It started as a quick plug-in on day 2 with Enza.
Just to test levels.
Just to feel the neck.
Just to hear what she would say.
Seven minutes later, I stopped playing.
No backing track. No agenda. Just a pulse. A low note. A slide. A pause. Then another phrase that answered the first one.
She may be half in size, but she gives me a full bass experience.
There is something disarming about a smaller instrument that refuses to sound small. The low B doesn’t ask for permission. The notes bloom and sit exactly where they should. The response is immediate — almost intimate. Every touch translates. Every ghost note whispers back.
In those seven minutes, I wasn’t testing her.
We were conversing.
There’s a certain authority in her voice — not loud, not aggressive — just complete. Rounded. Present. Centered.
That word stayed with me after I put her down:
Complete.
In Italian, completeness is pienezza.
Fullness.
From that word came her name.
Enza.
Short. Feminine. Strong without trying.
A name that carries fullness inside it.
She may be physically compact, but what she gives is not scaled down. The resonance feels whole. The tonal range feels intentional. The experience feels finished.
Seven minutes.
That was all it took to know she wasn’t temporary.
She was Enza – my 2023 Müb Miezo 18″/5 made in KL, Malaysia, by an Italian luthier.
Post Script — The Detour Before Enza
A month ago, I was close to buying a Mayones Cali 4.
I had questions. Genuine ones. About specs. Feel. Suitability. The kind of questions someone asks when they are ready to commit.
But the response I received felt indifferent. Detached. Unenthusiastic.
It wasn’t dramatic. No conflict. Just a quiet realisation:
If this is how it feels before purchase, what would it feel like after?
So I walked away.
No more Mayones.
Fast forward to 15/02 at 23:01. I sent a WhatsApp message to Maurizio from Müb, asking if there was a ready Miezo and what the lead time would be for a custom build.
By 9:14 the next morning, he replied with a link, options, timelines, and transparency. Refurbished. Resprayed. Brand new. Prices clearly laid out. Video tour sent at 11:43.
By 12:12, I said yes to the refurbished 5-string.
Payment was sorted that same afternoon despite Chinese New Year closure. Tracking number came on 20/02.
On 21/02, she arrived, two days earlier than expected.
Less than a week from discovery to delivery.
When I told him I didn’t expect to buy so fast, he replied:
“Funny how things work out, innit? 😉”
Yes.
One month ago, I walked away from something that didn’t feel right.
One week ago, I chanced upon something that felt complete.
Seven minutes confirmed it.
Enza, welcome.