Can you imagine the neck dive I would get if it was... I would need a 4' wide strap to just hold it with the shoulder... Great so she will come with me.
edit: Should I get her a passport?
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edit: Should I get her a passport?
I'm quite unfavorably impressed with all the rosewood boards on new USA instruments - they just want to isolate the Canadian market entirely? It's bad enough we already have to pay through the nose for everything, now there are huge swathes of product that we can't even get anymore (since most US dealers don't want to bother with all the CITES paperwork). Surely this isn't what they had in mind when they wanted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN?
No, what they want to do is use up the stockpiles of currently legal wood, before some officious beaurocrat with a bug up his butt decides to have it all confiscated - just 'cause he can. I'll agree that they should probably do what's necessary to export those instruments to you good folks in the Great White North, but that's between them and their wholesalers - and your government... And, as for making America great again? The... person... to whom I think you're referring (and who I didn't vote for) didn't have a thing to do with this nonsense. It's the law, and we have to comply with it like everybody else. CITES was dreamed up by a bunch of "Foreigners" (from America's POV), and we got involved in the mess (justified or not), thanks to a "New World Order" former occupant of the White House...
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Yes I should have said "restricted so long as none of it crosses international borders without a permit". Last time I was involved in getting a permit, it cost $150 per instrument for 2 instruments in a single shipment. And the bureaucratic process was long and involved. Even after all the paperwork was cleared at the source, it was held up at the Canadian border and required major intervention. I'm sure it's better now.... better, not good.
I really don't know why folks kvetch so much about Pau Ferro boards. I love the one on my 22 year old Tobias Killer B5 it's beautiful looking and I see no stability problems or wear rate difference between it and Rosewood. Maybe between it and my Ebony boards but honestly I played the heck out of that bass every day for twenty years and see it having no problem outliving me. If I were still touring I would simply take a couple of my Maple board basses.
LOL...AS IF that's what happened to Gibson/Henry J.
THAT was strictly due to the ILLEGAL, large-scale importation of certain woods, conspiracy bullsh!t aside.
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Hasn't happened yet. But, that doesn't mean it won't - to Gibson/Henry J., or anybody else. And, IIRC, Gibson got all that wood back, after the government decided they'd made their "We're a bunch of hardasses" demonstration. Doesn't sound all that illegal to me, or a conspiracy - regardless of your dislike of Gibson..
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Hasn't happened yet. But, that doesn't mean it won't - to Gibson/Henry J., or anybody else. And, IIRC, Gibson got all that wood back, after the government decided they'd made their "We're a bunch of hardasses" demonstration. Doesn't sound all that illegal to me, or a conspiracy - regardless of your dislike of Gibson..
No.
Gibson was fined in both cases, and they NEVER got the illegal wood back.
Not quite.
One case, one fine + donation, lost the ebony from Madagascar but got the rosewood from India back.
Gibson Guitar Settles Claim Over Imported Ebony
No.
The Indian rosewood wasn't illegal. The seizure was likely to check its provenance in the wake of the illegal Madagascar importation(s).
From your link:
"That raid came two years after more than a dozen agents with automatic weapons burst into a Gibson factory in Nashville to seize ebony fingerboards from Madagascar...
As part of the deal, Gibson agreed to withdraw a suit seeking to recover about $261,000 worth of ebony and rosewood that was seized during the investigation."
Gibson NEVER got the illegal woods back, but the LEGAL rosewood was returned DESPITE the lawsuit being withdrawn.
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"Likely" doesn't equal a fact. One could state that the government "likely" seized the rosewood as well in order to force Gibson into a settlement.
The fact that the government settled for roughly $350K - which is peanuts to them, a serious drug raid brings more - would make some people believe that is highly likely that there were other sides to the story.
I don't have a dog in this particular fight. While I'm fond of the Gibson brand in the historical sense, the same can't be said for Henry J. Not in the least.
However, I also maintain a certain level of distrust towards government in general, and I mean *any* government of *any* country.
A couple of bottom lines here, so we can get back to the purpose of this thread:
a) A government - and that's pretty much *any* government - can sue the business or an individual out of existence and/or into bankruptcy.
b) Any wood belonging to the Dalbergia species - at least to my understanding of CITES which may be incorrect and/or incomplete - is subject to permits when crossing international borders.
c) There's no doubt in my mind that the big companies (Fender, Rickenbacker, Ibanez, Gibson, Martin...) will find the way of obtaining whatever paperwork is required in order to comply with the regulations. It's the folks trying to sell used instruments on eBay/Reverb/etc. who'll get hit the hardest with the entire CITES nonsense whether they are individuals or small businesses.
My $0.02 only...
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Where are you getting the "twice" portion from?
Two raids - yes.
The first one was about Madagascar ebony, that was never returned.
The second one seized Indian rosewood, which was returned.
I only see one occurrence of (possibly) illegal import there, not two. Am I missing something?
Nowhere can I find the reference to the second batch of ebony, just rosewood. Emphasis in the quote below is mine.
"The federal investigation drew fire from conservatives after agents raided Gibson offices and factories in Nashville on Aug. 24 last year and seized pallets of fretboard blanks imported from India. That raid came two years after more than a dozen agents with automatic weapons burst into a Gibson factory in Nashville to seize ebony fingerboards from Madagascar."
You're right - the SECOND raid was about illegally imported INDIAN EBONY.
Gibson Guitar CEO fights back
"The agents confiscated nearly $1 million in rare Indian ebony, finished guitars and electronic data, according to Juszkiewicz. It was the second time in two years that Gibson's factories have been raided by the feds over the rare woods it uses to build its guitars."
MY BAD about the (second) ILLEGAL SOURCE of the ebony, but I am correct about Gibson's illegal importation of ebony AT LEAST twice in two years.
Gibson Guitar CEO fights back
"The agents confiscated nearly $1 million in rare Indian ebony, finished guitars and electronic data, according to Juszkiewicz. It was the second time in two years that Gibson's factories have been raided by the feds over the rare woods it uses to build its guitars."
MY BAD about the (second) ILLEGAL SOURCE of the ebony, but I am correct about Gibson's illegal importation of ebony AT LEAST twice in two years.
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- Apr 18, 2008
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- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
[ possibly insensitive and uncharitable comment voluntarily removed ] ...let me instead offer this thread as a relevant diversion, in the hopes of both lightening the mood and providing a glimmer of future hope for fretboard lovers everywhere: Rocklite: The Latest Synthetic Ebony For Fingerboards
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I've read that thread with quite some interest when it was first posted, and would agree that stuff like Rocklite is likely the future of fingerboards.
The curse of old age comes with certain blessings as well. I have next to no interest in most of the guitars and basses produced over the last 25 years, with a *very* few exceptions. So while I'll give a general seal of approval to use of synthetic materials in fingerboards, these are extremely unlikely to ever enter my household.
I'm fully aware that I'll have to obtain an interesting number of passports for the instruments that I'm intent on taking with me once I retire in a few years, presuming that I get to see that day to begin with. Thank you, CITES, for wasting both my time and money and it's not like I have an abundance of either.
I'm not certain that I understand what you're referring to here. Could you please elaborate?
What the passports will cost shall be determined at the time when I'm actually ready to move. As for the airline cost, the way I predict it, it will be zero.
I'm not intent on moving to another continent after spending 25 years on this one in a single shot. But that's me. And a lot can change over a couple of years. We'll see.
