can you PLEK a Rickenbacker? Have you done it>? results?

[rokkitt]

hi!

do you have to set the truss rod first?

do you have to replace the nut?

is a brass nut better?

is it better than using a luthier?

have you done it? I am in NYC, USA ...there are two PLEK machines in the area

are you happy with the results?


one last question.......on top of all my questions!

will the Jets win the superbowl?

hehehehe


thanks!

big al

[incubus2432]

[rokkitt]

uh oh.....


does that mean I am a dummmkoff?

did I insult anyone? ooooooopssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!


ok!

I will sit in the corner and play three hours of scales, at 40 BPM.....

[incubus2432]

.....no insult taken or intended.....I just have no clue what a PLEK is or does and didn't know what else to post.

[tennis_nick]

Any guitar or bass can be pleked as far as I know, but if your bass already has perfect frets (or 98% perfect frets) it may not be necessary.

I'd assume a refret like that would include a setup, so the Truss Rod should be taken care of at that point.

Better than Luthier? That's debatable. There are many competent luthiers who can do a damn fine job of fretting a guitar... but I mean... come on, Plek uses a frikkin laser beam to make sure everything is JUUUUUST right!

Custom Shop Gibsons are Plek'd ffrom the factory, just an FYI

As for the nut, another question of taste, I assume it'd be rather bright and pingy on the open strings.

[rokkitt]

.....no insult taken or intended.....I just have no clue what a PLEK is or does and didn't know what else to post.

here is a copy of whats on the peekamoose guitar service center in NYC

mods....remove it if it is out of line.


Peekamoose has been running Plek Jobs in house since May 2005. The Plek Machine is a fantastic tool developed by Gerd Anke and his partner Michael Dubach. In a way it's like having an MRI scan for a fretted instrument neck.
This machine scans (measures) an instrument's neck and frets while under string tension. The machine presents the scan reports to it's operator who will interpret the information regarding neck straightness and fret alignment. After evaluating the scan reports the operator will program the Plek machine to level and crown the instrument's frets. After the frets are dressed, they will be polished by hand and the instrument will be setup for optimal performance.

The machine is a wonderful tool, however, it is not self aware and does not automatically decide how frets should be dressed. The decision must be made by an experienced luthier. Having a great deal of experience doing fretwork is a prerequisite to developing the skill of doing it exceptionally. It is the experience of doing hundreds or in some cases thousands of fret jobs and fret dressings by hand that teach a guitar maker what's important regarding how to make frets play clean and how to make frets feel great.



Having a Plek machine makes life as a guitar maker easier and less physically demanding. Paul is very happy about that and thrilled Gerd and Michael brought their dream to life.... However, it is important to recognize the Plek does not magically transform an average craftsman into a brilliant one. Doing great fretwork is about understanding what necks and frets do and temper that with how musician's play. There is more to it than meets the eye. It can take years to become great at doing fretwork.

The Plek machine has to be told what to level and how to shape the frets. If you were to compare the frets coming off various Plek machines around the world, you would realize the frets still hold the signature of the person who controls the machine. Gibson frets still look and feel like Gibson. John Suhr, Gary Brawer, Phil Jacoby, Joe Glasser, and Peekamoose jobs all have individual characteristics that make them distinctive. For a complete list of all the Plek locations, follow the link on the Plek website. http://www.plek.com
Paul Schwartz has been doing fretwork since 1981. Taking a rough average based on several decades of job invoices he's done roughly five thousand jobs involving re-frets and fret dressing.

About four thousand of those were before owning his Plek machine. Experience can't be replaced by technology, but brilliant technology like the Plek can certainly enhance experience.

If you want your instrument to play better than you ever imagined possible, we promise to bring all of our skill, technology, and knowledge to the table. We will do everything in our power to make your instrument great.


-----------------------


so, no one did a PLEK to a RIC yet?

any one?

[rickenbrother]

Never heard of it before.

[doctorwho]

Someone tell Paul W. about this thread, I'd like to hear his opinion on it.

[rickenbrother]

I'm sure Paul W will chime in here. I'd like his opinion also. I could be way wrong, but it seems this PLEK sort of takes out the human touch in a guitar setup.

[tennis_nick]

I'm sure Paul W will chime in here. I'd like his opinion also. I could be way wrong, but it seems this PLEK sort of takes out the human touch in a guitar setup.

It does things no human can, measures so incredibly precise, humans eyes can only imagine the possibility, HOWEVER a Plek job only reaches it's full potential when a skilled and qualified luthier oversees the work, and checks/tweaks the guitar after it's the plek job is done. It's a huge step forward in fretwork, but it still takes a skilled luthier to get the most out of it.

Think of it as a pizza oven. Anyone can throw a pizza together, pop it in the oven and bam, instant pizza, I'm sure it'll be good.
However, it takes a truly brilliant pizza chef to make that pizza as amazing as it can be, the oven is but a tool.






Can you tell, I really like pizza.

[johnhall]

We've watched this product since it was developed and they've visited our factory. Let's just say we're underwhelmed by its productivity and utility, while overwhelmed by its price.

[jingle_jangle]

I've investigated the possibility of someday getting one of these, and my conclusion was similar to this. Like many machines, it proposes to quantify and duplicate human sensitivity in order to make it "hands-off" repeatable.

The basic small machine starts at $45K, and there are lots of ups and extras. For a really high-volume shop it could make sense (Taylor has one of the bigger machines, but they make over 70,000 guitars per year). It can never make sense for a tiny shop like mine, and my own hands and eyes can duplicate its results to enough accuracy that a guitar will play very well. For one thing, I don't see the sense of setting a guitar up to ±.002", when a 5° change in temperature can cancel it out.

I would think the results would be good, but pity the poor guy who has to keep the machine humming in order to make the payments on it. Then the machine runs him, not the opposite.

[ozover50]

I saw a Tele being 'PLEK'ed up in Sydney earlier this year. Interesting to watch but there seemed to a lot of intervention by the operator, who had to constantly open the door and adjust the guitar's mountings. Whether that's the nature of the beast or the operator was a newbie I have no idea.

AFAIK they charge something like $120 for the PLEK. No doubt any manual work would be on top of that.

Add at least $75 each way for freight and I've already lost interest!!

[jps]

I was thinking along the lines of Paul's comment on temperature. I suppose if you live in a bubble PLEK would be fine.

[rickenbrother]

I'm sure Paul W will chime in here. I'd like his opinion also. I could be way wrong, but it seems this PLEK sort of takes out the human touch in a guitar setup.

Think of it as a pizza oven. Anyone can throw a pizza together, pop it in the oven and bam, instant pizza, I'm sure it'll be good.
However, it takes a truly brilliant pizza chef to make that pizza as amazing as it can be, the oven is but a tool.

Can you tell, I really like pizza.

After reading the posts by JH and PW, I rest my case.
...and no one loves pizza more than me!