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: 11/13/2007 Subject: info on martin guitar
Question I have a martin guitar it was bought in 1984 but I could have bought it in 1983. It has rosewood sides and back.Ivory around the body and piece at the top that the strings go over. The finger board is ebony as well as the piece that the pegs go in. I'm pretty sure the top is spruce its not fancy but it has a nice look . It has 1883 to 1983 150th year stamped inside as well as saying custom by the serial which is 442499. first guestion is, is it a D28 or a C28? I think it is a C28. And did Martin Stamp the 1883 to 1993 150th year in all their guitars that year or just a few? And why would we not be able to find it in the blue book? We came close to one but if I remember That one was a special edition honoring some artist. thanks karen hoyt
Answer Hi Karen,
Well, unless it's a 30's Carved top, I doubt it's a C,The C stood for Carved top,and they didn't make a C-28.. It is most likely a D28, the D stands for Dreadnought, which is the body size. Yes, they stamped all guitars with the 150th year stamp... And I am not sure why you can't find a D-28 in the Bluebook... I don't have my copy here, as I am out of town right now, but the D28 should be there. It sounds though, like yours may be a custom model.In which case it would be a DC-28. You can have them make guitars to your specs, somewhat.. In which case, it wouldn't be in the bluebook, because it is a one of a kind, custom shop model. That being said, Value would be impossible to determine, even though it's a one of a kind, it isn't something like a standard D-28, where people know what to expect, so this could cause the value to be just, whatever.. in other words, "Ron" may really be into just getting a Martin, because his favorite musician plays one, so he sees yours, and thinks it's sweet, and it's a Martin, and so he is willing to pay the $1500 he has saved up for it, whereas "Tony" sees it, and says, It isn't a D-28, and that is the Martin he has heard good things about, he can't find any information on yours, because it's a custom shop.. so he is only willing to pay $800 for it... The problem is, Neither of these guys exist, and you have a guitar that isn't well known.. :o) The good thing is, It's a Martin... The bad thing is, 1983 was kind of an odd year, it was their 150th anniversary, but not their strongest year as far as production quality goes... So, it makes it very interesting all the way around...
