Remo (company)

Remo
legal form	Inc. ( GmbH )
founding	1957
Seat	Santa Clarita , California
management	Remo Belli ( CEO )
Number of employees	around 320
sales	around 10 million euros
Branch	Musical instrument making
Website	remo.com

Remo is an American company that manufactures plastic drum heads.

history

The drummer Remo Belli began after the Second World War to experiment with drumheads from plastic to produce. Until now, eardrums have mostly consisted of pig bladders and animal skins. However, these were not constant in voice, especially with fluctuating temperatures. That is why Belli was looking for a stable material that would keep the tone setting constant. In doing so, he came across films made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which were sold by DuPont under the name Mylar . Belli pressed these foils into aluminum rings . After a lamination process by heating, these films developed a high level of resistance and dimensional stability. In order to imitate the appearance of a conventional eardrums, the still hot skins were sprinkled with fine-grain sand. These heads also produce a warm drum sound and allow drum brooms to create a noise when wiping.

Belli called his eardrums "ambassador weatherking" because of their insensitivity to temperature fluctuations and founded the Remo company in 1957. Most jazz musicians preferred the sound of natural skins in the early 1960s. However, the rock 'n' roll and rock musicians discovered the extremely stable eardrums for themselves and ensured success. So also contributed Ludwig - drums by Ringo Starr on the Beatles lettering one Remo logo. The invention of Remo Bellis had a decisive influence on the development of pop and rock music, because the plastic heads made it possible to play drums that were harder and more rhythmic. Today the coverings of the drums are almost exclusively made of PET material. In many cases, these skins are no longer “coated” with sand , but rather “clear” , as the original sanding was left out. In addition to a question of optics, this is above all a question of sound. Often you can see drums with different combinations. B. the batter heads are coated and the resonance heads are clear. In the course of the decades a multitude of fur types have been added, some of which have disappeared from the market: in addition to the above-mentioned. "Weatherking Ambassador" skins in a single-layer design have been available since the 1970s with a reinforcement point in the middle of the playing surface ("controlled sound") or in a double-layer design ("Weatherking Emperor" or "Pinstripe" with gluing on the edge). These heads are not only more resistant due to their structure, but also deliver a significantly more bass-emphasized sound. A relic of the disco era are heads with a mirror look ("Starfire"), which, like certain laminated head types ("Legacy"), tend to eke out a niche existence on the market. Furthermore, the company offers timpani heads ("Weatherking Timpani") in three versions ("Weatherking hazy or clear," Weatherking Renaissance "), as well as heads for banjos, bongos, congas, etc. For the underside of small drums there are heads in three strengths ("Diplomat", "Ambassador", "Emperor") in sizes 8 "to 16" (!).

Remo Belli died on April 25, 2016 at the age of 88.

Products

Large drums with Remo stringing

The company produces drum coverings for different types and sizes of drums. In addition to accessories, Remo also manufactures drums and drums with shells made of a wood fiber material called "Acousticon". Conventional wooden kettles for drums are usually made of several layers of veneer glued together crosswise, e.g. T. made of different woods. The Remo drums, on the other hand, are made from one piece. The wood fiber material is pressed into the appropriate size. This should result in more stability, dimensional accuracy and better resonance behavior.

Web links

• Official website (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Letter From The Founder ( Memento of the original from December 20, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on remo.com 
2. ^ Obituary in the Los Angeles Times