Applause is a guitar brand launched by Ovation in the mid-1970s, designed to bring the distinctive roundback acoustic guitar experience to a more affordable price point. The brand traces its origins to 1975, when the line was first offered to Ovation dealers as the "Ovation Medallion" before being renamed and marketed under the Applause name. Originally manufactured in New Hartford, Connecticut, production shifted to Korea in 1980. Like its parent brand, Applause guitars feature the signature Lyrachord composite roundback body — a design pioneered by Ovation founder Charles Kaman, who applied aerospace engineering principles to guitar construction.

Applause's lineup spans several series. The Heritage series offers traditional Ovation aesthetics with spruce or cedar tops and the classic roundback body, available in both centre-soundhole (Traditional) and multi-soundhole (Elite) configurations, including nylon-string and bass models. The Wood Classics series pairs traditional tonewoods and appointments with modern Applause construction, available in dreadnought, orchestra, OOO, and jumbo body shapes. The Jump series introduces bold, colorful finishes to the roundback platform. Across all lines, models are available in both pure acoustic and acoustic-electric variants with onboard pickup and preamp systems.

The Ovation, Applause, and Adamas brands are part of the GEWA Music family, a German musical instrument company. Applause instruments are manufactured in Asia and distributed globally, positioned as an accessible entry point to the roundback guitar world that Ovation pioneered.

Applause has 16 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Acoustic-Electric Guitars, Solid Body Electric Guitars, and Steel-string Acoustic Guitars. Their gear is featured by 1 artist, with the strongest followings in Rock. Notable users include Tom Morello.