Applause AE-48

I had an opportunity to repair an Applause AE-48, produced in china. Nice features: eye candy design, quality finish, comfortable neck, rigid neck construction, low action if you are lucky, tuners are made in Korea with "Ovation" trademark.
Bad features: Poorly made neck joint (about 1.5 mm. gap between the neck and the pocket all the way around, wrongly angled), passive EQ, ungrounded, unshielded, therefore it gets noisy on some occasions, Truss rod is difficult to reach, especially, if you have big hands and big arms like me. They've better put it into the headstock. Laminated top also doesn't add much to the tone, poor quality piezo pickup - does not pick up the low E string...

The acoustic sound is nice, especially when fingerpicked. If played with nails or/and a pick, the sound gets a bit too bright. But the sound is really full, despite the shallow bowl and the laminated top. Sustain is very nice too, especially with brand new strings and freshly dressed and polished frets. So, Unpluged is nice, yet, when you plug it, it gets crappy. I mostly use a tube preamp ant Amplitube software, so i find good clean sound when bass is up full, but mids and trebble are down to 1 or 2. I keep the Tone control of the guitar to its lowest too. But crunch is really nice, most of the effects go well with guitars tone. Generally lacks low end, does not pick up the lowest string - good enough if you play in Open G, and rarely use the 6th string.

Strigs are alighnes properly, I've set the action to factory standards now, but i've found five plastic pieces that were meant to raise the action. Hopefully, they came not from the factory.

Whatch out for that poorly crafed neck-joint!!! Takes some time to add more wood. When the joint goes apart, the neck anchore is usually destroyed, so you need to make some new parts and presicely fit them in.
I used animal hide glue to fix the joint. I don't think the joint is weak because of being glued to fiber glass bowl ( by the way, hide glue sticks to glas very well). It is because of poor craftsmanship, lack of glue and, maybe, soft mahogany which may not endure the load.

Have no experience in this area.

It would be really cool with an active preamp or with no preamp whatsoever. Well, if you bought it and it is of lower quality that it should've been - resell it!

2005, made in China, laminated top,Vol and Tone, piezo, passive, Black finish,cutaway,changed tuners to schaller-the gotohs I didn't like.

I liked it acoustically. changed the piezo to a fishman passive sounds much better

Features have been well covered by earlier reviews, so I will skip it. Color is black. This guitar is solid, beautiful, and well-made with superb finish. Bought it with a deluxe bag and accessories 3 years ago in CA for about $370. This is a guitar (with unique multi-sound hole design) that is beautiful enough for everyone to love it.

It fits many music style. The sound is very clean and crispy, and I think it is loud enough considering the "super shallow bowl" back. If you need more bass and versatility, plug it into an amp. I used it (with v-amp 2 or Boss GT6) on Marshall MG series, VS65R, Fender twins, and even Mesa/Boogie Normad 55, surprisingly (unlike many other electric-accoustic guitars), it's always easy to get a good sound from it with an amp. Very satisfied.

Action is superb. If you are one of those who like the action on your accoustic guitar as low as an electric guitar, this is the one for you. And also, the low action allows you to play it as fast as if it were a shredder, this is exactly how I like this guitar, in addition to its decent sound. I recommended it to one of my friends for practicing shredding on it simply because of its low action and smooth neck.

Everything is solid. Have played it for 3 years, and had no problem. Seems to be reliable and able to last long.

Haven't gotten a chance to contact the folks there.

Basically this is a good guitar with several good features such as the low action and multi-soundhole design. One might think there could be more bass, but that's beyond what such a light-weighted guitar can give. And on the other hand, the "super-shallow bowl" back adds up to its maneuverability. Glad I bought it every time I carry it around for giging and jamming. Particularly like its action and the feeling when playing it. Can play very fast on it effortless for hours without any pain on fingertips. Good for practice alone and in a band (with a decent amp of course). If it were stolen, I will definitely buy another one.

Made in China(2005) with new OB2P preamp. The assembly and finish are good. Piezo pickup doesn't need batteries and provides very clean sound through an accoustic amp. Unplugged it sounds shallow, almost tinny. Plugged into a good amp, it sounds much better than the price would indicate. Decent intonation. The soundholes are uniquie an quite striking. An attractive bare bones guitar.

Unplugged it sounds shallow. But plugged in is another story. Althought the pre-amp only has 2 adjustments, I get great sound through my Crate CA-15 amp. The pre-amp is modular, so you can upgrate it with a better quality Ovation.(look around on Ebay) You probably won't want to record with this, but playing local clubs with this guitar would be no problem. I would not suggest this as a campfire guitar as unplugged it is on the quite side.

I am a fanatic when it comes to my guitars. Musical instruments (no matter how cheap) are a form of art. This guitar had only one flaw. It has a small hair embeded in the laquer near the binding. (you would never see it unless I pointed it out). Other than that, very good fit and finish, straight neck, nice wood grain, great tuners. (lousy strings) The action is adjustable, but mine is good enough that I have not felt the need to adjust it.

I have seen several damaged AE48's (and Ovation CS257's) for sale on the Inernet. It looks like if you let this guitar fall over, the neck can easily seperate from the body. It probably has something to do with adhering the wooden neck to the Lychrachord body. The body is very light which makes this guitar a little heavy toward the neck. Mine seems like it would be easy to knock over. The construction of this guitar seems good but I suspect you need to be more careful handeling this guitar than others.

I have no personal experience with Kaman(Ovation/Applause). But everyone I talk to says Kaman has wonderful support.

I have owned this guitar about one month. I am happy with it. The neck action is smooth and fast with no buzz. I am most impressed with the pre-amp. No background hiss and powerful clean sound. The pre-amp only has 2 adjustments, so you will need a good amp.
The is a very pretty guitar, with good amplified sound for a very reasonable price. I also looked at(and played) the Ovation CS257. The only substantial differience is the CS257 has a better pre-amp with EQ adjustments. But at half the price the AE48 is a much better bargain and produces equal sound.

Just bought it brand new. Built in China, but seems to be on Ovation recommandations. It look great and very good quality. If you read that review, you probably know the specs and with wich material it's built.

It sound great on both amps I'm using ( fender hot rod de ville 4X10 & a Crate GT 212 )I'm using it for few tunes on gig but mainly to practice alone...(less noise ) Unplugged, it's not that great, but you should know those guitars are made to be amplified. It still do the job anyway to play around a campfire unplugged. I like it very much.

My guitar arrived very well set-up. The action is better than a only accoustic guitar...it's like half way between an accoustic and an electric guitar. It reflect the ovation's quality...even at that price. To me it's like what is an Epiphone for Gibson...not as great as the original, but real good instrument.

It will certainly stand live playing. The finish is awesome...look like as twice the price I paid. Because it's new, I can hardly complaint for reliability or so...will see

to soon !!!

I'm playing for 40 years. I still gig in a classic rock band. I owned an American Stratocaster HH, a MIM stratocaster and a Godin Exit 22( my favorite )As I say before, I'm playing those guitars on a Fender Hot rod Deville 4X10 and a Crate GT-212. I'm not a great accoustic user, but as we need to play accoustic on some songs, I decide to try that "not to expensive" Applause. Since it was made by Ovation, it inspire me, so I decide to buy it...and for what are my needs, it respond perfectly. I would buy another one anytime.

This is a barebones guitar---one volumn and one tone control. It is made in China, and in the beginning I thought that might be a problem, NOT! The assembly and finish is very nice. It has a piezo pickup that doesn't need batteries (that's good), but the guitar sounds very tinny--you need a quality amp with good tone controls and you'll get the sound you want without too much trouble. The cut away body makes it nice to reach higher frets, and yes the intonation is very good (suprised me). The bridge uses shims for height adjustments. This is being rated low, not because the quality sucks, but because it is a barebones guitar.

I pretty much play driving rock; my other guitars being an SG and G&L ASAT. I've been playing for about 40 years and needed some acoustic fills for some of the tunes we do. I also use a Fender Cyber Deluxe. I can get what ever sound I need, at pretty good volume levels without feeding back (that's nice). I don't play lead so you know that. The guitar is rather tinny, but you can smooth it's sound very easly---on the guitar I run the tone control about half and on my amp I set my highs on 3, mids on 5, and bass on 9. That works for me.

I have to admit it wasn't bad out of the box (I got shipped three by mistake and they were all about the same). I'm not one of those guys who leaves well enough alone. As soon as I got the guitar, I played it for 5 minutes and then tore it apart. Changed to a lighter string, pulled all the shims out of the bridge, adjusted the neck (all this easy to do) tuned it up and have been playing it that way ever since. The finish was beautiful and the binding round the top where the body meets was perfect. All in all, I would have to say very good to excellent.

I've been using it live now for about 2 months---and at alot of practices, I only use it. The finish of the guitar still looks new. When I walked in with the guitar, the other guys in the band gave me a strange look, and then I plugged it in and used it on selected songs; they thought it was a great addition to alot of the songs we do. I would have no problems using this as a main instrument, but I don't, and that's just because of the music we do.

I haven't had any problems so no dealings. I plan on check out it the preamp module is changeable. It pops out and uses the same body as the preamp with 3 tones and 1 volumn.

I would do it again. The price was right. If your a beginner, go ahead and buy this one if you can find it at the right price. Retail is $449, and when you can get it at $189, there is a lot of crap on the market that goes for this price.

multi soundhole desighn, it was made in china and i think it was made in 2005, piezo pickup curved fretboard {i have a fetish for those} ovation tuners, satin finish in the neck, lyrachord body,

this is a beautiful sounding guitar when its plugged in but it is kind of muted when unpluged but thats perfect for me when i practicing in my room or on my porch but you have to plug it in to appreciate it i am in love with it i dont really use any effects but i know it great with alternate tunnings like the review before me said the tone control has to be either off or in the middle or it dill be harsh

the action is a little low for me but thats just me, and thats easy to fix, the finish is perfect i think china is uping there quality standard

this is a very reliable guitar, i would gig with this without a backup in a heartbeat and i do, it has great hardware that will last forever, i dont know if im going to keep strap butons that it came with, there a litle weak, i depend on this guitar for all my acoustic stuff and i am never worried at all, there are a few ruff spots around the edges and the bindings isnt finished

n/a

i love this guitar i would buy another one in a heartbeat if something happened to it and i would cry if something did, if you are looking for an acoustic for gigs of any size buy this guitar you will not regret it
but if your just learning go for a cheaper guitar like the washburn d-100 on musicians friend

6 string Acoustic-Electric, single cutaway, spruce top, 'Super Shallow' USA made Lyrachord bowl (plastic?), 25 1/2" scale, 22 frets, slim coutoured neck. Piezo under-saddle pickup, slide volume and tone controls, no pre-amp. 'Ovation' tuners, Part of Applause's 'Deluxe' Series. Ovation's 'multi-sound hole technology' gives it a more Ovation-ey look, IMO. Made in China.

The sound is somewhat muted and thin when played acoustically, no doubt due to the 'super shallow' bowl. I knew this when I bought it, however. My intention was to use it at church plugged in, in which case it sounds great! It can be a bit harsh if the tone control is set any higher than the middle of it's range, but that's easily dealt with. The muted acoustic sound is perfect for me practicing around the house. New strings, not surprisingly, bring out the best in it. They dull quickly, however.

Action, fit, and finish, right out of the box, were second to none! Intonation was dead on, tuners are rock-solid. With regard to action, this is one of the easiest playing acoustic with which I've ever had the pleasure!

I anticipate no problems in terms of reliability/durability. It's well built. I installed Dunlop strap locks and was a bit concerned with their use of a molly-bolt at the top button. I replaced it with a fender washer and a locknut. This should hold up well.

No experience with their customer support, so I can't comment on that.

I've been playing electrics almost exclusively for about 40 years, mostly semi-acoustic (335) and Les Pauls. I tend toward Blues and 60's pop covers (read: Beatles). Church music was a bit of a change of pace, but it was something I just felt an urge to do. I originally 'discovered' Applause when I was shopping for my 'first' acoustic at a local music store. I wanted to try an Ovation based on numerous recommendations. The closest thing he had was an Applause AE-28. I loved it. I tried everything he had, but kept coming back to the Applause. I opted for the AE-48, partly for it's cosmetics (it's a little 'prettier'), and partly for the slightly bigger sound (though not by much). The shallow bowl is a little less uncomfortable that the deeper bowls on some other models. Given the price, I would definitely buy another if the need arose, although I'd probably opt for the AE-28 which was about $50 cheaper from the same seller. At that price, it's almost a no-brainer. By far the biggest bang for the buck, IMO.