I’m sure you’re just like the rest of us and have been keeping a third eye on the Gibson Guitar rad story. I posted about the raid a couple of weeks ago. If you’re not familiar with that, please read/watch that post – “Gibson Guitar Raided“. I’ve been anxiously awaiting for some type of statement from the US Government and it looks like there are some additional pieces of information. Below is a video (by NECN) that goes into detail about the issues Gibson is facing. This can definitely have impact on other builders, etc.

There has been talk about the concern of owning a Gibson and traveling across the border. This is what computer guys refer to as FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doom). Glad to see a statement regarding this by the Fish & Wildlife service:

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
“… we taret corporations and individuals who are removing protected species from the wild and making a profit by trafficking in them.”

Please let me know what you think of this by commenting below!

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I came across a couple of Instagrams from Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth. He mentioned “Back in tha  studio”. On the page he posted a couple of gear shots, and I knew the guys here would be into seeing stacks of guitars. Let’s see, I see a ton of Jazz-blasters, a couple of Travis Beans, SG, ES-335, Fender Bass VI, Les Paul.. what else? Comment below!

Here is a close up shot of the right-side guitar rack:

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Wow, 2 days in a row where I’m re-posting news from MMR (Musican Merchandise Review)! The NashvillePost.com reported that Federal agents and local police seizedwood, guitars, etc from Gibson Guitar’s Massman Road facility in Nashville.

Here is a chunk of relevant info:

Sources say the guitar manufacturer is being investigated for violating the Lacey Act, a key piece of environmental law, for importing endangered species of rosewood from Madagascar.

Rosewood is widely used in the construction of guitars and sells for $5,000 per cubic meter, more than double the price of mahogany. The island nation off Africa’s east coast is a key producer of the hardwood, the export of which has links to international criminal activity.

You can read the entire story at Musical Merchandise Review.