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. 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.
Guitar Serial Number
Seeking information about my vintage Ovation Applause AA-31 acoustic guitar. Made in Korea. Serial # 134919. Front is green.
Ovation date-finder says 1978 for this serial number but I've also been told that production in Korea did not occur until the early 1980's. Would love to clarify this and even find a print ad or brochure with this guitar. Any info would be helpful.
THANKS!!I can't give you specifics, but I can tell you for certain that guitar wasn't made in the late 70s. I had a late 70s Applause back when they were new, and they didn't offer that model - it was still the AA-14 aluminum necked models that were in the line back then, and they moved to wood fingerboards a few years later - about 1982/83 IIRC. I'd almost be willing to bet your guitar was made in the 1980s, although it is possible it could have come from the 1990s. And FWIW, I think they called that color blue, not green. 'Look at it this way: think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of 'em are stupider than that.' - George Carlin 'It shouldn't be expected that people are necessarily doing what they appear to be doing on records.' - Sir George Martin, All You Need Is Ears 'The music business will be revitalized by musicians, not the labels or Live Nation.
When the musicians decide to put music first, instead of money, the public will flock to the fruits and the scene will be healthy again.' - Bob Lefsetz. Some info I found on the net 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.
Applause Acoustic Guitar
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. The AA-31s were made in Korea beginning about 1983. There were no US made AA-31s to my knowledge. They have 'real wood' necks and fingerboards as opposed to aluminum.
The nut width on my AA-31 is 1-11/16'. All AA-31s have laminated tops. I'd almost be willing to bet your guitar was made in the 1980s, although it is possible it could have come from the 1990s.I would say mid 80's but I'm not certain.
I owned an Ovation Applause AE21 several years ago (sold it on) that had the usual Ovation headstock and also used the name 'Ovation' on the label ('Applause by Ovation') which the earlier Applause models didn't do - they had a different headstock and used the name 'Kaman' on the label. This is the later model: And this is the early model: The original Applause headstock: So it would be interesting to know when they made the change - it would narrow down the times. Some info I found on the net 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. The AA-31s were made in Korea beginning about 1983. There were no US made AA-31s to my knowledge. They have 'real wood' necks and fingerboards as opposed to aluminum.
The nut width on my AA-31 is 1-11/16'. All AA-31s have laminated tops. All of this lines up with my recollections. Again, I had one of the aluminum-necked Applause models (AA-14) when they first came out in the late '70s (got it for Christmas in either '77 or '78), then a Celebrity, then went to Ovations for acoustics in the 80s, so I'm pretty familiar with the brand and models from the era. My best guess is that the aluminum necks were made only in Connecticut - if they made them in Korea, they didn't do it for long - by the mid-1980s (and maybe as early as '82/'83/'84) Applause guitars were using more traditional wood necks. The bit about the frets wearing quickly on the aluminum necks is spot-on.
'Look at it this way: think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of 'em are stupider than that.' - George Carlin 'It shouldn't be expected that people are necessarily doing what they appear to be doing on records.' - Sir George Martin, All You Need Is Ears 'The music business will be revitalized by musicians, not the labels or Live Nation. When the musicians decide to put music first, instead of money, the public will flock to the fruits and the scene will be healthy again.' - Bob Lefsetz. All of this lines up with my recollections. Again, I had one of the aluminum-necked Applause models (AA-14) when they first came out in the late '70s (got it for Christmas in either '77 or '78), then a Celebrity, then went to Ovations for acoustics in the 80s, so I'm pretty familiar with the brand and models from the era.
My best guess is that the aluminum necks were made only in Connecticut - if they made them in Korea, they didn't do it for long - by the mid-1980s (and maybe as early as '82/'83/'84) Applause guitars were using more traditional wood necks. The bit about the frets wearing quickly on the aluminum necks is spot-on. I know a guy at work that has an Applause, I did not play it, but I have seen him play the thing. I believe he got it in the late 70's. I will ask him.
There is wear makes on his neck. No pick up on his, cause I loaned him a clip on hole mounted pick up so he could use a PA. 'Look at it this way: think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of 'em are stupider than that.' - George Carlin 'It shouldn't be expected that people are necessarily doing what they appear to be doing on records.'
- Sir George Martin, All You Need Is Ears 'The music business will be revitalized by musicians, not the labels or Live Nation. When the musicians decide to put music first, instead of money, the public will flock to the fruits and the scene will be healthy again.'
- Bob Lefsetz.