Enya Nova Go

[jdinco]

I told myself if the price dropped back down to the $150. range for the Enya, that I would bite. So I did. There's a 20% coupon on them now. It arrived today, here's my initial impression....it's more and better than I expected, the case is pretty nice and the tuners are better than some I see on more expensive guitars, it does need some minor setup (what guitar doesn't) but it's not bad, and they give you a truss rod wrench ! It was really cold when it arrived and I opened it immediately, the tuning drifted for about an hour as it warmed up, by a lot, I would NEVER submit a wood guitar to that. Tone wise....again, it is better than I expected but not great. The neck is a bit narrow and heavy, so that takes some adjustment on my part. There were some comments in other posts that tone wise it reminded posters of an X7 or a Touring. I've owned both those guitars and ehhhh....the Enya is not even close to those guitars from what I have heard so far, for tone or playability. So don't anyone get your hopes up! It is fun to play and I wanted something low cost and small to throw in the truck without taking up much room or worry on our trips, that didn't sound like a toy. I'm pretty sure this guitar will be perfect for that, it seems to be a pretty good deal for $150. so far, but it won't replace the Sable or Martin at home.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by jdinco

It is fun to play and I wanted something low cost and small to throw in the truck without taking up much room or worry on our trips, that didn't sound like a toy. I'm pretty sure this guitar will be perfect for that, it seems to be a pretty good deal for $150. so far, but it won't replace the Sable or Martin at home.

That's about my take. Very nice for a lug-around, no-worries travel guitar. You can't expect that much tone from something 3/4 size and only 3" deep, but it's totally serviceable. In fact, I considered using it on some recordings to use the somewhat thin, mid-rangey tone as a sort of effect. But the price, durability, size and playability (and acceptable tone) make it a travel winner.

[Ianaav]

Ah I just got mine and really confused with the sound. I only own a classical guitar and I'm learning and Enya doesn't sound that good to me. But I need something to travel with.
Can I change the strings to nylon? Its very metally for me. Thanks

[jdinco]

I tried to play it yesterday, it sounds barely OK in the first and second position, but I am unable to get a clean sounding bar chord above that, some reason the 3rd string is always muted. I have a nice Kala parlor to use instead, not as tough, but sounds 100x better. Enya is getting returned, I guess I posted the initial review a little too soon.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by jdinco

I tried to play it yesterday, it sounds barely OK in the first and second position, but I am unable to get a clean sounding bar chord above that, some reason the 3rd string is always muted. I have a nice Kala parlor to use instead, not as tough, but sounds 100x better. Enya is getting returned, I guess I posted the initial review a little too soon.

IIRC on another thread here, someone got a Go and found one fret a bit proud and dressing it(?) fixed the issue. Of course, if you had to pay someone for a full setup it could be almost half the cost of the guitar itself, but if you can do a little work yourself it might be an easy fix. Myself an others here haven't had issues, but certainly not out of the question that a few might not be perfect out of the factory. If you can figure out the issue, it might not cost much to fix.

I changed out the saddle on mine to get better action/intonation. I'm keeping it, as I don't think I'd want to leave a "nice Koa parlor" in the car when going camping.

[jdinco]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

I don't think I'd want to leave a "nice Koa parlor" in the car when going camping.

Thank you for the input, I checked the frets closely and nothing stood out to me as the problem. It did need a truss rod adjustment that helped the high action.

It's a KALA parlor, not a Koa. LOL Yeah, no koa would be camping. I paid about $250. for the Kala, it has a nice solid cedar top and is surprisingly good. I camp in cabins, so it should be OK as long as it makes the trip.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by jdinco

Thank you for the input, I checked the frets closely and nothing stood out to me as the problem. It did need a truss rod adjustment that helped the high action.

It's a KALA parlor, not a Koa. LOL Yeah, no koa would be camping. I paid about $250. for the Kala, it has a nice solid cedar top and is surprisingly good. I camp in cabins, so it should be OK as long as it makes the trip.

Ha, my bad. I adjusted my Nova truss rod, but it took a new saddle to get the action to where it needed to be. I could have just sanded down the original saddle, but it was uncompensated, so getting a new compensated one also helped the intonation. Sorry to hear yours apparently has other issues.

[DMZ]

I got the basic no electric Nova Go today. It was reasonable and pretty much what you say it is. I plan to camp with it and keep it out all the time. I like the quality. I’m chasing tuning on new strings but is improving. It’s just fun for what it offers tonally and portable wise. My only bummer preference, is the nylon gig bag/strap model and not the neoprene case I thought came with it. Good still…

[KevinH]

I ran across this nice review of the Enya Nova Go this morning and thought I'd pass it along. He goes over quite a few specs and has a nice sound demo.

[fluidmindorg]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

I could have just sanded down the original saddle, but it was uncompensated, so getting a new compensated one also helped the intonation.

Interesting. Which compensated saddle did you get for the Nova Go? A Taylor style, Martin style, Fender style, or some other? And how did you know it was the right one for this particular guitar? Or does it even matter, will any of them work? (I only ask because I really don't understand the compensated saddle thing )

Thanks
--Dan

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by fluidmindorg

Interesting. Which compensated saddle did you get for the Nova Go? And how did you know it was the right one for this particular guitar?

I'm no luthier, but I'd imagine a truly perfectly compensated saddle would be custom-tweaked for the exact guitar--scale length, fretboard radius, etc. But I think compensation is usually roughly similar for a standard-tuned guitar, so any will be a bit better than uncompensated.

I just looked for a GraphTech saddle that fit the slot measurements and fretboard radius (if it that even listed). I initially tried the one on this page that was for a 1/8" slot, 16" radius, and compensated, but it turned out it wasn't tall enough and sat too far down in the slot. I ended up getting a PQ-9280-CO, which had the right dimensions to work with. I have no idea if it matches Taylor, Fender, Martin or any other manufacturer.

[fluidmindorg]

Thanks, Jeff. I appreciate it.
--Dan

[fluidmindorg]

I just got a PS-9280-C0 saddle (a black one). It's a little large for the slot. I presume you sanded it down a bit?

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by fluidmindorg

I just got a PS-9280-C0 saddle (a black one). It's a little large for the slot. I presume you sanded it down a bit?

Yes, it had to be sanded a bit in all dimensions. Better that than loose in the slot, though.