xxxlshane Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Hey Guys... I took my new LP traditional in for a standard set up by my guy and was surprised what he said when I picked it up. "the intonation wasn't even close" were is exact words. Now excuse my ingnarance if I am showing it here when it comes to Pleck'ing. Is it just to level out all the frets or should it have also contibuted to "perfect" set up and intonation. Again I am fairly new to this so please don't hammer me too hard if I am way out in left field. BTW...it came out very nice after the set up. Even more of a pleasure to play. Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britabe Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 no its just the leveling of frets. nothing to do with the setup otherwise. guitars almost always need a good setup after purchase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 PLEK does the neck... doesn't set intonation. also, just b/c it was PLEKed doesn't mean it will be a perfect set up for you. some people like higher/lower action than others. what you should expect is for the frets and nut to be right. then, when you have a personalized set up done, it will be perfect. you have to have the nut/frets right first so that's what the PLEK does. the rest of the setup is up to the individual player. it is expected that when you buy a $2K guitar, the shop should give it a setup for free based on your own personal style and preferences. as for the intonation.... yeah, Gibson ships them with the saddles in that basic stairstep pattern. it is my one gripe with non custom shop Gibsons. they really could do better. even if it wasn't perfect, they could at least make an effort. they usually ship them with the low E and G all the way back, A and B in the middle, then D and high E all the way up.... it's like the extreme version of the shape usually created with proper intonation set. i wish they would at least TRY to do that part right. but yeah, the plek if for frets and nut, and it's impossible to setup a guitar in a manner that is perfect for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I'll take the work of skilled human hands over any machine .... any day... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxxlshane Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 Thanks for being gentle with the hammers like I said still kinda new. To answer Guitarest's question...the traditional came from gibson plek'd so I am not sure what it would cost. All I know is it had an ugly sticker on the bridge PU that said "Plek'd". Well the Plek issue asside...shouldn't a $2300 les paul from Gibson USA come with the intonation set? I would say YES...how about you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobv Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 ...shouldn't a $2300 les paul from Gibson USA come with the intonation set? Yes and no. Even if they did set it perfectly at the factory, it still needs to be redone with fresh strings after you buy it and it's set up for your preferences. If the action is raised for someone who plucks hard, then more compensation will be necessary, if the bridge is dropped lower for someone who hardly ever buzzes, then less compensation is needed. The action height affects how far the string stretches and therefore how much compensation is needed to get the proper compromises on intonation. Hate to say it but it sounds as if the tech is trying to justify his existence by bashing the factory setup; it shouldn't be necessary to make statements like that if the work is good enough to appreciate that it will play and sound better than it did out of the box. Could just be taking the statement out of context though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KSG_Standard Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 ...shouldn't a $2300 les paul from Gibson USA come with the intonation set? I would say YES...how about you? I would say maybe, maybe not...back in the day, when you bought a new guitar, you got it set up by the mom&pop shop where you bought it. Now, with GuitarCenter/Musicians Friend/name your online store, most of the time the guitar is not set up at all or very well. Maybe, Gibson should at least get the intonation close prior to shipping, because many new guitar buyers are getting new quitars and they think the guitar sucks, when it really just needs a set up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiac Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I'll take the work of skilled human hands over any machine .... any day... Amen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AXE® Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Amen. Look eee here !!! Nice to see you back ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 i agree with the above. btw, if you bought it from a shop and they didn't set it up to YOUR personal preferences for free then you need a new store to buy from. i spent several years as a tech and salesman at a store. we did it for free no matter what the cost of the guitar was. you got one free one up front to make sure it was right. if it moved over the next couple of days (they often do) then you could bring it back and we would redo it. it should always be made right for YOU up front.... for free. btw, this wasn't years ago... this was recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matiac Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Well thanky, good to be back, one of them forced hiatus-type things that oftentimes are just unavoidable. The current economic situation we are all forced to endure has hit me quite hard, and internet was a luxury I simply couldn't afford. Had to sell off most of my gear, however, I do still have my beloved Gibiphone, and still have half my Marshall (cab). Running it through an older Crate Bass combo that sounds pretty fat I must say, piss off the neighbors routinely, they all love me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Well thanky' date=' good to be back, one of them forced hiatus-type things that oftentimes are just unavoidable. The current economic situation we are all forced to endure has hit me quite hard, and internet was a luxury I simply couldn't afford. Had to sell off most of my gear, however, I do still have my beloved Gibiphone, and still have half my Marshall (cab). Running it through an older Crate Bass combo that sounds pretty fat I must say, piss off the neighbors routinely, they all love me. [/quote'] Welcome back! It's great to have you around again! Folks were wondering where you've been. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChanMan Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Hey! good to see you again G&F!!! /chuckle your avatar looks like I feel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 That's it, G&F is getting his own appreciation thread in the lounge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxxlshane Posted March 1, 2009 Author Share Posted March 1, 2009 Once again..thanks for schooling me on my ignorance. I wise man once told me ..."a closed mouth gathers no foot". BTW...is it OK if I own a Strat and belong to this forum :- ? I want to take pics of the "whole" familiy and start a family pic thread... Or has that been done to death (did not see anything when I used search function). Thanks again Signed..Still a lot to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chongo Posted March 1, 2009 Share Posted March 1, 2009 Thanks for being gentle with the hammers like I said still kinda new. To answer Guitarest's question...the traditional came from gibson plek'd so I am not sure what it would cost. All I know is it had an ugly sticker on the bridge PU that said "Plek'd". Well the Plek issue asside...shouldn't a $2300 les paul from Gibson USA come with the intonation set? I would say YES...how about you? I'd say yes. If you buy a Carvin (most are under $2300), the guitar will arrive intoned and with a set of five or six-day-old strings (that will depend on how long it took to ship the guitar to you). It will probably be in tune and the action will be extremely low. If you have a lot of climate difference from Carvin's San Diego factory, you may need to tweak the truss rod, but that's usually only happened in extreme cases. I would expect a Gibson to have at least rudimentary intonation set. Most of the folks who have PLEK machines in their shops (Gary Brawer in SF, West LA Music, others) charge around $200, plus or minus, for a setup with a PLEK job. The PLEK essentially dresses the frets and levels them according to an action preference and whatever else is contained in the software that runs the thing. You should know that other guitar manufacturers do a fine job of fret leveling and dressing without the benefit of the computerized gizmo, and can guarantee buzz-free action at a very low level without it. It's honestly not best-utilized on a new guitar, but on one that has some wear from playing. In Gibson's case, its use is a marketing tool attempting to counter the complaints from customers that the guitar arrived with a crappy setup, badly cut nut, no intonation set, porcupine frets, etc. By claiming that every guitar of a particular model underwent the PLEK process, you're supposed to believe that you have a more accurate neck, etc. Unfortunately, that's only slightly true, and unfortunately they don't follow up and give you a good setup out of the box as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar232007 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I'll take the work of skilled human hands over any machine .... any day...+1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Mick Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 I'll show up at the store with my little screwdrivers and do it myself before I'll buy and if they don't like it I leave while showing them the CASH IN HAND. If I'm look'n I'm play'n and no point if it aint set up to my liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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