Applause Ukulele (Ovation)

Ovation Applause ukuleles are the most popular brand of electric ukulele around. Looks wise, they are very distinctive and look similar to the Applause guitars (made popular recently by Kaki King who also plays a tenor Applause ukulele). As well as the distinctive look, they sound good and are well made. They can be played either plugged or unplugged.

On eBay US

On eBay UK

On Musician's Friend

Applause UA10 Soprano Ukulele Natural The UA10 is a soprano uke with traditional, single sound hole body style and a solid spruce top. 17 frets. 13-5/8" Scale. Price: $129.99

Applause UAE20 Acoustic-Electric Deluxe Soprano Ukulele Adamas Red/Black Satin The UAE20 Ukulele is soprano size with a multi-soundhole design borrowed from Ovation guitars. It also features a solid spruce top on its rounded Lyrachord body. 17 frets. Onboard electronics. Price: $139.99

On Video

Kaki King playing a Tenor Applause which seems to play well despite her little water spillage incident.

Applause Soprano Ukulele UAE-20 Review

I purchased an applause soprano ukulele just a couple of months ago. I was fortunate enough to catch a classified ad and pick up the ukulele, a small practice amp, a gig bag, and a digital tuner for just over a hundred dollars. Don't you just love deals like that?

They usually list for between 150.00 to 200.00 American dollars. If you're in the states, it doesn't hurt to research Musician's Friend as they go for about a 140.00 dollars through these two retailers.

The Positives: I love the sound of this little uke. That is, I love it when it is tuned to A, D, F#, B tuning, I tried wrapping the strings a bit tighter when I re-strung the instrument, but still, it sounded and felt a bit to "mushy" for me. It has a very bright/crisp tone, it projects well, and it comes with a decent pickup so you can just plug it in instead of putting a microphone in front of it. I also love the neck and the rounded composite back to the instrument (characteristic of all ovation/applause acoustic instruments). The instrument also feels like it is a solid and well-made little unit.


The Negatives: this is purely subjective, but the aesthetics for the ukulele top don't quite do it for me. The sound holes are actually on the sides of the instrument and there are two woody "leaf-like" designs in this area. Some folks that have seen it love it. for me it seems a bit cheesy. Still, this won't keep me from using this instrument when I play live!

By Todd Baio - Folk Musician & Ukulele Evangelist

Applause UA-10 Soprano Ukulele Review

Review by John.