The Plek Station

Plek Station

A Revolutionary Guitar Repair Machine Here at Cosmo Music

Plek is a CNC Machine (computer numeric controlled), which is the best tool in a good technician's arsenal for levelling frets, cutting nut slots, levelling fretboards, and customizing a player's guitar to their exact needs and playing style.

You can call and make an appointment to be in the room with the technician as they Plek your instrument. If you want to see what your frets look like up close you can check out the Plek readout with the technician right there to walk you through it.

Guitar Repair Shop
1-800-463-3000 ext. 380
guitarrepairs@cosmo.ca

Plek Station Features

Fret dressing and crowning in accordance with luthier instructions
Nut slotting/shaping at precise angles and depths to achieve optimal string action
Fret slot cutting
Nut pocket cutting
Saddle/Saddle slot cutting
Fingerboard engraving
“Virtual Fret Dress” technology enables work effects to be previewed before implementation

Plek Station Software

Scans instruments to analyze fingerboard and fret-plane relief under each string
Identifies and views problem areas
Previews the effects of intended work using “Virtual Fret Dress” technology
Compares current neck and fret-plane relief with an optimum relief curve calculated from current and target instrument specs
Indicates how much fret material needs to be removed to eliminate the risk of buzzing and maximize playability for the given specs
Can plane optimum relief and fall-off into a fingerboard
Interpolates fret dress requirements to achieve a smooth compound radius transition along the neck
Calculates and combines optimal fret-plane relief contours below individual strings

Overview of the Plek Station

Terry Fitzgerald and Kevin Rohm of our Cosmo Repair Shop along with Joe Glaser of Plek walk us through the benefits of the Plek Station.

What it does consistently - all day long - is as good as or better than what the best tech does on their best day ever.

Joe Glaser, Plek US representative

How the Plek Station Works at Cosmo Music

Our resident tech and guitar luthier George Vasiliou walks us through the process of getting your instrument "Plek'd".

Your Profile

Your information is stored from the scan and Plek job; this can be used in the future to have your guitar restored back to original Plek. You can use your preferred Plek profile on other guitar.

Pricing

Scan	A graphic display of what your fretboard looks like at a microscopic level; helps determine possible improvements.	$37.50
Fret Levelling	Level your frets according to your playing style. Scan is included. Set up (fret edges, truss rod adjust as needed, intonation, checking electronics) fee depends on guitar and requirements.	$250 including set up
Re-fret	Includes scan, fret levelling, and set up.	$500
Fingerboard Planing	If needed, in addition to re-fret.	$99
Custom Nut	Splay strings at appropriate angle.	$75
Guitar Purchase Add-on	Plek add-on for Cosmo Music purchased guitars; includes scan and fret levelling. Cosmo guitars have already been set up through the QA process.	$99

The Story of our Plek Station

A visit to NAMM in January 2016 introduced us to the Plek Station. It was an incredible piece of machinery that acted as a tool that not only performs precise fret dressing, nut slotting/shaping, bridge slotting and engraving but also helped with quality control and research and development. The whole team fell in love and we knew we needed to bring it home. The Plek Station was absolutely groundbreaking. It would open up many doors and possibilities for our technicians and the way customers were serviced. A Plek Station meant that customers could get the most precise fret-work done on their guitars. And the best part about it is that each guitar’s serial number and settings were saved into the database. If the guitar needed work again in a few years’ time, or even if they wanted another guitar set up identically, they could just bring up that guitar’s profile and it would be perfect - every single time. So, we seriously thought about it. It was a big financial investment, but our customers mean the world to us, and it meant that we could give them exactly what they deserved.

It was a big decision, and at the time, there were very few Plek Stations in use in Canada. At NAMM 2017, we bought it. But, we had one condition - that it was delivered in time for our annual summer music festival - CosmoFEST - which was occurring on June 3 that year. We had converted a former play-test room to house the new Plek Station. The room was glass-walled and sat directly across from our service centre’s desk. Contractors were hired the weekend before CosmoFEST to set it up in the room. They had to run air compressor lines, and install new telephone lines and computers in the room.

We wanted it to be a full retail and customer service experience - you can watch your (or another customer’s) guitar being worked on by this incredible machine. In fact, there are only four locations in the entire country that has a Plek Station - one is strictly a repair shop, another is a guitar distributor, and the third is a small boutique guitar store. So, it really is a sight to see!