Remo Inc. is an American

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

manufacturing company Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

based in

Valencia, California Valencia is an unincorporated community in northwestern Los Angeles County, California. This area, with major commercial and industrial parks, straddles State Route 126 and the Santa Clara River. Development projects continue to be built in ...

, and founded by

Remo Belli Remo Delmo Belli (June 22, 1927 – April 25, 2016) was an American jazz drummer who developed and marketed the first successful synthetic drumheads and founded the Remo company. Biography Belli was born in Mishawaka, Indiana, and began drumming ...

in 1957. Products manufactured include

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...

drumhead A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands, so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum. Additionally outside of percus ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s, and hardware.

History

Drummer and founder Remo D. Belli experimented with PET film as a possible material for the production of drumheads after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

due to its consistency in tonal qualities and resistance to weather changes. Throughout the 1960s, it was a fight to gain market acceptance, as purist jazzmen preferred the sound of natural calfskin. However, these calfskin drumheads had to be frequently tuned with weather fluctuations. Remo Belli created convenience for professional drummers when he pioneered the use of

Mylar BoPET (biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and aro ...

, a synthetic polyester film for drumheads. Originally, the drumheads were white and opaque to help mimic the look of calfskin. Later innovations were clear drumheads, two-ply drumheads (for added durability and depth), and simulated natural drumheads with a product called "FIBERSKYN", which is currently on its third version. Remo Belli died on April 25, 2016.

Drumheads

Remo supplies

drumheads A drumhead or drum skin is a membrane stretched over one or both of the open ends of a drum. The drumhead is struck with sticks, mallets, or hands, so that it vibrates and the sound resonates through the drum. Additionally outside of percus ...

for various drum companies including

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

DW Drums Drum Workshop, Inc. (also known as DW Drums or DW) is an American drum kit and hardware manufacturing company based in Oxnard, California. Current products by DW include drum sets, snare drums, and hardware. History Drum Workshop was founde ...

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

Mapex Mapex Drums (Music And Percussion EXcellence) is a Taiwanese brand of musical instruments established by KHS Musical Instruments in 1989. Instruments manufactured with the "Mapex" name include drum kits and hardware. Products Mapex produces s ...

, Pork Pie Percussion,

Tama drums Tama Drums, (from Japanese: (Kanji), (Kana), read as ) is a brand of drum kits and hardware manufactured and marketed by the Japanese musical instrument company, Hoshino Gakki. Tama's research and development of products, along with produc ...

Ludwig drums Ludwig Drums is a United States musical instrument manufacturer, focused on percussion. The brand achieved significant popularity in the 1960s due to the endorsement of the Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. It is a subsidiary of Conn-Selmer. Products ...

Gretsch Drums Gretsch Drums is a division of American musical instrument manufacturer Gretsch. The company was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1883. Gretsch drum kits have been used by many notable drummers including Max Roach, Tony Williams, Art Blakey, ...

and

Sonor Sonor is a German musical instrument manufacturing company headquartered in Bad Berleburg. Established in 1875, it is one of the oldest percussion companies in the world. Sonor currently manufactures drum kits and hardware. Apart from drum ki ...

. Remo has factories in the US and in Taiwan, where the "UT" and "US" versions are made. *Ambassador / Vintage A / Ambassador X – A single-ply drumhead made from 10 mil of

film. These heads are most commonly used as snare batter heads. Vintage A heads consists of two plies (7.5 and 3 mil) of polyester film, while Ambassador X heads are 20% thicker than their original counterparts. Vintage A's and Ambassador X heads are available as coated heads only. In general, Ambassadors can be used as either batter or resonant heads and players have a choice as which way they wish to use them. *Ambassador Hazy – A single-ply drumhead made from 3 mil Mylar film for snare bottom heads *Diplomat – A single-ply drumhead made from 7.5 mil of Mylar film. Diplomats are commonly used as resonant heads for toms. *Diplomat Hazy — A single-ply drumhead made from 2 mil Mylar film, for snare bottom heads *Controlled Sound / Controlled Sound X – Drumheads made with 10 mil of Mylar film with a 5 mil center dot to add durability and focus. Often used as a snare batter head. For 2011, Controlled Sound X heads are increased-durability versions of the original, made with a 12 mil coated ply of Mylar film, and are only available as snare sizes. *Emperor / Emperor X / Vintage Emperor – Drumheads made with two free-floating plies (7 mil) of Mylar film, making them the brightest-sounding two-ply heads and the most durable clear heads of the Weatherking series. Emperor X heads are made with two 10 mil plies of Mylar with a 5 mil reverse dot, making these Remo's most durable drumheads among rock and metal drummers. Vintage Emperor heads are made with two plies (7.5 mil) of polyester film. Emperor X heads come in snare sizes only, while Vintage Emperors are also available as clear heads. *Smooth White – Drumheads with the characteristics of clear and coated heads, making these an ideal choice for marching drumheads. Available in Ambassador, Controlled Sound, Emperor, Diplomat, Powerstroke 3 and Powerstroke 4 weights. *Ebony – Black drumheads, that provide a darker sound, making them a popular choice for resonant heads. These are available in Ambassador, Pinstripe, Powerstroke 3, and Suede weights. *Pinstripe – Drumheads made with two plies (7 mil plies) of Mylar film with a measured layer of a ring-reducing agent applied between them at the outer edge, that gives a "fat" low pitch and a short sustain, making them popular among rock and R&B drummers. *Suede / Black Suede – Textured drumheads that enhances the production and reflection of sound. Black Suede drumheads have a slightly darker tone than their Suede counterparts. These drumheads come in Ambassador, Emperor, Black X (two 10 mil plies of Mylar with a 3 mil reverse dot), Diplomat (Suede), and snare side weights. *Powerstroke 3 / Powerstroke 4 – Ambassador-weight drumheads with a thin underlay at the edge of the head to dampen overtones, making these a popular choice for bass and snare drums. Powerstroke 4s are two-ply versions of the Powerstroke 3 with a much darker sound than their single-ply counterparts. *Powersonic – Bass drumheads made with two 7 mil plies of Mylar film with internal dampening rings to enhance low-end frequencies. These heads come with a snap-on ESDS (External Sound Dampening System) system for added muffling. *Powerstroke X – Drumheads made with a single ply (14 mil) of Mylar film with a 2 mil inlay ring and optional reverse dot. Snare sizes only. *Powerstroke Pro – New for 2011, the Powerstroke Pro series of bass drumheads consists of a single ply of Mylar film (10 mil). Powerstroke Pro heads feature permanently mounted acoustic foam and comes with Remo's "Pressure Dampening Profile" to reduce overtones and improve sound quality. They are available in clear, coated, and Ebony.

Rose Parade

Remo sponsors of the

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if N ...

's annual Bandfest shows, which are held annually at the end of December to showcase the bands participating in the New Year's Day parade in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. Bandfest is held at

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. History Pasadena, California, Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four- ...

's Mack and Jackie Robinson Stadium, which is named for its sons Mack and Jackie Robinson.Bandfest Presented by Remo
Tournament of Roses, 2015

References

External links

*
Remo Belli reflects on the development of the synthetic drumhead and how it led to the start of his business – July 18, 2001
NAMM Oral History Library
Brock Kaericher, president of Remo, inc., reflects on his mentor Remo Belli's belief that everyone should be able to participate in music – January 21, 2012
NAMM Oral History Library
NAMM Oral History Interview with Lloyd McCausland
January 19, 2003
Interview with Product Developer, Chris Whittington
NAMM Oral History Library, December 11, 2014 * {{Percussion instruments brands Percussion instrument manufacturing companies Santa Clarita, California Manufacturing companies established in 1957 1957 establishments in California Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States