Ovation Applause

M

Markyboy

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2014
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Hi,

I have an ovation applause ukulele semi acoustic. It's my favourite to play in a live setting out of all the ukuleles I have. It just feels and sits so well when picked or strummed. However...

It came with Aquila strings, I read that Martins wee better for this type of ukulele. Uh Uh, we'll not for me anyway. I put on a set of Martin clear fluorocarbon sops .0191. The uke sound tinny and harsh when amped up.

I'm looking for a warmer more melodic sound a bit like my Luna concert. I know it has a lot to do with the wood etc but could someone recommend a set of strings please.

Cheers, aye

markyboy
 
I've never played the Ovation but when I see "warm" Worth Browns are what comes to my mind.
 
I have a 2 hole acacia koa tenor that came with Aquila strings and used them for a few months. With my limited experience, I thought they were fine, but when I played it for more experienced people, their comment was either it's "bright" or "brash." Then I added a very nice Chinese preamp/tuner/pickup system and realized how brash the sound was. I happened to have a set of Worth strings, so I changed to them and indeed, the sound is now warmer.

u6Hanknn 2 hole side brn.jpg
 
Last edited:
I have an Ovation soprano kickin' around here somewhere...

I tried a large varity of strings on the thing, and finally settled on Pro Arte. All of the fluorocarbon strings that I tried made the thing sound like a music box... just terrible.

(FYI, I have the acoustic only, spruce top, round hole Ovation.)
 
Oasis mediums, Ko-olau alohis, worth clear/browns, Living Waters, Fremont blacks. Hopefully some Ovation owners can help you narrow it down.
 
Yeah...if your main complaint is the amped sound and especially if you're trying to get a slightly (or heavily) overdriven sound like an electric guitar it can be done but it takes considerable tweaking - you need really good multi-band EQ or at least a good para-EQ to pull it off. The problem is that piezo pickups and the magnetic pickups on electric guitars have completely different characteristics. The high frequencies roll off quite dramatically with magnetic pickups while the piezo pickups are relatively flat way out into the supersonics. Thus with piezo pickups (on a guitar or a uke) you get a lot of harsh harmonic artifacts that need to be filtered out for "smooth, warm" sound.

Also, most electric guitar amps "scoop" the mids quite a bit and boost the bass and treble frequencies. This is because those magnetic pickups on electric guitars do just the opposite, they have low output in the bass and treble frequencies and high output in the middle. If you play something with relatively flat response like a piezo through a guitar amp you will tend to accentuate exactly the characteristics (the high trebles) that you need to be minimizing.


John
 
Last edited:
I use Aurora colored strings on my Applause and Flea. Red for Applause and multi-colored for Flea. I believe they are made by Aquila.

The interesting thing is when I first put them on I thought, "These strings sound like sh*t!" Kind of dead and lifeless, especially in comparison to my other ukes - a Koaloha w/Worths and an Ohana w/Aquilas. But then an interesting thing happened...

...after a few minutes of playing I kinda got used to it and began to love the sound. Very dry and lovely. They blend well and don't overpower voices. I love the kind of dead and dry tone on both for bluesy numbers and finger-picking.

Yeah, I know...kinda weird. Your mileage may vary but definitely worth a try. Plus they look really cool. ;)
 
Last edited:
I had an Ovation Applause too - gave it to a friend who drooled over it so much. I had non-Aquilas on it (can't recall which now). Today, I'd be tempted to try D'Addario Titaniums. I have them on my Godin and really like their sound and feel.
 
Markyboy said:
Hi,

I have an ovation applause ukulele semi acoustic. It's my favourite to play in a live setting out of all the ukuleles I have. It just feels and sits so well when picked or strummed. However...

It came with Aquila strings, I read that Martins wee better for this type of ukulele. Uh Uh, we'll not for me anyway. I put on a set of Martin clear fluorocarbon sops .0191. The uke sound tinny and harsh when amped up.

I'm looking for a warmer more melodic sound a bit like my Luna concert. I know it has a lot to do with the wood etc but could someone recommend a set of strings please.

Cheers, aye

markyboy
Click to expand...

to me martins have that cheap sound and feel to them, aquilas really bring the uke to life.
I never care for martin strings, agreed very tinny and no low end to them at all.
 
ricdoug said:
AC33MemorialDay.jpg
Click to expand...

Man, when you go to the beach, ricdoug, you go to the beach!!

And here, I get flummoxed if I have to take a towel and a bottle of water.
 
ricdoug said:
Here's one of my setups using the LR Baggs Para Acoustic DI:

AC33MemorialDay.jpg
Click to expand...

Man...I really hope that is a festival or something where you're supposed to be entertaining... As much as I love the ukulele if I was going for a nice relaxing day at the beach and people were randomly showing up to play amplified instruments I'd probably be somewhat less than happy! :rofl:

John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

TikiDave
Looking For Applause UAE148 or Ovation LE Koa Tenor
Replies
1
Views
336
experimentjon
experimentjon
eculuke
Rare Soprano Applause/Ovation acoustic electric
Replies
10
Views
1K
eculuke
eculuke
F
Wanted: Ovation Applause Soprano Ukulele Model UA10
Replies
17
Views
1K
gorehappy
G
A
Badly wanted: Ovation applause UAE148!
Replies
11
Views
2K
Johnzalez
J
Ukecaster
Ovation Applause
Replies
13
Views
2K
coolkayaker1
coolkayaker1
Top Bottom