New passport system for musical instruments

[almeriastrings]

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/n...al-instruments

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2013-...ment-passports

Vote at current CITES meeting just approved of this. Will be interesting to see the details...

Also... new controls on ebony and rosewood, especially from Madagascar:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...-logging-trade

This is likely to have quite an impact, particularly with regard to guitars, where Madagascar rosewood has been used quite a lot in recent years.

[oldwest]

A blow struck in favor of common sense? Say it isn’t so!

[Ivan Kelsall]

Well,it seems like a good idea to me. It also seems that with ref.to the Ivory on 120 year old Pianos,that they've imposed an amnesty on instruments made pre-ban - to me, that's as it should be.There must be 1,000's of instruments made with now banned materials still in everyday use,& this seems a way forward to declare their absolute legitimacy in the present day.I sincerely hope that for the sake of any luthiers that have a stock of pre-ban materials,dating back many years,that any old stock pre-ban materials may be allowed to be used. My first 'good' banjo had a solid Rosewood neck.On enquiry of the makers,i discovered that it was made in 1914,& the neck wood was at least 100 years old.I can only guess that maybe stocks of materials of similar age could still be around. All that remains to be done,having now obtained a passport for our precious instruments,is to persuade ALL airlines to allow them to be taken on board & not consigned to the cargo hold - that should wrap it up !,
Ivan
PS - A big thank you to Almeria for flagging this up.

[JeffD]

This is a great development.

[Kieran]

Just read about this also in The Strad.
http://thestrad.com/Article.asp?ArticleID=2575

Seems like there's a good bit of red tape to iron out before it can be implemented.Its not compatible with Australian law for example.
Kieran
http://www.moloneymusic.com