MIMF

If you were to set yourself up as a boutique electric guitar builder, I assume you'd have to CE mark your guitars. CE marking is a self certification process where you declare that your product conforms to any relevant requirements. Do any of you know what the relevant requirements are for an electric guitar?

It's European market only, and you need to document the testing, and you may need to engage a lab to do the testing. I did find this; https://f2labs.com/technotes/2019/01/11 ... e-guitars/ which I believe is by a firm that consults in eu CE testing. It said that electric guitars fall under http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/r ... gis_en.htm which I didn't look at.

We don't need no stinking certifamaction in 'merica.

CE marking is applicable within the EEA. The EEA links the EU member states and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states. The legislation requires that products are safe but does not mandate marking.

This is a good intro and has a table of applicable standards one can look up - http://www.cemarkingnordic.se/pdf/engli ... arking.pdf

One should also bear in mind who is responsible in the legislation, particularly as a boutique maker. The wording states that products should be CE marked when 'placed on the Community market for the first time' or 'put into service in the Community market for the first time'. This is done so that either the maker or importer is responsible for CE marking. take a look at https://cemarking.net/who-is-responsibl ... marking-2/

Lastly RoHS is probably the only thing one needs to be aware of (unless you are adding high speed digital electronics and then electromagnetic radiation will be a concern), and unless one is using some esoteric materials, most new parts you are likely to encounter where RoHS could be an issue are RoHS compliant.

Clear as mud eh?

After looking at it, I think that EMC and RoHS are the only applicable regulations for CE, plus WEEE. I'd think that if the pickups are CE marked then that it sufficient for EMC, plus if the hardware is RoHS compliant, then so is your instrument. I'm probably good to go. Probably.

I'd be surprised if the German instrument makers apply CE marking. That would actually individual procedures for every single instrument (if custom built). But i can ask, if You like.

I've often wondered about this too. I don't build electric guitars but I build acoustic instruments and I build electronic instruments, and it's my understanding that with electronic products, every component, including the enclosure, packaging, etc., is supposed to be ROHS compliant. On a guitar there could be many places where non-compliant materials could be lurking, including the metals/plating used in hardware, and finishes. In 2019 several phthalates were added to the list, and I suspect nitro lacquer and other finishes may contain some of those.