On the bench - Epiphone "Gold Glory"

[ICTGoober]

One of my clients brought me new Epi Gold Glory. Looks terrific, and I love the brushed nickel hardware. Just the right amount of shine.

No idea where he got it, but it had been Plek'd and the stock pickup switched out for a new Duncan JJN P-90. Whoever did the Plek job wasn't paying attention, it had a little buzz in the middle of the neck on the wound strings and all the frets felt raspy on the ends. He asked me to level and polish it again, make a bone nut, and set it up from scratch. The frets weren't that bad, really - but they did need polishing. Fabbed up an unbleached bone nut because it matched the look of the guitar. New strings and set up - it's now wonderful, and that Duncan pickup is FIRE. Good job on that one!

Solid mahogany body & neck feel substantial in the hand. This is a good guitar. Well done, Epiphone! Anyone else own one of these?

 

[Mincer]

I agree, that is one awesome pickup. I'd love to see pics of the guitar, too.

 

[ICTGoober]

I had planned to do it earlier.
Neglected to mention the gigbag is pretty decent and list price is reasonable.

 

[Mincer]

I've actually played one of those at NAMM. It is a remarkable instrument in the right hands. I don't have the right hands. JJN does, though.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Confirms what I've always felt about plek, it is still dependent upon a person. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I think nothing can do better than a hand-done fret job by a real live person.

That's one heck of a good guitar, by the way.

 

[ICTGoober]

It's the operator. Lack of training or understanding, you'll get a poor job if you trust "the program" to do it all.
A machine doesn't have intuition, or experience. Also, it can't learn - especially from mistakes.
I've had to finish too many Plek jobs to be impressed with them.
In the long run, a luthier is a better deal.

 

[ErikH]

That’s a gorgeous guitar. Haven’t played one but afraid what my wallet would do if I did. lol.

My LP Trad Pro came PLEK’d from the factory back in 2009. I’d imagine Gibson has folks that check things out afterward.

 

[ICTGoober]

I'd imagine Gibson has folks that check things out afterward.

You mean supposed to? As opposed to reality, where I've had to finish several Gibsons that were factory plek'd.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

That’s a gorgeous guitar. Haven’t played one but afraid what my wallet would do if I did. lol.

My LP Trad Pro came PLEK’d from the factory back in 2009. I’d imagine Gibson has folks that check things out afterward.

I had my '71 LP Standard refretted and Plek'd at Wolfe Guitars in Florida. They did a fantastic job on it.

 

[GuitarDoc]

It's the operator. Lack of training or understanding, you'll get a poor job if you trust "the program" to do it all.
A machine doesn't have intuition, or experience. Also, it can't learn - especially from mistakes.
I've had to finish too many Plek jobs to be impressed with them.
In the long run, a luthier is a better deal.

Exactly! I totally agree.
A good fret job all comes down to a person, whether it's pleked or not.

 

[GuitarDoc]

I had my '71 LP Standard refretted and Plek'd at Wolfe Guitars in Florida. They did a fantastic job on it.

It's the operator not the machine.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

It's the operator not the machine.

I agree, it was more a review and recommendation for that particular luthier and shop than it was for the PLEK process itself. I've had him work on two guitars. My '71 LP, and a '68 Dove. I was highly pleased both times.