United States of America v. Ebony Wood in Various Forms

[SurferJoe46]

Gibson - in trouble again!

If you are the lucky owner of a 1920s Martin guitar, it may well be made, in part, of Brazilian rosewood. Cross an international border with an instrument made of that now-restricted wood, and you better have correct and complete documentation proving the age of the instrument. Otherwise, you could lose it to a zealous customs agent—not to mention face fines and prosecution.
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Guitar Frets: Environmental Enforcement
Leaves Musicians in Fear

Federal agents swooped in on Gibson Guitar Wednesday, raiding factories and offices in Memphis and Nashville, seizing several pallets of wood, electronic files and guitars. The Feds are keeping mum, but in a statement yesterday Gibson's chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, defended his company's manufacturing policies, accusing the Justice Department of bullying the company. "The wood the government seized Wednesday is from a Forest Stewardship Council certified supplier," he said, suggesting the Feds are using the aggressive enforcement of overly broad laws to make the company cry uncle.

It isn't the first time that agents of the Fish and Wildlife Service have come knocking at the storied maker of such iconic instruments as the Les Paul electric guitar, the J-160E acoustic-electric John Lennon played, and essential jazz-boxes such as Charlie Christian's ES-150. In 2009 the Feds seized several guitars and pallets of wood from a Gibson factory, and both sides have been wrangling over the goods in a case with the delightful name "United States of America v. Ebony Wood in Various Forms."

The question in the first raid seemed to be whether Gibson had been buying illegally harvested hardwoods from protected forests, such as the Madagascar ebony that makes for such lovely fretboards. And if Gibson did knowingly import illegally harvested ebony from Madagascar, that wouldn't be a negligible offense. Peter Lowry, ebony and rosewood expert at the Missouri Botanical Garden, calls the Madagascar wood trade the "equivalent of Africa's blood diamonds." But with the new raid, the government seems to be questioning whether some wood sourced from India met every regulatory jot and tittle.

It isn't just Gibson that is sweating. Musicians who play vintage guitars and other instruments made of environmentally protected materials are worried the authorities may be coming for them next.

[farbeyondwillie]

They can take your ****? Why? I'm a wee bit confused.

[Lesfunk]

The real crime is the price Gibson charges for their rather crap instruments

[SurferJoe46]

@ Gibson guitars:::

I have a friend who buys them almost exclusively and so far over 80% of them need a magic repair in the form of a modified nut to get them to intonate correctly.

This is a BRAND NEW GUITAR! Gibson CHARGES for this modification too. Imagine that!

If I paid over $3000.00 for one of their supposedly zenith guitars and it wouldn't intonate without a carved-corrective nut to make it right - I'd load it with C4 and ----------

I guess the possibility of me losing a Gibson to the Tree Gestapo is severely hampered because I won't buy one of their basses --- ever.

[hachi kid]

stick to Warmoth, if you want a Les Paul.....Gibson is for the birds.....

[Clark Dark]

I think the Les Paul is better made by Heritage.

[PocketGroove82]

If you own a classic Martin brazilian rosewood acoustic guitar, odds are you aren't gigging it internationally. duh. Also, It doesn't take a west coast, green loving, left wing hippy to support the fact that if Gibson has been buying illegally harvested wood then the feds should be all over that. Let's hope fine resources don't go to waste on such crappy instruments as Gibson basses.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by PocketGroove82

If you own a classic Martin brazilian rosewood acoustic guitar, odds are you aren't gigging it internationally. duh.

And even if you do it's not like any airport customs dufus is likely to say a word. I'm all for treating the planet well but news items like the one in the OP twist a legitimate concern into Green Nazi scare propaganda.

[SurferJoe46]

Hey - don't shoot the messenger. I saw this on TV last night too.

[anonymous122511]

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

Hey - don't shoot the messenger. I saw this on TV last night too.

No, not at all...I don't have a TV and it's good to know such foolishness is afoot.

[FretlessMainly]

It doesn't seem to me that anyone is shooting the messenger. Hell, I'm an environmental scientist, but I have a sense of perspective. Much as original scrimshaw is now grandfathered against the anti-whaling restrictions/laws, one would think that vintage instruments could not be adsconded just because an agent thinks that a super glue-coated fretless slab of rosewood fingerboard is restricted ebony because it's dark and shiny.

Seems as though Gibson has been in the headlines a fair bit lately. Not sure why on this matter, but once you get under a thumb, there are often more thumbs to follow, for better or for worse.

[SurferJoe46]

Maybe someone in the EPA or Customs bought one of their guitars.................payback.

[bmc]

Every morning I have wood. Am I at risk of unintentionally inviting federal agents?

And what if they take my wood? What will they do with it? Will they just sit on it? That would be a real pain in the a$$.

[powmetalbassist]

Originally Posted by farbeyondwillie

They can take your ****? Why? I'm a wee bit confused.

Whats there to be confused about! It's the american government pushing their weight around. Standard procedure for the last 75 years.

[SurferJoe46]

What most persons refuse to admit is that they are under Martial law in the form of The Homeland Security Act.

The authorities have all the rights and the trench dwellers don't even have appeal to Habeus Corpus.

[whocaresnotme]

Enviro-fascism at it's most sordid. Is environmentalism going to be the interface between a corrupt, tyrannical government and the citizen? If "they" come to my house to take away my rosewood fretboard they will be looking down the barrel of an AK47.

The Lacy act should be reviewed by SCOTUS because it relies in part on "foreign" law. Foreign law should have no impact or authority within the borders of the USA.

And who the heck authorized the arming of the Fed. Fish and Wildlife Service to the teeth?

We are in the worst financial trouble we have been in since the Great Depression and the DOJ takes valuable time and money to raid a guitar factory? ***!!!!!!

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I am not sure why authorities would target individuals in possession of these woods in a finished product such as a guitar or bass. Realistically, how are we supposed to know? We just want to play nice instruments. And how would you be expected to have significant documentation on an old instrument?

If manufacturers, wood harvesters and distributors need to abide by specific laws, so be it. In my opinion, that's where the buck should stop.

[Muaguana]

Originally Posted by whocaresnotme

If "they" come to my house to take away my rosewood fretboard they will be looking down the barrel of an AK47.

And I thought I was nuts...