Acoustically, the AE44II has all the hallmarks of the Ovation brand: a balanced sound great for strumming, along with amenability to nuances of gently fingerpicked passages. The bass response won’t threaten nearby dreadnoughts’ egos, but it’s still respectable. Plugged in, the Applause confronts challenges similar to other affordable, single-element piezo systems: Sounds are a little nasal, bright, and bass-heavy with sliders at their midpoints, but boosting mids a bit and reducing treble and bass a tad yields impressively usable tones—especially considering the price point.
Test gear: QSC K Series powered PA speaker
Fingerstyle Through Royer R - 121 MicRatings
Pros:
Super-solid build and setup. Clean, even, wonderfully intonated tones up and down the fretboard. Fantastic deal.
Cons:
Roundback design can be tricky to wrangle. Quacky piezo tones under heavy attack.
Street:
$299
Ovation Applause Elite AE44II-VV
ovationguitars.com
Tones:
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
With over 30 models to choose from, Keeley’s line of handcrafted and innovative effects covers a full range of sounds for professional and enthusiast musicians of every kind. Industry standard compression, expressive analog drive and fuzz, mind bending, lush modulation or expansive delay and reverb, all of Keeley’s effects have the finely tuned, soulful sound quality that you can only get from over 15 years of obsessive dedication to tone. Beyond that one of the industry’s most serious lifetime warranties ensures there will never be a time your Keeley pedal won’t be ready to perform.
Street Price: $99 – $299
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