Poptart is right. The less expensive models are called the Applause line. (HA! Get it?! Ovation? APPLAUSE?!?! HAHAHAAHAHA...yeah I'm not laughing either...) They're solid guitars, all of them. A buddy of mine plays a 15 year old Ovation with a top that's cracked in about 20 places hahaha. It's still a solid instrument.
Please note that this shouldn't represent all Ovations. He beat the tar out of that thing. It wasn't anything that wouldn't have happened to any other acoustic. They're awesome stuff, and you can find a solid 6-string Applause for around $200 or less used. Even some used Ovations go that low. Well worth the money, Eddie.
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I love science, and it pains me to think that so many are terrified of the subject or feel that choosing it means you cannot also choose compassion, or the arts, or be awed by nature. Science is not meant to cure us of mystery, but to reinvent and reinvigorate it. -R. Sapolsky
Upton Bass Custom 3/4 Upright, BSX Custom Allegro EUB, '80s Peavey T-40, MIM Active Jazz Bass, Godin BG-5 (for sale!), Fender Bassman 100 , `68 Fender Bassman 50 head, SWR Goliath 4x10, Markbass 2x10 cab