Plek pro - is it worth $299?

[Bill Staudt]

One of the really cool things about a PLEK machine (that doesn’t get discussed often) is its ability to plane the fingerboard surface before fretting. This is where the magic happens. Manufacturers that utilize PLEK during the build process are able to get the full benefits of a “perfect” fretboard surface prior to fretting, and “perfectly” leveled frets. Luthiers like Glaser that use PLEK to do refrets are also able to true the board before fretting to get superior fret jobs.

In my opinion, only touching the playing surface of a fret on an existing fretted instrument is not really exploiting the full potential of PLEK.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Yes. 100%. Never bought a bass from Sweetwater if that matters. But I’ve had several basses and guitars with Plek and a couple more that had factory Plek. It’s as close to perfect as frets can be.
I’ve also had nuts cut on the Plek.

You can choose to do it or not. And I’m sure any “don’t do it” comments are from people who haven’t done it.

Q, what’s it cost for the best luthier in your region to finish your frets? About the same, right?

So that’s a reasonable option. But what if you don’t get the best? What if you get the apprentice?

FWIW the guy who did my guitars and basses locally also happens to be one of the best service luthiers in the region. It’s not a substitute for a luthier, it’s a tool operated by the luthier.

I’ve had a few done but they were all 20 years old or older

I think the objections are related to a new bass needing a plek. Not sure how much value is there on a brand new bass

 

[Mik Walker]

A new Am Pro II shouldn’t have any problems with playability, intonation or sustain. If it does, you can easily send it back and try another.

A bass you know for certain you love everything about and want to play for years to come, that you’ve played so hard it needs fret work… then consider a Plek.

^^^THIS^^^

 

[B String]

plek is not anywhere near as good as a skilled luthier.

a good fret level is cheaper and better - if you have access to the right people in your area.

I don't know about anywhere as good as a skilled Luthier, I do know that the fret work I've had done by Maurilio at Nordstrand is as good as I could want (or need) Great craftsman.

 

[40Hz]

I think it all depends.

There’s too many factors involved to generalize including he actual neck and the skill and experience of the plek operator because it’s not a fully automated process. It still calls for human judgement at times while running the machine.

I’ve had the chance to play a few pleked instruments. Some felt and played extremely well. My SO’s Les Paul Tribute and a friend’s ESP LTD B1005 being two of them. But with some of the others I didn’t feel there was anything noticeably better about a plek on those compared to the feel of your standard good fret job and a careful setup.

 

[Yahboy]

I'm looking into buying an Am Pro II P bass from Sweetwater and they are offering Plek pro for $299. Is it worth it?

View attachment 5445026

Does this clearly prove that Fender Am Pro II line has poor factory fret job ？！？！？

Suggest contact FMIC about their QC .... if they reply " need plek " , so you just send the bill to them.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

I had a Marcus Miller jazz bass in 2014/2015; I was developing my playing technique (even today if it’s for that) and didn’t have a substantial experience in how to give basses a proper setup.
So it wasn’t easy for me to find a stable configuration of the bass’ neck which I always liked.
I heard that one of the first Plek labs in town had just started its work as part of a local instruments dealer (Singapore) so I went there with the bass and I saw what the technician did to it with the machine.
When I got the bass back and I tried it the setup was nearly perfect; however, in the end, the neck configuration changed progressively either because of my small adjustments or because of the climate in the area.
I wasn’t able to bring it back to the quasi-perfection it had when it got out of the shop.
In the end, then, you have to know how to properly set up your bass and the effect of a good plek work on an instrument which is already good as is, as many said, won’t likely be that astonishing.
Now, when I manage to give one of my basses a proper setup, I almost get the same feeling I got when I tried that MM jazz bass at home after getting its neck Plek’d … and, we do not have to forget the important role of the strings in all this.
Some necks will never work well with certain types of strings and that’s a fact; Plek won’t help too much in such cases as well.

 

[wolffire99]

Depends how low/high you like the action set

 

[Lava]

If you can afford it, sure why not. I’ve had a few basses that were Plekd and they played great

 

[RasJay]

I am a fan of Plek. 13th st Guitars in Long Beach did my Spector Euro after I owned it for long enough to know the difference. I now set the action to 2.5/32nths and slides on it feel like a fretless. You would think it is a master luthier hand crafted neck.

My USA G&L is almost as good. I will be taking my other basses back to 13th the next time I make the trip. They have been doing it for over 20 years and told me a Plek job is only as good as the person performing it and they often fix other Plek’d frets. One must understand how to read the CNC scan and program it to correctly cut the frets. Makes sense to me as I ran a CNC machine in my twenties.

So? Get a Plek from Sweetwater? Possibly. Who is going to Plek your bass and are they good at it?

 

[RasJay]

In the end, then, you have to know how to properly set up your bass and the effect of a good plek work on an instrument

This is very true! My Plek was done in Long Beach while camping there a few days. After returning home to the desert, I was getting serious fret buzz. I backed everything off and performed a complete setup again and it has been perfect ever since.

With a capo, allen wrenches, feeler gauges, and a machinists ruler it is very easy to learn. John Caruthers has a 4 video series and I use his measurements as a base line . Then adjust to my taste…which is the lowest action and some minimal fret buzz for character.

 

[Knuckleduster43]

I wouldn't buy a new Bass that claims to be Pro yet needs the frets done. For what it's worth, a good Luthier Will always be better and cheaper than a Plek.

Plek has been around for what? a couple of decades. The Human eye has been in development for millions of years. It's a precision instrument. (No Bass Puns intended)

 

[Mastermold]

This price seems expensive too. Last time I priced a local PLEK which wasn't more than a few years ago it was about half that price.

 

[Schlyder]

You should play it for awhile and see how it is first. It's brand new so it should be fine, and you'll just be wasting money.

 

[dougfr67]

Same reason we have HPFs and other new tech being implemented in the bass world

High pass filtering a bass is far from being 'new tech'
Every good recording engineer use high or low pass whenever it's needed regardless what instrument is recorded.
Just because amateur bassists never heard about it it doesn't mean it's a new thing.

 

[fretno]

It is probably freshly factory PLEK’d already but even if it’s not it should be leveled. I would not do it yet.
PLEK literally takes off material in its process so if it’s just been leveled or plek’d that process would just take more life off. I generally like a PLEK’d instrument but its not the best by default. A good tech can do as good or better leveling. The ends and polish and sometimes more leveling is done by hand anyway. My point is , no not yet. Wait until you look it over first , see how it plays out. A tech can check its leveling and setup specs if you cannot.
Ime it matters less on a bass anyway because we don’t bend strings nearly as much and the larger ga. Strings are more forgiving of a possible high fret or some other anomaly.

 

[BlueTalon]

It is probably freshly factory PLEK’d already but even if it’s not it should be leveled. I would not do it yet.
PLEK literally takes off material in its process so if it’s just been leveled or plek’d that process would just take more life off. I generally like a PLEK’d instrument but its not the best by default. A good tech can do as good or better leveling. The ends and polish and sometimes more leveling is done by hand anyway. My point is , no not yet. Wait until you look it over first , see how it plays out. A tech can check its leveling and setup specs if you cannot.
Ime it matters less on a bass anyway because we don’t bend strings nearly as much and the larger ga. Strings are more forgiving of a possible high fret or some other anomaly.

PLEK is designed to provide the optimum fret surface across the entire neck with the least amount of material loss possible. To do a fret job, material must be removed from the frets -- that's any fret job, done by a human or a machine. PLEK does the job without removing any more material than is absolutely necessary. In that respect, humans will never be as efficient or precise. For the longest possible fret life, the initial fret job should be done by PLEK.

 

[bobalu]

I would never buy a brand new Fender AM Pro II bass that "needed" to be Pleke'd. A used one, maybe.

I mean, what are you trying to improve on it playability wise with a Plek?

 

[MingusBass]

Do I think having the Plek process done on a bass can be extremely beneficial: For sure. All three of my Mike Lull basses were Plek’d and they play incredible. Even my Lakland Skyline 55-60CS which was my number one for years was Plek’d and played killer right out of the box. I’m a believer for sure.

Does your brand new Sweetwater bass “need” a Plek job? No.

Would it play better with the Plek process done? Most likely yes. If you played the same bass before and after the process, it’s unlikely you’d prefer the before version.

Is it still a money grab for Sweetwater. For sure, but they’re a business and that’s what they do. I was a Sweetwater employee for ten years and they’ve owned the Plek machine for a very long time. They used to own a guitar company, Wechter Guitars. Acoustic guitars made in China, brought over to Fort Wayne and finished here. They played pretty great, especially for the price.

Sweetwater isn’t pushy on getting the Plek process done, they just ask and some people say yes, mission accomplished. You want to know the number one sales person for the Plek Process, GC Coverage, Best Buy Warranty…etc? It’s the kiosk/website that asks every single time.

 

[blr2]

One of the really cool things about a PLEK machine (that doesn’t get discussed often) is its ability to plane the fingerboard surface before fretting. This is where the magic happens. Manufacturers that utilize PLEK during the build process are able to get the full benefits of a “perfect” fretboard surface prior to fretting, and “perfectly” leveled frets. Luthiers like Glaser that use PLEK to do refrets are also able to true the board before fretting to get superior fret jobs.

In my opinion, only touching the playing surface of a fret on an existing fretted instrument is not really exploiting the full potential of PLEK.

That's a very important point. Not seldom, playability problems are caused not by a poor fret job, but by a poor fretboard leveling.