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Looks like somebody thought there might have been some Brazilian RW in this guitar that was shipped from Japan.




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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Wow - do tell more! I'm curious what clues may have been observed by inspectors to indicate this box as worthy of inspection, like how items were listed/described on the forms or packing lists. Did they pack everything back up carefully and intact?

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Now that is a bit unnerving.

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jw ( o)===:::

instead of threatening to confiscate guitars they should be allocating those funds to a security detail to protect the few remaining elephants on the planet.

I wanna see some further pictures of the quilted maple in the last picture....

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My Facebook Guitar Page

"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Maybe looking for illegal shell too.

Could be looking for anything. I wouldn't assume it was guitar related. Because guitars are boxes inside a case inside a box it could and has been used for all kinds of things.


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would be looking for wildlife parts, like shell, horn, ivory, etc.

I'm with Rod on that, looks like some fine quilt and flamed too.

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jw ( o)===:::

Don/t assume anything hutch, If it/s the gubment there could be a multitude of reasons. Perhaps there is some illegal trade going on between asia /houston ??? who knows ??

+1 to the request to know how the paperwork was filled out. Also, we'd all like to know if there was any damage done during the inspection or was it neatly packed together after non-destructive inspection?

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

David, Bryan, the packing list on the outside of the box said,"1 guitar to be returned to the maker for repair." It was opened headed out to Japan and the reason it needed repair was when US Fish and Wildlife opened the box and case to inspect the guitar the lacquer checked. On top of that, they didn't repack the guitar properly.


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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

Yuck. And I'm sure the the laws are written as to leave them 100% immune to any liability for damages caused by their actions. That sucks.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

I would think it was covered by insurance?

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Chuck,
It would be great to get a more detailed understanding of what happened here. Did you take these photos? Is this a guitar you built and had shipped to a customer? Do you have any idea what prompted inspectors to open the package and check the contents? In your first post you say it was "shipped from Japan." In your second post you say the guitar was "headed out to Japan." I'm confused.

Please don't mistake my questions as an attack on your veracity. That is not my intent at all. I'm simply seeking clarity on an issue that is important to each of us.

Thanks,

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George :-)

Fortunately there were no rubber gloves involved Chuck.

Hi George, I never take anything as an insult as I know when typing text compared to talking face to face leaves a lot of miscommunication. I apologize for the confusion. Here's the story. I work for Marchione Guitars in Houston who is the maker. When we received the guitar last week I had just assumed the inspectors looked at it on return from Japan, but what had happened was when the guitar was leaving USA to Japan the US Fish & Wildlife had opened the the guitar case without letting it get acclimated and in doing so the lacquer had checked. Upon receiving the guitar in Japan they sent it back to repair the finish. Nothing was written on the label that would give them a clue as to was materials were used on the guitar. Only "guitar". Hope this kind of makes since.


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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

I had a customer once lose a container of frozen shrimp because Mexican DEA forced the whole shipment thawed to search for drugs. This is hardly unique to US Fish and Wildlife.
There is inherent risk in shipping goods internationally, including damage from customs inspection. It has been true for centuries. I know of no country that compensates for any such loses.
It is a good lesson for why insurance might be a good idea.


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Chuck - I get it now. Thanks. What a bummer! Hope things get worked out for everyone.

rlrhett - Agreed. I had an experience in Customs at Heathrow in England that was like a four-hour Monty Python skit. Infuriating at the time, but really quite hilarious now!

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George :-)

We can't buy or have rare woods and shell shipped in from countries that don't have restrictions, but the Chinese can buy all they want, and turn it into whatever they want and ship it here, no questions asked! They ship in sweat shop made Les Paul copies with shell tiled tops by the thousands with the FED's blessings! The whole thing costs less to buy retail than we can get one third of less quality shell for. Go figure.

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If what you see is what you get, then Stevie Wonder ain't got nothin'!

Yeah, maybe its time we stop letting them sell that sh*t here unless it fully complies with the same laws our guys comply with. Oh wait, right, then the CEO of Gibson wouldn't be able to make in a day what that skilled worker he laid off to ship jobs to China made in a year. Ole Henry and his cronies sure have our trade laws all working out just fine, don't they?

I guess that there have been good and bad experiences when it comes to dealing with Fish & Wildlife. And then there are some experiences, when told and retold become magnified into horror stories. I can only speak to my experience out here on the West Coast.

I sent a guitar to Trevor at TAMCO in Great Britain late in 2013. One of the requirements, since I was going through the proper channels, was a direct inspection by an agent immediately before I shipped it out. The agent inspected the guitar and watched as I repacked it. He was not only very professional, he told me about a huge shipment from China that they had confiscated just the previous week, because the musical instruments were constructed of CITES restricted materials. So, in the case of these agents the system, which is assigned the responsibility of trying to protect endangered species, worked.

My experience was a positive one. However, I believe the system is only as good as the individuals employed by them. I'm sorry for those of you who have had bad experiences. We put in a lot of work on our instruments, and it's a tragedy when they're mishandled.

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com

That was a smart move Michael.

Actually, Tim, it wasn't really a smart move on my part; it's F&WS policy for the shipper (in this case, me) to unpack and repack the item in an agent's presence. I imagine it's to avoid lawsuits for damage. Either way, my personal experience was very positive.

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michael propsom
www.propsomguitars.com