Do you think the PLEK system at Gibson is good?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Victory Pete
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Do you think the PLEK system at Gibson is good?

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    4
It's only as good as the guy running it, but yeah, I think it's a good system.
 
Greg_L said:
It's only as good as the guy running it, but yeah, I think it's a good system.
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I haven't played a PLEK'd Gibson, but this is what I've heard in a nutshell. Shops like Anderson and Suhr have gotten spectacular results from one, because they take extra steps while using it (for example, keeping the necks under appropriate tension). Gibson hasn't - the average quality of fretwork is better than what they were getting pre-PLEK, but it's still nothing to write home about.

Still, it's an improvement, I hear.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
I haven't played a PLEK'd Gibson, but this is what I've heard in a nutshell. Shops like Anderson and Suhr have gotten spectacular results from one, because they take extra steps while using it (for example, keeping the necks under appropriate tension). Gibson hasn't - the average quality of fretwork is better than what they were getting pre-PLEK, but it's still nothing to write home about.

Still, it's an improvement, I hear.
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I have 5 Gibsons I have bought in the last 10 years that are flawless in everyway. In the 90's I vowed to never buy another Gibson again due to all the problems I had seen on their guitars hanging on the wall of the local music store (Pre-Guitar Center Era). In 2001 I went to go buy some strings and ended up walking out of Daddy's with my Les Paul Classic. It was perfect. 5 Gibsons later and I now have problems with the PLEK set up on the SG-12 string.

VP

BTW The SG 12 string also has plug in pick-ups on a circuit board, I am not sure what to think of that.
 
EMG has been doing that for some time, and Dimarzio and (I believe) Duncan are starting to do it as an option. On one hand I can see the appeal - if you're not good with a soldering iron or don't own one, a pickup swap is a simple plug-and-play operation. However, you lose quite a bit of flexibility...

I think your run with Gibson has a lot more to do with exceptionally good luck than any PLEK related changes. That said, what sort of setup issues are you having?
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
EMG has been doing that for some time, and Dimarzio and (I believe) Duncan are starting to do it as an option. On one hand I can see the appeal - if you're not good with a soldering iron or don't own one, a pickup swap is a simple plug-and-play operation. However, you lose quite a bit of flexibility...

I think your run with Gibson has a lot more to do with exceptionally good luck than any PLEK related changes. That said, what sort of setup issues are you having?
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I have thought of plug in pickups a while ago, I change pickups frequently and it seems like a good idea except the circuit board also has the pots solder to it, not good. I think standard control cavity wiring with plug in pickups that connect at the pickups themselves would be cool. I dont believe in luck, I like to think Gibson had finally got with the program after the problems in the 90's. My nut slots and saddle slots are inconsistent. The slots on the same saddle for the paired strings are way off, for example the octave D string bottoms out and buzzes while the lower D string is quite high. It is just a bad job all around. When I set nuts and saddle slots I use feeler gauges and other gauges to accurately set the slots to conform with the given radius of a fretboard. All of my other Gibson were done very well in this regard, just not the PLEKed SG 12 string.

VP
 
Here are some photos, After numerous contacts with Gibson, they kept sending me the wrong bridges, they finally did send the correct bridge though, but it is already PLEKed, how can they possible prePLEK a bridge without having the guitar in front of them? They are now supposed to be sending me a virgin bridge so I can take out the saddles and redo them as needed, They tried sending just the saddles but kept sending the wrong ones.

VP
 

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Victory Pete said:
My nut slots and saddle slots are inconsistent. The slots on the same saddle for the paired strings are way off, for example the octave D string bottoms out and buzzes while the lower D string is quite high. It is just a bad job all around. When I set nuts and saddle slots I use feeler gauges and other gauges to accurately set the slots to conform with the given radius of a fretboard. All of my other Gibson were done very well in this regard, just not the PLEKed SG 12 string.

VP
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Honestly, that sounds like user error on Gibson's part. The PLEK process is computer controlled to remove issues like inconsistent nut heights, so if the process is being done correctly (and, again, I don't believe it is - I've read that Gibson doesn't PLEK under string tension) you shouldn't be seeing wildly different heights.

I'm also wondering if the PLEK doesn't currently have 12-string support, and if the octave slots on the nut are being cut by hand, perhaps...?
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Honestly, that sounds like user error on Gibson's part. The PLEK process is computer controlled to remove issues like inconsistent nut heights, so if the process is being done correctly (and, again, I don't believe it is - I've read that Gibson doesn't PLEK under string tension) you shouldn't be seeing wildly different heights.

I'm also wondering if the PLEK doesn't currently have 12-string support, and if the octave slots on the nut are being cut by hand, perhaps...?
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I was told it was PLEKed, I think in the specs they mention it, but in any event bridges should never be slotted before they are installed on a specific guitar.


VP
 
Quick edit from the expert. I quoted "They only go one way." I guess that was too obviously incorrect.
 

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Sky Blue Lou said:
Quick edit from the expert. I quoted "They only go one way." I guess that was too obviously incorrect.
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They only go one way when they are already slotted, especially in a 12 string (different size slots). Even on a 6 string the slot is not always dead center, so reversing it would throw off string spacing.

VP
 
Tune-o-matics go either way and can be inadvertently reversed quite easily. Happens all the time. Can't tell anything from your pic. Is it oriented up or down? Looks upside-down to me but I can't discern slot depth at that resolution.
 
Sky Blue Lou said:
Tune-o-matics go either way and can be inadvertently reversed quite easily. Happens all the time. Can't tell anything from your pic. Is it oriented up or down? Looks upside-down to me but I can't discern slot depth at that resolution.
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I am quite aware of how they work, It came from Gibson oriented in the "Correct" way that it was slotted, okay? However the slots are at inconsistent depths, yielding many strings that buzz and others that are high. Do you understand now?

VP
 
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