Owen Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I am just thinking aloud here really. Has anyone had a PLEK done and thought "Yeah, that is stuff - that made a massive difference". None of my basses are hard to play, but there is a part of me that wonders if they could be nicer/easier/something else-er. Setting things up is easy for some people - but not for me Quote
chris_b Posted February 9 Posted February 9 I have bought basses that have been Pleked, but never had a bass Pleked, so I have no before/after experience. I've owned several basses that I thought were the best and played like a dream. I had a full service and set up done by the Bass Gallery, and my fantastic basses came back playing even better. Now, whenever I buy a new bass I take it to the Gallery for them to wave their magic wand. 3 Quote
JJMotown Posted February 9 Posted February 9 53 minutes ago, Owen said: I am just thinking aloud here really. Has anyone had a PLEK done and thought "Yeah, that is stuff - that made a massive difference". None of my basses are hard to play, but there is a part of me that wonders if they could be nicer/easier/something else-er. Setting things up is easy for some people - but not for me Sounds like you don't know what plek is, and what can be done. Go learn about it. 2 2 Quote
Owen Posted February 9 Author Posted February 9 Thanks. I know exactly what PLEK is. I am just wondering if people who have had one done see it as a step above a full hand-done set-up/fret dress, etc. 2 Quote
clauster Posted February 9 Posted February 9 2 hours ago, Owen said: Thanks. I know exactly what PLEK is. I am just wondering if people who have had one done see it as a step above a full hand-done set-up/fret dress, etc. Nope, a good luthier, familiar with your specific instrument of choice, who will discuss with you what you like in terms of feel, response, tone and choice of strings along with your style of playing, will always hand you back a better playing instrument than a mere machine ever could. If you don't have access to a proven quality technician, or know what you like in terms of the above variables for discussion, Plek is an option worth exploring. 1 Quote
PainInTheBass Posted February 9 Posted February 9 Getting a luthier setup was far cheaper than getting a PLEK setup. Honestly can't tell the difference between my Sandberg which came factory PLEK'd and my Squier Affinity PJ which recently had a luthier setup. Hope that helps. 2 Quote
Chienmortbb Posted February 11 Posted February 11 A PLEK'd bass is set up to a set of parameters, these may or may not suit your playing style. Of course, this can also be the case with a luthier, unless they insist in a particular set of setup figures. Quote
Dood Posted Monday at 13:53 Posted Monday at 13:53 There are three "guitar shop" PLEK machines based in the UK. Charlie Chandler, Andertons and Peach Guitars have one. I don't know specifically about Andertons, but Charlie is already a well known Luthier and Peach Guitars have in-house techs. There seems to be an assumption that, like D Class amplifers, there's something up with machines assisting "analogue duties"? Peach have a very long video on YT about the processes that also includes manual labour pre and post PLEK set up, which is a useful watch - as the process isn't just a number crunching machine spitting out guitars willy-nilly. The techs ascertain what the end goal is as well as (just) a well playing instrument. I've no affiliation with any of the shops mentioned. 1 Quote
Dood Posted Monday at 13:57 Posted Monday at 13:57 1 minute ago, Dood said: There are three "guitar shop" PLEK machines based in the UK. Charlie Chandler, Andertons and Peach Guitars have one. I don't know specifically about Andertons, but Charlie is already a well known Luthier and Peach Guitars have in-house techs. There seems to be an assumption that, like D Class amplifers, there's something up with machines assisting "analogue duties"? Peach have a very long video on YT about the processes that also includes manual labour pre and post PLEK set up, which is a useful watch - as the process isn't just a number crunching machine spitting out guitars willy-nilly. The techs ascertain what the end goal is as well as (just) a well playing instrument. I've no affiliation with any of the shops mentioned. https://www.andertons.co.uk/plek-machine Anderton's do make a good point about PLEK machines not being able to perform miracles if the instrument isn't great to begin with along with lots of other useful information. It's not going to remove a ski slope from a vintage bolt-on or a banana neck with a shot truss rod. Quote
chris_b Posted Monday at 13:58 Posted Monday at 13:58 2 minutes ago, Dood said: There are three "guitar shop" PLEK machines based in the UK. Charlie Chandler, Andertons and Peach Guitars have one. I believe Charlie and Doug had the first Plek machine in the country and were responsible for a lot of the development in the early days. Quote
Dood Posted Monday at 14:00 Posted Monday at 14:00 1 minute ago, chris_b said: I believe Charlie and Doug had the first Plek machine in the country and were responsible for a lot of the development in the early days. Yes! I was just reading about it as I checked my details! 1 Quote
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