Gwilym Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Hello all I stumbled upon [url="http://www.smithbassforums.com/showthread.php?t=271"]this thread on the Ken Smith forums[/url] The upshot being that Ken Smith do not export to the EU at the moment because of [url="http://www.rohs.gov.uk/"]the RoHs Directive[/url], and will not do so until they become compliant with the regulations, which: [quote]bans the placing on the EU market of new electrical and electronic equipment containing more than agreed levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants.[/quote] i.e. substances which might be contained in pickups, electronics etc. In the FAQ it also states: [quote]Can I import for own use? No, the EC's 'Guide to the implementation of directives based on the New Approach and the Global Approach' (the 'blue book') available at [url="http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newapproach/legislation/guide/document/1999_1282_en.pdf"]http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newapproach...999_1282_en.pdf[/url] states note (30) in the side bar of page 18 under note (30) “Thus, imports for own use are also considered placed on the market…”. Therefore it is our view that EEE imported into the EU for own use even from another branch of the same organisation outside the EU must comply.[/quote] Which basically means (i think) that the regulation applies to both new and used items, regardless of how they are imported. This includes "musical instruments", see [url="http://www.rohs.gov.uk/Docs/Links/RoHS%20Regs%20Guidance%20-%2021%20June%202006.pdf"]here for more detail[/url] Has anyone else here heard of this directive, and have a (perhaps professional) view on this issue? In practice, I'm pretty sure that it would not be a problem (or maybe not!), but I'm not sure as the last bass I imported from the US was a few months before the regulations came into effect. Basically, if something being imported isn't compliant with the regulation, at worst it could be confiscated (and even destroyed?). Any thoughts/experiences ? cheers G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 (edited) Any law that is to have retrospective effect in this country must clearly state that it is to have retrospective effect. If you imported the bass before the Regulations came into effect, you shouldn't have any problems at all. That's not my professional opinion but this is going to be an interesting problem for a little while. I know Marshall stopped producing one line of guitar amps and replaced it with a new model so as to meet the requirements of the regulations. Edited May 6, 2008 by The Funk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 didn't certain retailers offload a load of gear last year at very keen prices purely because they weren't ROHS compliant and wanted to get shot of the stock before they couldn't sell it any more? I'm sure I picked up some stuff as result. Interestly, I've recently imported some pickups from the States that have been stamped as ROHS compliant and also some that haven't been, though you'd need to have opened the parcel AND the packaging to work out which was which. Used gear I guess is another kettle of fish.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwilym Posted May 6, 2008 Author Share Posted May 6, 2008 [quote name='The Funk' post='193532' date='May 6 2008, 11:41 PM']Any law that is to have retrospective effect in this country must clearly state that it is to have retrospective effect. If you imported the bass before the Regulations came into effect, you shouldn't have any problems at all. That's not my professional opinion but this is going to be an interesting problem for a little while. I know Marshall stopped producing one line of guitar amps and replaced it with an new model so as to meet the requirements of the regulations.[/quote] hi Syed, yeah, I'm not worried about the bass I imported before the regs, as they are not back dated as far as I can tell. I'm thinking about what I might want to import in the near future Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwilym Posted May 6, 2008 Author Share Posted May 6, 2008 [quote name='Muppet' post='193536' date='May 6 2008, 11:44 PM']didn't certain retailers offload a load of gear last year at very keen prices purely because they weren't ROHS compliant and wanted to get shot of the stock before they couldn't sell it any more? I'm sure I picked up some stuff as result. Interestly, I've recently imported some pickups from the States that have been stamped as ROHS compliant and also some that haven't been, though you'd need to have opened the parcel AND the packaging to work out which was which. Used gear I guess is another kettle of fish..[/quote] hi Muppet indeed, i'm worried about taking the risk on something that is of any value, even though it is used, as used items appear to be covered too. cheers G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Jon Shuker told me that he can't get black chrome hardware any more because of these regulations. He can get something finished from a different process that's close to black but not as dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Bass Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Wow... I vaguely heard about this before but I didn't think it'd have that much of an impact. I got an Audere Preamp a while back (JZ3) and it was stamped that it complied with the RoHS Directive. I don't think this should apply to used items, that would really screw stuff up for us. What if I wanted to import an old bass from another country, like Japan for example, which I've done before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 It's for new products only, it came into force in July 2006. Anything that's sold new in the EU from that date has to be compliant, no matter where it was built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Bass Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 [quote name='Merton' post='193741' date='May 7 2008, 12:02 PM']It's for new products only, it came into force in July 2006. Anything that's sold new in the EU from that date has to be compliant, no matter where it was built.[/quote] Ok thats good then. We have some stupid law over here on electronics recycling. I don't know if you guys in the UK have it? Basically you have to pay a PRF (producers recycling fee) on each electrical item you buy, and that includes electric musical instruments. The shop is legally required to take back the old product to recycle it when you buy a new one. BUT why the f*** should I have to pay one on a bass, granted its only about €2 but still. Who the hell recycles their basses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlefeeder Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 [quote name='Merton' post='193741' date='May 7 2008, 12:02 PM']It's for new products only, it came into force in July 2006. Anything that's sold new in the EU from that date has to be compliant, no matter where it was built.[/quote] My understanding is that the above may not be strictly true. If you are refurbishing something, you may also have to update the old to comply with the new standards. This first came to light when organ builders discovered that they were expected to replace all the lead-soldered pipes in church organs if the refurbishment of the organ strayed over some threshold value or proportion. I'm not sure whether this has been resolved, and I am not tracking it, so my information should be treated as suspect until proven otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 [quote name='Mottlefeeder' post='193784' date='May 7 2008, 12:38 PM']My understanding is that the above may not be strictly true. If you are refurbishing something, you may also have to update the old to comply with the new standards. This first came to light when organ builders discovered that they were expected to replace all the lead-soldered pipes in church organs if the refurbishment of the organ strayed over some threshold value or proportion. I'm not sure whether this has been resolved, and I am not tracking it, so my information should be treated as suspect until proven otherwise.[/quote] I heard something about that as well. They were fighting for an exemption last I heard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 (edited) [quote name='Super Bass' post='193768' date='May 7 2008, 12:21 PM']Who the hell recycles their basses? [/quote] about 80% of the people on here .... About a year ago one of my cleints was running into problems with this legislation as he was obtaining and selling certain types of chips for upgrading old computer kit. Not sure what he did in the end but I think importing used or NOS from other EU coutries was OK. That's a time-limited option though .. Edited May 7, 2008 by OldGit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 [quote name='Mottlefeeder' post='193784' date='May 7 2008, 12:38 PM']My understanding is that the above may not be strictly true. If you are refurbishing something, you may also have to update the old to comply with the new standards. This first came to light when organ builders discovered that they were expected to replace all the lead-soldered pipes in church organs if the refurbishment of the organ strayed over some threshold value or proportion. I'm not sure whether this has been resolved, and I am not tracking it, so my information should be treated as suspect until proven otherwise.[/quote] That's a good point which I completely forgot about, cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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