The Enya Nova Go Sonic | A Travel Guitar Revolution

The Enya Nova Go Sonic

Unleash Your Electric Guitar Travel Adventures

Enya Guitars is a renowned brand known for its innovative designs and quality craftsmanship.

One of their newest standout models, the Enya Go Sonic, embodies the brand’s continued commitment to excellence in both sound, playability and smart advancement.

With its unique features and exceptional quality, the Enya Go Sonic has quickly become popular among electric guitarists looking for a versatile, reliable, and travel-friendly instrument.

The Company

Established in 2011 by Haiming Hu and headquartered in Huizhou, China, Enya International Musical Instruments Co., Ltd has emerged as a global leader in crafting exceptional string instruments, particularly ukuleles and travel guitars.

The brand has garnered acclaim for its commitment to excellence in model quality.

“Enya” symbolizes humility, thankfulness, and elegance, echoing the company’s ethos, which is encapsulated in the motto “For the love of music.”

Since fashioning its inaugural instrument in 1995, Enya has evolved into a premier ukulele brand, boasting a workforce of over 300 individuals.

Its instruments are now distributed to 40 countries, and its offices, warehouses, and factory service centers are located in Houston, TX, USA.

Enya’s distinction lies in its unwavering dedication to innovation, creativity and affordability.

It employs cutting-edge manufacturing methods to ensure consistency and set industry benchmarks in all manufacturing areas.

This commitment allows Enya Music to offer diverse instruments, from Acoustic to Travel Guitars, all crafted with unique carbon fibre composite materials; however, this is its first foray into the big bad world of electric guitars.

Travel Guitars

Travel guitars have a fascinating history reflecting music and travel’s evolution.

The concept of a portable guitar dates back centuries, with early examples like the lute being relatively compact and easy to transport.

However, the modern travel guitar, as we know it today, has its roots in the mid-20th century.

One of the earliest examples of a purpose-built travel guitar is the Martin Backpacker, introduced by C.F. Martin & Company in 1992.

The Backpacker was designed to be lightweight and compact, making it ideal for travel. Its unique shape and size, with a long, narrow body and small soundhole, allowed it to be easily packed into a backpack or carried onboard buses, trains or planes.

The success of the Martin Backpacker inspired other guitar manufacturers to develop their own travel guitar designs.

Companies like Traveler Guitars, Yamaha, and Washburn began producing travel-sized instruments with innovative features such as built-in amplification and more.

Today, travel guitars come in various shapes and sizes, from full-scale models with collapsible or detachable components to smaller instruments designed specifically for travel and other uses.(See Image)

These guitars have become popular among musicians who want to practice or perform while on the go and for use in limited spaces while travelling.

Overall, the history of travel guitars is a testament to the ingenuity and creativity of guitar manufacturers in meeting the needs of musicians who want to make music wherever they go.

Using Carbon Fibre As A Guitar-Making Material

Carbon Fibre has become increasingly popular for building guitars due to its unique properties and benefits.

Initially used in aerospace and high-performance sports equipment, Carbon fibre offers several advantages over wood in guitar construction.

Advantages Of Carbon Fibre For Guitar Making

• Strength-to-weight ratio: One of the main benefits is its strength-to-weight ratio, which is much higher than traditional guitar woods like Spruce or Mahogany.
• Durability: It is much lighter and more durable than its traditional wooden counterparts, which can be prone to damage. This makes it ideal for travel and live performance, where durability is crucial. It is incredibly strong and resistant to impacts and scratches.
• Stability in Environmental Changes: It is also resistant to changes in temperature and humidity, which can cause wooden guitars to warp or crack. This stability ensures that carbon fibre guitars maintain playability and sound quality over time, regardless of environmental conditions.
• Clear and Consistent Tone: In terms of sound, carbon fibre guitars are known for their clear, balanced tone. The material’s stiffness allows for greater energy transfer from the strings to the soundboard, resulting in a more resonant and dynamic sound. Additionally, the uniformity of the material ensures consistency in tone across different guitars, making them a reliable choice.
• Design versatility: Another advantage is its versatility in design. Unlike wood, which has natural limitations, carbon fibre can be moulded into virtually any shape, allowing for unique and innovative guitar designs that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with wood.
• Sustainability: While not always the case, some guitars made from this material are considered more sustainable than wooden guitars due to their renewable nature and the lack of reliance on rare or endangered wood species.
• Weight: This building material is significantly lighter than wood, which can benefit musicians who prefer a lighter instrument or need a more easily transported guitar.

Carbon Fibre Is Here To Stay

The use of this material in guitar making and accessories has revolutionized the industry, offering musicians a durable, stable, and sonically superior alternative to traditional wooden guitars.

Enya Go Sonic Overview

This one-piece 38″ electric guitar sports an all-in-one smart audio innovative sound technology, which includes an onboard 10-watt output speaker with 4 presets/effects and wireless Bluetooth connectivity and can be played through the guitar speaker, headphones or traditional amplifier. (See Image)

On the more traditional guitar design side, it also includes a 24.75″ scale length, powerful Alnico pickups, a push-pull volume knob for neck coil configuration, a light and thin 6lb /2-1/4″ body, an asymmetrical neck profile and more. (Read on)

Tech Specs

Body

• Body Construction – integrated die-casting in one piece for optimum resonance with chamber body design
• Body shape – Classic ergonomic Single Cutaway-space age take on the classic Les Paul-style template
• Body Material – Carbon fibre composite, making it highly durable in all environments.
• Body Debth/Thickness – 2-1/4 inches
• Guitar Weight – Est 6lbs
• Guitar length -38-inch full-size smart electric guitar
• Scale Length – 24-3/4 Inches
• Dimensions – 41 x 5 x 16 inches
• Finish- Satin
• Colours – Available in Black and White options
• Number of Strings -6
• Item model number – NOVA GO SONIC
• ASIN-B0CTTDFCWR
• Date First Available – February 2, 2024
• Country of manufacturer – China

Neck

• Neck & fretboard construction – Carbon fibre composite material
• Fretboard Radius – 16 inch
• Truss rod – Yes, with a visible wheel at the heel of the instrument (See Image)

• Inlays – Its only inlay comes at the 12th fret via the Enya logo
• Neck profile — The Asymmetrical profile includes a C-shaped in the upper neck region and a V-shaped profile closer to the headstock for optimum feel throughout the fretboard
• Neck construction – One piece w/smooth contoured neck heel for easy upper fret access (See Image)

• Fret Material – Nickel Silver
• Fret Finish- Round-end polishing and ergonomic contour
• Number of Frets – 22
• Nut Width: Moulded 1-11/16 inches & Zero Fret Design

What Is A Zero Fret

A Description

The zero fret on a guitar is a small, often overlooked component that plays a crucial role in the instrument’s overall playability and tone.

It is positioned directly before the nut, and its primary function is to set the correct height for the strings across the fretboard. (See Image)

History

The history of the zero frets can be traced back to the early days of guitar making, although its exact origins are somewhat unclear.

Some of the earliest guitars, such as those made by the Italian luthiers of the 16th century, featured a zero fret-like design, where a piece of fret wire raised the strings above the nut.

However, it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that zero frets became more commonly used on guitars.

Improved Tuning Stability

With a zero fret and a consistent string reference point, the string action between the nut and the bridge saddle is the same for all strings. (See Image)

This helps ensure proper intonation, reduced string buzz, and improved tuning stability and accuracy with a straight and level zero fret.

More Common Design

Today, the zero fret is a more familiar design feature on many electric and acoustic guitars, particularly those made by European manufacturers. It was also included in the Enya company’s previous smart SP1 Acoustic Electric travel guitar model.

Advantages

• String Gauge Options: Zero-fret guitars offer versatility in string gauges. Because the strings rest on the zero fret, their thickness doesn’t impact the instrument. Unlike standard guitars, where changing to heavier strings requires nut adjustments or replacements, zero-fret guitars avoid this hassle.
• Consistent action: The zero fret helps maintain consistent string height, especially for open strings (from fret 1 to 3 mainly), which can improve playability and reduce buzzing.
• Improved intonation: With a zero fret, the nut only determines the spacing of the strings, not their height. This can help improve intonation, particularly for open chords.
• Easier nut replacement: Since the nut only affects string spacing, not height, replacing it is more straightforward than on guitars without a zero fret.

Disadvantages

• String binding: Some players find that the zero fret can cause string binding, mainly if the fret is not properly set or if the nut slots are not well lubricated.
• Setup complexity: Setting up a guitar with a zero fret can be slightly more complex than setting up a guitar with a traditional nut, as the zero fret height needs to be carefully adjusted and may require more attention to setup and maintenance.
• Less traditional look: Some players prefer the traditional look of a guitar without a zero fret, as it is less common on electric guitars.
• Divots Or Wear: Based on the fret material, if substandard, Divots will begin to develop where the String rests on its surface, made from the immense downward force from the string tension,  resulting in Divots in the zero fret, causing “clicking” that you will feel and hear, and potentially leaving you with String buzzing, unwanted sounds and unplayability.

HH Powerstation & Controls

This classic HH Combo, with Alnico 2 Magnet humbucker pickups in the Neck position and Alnico 5 in the Bridge, offers dynamic and powerful tonal characteristics for virtually any music genre.

Controls

With no tone control, the push-pull volume knob allows you to switch the coil configuration of the neck pickup from duel to single.

Hardware

• Tuners – Enya’s sealed tuning pegs
• Guitar Bridge -Tune-O-Matic styled fixed Bridge with String-through Design. (See Image)

String -Through For Functionality & Tone

The string-through-body design became popular in the 1950s and 1960s with the rise of solid-body electric guitars.

The concept was to pass the String through the body, anchor the strings at the bridge, and then secure them onto the tuning pegs. (See Image)

Leo Fender created and was the early adopter of this design on his Telecaster, but it is now standard for many other brands of guitars.

Benefits Of The String-Through Design

• Sustain: One of the primary benefits of the string-through-body design is improved sustain. The strings are anchored directly to the guitar body, which is thought to enhance the transfer of vibrations and sustain compared to guitars with a different bridge setup.
• Tone: Many players believe the string-through-body design contributes to a particular tone. It’s often described as having more “body” or “resonance,” with a slightly different attack than guitars without this design.
• Tuning Stability: String-through-body guitars are often perceived as more stable in tuning and intonation. The design provides a solid anchor point for the strings, which can contribute to better-tuning stability, especially with heavy playing or bending.
• Enhanced String Vibration: Some argue that the string-through-body design allows for more of the String’s vibration to be transferred to the body, potentially affecting the overall sound and feel of the instrument.

Overall, the string-through-body design is valued for its potential tonal benefits and is often preferred by players looking for a particular sound and feel in their electric guitars.

Other Connective Sonic Features

Its Trio Of Outputs Looks To Cover All Bases

1. USB Type-C Jack for charging and OTG Recordings – Allows you to capture everything from backing tracks to presets directly to your computer or mobile phone, giving you seamless digital recording possibilities
2. Output jack for regular amp use like standard electric guitars
3. A 3.5 Headphone output jack for silent playing

Integrated Wireless Speaker With Built-in Effects

Enya Guitar Sound Quality

The wireless connectivity allows you to play backing tracks through the speaker via Bluetooth connection through the onboard 10-watt speaker. It is powered by an Enya S1 DSP chip, which delivers a range of outputs, giving it its sonic versatility and quality.

Speaker Specs

• Speaker – Enya AR Tech, 10W-12W(max)
• Speaker Count-1
• Speaker Amplification Type – Active
• Battery – 7.4V / 2600mAh

One Onboard Button

Enya ES1 Pro Smart Audio System

For its onboard internal effects/sound processor, the guitar offers a simplistic one-button operation on-off selector and master volume switch that changes colours.(See Image)

It also allows users to toggle between 4 preset slots of tone preferences and customize them via the Downloadable ENYA Music App.

4 Presets

The onboard speaker’s presets are Clean, Overdrive, Distortion, and High-gain/lead. Without the App, the guitar also be played through a traditional amp or PA.

Enya Music Supported Software (Apple or Android) Controllable APP

Onboard effects, controllable via an app, offer an extended range of outputs from the basic 4 provided above.

4 Subpresets

The App has the same 4 presets: Clean, Overdrive, Distortion, and High-gain/lead that you accessed previously with no app, and an additional 4 sub presets per category via the App for enhanced tone editing capabilities.

Changing All Parameters Of Each Subpreset

Effects include a six-band EQ, noise gate, delay, and reverb.

There’s also a choice of chorus, tremolo, and vibrato modulation effects, which can be employed one at a time, and each of the presets parameters can be changed/customized and saved as wanted.

It also comes with a mixer that allows you to mix the guitar volume with the backing track via Bluetooth to be in sync while jamming or recording with the music.

Added Surprises Within The App

The App offers a Drum Machine with multiple genres and effects, a Metronome, and a tuner. It helps beginners with basic chord shapes, a chord finder, and a chord dictionary. (See Image)

Extras

The Guitar also comes with a gig bag, a USB cable for charging, and wrench (For Truss rod Adjustment)

FAQ

Do Carbon Fibre Necks Need Truss Rods

How Does The Nickel Fret Material Hold Up To the Pressure Of A Zero Fret?

Video

How People Are Rating This Guitar

Final Thoughts

Has Its Place In The Market

The company’s first electric guitar has its place in the market and can be used by any level of player, not just beginners.

Even though it will not be in the same category as your high-end brand guitar or effects processors, you can easily travel with it to make music, keep your fingers in shape with backing tracks and individual jam sessions, capture music ideas, or use it as a regular electric guitar.

However, players should consider how its tone and playability align with their preferences before making a purchase.

The lifespan of the fully charged battery is uncertain, but it can be played comfortably for 2 hours.

Would You Add This To Your Collection?

YES!

This is a very well-done instrument. It is set up nicely and ready for use, and it is an excellent value at $349-399 USD; reach out to Enya for more details. 

Did You Like This Article?

Check out my review of the Enya Nova Go SP1 Review

Also…

Leave your comments below if you want me to review a favourite guitar.

As always, stay the course and keep playing.

Feature image of the NOVA Go Sonic in White courtesy of Amazon.com

Image of the Black and White Nova Go Sonics Image courtesy of Enya Music.com