Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/786015
62 The PCB Design Magazine • February 2017 ing small and very portable and came with a receiver, condenser microphone and an instru- ment jack. I didn't get an exact price, but think that it is in the $1,000 range. It's a great way for a guitar player to eliminate all the cables at his feet. Away from the cacophony of sound in the convention center halls was a very interesting presentation, focused mainly on guitar resell- ers, on the subject of endangered Dalbergia tonewoods like rosewood and cocobolo, among others. Many species of Dalbergia are impor- tant timber trees used on guitars and decorative wood products. Some Dalbergia woods are now controlled by CITES (the Convention on Inter- national Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention), a multilateral treaty to protect en- dangered plants and animals [1] . You might think a guitar made of wood and steel wouldn't fall under the purview of many regulatory agencies, but that's how it is these days. The revised regulation effective January 1, 2017 covers two issues: the first is the issue of the guitar manufacturer purchasing wood prod- ucts that have been legally permitted, and the second is the out-of-country travel and/or sale of these endangered products. A great deal of detailed record-keeping is required. Two main takeaways from this presentation is that the guitar manufacturer, in the case of the presentation that I attended, is more than willing to provide the user appropriate permit numbers to either sell the product across bor- ders, or hand-carry the product across borders. Secondly, for residents of the United States this includes gigging or transporting your guitar into Canada, or Mexico, and it does work both ways. The EU countries all work in similar fashion. So, to be on the safe side, any guitar purchased after January 2, 2017 should have a permit number, and the guitar-carrying traveler should contact the guitar maker for the wood permit number prior to 2017. It was quite a show. The Band's Robbie Rob- ertson was presented with the NAMM "Music for Life" award for his many decades in music, first with Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, then as part of Bob Dylan's band during his infamous electric shows, and finally as founder and chief songwriter for The Band. In other NAMM news, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry took home the Les Paul Award on be- half of the Les Paul Foundation, and engineer/ producer Jack Douglas, the so-called "sixth member" of Aerosmith, was inducted into the NAMM TEC Hall of Fame. Douglas also engi- neered albums such as John Lennon's "Imag- ine" and The Who's "Who's Next." I've been to NAMM for several years now, and it never disappoints. I look forward to com- ing back for NAMM 2018. PCBDESIGN Dick Crowe is a special projects editor for I-Connect007. He is the former CEO of Bürkle USA and Bürkle North America. Dick is also a guitarist and harmonica player. NAMM 2017: BIGGER AND BETTER