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Here it is...the wave of the future...a robot/computer that scans the neck for imperfections and then does the entire fret job based on it's scan results...supposedly "perfect". It was awesome to watch...I still think my fret jobs are better. :








Not to be confusing...when I said "fret job" I meant leveling and all filing and polishing.

I appologize about the quality of pics...as I have said in the past, I am realy bad at taking pictures.Dave-SKG38930.4483796296

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

I've read that the PLEK can level and shape frets to a couple thousandths or so. Heritage Guitars (in Gibson's old Kalamazoo plant) has been using a PLEK for a few years.

Joe Glaser, a repair guy in Nashville, TN. has one. The last time I looked there were only a couple of small independent repair shops in the U.S. that had one. The fee for having a guitar "Pleked" is typically near the cost range of a complete refret at most small repair shops.

Well....I have to tell you...

Maybe I'm wrong here, but I think that ranks right up there with trash compactors...
Why? Well a trash compactor will cost you a few hundred dollars, and all it ever does is compact 20 lbs of trash into 20 lbs of trash.

A machine like this must cost tens of thousands of dollars, and I suspect a well-trained individual can do a great fret job in about the same amount of time. Yes the PLEK will pay for itself in probably 500,000 instruments or so. Big deal. You've just put some skilled labor out of work, or left another couple of guys/gals on the unemployment line. You might as well just put in a NTBHH system. That's "Never Touched By Human Hands". Technology is a two-edged sword...

Don Williams38930.6210185185

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

I'm thinking that the music store in Norman OK has one of these. John, you probably know.
I found intriging the ability of this machine to go in and measure the position and height of each fret with the guitar strung. I believe that it's computer then offers several scenarios to choose from based on the player's preference(s).
I would have to question, however, the economic payback even without knowing the cost of installing one.
Nelson

Thanks for showing us this Dave, Amazing machine! Probably a minute or two quicker than me

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

PLEK
Some advertising hype.

I'm probably talking to myself here but always thought it would be interesting to set a stringed instrument up on a mill or CNC router table and run a scan of the fretboard, frets, bridge, nut etc. A dial indicator or digitizing probe would replace the usual cutting tool.
Sorry, guys, it's the old machinist in my blood. P.S. Might be able to generate a simple vs. "compound" fretboard radius "discussion" here.

Don: Honestly, given the sometimes (often?) pretty dire fretjobs I've seen on Gibsons, something that's completely unacceptable on guitars in that price range, this may be a step forward for them...

Not saying Gibson doesn't build some great guitars, but their production line offerings of the past decade, at least (if not longer) haven't managed to reach the bar set by the likes of Paul Reed Smith.

[quote]set a stringed instrument up on a mill or CNC router table and run a scan of the fretboard, frets, bridge, nut etc.[/quote]

   That's a Plek isn't it?
   
     Yea! I always wanted to jig up a good guitar and check out everything with a good digital! Just to check neck flex and bow in real numbers! That's where you learn something. All the other is just guess work.

     It would be cool to see just how close one has to get to have consistant action. Plot the actual fret conical and curvature. I got a buddy from my plastic tooling days, with a mill, but he uses it quite often. I should ask him if he's got machine time available.

What did you use to work on Nelson?

Billy Dean Thomas

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Billy
Most of my early machinist work was with a company that built machine tools----feed tablea, slides, milling heads etc. During the late sixties we were building special machines for machining bomb shells. The amount of machine work going into the shell was amazing for something that would eventually disintegrate.
I always wanted to be involved in injection molding dies--looked like a challenge.
Nelson