They got me...... the ba@&^$£s

Quattroste

The customs in the Airport and the Start from my US trip.

I was nearly through and all, then I hear. "Sorry! You sir, Excuse me.... yes you!" Whats in the case? blah blah blah.

Anyway I said I brought it with me. He took it out of the case and had a good look at it. "There's not a scratch on it" he said. "There's not a scratch on any of my guitars, I look after my babies" I said with a smile. Then he asked me to open my suitcase. He is looking through and he finds the bag with the allen keys, cloth, strings and registration card. "Hmmm whats this?, oh look a receipt!"

Fcukers charged me 115 in tax and then they double it as a fine for trying to get away with it.

"Just be careful son as we don't take kindly to smugglers" thats what they said when I was leaving. Smugglers my arse!

Have played it all weekend though and I am amazed I stayed away from one for so long. Really really nice guitar.

Doctor J

What guitar?

Ancient1

Fcukers charged me 115 in tax and then they double it as a fine for trying to get away with it.

:eek:

Sons of bitches....

Sorry to hear that dude, that's a major bummer - but congrats on your new baby anyways!

This guitar, Doc.

Doctor J

Ahhh I see. Haven't had time to go through all the old threads I missed.

Bummer about customs

Ancient1

He took it out of the case and had a good look at it.

Imagine the balls....what the fcuk would he know about guitars. I think i'd go ballistic if a pig was touching up my strat!

Haven't had time to go through all the old threads I missed.

There's a gazillion new threads with like 3 replies each. Our attention span has really dropped...

jcoote

thats a nightmare man sorry to hear that...**** is the word i feel...still tho its worth an extra few bob for that baby

dimerocks

Ah thats awful.Is it true they are really trying to clamp down on people bringing stuff back from america?

Quattroste

dimerocks wrote:

Ah thats awful.Is it true they are really trying to clamp down on people bringing stuff back from america?

I don't know about that but I thought there would be no problem because there is hardly anybody there anymore. However I was waiting a while at the area and they did have a good look at people going through. The even sent a bag or two through the scanner.

Doctor J

Fighting the urge to say "You should've..."

Hindsight is a bitch. Ahh **** it man, you have the guitar now, that's the important thing. Don't let the Man ruin your fun with that guitar.

I don't need to point out that no pics is a bannable offence, do I?

kennier

Still, you got it at a decent price and no shipping or waiting...congrats!

So when/if I go to the states next, secondhand it is then :cool:

Quattroste

I don't need to point out that no pics is a bannable offence, do I?

OK, OK. I'll take some tonight and post them tonight aswell!!

Johnny Storm

Quattroste wrote:

"Just be careful son as we don't take kindly to smugglers"

Obviously you knew in advance you might have to pay the duty and a fine on top of that was a bit harsh but then they expect you to put up with this kind of sarcastic sh1te as well FFS??? I sympathise 100%. I was recently done for sppeding so not content with giving me a fine etc the cop proceeded to give me a lecture .....

One of the great thing about the good old USA is that if this had happened on the way into America you would have been entirely within your rights to haul out your six-shooter and show him who needs to be careful......

Enjoy your new guitar and I am looking forward to the pics....

Just for my info did your guitar case look shiny and new on the outside?

Quattroste

Just for my info did your guitar case look shiny and new on the outside?

Yes it did. I tried to put my bag on top of it but obviously that didn't work. I also thought about scuffing it up aswell but I'm glad I didn't because I reckon they still would have stopped me.

Johnny Storm

Actually when you think about it, you probably got off quite lightly really considering they found the receipt after you had said you brought it with you.

Chalk it up to experience and forget about it.

Quattroste

True. Lesson learned!

feylya

Gah, even if you had just posted the receipt and reg card home, you could have bull****ted about the cloth and tools and it would probably have backed up your claim about taking care of your instruments.

Quattroste

Yeah, but I didn't think they would search my case aswell!

feylya

True. Ah well, you still have a savage guitar for a good price.

Quattroste

True. Ah well, you still have a savage guitar for a good price.

13 years playing the guitar and my thoughts on the Strat are "Where have you been all my life!!"

Don't know why I didn't like them from the start. I think it was because I liked the heavier rock and they were usually Gibsons and the like. Its wierd because you can play a chord on the Fender and immediately you think thats that song whereas on the other guitars you don't recognise it.(If that makes any sense!!)

feylya

Yeah, I know the way. One thing I really really like about strats is the neck pickup. I could play through one of those all day.

Quattroste

I played it acoustically for a while in the shop. Then I plugged it into a CUBE 60 and after switching to the neck pickup was sold. Very bluesy! Unplugged it and took it to the counter.

feylya

Nice!

case_sensitive

Ouch, my Mum was commissioned to play at the wedding of an insanely rich guy called Martin's daughter, and as well as covering her costs, he gave her a Gibson acoustic (don't know anything about guitars, but my mates go google eyed when they see it). She got to customs and they made her pay £670 (Irish) back when that was real money. Can only imagine what the bleedin' thing is worth.

I smuggled in my iMac, saving €270 in duty by saying it was a return from repair (admittedly I did have to make up a fake repair docket and get an american to fax it to them!). Prepare your lies well in advance :->

fish-head

The one reason I like strats is the HONK you can get out of the middle/neck, middle/bridge combinations. Otherwise I'm not their biggest fan. Nice one though. Pity about the ****ers in customs.

Quattroste

As promised photo's here

[url]Http://homepage.mac.com/ste_mooney/PhotoAlbum2.html[/url]

They are not great photo's because I had to borrow the work camera which is crap and the lighting was bad but you should get the idea!

Ancient1

Nice attic, Quattroste, and nice guitars!!

Can we come and visit your attic sometime?

Doctor J

Nice nice nice. I always like to see someone else with an Eggle

Though dude, you really need to give that Tokai Les Paul a fretboard clean

Quattroste

Dr J. I brought the Eggle (steelwooled fretboard remember) toDerrick Nelson and he just gave it a quick sanding on his machine and it was fine. 15 euro and job done!! Happy days.

I'm not touching the Tokai fretboard

Ancient1 feel free to drop by anytime.......

kennier

Just a warning on the Eggle....the guy I bought my Heritage from had it held in a wall mounted yoke (what the hell are they called? Having a tough time today with words :mad: )and the rubber on it caused the laquer on the headstock to melt a bit. Not all that noticable but it is a bit of a shame...

Quattroste

Kennier. I don't leave it hanging all the time. I swap them around depending on which I am playing most. I am actually going to keep them in their cases more because the temperature in the attic changes quite a bit depending on the weather.

Oh and that word thing is usually because of what you've been smoking!

Ancient1

rubber on it caused the laquer on the headstock to melt a bit

Be careful because some plastics and rubber material can seep into and damage the finish on nitrocellulose guitars. Some guitar stand manufacturers have a warning label on their stands, but most don't. I don't think your guitar is a nitro finish - most likely polyurethane.
And yes, keep your guitars in their cases. As a rule of thumb, if you are comfortable (humidity/temperature) then your guitar will be comfortable as well.

Doctor J

Quattroste wrote:

Dr J. I brought the Eggle (steelwooled fretboard remember) toDerrick Nelson and he just gave it a quick sanding on his machine and it was fine. 15 euro and job done!! Happy days.

Aaaahh good stuff. I'd say that was a relief alright. He's a top man, is Mr Nelson.

Johnny Storm

Quattroste wrote:

As promised photo's here

[url]Http://homepage.mac.com/ste_mooney/PhotoAlbum2.html[/url]

They are not great photo's because I had to borrow the work camera which is crap and the lighting was bad but you should get the idea!

Nice guitars and nice gear !
Now if only you were any good at taking photos ....

Eoin Madsen

kennier wrote:

So when/if I go to the states next, secondhand it is then :cool:

Secondhand goods are still eligable for tax. Based on this story, I'd go posting the receipts etc ahead, either way.

kennier

That's what I meant...theother option we used is to swap the receits around so I gave the receipt for my camera to my brother and I took his receipt for his laptop. If you had a secondhand guitar then you could get away with saying 'look theres a scratch..and there...'

Alternatively walk behind that woman who has about 10 bags from tiffany's

Voodu Child

That is one sweet as f**k little studio you have there...