PLEK'd guitars

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esandes

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As far as I know, the following makes and models are PLEK'd:
-G&L US models
-Ernie Ball US models
-Gibson US models
-Suhr
-Emerald Acoustics
-Taylor

Is this accurate? Are there more makes & models? I'll keep updating this list.
 
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If the guy operating the machine knows what he's doing, it should be pretty darned close to perfect afterwards.
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Sounds like a quality control issue for Gibson. Retraining is in order, perhaps? Or just more experience?
 
ICTGoober said:
Sounds like a quality control issue for Gibson. Retraining is in order, perhaps? Or just more experience?
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It's supposed to take readings of all the frets under string tension, then adjust the truss rod to optimize those, then re-take readings of the frets based on that. Sometimes this needs to be repeated several times to stabilize everything. Then it does fret adjustment based on that good reference. Bad strings can cause problems with the initial readings, not allowing the guitar to sit for long enough after adjusting the rod can also cause problems, or failing to re-do readings can cause problems. All of which take time . . . so I could see how someone in a hurry might just try to jam everything through and hope for the best giving a shitty end product.
 
Yeah, I'm not sure how Gibson does it, but it's certainly not the full-on Plek job.

I have a Les Paul Tribute. The frets are perfectly level, but the nut was certainly too high from the factory.

No biggie, though.
 
The frets are perfectly level, but the nut was certainly too high from the factory.
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This is normal for almost any guitar maker. The final adjustments to the action are based on player preference, string choices, and so on. That's why most guitar repairmen do setups on new guitars.
 
I own no Gibson guitars currently. I have been doing guitar repair for a living for 45 plus years. I was an authorized Gibson service guy for a long time. Many of my clients own and play Gibsons.
 
You know what, Goober is spot on with his comments about pleking and quality issues. (yeah, I know, I'm totally agreeing with Goober...the world is coming to an end!).

Just because a guitar is pleked doesn't necessarily mean it's any better than a guitar that hasn't been pleked. And a guitar that has had a fret job by a person who knows what they are doing is going to be better than anything coming from the factory.
 
ICTGoober said:
This is normal for almost any guitar maker. The final adjustments to the action are based on player preference, string choices, and so on. That's why most guitar repairmen do setups on new guitars.
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Well aware. But the "full-on" aftermarket "plek" treatment sees to it that the nut slots are at the correct height. I was just saying that it's not a "full-on" plek job.

They could very well do it for 10's, honestly. Most people who play Gibsons use 10's, no? And nut slots cut for 10's work fine for 9's in case someone likes lighter strings.

I used to complain about almost everyone's usage of light strings because I use 12's, but I just got some nut files, and I'm used to having to widen nut slots by now.
 
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GuitarDoc said:
You know what, Goober is spot on with his comments about pleking and quality issues. (yeah, I know, I'm totally agreeing with Goober...the world is coming to an end!).

Just because a guitar is pleked doesn't necessarily mean it's any better than a guitar that hasn't been pleked. And a guitar that has had a fret job by a person who knows what they are doing is going to be better than anything coming from the factory.
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do you own plek'd and non-plek'd guitars? if you don't own any plek'd guitars how would you know?
 
ICTGoober said:
I own no Gibson guitars currently. I have been doing guitar repair for a living for 45 plus years. I was an authorized Gibson service guy for a long time. Many of my clients own and play Gibsons.
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is it fair to say you're biased about quality since you don't see Gibsons that are perfectly fine?
 
To be completely honest, my Gibson plays great (or as great as a guitar with a fat neck and tiny frets can) and the frets are perfectly level. The action can be set nice and low (1mm on the 12th fret on the high E), and all the notes ring true, the bends don't fret out and whatnot.

But I've had guitars just receive plain (non-plek) setups, and have got results as good as with the Gibson.

Even my non-plek'd LTD's have all had great setups from the factory. Even my Fender neck came ready to play even if it wasn't plek'd.

So even if the plek setup is good, I don't think it's necessarily that much better than what a fret job performed by a competent person can achieve.
 
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