What The Plek Actually Does To Your Guitar
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- Опубліковано 30 тра 2024
- This is a up close and personal look at what the Plek does and how it does it. The most important thing to know is that it's just a tool. Without a good tech to run it your results won't' be good.
This is purposefully long so you can see how much setup goes into making sure everything is correct before cutting.
James is a great tech and if you want him to Plek your guitar call (337) 989-2838
Follow the chapters to see any part of the process up close and personal.
00:00 Introduction
00:51 What the Plek actually does
01:17 What the Plek doesn't do
02:08 How to load the guitar
03:18 Entering information into the Plek
06:35 Initial scan
09:32 After the initial scan
11:31 Second scan after adjusting The truss rod
12:56 Difference after second scan
15:14 Scan after third adjustment
19:37 Securing the guitar before cutting
21:48 Last scan before cutting
23:05 Begin Pleking frets
29:06 Put strings back on the guitar and final scan after pleking
30:16 Comparing before and after
33:43 A day later here are my thoughts on if its worth it and other important things
Great video. As you say, to me it was just a magic box and I didn't know anything about how or what it actually did. Thanks for explaining it, and still waiting for the Khaler movie
It makes me so happy when one of these things I do helps someone understand something they are interested in. Thank you for saying so, it really makes my day!
As for the Kahler video, I’m dying to get it out. However, I shared it with both Gary Kahler and Neal Moser and they both want to talk with me a little about just a few things to make just a bit better before it’s release.
It’s really good now but after their help it will be so much better, and 100% factual. My goal is to get it out asap! I’m hoping for Saturday the 10th but that’s all depending on Gary and Neal’s schedules.
James just Plek'd my 2024 PRS SE CE24. It plays very well. In my opinion , the Plek Machine does with precise precision what a human cant do with the same precision, but there are things that the Plek Machine cannot do as precisely as human hands can do. The hands of a very talented and knowledgeable guitar tech will always be needed
I agree but there are people who can get things so close the plek won’t improve anything. Typically that is what n custom shop stuff.
@@REXYLAB it sounded like you were a Plek fan initially, but now it sounds like maybe not so much. I'm not saying it's magic obviously I said there are things the machine can do that a person can't and things a person can do that the machine can't ,but between the two, I'd think it would be a better outcome if the information given to the machine. The tech running the machine has to be knowledgeable with inputting the correct information to the Plek machine and the tech has to be just as good doing the setup,intonation, adjustment of the saddles, polishing the frets, filing the fret ends, etc. Can we all do without a Plek? Of course because we have gotten this far without a Plek machine ,but it definitely serves a purpose. My Plek was free with the purchase of my guitar from C&M Music,so why not
@@LuisMorales-xr1gm I love the plek. It’s fantastic and takes a fraction of the time that it would take an exceptionally talented luthier to do the same thing.
That being said James and I put a Badlands GX1 on the plek and two things were obvious.
1. It wasn’t pleked because it wasn’t quite perfect.
2. There was absolutely no need to plek it because it wouldn’t have changed anything. The machine probably wouldn’t have even shaved off any fret material.
Now, that was a custom guitar built by a master and not an off the rack guitar. For any typical off the rack, non-custom shop guitar I think the plek is a fantastic way to go. There are so many benefits that most people don’t even realize that it is an incredible value. And if it is free with purchase that’s even better. Plus your ultimate setup goes in the plek database under your name and the guitar’s serial number so you can take it to any shop with a plek and they can replicate it on any guitar you own. Plus with the serial number recorded you can prove a guitar is yours if it was stolen and it’s found.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
None of that changes an absolute master can do a level and crown so good the plek is unnecessary, but that person’s work will cost more and take longer with none of the other benefits. In addition the person running the plek MUST be good at running it.
In conclusion, I think the plek is amazing. It isn’t 100% necessary but only if you have a super high end guitar that was built correctly by a master.
@@REXYLABAre some factories using Plek machines or its equivalent in the production of their guitars?
@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017 yes there are. Gibson plans there guitars in house now.
Great overview of the process. My '01 Am Std Strat is in the queue to be done in a couple of weeks.
Great! The person running the plek should ask you a bunch of questions about your guitar and how you like it set up to input into the machine.
Your plek job is only as good as the plek tech, Joe Glaser trains the main guy whenever a new plek is bought.
Thanks for the detailed information and video about pleking.
Absolutely!
If there is anything else you would like looked at in more depth let me know. If it is in my power I’ll do it.
Excellent video! Great information! Thank you!
Absolutely! Im happy that I had the opportunity to do this video with James at C&M Music. He does excellent work.
answered a lot of questions, thanks
Cool! I’m glad I could help.
I just had my PRS SE hollowbody Piezo Pleked by Empire Guitar Works in Hemet, CA. I love it. Chad is an excellent luthier and guitar tech. Yes, you really have to have a skilled tech to perform this operation. Not to get to personal, but I just had surgery done robotically. I still had to have great surgeons operating the robot. Wow! How coincidental. Robotic surgery and robotic guitar surgery! Welcome to the 21st century.
Science-fiction becomes science-fact.
Great video man. Always wanted to know the ins and outs of this machine.. impressive. Great tech explaining the process. Well done. 👍
Thanks! I think it’s important that people know what this thing does. It’s a very impressive machine.
And you are correct about James being a really great tech. He and I work together on all kinds of things. He definitely has skills!
Very cool,thank both of you for showing this.
The tech really knows his stuff!!!
I miss living in Lafayette so much.
Just so you know, Denver Randy Aaron Walker from the other comment on this video also lives in Denver and is quite a good guitar tech himself.
@@REXYLAB Awesome,I'll definitely hit him up.Thank you for the contact.👍
Top content Eddie! First guitar was G2V in `86/87 in a loverly Candy Apple Red ! No Scratchplate though. I was cluewless so bought magazines to get my head around the whole electric guitar thing! I knew other players but they were as clueless as me ! You Gonna Blow Up if there is any justice ! Top Bloke Mate !!
You always make my day, William!
The G2V was the first guitar I ever bought for myself. One just like this. It needed a setup one day and I knew nothing so I figured it was broken and I sold it for cheap. What a fool I was!
I got this one (and overpaid for it) because I was as feeling nostalgic. But after this guitar was pleked it has now become one of my favorites.
If you haven’t seen this here is when I got this one.
ua-cam.com/video/S-6Tg1a7fPU/v-deo.html
Fascinating
I think it is.
Thanks for this, really enlightening and i appreciate the long form. I was confused by your comment at the end about the frets being 'asymmetrical' - what did you mean?
First, thank you for the nice comment. This is a complicated machine and I felt it needed a thorough video.
What I meant by asymmetrical is that it shaved some of the highest frets lower as it got closer to the high E string. Not much but noticeably.
Now this didn’t hurt the performance of the guitar, it’s actually one of my favorites to play now. Perhaps if we would have pulled the frets and resurfaced the fretboard it wouldn’t have done that but I’m ok with it.
Like I said, it’s one of my favorites to play now.
Thanks 🙏
Very interesting.
Thanks, I hope you found it informative.
Awesome video, i always wanted to see the programming side of a Plek machine! As a surveyor, that was fascinating to me! But you didn't tell us how much better the playing felt afterwards...was it a noticeable difference for you? I have a Plek'd Friedman Cali and it's magical!
Thanks! James and I did our very best to try to help everyone understand what this machine does and how it works.
As for how the guitar plays now, I did say that all previous issues were gone. However I don’t think that is the answer you’re looking for and I was careful about what I sad about the outcome on purpose. So first the answer and then why I was vague.
This is now one of my favorite guitars to play! It feels amazing and it really almost does play itself!
Now for the reasons I was careful about how I described the outcome.
1. It really depends on the tech, bad tech=bad results.
2. Some people don’t know what they want and will blame the machine. A perfect example is someone that says they want jumbo frets but doesn’t have a light touch. That person would be better with smaller frets as you can easily bend notes sharp by pressing too hard. If you don’t know what you want this machine will give you what you ask for, and that might not be what you want (I have tried to explain this to many difficult clients).
3. Some people won’t be able to tell the difference. Most of us have no problem admitting we are clueless as beginners but then something weird happens and we want to believe we are smarter than we actually are. I have found the more I learn the more I still have to learn. However, after my beginner phase I was never more opinionated and arrogant. People in that stage of their playing might either not be able to tell the difference, not know what they want (see above), or just gaslight themselves because they spent tons of money on a setup and they can’t accept it is anything less than stellar.
Personally I love what this did to the guitar! But ultimately my opinion is just my opinion. I hope that answers your question.
On a separate note, as a commercial deep sea diver it astounds me that surveyors can get the boat or barge right where what we are looking for is!
@@REXYLAB thanks for the reply! All great points!
@@tubesoupio absolutely! I do my very best to present guitar information that is as neutral as possible so as not to be colored by my opinion. Obviously being a human on planet earth my opinion does creep in but I try to point out when it is my opinion and not a fact.
If such things appeal to you I invite you to subscribe. I have lots of handy guitar how to stuff and many other things as well.
But don’t take my word for it, glance around my content and see if any of it appeals to you.
Well done with setting expectations. My main concern is getting a Plek done on an instrument a dealer hasn't ever seen before. Will they destroy it and will they be able to recover. I'm definitely talking bass where they have little experience. Definitely something to consider before purchasing.
The plek is just a tool so it is completely dependent on the tech operating it to set it up right. Plek does send someone extremely knowledgeable to set up the machine and train the operator.
The Plek is a very big investment so it’s likely anywhere that has one has picked their people to run it well. That being said, I do know people who were disappointed after having their instrument pleked.
I bought a Breedlove Concerto recently from James, had it Plek by them, im not a good player but man its so worry free it plays well with insane sustain i mean a lot...its not as bright as id like at times as well as the tension is tough coming back to playing with the 13-56 strings but thats not their fault....im literally currently trying to make a deal for another one setup with XS lights ( 12-53s), meaning i trust them...
I can’t say enough good things about James and C&M Music.
Personally I would go with the D’Addario phosphor bronze .010-.047. That’s what I use in all my acoustic guitars.
They sound great and won’t cause the bellying that heavier strings do.
In scary cases heavy strings can even rip the bridge off your acoustic like this one I had to fix.
1973 Giannini Craviola Bridge Doctor Installation🎸
ua-cam.com/video/D8x_AlZtsqo/v-deo.html
@REXYLAB yea im regretting it, it's ZERO their fault I primarily strum and some intros..I should have went minimum XS PB lights....that's why I watched the video I was like this sets the neck, frets, nut and them the saddle so perfect for my string tension I'm worried about just tossing on lighter strings...the next one will definitely have lighter setup less tension...
Bellying out, I was having a real hard time describing it to my friends...I mean you can strum the thing or pluck a low E and feel it thru the guitar for ever...sustain is nuts using tuskXL as well.....just dull across the mids( or placebo ) than my borrowed guitar ( another breedlove solo )...
Wow! Great video. I had no idea there was so much human interaction with the Plek. How about a link to that store’s website?
James really is a good tech isn’t he? I’m willing to bet the people who complain about their plek jobs had bad techs.
www.candmmusic.com/
@@REXYLAB what location is he at? The James guy? Does he have a last name or a email address?
@@mikelmarion this is in Lafayette, Louisiana. James Nail is his name and the phone number for C&M is (337) 989-2838.
I am certain if you want to send him your guitar to be pleked he will be happy to do it.
When you call be sure to tell him you saw the video.
@@REXYLABwill do thanks!!!
I'm curious if there are certain brands/models that come from the factory and measure perfectly on the Plek?
Actually there are some that come so good that it’s obvious they weren’t pleked but do t need it at all.
Check out this video about my Badlands GX1 and how that was the case when we analyzed it in the plek.
Badlands Guitar Company GX1 Deep Dive
ua-cam.com/video/zV3_xr2aPQ8/v-deo.html
Stainless Steel frets and a plek job and your guitar should play perfect for years and more years. I had that done in 2017. I play that guitar alot and normally would have needed fret work twice and a refret now. You can barely see any wear, and that might even be an optical illusion. Now that was a $650 Gibson that I did a $700 refret on. I don't regret it for a second.
Most people see the value in this machine. Some don’t, I have no idea why.
It really does come down to how good your tech is though because if they suck it won’t be good.
Really wish you would've explained the screen he was editing before it started cutting. What was he doing with all that mouse clicking?
If it wasn’t so complicated we would have spent more time on it but it would be like trying to teach a class on Microsoft excel, it’s confusing and takes a long time.
The main thing to know is that you are adjusting the parameters of how you want your guitar to feel when you play it.
It takes about a week of training to understand how it works and would have made this video very boring.
I noticed an input on the PLEK machine was string gauge. What difference on the PLEK would there be if I had it PLEK'd with 11-48 but then put 09-42 strings on it? Assume I had it set up for 09-42 by a luthier after the incorrect PLEK.
That is a question for a trained Plek tech, not for a guy that did a video on one.
I called to schedule a PLEK yesterday and asked basically the same question (asked about 10s vs. 9s). They said the main issue would be the nut slots, so you should PLEK to the thinner strings because you can't add material, only take away.
Is it able to report if the neck is out of whack and should be shimmed before proceeding ?
That is a question for a trained Plek technician.
Quarter of mm is the lot !
The precision of this machine is nothing short of amazing. Understand that a master luthier can do just as good a job but that is what it takes to do as good a job.
Would have checked that high fret was seated first..
We did more than just that.
Pleking an instrument takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours. There’s a lot of stuff cut out so it wouldn’t be unwatchable.
Plus, I went over it in my shop first.
Ebay Guitar Disaster 1988 Washburn G-2V
ua-cam.com/video/S-6Tg1a7fPU/v-deo.html
@@REXYLAB I know, owned a Plek for 6 years..
@@5150TJT What is your opinion based on your experience ?
@@lostinpa-dadenduro7555 Doing 300+ stainless refrets a year. Used a Plek since 2016..
Another thing, not just anyone can run this machine. Have to be very well trained. Theres many vids on yt of people paying the extra 300 at sw getting the service done to a brand new purchase and its all f'd up when it arrives even though they are supposed to be including a full custom setup to your liking after the process. So i think going to the rite place is a big factor, where that place is i have no idea
C&M Music in Lafayette, Louisiana will plek any guitar you buy from them over a certain amount of money (I forget how much but it isn’t much) for free.
James is the only tech that runs the machine and he is very good.
If you don’t research your guitar tech you deserve what you get. A good tech has references.
Just watched a video with a guy that had 2 pleks done by Sweetwater on his new guitar and it was still screwed up.
I have no doubt about that.
I have no idea if you watched the entire video but this IS NOT a magic box that makes your guitar amazing.
There are two things you need to make sure this makes your guitar amazing and not crap.
First and foremost you need a good technician. If that guy sucks the guitar will come out bad. James is amazing at what he does and extremely meticulous, nothing short of that will work.
Second is you absolutely must have some sort of idea how you want your guitar set up. If you play very aggressive punk rock and beat the shit out of your guitar a setup for a shredder won’t work for such a player and vice versa. This is actually a very common problem where people read about something that sounds cool and then they try it and hate it because it doesn’t fit their playing style. Scalloped fretboards and jumbo frets are the first thing that come to my mind. Both are super cool but not something everyone would enjoy.
The plek is just a tool. Like any tool it can’t do anything by itself, it needs a person to make it do what it was designed for. It’s the same thing as a hammer. In the hands of a skilled carpenter a hammer can play a huge roll in building a house, in the hands of a fool it’s just going to bend nails.
So it measures your guitar, frets it, files it and polishes it into a mirror shine? Nice tool we invented over the years!
The guitar in the video went from meh to one of my favorites to play.
@@REXYLAB And I thought it was some ridiculous piece of equipment, like that one time me being sceptical abut CNC machines. I wonder what other cool tools are there! I also learned, that cnc's. Other automatic milling machines do subtractive manufacturing and all the other 3D printer variants do additive manufacturing. Not that it means anything, sonetimes I really think that I talk too much shit if you pardon my french. For being forklift certified and working at a mostly boring job, I'm glad I'm picking up the pace on learning how to play the guitar some more currently. And yet some other silly stuff that may or may not matter to anyone in the near future. That's how I deal with boredom.
Hopefully you're doing okay for yourself, Eddie. You're the coolest dude I'll sadly yet likely never get to know.
@@josephshmoesinsky8610 you never know, buddy. One day our paths might cross.
And I was THE MOST CLOSE MINDED person on planet earth at one time so there’s hope for everyone. I’m sure I was much worse about things than you my friend.
Plus, I am kicking around an idea for going live in the studio and doing music theory lessons on my channel. So that’s something to look forward to. I’m excited about it anyway.
The Washburn G-2V is my first guitar I ever bought. Kinda sucked, had the same 'locking trem'.
It was the first guitar I ever bought too. I thought it was junk and sold it for next to nothing. I bought this one because of nostalgia and expected it to blow.
I overpaid for it and it showed up damaged. I was really mad.
But, I know how to set up guitars now and when I was done it played great. After I had it pleked (because the frets were horrible it would make the best guitar for the video) it is now one of my favorite guitars to play.
Turns out I was wrong back at 17. This guitar didn’t suck, I was just a dumb kid.
If you’re interested check out the video from when I got it.
Ebay Guitar Disaster 1988 Washburn G-2V
ua-cam.com/video/S-6Tg1a7fPU/v-deo.html
What do you mean the fret aren't even? Some look wider than others? The crowning job is inconsistent? They should be totally perfect all the same unless the tool he used to final grind the frets had the wrong radius on it. That's the "crown" dimension on a fret drawing and he should've used the proper tool to match your frets. You should be able to look at your frets and come up with a very close educated guess as to which crown profile he ground on them. And you should be able to have them regrind your frets as that barely takes off any more material.
There's 0.0394 inches in one mm. Call it 0.04 and we have 0.01" = 1/4 of a mm, which is imperceptible to some eyes, but far from acceptable as far as fret height variation. A decent standard fret job has variation in fret height of at least 0.010" which is almost exactly 1/4 of a mm. That machine is grinding them to probably within 0.004" total variation, so +/- 0.002" which would let you bring that action down. But the variation you saw on the screen is miles from molecule level as he mentioned, it's okay, not great, but it's very difficult to accurately measure and grind a guitar neck.
If you hate the plek and just want to argue with someone go find another channel.
This machine is incredibly accurate and it’s obvious from your 2 comments you don’t like it and you’re and trolling. It’s also very clear you have no experience with one of these machines (any least not with an experienced tech). I can tell because there was no wrong tool used, James is very good at what he does.
If you have something legitimate to say that’s cool and I welcome it. You can even say you don’t like it and don’t see the point of this machine. Musicians did just fine without it for hundreds of years after all.
But spouting nonsense that you’re obviously regurgitating from Internet forums or other comments to be a dick is a waste of your time and mine.
Play nice or you will be asked to leave. This is your only warning.
But Phill McKnight says the Plek doesn't crown frets and he knows everything about anything guitar related and is never wrong.
I heard him say that as well. However, at the end the frets were crowned.
He also said it would be a boring video. Interesting and boring are subjective but I don’t think this was boring.
I am biased though being it’s my video.
Also, I love Philip McKnight. But not everyone can know everything. He knows a lot and I’m not trying to take anything from him.
@@REXYLAB yeah definitely not boring at all and a lot of cool things I learned about the Plek. Loved the camera angle down the neck
@@bradleyclosson5042 thanks! I worked hard on editing this one to be as interesting as possible.
I actually bought one of Philip McKnight’s badlands GX1 guitars and I plan on pleking it to see how perfect it is or isn’t.
I have another idea for the plek as well so you haven’t seen the last of it on my channel.
@@REXYLAB All you need to do to tell if that Badland guitar has a good fret job is run some pantyhose up and down the neck to see if they snag. That's the best way to check frets, don't you know?
@@bradleyclosson5042 you can bet I’m gonna do that and more.
I expect the guitar to be amazing. He is personally inspecting all 50 of them and he knows if they aren’t perfect he will never hear the end of it.
Also, should mention that not all guitars will benifit from the process. Higher priced customs may not benefit from this because the fetwork was done very well to begin with in many cases by hand. And the question ive had for many years is why doesnt every guitar get run through the plek at the factory before being shipped out? These days it should be a part of the manufacturing process on every guitar from a 300$ to 3000$ guitar. Theres really not one reason i can come up with that they couldnt do that, it wouldnt have to even change the price of the guitar, its unfortunate to buy a 3k$ guitar and have to pay 300$ to plek it. It really is messed up. Manufacturers need to step their game up
There are a few reasons I can think of not to Plek guitars right out of the factory.
The main one is fret sprout. If the wood isn’t dry enough to where it won’t shrink it won’t hold a setup. Why does this happen? They won’t pay the tiny amount of money for properly dry wood. That brings me to problem #2.
If they are too cheap to buy properly dried wood then they for sure are way to cheap to pay a tech to run a plek on all those guitars.
A good plek operator will map the neck first and they won’t proceed if the neck is good.
A luthier would have finished 3 guitars mean while
Nope, this thing is way faster.
@@REXYLAB after you spend 4 hours setting it up. Sure
@@hmtp177 it takes less than 2 hours start to finish.
Ha ha . You watch the long video to find out, at the end, that they consider .25mm (.009in.) to be an insignificant margin of error.
You realize that’s less than the thickness of a human hair, right?
@@REXYLAB I guess the proof of the pudding is in the demonstration you avoided.
@@CarsonLee-ll8ph what demonstration?
You aren’t making any sense. You hat you are doing is spewing hate and using misdirection to make yourself appear to have good points while saying nothing.
So again, what demonstration are you talking about?
check it out again, they were talking about the space between the grid lines as .25mm. The error between the ideal and actual was around a 10th of that from what I saw, so he was talking about .025mm being acceptable
What?
Could you be more specific?
Do not trust what you think is wizardry! Plek dealers will take advantage of you. Many times you're better off with a expert luthier. He doesn't have to pay back the plek machine financing. This makes some plek dealers become saleman wizards. they will place a spell on your wallet.
Does anything about this video make it look like this is wizardry… no, no it doesn’t.
I painstakingly made a video to show exactly how this machine works and you throw out an insult like that.
The plek is only as good as the tech. I say that in the video but it would appear you never watched it and just came to bitch about my thumbnail.
The Plek is only as good as the tech that sets it up and runs the parameters and program.
Correct!
I feel like I covered that pretty good.