PLEK greatness - for truss rod & fret dress

[lammie200]

One of the main points the exec from Santa Cruz brings up is the repetitive stress brought on by doing these procedures by hand. I am not a luthier, but if I was I would probably welcome having the machine in the shop.

[deacon Mark]

PLEK is ok but so is a competent luthier and the cost is cheaper. PLEK is expensive and I still like the dress frets myself. I think I read these machine are outrageously expensive beyond the levels of most ordinary repairmen. I am a not taken by the PLEK it fails to impress me and I have seen them work.

[rlrhett]

I think the machine is $100K+ as well as time away for training. Maybe this?

$100k for a light duty CNC machine in an extruded aluminum frame?!!! That’s beyond stupid. No wonder no repair shop I know has one. It would be questionable at one fifth of the price.


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[lammie200]

Pretty sure that you can lease them. If you have a shop with decent volume I am sure that it would make sense to have a machine. Maybe not an issue for everyone, but as is pointed out in the video, one of the main concerns is the health of workers. I like healthy workers.

[ptchristopher3]

To note the potential significant benefit of a PLEK beyond production conditions:

1. Most necks behave themselves. They are somewhat flat under no string and truss tension. They respond to combined string tension and truss compression in a fairly orderly way giving a decent relief that is distributed well from the nut to the neck joint.

2. So leveling the frets in a manual luthiat-y way works just fine. It is almost always more precise than needed so long as you keep your leveling tool of choice in line with the strings. Some added precision via the PLEK is extremely unlikely to provide any (objectively) observable benefit.

3. But..., and its a big butt.

Sometimes a given neck does not behave itself.

Here is a simple example:

The neck seems flat under no tension from the strings or the truss rod. Then you level the frets, string up and try to adjust the relief. But the neck remains close to flat from the nut to maybe the 5th fret and the relief appears only after that.

A problem. A big one even.

So the manual luthier takes the strings off, and puts a little tension on the truss rod to bow the neck backward. Then carefully levels from the 5th to the nut.

Then releases the truss rod tension.

So now we have an “eyeballed” correction. With excess relief in the 5th to nut area.

String it back up and see how it all worked out.

For an experienced luthiorator, this will likely have worked out pretty well. Notes will be played, life is good. He corrected to problem with a little artisanal work-around.

But some necks have weird twists, s-curves, neck humps, and other weirdness-es that are NOT the same under string and truss rod tension vs. under no tension/compression.

These more complex situations can be fixed, and have been for, I suppose, centuries. But damn they can be VERY tricky sometimes - unlike the fairly simple example above.

In such a case the PLEX measures the situation under the actual playing conditions (well close to it anyway), and happily corrects the frets later individually.

These are rare cases, but they do definitely happen.

So one player and guitar can say the PLEK was a miracle on the order of the loaves and fishes, and another player and guitar can say it was worthless. Both can be extremely accurate descriptions of their situation.

Chris

[neatomic]

agree ptc..neck stability these days is huge issue...they are using all new wood!!!...vintage guitars were made of old generation tree growth...rick kelly of carmine street guitars in nyc reclaims old wood from ny buildings...he builds pine necks with no trussrods..and they are stable..the wood is cured!!!!..but modern is all new wet wood...it moves with household temps...forget about it if you go from your cold trunk to a warm room

plek is great tho..if done right..where plek comes in best is not small repair shop...but with the major manufacturers...you can get a 200$ squier with perfect fretwork...why??because its all machined..no handwork...it takes years for a luthier to get his skills...

good stuff

cheers

[Robertkoa]

Some years back I was going to grab a Les Paul Studio (never owned an LP ) went and played some unplugged since I was going to have it converted to H-S H anyway and I can mostly hear the Guitar better unplugged anyway - what it has to offer .

But - being spoiled by Carvin fretwork I was surprised at how low all the frets were I would have needed a refret on the new Guitars !lol.
I was thinking - are these supposed to be 'fretless wonders '?

So a shop near me 100 miles close enough has a PLEK and if I find a nice semi or used piece - I could take it there have them plane the board and refret with Gold EVOs or .047/104 Nickel Jescar with the caveat that - don't go lower than .045 on any fret. I use medium action anyway and like Guitars to ring and I think I want the slots done with CA Glue for better transfer.

So for extra $400 if I find something really nice - it might sound better than when new .

Layman's understanding but beyond IMO an expert is - an excellent fret job with large wire like Jescar .047/104 and properly seated Glued frets.( and nut ) ..SHOULD make a fretted note sound as loud and full ( or close ) and clear as the open string = nut = fretted note near nut on same string.

That's what a fret should do IMO - I imagine taking an older Guitar or even a new Asian Guitar with nice wood and resonance but teenie soft frets could radically improve with bigger wire and expertly cut nut and good wire though better seated...

Better resonance and sustain etc.- don't you think ?

*The Memphis Gibson ES 235 at least from photos does not appear to be flattened down to the railroad track crown or loaf of bread crown shape.

My layman's understanding is to know which type of wire and size etc not to have the skill to do it and to get a nice rounded crown not a flat top.

I think one of the greatest improvements in modern Guitars is the possibility of accurate fretwork and better fret wire and better intonation due to accuracy of fret locations etc.

Oddly Jeff Silver ( jescar )told me that Gibson does not use their fretwire on all Gibsons - only some - maybe that will change now.

I guess the miracle point is where someone who really understands the PLEK and fretwork in general can get it super accurate and consistent but you have to really understand it well ..and be a good first... right ?
Augmenting skills not replacing them...