Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Carruth
This highlights our main problem; we don't exist. Guitar makers are not much more than a small rounding error in the American economy, so when it's time to write regs they don't pay any attention to us. Most of us don't have extensive legal staffing, and we tend not to sleep with the Congressional Record next to our beds for light night time reading. It's easy to spot the things we make at the border, though, and it's widely known that we use endangered species. so....
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I disagree - solo luthiers, and boutique shops, are no more than a rounding error perhaps. But if you consider the major factories - Martin, Gibson, Taylor, etc - they actually account for enough wood imports to be considered rather carefully. But as with any situation, they usually need to see where the problems are, and make some modifications. Like now, its changed so you can take a personal instrument with you out of the country, and return with it. But what we can’t regulate is what other countries, or their customs and inspections services, are going to do.
The OPs question is hopefully helping further raise awareness about our use, mis-use, over-use, and ab-use of natural resources. We’ve ignored the real costs of many of these materials we love, assuming that if we offer more money, then “magically”, more will be found or become available. We don’t seem to really understand that extinction is pretty permanent, and whatever the reason or cause, when you cut down the last tree, whether its to subsistence farm or to try and build a bespoke musical instrument, then that material is gone. And many resources and environments we’d like to preserve - with a thought to generations coming after us - are under serious attack, with too many thinking only of their own pocketbook and no thought of the planet beyond their minuscule lifespan.
We - this generation - don’t have any options for our use. But if we think that Braz RW is important to build great instruments in the future, then we need to help preserve those trees trying to grow now, preserve the environments they need to be able to grow, and encourage planting more, knowing that we are doing it not for ourselves, or even for our children, and maybe not theirs, but maybe for generations further than that. And in the meantime, we should build instruments that can and will be repaired and rebuilt and passed along to players who come after us -
But for now - there is good quality Braz RW available, and luthiers building with it. Its just not cheap, and that’s OK, ‘cause we’ve proven there are a lot of really good and inexpensive alternatives easily available.