Guitars and Customs (as in airports)

thickpick

Interesting article from the Wall Street Journal. Be careful traveling with your (old) guitars!

klaatu

Has anyone encountered any problems recently with customs in traveling with their guitars? It seems that some of these overzealous customs officials are determined to make life miserable for musicians.

BluesBop Harry

I would also like to know how this matter is going... I'm thinking of bringing my guitar to DFNW and it would really suck having it taken away.

klaatu

Enrique,

The article makes it sound like Customs was going after Gibson because they're big. I traveled to the US from Canada this past June, with no questions about the three guitars that I brought in. However, you never know when some customs agent is having a bad day, or someone goes on a mission to save the last of the whatzit trees in Sumatra from us nasty musicians.

A lot would probably depend on your guitar and what it's made of. I would not travel internationally with anything that had Brazilian rosewood in it, for example. But a lot of people do it all the time.

Craig Bumgarner

Luthier and guitar forums have lots of posts on this subject. There is considerable concern that the production or possession of a guitar that contains wood from endangered species may be a criminal violation of the Cites Treaty or the Lacey Act that might lead to fines, imprisonment and/or confiscation of the instrument.

These are very broad and complicated laws. Fully understanding and complying is probably beyond what most individuals can handle. To oversimplify to the max, Brazilian Rosewood, Ivory and Tortoise Shell, are lightning rod materials. If you have these in your guitar and plan to cross borders, be prepared. Individuals are likely not to face big fines or imprisonment, but confiscation of the instrument seems a very real possibility. There is a lot more to it though, again, it is complicated. Most people are just flying under the radar and hoping their number won't come up, and by many accounts this works.

However, if you want to bone up on the topic, HERE is a Frets Journal article that goes into considerable detail as it relates to traveling guitar owners. There is a lot more out there if you are interested. If nothing else, it will give you an ice breaker at your next festival.

Craig