Enya Nova Go Mini

[Steve Christens]

Originally Posted by zeeway

I bought one about a year ago to take on cruises…and it was okay for that. While it is a bit quiet, it still makes acceptable guitar sounds. It is on the small side. Currently it is a wall decoration.

Sure you don't mean the regular Nova Go? The "Mini" is the newer, smaller version.

[zeeway]

Originally Posted by Steve Christens

Sure you don't mean the regular Nova Go? The "Mini" is the newer, smaller version.

Whoops, I think you are right. Sorry bout that.

[Per Burström]

The Mini seems to be available for ordering at Amazon.com now. Interestingly I have seen the total length to be 30" on other Amazon sites (for example .de) while on Amazon.com they state 32"... I wonder which number is correct?! Enya does not list it on their own site.

Per

[Steve Christens]

Originally Posted by Per Burström

The Mini seems to be available for ordering at Amazon.com now. Interestingly I have seen the total length to be 30" on other Amazon sites (for example .de) while on Amazon.com they state 32"... I wonder which number is correct?! Enya does not list it on their own site.

Per

I'll let you know after mine arrives Thursday.

[Steve Christens]

Well my Nova Go Mini arrived, and boy is it different from what the specs were.

Scale length was given as 22.8", while I measured 20.25"(!).
Overall length was given as 32 1/4", while I measured 31 3/4".
Nut width was given as 1.7", while I measured 1.66" (same as the Nova Go).
Body depth was given as 3.8", while I measured ~3.2" at the heel (Nova Go is ~ 3.1" at the heel.)
Weight (2.98 lbs) and lower bout (10.25") were as given.

The fit and finish are excellent, just as with the Nova Go, but the Mini is so small that it feels more like a toy. And that short scale length is going to be an issue with string gauge. It seems to have shipped with 12s, and they are really floppy. Doesn't sound as if it will ever stay in tune.

The action was terrible. Easily 0.035" at the first fret, and since there is a zero fret that means dropping that to 0.020" is going to involve a lot of very careful sanding and recrowning. (The Nova Go is even worse with 0.040" at the first fret.) At the 12th fret the action was 8/64ths low E (0.125") and 7/64ths high E (0.105"), with from 0.190" to 0.150" showing on the saddle so there at least should be room to lower it plenty. The intonation was also terrible, with the B being quite sharp by over 20 cents. The good news here is that the stock saddle is uncompensated, so there could be room for improvement.

Other differences are the use of a pinless bridge, and no goodies inside the case other than a truss rod wrench.

My first impression is quite negative, and I'm not sure it's worth keeping, even at $80. Sure is cute though, and if you can just find the right strings to use it could be fun. Here's a photo of the Mini next to the Nova Go I ordered at the same time for comparison.

[OnTheFidele]

Originally Posted by Steve Christens

Well my Nova Go Mini arrived, and boy is it different from what the specs were.

Scale length was given as 22.8", while I measured 20.25"(!).
Overall length was given as 32 1/4", while I measured 31 3/4".
Nut width was given as 1.7", while I measured 1.66" (same as the Nova Go).
Body depth was given as 3.8", while I measured ~3.2" at the heel (Nova Go is ~ 3.1" at the heel.)

The fit and finish are excellent, just as with the Nova Go, but the Mini is so small that it feels more like a toy. And that short scale length is going to be an issue with string gauge. It seems to have shipped with 12s, and they are really floppy. Doesn't sound as if it will ever stay in tune.

The action was terrible. Easily 0.035" at the first fret, and since there is a zero fret that means dropping that to 0.020" is going to involve a lot of very careful sanding and recrowning. (The Nova Go is even worse with 0.040" at the first fret.) At the 12th fret the action was 8/64ths low E (0.125") and 7/64ths high E (0.105"), with from 0.190" to 0.150" showing on the saddle so there at least should be room to lower it plenty. The intonation was also terrible, with the B being quite sharp. The good news here is that the stock saddle is uncompensated, so there could be room for improvement.

Other differences are the use of a pinless bridge, and no goodies inside the case other than a truss rod wrench.

My first impression is quite negative, and I'm not sure it's worth keeping, even at $80. Sure is cute though, and if you can just find the right strings to use it could be fun. Here's a photo of the Mini next to the Nova Go I ordered at the same time for comparison.

Thank you for the report!!!

[Captain Jim]

Good report, Steve - thanks for sharing that info with the group. Sometimes "cheap" isn't worth it.

[mountainmaster]

Thanks for the review Steve.

I wonder if Enya has any plans to make a "deluxe" version with their AcousticPlus pickup system.

So this mini is the same size as the Outdoor guitar. The main difference is that the Outdoor guitar is a nylon string.

My Outdoor guitar (or rather guitalele as it used to be called) came with very light nylon strings tuned up to A.
Would it be possible to tune the Nova Go Mini higher? Perhaps even up to A with a light gauge steel string set?

[Steve Christens]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

Thanks for the review Steve.

I wonder if Enya has any plans to make a "deluxe" version with their AcousticPlus pickup system.

So this mini is the same size as the Outdoor guitar. The main difference is that the Outdoor guitar is a nylon string.

My Outdoor guitar (or rather guitalele as it used to be called) came with very light nylon strings tuned up to A.
Would it be possible to tune the Nova Go Mini higher? Perhaps even up to A with a light gauge steel string set?

If sales of the Mini are good I could well imagine an electric version, but you would have to sort out the string issue for it to ever sound good.

I was thinking the same thing about the Outdoor guitar similarity. At just $80 (on sale) it would be fun to keep the Mini and try putting nylon strings on it and making it into a six string baritone uke. BUT, the frets as delivered are pretty rough, so before doing that I would certainly recommend polishing them or you would wear right through any nylon or fluorocarbon strings. Tuning it A to A with nylon or fluorcarbon strings might be tough at that scale length. What strings and gauges did the Outdoor guitar use at A to A?

Tuning it up to A with steel strings as with the old Papoose guitar is another option. I used to own a Papoose, with its 19.1" scale tuned A to A (loved the guitar, but hated the 1.875" nut). It would take 12s, but I found it best with 10s. I would think 10s tuned A to A would be safe to try on the Mini, but I'd want to do a string tension calculation to see how much that would be. The Mini feels very sturdy, but it could be they designed it to only handle the stress of 12s in regular tuning.

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by Steve Christens

Tuning it A to A with nylon or fluorcarbon strings might be tough at that scale length. What strings and gauges did the Outdoor guitar use at A to A?

Outdoor are not offering the A to A option anymore, but it came with a D'Addario EJ43 set.

The tension was still quite high so I have switched to D'Addario EJ94 Requinto strings.

[Steve Christens]

So a final report on the Nova Go Mini guitar. I installed a set of 10-47s on it and tried it at A to A tuning. And it did immediately sound MUCH better, but the neck bent quite a bit, raising the action to 10/64ths at the 12th fret, without changing the relief very much. Which I took as a sign NOT to keep the higher tuning.

So instead I installed a set of D'Addario EJ94 Requinto strings tuned A to A. This finally sounded pretty reasonable, and the neck was happy again. But in the end, the sound just wasn't very good, and I couldn't see myself using it enough to justify the tune up work it would require (sanding down the zero fret, polishing the very rough frets, sanding down the saddle). It's going back today.

It still might work with steel strings tuned E to E if you tried a set of flatwounds, sort of like John Lennon used on his short-scale Rickenbacker. Or it might sound good if used with a set of nylon strings designed for shorter scale student classical guitars. But that much experimentation would get expensive.

https://www.stringsbymail.com/classi...r-strings-129/

BUT, if anyone wants a Requinto (or Guitarlele?) tuned A to A, it's well worth the $80, and probably sounds better than the much more expensive Outdoor Guitar.

[Marshall]

Have you tried torqueing the truss rod a little? My Enya X3 Mini Pro came with too much relief. I turned the truss rod and got the neck to an better usable profile.

[Steve Christens]

Originally Posted by Marshall

Have you tried torqueing the truss rod a little? My Enya X3 Mini Pro came with too much relief. I turned the truss rod and got the neck to an better usable profile.

No - as I mentioned the relief was surprisingly not that great, maybe went from 0.005" when E to E to 0.010" at the higher tuning. It would probably work well tuned G to G if someone wanted to experiment further, but as I said I just didn't think the sound warranted any more effort and cost in strings.

[mountainmaster]

Still not listed on the Enya website but a (sponsored) demo has appeared on YouTube.



Looks quite tempting. And the guitar isn't too bad either.

[Steve Christens]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

Still not listed on the Enya website but a (sponsored) demo has appeared on YouTube.



Looks quite tempting. And the guitar isn't too bad either.

Thanks for posting that. She does make that Mini sound pretty good, so maybe my expectations were too high? (Or maybe I shouldn't have played my Emerald X7 first?)

At any rate I might be a bit more impressed with her review if she had at least gotten out a tape measure to notice that the scale length is NOT 22.8" as Enya reported, but rather 20.25"! Don't you think that's worth checking on a short scale guitar?