Ninja00151
Junior Member
- Messages
- 26
Pretty self explanatory! Takes all the guesswork out and insures a world-class neck. I'd probably pay $300 if it included a plek fretboard level under tension before the plek fret job under tension!
PLEK Pro Setup Option
- Thread starter Ninja00151
- Start date
Verne Bunsen
Hero Member
- Messages
- 2,472
I’ve always been curious about a PLEK, but have never taken the time to pursue getting one. I bet I’d pay for one on a Warmoth neck at least once, to see what all the fuss is about.
new-killer-star
Senior Member
- Messages
- 267
I’d probably try it too but I think I read that the plek machines are ridiculously expensive and I can’t see how they would ever make their money back.
There might be other reasons too...
There might be other reasons too...
stratamania
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 11,912
I have had Plek work done before but not on a Warmoth.
It's probably just wording but a Plek does not do setups as such. What they can do is analyze a board and frets, shape the board if it has no frets in, level the frets based on its analysis, cut nut slots.
But remember it is a tool and the analysis does still rely on an operator to interpret and decide how to apply what the Plek will then do.
What it does not do is to shape or dress the ends of the frets. So that is still a manual process.
With the Warmoth's I have been more than happy with the results, I have been able to achieve with hand tools.
If I was in this professionally and either manufacturing and/or doing a high volume of fretwork I would consider using a Plek to save the hands from too much repetitive stress.
Like all things, it is a valid choice but not the only one.
It's probably just wording but a Plek does not do setups as such. What they can do is analyze a board and frets, shape the board if it has no frets in, level the frets based on its analysis, cut nut slots.
But remember it is a tool and the analysis does still rely on an operator to interpret and decide how to apply what the Plek will then do.
What it does not do is to shape or dress the ends of the frets. So that is still a manual process.
With the Warmoth's I have been more than happy with the results, I have been able to achieve with hand tools.
If I was in this professionally and either manufacturing and/or doing a high volume of fretwork I would consider using a Plek to save the hands from too much repetitive stress.
Like all things, it is a valid choice but not the only one.
Cagey
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 24,425
I do't think it gives you a "world class" neck, I think it returns the best production neck you can get for the money. The cost is high, but justified for high-production shops like Gibson who want to deliver lots of necks without training a whole force of luthiers. To that end, they're quite sucessful.
AirCap
Hero Member
- Messages
- 1,003
PLEK machines lack experience, intuition, and insight. And they displace real craftsman. They are for button pushers with no skills or knowledge. I sneer at them because they are technology posing as ability. PLEK machines are fake news, so to speak.
Don't get me wrong - I'm a tech fan, and I like most of what Germans come up with.... But this one is a fail in my book. Not to mention, these things are pricey as hell - and they were meant to kick a luthier to the curb. It's a shame, really - because Germans usually hold that kind of skill in high regard. PLEK machines are disrespectful.
So, you can pay someone who knows what the fudge they are doing - or you can pay a machine some knothead programmed because you are a cheap bastard who thinks luthiers aren't worth the bucks. Call me a liar.
Don't get me wrong - I'm a tech fan, and I like most of what Germans come up with.... But this one is a fail in my book. Not to mention, these things are pricey as hell - and they were meant to kick a luthier to the curb. It's a shame, really - because Germans usually hold that kind of skill in high regard. PLEK machines are disrespectful.
So, you can pay someone who knows what the fudge they are doing - or you can pay a machine some knothead programmed because you are a cheap bastard who thinks luthiers aren't worth the bucks. Call me a liar.
Logrinn
Hero Member
- Messages
- 3,635
Once - not that many years ago - I might have voted yes. But since I heard that all Gibson's are pleked nowadays, I'm voting no. Because I don't think the Gibson's I've tried in music stores have that much of a "pro" or "high quality" feeling to them. Quite the contrary. Many have felt to me that they would benefit to a proper setup if someone were to buy one of them. Heck, a lot of them feel like the frets are more square than round.
Of course that could have something to do with what Gibson mean by their guitars being pleked. Like Stratamania says, it could mean a nut job or something else. It certainly doesn't seem to mean that every Gibson have had a "pro" setup.
Me, I would rather pay a pro, like the AirCaptain for instance, who have decades of experience of doing everything that needs to be done to get a pro setup.
Of course that could have something to do with what Gibson mean by their guitars being pleked. Like Stratamania says, it could mean a nut job or something else. It certainly doesn't seem to mean that every Gibson have had a "pro" setup.
Me, I would rather pay a pro, like the AirCaptain for instance, who have decades of experience of doing everything that needs to be done to get a pro setup.
Cagey
Mythical Status
- Messages
- 24,425
Along those same lines, I think many are falsely equating the price they pay for the quality of service/product they get. I, too, have compared "Plekked" fretboards to my own work, and while the the Plekked units were certainly quite playable, they weren't as nice as as my own or the work of others.
Same with "Custom Shop" guitars. Somehow, I think people are expecting and confusing the detailed fine work of a high quality luthier with what is simply something that is not a "standard production" offering. Just because a guitar that isn't normally offered with a purple finish can be had from the "custom shop" because it truly is "custom" doesn't make it better or special. It's just non-standard. Sometimes it can be as simple as getting locking tuners on a guitar that normally doesn't come with them. You'd have to order it from the "custom shop", as there's no SKU number for that item from that manufacturer.
Same with "Custom Shop" guitars. Somehow, I think people are expecting and confusing the detailed fine work of a high quality luthier with what is simply something that is not a "standard production" offering. Just because a guitar that isn't normally offered with a purple finish can be had from the "custom shop" because it truly is "custom" doesn't make it better or special. It's just non-standard. Sometimes it can be as simple as getting locking tuners on a guitar that normally doesn't come with them. You'd have to order it from the "custom shop", as there's no SKU number for that item from that manufacturer.
Similar threads
