Plek a gipsy guitar?

Paulius Volkovas

Maybe someone here has tried plek guitar setup on a gipsy guitar?
Also what would you think about stainless frets on a gipsy guitar?

MichaelHorowitz

I had my vintage Busato pleked by Mike Lull (after he replaced the fingerboard and frets). The results were spectacular! This 60 year old guitar plays better than a brand new Hahl with 2.2mm action....

Paulius Volkovas

Great! i am seriously thinking to go to Berlin /Germany which is the closest country that offers Plek from where i live.
How about stainless frets? I figured it would be very practical if they do a perfect plek job to stainless steel frets and they doesnt wear, so no more fret jobs ever.

richter4208

I have Gitane D500 that Mike Lull pleked and it's really fun to play. The action is ridiculously low, It could stand to come up a bit. Night and day.

On the cheaper gypsy guitars he has to pull the frets and glue them in. Apparently he had to do that to mine.

Bones

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thetoneblasters

OK I'll be the one. What is Plek?

Bob Holo

Plek is a computerized CNC that measures a neck while it is under tension using a probe and calculates what needs to be done to each fret in order to produce a precisely flat fingerboard.(arched, but flat longitudinally) The operator then inputs the desired profile as a deviation from flat, and takes the strings off the guitar and puts it back on the machine which again measures the neck in order to know where the cutting head will make contact with each fret across its length on the un-tensioned neck. Then the CNC cuts the frets.

Pleks are tools, so - as with all tools - they're as good as the operator and as good as the materials in the guitar. Plek-ing a new budget guitar made from green wood that is still moving is probably not a wise investment no matter who does it. But if the guitar is stable and the operator is knowledgeable, the results can be very good.

jack lynch

I have been pretty happy with my hand filing/leveling and some of the faults on factory guitars involve a little more than just reducing fret height or adjusting profile (fret seating, fretboard or even neck work). Having seen the Plek demonstrated (twice) was a revelation. (I understand that this is factory equipment in more than one custom line.) I was terrified at first that the machine would mill high frets down into the fretboard. I've played half a dozen machine worked guitars and impressed with each of the end products.

HarryR

What are the costs like for this type of fret job? Harry

richter4208

How much does it cost?

From Mike Lull's Site:

The average cost of a PLEK is $250.00 which includes a full setup and adjustment. Some instruments require that the frets be glued in place. This will be approximately 1/2 hour at our standard $75 hourly rate.