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CITES - What every bass player should know

I think my next bass will be a Status Stealth.
See, this is the thing I'm wondering - how much do I have to worry if a bass I am taking across the boarder is made from dark, non-CITES wood (e.g., wenge) - or even graphite, for that matter - and I have documentation from the manufacturer stating what kinds of wood/material the bass is made from? I can see a boarder agent with no knowledge of wood still confiscating the bass if I don't have a "passport" for it.
 
I can see a border agent with no knowledge of wood still confiscating the bass if I don't have a "passport" for it.

That's exactly why if you are traveling internationally with a bass you absolutely have to have the passport to be safe. Otherwise, it will be up to the judgment of whatever customs inspector you get as to whether your base does or doesn't contain CITES-covered woods. Truth be told, most bass players couldn't tell the difference between Brazilian and Indian Rosewood, so it's probably not fair of us to expect better of customs inspectors then we can deliver ourselves.
 
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See, this is the thing I'm wondering - how much do I have to worry if a bass I am taking across the boarder is made from dark, non-CITES wood (e.g., wenge) - or even graphite, for that matter - and I have documentation from the manufacturer stating what kinds of wood/material the bass is made from? I can see a boarder agent with no knowledge of wood still confiscating the bass if I don't have a "passport" for it.
A note from the manufacturer won't hold any weight with a customs officer. It's not an official document as far as he is concerned. You use the manufacturers documentation to obtain the passport that is recognized by customs - though maybe only by Customs in the country where you got the passport. The situation is improving internationally, but not all countries recognize CITES passports from other countries.
 
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That's the thing. This is an international issues, so said document should be a single specific instrument that is universally recognized and accepted for all countries. Just like a real passport for people is. Otherwise, it would just reinforce the concept of this CITES thing being another money grab from each member country if different sets of documentation were required for each country, with the attendant fees required to be paid to each country for the documentation we'd need.
...most bass players couldn't tell the difference between Brazilian and Indian Rosewood.
EIR and BRW look quite different from each other, to me.
 
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EIR and BRW look quite different from each other, to me.
...and to me, too... but not to most. For sure. Just because we are geeks doesn't mean everybody else is :)

Anyway, here is a great source of CITES info that I post every few months, compiled by the League of American Orchestras. https://americanorchestras.org/advo...s-material/protected-species-travel-tips.html
Here's some good stuff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service (they are the CITES police in the U.S.) [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

My information is that the instrument permits are pretty widely recognized now, especially for instruments with Appendix II woods (everything except Brazilian rosewood, basically). That's because the movement of an instrument containing less than 10kg of Appendix II woods isn't covered by CITES unless the instrument is being sold. Ditto for instruments containing Brazilian rosewood that were made before 1992. So, the permit's purpose is to prove that either that there's no Brazilian rosewood in your bass or, if you have bass with Brazilian, that it was made before 1992.
 
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That's the thing. This is an international issues, so said document should be a single specific instrument that is universally recognized and accepted for all countries. Just like a real passport for people is. Otherwise, it would just reinforce the concept of this CITES thing being another money grab from each member country if different sets of documentation were required for each country, with the attendant fees required to be paid to each country for the documentation we'd need.
Exactly! As a consumer, I would love to have documentation for every bass I own showing I comply with the law, but the process of getting it is far from user friendly.
 
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The easy solution to traveling internationally is to rent upon arrival. You're already using rented amp and speakers, so why not the instrument too, and save yourself the headache?

Used to travel a lot for work. By 2008 I'd reached my limit of TSA thuggery in the Constitution-free zones known as airports, and found a firm in OH that delivers computers to the business desk of hotels. All I had to carry was storage media, which when carried unobtrusively the goons never seem to notice. The service is excellent, and I haven't carried a laptop since.
 
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So far my experience with CITES....

I ordered a GPS Warwick Thumb BO 5 string from a local distributor back in February. I was told it'd be a couple months when they're available which was no problem considering I was waiting on other stuff I preordered after NAMM. Fast forward to today and I'm still waiting. The bass has been at some port for a while being held by Fish and Wildlife. They need permits from Germany and is a mess. I'm not holding my breath but hopefully by the end of August.


Buy domestic my friends

Any luck?