KarlS Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Is the Plek machine at Heritage still in operation? And do they do that process on semi hollows?
GuitArtMan Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Brent and/or Kuz will jump in here I'm sure, but my understanding is that the Plek machine has been out-of-commision for several years now.
yoslate Posted June 18, 2010 Posted June 18, 2010 Is the Plek machine at Heritage still in operation? And do they do that process on semi hollows? At PSPII, the Plek machine was in the back of Ren's "office," serving, apparently, as some sort of coatrack....
Trouble Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 In my opinion the plek machine is second to a good luthier. Gibson now has one and their nuts are still bad and frets still buzz. The couple of Heritage guitars ive played were great from the factory.
golferwave Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 I think Kuz has said that your guitar must be set up to your specs and then it makes a big difference. I have Heritages that were factory plekked and some that weren't. All play great but both needed a little tweaking. Jump in here John.
Patrick Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 The Plek machine is very much like a good luthier. But there a too many variables with the Plek. In the hands of someone who is well trained on how to use the machine and very attentive and focused on their work . . . the pleck can be a wonderful thing . . . if the neck is straight to begin with and the nut is set at proper height and the machine is functioning 100% correctly . . and bla bla bla. That's an awful lot of "ifs". Like I always say, "if my Aunt had balls she'd be my uncle". I'll trust my guitar set ups to a skilled luthier over a Plek any day. If a good luthier does a fret dressing and set up, then you put the guitar on a Plek machine after the luthier is done, and all the variable above are dead nuts on . . . you probably will see an improvement. But I wouldn't want my life to hang on the difference and I would defy most players to be able to tell the difference. It certainly won't enhance anyone's playing.
Kuz Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 OK, everybody thinks I am nuts about the fingerboard and different woods making a difference in tone, SO NOBODY believe me on the PLEK either, OK??? LOL 1. Heritage hasn't plek'd a guitar in years 2. PLEK'ing a guitar is fine IF you have the gauge strings correct (that you are going to use) and the relief you want I have had 6 of my guitars Plek'd in the last year (Kirn Tele, Yodder 150, GT 150, Cust 555 (the one with mahogany neck/rosewood finger board because I don't know anything about tone LOL), Cust 575, and 535 P-90 (and p-90s have no effect on tone either LOL) ANYHOW, the guitars were all set up to my action, relief, and string gauge BEFORE the Plek..... and the results are incredible (not that you would believe me, but the guitars don't fret out until basic physics takes over and the increase in sustain is very dramatically enhanced) but then again I don't know what I am talking about........so please dismiss all of the above.......
big bob Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 OK, everybody thinks I am nuts about the fingerboard and different woods making a difference in tone, SO NOBODY believe me on the PLEK either, OK??? LOL 1. Heritage hasn't plek'd a guitar in years 2. PLEK'ing a guitar is fine IF you have the gauge strings correct (that you are going to use) and the relief you want I have had 6 of my guitars Plek'd in the last year (Kirn Tele, Yodder 150, GT 150, Cust 555 (the one with mahogany neck/rosewood finger board because I don't know anything about tone LOL), Cust 575, and 535 P-90 (and p-90s have no effect on tone either LOL) ANYHOW, the guitars were all set up to my action, relief, and string gauge BEFORE the Plek..... and the results are incredible (not that you would believe me, but the guitars don't fret out until basic physics takes over and the increase in sustain is very dramatically enhanced) but then again I don't know what I am talking about........so please dismiss all of the above....... Um pardon me John, but I believe the question was regarding weather the plek machine at Heritage was operational or not.
Kuz Posted June 19, 2010 Posted June 19, 2010 Um pardon me John, but I believe the question was regarding weather the plek machine at Heritage was operational or not. I think I answered that under point 1. But to be more direct... NO it isn't ..... there is a legal matter holding it up. Heritage is stating they are owed thousands of dollars of free upgrades to their machine, Plek is saying they don't owe Heritage. I got my guitars Plek'd by a individual owner of a Plek machine near Granville, OH. (trust me, it exist)
barrymclark Posted June 20, 2010 Posted June 20, 2010 I think I answered that under point 1. But to be more direct... NO it isn't ..... there is a legal matter holding it up. Heritage is stating they are owed thousands of dollars of free upgrades to their machine, Plek is saying they don't owe Heritage. I got my guitars Plek'd by a individual owner of a Plek machine near Granville, OH. (trust me, it exist) I wasn't saying there wasn't a difference. Just saying that the difference to the player is much bigger than the difference to the listener. In my experience: ebony fretboard has a snappy, clean tone. rosewood has a softer tone and has a bit of growl to it. Maple is snappy, but also has some growl. My preference is ebony, but I won't complain about maple or rosewood. As far as PLEK, never had a guitar set up with one. I hear it is nice though!
GuitArtMan Posted June 20, 2010 Posted June 20, 2010 Ok I'll add my 2 cents worth. The Plek is a tool just like a fret file is a tool, a drill press is a tool, a router is a tool, etc. The tool is only as good as the person using it. Just like there are some people who can work wonders with frets using standard tools, there are some people who can't. And so it follows that though there are some people who can work wonders with frets using the Plek machine, there are some who can't. Just having/using a Plek machine does not guarantee a perfect fret job or set up. I've owned five factory Plek'd guitars and all had factory setup issues. I've owned 7 Tom Anderson guitars and played probably two dozen or so others - all had flawless fret work/set ups. All were done without a Plek. I've owned 3 Don Grosh guitars and played may a dozen or so others - all had flawless fret work/set ups. All were done without a Plek. I can't comment about current PRS guitars, but I've owned several from the late '80s and early '90s as well as having played dozens others. All had flawless fret work/set ups. All were done without a Plek. I've had three re-frets, and three signature setups done by Michael Tuttle (three of those were factory Pleked guitars). Michael took guitars that were all pleked up and made them playable. Again I will say it's the man using the tool, not the tool and the plek is simply a tool.
barrymclark Posted June 20, 2010 Posted June 20, 2010 Ok I'll add my 2 cents worth. The Plek is a tool just like a fret file is a tool, a drill press is a tool, a router is a tool, etc. The tool is only as good as the person using it. Just like there are some people who can work wonders with frets using standard tools, there are some people who can't. And so it follows that though there are some people who can work wonders with frets using the Plek machine, there are some who can't. Just having/using a Plek machine does not guarantee a perfect fret job or set up. I've owned five factory Plek'd guitars and all had factory setup issues. I've owned 7 Tom Anderson guitars and played probably two dozen or so others - all had flawless fret work/set ups. All were done without a Plek. I've owned 3 Don Grosh guitars and played may a dozen or so others - all had flawless fret work/set ups. All were done without a Plek. I can't comment about current PRS guitars, but I've owned several from the late '80s and early '90s as well as having played dozens others. All had flawless fret work/set ups. All were done without a Plek. I've had three re-frets, and three signature setups done by Michael Tuttle (three of those were factory Pleked guitars). Michael took guitars that were all pleked up and made them playable. Again I will say it's the man using the tool, not the tool and the plek is simply a tool. Agreed. Same for CNC mills for making guitars. If the craftsman is solid and knows how to use the CNC as a tool to acheive what he/she wants, then you will see great quality from the CNC. If not, well, you won't.
Steiner Posted June 20, 2010 Posted June 20, 2010 Ok I'll add my 2 cents worth. The Plek is a tool just like a fret file is a tool, a drill press is a tool, a router is a tool, etc. The tool is only as good as the person using it. Just like there are some people who can work wonders with frets using standard tools, there are some people who can't. And so it follows that though there are some people who can work wonders with frets using the Plek machine, there are some who can't. Just having/using a Plek machine does not guarantee a perfect fret job or set up. I've owned five factory Plek'd guitars and all had factory setup issues. I've owned 7 Tom Anderson guitars and played probably two dozen or so others - all had flawless fret work/set ups. All were done without a Plek. I've owned 3 Don Grosh guitars and played may a dozen or so others - all had flawless fret work/set ups. All were done without a Plek. I can't comment about current PRS guitars, but I've owned several from the late '80s and early '90s as well as having played dozens others. All had flawless fret work/set ups. All were done without a Plek. I've had three re-frets, and three signature setups done by Michael Tuttle (three of those were factory Pleked guitars). Michael took guitars that were all pleked up and made them playable. Again I will say it's the man using the tool, not the tool and the plek is simply a tool. Yep. The PLEK is a combination Coordinate Measuring Machine and CNC router. In the right hands, it is a stellar concept. Look at the fixturing and consider the Reproducibility and Repeatability. I think that Heritage gave up on theirs because their necks are all aver the place (i.e., handcrafted) and could not be reliably fixtured. The results vs time were not empirically justified. I'm not suggesting that PLEKs are hokum. As GuitArtMan suggests, the right tool, in the right hands can do wonders. I've learned (the hard way) that experience is an excellent teacher. The luthier I utilize works with handtools; he provides significant improvements.
Patrick Posted June 20, 2010 Posted June 20, 2010 Yeah . . . . but I'd still like to Plek Barbara Eden's head stocks!!! OOPS!! Wrong thread:)
GuitArtMan Posted June 20, 2010 Posted June 20, 2010 Yeah . . . . but I'd still like to Plek Barbara Eden's head stocks!!! OOPS!! Wrong thread:) LOL!
tbonesullivan Posted June 20, 2010 Posted June 20, 2010 There are pros and cons of plekking, but I don't consider it to be a major factor when I buy anyguitar. Why? Because I have access to a Bill Baker, which can fix just about anything, and can out play any plek with one hand.
barrymclark Posted June 20, 2010 Posted June 20, 2010 ...with one hand. What's he doing with the other one?
tulk1 Posted June 20, 2010 Posted June 20, 2010 Makes me proud to see the direction this thread has taken. Restores my faith. Plek - it's a tool. In the right hands it can be amazing. If it were in my hands, it would be a disaster!
tbonesullivan Posted June 21, 2010 Posted June 21, 2010 What's he doing with the other one? Lighting the smoke bomb in the center pickup route of course! he's a huge Frehley fan.
smurph1 Posted June 21, 2010 Posted June 21, 2010 OK, everybody thinks I am nuts about the fingerboard and different woods making a difference in tone, SO NOBODY believe me on the PLEK either, OK??? LOL 1. Heritage hasn't plek'd a guitar in years 2. PLEK'ing a guitar is fine IF you have the gauge strings correct (that you are going to use) and the relief you want I have had 6 of my guitars Plek'd in the last year (Kirn Tele, Yodder 150, GT 150, Cust 555 (the one with mahogany neck/rosewood finger board because I don't know anything about tone LOL), Cust 575, and 535 P-90 (and p-90s have no effect on tone either LOL) ANYHOW, the guitars were all set up to my action, relief, and string gauge BEFORE the Plek..... and the results are incredible (not that you would believe me, but the guitars don't fret out until basic physics takes over and the increase in sustain is very dramatically enhanced) but then again I don't know what I am talking about........so please dismiss all of the above....... You are SO FUNNY DUDE!! I agree P-90's have no bearing on tone..
GuitArtMan Posted June 22, 2010 Posted June 22, 2010 Can we talk about Barbara Eden again? Please? Jeanie, come here and plek my axe...
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