Plek...

HerbieTheRadDorklift

I played a Plek'd guitar yesterday. An £800 odd Charvel superstrat. It was the loveliest playing thing I've ever laid my hands on. Anyone serious about playing should really consider it...

DefaultM

How do you know it wasn't just a great guitar in the first place? I'd be interested in seeing what it does to a budget guitar vs a luthier.

duotone

DefaultM said:

How do you know it wasn't just a great guitar in the first place? I'd be interested in seeing what it does to a budget guitar vs a luthier.

Phillip McKnight got his Squier Plek’d a year ago
https://youtu.be/zPeMLjoCUpQ

springhead

DefaultM said:

How do you know it wasn't just a great guitar in the first place? I'd be interested in seeing what it does to a budget guitar vs a luthier.

Years ago I took my budget partscaster to Charlie Chandler for a setup, having exhausted my limited fettling abilities on getting it playing nicely. He said he could improve it a little bit by hand but it would benefit from a Plek job. He’d done Plek setups on my non cheap guitars previously so I was aware of the method and benefits. So that’s what we did to my partscaster and it came out lovely. 

MikeC

I'm a fan of CCGX's work here - always had great results from Charlie. 

HerbieTheRadDorklift

DefaultM said:

How do you know it wasn't just a great guitar in the first place? I'd be interested in seeing what it does to a budget guitar vs a luthier.

Having had dozens of guitars professionally set up over the years including custom shop instruments this one smoked them all. I don't think it's coincidence 

Tannin

Many (most?) serious manufacturers Plek all their new guitars as routine. Doesn't stop stop us racing off to our tech guy the moment we have a new guitar to have it further fettled. 

I have two Pleked guitars (out of 7). One of them is simply the best, most playable neck I have ever had the joy of using. Never been touched since new - it's perfect. The other is merely very, very good - but that is after having it set up in the old-fashioned way. Prior to that it was just good - not great, not bad, simply good.

SlopeSoarer

Tannin said:

Many (most?) serious manufacturers Plek all their new guitars as routine. 

I wasn't aware of that, I'd be interested to know which manufacturers do plek?

Mellish

Another vote for Plek. Had my 2019 HD-28 Plekked by CCGX last summer. Big improvement when I got it back. It isn't cheap but IMO it's money well spent. Kim Rogers does the Plek setups there  

Grumpyrocker

My 2009 Les Paul Traditional was factory Plekked. I remember it having a sticker/tag on it that said so. 

idiotwindow

SlopeSoarer said:

Tannin said:

Many (most?) serious manufacturers Plek all their new guitars as routine. 

I wasn't aware of that, I'd be interested to know which manufacturers do plek?

Gibson and Martin do. The latter might be standard series and above (I can’t remember exactly) but Gibson supposedly plek all their USA and CS models. 

rossi

My Gibson  Midtown was factory plekked and is superb to play  straight out of the case .I can do a fret level ,nut job and the usual  stuff but this was better.

Tannin

idiotwindow said:

SlopeSoarer said:

Tannin said:

Many (most?) serious manufacturers Plek all their new guitars as routine. 

I wasn't aware of that, I'd be interested to know which manufacturers do plek?

Gibson and Martin do. The latter might be standard series and above (I can’t remember exactly) but Gibson supposedly plek all their USA and CS models. 

Add Taylor and Cole Clark.

imalrightjack

rossi said:

My Gibson  Midtown was factory plekked and is superb to play  straight out of the case .I can do a fret level ,nut job and the usual  stuff but this was better.

My 2015 was also Plek'd, I believe, and it needed lots of work.

Danny1969

Duesenburg Plek every model I believe, and have for the last 11 years or so. Every one I've ever played has been faultless. 

I'm no expert on guitars but I imagine a Plek job won't help if the neck moves with humidity etc ?

HerbieTheRadDorklift

Danny1969 said:

Duesenburg Plek every model I believe, and have for the last 11 years or so. Every one I've ever played has been faultless. 

I'm no expert on guitars but I imagine a Plek job won't help if the neck moves with humidity etc ?

This is my thinking, I don't really play much anymore, certainly not professionally, so I have no need to Plek but I would worry about how often I'd need to do it...? I've not read into it that much tbf.

axisus

Meh. Too expensive. I'll pass thanks. 

My favourite guitar is not the easiest to play ....

Jeremiah

Plek kind of sounds like it ought to be the opposite of djent.

Kebabkid

MikeC said:

I'm a fan of CCGX's work here - always had great results from Charlie. 

Same here with Charlie. I had a heavily upgraded MIM Strat plek'd and my old PRS CU24. Both went up a notch in terms of their playability that I'd not really experienced with other guitars.