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So I finally bought that Applause..

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   Forums Archive -> The Vault: 2007Message format
 
TommyK
Posted 2006-06-26 2:00 PM (#123950)
Subject: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208

Location: Illinois
I got it for less than a C note, HS case and all. It has a classic style slotted headstock without the shovel nose sturgeon head stock. Is there a way to post a pic on this board?

Upon further inspection it had been restrung by the previous owner. It has two, E & A, bass strings that are steel, one wound nylon and nylon trebles. The stringing job was wholly amateurish. He had the trebles wrapped on the spools upside down and bass-ackwards.

I left the house without writing down the details. I did find a model number, I'll share with you later. The neck is mahogany with rosewood(?) fretboard.

The bridge is pulling up as the sound board is bellied a bit. Possibly one cracked brace... Boy! these are lightly braced. (I think I answered my nylon / steel question).

Questions:

1.) It is my understanding that slotted headstocks are not really designed for steel strings. Is this the case with Applause brand?

2.) Do these types of Applause guitars have sound boards that are dead-nuts flat? or do they have a bit of crown?

3.) Can I? How do I post a pic here?

4.) Any tips or cautions about removing the electronics so I can do the bridge / soundboard / brace work?
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stephent28
Posted 2006-06-26 2:13 PM (#123951 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..



Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303

Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066
Slotted headstocks are for both nylon snd steel string. It is other factors that make the difference as to which one to use.

Some of the best sounding steel string O's have slotted heads....FD-14, U681T, #47 RI, all the original slotheads, '97 Parlor, etc.
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Tupperware
Posted 2006-06-26 3:23 PM (#123952 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903

Location: Phoenix AZ
Applause never made a slothead guitar for steel strings as far as I know. Dave
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Mark in Boise
Posted 2006-06-26 4:03 PM (#123953 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761

Location: Boise, Idaho
2. Ovations, and probably others, do tend to get a bit of a belly around the bridge over time. I would have expected a plywood top on the Applause that would be more flat.
3. Go to Member Access at the left. Go to Gallery Utility and follow the directions. The pictures have to be less than 500 wide.
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TommyK
Posted 2006-06-26 4:16 PM (#123954 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208

Location: Illinois
Originally posted by Tupperware:
Applause never made a slothead guitar for steel strings as far as I know. Dave
That's what I thought. Probably why this one's got a belly bust, the previous owner's ill conceived notion he could use steels on her. Ah well, that's why God invented clamps.
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TommyK
Posted 2006-06-26 4:18 PM (#123955 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208

Location: Illinois
Thanks Mark in Boise. I'll break out the Kodak and upload some pics tonight.. well maybe. My wife's in the hospital. If she gets tired early, I'll be able to get home before my bedtime.

BTW, will this site upload 126 film? :D
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MWoody
Posted 2006-06-26 4:29 PM (#123956 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..



Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13997

Location: Upper Left USA
I hope all goes well with the Wife!
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TommyK
Posted 2006-07-05 9:29 AM (#123957 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208

Location: Illinois
Originally posted by MWoody:
I hope all goes well with the Wife!
Thanks for the concern MWoody. She's home and on the mend. I have to change dressings twice a day, but I'm over the fainting stage :eek:
Here's the belly bust:


And from the inside:


More pics in the Photo Gallery under me and AE33
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TommyK
Posted 2007-04-18 2:52 PM (#123958 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208

Location: Illinois
I'm bumping this thread since there seems to be a little more Applause traffic of late.
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TommyK
Posted 2007-04-18 3:15 PM (#123959 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208

Location: Illinois
One other thing, How do you tell if an Applause has an aluminum neck? You can see my AE33 by looking at my picks under TommyK/AE33
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Yak
Posted 2007-04-18 3:35 PM (#123960 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 347

Location: Reno, NV
I have a 70's Applause AA-14 that has an aluminium neck. Its really easy to tell because the Neck, Fretboard, and Frets are all machined out of aluminium. So it doesn't really have a "fretboard" per se. Its just painted black between the frets.
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Jason_S
Posted 2007-04-18 3:38 PM (#123961 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 2804

Location: ranson,wva
tommy, is that a crack in the underside of the soundboard where that broken brace is?? jason
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TommyK
Posted 2007-04-18 4:07 PM (#123962 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208

Location: Illinois
The gray area it is a 'divot' with some surface spliters showing. The wood grain did not show up very well in this pic. It is not cracked clean through.

The broken brace was, I'm speculating here, caused by the fact that the top and the brace jig were out of register when the braces were positioned and glued. Then when they drilled the hole for the p'up wire the drill came down through the middle of the brace. I assume that when steel strings were installed the brace snapped in two.
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Old Man Arthur
Posted 2007-04-19 12:19 AM (#123963 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..



Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777

Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR
Whoa, dude... That thing has had a rough life!
But I do like the Rosette, the tuning machinery, and the deep-bowl.
How's it sound with the correct strings?
[or, at least all the same kind of strings?]
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TommyK
Posted 2007-04-19 9:28 AM (#123964 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 208

Location: Illinois
I'll let you know when I get her strung up. It's a 'rainy day' project. While there have been many rainy days since we came home together, my wife has other 'rainy day' projects with higher priority.
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Paul Templeman
Posted 2007-04-19 9:46 AM (#123965 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750

Location: Scotland
Only the early USA-made Applause guitars had aluminum necks and were steel string only. The bridge indicates that this guitar is a classical model designed for nylon strings, so it's later production, most likely of Korean origin.
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Mark in Boise
Posted 2007-04-19 3:08 PM (#123966 - in reply to #123950)
Subject: Re: So I finally bought that Applause..


Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761

Location: Boise, Idaho
The side of the aluminum fretboards look like aluminum with dots on it. Pretty unmistakable, so you would have been able to tell.
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