Go to Thomann Music Ovation OP24. This will give you pictures of it's separate parts. The tricky part is removing the face plate. First remove the vol,low,mid and high knobs. You may want to save these. The face plate is probably glued so you'll have to use some type of razor blade tool to pry it off, but don't worry about damaging it because one comes with the new pick-up.
The following serial number is correct and is 90621025. If anybody could assist me with finding the birthdate of this guitar I would very very much appreciate it. I picked it up yesterday for $10 and I'm really curious to know what I have.
Once you get it off, remove the 4 corner screws that hold the mounting plate to the pick-up. From there you can see what else needs to be done. Hope that helps.
This is my first post, and to coincide with my n00bness, it's a question about a real beater of a guitar. I have an Applause AA15, a freebie from a friend's dad who had an extra 12-string who didn't know what to do with it (he himself had gotten it for free from someone). Far as it may be from a Martin, Guild, or Taylor, it sounds and handles pretty good for something hardly possessing much wood. There isn't much information about these older guitars out there on the net. Not even Applause's archival page mentions this particular model. By the look of it, I know it has to be from at least the 70's. It's got a pretty hip rosette and pick guard.
The Applause logo is not the Ovation variant. In fact, the sticker in the bowl doesn't even mention Ovation, just 'A Kaman Music Product.' Some Applause models bear their birthplace. Some American, some Korean, others elsewhere. I'd love to know the history behind this thing, so I'm wondering if anyone here knows a thing or two about this brand.
Model Numbers Applause Guitars
Some of the questions I've had on my mind lately include: - Were all Applause guitars made by Ovation in some way? - How many countries made Applause guitars? - In these older aluminum and plastic models, have anyone tried to adjust nuts and saddles to actually better the sound? So, thanks for any input!
Interesting, we just had a similar request on the Canadian Guitar Forum. I suggested to the poster that he could email his questions to: He did but, they seem to be really slow to respond. I also suggested that he contact any long time Ovation / Celebrity / Applause dealers. This he did and lucked out getting all the info he was looking for his model from one source. Furthermore look for a copy of the book 'The History of the Ovation Guitar'.
I can't remember how much info there is on Applause, however, it is a very interesting read. The early Applause guitars did not say Ovation on them, because the plan was to sell them through a distributor rather than the Ovation sales force.
The concept was to make cheaper copies of their own guitars before someone else did, and the goal was to build them with only one man-hour of labor involved. I don't think they ever reached that goal, but I believe that they were able to build them in less than 2 1/2 hours of man-hours. They used the same back as the Ovations, but had a laminated top (Ovations were solid), and as someone mentioned, the necks were aluminum, and the fretboard, support rod, headstock, and frets were one piece. Then they molded the back of the neck out of a plastic material, and finished it to feel 'just like mahogany!' They were introduced in 1976 or 1977, and were built in Connecticut.
There was one big difficulty. The aluminum frets tended to wear quickly, and could not be replaced. The original plan had been that the necks would be easily interchangeable, and that you could have the entire neck replaced for less than it would cost to replace frets on a wooden fretboard. That never became a popular selling point. The next step was to cover the aluminum frets with nickel plating, which helped a little, but they still seemed to wear quickly. Around 1982 or 1983, they moved production of the Applause guitars to Korea, and at some point after that, they did away with the aluminum necks. About that same time, they introduced the Celebrity series priced to be between the Applause and Ovation brands.
I can't recollect when Applause added 'by Ovation' to their logo. Chances are that if next time you change strings you remove the saddle, there will be at least one shim underneath. This is how Ovations shipped. By removing a shim, you lowered the action at the 12th fret by 1/64. If you wanted to raise the action, Ovation and their dealers would give them to you at no charge. This brochure should be very close to the time frame that your AA15 was built. The early Applause guitars did not say Ovation on them, because the plan was to sell them through a distributor rather than the Ovation sales force.
The concept was to make cheaper copies of their own guitars before someone else did, and the goal was to build them with only one man-hour of labor involved. I don't think they ever reached that goal, but I believe that they were able to build them in less than 2 1/2 hours of man-hours.
They used the same back as the Ovations, but had a laminated top (Ovations were solid), and as someone mentioned, the necks were aluminum, and the fretboard, support rod, headstock, and frets were one piece. Then they molded the back of the neck out of a plastic material, and finished it to feel 'just like mahogany!' They were introduced in 1976 or 1977, and were built in Connecticut. There was one big difficulty.
The aluminum frets tended to wear quickly, and could not be replaced. The original plan had been that the necks would be easily interchangeable, and that you could have the entire neck replaced for less than it would cost to replace frets on a wooden fretboard. That never became a popular selling point. The next step was to cover the aluminum frets with nickel plating, which helped a little, but they still seemed to wear quickly. Around 1982 or 1983, they moved production of the Applause guitars to Korea, and at some point after that, they did away with the aluminum necks. About that same time, they introduced the Celebrity series priced to be between the Applause and Ovation brands.
I can't recollect when Applause added 'by Ovation' to their logo. Chances are that if next time you change strings you remove the saddle, there will be at least one shim underneath.
This is how Ovations shipped. By removing a shim, you lowered the action at the 12th fret by 1/64. If you wanted to raise the action, Ovation and their dealers would give them to you at no charge. This brochure should be very close to the time frame that your AA15 was built. Now this was a helpful response!
I've currently got five AA-14s plus seven other Ovation products ('Real' Ovations, a Korean Applause, a couple Academys). I love the AA-14s. They reside right alongside eight Gibsons and a Martin and others (whatever happens to be here that day). I even have the 1000th one made, signed inside by all the production line workers at Moosup and Bill Kaman in Aug 1976. That one stays in the case mostly. It may be a bit of reverse snobbery but I am just amazed and always pleasantly surprised to play one.
Yes they have plywood tops and when the bridges explode off the top, most people would walk away, but I've repaired a couple with no structural issues later. Yes, the frets do wear out but you'd be surprised how forgiving they are.
The frets LOOK bad but are still playable. I've even taken the time to level and crown them and was very happy with the results. It may only extend the life of the neck by a few years but I'm okay with that. They made about 105,000 of them so I don't expect to run out anytime soon. If anyone has broken ones, please contact me.
They'll have a good home here. Necks, bowls, rosettes, whatever. It may be a bit of reverse snobbery but I am just amazed and always pleasantly surprised to play one. Yes they have plywood tops and when the bridges explode off the top, most people would walk away, but I've repaired a couple with no structural issues later. Yes, the frets do wear out but you'd be surprised how forgiving they are.
The frets LOOK bad but are still playable. I've even taken the time to level and crown them and was very happy with the results. It may only extend the life of the neck by a few years but I'm okay with that. They made about 105,000 of them so I don't expect to run out anytime soon. You are not alone with that sentiment, and I agree 100% about their durability. I got my AA15 in pretty rough shape.
The rosette's adhesive is starting to give, and there is wear on the fretboard, but not the frets themselves much. Some typical surface finish cracks, but the thing is an absolute cannon. It looks cheap, is cheap, but doesn't sound it. I'd gladly add a AA-14 to my collection if just to experiment and tweak. I imagine changing the uncompensated plastic saddle to something nicer and adjusting the nut and tuners could do so much more good.
Like you, I see a lot of these show up on Craigslist, so the only rush I'm in to get on is for the obscenely low price some want for them. If I could play worth a I would be happy to put audio files on the site. If I think anyone's listening, my fingers get really stupid all of a sudden. Joe, the AA15 was made in Moosup CT. Next time you change strings, take the two bolts out holding the neck in. You may (or may not) find small smudgy rubber stamped dates, both on the hidden part of the neck heel and on the unfinished part of the top.
It's a 50/50 shot, I've found. I've begun amassing Applause serial numbers but I can't find any pattern whatsoever. Seems like they just took them stickers off a roll in the factory. I asked John Budny at Ovation 'whatever hapened to all the Applause surplus and tooling?' And he said he hadn't seen any of that stuff in decades.