and after about two years of that, I wanted an electric. When I went to Guitar World, I changed my mind, seeing a gorgeous Ovation with the multi-soundholes. My family and I came back the same night, and it turns out the Ovation was out of my price range by about a thousand dollars. Dejected, I looked at several other brands, and sat down next to this guitar. I picked it up, loving the finish, and then fell in love with the playability and sound, both acoustic and electric. Bought it on the spot. That was two years ago, and I still play it everyday. I bought an electric later, (see Epiphone S-310 review) but I still love this guitar the most. I dubbed it Purple Poison after all my time was spent on playing this guitar...it killed my time and ate my grades at school. But I love my Poison... If this guitar was stolen, I would cry for hours, mourn for weeks. But I would go out, and find an Ovation to drown my sorrows with. I've decided to go completely acoustic, and sell the electric. This guitar is my baby. If you need an affordable guitar with excellent (for the price) tone and capabilities, buy an Applause. You cannot beat the price for the sound. I give it a 9 only because it isn't perfect, but then, nothing on earth is, is it?