...What I HADN'T expected was how the responsiveness and playability of the entire guitar is enhanced. I think most guitars – particularly those played by those of us who go for the lowest action we can reasonably get – have areas of the fretboard where we know to go easy, because certain notes will choke if we play too hard.
I suspect we all adapt subconsciously to each guitar's unique pattern of such idiosyncrasies, eventually without even knowing we're doing it. We know how far we can bend here and there, which voicings to avoid, where we have to go easy.
When all those anomalies are just gone, the entire fretboard opens up. The guitar rings like a piano at every fret, every note. You don't have to steer around potholes or avoid the shallows. Nothing chokes anywhere, so notes you'd have avoided (like above the 14th fret on the lower strings) are now useful.
You find the guitar more responsive. It doesn't choke. Bend away. Pick more dynamically. The guitar actually becomes completely itself, like it can now express its full potential....
In other words, you lose all setup or action-related excuses: the guitar no longer inhibits you in any way.
It must be something like the pampered treatment women get at day spas.
Is it worth the money? For a guitar you want to play as well as it possibly can, in a heartbeat. Won't matter what you PAID for the guitar either. If you like the guitar enough to want it to be "all it can be," a fine Plek job seems a bargain. .
What is a Plek? Think of it as a super microscope measuring device that completely maps out the frets, finger board, neck twist, etc. and provides the luthier with computerized views of how to make corrections such that a balance can be obtained relative to playability, string vibration, etc. This is my interpretation of this as I watched my #1 being worked by the machine....
I cannot express how picky I am on my setups. I like the lowest action possible, yet I stretch the you-know-what out of my strings (these two priorities are always at odds with each other) I demand maximum sustain and tone and do not like compromise. I just got my Plek job (I will refer to this as a "PJ" lol) yesterday and had a 4-hour gig last night.
.... Was my PJ worth the money? Are you kidding me? This was the best investment I have ever made in an instrument.
"I had my Gibson Les Paul setup on a Plek machine at Gary Brawer's shop in San Francisco back in 2004. Without a doubt the Plek job took my LP to another level. The action is low and perfect and only after 4 years of lots of playing and grinding did I need to take my guitar back in for some *light* touch up work.
I highly recommend this setup for your axe. Unfortunately there are only a few places in the US right now where you can take your guitar in to get this kind of setup. Check out Plek's website to find the nearest Plek machine."
24.06.2010
Stockholm GuitarLabs upgrade to Plek Station!
The guys at GuitarLabs Scandinavia have made the move to upgrade their business.....
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24.06.2010
Plek expands Sales Structure in North America
With the addition of Jeff Silver as sales representative, Plek is signaling a clear move to better serve the U.S. and Canadian markets.
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16.06.2010
G&L Plek Pro video
G&L's Director of Manufacturing Steve Grom talks about the Plek Pro
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