Enya HPL Tenor & Concert Ukes (+others) on sale on Enya website

[Pyewacket]

I had this in my Amazon cart awhile back for $98 and it went off sale before I checked out. So I've been watching it. Still not on sale on Amazon - but its now on sale on the Enya website for $99.

X1 HPL

From playing a beach gig on a hot day to gathering with friends by the campfire on a cold night, the Enya X1 series of ukuleles offer superior performance in a variety of climate conditions. “Go outside and play” with the Enya X1 ukulele - the perfect choice for today’s active player.

www.enya-music.com

The concert size is on sale as well for $79.

I got an additional $15 off ("spring sale discount") at checkout (well 14.99). So down to $85. Not sure how much extra you might get off the concert. I don't know if the "spring sale" discount was a flat amount or a percentage.

At any rate it ended up being $13 less than when it was on sale on Amazon. So I'm happy. This is my 2nd ukulele (the first was also Enya HPL, the soprano pineapple).

There are several ukes and guitars on sale over there atm. Some are only $10 off, several are $30 to $40 off, and some of the more expensive instruments are $50 - $300 off. Plus an additional "spring sale" discount at checkout.

Not affiliated. I just like the ukes. And my Nova Mini Go guitar. (not the mini, the 3/4 size Nova Go. The Nova Go Mini is half size)

 

[Pyewacket]

Tenor ukulele is almost here!



Hoping it gets here by 5 - because I have a class tonight, and won't be back until 9:30 PM.

jitterjitterjitter

 

[Wildjoy]

This is my 2nd ukulele (the first was also Enya HPL, the soprano pineapple).

What is the volume like on the soprano pineapple? I have the round, camp style hpl soprano and it's very quiet. I love that as a feature--I can play late at night and don't have to worry about the neighbors. (I live in an apartment building.) But, at some point I might be good enough to play with friends singing along and I don't think it has the volume for that.

 

[man0a]

What is the volume like on the soprano pineapple? I have the round, camp style hpl soprano and it's very quiet. I love that as a feature--I can play late at night and don't have to worry about the neighbors. (I live in an apartment building.) But, at some point I might be good enough to play with friends singing along and I don't think it has the volume for that.

I have a Enya HPL soprano pineapple. It is quiet and heavy compared to my Kiwaya laminate soprano, but maybe not too bad compared to a Kala laminate soprano. The tone is good, but the volume is disappointing to me and the weight seems unusually heavy and uncomfortable for a soprano.

 

[Pyewacket]

@Wildjoy

I find it plenty loud enough, and I like the tone better than other sopranos. I wouldn't call it LOUD, mind. Just plenty loud enough for me playing for myself at home. It is louder than the little round coin style uke. I think you would have to work at it to make it loud enough to bother your neighbors, unless you have EXTREMELY thin walls. I think it would be plenty loud enough for group play OR solo play.

By no means is it "heavy". It is lighter weight than the Enya Mini-U, the carbon fiber composite version of the soprano ukelele. This is HPL, not regular laminate aka plywood. It is hard for me to imagine a lighter weight soprano uke, unless its also smaller (and then isn't it a sopranino?).

However now that I have my tenor, it sounds more plinkety in comparison. The tenor is much more mellow. The pineapple is still way more mellow than the non-pineapple sopranos. I still like it, but having the tenor in hand just reinforces my lack of desire to have any other type of soprano uke - or even a concert.

Now I must have a baritone HPL uke. Enya doesn't make one, nor does anyone else that I've been able to find. Drat.

See my new uke here

 

[chris667]

The tone is good, but the volume is disappointing to me and the weight seems unusually heavy and uncomfortable for a soprano.

I've played one of these Enya pineapples. There's been one in my local music shop for ages now. I think if I had to buy another uke from that shop today, it's the one I'd buy and when I went to try a couple with my friend who wanted a new uke it turned out to be the one she bought.

Yes, I agree - it's not that loud, or at least the one I played wasn't.

By no means is it "heavy"

Just out of curiosity, what does it weigh?

 

[UkingViking]

Isnt it these ukes that come with a radiused fretboard, even though they are pretty cheap?
That is something to consider. A few years ago I bought a Nova u concert for camping, but I might have gotten one of these in stead if they had been available with quicker shipping at the time.

 

[chris667]

The soprano one I tried wasn't radiused or at least I don't remember that it was. Not tried the tenor though.

TBH, I don't really get the idea of a "beater" uke. Either it's a good uke to play, or it isn't.

If it's an expensive one, keep it in a hard case.

 

[DownUpDave]

What is the volume like on the soprano pineapple? I have the round, camp style hpl soprano and it's very quiet. I love that as a feature--I can play late at night and don't have to worry about the neighbors. (I live in an apartment building.) But, at some point I might be good enough to play with friends singing along and I don't think it has the volume for that.

I owned the round camp style (sold to a friend) and pineapple at the same time. The pineapple is quiet a bit louder with a nice warm tone, it's not a cannon by any means but has ok volume. I actually have it strung low G and like it that way, reentrant was fine as well.

The fret boards on these are indeed radiused.

 

[pondweed]

TBH, I don't really get the idea of a "beater" uke. Either it's a good uke to play, or it isn't.

If it's an expensive one, keep it in a hard case.

agree! Although I've found that the expensive ones I just don't feel as happy playing 'out' when I might worry about something falling on the floor or getting knocked. A good reason for older, unfashionable solid tonewood instruments that "punch above their trend"; they are also different from those that everyone else is playing as generally people like to buy and play out of the box... rather than fettle things to be perfect?

 

[Pyewacket]

I've played one of these Enya pineapples. There's been one in my local music shop for ages now. I think if I had to buy another uke from that shop today, it's the one I'd buy and when I went to try a couple with my friend who wanted a new uke it turned out to be the one she bought.

Yes, I agree - it's not that loud, or at least the one I played wasn't.

Just out of curiosity, what does it weigh?

Not enough to show up on my person scale, LOL! It won't trigger it at all. The only other scales I have are for weighing chemicals or kitchen stuff - too small to handle it.

If I hold it and weigh, and then put it down and weigh again, the difference on the scale is 1.1 lbs. So assuming that is more or less accurate, about a pound. 0.1 lbs is about 1.6 oz, and I'm not sure the scale is accurate to something less than 2 oz - so ... a pound ought to be close enough.

All the Les Paul style ukes and the HPL ukes have radius fretboards according to the Enya website.

 

[chris667]

Interesting.

There are two soprano ukes on the wall behind me. This wall is next to my kitchen, and I wanted another coffeee, so I did some science. They are a 1920 SS Stewart, and a 2014 Ken Timms. The Timms is 365g, and the SS Stewart is 278g on my kitchen scales, which I use for bread (so they are definitely accurate, otherwise the bread wouldn't come out!).

Now, I don't speak US sizes but I know 1lb is 454g. So yes, the Enya is quite heavy.

Not that it matters, of course! If you like it, it's good. But it's not a lightweight.

 

[Pyewacket]

OK. Seems light enough to me, LOL! I guess I've never had another soprano uke with which to compare it. (Well actually there is my grandson's Mini Coco aka Enya U Mini).

375g is 12.9 oz. 278g is 9.8 oz. That's sort of mind boggling to me.

Wish I could get the weights of some wood pineapples. I will say that must make the Enya U Minis absolutely ponderous, those apparently weigh in at 1.65 lbs or 748.4 g. It is significantly lighter than those at any rate LOL!

It certainly seems lightweight compared to my harps. And my sax. And my alto clarinet. And my other sax (tenor). But heavier than any of my Native American Flutes. But about the same as my regular flute (which comes in at a pound when weighed as above).

I'm still having trouble thinking of it as "heavy" because internally I suppose I am comparing it to my other instruments (including my grandson's Mini Coco, which is a U Mini in kiddy colors). And it still "seems" to me to be significantly lighter than the flute, largely, I suppose, because of the difference in the way each instrument is held. The ukulele is held close to the body and largely supported by that and/or the strap. But you have to hold the flute out to the side with your arms in the air, which makes it SEEM heavier to me that it actually is.

Also heavier than something that strikes me as almost featherweight (the older of your 2 ukes @ less than 10 oz) ... still doesn't make it "heavy" in the general sense. Struggling here LOL!

I wonder if, when held, anyone would notice a difference of 3 oz? Now I want to do some science too, but I don't have access to any other ukes LOL!

OK. So I've worked my way around to : the U mini is heavy relative to its size; the HPL pineapple seems lightweight to me, but still heavier than some (possibly many) other non-pineapple wood soprano ukes.

 

[man0a]

Heavy means if your playing style is comfortable with a 10 ounce ukulele and this new ukulele is 20 ounces, then you may struggle with it because of the weight, especially if you are not a strapper. The struggle may lead to repetitive stress injuries. This is especially an issue with soprano ukuleles that are usually held in your arms instead of resting them on your lap like bigger ukuleles when you are sitting down.

 

[TerryM]

Thought this might be interesting - anything interesting you can add I'll include in the list and update after a while.. 1/23 a bit of adding in done. If you post, try and do it in the same form as below so I can cut and paste.

213g - Argapa Piccolo [historic 'Midget' size] with graphtech tuners
225g - Kumalae Style A - 1940s wooden pegs
323g - 1918 Weymann weighed it at 8.2 oz
235g - 1920s Koa Hawaiian
240g - 1920s Regal, cuban mahogany
245g - Tom Pocket (travel sopranino)
253g - 1920s Regal-made SS Stewart, cuban mahogany
260g - Kiwaya KTS-4 mahogany (I've found this elsewhere listed at 290g - can anyone check?)
260g - Martin-20's Style O-Mahogany
261g - Rob Collins meranti soprano with wooden pegs
275g - Argapa soprano with wooden pegs
275g - Japanese 1970s plywood/cheap plastic friction tuners (slightly short scale length)
277g - Lyra Island Style
279g -Favilla U-2, mahogany, 1930s-'40s. After two weeks of humidifying at 46 to 51 percent, 281g on same digital postal/kitchen scale.
280g - Kala Travel mk.II with friction tuners
283g - Martin-50's Style O-Mahogany
284g - Ken Timms "Island" style (wooden pegs)
285g - Martin early-1930s Mahogany
285g - Roy Smeck mahogany; plastic fretboard
289g - Early 40's Martin Style 0 with Pegheds (10.37 oz)
291g - Kiwaya KTS-4 2012 model
292g - La Foley 1920s Soprano (13" scale length)
293g - Timms 2014 Honduran Mahogany/Pegheds
294g - Pete Howlett Helsinki
298g - John Colter home built 'Cuban' mahogany
297g - Martin 1920s Style 0
297g - Style 3 Martin with heavy Grover champion tuners (w/originals nearer 277g?)
299g - Kala KA-SEM
302g - Martin 60s Style 0
303g - late 1930s sunburst Gibson uke-1
304g - Martin Konter Replica with Pegheds
304g - Kepasa Madeira
304g - Kiwaya KTS-7
306g - Ohana SK28 Hawaiian style, recessed fingerboard, mahogany
306g - vintage Martin Style 0
308g - Gibson Style 2
309g - Kamaka Gold Label/Waverleys
312g - Loprinzi cedar/mahogany (11 oz)
312g - G-String matte koa
312g - Favilla mahogany
315g - Ohana SK38
316g - 1948 Gibson uke-2
317g - Teens/20's Favilla 12 fret mahogany soprano (11.18 oz)
320g - Howlett Mahogany
321g - Timms mahogany (11.25 oz)
323g - 1970s no-name made in japan plywood ukulele
327g - plastic 50s Islander
331g - Kiwaya KS-1 (Eco laminate) with friction tuners
333g - early 1930s Gibson uke-1
335g - 2007 Mahalo 'Custom' U/LTD2 mahogany top with its original friction tuners
340g - Kala Travel Soprano (geared tuners?)
340g - Mituba Gakki basic soprano 1960s
340g - Imua koa (12 oz)
340g - VanPelt redwood/walnut (12 oz)
341g - 2014 Timms Honduran Mahogany with friction tuners
346g - Famous FS-1, 12-fret design, with stock Gotoh friction tuners (12.2 oz)
348g - Ohana SK35 (no gloss)
354g - Ken Timms 2009 Fireplace Special ( style 0 copy)
355g - Stuart Longridge (solid yew body, walnut neck)
355g - Millar PD-210MN Phil Doleman signature soprano ukulele. Solid mahogany. UPT tuners.
358g - Bruko ( solid mahogany type body, maple neck)
359g - Kiwaya KSU-1
360g - Ohana SK35G
361g - Ken Timms 2008 style 0
365g - Kiwaya FS-5 DX Eco with UPTH planetary tuners (the Koa laminate)
369g - Kiwaya FS-5G with geared tuners (and two tiny strap buttons)
374g - Martin 2014 Cherry 3 (13.2oz)
376g - Black bear koa (13.25 oz)
283g - KoAloha
397g - Kamaka (w/strap button) (14 oz)
397g - Wm King cedar/koa (w/oversize tuners) (14 oz)
406g - KoAloha Pineapple
408g - Kala (solid acacia body, mahogany type neck)
408g - Risa Uke Solid
410g - Koaloha KSO-10 (with UPTs and one strap button)
417g - Martin OXK
419g - AnueNue Re-entrants Signature
425g - Kala Acacia
425g - Kala KA-KIWI
429g - Flea
430g - Simon Bush Native soprano
430g - Tangi gloss mahogany soprano yr. 2000
450g - Makala Dolphin
475g - Makala Dolphin
495g - Applause UA-10
554g - Applause UAE-20
600g - Ken Smith Uukleles mahogany top/ serpentwood sides/back/fretboard

Here's a thread with lots of soprano weights for your scientific research. If your Enya truly weighs a pound, it falls a little heavier than mid-scale.

 

[badhabits]

HPL and plastic ukes tend to be heavy, although less noticable on smaller sizes where the difference is a little less. Martin OXKs are not too bad but my Enya X1M concert was a tank @ 650gm (my other wood ukes are in the 450-535 range). Part of that is the construction of the slide out removable neck, but still, a tank. It was also rather quiet, a common knock on Enya HPL ukes.

 

[Pyewacket]

OK so I just went and weighed my HPL Tenor (just received the other night) and according to that scale, it, too, weighs 1.1 lbs.

EG same as the HPL pineapple. Which it definitely outweighs.

So my method of stepping on the scale while holding an instrument is not accurate. I have no idea what either instrument (or my flute) actually weighs.

@chris667 how did you get your ukes to balance on a kitchen scale? None of mine are large enough to balance a uke on, and none of my ukes have a body that outweighs the neck - so if you put the body on the scale, the neck makes it tip over onto the counter.

 

[Pyewacket]

OK as best I can tell the pineapple weighs about a pound and the tenor weighs about 1.4 lbs. Due to the way I had to balance them on the scale I use to measure out glaze ingredients (for pottery) I'm not sure that is entirely accurate but its as close as I can get given the equipment I have on hand.

The scale itself is highly accurate but its small, the ukes are bigger than it is, and neither of them will balance easily just flat on their backs because of the necks. And the only way I could "balance" the pineapple at all was to put it ON TOP of the tenor and then subtract the alleged weight of the tenor from the total. Actually I probably should have hit the tare button with the tenor on there before adding the pineapple, but I didn't think of it 'til just now LOL!

So apparently LOTS of soprano ukuleles weigh less than my pineapple, but its not the heaviest either by about 5 oz.

 

[Wildjoy]

Do you have a large bowl that you could (tare and then) put the uke in to weigh it?

 

[TerryM]

↑↑↑ I use a kitchen scale and a tray big enough to support a ukulele and zero out the tare wt. For a baritone I had to set a bowl on the scale, then the tray. Will = way.