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CITES - What every bass player should know

#461
@Bentley Thanks for the detailed explanation, and attachment.

And apologies if this is a thoroughly dense question - but would you need a CITES permit of this sort for an instrument that DOESN'T have any (currently) CITES-listed woods in it?

As in: is it necessary to file a CITES permit to confirm that a given bass does not contain any potentially suspect woods?
 
#462
To get the correct answer you email CITES and get that clarity right from CITES . What wood needs a permit and what wood does not need a permit check with CITES and be informed.
If I had a Fender Jazz with alder body and maple neck and maple board I don't need a CITES permit...same guitar with a rosewood board and I need a CITES permit.
 
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#467
This is crazy. Every bass I own has a rosewood fret board other than my fretless, and that's ebony. One of the rosewood basses is a 1968 Precision Bass! No world tours for me I guess. I want to come back to the U.S. with the same stuff I left with. It was already bad enough with airlines losing and breaking things. Now this?
 
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#468
"I want to come back to the U.S. with thesame stuff I left with."

You can. Search this thread for posts about the CITES Musician's passport. It certifies your bass for cross-border travel as long as you are traveling with it, and coming home with it. It's a minor PIA to do the paperwork but that's the deal now.

More info for U.S. citizens here from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They enforce CITES in the U.S. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#469
s_wood said:
"I want to come back to the U.S. with thesame stuff I left with."

You can. Search this thread for posts about the CITES Musician's passport. It certifies your bass for cross-border travel as long as you are traveling with it, and coming home with it. It's a minor PIA to do the paperwork but that's the deal now...
Click to expand...
Not to mention parting with some of your your money to hand over to them for the "privilege".
 
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#470
The more I'm affected and adjusting to CITES, I realize that it's primary purpose is to enact a "fair trade" for wood, like we see in coffee beans.

This will not work, as CITES brings 1st world market prices to 3rd world areas, it will do nothing but more strongly encourage more harvesting by both, black marketing and permitted.

Soon, we'll be back to the days of "this is the King's forrest". You'll need a royal charter to harvest anything.
 
#471
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

The Trees
Rush
There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas
The trouble with the maples
And they're quite convinced they're right
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can't help their feelings
If they like the way they're made
And they wonder why the maples
Can't be happy in their shade?
There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream 'oppression!'
And the oaks, just shake their heads
So…
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
'The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light'
Now there's no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw
 
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#472
Turnaround said:
There have been a number of questions raised about "grandfathering" older instruments, instrument certificates, etc. I thought it would be a good idea to pass along a link to a number of well-written articles on the subject published by the Fretboard Journal. If you dig into this information you will find a number of blog radio programs they produced as well. Check out this link:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Hello there, thank you for bringing awareness on this topic. Do you know if the USA government has a list not just of the woods, but also the manufacturers and years of production that may be affected? I live in Detroit and drove many times to Windsor to play without knowing my bass could be confiscated. I was also interested in a 1995 Fender for sale in Canada, but knowing this risk I have my doubts about buying an instrument that may get stuck in customs (I know that by this year Fender used Indian rosewood, but tell that to a Customs agent). Any assistance with this is appreciated, thank you.
 
#473
The first paragraph of this U.S. Fish and Wildlife service CITES website has a link to a list of covererd plant and animal specieshttps://[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It also explains how to get CITES instrument passport for use if you are traveling with a bass that you aren't going to sell or trade, or a permit for one you want to buy.

This website posted by the League of American Orchestras is great, too:
https://americanorchestras.org/advo...s-material/protected-species-travel-tips.html

Bottom line: as long as your bass doesn't have Brazilian rosewood on it and you deal with the time paperwork and cash to get the appropriate permit you will be o.k.

If you are traveling with a bass that you aren't selling, CITES has an exemption for instruments with less that 10kg of non-Brazilian rosewood, bubinga or cocobolo. Don't expect that a customs inspector will be able to tell the difference between Indian and Brazilian rosewood by looking at it though, so you've got to either have a CITES instrument passport or, at least, something from the manufacturer that describes what kind of rosewood was used.

It's a hassle, but I see it like a crappy load-in: part of the gig.
 
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#477
Bentley said:
My example is a real sale from Saskatoon to California. The buyer has no CITES papers to look at, the buyer has the post man deliver the bass to the door and all the CITES papers are handled and gone by that time.
Click to expand...
I am one of Bentley's American buyers (if not the specific buyer in his explanation). Bentley kept me in the loop during the process, which helped my 'fear of the unknown'process. Today I am enjoying my new purchase tremendously! The one odd fact we discovered is that the American port officials seemed to ignore the CITES paperwork which was still with the bass upon arrival.
cheers
 

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