Enya Nova concert vs Outdoor Tenor

I am a new learner. I was just about to buy an Outdoor Tenor after much research. Now I have learned that Enya is releasing the Nova concert in October. Would you wait for that release, and the corresponding reviews or proceed with the Outdoor Tenor?

Halb said:

I am a new learner. I was just about to buy an Outdoor Tenor after much research. Now I have learned that Enya is releasing the Nova concert in October. Would you wait for that release, and the corresponding reviews or proceed with the Outdoor Tenor?

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Size preference is a very personal thing. If you like the tenor size then definitely get the tenor Outdoor Uke. A friend owns one and I have played it, very well made.

Is there a reason you want a plastic uke over wood, price, durability, looks???

Yes, durability and price

I recently started playing and after doing too much evaluating bought a tenor. I like the tenor size a lot. I have fiddled a little bit with a concert, and while I like the tenor better I think that I would be fine with a concert.

The point that I'm jumping in to make is that I think that there is value in having an instrument now and getting in the 4-8 weeks of playing time before the Nova comes out in October -- if it in fact comes out in October. It could be delayed for some reason.

The Outdoor Ukulele seems to be a great instrument and if I were doing it over I would buy something like the OU as I see a lot of benefit in having an instrument that you can toss in the car or take to the pool or whatever and grab 10 minutes of practice time here and there.

One other option would be to buy a $50 uke now, and then add the Nova when it comes out. That way you could have 2 for less than the price of 1 OU. Enya has some around $50 that get a lot of praise, and someone on here posted recently about a Kmise "thin body tenor" (I think that is the term) for about $50 that he really likes and his other uke cost several thou.

Here is the post about the Kmise, by TheCraftedCow:

I just got a Kmise model A9119 It is a travel model tenor. The wood and the trim are very nicely done. The strings are Aquila white reentrant. The all silver tuners have small grips that fit the look of the ukulele and do not stick out like ears on an elephant. It is spot on for being in tune to the 14th fret on all 4 strings. It has strap buttons already installed on the middle of the bottom end and in a good position on the underside (A string) of the neck 2 frets from the neck joining the body. The sound is loud and clear even though the body is about 1 1/2inches thinner than a conventional model.

My top of the line uke is a grade 4A Oregon Myrtle tenor with a price tag of $4500.00, and I have several other custom built ukuleles, and I am surprised how this $60.00 freight paid sounds!

I would wait for Nova. We do not know much about it. We may have good review of it in this forum.

Wukulele said:

Another concert worth considering in the low price range is the Kala Waterman Concert (full thickness, not thin like the Enya NOVA), comes in black only. It gets a lot more play in my household since it lives outside the case (as opposed to the Kamakas, Ponos).

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My luthier has/had a few of these Watermans around and even displayed one in an aquarium that you could fish out and play. The clear ones look funny, but are also surprisingly fun to play and a lot cheaper than the Outdoor ones. Probably not better or worse than any other uke for that price. Unfortunately they don't have a tenor size. The Enya brand has a shaky reputation, and the one I played in a store was way overpriced for the quality. Outdoor brand is more expensive, but probably better investment for the longer term.

I'd expect the Outdoor tenor to have a bigger, deeper sound, based on the larger body size and depth. Also, the Outdoor tenor has a wider nut, 38mm, vs 35mm on the Nova. That's personal preference, I like wider nuts for more room and accuracy, YMMV. Baz also seems to like wider nuts, but in his review said the Nova pays well, so who knows.

merlin666 said:

My luthier has/had a few of these Watermans around and even displayed one in an aquarium that you could fish out and play. The clear ones look funny, but are also surprisingly fun to play and a lot cheaper than the Outdoor ones. Probably not better or worse than any other uke for that price. Unfortunately they don't have a tenor size. The Enya brand has a shaky reputation, and the one I played in a store was way overpriced for the quality. Outdoor brand is more expensive, but probably better investment for the longer term.

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I have some different view points on these matters. Many Waterman ukuleles have been known to have very high non-adjustable action; and other than TWO reports of neck issues here on UU (Col50 and my friend Besley), reviews of Enya have been rock solid as great value for the money.

Where did you find an Enya for sale at a dealer in the US? A new one?

These will be in stock soon and will ship just as fast as any Outdoor Ukulele...at half the price AND with accessories.

I love my Outdoor Ukuleles— it I also like Enya.

I'm in the same boat, looking for a plastic to keep in my car and not worry about. I've been playing a lot of tenor and prefer that size but at half the price I was pretty sure a concert would work for travel/hotel purposes. But that smaller nut is throwing me off, not sure of if I should just go for a full tenor.

Choirguy said:

Many Waterman ukuleles have been known to have very high non-adjustable action; and other than TWO reports of neck issues here on UU (Col50 and my friend Besley), reviews of Enya have been rock solid as great value for the money.

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I have three Kala Watermans (2 Soprano, 1 Concert) bought off of eBay all with zero problems (seller’s description: our “experienced techs refurbish and resell returns & excess stock...with a 30 day Guarantee.”).
I actually like the tone & feel of the Waterman Concert a tiny bit more than my OU tenor. Resembles my non-plastic ukes a bit more.

OU come w/ fluoro strings that are thicker than most fluoros (D’addario). Changing out to a lighter fluoro will buy a little more space on. But there’s more to how well a neck fits in one’s hand than just neck width across the fingerboard.