Recently, I decided to get my guitar PLEK’d, a service known for its precision fret leveling. Hearing about shops offering this in Heath, Ohio, I made the drive, hoping for an improvement in my guitar’s playability. The initial interaction started with a simple text message informing me the guitar was ready for pickup. Excited, I drove almost an hour from Ashville, Ohio, to retrieve it.
Upon arriving and strumming the guitar, the immediate improvement in fret level was undeniable. The frets looked and felt fantastic. However, it quickly became apparent that while the fretwork was addressed, the intonation was left untouched – essentially in the same state it was after I had installed a new TonePros bridge myself, an installation I hadn’t fully set up before opting for the PLEK service.
For a premium service like PLEK, especially with the price point, the experience felt somewhat lacking. A phone call discussing the initial scan and outlining the plan would have been appreciated. Instead, the communication was limited to a brief, impersonal text. Furthermore, upon dropping off the guitar, the intake process was quite basic. They noted my preferred strings and tuning, but details like the guitar’s serial number weren’t even recorded.
The follow-up regarding the specifics of the work done was also minimal. It seems I’ll still need to break out my strobe tuner and fine-tune the intonation myself. Playing it, the tuning is noticeably off, which is disappointing.
Despite the intonation issue and the somewhat detached customer service, I am genuinely pleased with the quality of the fretwork achieved through the PLEK process. It reinforces the idea that even with advanced machinery, the skill of the technician in setting up the final result is crucial. However, driving a considerable distance only to find the intonation unaddressed, and without any tech follow-up, leaves me hesitant to repeat the experience at this particular shop. I’ll likely explore other options when seeking PLEK services again in the future, perhaps waiting for another shop to acquire the technology.
