Jesselli Guitars “3-Piece Special” Flame Maple. Fully Hollow & Carved 2021 / NEW (Authorized Dealer)
The guitar features many appointments, unique to Joe Jesselli's guitars; such as stepped binding, leather pickup covers, silicon bronze frets and an angled ivory nut with zero fret (aka fret-nut). Everything on this guitar has been hand fabricated by Joseph Jesselli in his Long Island NY workshop. The only exceptions being the tuners, which have custom in-house made tuner buttons and pickups; which are an original Jesselli design and are hand-wound to Joe’s specs by Pete Biltoft of Vintage Vibe Guitars. The pickup covers and rings are fully handmade by Joe Jesselli.
This is a one of a kind model dubbed the "Three Piece Special". It has a slightly more Art Nouveau styling than the more Deco Modernaire model. This model is fully hollow and consists of a highly figured Rock Maple body, which has been stunningly carved and tap tuned to perfection. The three piece top consists of two thinner pieces of 1/4" Sawn Rock Maple on the sides for maximum resonance and a thicker middle section which provides incredible sustain and acoustic projection. The handmade Macassar Ebony bridge with Ivory saddles is fully intonated and goes directly into the body, rather than having a base-plate, further adding to the translation of vibrations to the top and increasing sustain. The tailpiece is bead-blasted brass, with an intricate engraved design and two sides of Macassar Ebony. You'll find many beautiful, masterfully executed details, curves, handmade parts and lines throughout this guitar, the more time you spend with it. It's truly a masterpiece. The knobs are also Macassar Ebony with ivory inlays and the toggle switch tip is an exquisitely carved piece of ivory.
This Jesselli has a lot of Joe's newest innovations, such as a Rock Maple neck with his unique truss-rod design that moves the neck in the most precise way, allowing the guitar to play with action that is only 2 1/2 and 3 64th" at the 12th fret E to E. Most guitars are around 4 64ths at the 12th fret E to E. The nut is curved with a zero fret design, making the action low and supple to play in all positions. You also don't have to fear over playing a fret, thus going sharp, like with many standard nut designs. The guitar is just so easy to play. Another innovation is the Stepped-Binding. This is a Joe Jesselli only design. As with everything on this instrument, this is a very labor intensive method. The nut width is 1 11/16". On most instruments you lose about an 8th of an inch on both sides of the board, due to having to round the edges of the frets. Jesselli's frets are able to be played the entire width of the board and then his proprietary stepped binding is added to the sides to widen the feel just a hair, for an extremely comfortable playing experience. (See detailed shots) Another new feature on this one of a kind guitar are the hand-carved "thumb locks". You can see these on the back of the headstock and at the heel of the guitar. When playing in first position your thumb locks in right behind the headstock, while playing towards the higher registers of the neck, your thumb locks into the heel, for easy access to the entire board with extra support. It also just looks unbelievable. The heel inlay is made of ivory and buffalo horn. The truss-rod cover is made of whatussi horn and buffalo horn. The custom strap pin surrounds are made of ivory and Macassar Ebony. The guitar comes with a handmade Jesselli leather strap, that matches the leather pickup covers.
We love the look of the pickup covers and rings on this Jesselli. The covers are made of English Kip leather stained a beautiful light-brown hue, while the rings are made of Italian tortoise celluloid. They are hand beveled and pop against the lively amber Maple top. All adjustment screws on the guitar are hex screws, giving a classy appearance throughout. A set of tools to adjust the screws are in the case. This is only the second Jesselli to feature his new 4 plus 2 headstock design. The first being a solid-body that we sold in 2020.
Now to talk the tone of this rare heirloom quality guitar. The pickups on all brand new Jesselli's are wound to Joe's stringent specs, by renowned pickup winder Pete Biltoft of Vintage Vibe Guitars. These pickups are Jesselli's high fidelity, low-noise, Alnico 5 rod magnet Single Coils. They are matched to the acoustic tone of the instrument. Mini-Hums sounded to dark, as we tried multiple sets before Joe decided to have this set wound to the instruments specific tonal properties. The guitar acoustically rings with piano-like sustain and harmonics that leap out at you, as well as ghostly artifacts found in no other instruments we've ever experienced. All of the acoustic properties get translated to it’s electric voice in spades. (see demos. The overdriven clip is on our YouTube channel) These are unlike most Single Coil pickups out there. They are attached to a 6-way switch and push-pull pot. The first three positions utilize 42 gauge wire and A5 magnets, giving a fat, lively and crystalline Alnico P-90 type of tone, with beautiful cleans; however they could push a tube amp into saturation easily if so desired. When on the other side of the 6-way toggle; 44 gauge wire (like a Dearmond Dynasonic) is introduced to the pickup; now incorperating both 42 and 44 gauge wire, for a warmer more mellow tone, suitable for Jazz playing and solo performances. The tone control is a very useable low pass filter all the way down to zero on the dial. When pulled upward it is a passive Mid-Boost circuit, great for fattening up your tone. It’s also great when using gain or when overdriving a tube amp.
All in all, if you are looking for a guitar from this legendary Master Luthier, don't pass this one up. Only a few Jesselli's are built a year, due to the high-level of attention to detail, fully handmade construction and highly intensive, uncompromised old-world build-quality. You can't go wrong with any new Jesselli, however from experience we can say with certainty, that this one has that extra bit of "IT".
See our YouTube channel for clean and overdriven demo clips and feel free to call with any questions. 631-560-5814. Serious offers will be considered. Thank you.
Specs:
Body: 3-Piece 1/4" Sawn Rock Maple, Highly Figured. (Wood is at least 50 years of age & is of the highest quality)
Construction: Fully Hollow and Carved.
Neck: 1/4” Sawn East Coast Rock Maple (Flame Figure) Carvings at the headstock & heel
Nut width: 1 11/16”
Scale length: 25 1/2”
Neck Profile: Open C w/ specialized edges .82” @ 1st fret .94” @ 12th fret
Radius: 8”-16” Compound Radius
Stepped Binding (Macassar Ebony)
Fingerboard: Macassar Ebony
Frets: Silicon Bronze w/ zero fret
Fingerboard Inlays: Multi-Piece Mastodon Ivory
Headstock: 4 + 2 tuner design w/ Inlaid Jesselli logo in Ivory
Truss Rod Cover: Watussi & Water Buffalo Horn combination
Tuners: Hipshot Open-Gear tuners. Nickel plated in-house.
Tuner buttons. Handmade & aged. Nickel plated.
Intricate in-house machined design. Plating done by Joe Jesselli.
Body details.
Bridge: Macassar Ebony w/ hand intonated ivory saddles
Tailpiece: Nickel Plated Brass middle section w/ Macassar Ebony sides
Knobs: Macassar Ebony w/ ivory inlays
Strap lock details: Bottom lock has a Watusi Horn base, to hold strap lock at proper angle. Top has an Ivory base.
Input Jack detail: Macassar Ebony surround
Pickups & Electronics:
Vintage Vibe Pickups, hand-wound Hi-Fi Single Coils. Pickups designed by Joseph Jesselli.
42 & 44 gauge wire mix, A5 magnets. 6-way toggle switch w/ hand carved ivory switch-tip.
1st pos: Bridge pickup, 42 gauge wire
2nd pos: Bridge & Neck in parallel, 42 gauge wire
3rd pos: Neck pickup, 42 gauge wire
4th position: Bridge pickup, 42 & 44 gauge wire combo
5th position: Bridge & Neck in parallel, 42 & 44 gauge wire combo
6th position: Neck pickup, 42 & 44 gauge wire combo
Case: Ameritage Gold-Line fitted HSC W/ built in humidifier, dehumidifier & hygrometer (for seeing the humidity inside of the case)
Included in case: Matching Jesselli handmade English Kip Leather Strap & Adjustment tools
Body Finish: Lightly applied Nitro lacquer (med gloss)
Neck Finish: Lightly applied Nitro lacquer (med gloss)
Weight: 7lbs 4.8oz
Setup with 10-46 gauge NYXL strings. We will have the guitar setup by Joe Jesselli with your string gauge choice. Just let us know your preference.
South Shore Guitar Boutique
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Returns on New items are accepted (unless noted in the description), and must occur within 4 days from when you receive the item. (buyer must notify us that they will be returning the item within 4 days of receiving the item, or return will be void) Buyer pays for shipping cost , Buyer is responsible for returning the item undamaged, we can provide return label which cost will be deducted from the refund owned to the buyer. A 10% restocking fee will also be assessed upon return of the item. We reserve the right to refuse refund if item is not returned in the same condition it was originally shipped to the buyer. Returns on Used items are accepted (unless noted in the description), and must occur within 2 days after receiving the item. (buyer must notify us within 72 hours of receiving the item if they plan to return the item or return will be void. Buyer pays for return shipping , Buyer is responsible for returning the item undamaged. We can provide return label which cost will be deducted from the refund owned to the buyer. A 10% restocking fee will also be assessed upon return of the item. Used effects pedals and accessories are not returnable. All items must be complete including all original packaging, accessories and documentation. With the exception of defective and/or “damaged during shipping” items, all shipping charges will be charged to the customer, even if the order was shipped free. Items will be inspected before issuing a credit. S.S.G.B. reserves the right to refuse items that were not returned to us in the same condition as when they were delivered to the customer. Certain items are non-returnable (effect pedals, tubes, strings etc.). Consignment Items are not returnable.