Applause Strat copy

I bought this guitar new in 1987. With a Ross practice amp it was NZ$400. That was a LOT of money for a 16 year old back then (well at least for me!)

The guitar is a Strat copy, standard 3 passive single coil pickups, five way selector, two tone pots and one volume. Smaller style Strat headstock and rosewood fingerboard. It is a solid guitar and hasn't failed me in nearly 21 years of solid playing!

I play rock mainly. For a few years I just played on my own but when I joined a band I bought other guitars with humbuckers and used this as a backup. However, nothing felt as good as this guitar so I eventually put a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge position and now it is my main guitar!

I play through a JCM2000 50w head into a Marshall 1936 2x12 box. No effects these days.

The guitar was noisy until I got the humbucker (not surprising really). The single coil in the neck has a fabulous warm bell like tone great for blues.

The trem was something I never used so it is blocked off.

Factory finish? I dunno really I was 16. But I played it non stop so it can't have been all that bad. Original pickups were adequate - two are still in place.

Flaws - the volume pot has been replaced once and the jack as well. OK for 20 odd years. No other major surgery.

Durability...well...it has been gigged with, rehearsed with, travelled to and from my place of work, recorded with and has never missed a beat. The finish is still great and the neck feels better than ever. I constantly search for a neck that feels this good...yet to find one and I've owned some expensive guitars!
I would never gig without a backup.

No opinion.

I've been playing seriously for about 19 years. I have an old Eko acoustic guitar and my Marshall Amp. Somewhere in my cable box is a late 80's Boss Turbo Overdrive but I haven't used it for years (since the Marshall came along!).
I love this guitar, it feels like the most natural thing to play ever. As I said earlier, if I could have a Fender or a MusicMan or similar Strat style guitar with a nice neck like this one I would pay serious cash!

Ovation's foray into solid-body electric was surprisingly good. Nice, solid, heavy guitar with more than just the basics. With what I've learned about guitars over the last few years, I could give a much better evaluation of it than now, but I'm going from memory.

Classic strat-style.
Opaque white paint, black pickguard.
Rosewood fingerboard, 22 frets.
5-way switch. Can't remember tone/volume pot configuration
1 double coil, 2 single coil pickups.
Coil split (tap) switch.
Passive electronics, bolt on neck. Vintage tremolo, no locks.

It had a decent sound, probably due to some good quality, heavy wood.
Nothing special as far as strat sounds go...I don't feel any remorse for getting rid of it. But for an unheralded guitar, it was more than adequate. Most people could have played this guitar and been satisfied, but it probably wouldn't have been anyone's #1 axe; especially not if they had a Carvin or a vintage Strat.

Fit and finish were good. Paint job was thick, solid, and smooth.

I sold it because it was cracking around the neck pocket...I traded it for $100 credit toward a J.B. Player guitar that I wanted (which I still have).
From what I know now, it was probably just a finish crack, and would have been a good guitar to hold onto.
Some problems with static/loose connections in the 'tronics.

Dunno. Never looked into it. Bought used, sold when it had a minor problem.

I bought the guitar for $75 because someone drove by and offered it to me when they saw me sitting outside and playing my acoustic. I didn't have a chance to try it out, but I figured the case alone was worth at least $50...
I still have the case, and I traded the guitar 2 years later for $100 credit toward the J.B. Player I love very much.
It was a decent guitar, but I'll be honest: it didn't make me want to play guitar like my Carvin, my J.B. Player, or my Westones.