Experiencing PLEK, the Ultimate Guitar Maintenance Machine

To all you guitarists out there, do you perform regular maintenance on your beloved instruments?
I am a bit of a procrastinator, so I tend to leave things alone unless I notice obvious noise or crackling.

Even so, once every few years, when the malfunctions become too noticeable, I always take it to my regular repair shop.
However, this time I decided to take it in because there was a music store nearby that had introduced a maintenance machine called PLEK.

If you have been curious about PLEK, please use this article as a reference.

■ What is PLEK?

It’s a box-shaped machine resembling a phone booth that, when a guitar (it also supports bass) is placed inside, thoroughly diagnoses whether there are any issues.
To use a human analogy, it’s like getting a comprehensive medical checkup and a machine scans every nook and cranny of your body.

There are nine diagnostic items in total, including the degree of neck bow, fret wear, and the nut. It checks almost everything except for the electrical system.

Of course, it doesn’t just diagnose; it also performs adjustments in the blink of an eye.
If there is no waiting time, it takes a little less than three hours.
It’s almost impossible for a repair shop to complete an adjustment in three hours after dropping off your instrument.
In most cases, it is treated as a drop-off repair, meaning your instrument will be out of your hands for a long time—sometimes over a month.

However, there are also people who think they don't want their precious guitars tinkered with by a machine, right?
I understand that feeling.
Actually, I myself felt quite a bit of resistance when I first heard about it.

But, to conclude, this PLEK is a wonderful maintenance machine.
It finds improvements that even a skilled repairman might overlook and adjusts the instrument exactly to what the player desires.

■ From Diagnosis to Repair Completion

Now I will write about how my guitar actually changed with PLEK.

Although there wasn't anything critically "wrong" with it, I felt that the tuning was somehow off and it was difficult to play, so I first asked for a diagnosis.

Diagnosis Details and Cost

There was significant fret buzz on the 2nd string throughout, especially on the high frets, which made it impossible to get accurate pitch.
The cause of my guitar’s issue was the way the frets had worn down.
It seemed this could not be solved by octave adjustment alone.
Since multiple buzzing points were also confirmed on other strings and positions, my guitar was admitted for "hospitalization."
I had been under the impression that a certain amount of buzzing was just part of playing an electric guitar, but it seems I was being too lenient.

The cost for the fret dressing was around 15,000 yen.
It wasn't expensive just because it used the latest machine; if anything, I think it actually ended up being a bit cheaper.

After the Adjustment

Surprisingly, after performing maintenance with PLEK, you receive a medical chart for your guitar.
I’ve never received such detailed data analysis from my regular repair shop, but this is the kind of precision you expect from a computer-based diagnosis.

This is a diagram showing the condition of each string and each fret; the yellow areas indicate where there was buzzing or dead notes.
There were more than I imagined.
Also, it feels a bit embarrassing, as if my most frequently used positions were being laid bare.

This is the state after the adjustment. The buzzing points were eliminated, and I was also able to lower the string height slightly.
I had mentioned in advance that I wanted the string height lowered a little, and because it is possible to adjust in units of 1/1000th of a millimeter, it can meet any order.

Before the adjustment, there were places on the high-pitch strings and high frets that didn't sound right, and I had thought that my technique was just bad when the notes didn't come out right.
Now, I can play them normally without having to press down as hard, and it’s very comfortable.

■ Benefits of Adjusting with PLEK

Once a guitar has been adjusted by PLEK, it learns and remembers the guitar's quirks (and the owner's habits).
The next time you feel something is off, if you run your guitar through PLEK again, it will perform adjustments based on that data.
I suspect this is something that even the most excellent repairman cannot do.

Furthermore, if you liked how the instrument felt at a certain time, you can order it to be restored according to how it was repaired at that time, and it will bring it back to a state as close to that as possible.

There is an even more surprising feature: PLEK data is shared on the cloud.
In other words, even if you move, if there is a store that handles PLEK nearby, you can get it adjusted with minimal explanation.

Additionally, the data from this PLEK adjustment is not just for your own guitar; it is utilized by all PLEK users.
Since data from various guitars is collected daily, it can propose the optimal solution based on that vast array of settings.

■ Impressions

The resonance has improved significantly, and it has become much easier to play. It feels as if the strengths the guitar originally possessed have been further enhanced.

I believe that most guitarists are unable to perform detailed maintenance themselves.
When you want to make some kind of adjustment, you usually take it to a music store or a repair shop, right?

In that case, those who don't have a reliable repair shop nearby end up taking it to large music store chains.
When that happens, you don't know who will be working on it, so you feel full of anxiety until it comes back.

Also, even if you have a reliable repair shop, the work is still performed by human hands, so you cannot have 100% certainty.
As long as they are human, even the most excellent repairman will have some inconsistency in their work.

However, with PLEK, it performs accurate measurements, and you can see the changes as data even after the adjustment.
This peace of mind can only be obtained through a machine.

The cost is also within a reasonable market range, so why not give it a try if you are interested in adjusting your guitar or bass?

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