PEEKAMOOSE PLEK

Plek Update:
As of April 2022 I've been running the new version of the Plek machine and it is quite an upgrade from my original 2005 V1 machine. I will do a more comprehensive website update this winter after I finally complete shop renovations.

2022 and 2023 I had a lot of flooding in the shop due to climate change giving us a real monsoon season. I had a sump system installed in January so now the floor is consistently dry and I've stopped freaking out.

I am currently juggling shop renovations and guitar repair work. I expect I'll resume building guitars in early 2025.

That's the news for now

Peekamoose has been running Plek jobs in house since May 2005. The Plek Machine is a fantastic tool developed by Gerd Anke and Michael Dubach. They are the A+D of the corporate name A+D Guitarrentechnologie GmbH.

Side note: My original Plek and will be replaced later 2021. For the time being I am crafting it old school with the proven stellar results. I still have the freakish ability to be as accurate as the machine. But more on the Plek....

In a way it's like having an MRI scan for a fretted instrument neck. This machine scans (measures) an instrument's fretboard and frets while under string tension. The machine presents the scan reports to it's operator who will interpret the information regarding neck straightness and fret alignment. After evaluating the scan reports the operator will program the Plek machine to level and crown the instrument's frets. After the frets are dressed, they will be polished by hand and the instrument will be setup for optimal performance.

The machine is a wonderful tool, however, it is not self aware and does not automatically decide how frets should be dressed. The decision must be made by an experienced luthier. Having a great deal of experience doing fretwork is a prerequisite to developing the skill of doing it exceptionally. It is the experience of doing hundreds or in some cases thousands of fret jobs and fret dressings by hand that teach a guitar maker what's important regarding how to make frets play clean and how to make frets feel great.

Having a Plek machine makes life as a guitar maker easier and less physically demanding. Paul is very happy about that and thrilled Gerd and Michael brought their dream to life.... However, it is important to recognize the Plek does not magically transform an average craftsman into a brilliant one. Doing great fretwork is about understanding what necks and frets do then temper that knowledge with how musician's play. There is more to it than meets the eye. It can take years to become great at doing fretwork.

The Plek machine has to be told what to level and how to shape the frets. If you were to compare the frets coming off various Plek machines around the world, you would realize the frets still hold the signature of the person who controls the machine. Gibson frets still look and feel like Gibson. John Suhr, Gary Brawer, Phil Jacoby, Joe Glasser, and Peekamoose jobs all have individual characteristics that make them distinctive. For a complete list of all the Plek locations, follow the link on the Plek website.

Paul Schwartz has been doing fretwork since 1981. having lost actual count in the late 90's but taking an average based on several decades of job invoices he's done roughly 8500 jobs involving re-frets and fret dressing.

About 4500 of those were before owning his Plek machine. Experience can't be replaced by technology, but brilliant technology like the Plek can certainly enhance experience.

If you want your instrument to play better than you ever imagined possible, we promise to bring all of our skill, technology, and knowledge to the table. We will do everything in our power to make your instrument great.