About James Koontz Expertise Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Amplifiers, Most anything Music related... Also most anything related to security, Fire and access control, as well as CCTV system.
Experience 20 years as a sound engineer, part time luthier, and general all around technical dude for many local bands. One of which was fairly large in the 80's and 90's with multiple recordings, and was the opening act for David Allen Coe, as well as got a nashville recording opportunity. The band disbanded before making it mainstream.
Organizations Loyal Order of the Moose, Boy Scouts,BMI
Publications Highlights for Children, Mystery Magazine,several online Publications, multiple cd's from various artists.
Education/Credentials I have 20 years experience, some electrical college experience. Studied Law, philosophy, and theology.
Awards and Honors well, too many to listm and none worth much more than a paperweight to hold down the ones that are on paper.
Expert: James Koontz Date: 10/15/2007 Subject: Takamine f455s
Question James:
I got my Takamine f455s while I was in college - it has some spots with a milky look under its finish on the rosewood that showed up in the late 80's after Hugo hit Charleston,SC and she survived the aftermath - she plays like a top and is in good to very good shape... any ideas about worth as I would like to make sure she is covered in my homeowners policy?
Answer I would insure it at about $1500. You will never get that much for it, but insure it for that. Average retail on these is around $500-$800. Sometimes going up a bit more. Some guy posted a story on a forum about contacting Takamine, and they told him he found "The Holy Grail of Takamines". This is obviously a story, Takamine would never say that, they are EXTREMELY careful not to EVER say anything about value or collectability of any of their models. As for that Milky spot, you can fix that, by using a clothes iron,and a damp cloth, lay the damp cloth over the milky area, and apply the iron for a short time, keep doing this until it starts to clear up some, rub well with a nice rubbing compound, like auto painters use to shine the finish on a car, and it should clear up nicely..
Hope that helps...
JimK
Be careful not to leave the iron in place too long, it will mess up the finish worse... But, the other option is to jsut try to buff it out completely, if it isn't completely through the clear coat, you can buff it out, if it is truly under the clear, then the clear is actually what became milky, and the iron will clear it up.
