Should I have this guitar pleked or leveled?

DiedTrying

DiedTrying

Inspired
It's a brand new Gibson Les Paul. I was checking the frets with a fret rocker tool and this is what I found:

fret rocker laid on frets 1 2 3 = slight rocking

fret rocker laid on frets 2 3 4 = slight rocking

fret rocker laid on frets 4 5 6 = slight rocking

the rest of the frets = no rocking

Should I have the frets leveled? Try using a fret hammer first? Just leave it be?

What should I do? What would YOU do?
 
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DiedTrying said:
It's a brand new Gibson Les Paul. I was checking the frets with a fret rocker tool and this is what I found:

fret rocker laid on frets 1 2 3 = slight rocking

fret rocker laid on frets 2 3 4 = slight rocking

fret rocker laid on frets 4 5 6 = slight rocking

the rest of the frets = no rocking

Should I have the frets leveled? Try using a fret hammer first? Just leave it be?

What should I do? What would YOU do?
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To use a fret rocker tool, I think the trussrod needs to be adjusted so that the fretboard (onto across the frets) is flat (zero relief or back bow).
 
Frets can be leveled by a good luthier. I've noticed that many new guitars have "pretty good" fret dressing, but it's rarely perfect. I'm fairly picky about my guitar setups (I do nearly all of my own tech work on them), so I do frequently find that some frets need a little attention. Also, a lot of new guitars need attention on the fret ends. This stuff takes extra time, so it's not surprising that mass producers let it slide.

I do have two guitars that were Pleked. In both cases it was part of a stainless steel refret that I had a local expert handle. Those guitars were already great. They are my #1 and #2 touring guitars, and have been along for the ride for 30 years, so they both had badly worn frets. The stainless steel refret brought them back to near-perfect playability. I play tested them both post-refret, and it was a massive improvement. The subsequent Plek treatment made those guitars into glorious music machines. It brought out another few percentage points of awesomeness. BUT... I don't think I'd do this to a guitar without stainless steel frets. It's an expensive process, and because regular frets will wear down over time, the precise crowning and leveling will start to be lost - especially in the areas where you play the most.

If the frets near the nut are bothering you, I'd recommend getting the guitar to a good luthier for a pro setup. Once the neck relief is correct for your string gauge and playing technique, have them file or re-crown any pesky frets.
 
My decision is that I will set the guitar up the best I know how and play it the best I know how - if it plays well, with no discernible issues, then it's good to go. I will pretend the high frets do not exist.
 
My Luthier (30 years experience and went to well known Luthier school in British Columbia) told me a pleked gutiar is smoke and mirrors - waste of money a good Luthier can take care of it for you cheaper - if anything you will save on shipping charges to have it done

If you dont have a local decent Luthier then maybe best to send it out to be pleked such as Sweetwater
 
rsvette12 said:
My Luthier (30 years experience and went to well known Luthier school in British Columbia) told me a pleked gutiar is smoke and mirrors - waste of money a good Luthier can take care of it for you cheaper - if anything you will save on shipping charges to have it done

If you dont have a local decent Luthier then maybe best to send it out to be pleked such as Sweetwater
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You don't need a luthier for guitar work, just a decent guitar tech....
 
mr_fender said:
I think they are, but the neck can sometimes change a tiny bit with climate changes when getting shipped somewhere else. It's really tough to keep perfect frets in all climates. Wood's got a mind of it's own sometimes.
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That's true! I have had guitars where frets have been pushed up by the wood by humidity changes between summer and winter here in Norway. So even if a guitar has perfect frets at one point, it does not mean they will stay like that.
 
Don't use a fret rocker out of context all is says is the middle fret is lower than the other two and this could easily be for a whole bunch of reasons other that poor fret level. You need a notched and untouched straight edge too and
rossipedia said:
I've had better luck using it with the neck under tension. When you apply ~100lbs of tension to the neck, all sorts of things can crop up.
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That is still only half the story.
 
DiedTrying said:
It's a brand new Gibson Les Paul. I was checking the frets with a fret rocker tool and this is what I found:

fret rocker laid on frets 1 2 3 = slight rocking

fret rocker laid on frets 2 3 4 = slight rocking

fret rocker laid on frets 4 5 6 = slight rocking

the rest of the frets = no rocking

Should I have the frets leveled? Try using a fret hammer first? Just leave it be?

What should I do? What would YOU do?
Click to expand...
Sounds like the neck is back bowed. Add some relief and check again.
 
I second what Sleestack said.
I've had several guitars refretted and plekked with SS frets. In my case the frets were also glued in. I wouldn't plek a guitar with NS frets only because I know it's going to need leveling again in a few years.
 
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