Enya Music may just have given guitar fans a glimpse of the future with the unveiling of its Nova Go Sonic electric guitar – a forward-thinking, all-in-one single-cut six-string.
Functionally fashioned in a similar vein to Vox's “live rig in a gig bag”, the APC-1, the Nova Go Sonic looks to take things one step further, with a feature-packed, space age take on the classic Les Paul-style template.
Made from a single cut of carbon fiber composite, it looks and presumably feels like a 21st century guitar, but that feeling is further 'futurized' with a raft of tech that takes it to the next level.
It boasts dual humbuckers and onboard effects, which are controllable via an app, as well as a range of outputs and a built-in 10-watt wireless speaker – meaning wherever you go, the gig goes with you.
Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, Enya has a history of innovative and often travel-friendly acoustics and ukulele builds. However, this is its first foray into the big bad world of electric guitars. And what a way to announce your arrival.
The 38" Nova Go Sonic offers a 24.75” scale length and weighs just 6lbs, thanks to its super thin 2-1/4" body. It's also ergonomically designed, with an asymmetrical neck profile, and a smooth contoured neck heel for easy upper fret access.
As with many carbon fiber builds, a zero fret features, this time alongside 22 round-end frets and a 16” radius fretboard, which is also made from carbon fiber. Its only inlay comes at the 12th fret, via a swish-looking Enya logo, and it stocks a tune-o-matic-styled fixed bridge that works alongside a string-through design.
The Nova Go Sonic also looks to marry comfort and playability with premium tones by way of Alnico II and V pickups. Notably, the guitar is powered by an Enya S1 DSP chip, which delivers series and parallel wiring setups to bolster its sonic versatility.
As for its onboard gadgetry, the guitar offers a simplistic one-button operation that allows users to toggle between four preset slots, with clean, overdrive, distortion, and high-gain digital effects available.
Over to the app, its bank of presets can be tweaked via a three-band EQ and Preamp, Master, and Presence controls.
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.
Its trio of outputs looks to cover all bases, too, with an OTG port for “seamless digital recording”, an output jack for connecting to external amps, and a headphone jack for solo jamming in quieter environments.
It comes with a gig bag, a USB cable for charging and, unlike many other irksome products, a plug for that USB cable.
On the surface, the Nova Go Sonic looks to take the gimmick element out of all-in-one guitars, and manages to pack all its features into a rather affordable $349 price tag.
Its available in a slightly uninspiring choice of black and white finishes, with Enya seemingly using all its brain power elsewhere on this gadget-packed build.
Head to Enya Music for more information.
