1970s Applause (Ovation) AA14-7 000-Size Guitar

My inlaws were cleaning out a family house and this guitar, along with one other, was in there. It was totally disgusting and filthy but it cleaned-up nicely. I gave it a level/dress of the frets, replaced some even funkier original tuners, and set it up. Jose claimed it for himself and I hope it makes a good "knockabout anywhere" guitar for him. The irony of this instrument is that it's built out of junk but sounds absurdly-good. It's loud, full, responsive, warm, and easy to play.

I am very familiar with old, first-era-of-production Applause instruments because I saw them now and then at flea markets and yard sales when we lived in Connecticut. I've bought a few and they're extremely weird. Many were made for the school systems in the area and looked more or less like this but had plastic tops! This one is slightly more traditional and has a plywood top with spruce bracing.

The body is the usual Ovation style with helicopter-blade material and a "big bowl" shape but it has a late-'70s muscle car sort-of look in the rosette, pickguard, and detailing. The top is painted cream. It has a bolt-on neck that's also epoxied to the body and the neck itself is actually the weirdest part -- it's made with foam in the center, has an epoxy shell coat with a fake woodgrain finish, and a one-piece aluminum fretboard and reinforcement bar.

The fact that the frets can't be swapped-out aside from cutting new slots and fitting regular wire is a little annoying but the truth is that these necks and joints are incredibly stable. I've yet to see one of these that needed much work aside from the basics unless the top was allowed to get into a bad state from poor storage.

I think the best part of this guitar is that, while it was hanging in the racks, people would look at it and snort but then when they would pick it up, play it, hear how it compared favorably with some pretty fancy gear around the shop, and then they would get this sickened look. It's all about design! Good design wins every time.