Enya Nova Tenor news

Choirguy said:
The switch to metal frets (promised) sets this ukulele completely apart in its class. That isn’t just “bigger, heavier, and more expensive.”
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The metal frets are the deal "maker" for me with this instrument. Can't wait to see one.

And if you go to the Enya site and look at the Concert of Soprano Novas with plastic frets, they now say "NOT compatible with wound strings or strings containing metallic compounds". Sounds as if they've seen a fair amount of fret wear.
 
I don’t think that string disclaimer is all that new
 
Does anyone know if Enya will make the metal frets available on the other scales as well? I have no interest in a tenor but I would be interested in a concert with metal frets. The plastic frets are kind of a deal breaker for me.

I didn't think I'd ever want an outdoor(plastic) uke but the other night I was playing with a group of people outdoors and it started to rain. We were under a pavilion but the roof had 3 tiers with a sizable gap between each tier. If it were calm and raining straight down it wouldn't be an issue but it was breezy so me and my uke were getting wet. I had to wipe it dry several times throughout the evening.
 
I will say that I still play my concert Nova U daily (with plastic frets) and have never seen any wear on the frets. I use Living Water strings.
 
besley said:
And if you go to the Enya site and look at the Concert of Soprano Novas with plastic frets, they now say "NOT compatible with wound strings or strings containing metallic compounds". Sounds as if they've seen a fair amount of fret wear.
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The wound strings are understandable for plastic fret wear and obvious to spot but how do you know if other strings have metallic compounds or not?
 
mikelz777 said:
The wound strings are understandable for plastic fret wear and obvious to spot but how do you know if other strings have metallic compounds or not?
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The main strings that Enya Nova owners are complaining about are the Aquilla Reds.
 
man0a said:
The main strings that Enya Nova owners are complaining about are the Aquilla Reds.
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So any strings with color have metal compounds? Reds, Worth Browns, Fremont Blacks, etc? Are there any complaints of fret wear from people who use clear fluorocarbons?
 
@bazmaz posted a sneak peek on Reddit. Review of this coming to gotaukulele.com in a couple of weeks

I am working on Ukulele deacquisition right now so I wouldn’t have gotten one anyway, but the lack of colours is disappointing. Colour was one of the draws for me to the original Novas.

So any strings with color have metal compounds?
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Aquila Reds specifically have metal inclusions. It’s mentioned in the string description. That isn’t the case for all colored strings. Worth Browns and Fremont Blacklines should be fine - they both claim to be pure fluorocarbon. I’ve used both Blackline and Browns on a plastic fretboard with no problem (but note: the plural of anecdote is not data). Reds (on a different uke) were noticeably rougher than the Browns or Blacklines.
 
besley said:
The metal frets are the deal "maker" for me with this instrument. Can't wait to see one.

And if you go to the Enya site and look at the Concert of Soprano Novas with plastic frets, they now say "NOT compatible with wound strings or strings containing metallic compounds". Sounds as if they've seen a fair amount of fret wear.
Click to expand...

I just ordered one today. I wasn't included in the list of reviewers who received them early for review purposes, which is just fine...I have enjoyed my Enya Nova U Concert immensely (with no noticeable fret wear) and have the custom Neck Illusions "UkeStuff" fretboard decal on it. So, I'll review mine when it is available in July!
 
mikelz777 said:
So any strings with color have metal compounds? Reds, Worth Browns, Fremont Blacks, etc? Are there any complaints of fret wear from people who use clear fluorocarbons?
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We don't really know. I've tried to track this down a bit, and people are elusive. There were a bunch of people who wanted red strings on their black ukuleles...and this caused damage. And then there were some people who changed strings and then swapped back to their "spare" Enya strings to take a picture of the damage.

I've been using mine for...is it two years already?...with no noticeable fret wear, and I've played it a lot. Could there have been some models with "softer" plastic? Sure.

As for the notices by companies, Outdoor Ukulele and Magic Fluke post similar warnings. You can replace the fretboard on a Magic Fluke, but then you're paying 3 to 4 times as much as an Enya Nova U (Concert) when doing so.

In talking with Enya in the past, there are no plans to modify the original moulds of concert or soprano. I once asked Outdoor Ukulele if they would make a concert model, and they told me it would cost more than $100,000 to make the moulds. I know I can't tell a company to spend $100,000 just so I can have a single instrument. That's a lot of ukuleles to sell before you make a profit.
 
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I was about to buy a black concert model, when I heard about this one awhile ago. Placed the order today. BTW, there's a coupon code I found (ENYA10) that will get you 10% off on anything on their website, including this preorder. $108 with free shipping and no tax is a no brainer. :D
 
mikelz777 said:
So any strings with color have metal compounds? Reds, Worth Browns, Fremont Blacks, etc? Are there any complaints of fret wear from people who use clear fluorocarbons?
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My frets and the stock Enya fluorocarbon strings wore out after two months. It wasn't unplayable yet at that point. I contacted Enya about the issue and sent photos. They immediately offered to send me a different one. I really think that there was a bad batch (or a few) with softer plastic, and that the issue is not actually that common.
 
Ms Bean said:
My frets and the stock Enya fluorocarbon strings wore out after two months. It wasn't unplayable yet at that point. I contacted Enya about the issue and sent photos. They immediately offered to send me a different one. I really think that there was a bad batch (or a few) with softer plastic, and that the issue is not actually that common.
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Did you take the 2nd one? If so, how long have you had it and how has it fared with fret wear?

I've contacted Enya and I have to say that their response time was excellent. Sadly, there are currently no plans to offer a soprano or a concert with metal frets. They didn't deny that there was an issue with fret wear nor did they try and defend it saying that it was an issue of the past and that it's not currently an issue. They didn't correct me when I said that I was understanding that they considered fret wear normal and that it wasn't covered under their warranty. From what you said above, perhaps they handle it on a case by case basis and don't want to create a situation where they have a flood of claims. Maybe the situation was corrected and the fret wear issues are minimal.
 
mikelz777 said:
Did you take the 2nd one? If so, how long have you had it and how has it fared with fret wear?

I've contacted Enya and I have to say that their response time was excellent. Sadly, there are currently no plans to offer a soprano or a concert with metal frets. They didn't deny that there was an issue with fret wear nor did they try and defend it saying that it was an issue of the past and that it's not currently an issue. They didn't correct me when I said that I was understanding that they considered fret wear normal and that it wasn't covered under their warranty. From what you said above, perhaps they handle it on a case by case basis and don't want to create a situation where they have a flood of claims. Maybe the situation was corrected and the fret wear issues are minimal.
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I did not take the second concert, because they mentioned a future upgrade with harder plastics and a bit later, the metal frets. That was before COVID hit.
It became clear early on that the metal frets would only be available on the tenor, but that is my preferred scale anyway. So, I voiced my concerns about the deadline and my 'warranty' running out. They understood my dilemma of waiting for the tenor (but my warranty would have expired), or accepting a new concert under warranty after 10 months of raising the issue.
Since Enya had all the information about my Amazon order and delivery, the photos with the serial no, they probably were able to trace production of the faulty item. They allowed me to wait longer, and my warranty claim is supposedly documented in my customer care case.
So, I am still waiting for my warranty replacement, which I expect to receive this summer. In all honesty though, the tenor will feel like an upgrade after a very long wait.
 
Looks like Enya gifted a tenor Enya Nova to Feng E (age 13)
 
Arg.... this uke is starting to haunt me. Just a few days ago I definitively said that I was done buying ukes. That was until my wife and I played my all-solid wood ukes outdoors for the first time ever and they were getting wet in the rain so I started looking at plastic ukes out of curiosity. I'm a concert only guy but there are no plans in the foreseeable future for a concert Enya Nova with metal frets and I don't really want to take a chance on plastic frets (on any uke) so the concert is not an option for me. I said that I wasn't interested in a tenor but now I'm getting seriously tempted....
Making one of these my only tenor AND an outdoor/travel uke might be just enough to rationalize getting one. Temptation.... temptation!!
 
mikelz777 said:
Is it more likely that those reviews will come out before or after the release date?
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Baz has one and a few days ago, he said: "I now have permission for a sneak peek - coming next week".

Choirguy ordered one, so his won't be until they're released.
 
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