Not A Ukulele Reviews - Enya Nova Go Mini Guitar

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Күн бұрын

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@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

WATCH THIS SPACE - I said in the video that the intonation is woeful here. Been playing it tonight and 'fairly' sure the string gauge is too heavy. I've played acoustic guitars for 35 years and just bought a set of 9's - an ultra light gauge I have NEVER used. I may do an update video with them on it as I am sure there is more to this thing that meets the eye. That does NOT excuse Enya for throwing the wrong strings on it, but if I am right (and I don't know if I am!!) it may be an easy and cheap upgrade..

@Poeschteliiii 5 ай бұрын

Please enlighten us, i've read in the forums, that there are 2 popular variants of string changes; either 9-46 / super light or 13-56 / mediums depending on the type of tension you prefere

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

To my mind it must be a lighter gauge needed not thicker

@daveflatters4981 5 ай бұрын

Please do a video update even if it just says it didn’t work. I can see lighter strings making it sound brighter but if you aren’t altering the saddle or nut, will it change the intonation ?

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

@@daveflatters4981 Yes, string gauges affect intonation - how much, we shall see!

@tommorrisey3999 5 ай бұрын

What’s on there now? 12s? Same as the larger version?

@abbeyhudec9566 5 ай бұрын

I bought one of these when they were very cheap on Amazon. I had the exact same problem with the 6th string being incredibly out of tune. But I decided to experiment and I put a pair of d’adario requinto strings on it, which surprisingly worked without any adjustment. Now it’s in A tuning with perfect intonation and I love it. It’s much quieter but it is lovely to just mess around with while relaxing.

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Yep - am sure it can be dialled in and maybe just a string gauge change will do it - as it is though. Ugh..

@abbeyhudec9566 5 ай бұрын

@@GotAUkuleledefinitely. If the requinto strings hadn’t worked out I think I would have returned it rather than experimenting with more strings.

@MashaT22 5 ай бұрын

@@GotAUkuleleI hope you’ll follow up. It’s too bad when the larger guitars seem amazing. It shouldn’t take so much work to dial it in. Even if it’s cheaper and a much smaller size, it should still be spot on out of the factory when they are injection molded. They also should have the right size strings on there. I’m actually surprised to hear that lighter strings might be better. It’s usually the opposite for short scale guitars - usually a heavier string is more suitable for adult hands to not pull it out of tune, but maybe that anomaly has something to do with the way they’re setup and being better with a super light string. I didn’t even know you could get acoustic 9’s - I’ve seen 10’s here and there, but never 9’s. I personally play 11’s on acoustic. That would be an interesting subject in and of itself. Where on earth does one get 9’s for acoustic and who actually uses them? Have you thought of trying a nylon set of strings, btw? Maybe buying an acoustic nylon set for guitar would help - perhaps with wrapped bass strings. Maybe normal or extra tension would work best (light might be too floppy). It should be doable if you either get nylon strings with ball ends, or get standard nylons and either tie knots or add a ball/bead to the ends to string through. It’s not like trying to put metal strings on a nylon guitar, lol. Hope these thoughts are valuable. I’m sure you’ll post an update!

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

@@MashaT22 Just a hunch - I may be wrong on gauge - but if you put very heavy strings on (Say) a soprano uke - the intonation is usually shot quite easily. These feel like 12's which are the strings they put on the regular Nova Go. I've had a set of D'Addario 9's arrive so will try to do a re-string next week. Watch this space.

@ellenblack5376 4 ай бұрын

I wonder why Enya doesn’t make a baritone

@richardsnow7299 5 ай бұрын

Love these midweek reviews thanks Barry

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Glad you like them!

@stevesstrings5243 5 ай бұрын

I can see this as a camping or travel guitar but not as a daily player. Thanks for sharing!

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Totally agree!

@tommorrisey3999 5 ай бұрын

As the Nova Go is already a small-bodied guitar, not sure what the market is here, other than a guitar for the kiddos. For uke players crossing over, a good combination to take the steels off Nova Go standard and replace them with fluorocarbons. Makes the F more achievable, and once the confidence is up, you can go back to steels (possibly 10s at first).

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Agreed

@BlessYourHeart254 5 ай бұрын

I absolutely love mine-have had no intonation issues. The durability is great, and it sounds better than most travel guitars IMO.

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Like the tone, though it is a quiet guitar. No hiding the intonation on this one - wonder what strings you have on yours?

@jeffwatson4908 4 ай бұрын

Well I bought one during an Amazon lightning deal. Notably the body is slightly thicker than the 1/2 size, nut width is 41mm vs 43, the string spacing is the same as is the saddle width. Will change to an intonated bone saddle as I did with my 1/2 size. String height on my “large” version is 1.75 mm which is achievable on the mini. Can’t wait to see what your experimentation with new strings will do. Generally it lacks sparkle. While not big on bass, the 1/2 size does sound much pleasanter overall. And it looks so much larger!

@jeffwatson4908 4 ай бұрын

I forgot to mention that I bought it to see what a baritone Nova Pro might sound like. Loving my Nova Pro tenor, I would scoop that up in an instant. If I play only the DGBE strings, avoiding the low E and A, the guitar sounds better to my ears and just might resemble audibly a baritone Nova Pro. The 6 string sound is harsher than the 1/2 size overall. Losing the muddy low E and A means that only the harsh high E is the issue. I have never been able to find satisfactory strings for a 1/4 size guitar. Hopefully you will. Nylon?

@GotAUkulele 4 ай бұрын

I have a set of 9's on - not looking good!

@MattyPeq 5 ай бұрын

Wow. I love it. And it looks amazing in white! Thank you for bringing back the guitar reviews, dear Baz!!!

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

My pleasure! Hopefully a few more to come!

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

@@bethmcmullan7686 Intonation is shot. I am going to try to dial that in

@williamwoolcock 14 күн бұрын

What bothers me that the D in D chord is flat while the D and B strings are in tune, drives me crazy.

@StevenDoyleLuke 5 ай бұрын

I have one in black, changed to chrome flatwound nickel strings, made a huge difference (not great for strumming but good for fingerpicking)

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Good to know - I’m quickly coming to the view that the strings are wrong here

@jeffwatson4908 5 ай бұрын

I bought the Enya Nova Go 1/2 size based on your recommendation (yet again). It has the special effects button. Very happy with it. Quite playable, the special effects work pretty well without an amp and very well with an amp and set on the clean channel (Marshall amp). Enyas generally sound nice whether a ukulele or guitar. Like the thin body. Yes not bass heavy but pleasant. But the quarter size may be just too small, with too many concessions. The half size is worth some string experimentation. The quarter size is challenging for strings.

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Yes - coming to view this evening the strings are wrong gauge - they prob just said ‘they will do’ - and they won’t!

@stevecarrero4120 5 ай бұрын

Did I miss something? Is the neck also made of plastic? If so, why would you need to adjust a plastic neck with a truss rod adjustment? Excuse my ignorance if I wasn’t paying attention and got it all wrong.

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Yes - like all other Nova's - all one piece. Plastic bends even more than wood under tension. The reason for the truss rod is to counter string tension and provide relief - no real need on any uke in my opinion, but on steel strings - ESSENTIAL. Truss rods are NOT for adjusting things like action.

@stevecarrero4120 5 ай бұрын

@@GotAUkulele thanks for helping me along with that. I always try to not miss any of your video reviews. 👍

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

@@stevecarrero4120 Thanks Steve!

@jeffwatson4908 4 ай бұрын

I changed the saddle of my Nova 1/2 size to an intimated bone saddle and the intonation is spot on. Just a simple exchange, no adjustments required. Is the neck of the mini the same width at the nut with similar string spacing? I find that quite comfortable on the 1/2 model.

@GotAUkulele 4 ай бұрын

That may help - I have a video coming though as think the string gauge is wrong for the scale - not to pre-empt the video, but the string change helps... just not totally..

@dharmainthenorth 5 ай бұрын

Great review! I remember picking up a 1/4 size classical guitar a few years back and I was very disappointed with it - ended up returning it. The tone had no life at all, like playing a tennis racket, and the string tension was so slack it was barely playable. This one didn't sound as horrible as I expected to be fair. I noticed Guitaleles were a thing for a while (do Gretsch do one as part of their Roots series?) but haven't looked at them.

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

I've only ever played a couple of guitarleles (and hated them both). I think that shorter scale is very hard to get right. Saying that - one or two top brands have done them?

@threeleafshamrock 5 ай бұрын

Shame about the intonation because i love the looks and the potential that the small scale offers, particularly for kids (and beginners in general), starting their musical adventures, who may find the full size guitar impractical and/or daunting. My younger self, would have loved this scale, when starting out. Love these midweek 'Not a ukulele' reviews and thanks very much for going to the trouble Baz. The amount of bang I get, for my meagre patreon outlay buck, feels like a bit of a guilty bargain. Thanks for all you do mate, it IS greatly appreciated. Stay safe! 👍🏼

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Thanks - and thanks for being a supporter - it means a LOT!

@MnkyButlr 3 ай бұрын

I have watched all your Not a Ukulele reviews now and am curious to know your favorite so far. If you could only buy one which would it be and why?

@GotAUkulele 3 ай бұрын

The Jim Dandy - I DID buy one!

@LairdDavidson 5 ай бұрын

Are you sure PRS and Gibson use Richlite on their fretboards? I know Martin do, I don't keep up with Gibson but I do keep up with PRS and I haven't noticed anything from them with Richlite but then maybe there is on their acoustic offerings but not on the ones I looked at.

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Up to about 2020 on Gibson electrics for sure. Sure is saw them on SE PRS too for a time. It’s a great material in my view

@jctoad 4 ай бұрын

I have the uke version. Amazon US had this for $80 on flash deal. Made me think about trying to play guitar. I'll wait. Maybe even better deal on prime days? Regular price was $99

@GotAUkulele 4 ай бұрын

Yeah - saw them at that price too / they tend to go up and down so one to keep an eye on

@jctoad 4 ай бұрын

@@GotAUkulelehow is it going with trying different strings? I have been playing uke for about a year and a half. Is this one pretty easy on the chord hand? I've been having some chronic pain in that hand and wrist. I've heard that guitars are even more painful to play than ukulele.

@GotAUkulele 4 ай бұрын

Video coming soon - better on intonation but not great in other ways. Still weighing it up

@Theanthill216 3 ай бұрын

Seems to sound tinny and in need of a setup; even the carbon fiber model enya at $700 i played in person just didn’t have the same response as even a laminate guitar for $200. I have had a yamaha guitalele that is great and was $120, alongside a cheap yamaha dreadnaught, and a martin lx1 koa that is 3/4 size and a very nice travel acoustic.

@GotAUkulele 3 ай бұрын

Setup - yes - insofar as strings don’t suit the scale at all!

@Mogge24088 5 ай бұрын

This was very interesting! I begun with ukulele coz my guitars where to big to sit with on the couch. This would be a alternative 😊 To bad with the intonation, though 🤔

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Yep - this needs work - check out my other small guitar reviews - you may find something else of interest!

@martystar4123 5 ай бұрын

A bit of the needle and damage done,better spending the extra, and have one properly set up if it's your first dabble into this market. Just don't see the point buying an instrument that's needs work to be in tune, Great review Baz showing what s on the market really like last week's spark gives the Nux mighty lite MK11 a run for the money or dose it, would be good for a comparison video.

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

I think there was a bit of that song! - and a piece that relies heavily on bass strings - both of which won't intonate!! This is fixable - i've come to conclusion the strings are the same they put on the 23 inch scale and they don't work. Needs a much lighter set

@martystar4123 5 ай бұрын

⁠@@GotAUkuleleBut sending out a purchased item like this Enya model ( this is fixable) to someone is not good, this is why it's important and the value that Matt or Alex or any other store brings, that they would never send out ( this is fixable) to anyone. If Enya are selling through big box markets they need better QUALITY CONTROL.

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

@@martystar4123 Quite agree with you - the importance of those stores in a nutshell. Incidentally - watch this space - I have a set of ultra light 9's on their way for acoustic guitar as I am fairly certain that may help the intonation here - may do another update video!

@martystar4123 5 ай бұрын

Cool Baz look forward to it maybe practice a bit more on the Neil Young, Needle and damage done that's a favourite.👍

@MichaelStoneham 4 ай бұрын

Wow what scale length is this? Would it suit Guitarlele tuning ADGCEA

@GotAUkulele 4 ай бұрын

20.25" - I suspect it would as the stock strings simply don't work. I'm about to do an update video with extra lights on which help, but are still not right.

@CG-lb7we 5 ай бұрын

This is 3in smaller than the Nova tenor ukulele?

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

3 inch shorter in SCALE length than the Nova Go Guitar. Bigger than the uke by quite a long way

@freecuddles100 Ай бұрын

Hi are they steel strings

@GotAUkulele Ай бұрын

Yes

@MariUSukulele 5 ай бұрын

cool, but what’s w\ the intonatiön?

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

I’m coming to view - wrong strings gauge

@jonneet2126 5 ай бұрын

I wonder if you have reviewed any of the "guiteleles"? I have a Yamaha GL-1 guitelele, and really like your it. 17" scale, so about what a tenor how is. Fun as heck for this 70 year old guitar hack to play.

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

One or two, but not that one i'm afraid. Must get around to it!

@umparmy743 3 ай бұрын

How to buy this item??

@GotAUkulele 3 ай бұрын

Direct from Enya website

@badoli1074 3 ай бұрын

For 100 bucks i wouldn't even have expected that much tbh.

@blackwhite3463 2 ай бұрын

Sound was not good.right?

@GotAUkulele 2 ай бұрын

Not with these strings

@blackwhite3463 2 ай бұрын

@@GotAUkulele which one u prefer

@GotAUkulele 2 ай бұрын

@@blackwhite3463 The original - by far

@toddclarke1580 Ай бұрын

Tighten the truss rod to offset the string tension .

@WysteriaGuitar 5 ай бұрын

It's odd because their ukuleles are pretty good...this one sounds like a sick cat...

@GotAUkulele 5 ай бұрын

Been toying with it tonight - plus point is my view is that the strings are the wrong gauge (so easily swapped). Negative is - that they shipped them with these in first place!!