Yes, I think it's always worth getting a Plek - it's REALLY hard finding someone who can actually do a great job by hand in my area (then when you find someone, you might also have a long waiting period for it to get done).
For the ridiculous money these companies are charging for brand name guitars, they should play perfectly out of the box. You’re paying 3-5k and still the guitar has to be pleked in order to play perfectly. Ridiculous.
I have had 4 guitars plek’d. Each time it drastically improves playability. I prefer low action and that way there is no minor fret hump to hinder as going as low as I would like. I use the Guitar Guy’s in Ohio. They do great work.
Can't always find a competent luthier in a lot of areas of the country. That's a huge problem. A friend of mine had his guitars frets leveled....all the way down to the fretboard....no crown. They were almost flat. Had to take it someplace else to get re-fretted.
I'd be curious as to how each fret sounds going up the neck? Does it get sharp, flat or stay the same once the intonation and setup was done. All notes should be correctly intonated. That's how it would be worth it on my side. So, fret placement accuracy would also throw the intonation off. I've seen it often when measuring the whole scale of a fretboard. It's only as good as the person that cut the slots and pressed the frets in to the right depth. No level or crown would be needed in that case.
Excellent point about the complexities of the process and software, and having a trained and experienced luthier do the work. You should get what you pay for and I would want the full monty including a mirror finish on the frets, especially the ends. Check the reviews before you invest.
Man vs machine sorta thing. If I had the option, I would probably Plek once to start then rely on feel, sound, and playability to tweak after that. I feel like out of the box would be the best time to plek because after a few years or so of playing that guitar is going to uniquely settle into itself. Just a thought
Considering how much money we, as guitar players, invest in pedals, amps, gadgets, and other fancy stuff, spending 'just' $280 to address issues at the root of our sound and make our instruments perform at their best seems like a wise investment to me. I've already had three of my guitars Plek'd. They play superbly now, and I've never looked back. I love playing each of them
Yea I was thinking the same thing. I was very apprehensive at first but I went for it just because I’ve never done it before. Do I think it’s totally necessary…. Not really. It does play great though.
From experience I can say I opted for the Plek when I bought my Musicman Sabre from Sweetwater a few months ago. It was (and still is incredible). I later bought a second Sabre afterward with just the standard Ernie Ball setup they ship it with. It is really great, but I can tell a night and day difference in so many aspects from the one that was Plek'd vs the standard Ernie Ball setup. Both are wonderful, but the Plek'd one is still smooth and dreamlike compared to the standard setup. From here on, if I'm spending a decent amount on a guitar, I'm going for the Plek. Considering I paid $3500 for the first Sabre, the $300 was a great investment on an instrument that I can't seem to put down. Plek gets a strong yes from me. If I were buying a $500 - $750 guitar, that might be a different answer. Of course, after spending the amount I did and getting what I got, I don't know if I could ever not buy one of this quality again. You get what you pay for, and I'm seeing this every day and every time I pick this guitar up.
Plek the guitar if you have very uneven frets but for setup, no machine can tell you what to set neck relief, saddle height and intonation, as those things are all player preference and feel, you may press harder on the strings than John Smith and will have to set the intonation to your pressure, so learn how to set your guitars up first before finally saying "maybe I'll plek" because a Plek machine only goes so far before the human element comes in for the final tweaks of the setup.
If I had a guitar with stainless steel frets and had it Plekd from new , it would probably outlast me; regular nickel frets will still need attention later on ....Not sure what $280 is in British Pounds but it does sound a little steep for a machine process which is relatively quick .
I had my ibanez prestige plek and I found it totally worth it. That being said if you have a great tech that can do great freat work maybe it's apple's and apple's. 280 was cheaper than mine. That's a great deal. I will plek again. My ibanez plays so buttery compared to all my other ones. It does make a difference.
Just ordered a cherry Ibanez S470DXQM all original 100%. I had one many years ago and pawned it for dope, always regretted that after I got it together. Thinking about the plek but I don't know that it's worth it on a guitar in that price range. It would be more than half the price of the guitar. So just based on that probably not worth it. I do live in the bay area and there are 3 shops that do it here. But still with transport time and the fee it would be significant. I guess I will see how it plays first.
My only thing is that if I am going to spend 4 or 5 thousand dollars on a Gibson or Fender custom shop guitar, I shouldn't have to do this. Plus I am wondering how much of a fad and hype this Plek thing is going to turn out to be in the long run.
If u r not sure of the result, try another Plek shop. I have Pleked all my guitars at Guitarlabs in Stockholm, the difference is huge. Very even, no dead spots, fantastic sustain and you can make any average guitar great. There is only one reason why Suhr can charge what they charge for their guitars, they r all properly Pleked.
If you can actually feel a difference and it makes the sustain last longer, I feel like $280 is not bad for the life an instrument. That said, if you don't have an actual issue with your gear then i wouldn't go trying to solve things that you don't even notice. Great vid. Thanks!
The Plek machine can see and do things that can't be done by hand. The biggest reason is that it is scanned unders full string tension so it takes into account what's happening to the wood when the guitar is tuned to pitch. Typically the guitar will have adequate relief on the bass side and too much relief on the treble side. The fretboard will contort with various dips and humps when tuned up....even if it's perfectly level with the strings off. The Plek can dress the frets differently one edge of the fretboard, even adding more relief to one side of the board. Another advantage of the machine is the perfect crown on every fret, which can be done by hand, but isn't always. The machine only levels and crowns...afterwards the frets have to be polished by hand and the guitar set up. The luthier skill involved is in 1) knowing what to tell the machine to do, and 2) being able to set up the guitar. I highly recommend the Plek. I haven't had any negative experiences. :)
The host of the vlog certainly presented himself as a knowledgeable yet approachable authority on plek machines. An experienced luthier will still be necessary to implement a portion of the results from the machine. I am probably wrong, but it is my understanding that a Plek rep trains the buyer how to operate the machine and implement its findings? The closest plek to my home in the Pittsburgh suburbs is 50 miles away. I have no idea if the shop is competent. The shop you visited knew what it was doing, and you felt the results reflected that. $300 is not cheap, but I can eventually absorb the loss if the plek operator screws up my guitar. Is it worth the gamble? Thanks for a great educational video.
That is a great question. The only reason I felt comfortable with this shop is because they had the plek machine for over ten years. I don’t know of a way to actually verify if they are competent sorry. Cheers
So in summary: (1) the result of a pleking procedure depends on the person handling the plek-machine and converting this information into adapting the frets accrdingly (03:11), (2) the result of a conventional (non-plek) fret adjustment procedure depends on the person doing this (04:15). ==> clear recomendation for pleking *lol*
Ah. It wasn't fair of me to attribute to you universal guitar knowledge or mastery. I am a new subscriber, and you seemed like common denominator for all rookies and pros. Looking forward to your next step vlog.
Yes I think it’s normal. Buzzing isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As long as it plays well I wouldn’t be worried. Buzzing can be caused by a lot of different things. Mainly fretboard radius.
Fret buzz on an electric guitar does not matter at all UNLESS you can hear the fret buzz coming out of the amp when playing. If there's fret buzz without it being plugged in, it doesn't matter one bit because it's not an acoustic guitar.
most times it is a set up that isn't good for how hard you're playing, or your technique is adding to the problem. Those are the only 2 reasons there could be after a plek. Also,, unlike the others, i don't agree.. if it buzzes, i can hear it thru an amp.. it is just reality. I've recorded a lot of guitars over the last 45 years... and set them up, and sold hundreds of them.
Don't recommend having it done to a cheap new guitar. Even if you spend $5-15 hundred, your better off waiting a year to let the guitar play in, and settle down. Then you'll already know if your gonna keep it. Otherwise don't bother.
I do all the fretworks and setups by myself, I had to buy proper tools (wich are very expansive) first, then train myself on my guitars from the cheapest to the priceless ones but I've never been so satisfied and now I know exactely what I like. You don't need a pleck until you want to set your strings extremely low... At heigh were it's difficult to do proper bends. Marceau Guitars here in France just bought a pleck, once they were able to use it properly they saw that their setup methods were already extremely precise without the need of such a machine... So why he needs it? For a better quality control / consistency and for saving some precious time at the end.
A competent luthier is always the best way to go. I think the appeal to the plek machine is the consistency. I think it’s cool that you get a laser print out of the fret board.
Considering there are not too many techs qualified to do a proper fret level and crown, id trust a good Plek operator before id let someone touch my guitars' frets. Ive seen frets leveled almost all the way down to the fretboard....almost flat, no crown. Unbelievable.
@@pureguitargear3935 .....Ok. My daughter is getting a brand new Ibanez SML. We were both curious/cautious about Pleking her brand new axe. Thanks for the content.
@@mr.thekidd498 if it plays fine I wouldn’t bother. Just have it set up correctly for intonation and you should be good to go. Ibanez has decent quality control out of the box.
You should ALWAYS Plek a new guitar. IT IS THAT SIMPLE. DO NOT be a cheap. It’s makes a MASSIVE difference in playability and will make you happy with your purchase. I WILLNEVER understand why folks DO NOT PLEK.
I purchased a 2022 Gibson LP Standard 50s version - these supposedly are Plek'd at no additional cost. The action and intonation was perfect literally out of the box. I am spoiled now - I saw that Fender was selling $799 Telecasters and charging $299 to have them Plek'd. That's too much. The difference in a Plek'd instrument that I have noticed is that the frets are perfect, they pass the "Phil Mcknight silk stocking test". You run a silk sticking down the edge if the fingerboard over the fret ends - you should see no snags whatsoever in the stocking. Intonation is perfect out of the box. I got a new LP from Guitar Center - it was brand new - still in the box. The guitar was in perfect tuning, the intonation needed absolutely no adjustment.
I had one strat p l e k e d ,and one done by my tech. $250, VS $ 100. I could not tell the difference . Never again. Feel like an idiot, jumping on the bandwagon, you know, the latest greatest thing. I know something else too, I don't like stainless frets.
Jimmy Jimi Eric Jeff etc. didn't and they all blow you people away. ALSO it takes a qualified tech who knows how to work a PLEK, many people have had bad experiences because of this. But the guy who set up guitars for John McLaughlin set mine up, and he loved my 98 Orville LPS. Again a PLEK is useless with a bad tech
I'm a career guitar player and have had my two main performing guitars Pleked 10 years ago by MIKE Lulls Custom Guitars in Bellevue WA. No regrets!
Yes, I think it's always worth getting a Plek - it's REALLY hard finding someone who can actually do a great job by hand in my area (then when you find someone, you might also have a long waiting period for it to get done).
This is why I figured out how to do most of this stuff myself. Good video explaining the Plek process.
For the ridiculous money these companies are charging for brand name guitars, they should play perfectly out of the box. You’re paying 3-5k and still the guitar has to be pleked in order to play perfectly. Ridiculous.
Exactly.
I have had 4 guitars plek’d. Each time it drastically improves playability. I prefer low action and that way there is no minor fret hump to hinder as going as low as I would like. I use the Guitar Guy’s in Ohio. They do great work.
How low is your high E string at the 12th fret?
it's not measured by a laser though. just a mechanical arm with high precision.
Same as you i had one guitar plekked and another one frets leveled and crowned by a competent luthier and I honestly cant tell the difference.
Agreed. Can we even feel the difference. Or is it just perfect on a computer in our imperfect hands.
Can't always find a competent luthier in a lot of areas of the country. That's a huge problem. A friend of mine had his guitars frets leveled....all the way down to the fretboard....no crown. They were almost flat. Had to take it someplace else to get re-fretted.
I'd be curious as to how each fret sounds going up the neck? Does it get sharp, flat or stay the same once the intonation and setup was done. All notes should be correctly intonated. That's how it would be worth it on my side. So, fret placement accuracy would also throw the intonation off. I've seen it often when measuring the whole scale of a fretboard. It's only as good as the person that cut the slots and pressed the frets in to the right depth. No level or crown would be needed in that case.
Excellent point about the complexities of the process and software, and having a trained and experienced luthier do the work. You should get what you pay for and I would want the full monty including a mirror finish on the frets, especially the ends. Check the reviews before you invest.
I would have thought a Custom Shop would come out with perfectly level frets.
They usually do but this guitar was a 2012 so it was about ten years old
Man vs machine sorta thing. If I had the option, I would probably Plek once to start then rely on feel, sound, and playability to tweak after that. I feel like out of the box would be the best time to plek because after a few years or so of playing that guitar is going to uniquely settle into itself. Just a thought
Considering how much money we, as guitar players, invest in pedals, amps, gadgets, and other fancy stuff, spending 'just' $280 to address issues at the root of our sound and make our instruments perform at their best seems like a wise investment to me.
I've already had three of my guitars Plek'd. They play superbly now, and I've never looked back. I love playing each of them
I absolutely agree. 280$ is almost the cost of a new pedal.
Great point. $280 seems very reasonable for a well playing guitar that intonated properly and doesn't "fret out" on string bends, etc.
Yea I was thinking the same thing. I was very apprehensive at first but I went for it just because I’ve never done it before. Do I think it’s totally necessary…. Not really. It does play great though.
From experience I can say I opted for the Plek when I bought my Musicman Sabre from Sweetwater a few months ago. It was (and still is incredible). I later bought a second Sabre afterward with just the standard Ernie Ball setup they ship it with. It is really great, but I can tell a night and day difference in so many aspects from the one that was Plek'd vs the standard Ernie Ball setup. Both are wonderful, but the Plek'd one is still smooth and dreamlike compared to the standard setup. From here on, if I'm spending a decent amount on a guitar, I'm going for the Plek. Considering I paid $3500 for the first Sabre, the $300 was a great investment on an instrument that I can't seem to put down. Plek gets a strong yes from me. If I were buying a $500 - $750 guitar, that might be a different answer. Of course, after spending the amount I did and getting what I got, I don't know if I could ever not buy one of this quality again. You get what you pay for, and I'm seeing this every day and every time I pick this guitar up.
Plek the guitar if you have very uneven frets but for setup, no machine can tell you what to set neck relief, saddle height and intonation, as those things are all player preference and feel, you may press harder on the strings than John Smith and will have to set the intonation to your pressure, so learn how to set your guitars up first before finally saying "maybe I'll plek" because a Plek machine only goes so far before the human element comes in for the final tweaks of the setup.
Once it’s pleked, a luthier sets intonation.. it’s not all machine work
If I had a guitar with stainless steel frets and had it Plekd from new , it would probably outlast me; regular nickel frets will still need attention later on ....Not sure what $280 is in British Pounds but it does sound a little steep for a machine process which is relatively quick .
I had my ibanez prestige plek and I found it totally worth it. That being said if you have a great tech that can do great freat work maybe it's apple's and apple's. 280 was cheaper than mine. That's a great deal. I will plek again. My ibanez plays so buttery compared to all my other ones. It does make a difference.
Definitely worth the money.
Just ordered a cherry Ibanez S470DXQM all original 100%. I had one many years ago and pawned it for dope, always regretted that after I got it together. Thinking about the plek but I don't know that it's worth it on a guitar in that price range. It would be more than half the price of the guitar. So just based on that probably not worth it. I do live in the bay area and there are 3 shops that do it here. But still with transport time and the fee it would be significant. I guess I will see how it plays first.
My only thing is that if I am going to spend 4 or 5 thousand dollars on a Gibson or Fender custom shop guitar, I shouldn't have to do this. Plus I am wondering how much of a fad and hype this Plek thing is going to turn out to be in the long run.
Gibson pleks all their guitars now
To PLEK, or not to PLEK? That is the perPLEKsing question.
It is a very perPLEKING question in deed
If u r not sure of the result, try another Plek shop. I have Pleked all my guitars at Guitarlabs in Stockholm, the difference is huge. Very even, no dead spots, fantastic sustain and you can make any average guitar great.
There is only one reason why Suhr can charge what they charge for their guitars, they r all properly Pleked.
I totally agree
If you can actually feel a difference and it makes the sustain last longer, I feel like $280 is not bad for the life an instrument. That said, if you don't have an actual issue with your gear then i wouldn't go trying to solve things that you don't even notice. Great vid. Thanks!
Why not just level ,crown, and polish ?
I guess the idea is that it’s computer precise. So no human element.
The Plek machine can see and do things that can't be done by hand. The biggest reason is that it is scanned unders full string tension so it takes into account what's happening to the wood when the guitar is tuned to pitch. Typically the guitar will have adequate relief on the bass side and too much relief on the treble side. The fretboard will contort with various dips and humps when tuned up....even if it's perfectly level with the strings off. The Plek can dress the frets differently one edge of the fretboard, even adding more relief to one side of the board. Another advantage of the machine is the perfect crown on every fret, which can be done by hand, but isn't always. The machine only levels and crowns...afterwards the frets have to be polished by hand and the guitar set up. The luthier skill involved is in 1) knowing what to tell the machine to do, and 2) being able to set up the guitar. I highly recommend the Plek. I haven't had any negative experiences. :)
The host of the vlog certainly presented himself as a knowledgeable yet approachable authority on plek machines. An experienced luthier will still be necessary to implement a portion of the results from the machine. I am probably wrong, but it is my understanding that a Plek rep trains the buyer how to operate the machine and implement its findings? The closest plek to my home in the Pittsburgh suburbs is 50 miles away. I have no idea if the shop is competent. The shop you visited knew what it was doing, and you felt the results reflected that. $300 is not cheap, but I can eventually absorb the loss if the plek operator screws up my guitar. Is it worth the gamble? Thanks for a great educational video.
That is a great question. The only reason I felt comfortable with this shop is because they had the plek machine for over ten years. I don’t know of a way to actually verify if they are competent sorry. Cheers
So in summary:
(1) the result of a pleking procedure depends on the person handling the plek-machine and converting this information into adapting the frets accrdingly (03:11),
(2) the result of a conventional (non-plek) fret adjustment procedure depends on the person doing this (04:15).
==> clear recomendation for pleking *lol*
Not sure your point but yes I recommend it if the shop has experienced luthiers and experiences with a plek machine.
@@pureguitargear3935 No offense intended.
Ah. It wasn't fair of me to attribute to you universal guitar knowledge or mastery. I am a new subscriber, and you seemed like common denominator for all rookies and pros. Looking forward to your next step vlog.
I just got mine plek’d and there is still a little bit of fret buzz. Is that normal? The action is 3\64 on the treble side and 4/64 on the bass side.
Yes I think it’s normal. Buzzing isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As long as it plays well I wouldn’t be worried. Buzzing can be caused by a lot of different things. Mainly fretboard radius.
Fret buzz on an electric guitar does not matter at all UNLESS you can hear the fret buzz coming out of the amp when playing. If there's fret buzz without it being plugged in, it doesn't matter one bit because it's not an acoustic guitar.
Agreed
most times it is a set up that isn't good for how hard you're playing, or your technique is adding to the problem. Those are the only 2 reasons there could be after a plek. Also,, unlike the others, i don't agree.. if it buzzes, i can hear it thru an amp.. it is just reality. I've recorded a lot of guitars over the last 45 years... and set them up, and sold hundreds of them.
Don't recommend having it done to a cheap new guitar. Even if you spend $5-15 hundred, your better off waiting a year to let the guitar play in, and settle down. Then you'll already know if your gonna keep it. Otherwise don't bother.
I totally agree it’s not for every guitar.
I do all the fretworks and setups by myself, I had to buy proper tools (wich are very expansive) first, then train myself on my guitars from the cheapest to the priceless ones but I've never been so satisfied and now I know exactely what I like. You don't need a pleck until you want to set your strings extremely low... At heigh were it's difficult to do proper bends.
Marceau Guitars here in France just bought a pleck, once they were able to use it properly they saw that their setup methods were already extremely precise without the need of such a machine... So why he needs it? For a better quality control / consistency and for saving some precious time at the end.
A competent luthier is always the best way to go. I think the appeal to the plek machine is the consistency. I think it’s cool that you get a laser print out of the fret board.
Considering there are not too many techs qualified to do a proper fret level and crown, id trust a good Plek operator before id let someone touch my guitars' frets. Ive seen frets leveled almost all the way down to the fretboard....almost flat, no crown. Unbelievable.
Placebo?
@@jameswinter1178 I don’t think so.
+1 for Seven Cs music for gear and service.
Yea that place is top notch.
....Do you Plek because some frets are buzzing???
I’m this case no. The luthier I went to suggested it. That being said. Theoretically a plea should help your frets stop buzzing
@@pureguitargear3935 .....Ok. My daughter is getting a brand new
Ibanez SML. We were both curious/cautious about Pleking her brand new axe. Thanks for the content.
@@mr.thekidd498 if it plays fine I wouldn’t bother. Just have it set up correctly for intonation and you should be good to go. Ibanez has decent quality control out of the box.
Custom Shop? $280? Yeah good call.
No one wants to spend $280 and admit it didn't improve it
You should ALWAYS Plek a new guitar. IT IS THAT SIMPLE. DO NOT be a cheap. It’s makes a MASSIVE difference in playability and will make you happy with your purchase. I WILLNEVER understand why folks DO NOT PLEK.
You own a Pleck machine don't you
I purchased a 2022 Gibson LP Standard 50s version - these supposedly are Plek'd at no additional cost. The action and intonation was perfect literally out of the box. I am spoiled now - I saw that Fender was selling $799 Telecasters and charging $299 to have them Plek'd. That's too much. The difference in a Plek'd instrument that I have noticed is that the frets are perfect, they pass the "Phil Mcknight silk stocking test". You run a silk sticking down the edge if the fingerboard over the fret ends - you should see no snags whatsoever in the stocking. Intonation is perfect out of the box. I got a new LP from Guitar Center - it was brand new - still in the box. The guitar was in perfect tuning, the intonation needed absolutely no adjustment.
So Gibson Pleks all their guitars in the factory now?
I had one strat p l e k e d ,and one done by my tech. $250, VS $ 100. I could not tell the difference . Never again. Feel like an idiot, jumping on the bandwagon, you know, the latest greatest thing. I know something else too, I don't like stainless frets.
Im a believer
Ahhhhhhhooww!!!!
Jimmy Jimi Eric Jeff etc. didn't and they all blow you people away. ALSO it takes a qualified tech who knows how to work a PLEK, many people have had bad experiences because of this. But the guy who set up guitars for John McLaughlin set mine up, and he loved my 98 Orville LPS.
Again a PLEK is useless with a bad tech
"yeah, it's worth it. I've spend ~280 and yeah.. I think it's worth it..." - sorry, but does not sound solid.
Nope, not for me. Ive been playing guitar for 60 years and do just fine without it.
How old are u