Question for Emerald

[Acousticado]

To my knowledge, Emerald is the only composite guitar builder offering wood veneer options integrated into their tops. There is a fair bit of discussion on the AGF (and likely elsewhere) about recent changes to the CITES treaty adding all rosewoods and bubinga to the list of woods having restrictions. Here's a current thread under the General forum: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=458428

I'm wondering if this change is affecting Emerald's offering of cocobolo (rosewood) and bubinga to customers.

[Earl49]

I imagine that is must affect them. Much of their business volume has to be in the US and Europe. Emerald might end up forced to switch to non-CITES listed veneer woods. I like the look of these veneered guitars (some are quite beautiful, especially in certain colors) but I am more fond of the look of carbon fiber weave on my CF guitars. When I order a Chimaera, it will be the natural CF top - in green. Or maybe I'll save a few bucks and get the Opus.... if I can give up the green color.

[Acousticado]

Originally Posted by Earl49

I imagine that is must affect them. Much of their business volume has to be in the US and Europe. Emerald might end up forced to switch to non-CITES listed veneer woods.

I like the look of these veneered guitars (some are quite beautiful) but I am more fond of the look of carbon fiber weave on my CF guitars.

This has been my thinking as well which is why my Chimaera is amber cf weave. I have been proud to present my unique looking guitars as composites. In fact, I didn't want them pretending to be a wood guitar. That said, I think the Emerald wood veneers have been stealthily, seductively, permeating my mind. Recently, Emerald built a cocobolo (with heartwood) X20 for a member here and since seeing it, my view has changed and my GAS has been fuelled.

I'm smitten, which is why I'm asking.

[Alistair Hay]

This is a very good question and one everyone in the industry is trying to find a proper answer for.
I attended a seminar on this at NAMM and the main take away is that everything is incredibly unclear. The ruling has come in so fast that the relevant agencies dont really know what to do with it and they dont have the capacity to deal with it.
I think more will become clear in the coming months.
For now the most important clarification is that there is no problem with people transporting their own guitars containing rosewood. You can carry up to 10KG of the listed woods without a problem so that covers even the heaviest of guitars.
We love using veneers as it opens up lots of creative possibilities and Nature is an incredible artist but we will be watching this space very closely and will of course update you as we know more.
Thankfully the vast majority of my veneer stock is not effected by this at all.
Alistair

[Acousticado]

Thanks for the clarification, Alistair.

[pandaroo]

I have cocobolo x20 on order, Alistair informed me that there should be no issues

[Emerald Guitars]

Hey Tom,

A very good discussion point, indeed. I attended the policy forum on Import/Export, CITES Regulations during NAMM Show with Alistair and have the audio files from the discussion, so I will try and transcribe some notes as quickly as possible. I will also be contacting our relevant authority here in Ireland. It is safe to say that they are still figuring things out themselves. I'll try and get you some notes next week.

Thanks

Sean

[benderman57]

Originally Posted by pandaroo

I have cocobolo x20 on order, Alistair informed me that there should be no issues

Ditto on the Cocobolo X20 order. Mine is getting closer and I'm really looking forward to this guitar!

[Acousticado]

The quote below is a post made today on the linked thread I included in my OP.

Originally Posted by Guitarsan

Just to summarize and make clear a few points (this does not specifically apply to Brazilian rosewood [Dalgbergia nigra], which is covered under far stricter Appendix I rules):

* What's new from CITES as of January 2, 2017 are Trade Regulations, not a ban

* The trade regulations heighten the protection of all rosewood species under the genus Dalbergia and three species of bubinga. This includes East Indian rosewood, Honduran rosewood, cocobolo, and all other Dalbergia species (excluding special case Brazilian). I'll refer to all of these as "rosewood" from here on out.

* If your guitar contains any "rosewood" content, it's included in the regulations

* If you're a "rosewood" guitar owner, just relax. These are not the droids they're looking for. Unless you have a guitar (not with case, just the guitar) that contains "rosewood" and weighs more than 10kg/22lbs, you can freely travel internationally with no docs or certification. See what I meant about relax?

* Import or export permits are required for commercial trade across international borders of "rosewood". Includes raw materials, parts, finished product (guitars), etc. Commercial trade is basically buying or selling internationally. This includes individual guitar owners who are selling and shipping internationally.

* If you sell internationally guitars with "rosewood", you'll need proper CITES documentation for it to be sold/shipped legally.

* Your mileage may vary for the process for obtaining documentation to sell internationally. For the U.S., you'll need to apply for a re-export certificate from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, pay an application fee, and include the received certificate when you ship the guitar.

* See https://www.fws.gov/international/permits/by-species/wood-and-other-tree-products.html] and https://www.fws.gov/international/Pe...struments.html for more information, if you live in the U.S. and are looking to sell a "rosewood" guitar internationally.