They Made a Smart Strat AND a Smart Les Paul. Which One Is Yours?
Enya makes a Strat-style smart guitar and a Les Paul-style smart guitar. Both are carbon fiber. Both have built-in speakers. Both do things a traditional electric guitar cannot. But they are built for completely different players, and the blind tone test in this video makes that gap very clear.
What Are These Guitars?
Enya has been building carbon fiber instruments for several years, and their smart guitar line represents the furthest they have pushed the concept. Carbon fiber as a guitar body material is not new, but Enya's approach adds a built-in speaker and onboard processing that lets you play the guitar without an amp. Plug in and you get the full electric signal chain. Unplug and the guitar still makes sound through its own speaker.
What makes this video worth watching is that Enya did not make one smart guitar. They made two, shaped around the two most iconic body styles in electric guitar history, and built them for players who think differently about what a guitar should do.
How They Compare
| Spec | Enya Inspire | Enya Sonic JT |
|---|---|---|
| Body style | Stratocaster-inspired | Les Paul-inspired |
| Material | Carbon fiber | Carbon fiber |
| Built-in speaker | Yes | Yes |
| Onboard effects | Yes | Yes |
| App connectivity | Yes | Yes |
| Tone character | Bright, articulate | Warm, full |
| Best for | Versatile players, gigging, travel | Players after traditional electric tone in a modern build |
The Blind Tone Test
The core of this video is a blind tone test where both guitars are played clean and through drive before the reveal. The point is to let the tone guide the decision rather than the look or the name on the headstock.
The Strat vs Les Paul debate has been running for 70 years. Most people who have a strong preference for one already know which camp they fall into. But hearing both guitars blind, through the same setup and same hands, tends to confirm something: the tonal difference between a Strat-style and an LP-style guitar is not just about pickups. It is about resonance, attack, and how the body shape contributes to the fundamental character of the instrument. Carbon fiber does not eliminate that. If anything, it makes the body shape's contribution to tone easier to hear because the material is so consistent.
Watch the video to find out which one you pick before the reveal. Most people are consistent with what they already play.
Which One Is Yours?
If you have always been a Strat player, the Enya Inspire is the obvious answer. The body shape, the feel in your hands, and the way single-coil brightness translates through the built-in speaker all line up with what you already know you like. It is the more versatile of the two and works as well for fingerpicking as it does for lead playing.
If you are a Les Paul player, or a player who gravitates toward humbuckers and a more compressed attack, the Sonic JT is built for you. The warmth it produces through the built-in speaker is notably different from the Inspire and holds up better under high-gain tones. The single-cutaway body also sits differently on your lap, which matters more than people give it credit for.
What makes this comparison interesting is that Enya did not try to make one guitar for everyone. They made two guitars for two different players and trusted you to know which one you are. That is a more honest product decision than most smart guitar brands have made.
Where to Get Them
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#landonbaileyyt · enya music · smart guitar · carbon fiber guitar · enya inspire · enya sonic jt · electric guitar comparison
Affiliate Disclosure: This video includes paid promotion from Enya Music. Links to Enya, Sweetwater, Guitar Center, Amazon, and Thomann may be affiliate links. Landon Bailey receives compensation from affiliate programs of which he is a partner. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps support the channel and this site. Thank you!
