This post is for people searching for information on the olive green Electro-Voice RE20 microphone. If this is not you, the following is probably of no interest.
On March 9, 2010 I ordered an Electro-Voice RE20 microphone from Sweetwater.com, my favorite pro music store. I’ve always known RE20′s to be silver and the product photo on both the Sweetwater site and Electro-Voice site both clearly show the silver RE20. Much to my surprise, the RE20 microphone I received from Sweetwater.com is green — very green! Above is a photo taken of the microphone with a few common objects for color reference next to it. Both the metal microphone body and grill are painted green. A bit confused, I searched the web and found only a few threads talking about the mysterious olive/army green RE20′s (i.e. – Epinions, Gearslutz, etc.)
My initial reaction was to return the microphone to Sweetwater but after reading that a few people liked the unusual green color and speculated that the mic might be from an Electro-Voice military contract overrun, etc., I too decided I somewhat like the green color, but I will certainly return the microphone if Electro-Voice states they did not manufacturer it, as this Epinions article states.
So, Electro-Voice and Sweetwater — what’s the official word on this and the other green Electro-Voice RE20 microphones people have received?
March 19, 2010: Update 1…
Trying to get to the bottom of it, the buyer from Sweetwater.com talked to Electro-Voice and the parent company Bosch regarding the green RE20′s. Sweetwater purchased the microphones directly from EV/Bosch so there is no question about the microphones being legit. Sweetwater was told the microphones in question ARE Bosch EV RE20 military overrun microphones that made it into normal stock. I received the following voicemails from Andy Bitler at Sweetwater.com, the first from 3/17/2010, the second from 3/19/2010 stating this.
March 24, 2010: Update 2…
In response to Update 1, today I received the following email and photo from Ryan May, Key Account Manager at Bosch Security Systems, Inc. I will take this as the final, authoritative response on the subject. When it comes to RE20′s, it seems green is the new silver…
Hi Brian,
My name is Ryan and I am with Electro-Voice. I’m writing to hopefully resolve your questions regarding your recent RE20 purchase.
If I understand correctly, your concerns are two-fold:
- Is this microphone authentic (not counterfeit)?
- Why does it have a green tint when the image on Electro-Voice.com and Sweetwater.com is more grey?
The microphone you purchased from Sweetwater is undoubtedly authentic. Sweetwater is the fourth largest music retail in the US, they are highly respected for their expansive selection, highly educated sales professionals, sophisticated warehouse and shipping capabilities and are authorized Electro-Voice dealers. There is no question you received a brand new microphone manufactured by Electro-Voice in Lincoln, NE.
The question of color is slightly more complex because of a bit of mis-information. I’ve attached a photo of a new RE20 we had available to take a photo of. As you can see, the tint of this microphone is more green and less beige. One can be misled by the name of the paint used on this mic (fawn beige). Approximately 10 years ago the paint color was modified slightly and has likely morphed over the years to the color we both see today. The image on our website was taken at least 10 years ago, explaining the beige tint and inconsistency in color to yours. Please remember, these mics are hand made in Lincoln, NE, from time to time, slight variations in finish are possible depending on when the paint was mixed, how it was applied, etc.
There is no military contract for green RE20′s and even if there were, it would be near impossible for this type of product to enter daily inventory. I have NEVER seen this type of thing happen since I’ve been with the company. From the bit of detective work I’ve done on this subject, it seems someone at Electro-Voice suggested the military option as one possible solution and this was the piece of info that made it to you. This statement was incorrect but possible as we do make products for military use.
The attached image has a grey card as well as a fluorescent yellow “Major Accent” highlighter as in your image for reference points. I had a fluorescent highlighter, looks like your is the regular yellow.
The image on our website is being replaced today and a new version will be sent to Sweetwater to replace their image.
Thanks for bringing this error to our attention. You can rest assured that your mic is authentic and the color it is supposed to be. Please feel free to call me directly at the number below should you have any further questions.
Thanks,
Ryan May
Key Account Manager (ST-CO/SAM1.6)
Bosch Security Systems, Inc
Communications Systems
12000 Portland Ave South
Burnsville, Minnesota 55337
USA
www.boschcommunications.com
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