Guitar slinger Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Here is the thing, today I got my guitar to the suposedly best luthier in town because it needs setting up with the intonation. The guy is known for saying that 99% of the guitars need to have their frets dressed properly - it's not refretting, is adjusting the height of the frets with the strings. I went there and the guy told me that it probably needed to adjust the frets (as I expected) and said Gibson had one of the worsts fret dressing of them all. And the coversation went as it follows: Me - "But this guitar was Plek'd!!!!" Luthier - "No way. I really don't think it was." Me - "It's a 2007 Custom shop historic VOS Gibson so it has to be plek'd!!" The guy does a dubious face and says: "The plek machine is something really elaborated and the last time I knew someonw was using it was John Suhr..." Me - "Well these days even the LP standard is Plek'd. And as far as I know all the CS historic reissues ARE plek'd" Luthier - "Ok, come here for a second" and the guy picked up something that I think it's called a Fret Rocker and showed me how there was inconsistent frets usually at the 4, 5 and 6th strings spaces. I told him to do the job, but he will only start doing it tomorrow, because he needs new strings to do that - and tomorrow I'll get him new strings. So please help me. Questions: 1- Was my guitar really plek'd? 2- What he said does make sense? 3- Could it have had something to do with the HUGE weather change from salt lake city to Brazil? 4- what should I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRom Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 dunno no sure but not to that degree call or email Gibson support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 The machine is only as good as it's operator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 dunnono sure but not to that degree call or email Gibson support Perfect answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 Thanks a lot, guys. Really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeRom Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Seriously, contact Gibson customer support for definative answers. If the frets aren't exactly level (assuming it wasn't plek'ed) is it really going to be that big of deal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I don't know how the Plek'r works. But.......... I ordered my daughters '08 Fireburst Studio from MF with the extra 20% deal in Nov. (?) and the first one they shipped had a cut in the fretboard, I think between the 2nd and 3rd fret, that actually formed a splinter. There's a thread on it somewhere here. I have no idea how it could have happened, much less how it got strung up and nobody noticed it????? It was replaced with a perfect Les Paul, but I've often wondered if it was the Mutha Plek'r that did it? Best of luck. Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikko18 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 so if any of you know of mike lull (a really great luthier) he uses a plek machine and says it's one of the best things he has ever gotten. and he says that it makes the frets way better then any human can do by hand. i'ts all done with computers and ****. first you set up the guitar and then you put it in the machine with the strings on. it then measures everything, the distance between frets, the distance between strings, the distance between the strings and the frets, etc. you then take the guitar out and and take off the strings an out it back in the machine. then it uses a diamond edge saw that is shaped perfectly to how the the frets should be and then goes down the neck and does each fret. it then measures everything again and if there's anything thats not perfect it does it again. i have played guitars and bass's that have been pleked and there is a noticable differance between them and ones that haven't been pleked. i would have to say even if the pleking isn't completely perfect, that it is much better then anything a human could do. they all play like glass. i think this guy is just bull sh*tting you to get more money, i wouldn't let him do anything to your frets if they have been pleked already, that would just screw the frets up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 My 335 came Pleked......and its awesome When I can find a machine close by I will do all of my guitars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 If a tech has shown Guitar slinger that a straight-edge is rocking on the tops of the frets, the frets are out. But if he doesn't mind having a medium action rather than a super low action, he could maybe save some money... Here is another discussion. Scroll down to chongo's post : http://forums.gibson.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=10691 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarooster52 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 ....so if I'm a guy that makes money leveling frets...I wouldn't like the Plek machine either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 so if any of you know of mike lull (a really great luthier) he uses a plek machine and says it's one of the best things he has ever gotten. and he says that it makes the frets way better then any human can do by hand. That's called marketing, by the way. I'm not saying he is right or wrong, but for sure he is trying to sell his idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar slinger Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 If a tech has shown Guitar slinger that a straight-edge is rocking on the tops of the frets' date=' the frets are out. But if he doesn't mind having a medium action rather than a super low action, he could maybe save some money...Here is another discussion. Scroll down to chongo's post : http://forums.gibson.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=10691[/quote'] Thank you a lot again, 80LPC... And that's exactely what happend. I was very dubious and giving him very little credit (even if the guy spent his life crafting guitars) because it was a Gibson pleked guitar. But it was clearly rocking. I tried to deny the fact, but I could not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LPC Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 ....so if I'm a guy that makes money leveling frets...I wouldn't like the Plek machine either. And the guy with the plek will do your guitar for free ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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