Jesse Brace 12-fret 00 review/rave

[jojo]

I recently traded my Larrivee OM-03MT +some cash for a used Jesse Brace guitar. I'm posting this because before I bought it I looked in this forum and elsewhere for info on Jesse Brace guitars and found very little. Maybe this will be useful for someone in the future.

The Jesse Brace guitar I have is (I believe) a 00 size, with 12 frets to the body. It is built with Port Orford cedar top, back and sides. Neck is mahogany, fretboard is ebony. The neck width is 1.75 at the nut, it has only the tiniest bit of radius to the fretboard, and the neck is pretty slim. The sound hole is larger than you'd expect, apparently to enhance the trebles.

The Port Orford cedar is quite striking. Despite the "cedar" in the name, it's actually part of a group of woods known as "false cypress." It is apparently a very stiff wood, very resistant to splintering and warping, and unlike "real" cedar it does not easily get nicks and dents (because it is not as soft as cedar).

As many of you may already know, Jesse Brace is a former Larrivee employee, and this guitar has some obvious similarities to Larrivee guitars. In fact, it looks like he got some of his supplies from them - the bridge looks like a Larrivee bridge, the tusq saddle looks like it's from Larrivee, and the microdot inlays, Ping tuners and maple binding also look to have come from Larrivee.

Where this guitar differs from Larrivee guitars is in the sound and the finish work. I'll start with the bad -- the finish work. It's a shame that the gorgeous wood on this guitar isn't finished better. I don't know what kind of finish it is, but it's a satin/matte finish that has many dust particles trapped in the finish and a few small marks that look like it was touched by a cloth or something before the finish was dry. Also, the holes for the tuners aren't properly aligned and the nut is slightly narrower than the width of the neck. This doesn't affect the string spacing, but it just looks amateurish. On the plus side, the interior of the guitar is immaculate.

Okay, that's the bad. Now the good:

The sound and playability of this guitar is nothing short of spectacular. It is, without question, the best sounding acoustic guitar I've ever owned or played (Not that I've played any boutique/hand built steel string guitars, but I've played many "high end" factory built guitars as well as cheaper ones.) This easily sounds better than the Larrivee OM-03 I traded for it, and seems just as loud. The notes just really jump out on this guitar. The sound is very balanced across the strings. The trebles are more defined than on the Larrivee -- as if a layer of cloth had been removed from your ears. The bass strings have a nice thumpy but crisp tone that's perfect for blues. And the guitar plays really, really well. I'm not a fan of thin necks, but this one doesn't bug me at all. The nearly flat fretboard is a big plus for me, but I suppose that's personal preference. I just find them easier to play and better for slide.

So, that's my take on this Jesse Brace guitar. If you come across one, give it a try. I don't know when this one was built, but I would bet that the finish work on newer ones is much better than on this one.

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[Dotneck]

It sure looks nice...never heard of Brace...nor have I heard of this Port Oxford Cedar. Interesting. Enjoy it...and if you want to stop by the house I'll buy you a beer if you let me try it. Just let me know when you'll be in the neighborhood!

[ronmac]

Congrats jojo on snagging a great guitar. I first came to know of Jesse when he and Jeff Sigurdson got together to build Legend guitars after they left Larrivee. I owned a Legend MJ that was a very nice guitar. I sold it to a very appreciative fellow when I had to thin out my herd a bit.

Jesse has always done top notch work, so I would be surprised if the finish trouble you have was his doing. Perhaps it is a French polish finish that someone has tried to touch up, and didn't quite have the knack for it? 

Unclrob, you still got that belt sander tied to your bench?

Enjoy your guitar!

[jwb]

Ahhhh Belt Sander!  That'll clean it right up!  That's a great guitar.  If he used the Larrivee style bracing it's no wonder that guitar sounds so wonderful.  With all my experience with Larrivee, my favorite guitars they make are all fabricated from the same wood (e.g. all mahogany, all koa).  There is something about a guitar made that way with all the same wood that sounds exceptional and very balanced with the Larrivee "heavy" bracing.   I also played a DeJonge guitar made entirely of spanish cedar, even the neck.  It sounded sublime.  Congrats on the new guitar.  You got a great deal.  It's a stunning looking little guitar...

Justin

[Danny]

   Thanks for the post, I'll keep my eyes peeled for one of these. I'd like to hear the tone.

[jojo]

I think I may have gotten a little carried away in my description of this guitar being as loud as the OM-03. It's not. But it's plenty loud.

[Danny]

I think I may have gotten a little carried away in my description of this guitar being as loud as the OM-03. It's not. But it's plenty loud.

Yup, new git excitement does bend our ear a little more towards the positive. After a few months of steady playing if I still feel the same or even better about a new to me git, then I know it's a keeper. My emotions get the better of me when I first bring one home. (sometimes in the shop just looking) I have settled down a bit though lately.

[Daysailer]

  VERY
Port Orford Cedar is a kind of cool wood.  I have used it when building the Centerboard and Rudder for the racing sailboat pictured in my sig line...

It is also being used by some who build traditional "Skin on Frame", Greenland Kayaks.... (not on mine tho...Sitka Spruce and Western Red cedar)

  Some great tone woods also make music on 'cool waters' in notes only heard by the fish.

[Danny]

  VERY
Port Orford Cedar is a kind of cool wood.  I have used it when building the Centerboard and Rudder for the racing sailboat pictured in my sig line...

It is also being used by some who build traditional "Skin on Frame", Greenland Kayaks.... (not on mine tho...Sitka Spruce and Western Red cedar)

  Some great tone woods also make music on 'cool waters' in notes only heard by the fish.

That all sounds like something I would love to be into.

[Zohn]

  The first I hear or see that Wood combo for top, b&s. It looks rather nice though. The back looks a lot like a Ltd. Taylor I once saw made from Aust Blackwood. It seems very lightly built, and thus open and responsive? Sounds like a keeper to me... Is the Port Orford variety like Western Red Cedar?

[ronmac]

Port Orford Cedar is actually a variety of cypress...

from http://www.bearcreeklumber.com/species/portorcedar.html

is one of the white-cedars in a group of "false-cypresses," numbering three native species in the U.S. and four additional species in Japan and Taiwan. The Port-Orford-Cedar was first discovered in its small natural range along the California/Oregon coast in 1851. The total range was only about 200 miles long north and south and about 50 miles deep, shared by both states, about 70 percent in Oregon. Port-Orford-cedar, also known as Port-Orford white-cedar, Oregon-cedar and Lawson cypress prefers a mild climate with plenty of rain (40-90 inches annually)! High humidity and misting from the Pacific Ocean are also factors in the healthy growth of this tree in its natural areas. The range has been extended by planting the original and its variations around much of the northern half of the world and in New Zealand. These large attractive and very shade-tolerant trees grow to 125' to 180' in 500 years, with diameters of 3 1/2" to 6". A record tree, 219' tall with a diameter of 12', standing in Siskiyou, Oregon may be 700 years old. The wood of Port-Orford-cedar is clear with a straight, but somewhat uneven, medium grain. The wood is yellow-white in color, sometimes with tinges of red and has a bitter ginger taste/smell. Sapwood is hardly distinguishable from heartwood. Relatively lightweight and with good strength, this wood has a specific gravity of 0.40 and weighs about 27 pounds per cubic foot at 8% moisture content, about the same as Eastern Hemlock and a little heavier than Eastern White Pine.

The POC used on the top of my Fay is very stiff and has an extremely quick attack transient. Every time I play it I am rewarded with a wonderful peppery aroma that emanates from the sound hole!



I can only imagine how lively a guitar made entirely of POC would be. 

[jojo]

Ron,
Yes, my Brace has the quick attack/responsiveness that you mention. It is a very "lively" sounding guitar, particularly when using a thumb pick. It reminds me a bit of a good flamenco guitar (most of which are made with cypress back and sides (tops are either cedar or spruce). The peppery scent you describe is not all that obvious to me (might be my sense of smell), but is definitely there.

The photos of Port Orford cedar guitars I've seen online have a more sedate appearance than the wood on this guitar. The light/dark striations and figuring on this one are much more pronounced. This Brace is a bit of an odd duck. The finish work is really not up to what I would expect of a boutique guitar, but the sound and playability is so fantastic that I can overlook the cosmetic issues.

Interesting sidenote, an episode of Millennium that I saw earlier this week had a story line about a psycho who had abducted a woman and taken her in a cabin in the woods in Port Orford, Oregon. No mention of guitars in the show, however.

[ronmac]

I am glad that you are enjoying this guitar. It sure looks like a keeper.

The fact that you can enjoy the depth and soul of the guitar while overlooking the superficial really speaks well of the instrument, and you. True inner beauty can not be suppressed, and should be celebrated.

[ryler]

Wow, that is beautiful wood. 

[Zohn]

I am glad that you are enjoying this guitar. It sure looks like a keeper.

The fact that you can enjoy the depth and soul of the guitar while overlooking the superficial really speaks well of the instrument, and you. True inner beauty can not be suppressed, and should be celebrated.

its the soul that matters most - I'm a bit of a "soul-man" myself 
That guitar of yours looks rather nice too Ron!!!