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Learn about our Plek Machine Process


Learn about our Plek Machine Process! The playability of a guitar depends on how well dressed its frets are. Poorly crowned or flat frets are a usual suspect for a buzzing, poor intonation, and the guitar choking out notes especially while bending strings. Doing a level and crown previously required hours of work by a skilled luthier, with a keen eye, fresh files, and strong arms. Now, this daunting and difficult process can be accomplished quickly and more accurately than ever with our Plek Pro Machine!

This incredibly sophisticated, computer-controlled machine scans and evaluates the positions of the strings, string height, and frets along the length of the neck. It then compares the measured result to stored optimum values. It then cuts and smooths the frets and to achieve the best playability with minimum string height. The result is frets that feels great with every note ringing out clear and true!

The Plek Machine can also slot a nut. We start by remove the old nut, cut a fresh block out of the material of your choice, install it on the guitar, then program the Plek Machine to slot the nut to perfect height for the string gauge of your choice, meshed with the height of your frets, then shape and polish the new nut. The result is perfection! 

And now the Plek Machine can plane a finger board! Having well-crowned frets is important but if your fingerboard is not radius-ed and planed well, you'll only be able to achieve so much in terms of playability. By planing the board with in 10,000th's of an inch and THEN installing new frets and having them Plek'ed, your guitar achieves maximum playability. Planing the fingerboard is included with our refret process which starts out at $450.00.  

Pricing: Nickel Silver Frets ONLY, no Stainless Steel. Prices do not include strings

  • Scan Only (No Cutting) - $75.00
  • Plek Level and Crown for Acoustic Steel String, Electric Non Locking Trem, 4 to 7 string Bass, Includes Setup - $250.00
  • for 12 String Acoustic Steel String or Electric, Includes Setup - $275.00
  • with Floyd Rose with/or locking / metal nuts, Includes Setup - $285.00
  • Imported Guitars - many require their frets to be re-glued - Additional $50 

To make an appointment to have your guitar frets Plek'ed give us a call at 847-432-6350 and ask for George!

Got a minute and want to learn more?

Learn about our Plek Infused Refret Process

Click the above pic to head over to Matt's Blog in which he details the step-by-step process that George MacPhail and Pete Flynn took to get an unplayable neck to Plek Perfection!

Plek Service Testimonials

  • “I have had a couple guitars plekked by them. They all turned out fantastic! Really happy I did it! They turned one mediocre guitar into one of the best playing guitars i have ever used.”
  • “Had my 1998 Les Paul Standard DC plek'd yesterday by George over at The Music Gallery in Highland Park IL. The guitar came out GREAT. This is my first experience with a Plek and I'm very happy. Feels like a whole new guitar. I had a few "choking" notes on bends and they are completely gone. I set the action low and it plays effortlessly. The guys at Music Gallery were great and George took the time to explain the whole process. He showed me the computer scans and let me watch some of the frets getting cut. It was real interesting to see how unlevel the frets were before the Plek.”
  • “What George or Chip will tell you-they still have a tremendous amount of input. To the plek-tek, it really is just another tool, much more accurate than the human eye and a straight edge. How much fret gets cut(the less the better), and a bunch of other decisions come into play. The tool is only as good as the tech-in this case-those two guys have done hundreds are are very good at it. That said, they have set up guitars of mine and made them play stellar as well. They are just plain great at what they do. The plek machine is just another tool for them to do their job.”
  • “Since you are in Evanston try Music Gallery in Highland Park. They did my guitar and Chip is a great guy. They also have a plek machine there. I had my guitar setup by them and I am happy. Will take it back later this summer for the plek process.”
  • “Backstory: I bought an Eagle in early 2013 and immediately brought it to the Chicago Fret Works to be set-up. This is a highly respected place that only does guitar repairs and service *name omitted*. I paid $100 to have the "Works" done: "The Works includes precision level, re-crown and polish of your instruments frets along with complete set-up of truss rod, string height (action) and intonation. This work will minimize fret buzz, eliminate fret pitting and divits, and improve your overall tone! The whole instrument will be cleaned and polished and all hardware and electronics inspected, cleaned, and lubed. They did a really nice job and the improvements compared to how the guitar was set up when it was first delivered were significant. Nonetheless, it was still the most challenging of my Heritage guitars to play (I have two Prospects, a Millie and a 445). Following 1) the purchase of a newly Plek'ed G&L and 2) Hangar18's post on Plek'ing, I decided to take it to the Music Gallery in Highland Park, IL to have to it Plek'ed ($225). The G&L, and now this Eagle are the easiest of my guitars to play, even with 12s on the Eagle. I will be taking my Prospects and my Millie there for the same treatment in the future. So that's my contribution to the debate over manual set-up vs. Plek; two plek'ed guitars and two positive experiences.”
  • "The Plek is not some godless mechanical replacement for a luthier (if you think it is, you’ve been watching too much of that Will Smith movie I, Robot). It’s another tool (albeit, a large tool with significant initial capital investment) to be used by a good technician. The Plek performs analysis and through CNC can make cuts to frets that would be extremely time-consuming, if not impossible, for a human to make, and like others have said, it does so without getting tired or needing lots of cigarette breaks. Once the frets have been cut, though, the luthier still needs all of his skills to perform the setup thereafter. My guitars have been plek’d at the Music Gallery in Highland Park, IL, and compared to traditional non-plek’d setups, there is no comparison."