How Did The Plek'd Squier Do 6 Months Later?
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2021
- #knowyourgear #sharpenmyaxe #mcknightrepair
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Engl Fireball 25
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Electronic Cleaner
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Don't feel stupid, the sock test is amazing! Actually gives a visual to something everyone understands the concept of
Yup. Was gonna say something similar. The sock rocks.
I can never see it properly, That's my old critique
I can relate wearing pantyhose on a wood floor
I agree 100%. I think it is a perfect illustration on how well the frets are polished.
@Yea Eva 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I feel like this is the perfect situation for Plek machines. Maybe I'm weird, but if I'm spending $1,000+, I kind of expect this stuff to have been addressed pre-Plek.
Nothing is perfect though. Humans have their limits. Plek machines go beyond human capability, so it's always worth it IMO. Sure, wait until it settles and wears in a bit first, but still.
@@MFKitten a decent luthier will give you the exact same level of work.
@@braveheart4603 I would say a half decent luthier or tech could do a reasonable job. Heck they could likely get it lower action as well so I agree!
Maybe not " exactly " but I do think better than we can know without a computer to tell us. If the guitar has stainless steel frets I think it's probably better to use a Plek machine. @@braveheart4603
@@braveheart4603 BS...
The amount of dedication to dump 6 months and dozens of hours for 7.5 min of content... Respect!
The glove test you're using elevates these demo/review vids from sujective opinions to incontrovertible fact.
a very important differentiation to make in this world, I say
Phil slowly walks out of the room as his wife asks, where are all my nylon stockings?
Hahahahahaha
@@0000song0000 In person is what would make it fun :)
Looks like a try-on sock from a shoe store.
You're assuming that they are his wife's.
I only have one guitar, a Squier Bullet Stratocaster, and I used to boo hoo about how I needed a ‘better’ guitar, but couldn’t afford it during the pandemic. So I kept on doing the best I could with what I have, learning how to set it up, changed nearly all the parts with great upgrades, and since have tried other guitars I thought I wanted like the Fender Player for example, but none of them were nearly as good as my Squier-which is only getting better as I continue to modify it bit by bit.
So now I’m thinking, it would be worth it to have it plecked. Bought it in a thrift shop for $90, cleaned it up, put about $250 in upgrades into it so far-pickups are next for about $120-so I have a better guitar for $460 than I could have bought for double that. Might as well get it Plecked.
What a cool story! Thanks for sharing, man! :)
Did you get it plecked? How did it go? I’m thinking about gifting this service to a teen that loves their Squier PJ bass and declined to upgrade it.
Wait - can we talk for a minute about how good your playing sounds? Chops are on point!
I’ve had my No. 1 Mongrel Strat Plek’d twice in the past 8 years. The first time it made a huge difference in the playability. Most recently, I had a stainless steel re-fret job done on my Strat and getting it Plek’d was part of the service. It’s never played better. While not a cheap service, definitely worth every dollar.
Thx Phil,
I live in the Pacific NW.
I’m going to buy a classic vibe tele butterscotch from Sweetwater when they return to stock and I was seriously considering doing the plex to it.
Perfect timing.
Best guitar channel hands down,
Cheers 🍻
are you melting yet... lol.
you can buy mine...got mine from sweetwater this year along with the new thermometer case. had a local luthier do a full set-up with a new bone nut. never even played it yet. (i have bad arthritis and am selling all my guitars)
@@teslapete4461 Where are you located?
@@mykneeshurt8393 i'm in columbus ohio, but willing to ship in the lower 48. contact me through my main page. thx!
@@teslapete4461 How much ?
Great investment on the pleck job. A lot of players will spend $200 or more on an effect pedal, having your guitar properly set up and plecked should be top priority as it will provide instant results, make it play easier, sound better, and it will be easier on your fingers.
It's Plek not "pleck"
Bought a plek’d classic vibe esquire from Sweetwater. It’s so so good. Set up perfect. Cant recommend it enough.
We had a whole bunch of usa strats come into a local music store a number of years back and all the rosewood boarded ones had horrendous fret sprout. I really don't think wood shrinkage is a squire thing lol.
It can happen to 2k guitars. Happened to me
It's not squier thing. It's wood thing
Recently bought a Fender product made on this side of the ocean and it needed the fret ends done right off the 'shelf', it was new old stock and the store took care of it (for free of course) and did a great job. Plays like a dream and stays in tune perfectly using the bar. No leveling was needed, low action plays clean.
I'll never forget the pic I saw of a US LP with a fret sticking out at least a half inch past the fretboard.
I sent back a 2020 Fender Player Strat to sweet water months after getting it due to fret issues that weren’t caught in their 55 point inspection. The 2021 they sent out to replace it had much nicer frets
Pleking a Squier is one of the most brilliant ideas man has had yet. Seriously, it's like "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth" good.
Would that even be possible?
200 dollars in work for a 200 dollar guitar... Hmmm
@@beefnacos6258 I can put £100 of dark rum into a £1 glass. Maybe not all at once, though, but it does make me happy.
I'm actually shocked at how well that guitar sounds. Amazing imo. Nice playing too.
The Squire PUs aren't bad at all!
Amplifier.
Hey Phil, recently got my ESP back from being Plek'd. I honestly cannot say enough good things about how the Plek setup is - the guitar now feels like an absolute joy to play, the frets are so insanely smooth and everything just feels effortless now. I was honestly skeptical about how good it could really be, but it absolutely was worth every penny. Will definitely be getting other guitars I own Plek'd when the funds allow.
I know if you buy a car you would not expect a dealer to sell a new car without it bein tuned up from the factory. I feel guitars, especially at $1,000 and up should also be fully set up when you get them. The guitar when it arrives should be ready to play or gig with right out of the box. I do understand that some people prefer the strings to be different heights but frets and intonation should be spot on. Just my opinion.
I bought an epiphone dot (335) a couple years ago as a fun project guitar, and had it plek’d in addition to swapping pickups, electronics, and hardware. It’s my best sounding and feeling guitar now.
It's nice that what you say is and ought to be 100% believeable. At the end of the day all wood and materials come from the same planet, just assembled and processed in different locations. I bought a used Yamaha a few weeks ago that rivals my Martin HD-28 in tone but not feel so I believe you about your Epiphone.
I completely agree I got a Korean made Epi Dot from the Samuel factory and had the frets leveled crowned and polished with a full set up. I put a set of 1972 Maxon P..A.F’s ones with the Japanese symbol stamp and 33 engraving ,Beldon etc wiring harness and that’s all. and this guitar easily sits in my top three of my 15+ guitars ranging from $500-$2500 if you put the time inAnd effort it is possible to bring something mediocre up to a ties standard up liability
I’ve got a blonde dot delux I paid $100 for. I leveled the frets etc and it’s great.
I found a near-mint well cared for Japanese 1983 Epi Sheraton that's a work of luthier art. But boy did the OEM Maxxon pickups suck, so I swapped them for '57 Classic + HBs. Now it's a luthier work of art that sings and screams like a 335. Never had it plekd tho, closest machine is in Salt Lake City (none in CO).
Phil, I live here in the Phoenix metro area, we should either buy a pleck machine or have Sweetwater send their machine here to us and let's do it for a business. Once you pleck in our extremely low humidity you should be fine from then on in any climate. If the wood expands a little on more humid climates it will still be fine. "Arizona Plecking" the best place in the world to pleck your guitar!
Got my 59 Epiphone Les Paul plek'd. Absolutely incredible instrument now. No reason to be concerned about its longevity with my light touch, the perfection of the board, and the absolute chunk of a neck that guitar has. Nut was lowered, high frets dropped, bridge, pickups and relief adjusted accordingly.
I got back into guitars in a huge way after over 40 years not even picking one up. My first purchase was a Squire Bullet Stratocaster which needed a fret leveling and dressing job. I ended up purchasing fret dressing tools and following some great You tube videos I did a good job dressing them. Now 2 plus years later I still have the guitar and it still plays great after my work. The fretboard is Indian Laural and it is a fairly open grain wood which needs to be oiled several times a year. I have now noticed the fret ends have opened up a little bit and your sock test is a great way to demonstrate this. You can also use a drying poly cloth and get a similar result. Always enjoy your content. Being a serious woodworker for most of my life, I have built 18 electric guitars over the lasty two years. I use stainless medium Jumbo frets 2.7 mm wide and have gotten very good at leveling, rounding, crowing and polishing the frets. It usually takes me around 2 hours to do the stainless frets as they are much much harder than the copper nickel type and are so smooth to play on. I use your test to see if I did the fret work correctly.
After I saw your original video about the pleked Squier I decided to have an Epiphone Les Paul modern I was buying pleked. The guitar came out great. I’ve been really happy with it. No issues at all in the six months I’ve had it. And as usual Sweetwater is fantastic to work with.
Would you compare it to a Gibson now?
Does sweet water supply any type of report following the plek of the instrument? Just wondering if they are able to tell how much certain things were off
@@BCarpenter2314 No they didn't. That would have been nice to get.
@@bushcry1 No idea, I've never handled an actual Gibson. I would imagine it's somewhat closer to a Gibson now, but there are probably plenty of other differences other than the fret work.
You can SEE in the video how nice those frets are. damn.
My Lakland DJ Skyline series 5 string is Plek’d and setup in Chicago, the rest happens overseas. Played great right out of the box.
Got 3 Plek’d guitars and they’re all Great and have been for ages ….Love the Plek system
Amazing! Thank you for sharing with us all!!
I got a Plek'd guitar about 8 months ago and it is truly the first guitar I've ever had that has perfect action with no fret buzz anywhere. I believe in it.
Phil, I always look forward to your content! In my eyes, you've always got valuable information, whether it's a gear review, instructional video, or even the weekly live chats. Thanks!
I got my 59 reissue Epiphone lp plekked, fantastic results
I'm a bedroom player that loves Squier guitars. Have a 2020 Contemporary Telecaster that has an amazing roasted maple neck, 2019 Bullet Mustang, 2012 SE strat and a 2007 VM strat. They are all great guitars that stay in the rotation. Have one Ibanez guitar. An RG that gets played every day. Even when my excellent Mexican strat or Yamaha RevStar are in the rotation I still reach for my Ibanez first. There's something about that wizard III neck and light weight hog body that makes it perfect for me. It's 6 lbs. 3 oz of pure tone.
Awe yeah man, This channel is really maturing and killin it!
Glad to hear that the heat hasn't gotten to it, I myself live in the Mojave area.
Hey Phil! Appreciate your insight. Great channel!!
The sock test is brilliant. Another excellent video - thanks, Phil!
Wicked playing, man. Great concept for a video. Really interesting stuff
plek`d a 79 LP custom about 10 ys ago in Berlin. that was one of the best investments (!). i remember any buzz or ringing was instantly gone and the guitar played itself very easy. Really can recommend doing a plek job, spare the next fx/amp-gas-money and try it!
Do they not replace the nut when pleking? Sweetwater has a note about being required to buy a new nut if I recall. Honestly though, I feel like the plek machine should be standard equipment in all guitar factories. They should plek all instruments and have another automated machine that polishes the rounds the frets after, with hand polishing done on the higher end models. It’s so easy and honestly stupid not to.
Agreed..
@@kilgoretrout321 I learned how to do mine too. But guess what would be awesome? An automated process that takes little time which perfectly does it for you. Oh wait they have that already. It’s what we are talking about. Lol
I got a Affinity Telecaster the first year they came out. As I remember only the intonation needed adjusting and everything else was perfect. I played that guitar to the bone. When I was done with it the frets were so flat and thin it was like a fretless. It actually was a great guitar, but I have a lot more money now for higher end stuff. Don’t knock a Affinity is my point!
The Sock of Fretfulness is an excellent way of communicating how smooth the frets feel to people watching. Another informative follow up. Thaks!
I've done something like this on my last two guitars, bought something in the $1k range and put a couple hundred into the guitar right away including a professional fret level. Can get some excellent results this way!
😆 the sock test was great! It incidentally made you still give it 5 stars even though you wanted to give it 4, the sock made you give it 5!
Always a gentleman. Thanks so much. Good luck to you and your family with this heat wave. Be safe.
Sounds great!
Great result
the sock test is great!
YES!!!!! Thank you for this video!!!!! (Right now I'm totally into Squier Strats!)
The sock test is awesome, simple effective and it shows honesty to the viewer, roll with it 👍
And it SOUNDS great to me, through over ear headphones. Great information, thanks!
I am about to ship out my SGJ to Sweetwater to be plekd and have a few issues fixed as well. This video and reading these comments really helped me know I’m making the right choice, really eases my mind. This is a really special guitar. Thank you, all of you!
Had my '98 LP Standard PLEK'd 18 months ago and it's still perfect.
I commented this on your original video, I had my gretsch pro-jet electromatic plek'd when I bought it. Had the guitar 3 years, still holds tune magnificently, even with a bigsby, and the frets are still amazing.
Despite having bullied my $385 ML Dean DimeCamo, I’d spend mad bucks to have it pleked to fix its buzzing and dead frets.
It’s NOT a one body, it’s neck is attached and clearly a neck they grafted like it was snapped in half plus the headstock is like 3 pieces glued together as one piece😂😂 so bad..
It’s cracked on both sides of the finish where the bolt on neck meets the body but it’s my first guitar I got when I was 13.
Lotta love and learning I put into that thing💚
Sounds great when you play it 🙂
What a great channel, man. Thank you for your insight and thoughts. I thought of plek-ing as something you'd only do on a really expensive guitars but it makes TOTAL sense to do it on a cheap guitar, to make it play like a million bucks.
it sounds great!
I have 2 Squier Classic Vibe 50s, one a Telecaster and a Strat. Both are excellent and I'd put them against any American made Fender. I have just orderd a Classic Vibe 70s Jaguar that should be here shortly and can't wait. The Classic Vibes are the Squier top of the line for what that's worth but still in the $460 range.
The sock test is the best (UA-cam-)test for the frets!!
I am totally considering having one of my guitars PLEK'd
I love the sock test... it's the same test from guitar to guitar, a consistent gauge.
Sounds great, just like a strat should. Really classic sounds, early Knopfler, Hendrix etc. Hard to believe it’s not a grand more.
Good information thanks
It is now August of 2022. Time to check this guitar again to see what the story is. 🎸
I loved the original video and it inspired me to have a Classic Vibe plek'd. My CV was great right up until I sold it.
Thanks Phil was very interesting as usual
Thank you for sharing
Great video
I bought a Squire Classic Vibe Strat over 6 years ago. I have used it on gigs over the past six years, indoors and outdoors and it held up fantastic and I’m still using it. I also own over 218 guitars many high end and my Squire Strat keeps up with the best of them!
Thanks Phil. ⚓️
Glad I saw this video. I was considering sending my Players Series Telecaster in which I replaced the Maple with a Pao Ferro neck, to Sweetwater for a Plek. Now I will definitely send it in.
Thanks Phil
I did not know about this video before ordering a classic vibe 60s strat, plekked, from SW.
It has been a fantastic guitar so far.
Simple great video on a very valued question for the quest of greatness at every level of wealth
Damn, I'm about to get a plek'd squier. Looks nice, sounds good, and the price is right. In fact, I bought a Squier Jazzmaster about 4-6 months ago and I wish I had seen your video because I had never even heard of the plek process and I definitely would have had it done had I known about it. Don't feel dumb about the stocking. It is a great way to test the roughness of the frets that I never would have come up with. Great video.
I've pleked my 1973 Strat and my 1974 Les Paul, and they also got new medium jumbo stailessteel frets, they play great.... more than great!
after watching your first plek vid, i have had 3 sweetwater guitars pleked. it is a epic system. a player plus strat for the wife, a JS2410, and a ltd arrow 1000. all were good before, but now are great. worth every penny.
I love your videos, I watch as much of them as I can. Sorry I don't have enough time to watch your live streams but I jump to subjects.
Great video I just ordered a Fender Squire Afinity Telecaster. Im have the frets Pleked and im haveing a bone nut installed too. I can’t wait to get it to see how the pickups work on the guitar. I might swap those out also. Thank you for the cool demonstration!
That intro lick was super tasty!!!
I bought a strat copy off Reverb that had been Plek'd 6 or 7 years ago. I haven't had it it set up since then and it still plays perfectly. I highly recommend the PLEK process.
I just bought a 2021 Les Paul Tribute, and it was plekd. I really dig the consistent feel! I do wish they used slightly bigger frets but hey, its a great guitar and smells like vanilla.
The smell on brand new Gibsons is top notch. I wish they'd start selling body wash or something.
Hello. Where was it pleked?
@@nicksonthevet At Gibsons factory.
I had to do a double take on that last word - vanilla.
I read it too fast and came up with something entirely different (hint: also starts with a V and ends with A ...)
@@YoloMcSwaggot LOL I was just thinking this the other day. That smell is just heavenly.
i have a couple reverends that are plek'd and they play fantastically. i wish there was still a shop near where i live that has a plek machine. well, worth it.
My 2014 is INCREDIBLE! Its neck is so damn smooth it's crazy. Original everything and the tuning stability is just as good as my Players Strat.
Got an Epiphone '59 LP, had it PLEK'ed, basically a Gibson now.
Just got my kit guitar plek'd; night and day difference. Highly recommended!
Love your videos! Saw the plek'd video too. Most of all, wish Fender/Squire still made that silver color because I would buy it in two seconds. Also love how you show which pickups you are using with the diagram. That's a big help. Very thoughtful.
What silver is that?
Great video, my 2 cents is that I had my junior plek’d. It came out great but one thing to remember is you have to provide details of string gauge and action to make sure the settings are correct for your playing and feel. If you get that wrong it won’t turn out as well. If you get it right the results are fantastic. Having said that on a lower cost guitar the results seem to be better because of the detail it adds to the playability. I have some rather expensive new and vintage guitars that play amazing but the workmanship and time taken on the frets ect and action related to your style and playing can not be underestimated.
Great video. Keep it up.
I had a prs 2408 se pleked by Sweetwater and it plays as well as my lpb7 less paul. I will definitely be doing it again.
I had an Eastman acoustic guitar PLEK’D and it went from a very good playing guitar to a fantastic playing guitar.
I bought a used Agile AL-3100 (LP-alike) with a Floyd for $200 a few years ago. Finally got around to having its frets superglued and a PLEK setup done by a well-known Berkeley (used to be SF) tech. $315 for the work. The result is an amazing-playing guitar.
That’s a beautiful pic you took.
I got my Epiphone prophecy plek'd a month or 2 ago and it's been fantastic. I'll be getting all my keeper guitars plek'd.
I love that silver finish and oversized headstock
I also live in Arizona. I believe guitars with maple fretboard hold up best in thr dry climate.
I've had a couple of my instruments Plek'd. Excellent results. My factory Fender bass played like crap off the dealer's wall... Plek sorted that out.
I have a 2019 Players Series strat bought and Plek'd at Sweetwater. Plays like a dream. Smooth as butter. My only negative, the edges of the fretboard are not rolled.
I tried a few Vintera Strats in stores and were not happy with the frets. One store here in Australia offers a plek for free with every guitar sold. I took a gamble and it paid off the guitar is set up beautifully and the frets feel amazing. No sharp ends, nice low action. Very happy with the results.
Thanks Phil!
:)
Makes me want to plek everything I buy!!!!
When you consider a basic setup would cost between $50-$100, doubling the price for rock solid setup and then a hand touch up before it gets to you, $200 is not unreasonable!
I was very interested to see how well the Plek job did with your cheap guitar over time. The fact that it has lasted well confirms to me that, for many players, a guitar with a proper fret job and setup can go a long way toward being exactly what the player needs. Having done several fret jobs and setups myself, I will state my belief that your Squier experienced an increase in sustain, without needing an improved bridge being installed. While the other setup details remain important, the condition of the frets is somewhat more important than many people might think. Thanks for this video, Phillip!😎❤️️🎸‼️
I recently had a poor playing Squier Tele Deluxe (FSR) Plek'd after have a new bone nut cut for it. What a big difference!! Although the paperwork for the PLEK showed it wasn't horrible to begin with, the improvement feels like a big leap forward. If my local shop wasn't so dang slow at getting the work done (6 weeks), I'd have all mine PLEK'd especially my "affordable" Squiers that didn't get lots of attention when being manufactured. Big PLEK fan here.
Also, your playing is also really good.
I built a tele-clone, i was very picky about the wood and the electronics and the hardware, and then the finish turned out better than expected, so i decided to have it plek-ed. it plays better than any other guitar i have ever played. it is amazing, plays like butter. i built it to sell, but i have priced it a little high hoping it doesn't sell.
likewise i built a 000 to sell, it turned out very nice so i had it plek-ed, [it also plays like butter] when i do post it for sale i price it high, if i don't get that, i'm ok with keeping it. the 000 i built without a pickguard so i play it very carefully, the tele-clone shows some marks on the pickguard, i may put a new one on it, if it ever goes up for sale again, but i may just decide to keep it.
i have the affinity series strat as well. i was blown away at how nice the fretboard was for a $230 guitar out of the box, also greetings from AZ as well!
agreed! Thanks to Phil's guidance I got the same to upgrade ("sharpen") and distract me from the election noise (didn't take long enough...) Frets did not need much work... Basically removed all the hardware and dropped in a very nice HHS "loaded pickguard" - vintage pearloid with cool pups, push/pull pots for coil splitting and "Gilmour mod" switch (allows bridge and neck pups on simultaneously); big brass block aftermarket trem bridge, Tusq XL nut and string trees and locking Fender logo tuners. Really, relatively little effort on my part. Love the satin finish neck. Full setup by me (low action with no buzz) and it looks, plays and sounds like a dream - total sting: LESS THAN $500