Remo Belli's kits with their processed 'cardboard' shells have been available for some time now, but it's not until very recently that it's been discovered these sets could have a future with professional drummers.
The first generation of drums with PTS heads were aimed accurately at beginners and students; they sold cheaply, were relatively unsophisticated and sounded great! I don't believe they were meant to stand up to a lot of battering since their fixtures and fittings were not exactly gargantuan. However, the Remo company policy of offering the sets to 'top flight' professionals has resulted in a change of fittings. (I wouldn't be at all surprised if even more changes were contemplated.) They now have a list of endorsement artists who will obviously demand a very high standard of both drums and support systems.
Like the other Remo sets I've appraised, Encore has those Acousticon SE shells which are built in America. They aren't exactly made from cardboard; it's a laminated wood-fibre material about ¼" thick and impregnated with a resin. This process hardens the material and gives an edge to its resonance. According to Remo different resins will give different sounds (presumably from brittle to warm) but as far as my ears are aware these are the same shells that I reviewed last year on the 'Discovery' set.
The big difference between that set and Encore is in the nut-boxes. PowerSnaps are hinged casings which allow the heads to be changed without having to remove the tension screws. (The idea itself is not new and most people will be aware of Pearl's version of it. I seem to remember that an Australian called Sleishman had one a few years ago.) PowerSnap doesn't seem to need any detuning at all – you simply unhinge the bottom of the casing which is articulated. This allows the tension screw to swing free even though it's still located into the 'ear' in the hoop. A piece of plastic rod which locates inside the box itself accepts the tension screw and locks it solid. It's a simple, but effective principle.
Encore's bass drum measures 22"x16" and has eight nut-boxes, 'T' handled tensioners and pressed steel claws per head. (The tensioners are very reminiscent of Slingerland's Oriental ones.) It has metal hoops which are inlaid with plastic and the set I saw was fitted with Ebony heads. The tom tom holder receiver block is set well forward as are a pair of telescopic spurs which are angled forward and have optional spike or rubber tipped ends. (These thick rod spurs locate into blocks which have a wing bolt tapped directly into them.) Remo fit a felt strip damper to the batter head which is something many of the other manufacturers don't at the moment.
As per usual Remo supply three toms with this particular Encore kit. The two mounted ones are 'power' depth (12"x11" and 13"x12") while the floor tom is the usual 16"x16". The smaller toms have six of those PowerSnap nut boxes per head and the large tom has eight. Just like almost every other manufacturer Remo uses square headed tension screws and triple flange, pressed steel hoops. The double-bent legs fitted to the floor tom locate into cast blocks which also have their retaining screws tapped directly into them. These drums not too surprisingly are fitted with Remo heads: Ebony PinStrips to the batter sides and Ambassadors below.
The snare drum too is extra deep. It's the usual 14" in diameter but 8" deep. It also has those swivelling nut boxes, eight for each head, and triple flange hoops. No internal damper is fitted to this drum or the others, but all have air holes which aren't set equidistantly between the heads. (The bass drum has its one positioned underneath). There is a 20 strand metal snare fitted which locates into your actual snare bed. (A snare bed is an indentation cut into the bearing edge to rebate the wires and allow their very centre to touch properly. Most manufacturers simply graduate the bearing edge down a little at those positions and back again to accomplish the same thing.)
I got a distinct sense of 'deja vu' when I looked at the ancillaries which are available as an extra to go with this set. I had already reviewed them when I wrote about another Remo set last year. They're known as Dynasty and are very much top of the range stands and accessories. The whole 'pack' of hardware is to be available for something like £180, and for that money you'll get one boom and one straight cymbal stand, snare drum stand, hi hat pedal and bass drum pedal.
All the stands have double braced tripod legs, wide bored tubes and the same sort of quick lock attachment you find on racing bikes to adjust tube heights. Both cymbal stands have truly massive bases while the regular one has three stages with a sprung ratchet tilter with an extra-long support rod. There's the usual collection of felt and metal washers and of course a locking wing nut.
Remo's boom stand has just two vertical stages with the quick release clamps plus a ratchet holding system for its counterweighted arm. The cymbal tilter itself is the same as its 'straighter' brother. The snare drum stand is in many ways like several others – it has double braced tripod legs like the other stands but uses a 'ball and socket' mechanism to hold the playing angle solid. A basket type holder protrudes from the ball and the whole unit will go very low. (This of course is something of a necessity for an eight inch deep snare drum.) The arms of the basket are bent at right angles and sheathed in thick rubber. It's an exceedingly stable unit.
