Enya Nova Go Mini

[mountainmaster]

I would still prefer A tuning for this small scale guitar.

So I used the Stringjoy tension calculator to see if an extra light 10-47 set could work.

Stringjoy's gauges don't quite match the D'Addario or Elixir extra light sets that I would use, but with one notch higher on the 3rd, 5th and 6th strings the total tension comes down to 164 lbs.

For comparison, a 12-53 set with this scale length in standard tuning produces a tension of only 104 lbs.

The question now becomes: Can this guitar take the extra 60 lbs of tension? 164 lbs is really not that much and it should be fine for most steel string guitars.
However, if the Nova Go Mini was made specifically with something around 104 lbs in mind the extra tension could be a problem.

Btw, the Nova Go Mini is now listed on the website. Including the correct scale length : https://www.enya-music.com/collectio...s/nova-go-mini

[Steve Christens]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

I would still prefer A tuning for this small scale guitar.

So I used the Stringjoy tension calculator to see if an extra light 10-47 set could work.

Stringjoy's gauges don't quite match the D'Addario or Elixir extra light sets that I would use, but with one notch higher on the 3rd, 5th and 6th strings the total tension comes down to 164 lbs.

For comparison, a 12-53 set with this scale length in standard tuning produces a tension of only 104 lbs.

The question now becomes: Can this guitar take the extra 60 lbs of tension? 164 lbs is really not that much and it should be fine for most steel string guitars.
However, if the Nova Go Mini was made specifically with something around 104 lbs in mind the extra tension could be a problem.

Btw, the Nova Go Mini is now listed on the website. Including the correct scale length : https://www.enya-music.com/collectio...s/nova-go-mini

Well as I mentioned above I tried that very experiment with 10s at A to A tuning, and was concerned at how much the neck bent under the load. If someone figures out a good string set for E or A tuning let us know, but I bet the best results would be using it as a terz in G to G. At any rate you'd still have to sand down the zero fret, and deal with the 8/64" action at the 12th fret, and frankly I just wasn't sure the guitar was worth that much setup effort.

[kurth]

Originally Posted by Steve Christens

Well as I mentioned above I tried that very experiment with 10s at A to A tuning, and was concerned at how much the neck bent under the load. If someone figures out a good string set for E or A tuning let us know, but I bet the best results would be using it as a terz in G to G. At any rate you'd still have to sand down the zero fret, and deal with the 8/64" action at the 12th fret, and frankly I just wasn't sure the guitar was worth that much setup effort.

...has it already been suggested to put nylons?

[Steve Christens]

Originally Posted by kurth

...has it already been suggested to put nylons?

Yes. As I mentioned above I also tried D'Addario EJ94 Requinto strings (nylon) tuned A to A. The result was reasonable, but not great sounding, and didn't seem worth the extensive setup work that would be required.

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by Steve Christens

Well as I mentioned above I tried that very experiment with 10s at A to A tuning, and was concerned at how much the neck bent under the load. If someone figures out a good string set for E or A tuning let us know, but I bet the best results would be using it as a terz in G to G. At any rate you'd still have to sand down the zero fret, and deal with the 8/64" action at the 12th fret, and frankly I just wasn't sure the guitar was worth that much setup effort.

Ah yes, so you did. Then there is still the 09-45 super light set to try. Its string tension for A tuning will be around 114 lbs, which is only 10 lbs more than a 12-53 set in E tuning.
This may be just enough to defeat the flabbiness without bending the neck too much.

Out of the box all of my acoustic guitars, be it cheap or high end, required a setup to fit my needs. So I consider that basic standard procedure.
The bad intonation does worry me a bit, but I believe that lowering the action may also reduce some of that sharpness.

[Steve Christens]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

Ah yes, so you did. Then there is still the 09-45 super light set to try. Its string tension for A tuning will be around 114 lbs, which is only 10 lbs more than a 12-53 set in E tuning.
This may be just enough to defeat the flabbiness without bending the neck too much.

Out of the box all of my acoustic guitars, be it cheap or high end, required a setup to fit my needs. So I consider that basic standard procedure.
The bad intonation does worry me a bit, but I believe that lowering the action may also reduce some of that sharpness.

Now that you mention it I wish I'd tried a set of 9s too. Oh well, perhaps someone else here will and let us know.

I too consider a setup to be necessary on any instrument I buy, BUT I hate dealing with zero frets! Why would any one install a zero fret so high it results in action of 35 to 40 thousands at the first fret? (Looking at you Enya.) Just use a lower profile fret! I've sanded down zero frets a couple of times to get the action down to 0.020", but it is nerve racking work knowing that if you blow it you can't just shim it or fill a slot with super glue.

[mountainmaster]

I waited for the Enya Nova Go Mini to become available at my local amazon.nl because I didn't want to put up with import taxes and all that.

Amazon took their time but last week it was finally up for sale and so I ordered one.

The guitar arrived 3 days ago and as reported previously I am afraid it is not very good.

The action on mine actually is not that bad. It is too high for me but no different than any other acoustic guitar straight out of the box.
The null fret is indeed larger than the normal frets but I have owned other guitars with this feature and they all had it like that. So I think this is normal and it does not bother me.

What is really bad is the intonation. At the 12th fret the fretted note is very sharp compared to the flageolet. I noticed that the saddle is tilted, resulting in a string length that is shorter than it should be. This is probably the cause of the bad intonation.
I will try to straighten the saddle when I switch the strings to a 09-45 set for A tuning.

Another issue is that the guitar won't stay in tune. I have stretched the strings and 3 days later it still keeps going out of tune. What is the advantage of composite material if it cannot even achieve tuning stability?

Edit: I also just heard something rattling when I hit the open E string. Which is strange since there are no electronics inside. The guitar does seem to have some kind of bracing inside. I hope it is not a loose bracing part.

To end on a tiny positive note, this guitar produces way more volume than its small size would indicate.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

What is really bad is the intonation. At the 12th fret the fretted note is very sharp compared to the flageolet. I noticed that the saddle is tilted, resulting in a string length that is shorter than it should be. This is probably the cause of the bad intonation.
I will try to straighten the saddle when I switch the strings to a 09-45 set for A tuning.

I got a regular Nova Go and the intonation wasn't great either. Buying a new compensated saddle helped that quite a bit. Took a couple tries to find one from Graphtec that would fit, but it was an inexpensive ($15USD) fix.

[mountainmaster]

I tried the 09-45 string set on my Nova Go Mini. Tuning it up to A did not bend the neck but the tension was quite high. I prefer my string tension medium to low. With the guitar tuned to G it was just right for me.

Regarding the intonation: The saddle slot is cut too wide, causing the saddle to tilt. So I put a thin piece of plastic vertically in front of the saddle. That straightened it but the intonation hardly improved. In fact it got worse for the G string because in a 09-45 set this is a plain unwound string.

Originally Posted by Chipotle

I got a regular Nova Go and the intonation wasn't great either. Buying a new compensated saddle helped that quite a bit. Took a couple tries to find one from Graphtec that would fit, but it was an inexpensive ($15USD) fix.

Do you remember which Graphtech saddle it was?

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

Do you remember which Graphtech saddle it was?

It was the Graph Tech 9280-CO. It was a little large for the slot and had to be sanded down a bit, but that allowed me to get a perfect fit. This was for the regular Nova Go--I'm not sure if the saddle slot on the Mini is the same.

[mountainmaster]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

It was the Graph Tech 9280-CO. It was a little large for the slot and had to be sanded down a bit, but that allowed me to get a perfect fit. This was for the regular Nova Go--I'm not sure if the saddle slot on the Mini is the same.

Thanks. The saddle slot is probably the same because the nut width on the mini and the regular Nova Go is also the same.

My saddle is 2.8 x 0.122 inches. So the 9280 will need some sanding on all sides, since it is 2.88 x 0.128 inches.

Did you have any issues with the different radius? The Nova Go has a 15 inch radius (380 mm according to the specs), while the Graph Tech 9280 is a 12 inch saddle. An R16 saddle would be closer.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by mountainmaster

Thanks. The saddle slot is probably the same because the nut width on the mini and the regular Nova Go is also the same.

My saddle is 2.8 x 0.122 inches. So the 9280 will need some sanding on all sides, since it is 2.88 x 0.128 inches.

Did you have any issues with the different radius? The Nova Go has a 15 inch radius (380 mm according to the specs), while the Graph Tech 9280 is a 12 inch saddle. An R16 saddle would be closer.

I couldn't actually find a saddle with all the right dimensions... I got a different Graph Tech saddle originally with a 16" radius but it wasn't tall enough. Tbh the difference in saddle radius on that guitar wasn't a big deal. The action on the outer strings way up the neck will be a few thousandths higher; I didn't notice it to be any issue with playing. I'm wasn't worrying about getting a perfect setup on a $160 (on sale) guitar. I just wanted a little better intonation.

[mountainmaster]

I settled on the PQ-9272-C0 saddle with a 16" radius. It was too low but shimming the saddle fixed that.

This improved the intonation although the G string is still sharp due to being unwound in the light sets which I use on this guitar.
The B string appears to be overcompensated because it is now slightly flat. The other 4 strings are spot on though.

Since acoustic strings don't go any lighter than 09-45 I started using electric strings. Currently my mini wears a 09-42 set, but I am still wary to keep it tuned to A permanently.
I did try the A tuning and it sounded great, but again there was too much tension so I tuned one step down to G#.

Next I will probably try a very light electric 08-38 set for A tuning.

[Thebo]

I thought I'd share my impressions after receiving a new Enya Nova Go Mini. Regarding the strings, I found the gauge too light for my tastes, but intonation was fine. The tuning is much more sensitive to slight adjustments being a shorter scale instrument, but once tuned carefully, intonation was acceptable. Fretting the low E string too hard can make the pitch sharp, but playing with this in mind avoids this problem. I replaced the original strings with mediums (13-56) and the tone and intonation are better now, for me. The string tension still is lighter than a full-size acoustic with 12-54. Size is ideal for travel. Highly recommended and looking forward to taking this little guitar everywhere without a care. Impressed that it's such a small decent sounding standard tuning instrument.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Thebo

I thought I'd share my impressions after receiving a new Enya Nova Go Mini. Regarding the strings, I found the gauge too light for my tastes, but intonation was fine. The tuning is much more sensitive to slight adjustments being a shorter scale instrument, but once tuned carefully, intonation was acceptable. Fretting the low E string too hard can make the pitch sharp, but playing with this in mind avoids this problem. I replaced the original strings with mediums (13-56) and the tone and intonation are better now, for me. The string tension still is lighter than a full-size acoustic with 12-54. Size is ideal for travel. Highly recommended and looking forward to taking this little guitar everywhere without a care. Impressed that it's such a small decent sounding standard tuning instrument.

I didn't think to try 13s on my regular Nova Go. Did you find the greater tension helped at all with volume?