Its precious reflective qualities and chatoyance make curly maple the jewel of the forest, hence: Bijou

This small (13" across, 24-1/4" scale) parlour guitar is an example of how a small guitar can have a big presence. It has a clear and sibilant solo voice in the mid and high registers, and a surprising amount of punch when strummed.

This guitar also features a hand-rubbed french polish finish, like that on the finest classical guitars. It's tricky and time-consuming to apply, but the result has a soft gloss with beautiful depth and an unbeatable feel.

The top is top-grade red (adirondack) spruce from eastern Canada, while the back, sides, and neck are curly sugar maple. The fretboard, bridge, bindings and pickguard are african blackwood. The tuning machines are from Gotoh's amazing new "Stealth" line. They weigh less than half as much as regular tuners, but offer superb precision and stability. As usual, a bolt-on neck, stainless steel frets and two-way adjustable truss rod are standard.