Hey BP - Why No Pleck Machine?

[2ndBassGuitar]

I find the quality of Music Man basses to be quite consistent. I do not find there is anything lacking on the feel and set up on any of the many new Music Man basses that have passed through my hands.

 

[Guitarburetor]

EBMM has considered the Plek machine, and visited factories that use them. It is an impressive piece of machinery for sure. The fret finishing/polishing we do is not done by the Plek, so there is still a lot of love and hand work to be done.

 

[kylierider]

As I have said many times the challenge here is to identify what human hands can do and what machines can do. Neither can do it all. The exciting things is finding a model that works. How does a bass and guitar get mojo? I have seen many hand builts with it....few 100% machine made ones. Its why the final neck shaping/sanding is done by people with an average employment time of 15 years.....THey feel it.....

FFFFFen YES!!!

Thanks for keeping humans employed!!!

 

[Steamthief]

That was just populist fodder to make us look good.....hehehehe

Maybe so, but speaking as a California resident, it's good to see that your company values the people that make it what it is. Thanks for being a solution, not a problem, in keeping good people working.

 

[bovinehost]

EBMM has considered the Plek machine, and visited factories that use them. It is an impressive piece of machinery for sure. The fret finishing/polishing we do is not done by the Plek, so there is still a lot of love and hand work to be done.

Thanks, Dudley! Is the Plek more dangerous looking than Ursula?

 

[Rick Auricchio]

BP and Dudley, thank you for your candor here all the time. Topics like this that ask business-model questions are difficult to answer beyond saying "no comment."

A fellow bassist (Frank P) has been at the SLO facility for years; I'm sure he certainly appreciates the old-school way EBMM conducts business.

 

[Caca de Kick]

Basically, it's an expensive fret levelling machine, but the frets still have to be installed by a human, and NO it doesn't replace the human as there is still human involvement in the setup of an instrument when the plek is being used. I have had a british made bass pleked and the result was amazing. The settings would be different for mass production vs having one setup for one individual, but I can only speak for the individual experience...the machine is programmed for the way I like my relief and nut slot heights to be made, and any bass I take in will be consistantly set the same way. There is something to be said about that.
But as BP said with the volume of instruments produced weekly, there would have to be several of these machines.

 

[Boogie.Man]

Me too

+1

...I hold the company in very high regard and the service has been excellent! The products and service are great...

 

[2ndBassGuitar]

....I hold the company in very high regard and the service has been excellent! The products and service are great...

Great products - Plek not required

 

[tommixx]

Just in case some are not aware there are a number of companies out there that offer PLEK services at reasonable rates. I would assume that having a PLEK machine would add some cost to the price of EBMM instruments probably close to equal the cost of having it done somewhere else after someone got an instrument. There is a place in Nashville that charges $129 and does excellent work. I LOVE instruments that have been PLEK'd and considered having one of my Balls done but after seriously thinking about it I realized that my Ball really did not need it. I can see both sides of this BUT as someone who has owned a lot of instruments I don't think EBMM is a company that is experiencing any problems with doing their setups by hand. Frankly I am quite happy that they have decided to continue to do it that way...There is no reason that you can not send out an instrument to get it PLEK'd at any number of places throughout the US if that is what you decide to do. With Shipping both ways and the cost of the process it should run you you around $200 and change. PLEK on if you like but I will take mine the way the factory thinks is best...Just my $.02!

Peace,

T

 

[Boogie.Man]

No plek

My Sterling and StingRays came from the factory perfect with only the most minor of setup requirements. The quality of the fretwork on all three is great. I could see the Plek machine being more useful for manufacturers with looser specs...more as a cost saving approach to QC. Don't fix it if it ain't broke.

 

[JayDawg]

So is there a way of telling if your bass or guitar has been PLEK'd or made by hand? I now obviously know all of my EBMM basses were by hand but am now curious about the other brands I own. My guess is they were PLEK'd but I really have no idea?

 

[bovinehost]

How about we leave out the editorials?

Yes, we're a bit fanatical. Ever been to a Rickebacker forum? We got nothing on those guys.

So now I get to go back and edit out all the crap that has nothing to do with the subject.

It's the manufacturer's forum. Of course we're loyal.

Let's not do this again and again, shall we?

Thanks.

Stay on topic, please.

 

[Boogie.Man]

How about we leave out the editorials?

Yes, we're a bit fanatical. Ever been to a Rickebacker forum? We got nothing on those guys.

So now I get to go back and edit out all the crap that has nothing to do with the subject.

It's the manufacturer's forum. Of course we're loyal.

Let's not do this again and again, shall we?

Thanks.

Stay on topic, please.

I think most people who visit this forum are probably loyal users. I know that I am. But the comments mentioned earlier by another poster and seconded by two of us represent our perception. And perception is reality. My point is that MM produces excellent products. IMHO, the aforementioned comments only serve to detract from the company. MM is so good it doesn't need it. Your censorship only serves to cast suspicions where they don't need to be cast. To me it would be more appropriate on forums of lessor manufacturers. The OP comments about butt kissing are not the same as comments demeaning the company, Big Poppa or another member. They were referring to a type of comment.

 

[bovinehost]

But the comments mentioned earlier by another poster and seconded by two of us represent our perception. And perception is reality.

Okay, I stipulate to your perception even though perception certainly is not reality.

Objective reality exists in spite of perceptions, unless you happen to be an anti-realist (or swamp philosopher, and I've known a few of those).

Your censorship only serves to cast suspicions where they don't need to be cast.

My "censorship" is generally an attempt to keep this forum headed in the right direction. If anyone wants to suspect that it is anything else, they are free to do so. I've been here a long time, I've done my fair share of explaining why I do things when I do them and I'm pretty much an open book.

While I understand that not everyone will have been around for all of my shenanigans and the things I've dealt with and the problems I've seen (over and over, in some cases), I really don't feel like beating the dead horse yet again.

Been there. Done that.

Some people go overboard in their dedication. So stipulated. Now, once again, before I have to actually moderate this effin' thing again, let's stick to the topic.

 

[adouglas]

Well, I'm a robot and I prefer stuff made by human hands.

I'm kinky that way.

 

[Boogie.Man]

Not trying to be a troublemaker.

Okay, I stipulate to your perception even though perception certainly is not reality.

Objective reality exists in spite of perceptions, unless you happen to be an anti-realist (or swamp philosopher, and I've known a few of those).



My "censorship" is generally an attempt to keep this forum headed in the right direction. If anyone wants to suspect that it is anything else, they are free to do so. I've been here a long time, I've done my fair share of explaining why I do things when I do them and I'm pretty much an open book.

While I understand that not everyone will have been around for all of my shenanigans and the things I've dealt with and the problems I've seen (over and over, in some cases), I really don't feel like beating the dead horse yet again.

Been there. Done that.

Some people go overboard in their dedication. So stipulated. Now, once again, before I have to actually moderate this effin' thing again, let's stick to the topic.

I'm okay with that. I'm as loyal an owner as probably anyone else. I'm probably just not as expressive about it as some. I am not qualified to be a moderator and don't want to. But if I were, I might allow a little more flexibility in expression of opinions as long as it didn't slam anyone's products, attack people, actively promote a competitor's products or use offensive language.

Nuff said!

 

[lorino]

Plek

I've seen a Plek machine real up close and personal - Gibson Custom Shop. Technology can be neat.

I don't get all this though - Plek, Strobe tuners, etc. etc. I know that new ideas and technologies help advance the overall business, but come on...

Tune it up (get close), plug it in, crank it out - its Rock N Roll (for most of us). Ain't no fraction of a nano-meter gonna make me sound any better.

All it takes is money - in my business (I ship beer for a living) I tell the quality folks: just tell me what you want. I can ship it frosty cold and ready to serve - are you willing to pay for it?

Mongo just pawn in game of life. Bass go boom boom.

JIM

 

[Moondog]

Perhaps I went a bit overboard in my initial post, had just finished my large TurboHot (caffeine!) and perhaps shared too much; it happens. Didn't feel that I was a participant in an overly loyal MM orgy It’s all good, I was amused with the following posts (pre-edit); it’s EB's forum, seems like the best place to share the EBMM enthusiasm!!!

Good Job Jack...

I had a Plek’d guitar, it played very well but no better or worse than another I had built by hand…

 

[2ndBassGuitar]

If I had a million dollars......
I'd buy me a bass..... an unpleked B001000 bass that's cool