![ovation applause ae140 ovation applause ae140](https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--aMPcRxae--/t_card-square/v1606066471/zlvybvbuj77izsady5ks.jpg)
Look inside and generally they're as clean as a whistle. The standards of presentation are something that, even as little as five or six years ago, Chinese factories by and large simply wouldn't have been capable of. There is virtually nothing to complain about as far as materials, construction and cosmetic detailing on the AE147 are concerned. Very much a horses for courses sound, we feel. However if you prefer to do the latter, some that bowlback personality is pretty much ever-present, short of killing the treble band altogether. The preamp is mostly effective for accentuating or veiling the guitar's unplugged characteristics. It's a cinch to work with - three centre-notched EQ sliders and a rotary volume - and delivers a healthy dollop of clear-voiced gain, while pickup output was spot-on. Within that caveat, the guitar's OP4B system does a surefooted job.
![ovation applause ae140 ovation applause ae140](https://medias.audiofanzine.com/images/normal/applause-ae140-301401.jpg)
Though well balanced and sustainful, the acoustic texture is on the light side and is underlaid with that telltale faintly wiry, metallic edge. Ovation has made impressive strides in giving its pricier models more versatile sounds, but we have to say that this Applause harks back to an archetypal bowlback personality.
Ovation applause ae140 full#
The black vibe is contrasted by white fretboard binding, while the cutaway provides decent access to the full 23-fret range. It's slim and shallow, allowing slick, compact chord work, made even more effortless by our sample's slinky action. The intermediate-scale neck - sprayed up in a matching black lacquer - is an ideal strumming companion. The guitar comes with two strap buttons, which is good to find. It should be noted however, that this still means a pretty portly body, some 135mm deep at the apex of the bowl. The fibreglass bowl is the medium-depth variety, which is by far the company's most popular option these days. The raised, wood epaulettes sit on a multi-ply-bound, black-lacquered top of X-braced laminated spruce, with the bridge rear-strung in the usual Ovation manner. The AE147 occupies top slot in the Applause series, the 'Deluxe' tag denoting Elite-style multi-hole epaulettes rather than a centre soundhole.