When a squire gets pleked it becomes a Knight

This shows we overestimate material and underestimate labor.

The bottom line is, $450 is a reasonable price for an electric guitar that comes perfectly set-up straight from the store. Half the battle is having a playable instrument.

I used to work at Sweetwater when I first heard about the PLEK machine. I was skeptical at first...until I ran one of my guitars through it. Now I put EVERY guitar through it. The difference is legitimately night and day. 100% worth every single penny.

There was probably a lot of laughing in the shop at Sweetwater that someone paid $250 to plek a $200 guitar. ;-)

I bought an American Professional Strat from Sweetwater back in May and paid for the PLEK. They actually called me and asked me all those things you mentioned in your suggestion. Style of music, what level of buzz was ok with me, etc. They did a great job and customer service is top notch in my opinion. They made me a loyal customer

Sweetwater plek'd my Schecter 7 for nothing since it came from Schecter with sad fret work, which is unusual from my experience. I thought Plek was a scam until I got the guitar back. Was totally worth it, especially since it was free 😂

One of the reason I love G&Ls... every one gets plek'd before leaving the shop.

My first guitar was as cheap as they come but I had free setup service for life as long as I bought strings. I played so much and learned so fast because of how comfortable the instrument was.

That Squier has a smirk on his face because unlike many he got plek'ed his first day on the job. You're a man now son.

I do love that silver finish on the squier it looks awsome

This kind of content is the reason why I pay internet.

So nonchalantly "this thing can give you cancer but only if you live in California" 🤣🤣🤣

I was listening to this with headphones while doing the dishes and I thought I actually broke something for a second lmao

I recently leveled the frets on my 18yr old epi LP and i was able to lower the action a bit, feels like a different guitar now, night and day. The $50 for the leveling beam and fret rocker was well work it. Polished with steel wool. I think doing by hand yourself is a great option for lower end guitars.

I usually like to see strats in a more traditional color, like 3 tone burst, etc, BUT, I LOVE that silver strat! And it's plek’d?!!? ..….. Winner!

Hey, Phil! I bought a Squier Classic Vibe 70s Telecaster Deluxe and I had Sweetwater Plek it just because of this video! Love it and yes the frets are smooth like butter. I told my rep that it was because of your vid I was doing the Plek. I hope they showed you some love in return. Every guitar I buy from Sweetwater will now be plek'd!

maybe im silly but those frets are shining in such a uniform manner that i have never seen on camera before

Terminology is confusing some people here obviously. I am a tech and hope this helps. The Plek Machine performs a fret mill also known as a level and crown. Which is at is simplest making all the frets exactly the same height and then returning a rounded top with its peak centered exactly over fret slot. A well operated Plek machine should be able to read the neck and account for any inconsistencies in the neck flatness/twist and how the relief lays out and be more precise and accurate than all but the most talented and experienced techs. The set up (and fret polishing) post Plek fret mill is still done by a person. A set up is the combination of setting the relief by adjusting truss rod, setting the saddle heights and setting intonation at the saddles. A good tech will also be making sure the nut slots are at proper depth and width so open strings don't buzz and strings don't bind or rattle around in slot as part of a set up. A set up is usually a fixed price (varies some by market) with a range with a floating/locking trem being more costly than a hardtail or bass. In my area a set up ranges from $60-90 or so and would include restringing but not cost of strings A fret mill/level and crown would run $150-$175 and would include a full set up after the frets are milled. A refret includes replacing the frets, milling them and them setting up the guitar and has a wide range depending on whether neck is bound or has a finished fingerboard or can be removed to work on and ranges from $250 -$500 or more A set up is sort of like and oil change /tune up A mill is like rotating tires so they wear longer plus an oil change A refret is like a new set of tires plus the oil change My clients that are passionate hobbiests to regular giggers( covid aside) usually have a Spring and Fall set up and fret mills on new guitars to "get things right" or whenever they reach the point in wear that they have soft low spots but not v shaped cuts into frets. This keep their instruments playing the same all the time and gets much more time between refrets. Less demanding players get a set up a year and often go longer between mills and deal with or aren't bothered by the inconsistencies.

This is the kind of thing that many of us would think of, but only Phillip would actually do. And shelling out his own hard earned money on an experiment: priceless.

This is why I taught myself to set up guitars. And recently just ordered some new fret tools I can’t wait for them to come in so I can start grinding all my frets. Man I’m gonna have to file and sand like 100 frets

I bought a new, 2017 left over, LesPaul Traditional in cherry burst. There was a tag inside saying it had been set up on a 'plek' machine. I'm 68 and have played guitar for ~50 years, and in that time learned to do my own tech work. Including doing work for others and building a few guitars a year. IMHO, my new LP was almost unplayable out of the box. It even had tooling marks on the 14th fret where the cutter (bit) had stopped and restarted. I ended up doing a complete level/crown/polish, also rounding over the fretboard and fret ends (binding). It then played 100% better (although it weighed 10.4lbs!!) What I learned from all this, and Phil's experience, is the setup is still only as good as the tech doing it. Although the 'plek' process is CAD based, the guitar still has to be jig'ed in the machine by a tech. If there is any problem during the process it still has to be fixed by a tech. And the finished guitar still has to be inspected and confirmed done correctly by a tech. If any of those are not done it should fail setup. Sorry I ran on so long here. I didn't want to infer that the plek process was bad, but still only as good as the tech doing it. As always, JMHO... --gary

I've PLEK'd a couple of new Epiphone guitars while having the pickups swapped out. The difference is amazing! Create something with your own style that plays like a higher end piece. Loads of fun!

Thanks for this, Phillip. I've been waiting to hear a review of PLEK from someone who knows what they're talking about. I've been dreaming about a machine like PLEK for thirty years.

I see you got Letterman's old shattering glass effect to play with.. lol

Got a classic vibe tele from them that was plek’d as part of a special they were running a few years back, $380 out the door. Plays great!

GOOD KNIGHT!...This video was extraordinarily illuminating. You are way more than a discerning consumer. Doing a five hundred dollar Plek job on a four hundred dollar guitar is brilliance. And the fact that you turned a ho-hum guitar into a Custom Shop equivalent in one fell swoop means you have manufactured a new option for guitar buyers who want a cheap way to have their guitar purring like David Gilmore...

I've owned several PLEKed guitars that ranged from absolutely amazing playability to one that was so bad it needed additional fretwork. I've also had frets leveled, crowned and polished by a variety of techs that played just as well as any that were PLEKed. I'm sure the PLEK is much more precise, but there's a difference between measured results and real world results. Precise measured results may look good on paper, but don't necessarily transfer to real-world playability.

At this point ALL MANUFACTURERS should be using a PLEK. Even for Squiers. They've adopted automation to increase their profits, they can certainly be pressured to adopt automation tools that VASTLY IMPROVE the customer's experience with the finished product. Even if the cost was absorbed by raising the price of each guitar $15 or $20 (which is excessive and unnecessary imo ), I'm sure the market would respond. PLEK is totally worth it. A good luthier/tech can use it to achieve near-perfection. Doing this to an inexpensive guitar isn't really that outrageous of an idea. 90% of a guitar's playability is in that neck, frets, and setup. Totally worth it IMO.

Those Affinity Squiers have come a long way! If you don't mind getting them set up, or throwing a set of pickups and a new nut on them, they play great! The fret edges tend to be a bit sharp, is my biggest complaint. Whenever one of them goes up for sale used around here, they sell immediately.

I never new about the plek job from Sweetwater good to know, man your knowledge on the guitar is a major help.

Very good Phil, I have done business with Sweetwater for 10 years. My Sales Engineer is Jim Watson. He's Great!! Always goes 1 step beyond and makes you feel like you are not wasting your time or money there. I miss the days of no sales tax for out of state sales on the internet but I still buy from him because if there is any issue he will go to the boss to help me. Which he has done!! Nothing can replace that kind of service. My estimate of what I have spent with them is over 30K in 10 years. on the grand scheme of things that my not be much to them but for my hobby it's a bunch. Jim Show's his appreciation when we talk. Can't ask for anymore than that!!!

Yet another unbiased, extremely informative video from Mr. McKnight. I'm a middle aged mechanical engineer who has been playing guitar since high school. I am currently back in school for precision manufacturing. I do both manual and CNC machining (albeit I'm new to the latter) and I use precision measuring tools on a regular basis. I have also worked in electronics manufacturing and quality control. This channel is one of the best gear break-down channels on KZfaq, IMHO. Phil knows his craft and gives very concise technical explanations backed by a ton of experience. Definitely a huge asset to the guitar community!

Musicians have always gotten rid of guitars without trying to have a professional setup.

I bought a Gretsch Electromatic Jet with Bigsby online from a guitar store 300 miles from my house (this is in Australia). They called me an hour after I placed the order to check what string gauge I wanted (went with Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkies, 9-46). Also asked me how low I wanted the action. A PLEK service was INCLUDED in the sale price with no additional costs and free express road freight. Guitar turned up two days later and was absolutely fantastic. Action perfect, no fret buzz, in tune, was a brilliant service.

That smile on your face. Awesome! I have a somewhat long story so i'll make it short. Last year I was looking for local luthier to setup a few of my guitars. Found a shop on google maps but couldn't find much else about them. I drive down, see an older gentlemen in the shop, wasn't a standard music shop. Looked more like manufacturing. Anyhow, guy was on the phone for like 20 minutes, I waited patiently. He comes over introduces himself as Grover. Welp, yes, Grover Jackson. Gave me a tour of the facility etc, what an amazing guy.

I've been watching your channel for a while and realized I never really left one of these comments. Your content is some of the best out there in the guitar community. The amount of time and money you put into guitars really shows how much you love them and what a passion you have for the whole scene and craft. I love how honest you are about your opinions and the transparency behind everything you are doing. You're really a class act Mr McKnight! 👍👍

@Phil your suggestions to Sweetwater would literally make them the BEST in the biz. Those guys/gals at Sweetwater are awesome! Their competition should be taking notes.

I plek'd my MIM strat a few years ago and it's so good I love it

Awesome video! I bet there are a lot of us who would love to see an MIM Player Series plek'd. Especially since they are very similar to the American Standards from years ago, given the pickups, the pots, and the 22 frets.

Phill this is a great video! I wanted an inexpensive guitar to take with me to lessons, but I didn't want to give up the feel of some of my high end guitars. After watching this video I ordered a Classic Vibe from Sweetwater and had them Plek the guitar. The end result was fantastic. Great content

I own a Squier Classic Vibes Telecaster that is Plek’d. It is my favorite guitar. Plays great.

I'm in process of putting Fender locking tuners on my Cort G200. Gonna have to drill holes for tangs. But thanks to Phil.... I've got confidence to do it now. First time I've done this.

I was wondering this same question a while ago. I'm glad someone else spent the money to find out! Thank you, Mr. McKnight!

“It’ll give you cancer but only if you live in California” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 As a Californian I never understood the value of these labels if they’re slapped on everything

I got my 60's Vintera Plekk'd, it really took the guitar up a level in playability.

Great video. I had a G&l tribute s500 plekd by Sweetwater a few months ago and was very pleased. I always call and talk to my sales engineer, Richard Whittington, and he asked me several questions about my playing style and preferences. I also had a new but cut. I was very pleased with the results. For people who live in an area where there are no trustworthy luthiers I would certainly recommend having your new guitar plekd.

I've been wanting the answer to this question for a while now...just a fantastic video and keep up th excellent work!

I don't understand why this is a post sale service. Why don't guitar manufacturers do this to all the guitars before shipment and if they do at what price point do they do it to?

You look like your having more fun playing that Squire than some of the other high end reviews!

I just pre-ordered the new Squire Contemporary RH from Sweetwater. I decided to give the Plek a go after watching your videos. When I spoke to my Sweetwater rep Tyler he ask me all the questions that you had suggested in this video, so nice to see they are listening. I also specified that I wanted a 1.5mm action height off the 12th fret. He put my answers to the questions and expectations in the notes on my invoice to relay to the techs. Now I just have to wait for the guitar to arrive. I already started ordering upgrades. I ordered a Lindy Fralin Split Blade for the bridge and a Twangmaster for the neck. It's getting Graph Tech Ratio locking tuners and CTS pots, Switchcraft jack & switch as well. Probably have like $1,150 in it after It's all said and done, but it will be sweet Tele.

I have purchased 2 guitars from Sweetwater - I will not buy from anywhere else - great service. A couple of years ago, my wife and I flew down to their Store in Indiana - great people.

Phil you do setups yourself for a living .In your opinion was it worth it FOR you only ? Would you do again for your own personal use or are you satisfied with your skills and setups ???

It's actually a good idea... for most cheaper guitars the neck is the bottle neck. If it's set up and the frets are levelled and polished the instrument is on a whole new level

Pulled the trigger this morning and bought a Classic Vibe Esquire with a Plek service. Having this as an option, because no luthiers or techs are available, is great. Sure an experienced person could level the frets, but with a Plek machine, you have more precise fret height measurements taken. Well it remains to be seen as I’ve yet to receive or play this guitar, but Sweetwater should give you some compensation, as I never would’ve considered this until after I saw this video, thanks your content serves the community

I have a Squier Strat (2019 standard series made in Indonesia) and got it plek'd and I love it. Port Mac Guitars (in Australia) did phone me to ask about how I wanted the bridge and what kind of setup I wanted, etc, so the whole experience was good, and the result was excellent.

My guess is that since the guitar came with lighter strings, they used one set of the heavier strings during the plekking process, then another when it was set up.

I've had three guitars Plek'd and I'm pretty sure a Gibson or two I have were Plek'd at the factory. If you plan to keep and play a guitar for a long time, I think a Plek is worth it no matter what you paid for the guitar. Not only is the fretwork "optimized" (for lack of a better term) it seems to lessen the need for a lot of adjusting and re-tweaking over the long term. So I'm a big Plek proponent when it makes sense.

Great video Phillip; got a local guitar shop equipped with a Plek machine and it is so worth having a Plek job done in my experience. Thanks for sharing!!

Over the last couple decades I bought several Squier strats and cheapo strat copies at thrift stores and pawn shops. There was one I got for $60, a perhaps better-than-average deal for one of these (actualy even better than that, but I didn't know at the time), I took it home, played around with it, set it up, and liked it more than the others, it just played right and felt right, and it became my main electric. I eventually looked into Squire models online and learned about the different 'levels' of Squiers, The others were all Affinitys (right there on the headstock), but this was a Standard model, with a two-bolt bridge instead of the old-fashioned six-screw Strat bridge. The Affinitys never felt right, and I don't know if it was the thinner body (I saw this video title and jokingly thought 'It's too thin to fit on the Plek!) or neck/frets not quite right or what. But it's interesting to see an Affinity can be "fixed." I "see why" you chose the Affinity to be pleked, , but if anyone wants to do this for reals, I might suggest one of the higher up Squier models.

Wow! That squire sounded really well intonated, and superb with the double drive! The pickups in the custom shop sounded better but the intonation was a little off... the Squire's intonation was perfect!

Really helpful video. Might I say, that silver Squire is beautiful. Looks much more expensive than it is. Lots of competition in the $400 - $650 range these days, which, if I had to guess, 90% + guitarists wouldn’t sound a lick a difference playing them (and even the affinity for that matter) and a more expensive guitar. Makes one wonder how long the big boys are going to survive on ego. Curious to know which division are more profitable….Squire/Fender….Epiphone/Gibson etc….But hey, who am I to tell someone how to spend their own money? No guilt zone here!

I literally just bought a guitar from sweetwater last week. I had no idea they offered this service. Wish they’d asked in the checkout process. They’re a great company, so I can’t be too mad at them.

The last 2 guitars I have ordered from sweetwater i have had plekd. Its so worth it, if you get the guitar plekd its gonna be one of your guitars for life! 200 bucks might seem like alot but you are guaranteed an amazing player

I always seen the Plek machine as a solution to a problem that didn't really exist, useful maybe in Guitar manufacture to keep specified production tolerances but that's about it. $250 for a Plek or $150 for your local tech to do the same thing, it's a no brainer to me.

Didn't even know this was an option

I finally got some time to watch this video. I bought a PRS and had a new nut, locking tuners. I was willing to spend the extra $ for the Plek. I literally have to slow down. Effort less. The guitar that was purchased before, was from another store. The guitar wasn't pleked. The guitar was out of the factory box, loose packing was to blame. The action was unplayable. Boxed it back up, for return. I believe that if you don't want to do the work. Definitely have it Pleked. Well worth it.

What a great video! Thank you for doing it. Sweetwater’s price seems to be on par with other shops that I have checked out. But, those other shops do just what you suggested Sweetwater should do. IMHO the value for this service from Sweetwater is convenience, but that’s it. The other shops give you more for the money with customized service, pre and post measurements and documentation. In addition, they keep these on file for other guitars you want to have done, etc.

I never heard of that machine man I'm like kind of freaking out on that that's it is wild

Wondering how long it stays Plek'd. Wood can shape shift a little over time.

I bought an affinity on sale and put hundreds upgrading it... I love that frankensquire of mine.

My Charvel San Dimas and my Ibanez JS24, both purchased from Andertons in the USA, came perfectly set up.

In Australia we get a free PLEK from Portmac Guitar

If the Plek machine maps the fretboard they should send a printout.

I bought a MIM Player from SWEETWATER didn't get pleked but I did get a setup not a 55 point inspection a setup they never offered it to me before 2019 paid $60 . There's a block at the bottom of the order page for comments or instructions. I told them I play old school rock, I wanted DR PURE BLUES 10s and the lowest action without buzzing. And they delivered. I bought 5 guitars from them this one was the best out of the box. THANKS FOR THE VIDEO VERY GOOD !

Good suggestions at the end for a more interactive plek experience.

I’ve had seasoned pros say that the Plek does better than they could ever do....and I’ve had others say otherwise.

Action being too low hurts harmonics on some guitars, I've noticed. My Eclipse loses half the sustain if I drop the strings any closer than 1.5mm

About 3 years ago I decided to get the Plek service when I bought a new Charvel from Sweetwater and it was so nice that now I have it done on every new guitar I get. IMHO it is worth every penny! I absolutely would recommend it to everyone! And my tech always asks me exactly how I want it set up.

I had Sweetwater plek an epiphone sg pro, and it came out so good that I couldn’t believe the results. Very nice, very well done, worth the money. I’m thinking of having them plek me a squier tele, based on your review. Thanks for what you do!

I'd bet a PLEK goes a lot further on an inexpensive guitar than on higher end models where the fretwork is already good.

I've been finding the Affinity range really good for the price, but almost always needing a good setup, once done they are a great base for a project or as a beginner guitar. I have a Tele and a Starcaster at the moment, both have had the electronics swapped out, the Tele for cheep AlNiCo 5 Pickups with CTS pots and a Switchcraft switch, the Starcaster with Martin A Smith wide range Pickups and CTS/Switchcraft. Both guitars have come up a treat, I still need to do a little work on the Starcaster, the skunkstripe is a little proud and I still need to level the frets. Long story short, the Affinity series of guitars are quality guitars, you just need to give them a little love when you get them to have the playing like a guitar worth a lot more and with a few additions, they can become an extremely good guitar

Bought a Taylor GS Mini Mahogany from Sam Ash, and made sure to let them know I bought it from them due to the great reviews you post. Everything went great, and I hope you have a good holiday and your family is healthy and happy. Thank you for your expert experience. Helps a lot. John

I've always had a phenomenal experience with Sweetwater, they definitely stand behind their products 110%

Shouldn’t there been a before and after test printout?

Is it just me or does it even sound like it plays great?

Cool video Phil. Thanks for sharing this experience with us all. Enjoy your silver Squire Strat !

Lmao you got me with that first glass smashing effect 😂😂😂

Im lucky, i live in fort wayne so i can just drive 20 minutes to Sweetwater in person instead of waiting weeks for the mail to arrive, you should come sometime to check it out if you havent allready

Is it just me or does he sound emotional over this? I think it’s hard for him to except that the feel of a squire is on par with his favorite custom shop guitar 😭

Good video Phil. I'll probably never have a guitar peeked, I just enjoy doing all of the hand work myself. Have a good one Phil.

Those are some damn fine quacky pickups.i had the exact same model.i had put a tusq nut,string tree's,da'darrio auto trim locking tuners on it and polished the frets.i honestly think it was a great guitar.i sold it to finance some other gear.the guy who bought it actually messaged me a week later to tell me how greatfull he was for my time spent upgrading it and that it played like a dream.i kind of miss it.currently working on modding a 97 squier affinity.it has the full body depth and a swimming pool route.which is a huge bonus. Thanks for the video!

If i was gonna spend the $$ for a plek job, I'd rather invest in SS frets from a good tech. Nothing compares imo.

A classic vibes strat plekd would be about 650 and would probably be amazing

I work in Ft Wayne & visit the Sweetwater store several times per year. I have an Epiphone Sheration II that has the world's worst factory fret job in history and I've been thinking about having it Plek'd but wasn't sure it would be worth the cost...I'm now seriously considering getting on with it. The guitar sounds great & I hate leaving it sit in its case unenjoyed! Thanks for the video

Sweetwater asked me what type of setup I wanted after purchasing my Charvel with a call right after purchase, it felt like a custom experience for sure! PLEK definitely also depends on the technician who operates it. They can determine if the neck needs adjusting, players preferred action, etc. to adjust anything before the PLEK and can certainly “do it wrong” if not trained properly. Btw, that neck is one of my favorites and is quite effortless to play. Great vid Phil!

If it were $100 - 150, I'd send my guitars to get done.

I'd be very interested to learn how LONG the plek job seems to last on the Squier. What if the neck moves a bit, or the frets wear faster than a more expensive instrument? Sure, it might feel amazing now, but will it feel as good in a year or two? In other words, is this just polishing a turd, or is there actual value added?

Note how the higher action impacts the tone and sustain.I first really noticed this while tuning with the sympathetic vibrations; it can make a lot of difference even if you are using a ton of gain. With Fender there are many considerations in the set up, esecially with the trem set up, and with offsets, neck angle.Many of the offsets really benefit from a shim, though I'd read that they've started adressing this on some models since the 40th Aniv. Squier models.Personally, I find myself making adjustments with the nut in particular.Certain things can be done to better accomodate specific needs, including dropped tunings.

I love that warwick in the back left there. Id buy that