Two NGD: Enya X4 Pro AcousticPlus & Enya Nova Go

[JDFort]

I've had an X4 pro for about 2 months now and have been very pleased with the purchase. I bought mine as a less expensive alternative to a full carbon fiber guitar that I could leave in the car for short periods of time in the Florida sun. A knockabout guitar to take places I wouldn't want to take a D-28. It has since gotten more play time than all of my other guitars combined.

The acoustic sound is very resonant and bright, even without the effects (which are great and just plain fun to play with). I have used it in an outdoor bluegrass jam and it worked out very well, but it was a tad weak on the bass end of the tonal spectrum as compared to a D-28. I have not yet tried medium gauge strings, but that will be next. I play it as much without the built-in effects as with. The sound that comes out of this $900 guitar is nothing short of amazing for it's price range. Added bonus is that the chorus and reverb effects are good enough that I will probably never have to tune a 12 string again. This guitar can easily fill that void.

Amplified, the output is very hot and it's easy to drive an amp's front end into distortion if the volume control is not kept pretty low, but once dialed in it sounds pretty darn good and I will probably end up using it for outdoor gigs in the future. Control knob markings are not easy to see, but I used some 1/16" white pinstripe tape added to the knobs for increased visibility in the dark.

The action was initially a bit high for my taste on the guitar I received, and I had to take a bit off the saddle height to get it dialed in. The neck relief was spot on at .005". The fretwork is pretty good for a guitar in this price range and the frets are nicely beveled with no sharp ends. The 21:1 tuners are great as well. The only complaint I have is that it is somewhat neck heavy, and as a result, it feels a bit unbalanced.

[casualmusic]

Originally Posted by JDFort

I've had an X4 pro for about 2 months now and have been very pleased with the purchase. I bought mine as a less expensive alternative to a full carbon fiber guitar that I could leave in the car for short periods of time in the Florida sun. A knockabout guitar to take places I wouldn't want to take a D-28. It has since gotten more play time than all of my other guitars combined.

The acoustic sound is very resonant and bright, even without the effects (which are great and just plain fun to play with). I have used it in an outdoor bluegrass jam and it worked out very well, but it was a tad weak on the bass end of the tonal spectrum as compared to a D-28. I have not yet tried medium gauge strings, but that will be next. I play it as much without the built-in effects as with. The sound that comes out of this $900 guitar is nothing short of amazing for it's price range. Added bonus is that the chorus and reverb effects are good enough that I will probably never have to tune a 12 string again. This guitar can easily fill that void.
.

Hi JD

Welcome to AGF.

Your experience playing at bluegrass jams is another confirmation that the X4 will be good for playing out at song circles. I’m not concerned about a bit less bass than a D28. Agree about trying other strings, but there are always plenty other guitarists to contribute a group’s bass. Your comment that the effects gives a similar result as 12 strings is good news.

Many thanks.

[SpruceTop]

Here's a layout of the Enya X4 Pro AcousticPlus neck construction for anyone interested:

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

Here's a layout of the Enya X4 Pro AcousticPlus neck construction for anyone interested:

Interesting - so the CF is really just a cladding, and not load-bearing?

[SpruceTop]

Also, the cantilevered fingerboard, a la McPherson:

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by David Eastwood

Interesting - so the CF is really just a cladding, and not load-bearing?

Unless the carbon/composite adds some strength to the assembly along with its likely effect on the guitar's tone? Don't know, maybe?

[JDFort]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

I might consider putting .012 - .056 light-medium gauge strings on it to make sure it would punch through like a Cobra CB radio.

I made that same change yesterday and it did help out the low end noticeably.

[Aspiring]

Originally Posted by JDFort

I made that same change yesterday and it did help out the low end noticeably.

I actually experimented the other way as I had a couple sets of 11-52 Daddario XS that I ordered by accident.

They are overall lower in acoustic output than the 12s that were on the guitar before but I am happy with the tone quality and balance and they seem to be a little more clear in the bottom end.

Sent from my motorola edge (2021) using Acoustic Guitar Forum mobile app

[SpruceTop]

If you don't mind playing a 1 11/16" inch wide string spacing at the nut and a neck profile that I'll describe as what I believe a 1 11/16" inch wide string spacing at the nut, RainSong N2 neck (normally 1 3/4" nut width) would feel like (look at my signature), you'll likely love this guitar. For $699.99 to $899.99, you can't go wrong!

UPDATE: I just played my new Enya X4 Pro AcousticPlus in Drop-D and Double-Drop-D. This guitar sounds tremendous as being loud, full, rich, and with sustain for days in these lower tunings! This may be the best $799.99* I've ever spent in my life on a guitar.

*My Amazon Prime Price. Perspective: If this guitar at its current full price of $899.99 were to have been on the market in 1976, it would've cost about $100 but its carbon-fiber/composite features weren't even available back then! Sometimes, things look pretty good nowadays for receiving value for your money, especially when we look at guitars.

P.S. The onboard rechargeable battery now has 18 hours of preamp-activated time on its first-ever charge. I'm kind of surprised as I figured maybe the preamp system had one of those 5-hour usage-type rechargeable batteries onboard. This guitar continues to amaze me with its tone, construction, and features.

[Aspiring]

@SpruceTop while I agree this seems like a great guitar particularly for the price and being all carbon ...

I don't agree on the Rainsong n2 like feel. I like the neck on the Enya but found the Rainsong with too fat shoulders for my preference

Sent from my motorola edge (2021) using Acoustic Guitar Forum mobile app

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

The GraphTech 9272 C0 I ordered from StewMac was only .313" high,

Update on the Nova Go saddle replacement. I ordered a Graph Tech 9280-CO this time and finally got around to installing it. It was a bit too thick and a bit too long, but once sanded down to fit in the saddle slot, the height ended up being pretty good without any adjustment at all, if a smidge on the low side. Twelfth fret was about .091 on the low E, .06 high E, and relief at the 7th fret .007" without any truss rod adjustments. No string buzz or fretting out anywhere.

Intonation definitely better, within 6 cents except the D & G strings which are 8-9. Totally acceptable IMO for this guitar and much better than out of the box. I was a bit surprised that those two strings were the ones off the most--by eyeball, the 9820 saddle had a bit more curve than stock; maybe it's a 14" radius rather than 16"? I'm mystified why Graph Tech only lists saddle radius for some of their line and not all.

Anyway, the guitar plays much better and has better intonation overall for a $15 investment. A win in my book.

[SpruceTop]

Thanks, Jeff, that's good to know when I, and likely others, will want to try changing the saddle for better intonation.

[SpruceTop]

Originally Posted by Aspiring

@SpruceTop while I agree this seems like a great guitar particularly for the price and being all carbon ...

I don't agree on the Rainsong n2 like feel. I like the neck on the Enya but found the Rainsong with too fat shoulders for my preference

Sent from my motorola edge (2021) using Acoustic Guitar Forum mobile app

My problem with the RainSong N2 neck is that it feels kind of chunky. The Enya's neck to me feels almost like the RainSong N2 neck but narrower which feels better to me for hand comfort and thumb fretting than does the RainSong N2 neck. Given my 'druthers, I wish every guitar maker would copy the Taylor NT-neck profile and offer it in 1 3/4" and 1 23/32" and 1 11/16" nut widths. Play On, Bro!

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by SpruceTop

Thanks, Jeff, that's good to know when I, and likely others, will want to try changing the saddle for better intonation.

On second play, I'll have to walk things back a bit. Turns out there is a little bit of string buzz when I play the 3rd-4th strings hard at about the 7th fret. Not horrible, but noticeable.

I was surprised at the low action with the new saddle, even though by my measurements it was only .0075 shorter. The relief can probably go up a few thou, so I might tweak the truss rod, or add a small (.02"?) shim to get things perfect.

[jcpharm]

Hi all - i am getting my X4 Pro today or tomorrow - one thing i noticed in videos/pics is that there are different fretboard patterns - the one i think i am getting (and advertised on the Amazon photos) is a regular dot inlay whereas i see many earlier vids with a pattern design inlay without dot inlays. is there a choice of fretboard pattern or did they just change them in newer models?