Rare :: SH-101 :: Army Green

[cre8or]

Hi there,

I have an SH-101 that is Army Green. I've seen them and held them in grey and red and seen pictures of them in blue.

It's not painted or discoloured. The finish is just like the grey ones, but it's clearly army-green.

Any thoughts? I've heard rumours of white ones. Were there limited numbers made in green?

Would be curious if there's any collectors that would pay a premium for this.

Thanks for your thoughts

[Aaron2]

Would be curious if there's any collectors that would pay a premium for this.

Thanks for your thoughts

Put it on eBay and find out.

[C Faith]

I posted this a while back and the reply was they do not exist. Here is what Stab Frenzy had to say, but I don't think grey becomes green. And it's the same green in every corner and crevice.

'Because the grey plastic turns greenish over time, I guess from exposure to UV light or something. Have a look inside the battery compartment, note that it's not green. Green 101s are a myth, that's a fact.[/quote]'

[quote="C Faith"]
For whatever reason, it has been difficult to get a good picture dipicting the green color of this SH-101. The green is olive or sort of a military green. It's in wonderful shape as the previous/original owner kept it stored away since the 80's. There was the obligatory battery leakage, but it only damaged the paint on the bottom and none of the circuits.
I noticed some post saying the green SH-101 is a myth, but I found this one at a local music shop, Far Out in Indiana.

[Hybrid88]

I'm inclined to agree that it is a myth, all grey 101's discolour if they are exposed to sunlight, probably even just age does it also.

I got one a while ago which was like that, then I bought one from Japan because I wasn't happy with the discolouration, I took a pic while I had them together;

[Scories]

In other words, it's just a suntanned grey sh-101.

[Pope Jewish]

Probably one that's smoked around or otherwise exposed to weird stuff.

[C Faith]

I don't buy the sunlight exposed reasoning. The green is too uniform and in places that sunlight wouldn't hit. And who puts a synth in sunlight long enough for this to happen? I own and have owned so many synths since 1986 and know players who have synths and have never seen this pehomenon.
Any members want to explain the science of how gray turns to green in the sun?
Maybe a batch of SH-101's got a bad mix of the gray paint in the factory one day. Mine has the serial number (I'm assuming it's a serial number under the battery case) 330994.
Any owners of a green SH-101 want to check their serial number?
And as to should it be worth more. No. It doesn't look anywhere near as good as the blue and red ones.

[Stab Frenzy]

I love that this topic comes up like clockwork every year or so.

[GuyaGuy]

"Exposed to UV light" doesn't mean "left out in the sun."
Also, it's not paint. Pigmentation colors the actual plastic.
In all of those pics the green actually looks greenish grey.

Plenty of materials, dyes, and paints change color over time.
Yellowing is one of the most common. Check out pre-20th century paintings for examples.
For more recent examples and a look at the chemistry involved:
http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/189

[Dr. Phibes]

Yeah, I strongly suspect that the grey units just happen to be more susceptible to/accentuate the discolouration so common amongst aging polymers.

[themilford]

"Exposed to UV light" doesn't mean "left out in the sun."
Also, it's not paint. Pigmentation colors the actual plastic.
In all of those pics the green actually looks greenish grey.

Plenty of materials, dyes, and paints change color over time.
Yellowing is one of the most common. Check out pre-20th century paintings for examples.
For more recent examples and a look at the chemistry involved:
http://www.vintagecomputing.com/index.php/archives/189

Often it's the stuff that is stored away that will discolor depending on the environment it is stored in. For example... some foams and padding can "off-gas" or break down for a long time... if you store an item in the confines of such foam or padding that could very well have a chemical effect on the dyes in the plastic or the plastic itself.

I used to collect a lot of old computers and video games from the 80s and there's a whole world of discussion and practice of "de-yellowing" those old gray, white and beige computer cases...

...Or it's from smoke.

[synthparts]

Think I'll be leaving my grey 101 under a blacklight and cash in...

Actually it's already a little greenish...

[bochelli]

There is no army green ones ive had a few looking like that but inside still grey, they are now 25 + years old, obsolete in real terms however ive heard of a lime color one but most likely a prototype or a made one, you will find folks on ebay not as dumb as you think and they will put the shade down to age .

[stf-ran]

I love this topic too. All I know is that I've seen and played C Faith's SH-101 and it's green.

[C Faith]

Why then are all the grey SH-101's ever made not green now? Why just a few? Why the same army green? Why not a less deep color? Paints usually fade to a lighter color, not darker.
I have seen keys yellow over time, but not uniformly.