Rickenbacker Plek

[myrtbass]

Good Day , Gents. I thought I might add my two cents worth on this topic. I recently purchased a 2014 Gibson SG Special Bass. I owned a "66 EB-O about 40 years ago (long gone) and decided I wanted another short scale set neck Gibson . Anyway, all 2014 made in USA Instruments are made using one of Gibsons two Plek machines. At the price point of this bass(approx $700) I think the machine makes for a well set-up fingerboard. It's a fun little bass. Having said that, there is nothing like a well set up bass by a competant individual. But time is money. If Gibson or any one else for that matter can produce a Made in USA instrument with a quality fret job for a good price ,then the consumer and the company wins. Roger.

[electrofaro]

That is just it Roger - Germans don't invent machines for fun. Carpenting machines were invented to do the work cheaper in the long run, and after a while also faster next to cheaper. I don't see anyone here say CNC are just overengineered marketing ploy?

The only issue I have ran into is when the operator has dialedin the wrong model, although that lefty with righthand pleked neck and nut was interesting but a mistake anyway

[Clint]

CNC and Plek are apples and oranges. CNC makes parts conform to a standard to aid in manufacturing. Plek standardizes a part of the guitar's set up that is totally subjective and will soon change anyway. If you play the guitar much, if at all, there is going to be fretware. Now your frets are uneven. Tweak the truss rod, change string gauge, raise or lower the action...My point, no matter how good Plek is, we're all going to be playing guitars with uneven frets the vast majority of the time. That is the simple reality of fretted instruments. It is not really a problem and most musicians will play their guitar for years and never even notice. So, when a product is marketed to fix a problem that nobody really has, I call that a ploy.

[cassius987]

I don't see anyone here say CNC are just overengineered marketing ploy?

In America there are plenty of over-engineered marketing ploys... Maybe that's why I'm jaded. But I don't see why not to extend the same skepticism to everything else until it is proven. It doesn't make someone a Luddite to think like this, rather it's more of a Show Me State kind of attitude (I'll believe it when I see it, not because you tell me).

I view plek as redundant basically, as I don't really see how it improves quality or cheapens the cost of building an instrument. CNC is so much better established in both its efficacy and cost-savings. If plek if saving anybody any money I imagine it is on a razor thin margin.

I could be completely wrong, of course.