Why no PLEK?

DHW

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I was thinking about this the other day. With Paul's attention to detail, desire for perfection, and lack of fear of robotic machinery why have they not gone the PLEK route? I am not talking the gibson PLEK route but the real deal... If you pick up a McPhearson or a G&L you can really tell the difference. The neck is absolutely flawless with the absolute max meat left on the frets. They are analyzed under tension and cut to compensate for the relief of the neck which simply can not be done by hand, especially in a factory setting.

I am in no way saying that PRS does a bad job with the fret work but I can't even imagine how time consuming working them all over has to be. A PLEK never gets tired, it never breaks up with their girlfriend, it's never late for happy hour. It's attention is always 100% on task. You still need skilled operators and anyone else left over surely can be moved to other tasks which, in the end, should speed up production with zero loss of quality(maybe an improvement).

Just a random question/thought of the day...
 
I have a feeling that if Mr. Smith felt it could improve the guitars he would do it. I have a Gibson that was PLEK'd, and it is better than other Gibsons I have owned that were not, however it isn't even in the same league as my PRS.
 
I have a feeling that if Mr. Smith felt it could improve the guitars he would do it. I have a Gibson that was PLEK'd, and it is better than other Gibsons I have owned that were not, however it isn't even in the same league as my PRS.

Up until 2015, I would agree with you. However, Gibson took it to a new level for the 2015 model year. The 2015 Gibsons have the most perfect fretwork, period. Its not even close. I'm not a fan of the guitars themselves... but the fretwork is unreal.

That being said, PRS fretwork is pretty stellar. No complaints....but those new Gibson frets are a dream to play on...even if they are too small for my personal liking.
 
I have a feeling that if Mr. Smith felt it could improve the guitars he would do it. I have a Gibson that was PLEK'd, and it is better than other Gibsons I have owned that were not, however it isn't even in the same league as my PRS.

They use a very generic plek process where they skip the analysis and just run the cut not compensation for the individual instrument. Pick up a new American made g&l and tell me it's not the most flawless fret work you've ever felt! I'm not too excited about the rest of the instrument however which is ultimately what got them passed over recently. The machines are expensive and they'd probably have to have multiples to do the work and I get that but the roi is huge if you can fill orders faster.
 
Plek can give your frets cavities. As we know, all PRS owners are dentists, thus no plek.

I'm sure if Paul thought a Plek machine could do a superior and quicker job he'd use it. There's an art to good fret work that would still require a human hand.

I agree for rolling the edges and such but a 3d laser scan and complex algorithms to cut the nut, bridge, and frets can do something the average luthier is simply not capable of doing. The edge work and such would still be done by hand and that's really where the art comes in. The middle of the frets require no art, they require tight tolerances, if you can get tighter tolerances than the human hand you end up with a superior product.
 
So far as I know, PRS is still using the same hand operated, single fret press to insert frets for every US made neck. I mention this because that is obviously a time consuming process but still not the bottleneck in neck production. On the many trips I have had the pleasure of making through the factory during working hours, I almost always see that press standing idle. Thus, not a bottleneck.

There are so many other steps that are labor intensive and require rest, clamp or curing time, a PLEK machine would just sit there idle like the fret press waiting on the other processes which PRS does not want to compromise through automation.
 
Up until 2015, I would agree with you. However, Gibson took it to a new level for the 2015 model year. The 2015 Gibsons have the most perfect fretwork, period. Its not even close. I'm not a fan of the guitars themselves... but the fretwork is unreal.
Part of the 29% price increase, maybe? :evil:

Seems to me there are a bunch of PLEK machines owned and operated by independent techs/luthiers out there - if you want to PLEK your guitar, you have that option.
 
Part of the 29% price increase, maybe? :evil:

Seems to me there are a bunch of PLEK machines owned and operated by independent techs/luthiers out there - if you want to PLEK your guitar, you have that option.

Apparently there is one about an hour from the house, I've been considering checking into it further.
 
So far as I know, PRS is still using the same hand operated, single fret press to insert frets for every US made neck. I mention this because that is obviously a time consuming process but still not the bottleneck in neck production. On the many trips I have had the pleasure of making through the factory during working hours, I almost always see that press standing idle. Thus, not a bottleneck.

There are so many other steps that are labor intensive and require rest, clamp or curing time, a PLEK machine would just sit there idle like the fret press waiting on the other processes which PRS does not want to compromise through automation.

Likely PRS has their build process down and just where they need it to be for their two US lines. Gibson, maybe not so much in the past.
 
Yeah, pretty much what I was getting at...

I assume the fingerboards are glued on and the frets pressed in and the necks are sitting and waiting for a guitar to put them on where the leveling and dressing process is done in the middle of the build process.
 
I assume the fingerboards are glued on and the frets pressed in and the necks are sitting and waiting for a guitar to put them on where the leveling and dressing process is done in the middle of the build process.

As I understand it, it is actually the other way around. The time it takes for a body to get to the point it is ready for a neck is shorter than the time needed for a neck to get to the point it is ready for a body. However, fret dressing and leveling is not the hold up process in neck production, thus a PLEK would not translate into faster build times.

The question as to whether a PLEK dressed neck would be superior to what PRS is doing now would thus be the only real consideration in weighing whether or not to go that route. PRS is not adverse to spending money on things that make the guitars better, so I'm guessing that they have looked at PLEK and have decided that it isn't worth the investment at this time.
 
It occurs to me that maybe Gibson isn't taking the care they need to produce a properly leveled and radioused fretboard before they insert the frets. Shortcuts taken in the drying and shaping of the fingerboards are going to lead to uneven frets due to an uneven substrate into which they are being inserted.

This is just conjecture, but if you took a relatively wavy fretboard. put frets in it and then finished it with a PLEK, you could save a lot of time and still get an "acceptable" product. Well, that is until the wood starts moving because it wasn't properly dried.... the space from the top of the frets to the fingerboard itself would not be constant, and neither would the actual heights of the frets. Think normal height in some areas vs Yngwie scooped fingerboard in others. No thanks.

Finding a faster or more automated way to do something is fine - unless it actually compromises the quality of the end product in even a subtle way that may not show up for months...
 
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Gibson uses a regular PLEK which is different than the capabilities of a PLEK PRO machine which performs the service allowing for string tension. (There is one of these machines at Crossroads Guitars in Falls Church VA and they know how to use it.)
My heavilly played PRS guitars that I bought used needed a PLEK PRO service.
My PRS guitars that I bought new did not a PLEK PRO service.
My Gibson Les Paul that I bought brand new benefitted a little bit after I had it re-PLEK'd with the aforementioned.
My Heritage guitars, new and used, all needed a a PLEK PRO service, just like any Gibson would need a PLEK service when it is new. Heritage does not PLEK their guitars at the factory.
 
So far as I know, PRS is still using the same hand operated, single fret press to insert frets for every US made neck. I mention this because that is obviously a time consuming process but still not the bottleneck in neck production. On the many trips I have had the pleasure of making through the factory during working hours, I almost always see that press standing idle. Thus, not a bottleneck.

Veering slighlty off-topic, didn't they talk about going to a machine that would insert all 22 or 24 frets at one time? Seems to me I recall someone talking about that at one of the Experiences.
 
I think I remember this too, Alan. But as far as I know, they are still using the single fret press.

However, I have been wrong before and I will assuredly be wrong again.
 
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