currypowder

I honestly don't know the official name of the model and have to go by the description by the seller, OLP-DC. Sometimes these small Japanese shops will make a one off model based on a customer's request, and this may be something like that as I haven't seen another one like it. I have seen a few older Provision Les Paul replicas, but nothing recent or like anything on their website.

In my (seemingly) never ending quest to experience as many boutique level Japanese guitars as possible, I recently made a trade for this Provision double cut. With the headstock shape, I'm guessing it was somewhat based on a Les Paul DC, but I don't think there's a Gibby with similar specs. The body shape, IMO, is much more reminiscent of a 90s Hamer Special FM-LE, although with several differences; control layout, pickguard, crown inlays and a neck that feels like a fat '59 carve. All in all, a familiar looking guitar with some features that make it a little unique. I don't know much about Provision other than they are a very small shop (around 10 people) that focus on making custom ordered guitars by hand. And I don't know the history of this one at all. I doubt I would have bought it outright, but being able to trade into it, I'm glad I got it. It plays and sounds great with pickups that are wound into the shop to low output PAF specs that gives a great snappy tone. http://provisionguitar.com/ Anyway, given the Hamer-esque body shape, I thought I would share it here:

I'm not aware of any instance where a guitar has been held up by US Customs (or one of the carriers) due to an undisclosed CITES/Brazilian RW issue. I'm not suggesting that anyone should just ship or receive known Braz across international borders, but whether or not a guitar has it or not is not always 100% clear. It's only if the declared value is over $2,500 that a Lacey Form (declaration of all plant material) is generally asked for. And even then, I've been advised by customs clearing agents to just do the best you can in identifying all the different materials.

Technically, I do believe you are allowed to re-import USA goods and avoid tariffs, at least under older rules. However, good luck getting a Japanese shipper to properly fill out Customs forms so that it gets through without tariffs being applied. Perhaps buying directly from a store gives you better odds. But I would not count on it. I have been able to successfully get FedEx to remove import duties on a US Hamer, but that was years ago and I had been billed for those duties and chose to fight the bill. However, these days, duties/tariffs are paid upfront prior to being released. So now the fight is asking a company to refund tariffs already paid. Again, good luck. If I were buying this guitar (I'm not), I would just factor a 15% tariff (about $260) and, if the price was still acceptable, just plan on paying it. If after the fact, you were able to avoid the tariff or get refunded, good on ya.

Here's the listing for that guitar from the actual owner/store: https://guitarbuyermasuda.com/products/107477489?_pos=1&_sid=f8bd074d0&_ss=r The ebay seller does not own the guitar and is charging about a 20% premium. The store that has it, I believe, will ship this to the US (I'm pretty sure I've conversed with the store in the past). If so, you're probably looking at around $2,200 all in, including shipping and tariffs.

Thanks. It really is a good one. The only reason I let it go is I have another Crews 52 Tele. Pardon my ever decreasing memory, but did you get it from me, or did it pass through someone else's hands. I can't remember who I sold or traded to.

I wonder if that Crews tele came from me. I sold one a couple of years back. It was a natural finish with a fat soft V neck and K&T pickups. An absolute killer tele.

Several of my buddies and I will be there. Will definitely drop by to see Willie and Jeff. Always great to meet HFC members in person.

Trogly's take on the influx of Reverb scammers And an update from him and Reverb

Bump for a price reduction

In all my years shipping hundreds of guitars, I have had less than 5 that had any shipping damage, all fairly minor except one neck break on a rather inexpensive guitar. The claims were between $100 and $500. On all of those incidents, I was eventually able to get reimbursement from the carrier, but it wasn't easy. Lots of back and forth with pictures, inspections, descriptions etc. But the amounts were low. I'm fairly certain that if I filed a multi thousand $ claim with any of the carriers, they would tell me to jump in a lake and there would be very little to do about it. To think that they are going to gladly just write a check for significant shipping damage, whether the value was claimed or not, is delusional. Instead, I have a policy with Heritage that covers my entire collection, including shipping. They are well aware that I am a private collector who buys and sells quite a bit. I would have the policy even if I didn't ship quite often, so it's really not an additional cost. I have had to make a claim with them on a guitar that was damaged in international shipping, and I just needed to provide proof of value loss and price of repair, and they cut me a check. Even though my activities are not a formal business, I feel that, as the shipper, it's my responsibility to get guitars to the buyers safe and sound and make sure that I'm fully covered, and not by whatever the carriers call insurance. Now maybe the person who posted the FedEx insurance info (name redacted for good reason) as a dealer would need to get some other kind of insurance than Heritage since it's more for individuals, not business.

SOLD $1,450 NOW $1,250 Shipped Here we have a fantastic 2012 HES-180, part of the Hibiki series. Built to be more vintage accurate, this would have been towards the top of the ES lineup in 2012. As I've gone through almost every guitar type know to man, I've come to the conclusion that 335s just aren't my thing. While I like the semi-hollow nature and tone, I prefer it to be in a smaller body like the FGN MSA or Les Paul ES. But make no mistake, this is a top quality 335 for a lot less $$. I would describe the condition as good to very good with a couple of cosmetic issues, a couple of small dings around one of the f holes and near the rear strap button. There is also a scrape near the top and side of the headstock (on the EAD side). The Fifty Nine pickups are a nice upgrade from the typical Tokai Mk2 pickups and were only available on the Hibiki models. They’re low output PAF pickups with resistance of 7.30 (neck) and 7.25 (bridge). Frets show no visible wear. Weight is 8 pounds Neck measurements are: Width - 1.65" to 2.05" nut to 12th fret Depth - 0.84" to 1.00" 1st to 12th fret Here is the description of the model from the Hibiki site: The HES180 is a model that further enhances Tokai's acclaimed ES series with a more vintage feel. To achieve a more vintage sound, the neck pickup position was profiled from a 1950s pickup. It features "The Fifty Nine," a pickup newly developed for the HLS series. "The Fifty Nine" was created by selecting the best PAF pickup from a wide selection and thoroughly "tuning" it to achieve the best possible sound. The finish is an incredibly thin urethane finish, just one-third thinner than conventional finishes. This maximizes the resonance that is so important in a semi-acoustic guitar. The neck, which provides the fullness essential to the ES sound, features a one-piece mahogany neck with a Madagascar rosewood fingerboard. A Delrin nut and Jescar frets provide excellent response and brightness. Body: Maple Arched Top / Maple Side & Back Neck: Mahogany One Piece Finger Board: Madagascar Rosewood Frets: Jescar PU: The Fifty Nine (Made in Japan) x 2 Bridge: LS-VB Bridge / LS-VT Tailpiece Finish: Ultra-thin urethane Nut: Delrin Adjust Rod Cover: Original Includes original branded hard case. More pics available upon request.

My thoughts exactly.

$750 Shipped Vintage Japanese Greco Precision Bass. I bought this several years ago to have something to just mess around with and have available for jamming. I’m not much of a bass player. But when used by others who know their way around a bass, it always sounded good and was complimented. It’s in really good shape for a nearly 50 year old bass. The frets show no wear and electronics work as they should. Includes a well worn leather-ish gig bag and some extras that came with it when I imported it from Japan (see pics). More pics available upon request. No trades.

Since the tariffs started and de-minimus exemption ended, I have almost completely ceased my importing activities from Japan. The added 15% is the main reason, but I'm also unable to use EMS as a shipping service, my proxy forces me to use FedEx, UPS or DHL, all of which have become more expensive (around $250 for a guitar). Given how unbelievably soft he used guitar market is, it makes no financial sense to import any guitars unless I am fairly certain of keeping it for a good long while. I did recently buy a pair of pickups from Japan and ended up paying 15% tariff and a small UPS fee (about $10). Given the size of the package was also small, the shipping wasn't too bad either at $50. None of this was a surprise to me and I had factored it all in to my decision to purchase them. And the mechanism to pay the tariff/fee was simple, UPS sent me an e-mail with an invoice and I paid it online. Overall, took 2 days to get to me from Japan.