Why do you think your head is the Asian-made Remo? Remo heads are produced in the USA and in Taiwan. USA-made heads have a glued hoop, Taiwan-made heads have a heavy, crimped flesh hoop… That's how they can be distinguished.

Maybe we can page Bob Smakula or desert rose (Scott Zimmerman) to ask what they know about the current consistency of Remo heads.

As to your speculation of who makes heads in Asia for Remo, I've always been of the belief that Remo owns its own production capability in Taiwan.

And it's my understanding the Taiwanese Remo heads have the crimp-style head attachment and the US-made Remos have epoxy channels.


As to Five Star, those crimp-style medium crown heads were made by Ludwig for Stew-Mac and sold under other brand names. Quality became inconsistent maybe 8 to 10 years ago. Stew-Mac ended the relationship and Ludwig stopped making heads. Or the other way around. Stew-Mac then contracted Drumhead maker Evans to make the Five Star heads for a very short while before that relationship came to a rapid end.

Today, only Remo makes banjo heads.

Emiel,
Taiwan is in Asia. These heads do not say "Remo" or "USA" anywhere. They were sold as "Remo" heads, so I can only assume, since Remo is the only manufacturer of banjo heads at this time, that these are from their Asian (Taiwan) factory.

All I can say is that in over 50 years of messing around with banjos, I have never had an issue with a medium, (or high crown), head fitting any flat head banjo I have owned over the years. As per my recent experience, the overall fit and crown heights on these new "Remo" heads are different.

Take it Easy ... MarK

quote:

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Originally posted by Old Hickory

And it's my understanding the Taiwanese Remo heads have the crimp-style head attachment and the US-made Remos have epoxy channels.
 

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I was offline composing when Emiel posted the exact same point. Didn't mean to duplicate his thought.

Duplicate post below...

My older 5-star heads (not currently on a banjo) look to be crimped. All of the Remo heads I have, (the 4 new ones and older ones I already have), all appear to be epoxied. If these heads were made in the USA, then why does "Made in USA" or "Remo" NOT appear on them anywhere? I have an older Remo head that has the Remo logo and "Made in USA" printed on the head. It measures as a full 7/16" medium crown head.  It is also epoxied....

I recall, (recently), that Remo heads were not available from many companies that always carried them. A supply chain issue? Recently they have become available again. Why did this happen? Was it due to the fact they were moving everything to Asia?

Regardless - these heads are not fitting, nor do the measure the same, as my older (Remo or 5-Star) heads do. I do not know what else to say here, but I have never had an issue with a medium crown head fitting any of my banjos - be it a flat head or arch top!

Take it Easy ... MarK

First, I withdraw my comment from the previous forum that "all Remo heads are stamped with Remo on the aluminum flesh hoop". mvolcjak please accept my apology for not confirming that fact before replying to your post..

Now I will say that "most" USA glued Remo banjo heads have (had?) the Remo stamp on the the side of the aluminum. It is odd that in my quick check heads that have arrived since the first of the year (approximately) do not have the Remo stamp on the side. I have an order in transit and am interested to see if there is any consistency with that issue.

In checking crown height, I looked at two 11" heads. I put a straight edge over the top, then measured from the top of the aluminum flesh hoop to the bottom of the straight edge. The medium crown was about 1/64" shorter than is should be. The high crown was exactly 1/2".

Remo heads are not made with rocket science precision. There can be minor discrepancies, but when we have expectations of accuracy, their being "a little off" is very frustrating.

I toured the Remo factory about 15 years ago. so I knew their glued heads were all made in the US back then. I will contact one of my sales reps about the issues and see what he has to say. As of now, I am still convinced that the crimped heads are assembled in Taiwan and the glued heads are fully manufactured in the US. I will report if I discover otherwise.

Bob Smakula
smakulafrettedinstruments.com

Bob,
ThanX for the update.
It would not surprise me that there are consistency issues with, (what appear to be), "Asian" Remo epoxied heads. (Why would "Made in USA" not appear on them anywhere?) The 4 heads I have recently acquire, from two different sources, all appear "short" on head spacing.

As I recall, one of the reasons 5-star could not switch to an overseas supplier was due to the fact that the head spacing, as well as overall quality, was not consistent. I do have one of those "interim" 5-Star heads, (they had become available again, a while back, for a very short time), and while it does "fit" it is not the same as the older 5-stars.

Keep us posted as to what you discover and thanx again for checking into this.

Take it Easy ... MarK

quote:

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Originally posted by mvolcjak

If these heads were made in the USA, then why does "Made in USA" or "Remo" NOT appear on them anywhere?

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Because Remo makes blank, logo-less, heads to satisfy sellers and buyers who prefer that.

For example, these from Stew-Mac.

Also, not my comment in the other discussion that after years of not being able to accurately measure crown heights because of the softness of the top corner of the head (and maybe its lack of flatness when not installed) I finally struck on a method that works: I set a straight on the head and overhanging the edge, set my 6-inch rule on end on the flesh hoop, and noted the measure where it intersected the overhanging straight edge. I can't remember if  was measuring a high or medium crown head, but whichever it was the measure ws exactly what it was supposed to be.

As to how close is close enough: If the difference between one crown height to the next is 1/16-inch, then an error of 1/16-inch is obviously too far to be off.  Depending on which crown it's supposed to be and which direction it's off, an error of 1/16 inch can mean a high is a medium or a medium is a low.   I'd say the allowable error has to be under 1/32-inch too small, but maybe that's even too much.

Ken,

It is one thing to not print anything on the head. It is another thing to not print anything, anywhere, on the head or stretcher band to indicate who actually manufactured the product.

I recently purchased 2 of these heads from Stew Mac and there is nothing on them to indicate who made them.  There are only some some obscure numbers/letters and either the  letter "M" or "H" to indicate crown height.  Neither of these heads measure, or fit, as they should.

Remo may be overseeing their manufacture, but they are no longer "branded" Remo heads.  Has Remo been purchased in the recent past by some cooperate conglomerate?  All I can say is that if you do not put your name (somewhere) on a product you produce, then why not?  A brand name on a product is the only way to know what you are getting.  Other than someone claiming that these are Remo heads, there is nothing on them to indicate who actually manufactured them.

Take it Easy ... MarK

There’s lots of issues people have, for the last while, with heads simply not fitting correctly. I see lots of posts related to that. Could be worn equipment, or calibrations not being performed, angry workers, who knows. But, sure seems a lot of crown height issues recently.

quote:

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Originally posted by mvolcjak

Other than someone claiming that these are Remo heads, there is nothing on them to indicate who actually manufactured them.

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I believe the way to know Remo made the head is that Remo is the only maker of banjo heads in the world and owns its own production facilities.

I believe the numbers on the flesh hoop are the part number, size, or both.

Have you taken up the matter of incorrect size with Stew-Mac? What do they say?

Ken,
Bob Smakula is looking into this. He has checked some of his newer stock and noticed some inconsistencies.

Stew Mac is no longer the Stew Mac company of the past. It is now owned by a group of private equity investors led by Champlain Capital Partners II, L.P.. Champlain Capital is a private equity fund based in San Francisco, California. So I do not know who would handle this over there.  

If you do a search on the Remo company, Wikipedia comes back that they only make drum heads! This may be the actual issue - that their interest in (and profits from) banjo heads appears to be minimal, so it appears that they have passed all banjo head production off to their Asian manufacturer...

I have done business with Bob (Smakula) in the past and trust his judgment and know that I will not get a corporate runaround.  If this is my problem - so be it - but I am of the opinion, at this point, that Remo head sizing reliability has fallen - for whatever reason..

Take it Easy ... MarK

StewMac Remos have always been blank,I believe.
I have them on my StewMac Vintage kit,'29 tb-2 Cox conversion and my Bob French flathead.
They all fit great.
I don't like high crown heads.
A G# or tighter tension makes the top of the tension hoop flush or below the tonering.
I like around 1/8" reveal that I get from a medium crown.
I only use medium crown for flatheads and archtops.
All 5 Stars were medium crown.

Steve.
What I am posting about is a recent development, as ALL medium crown heads, be it 5-Star or Remo, have always fit my banjos, of which the newest is over 50 years old. The newer Remo heads I have received, marked as "M" or "H" head height no longer fit as my Medium or High crown older heads...

I do have marked Remo/Weather King heads - so they do exist. Most of my head purchases over the years have been 5-Stars, so I do not know how heads purchased from Stew-Mac over the years were marked. I would bet, that in the past, either Remo or Weather King was marked somewhere, probably on the stretcher band.

All of these new heads, from Stew-Mac and other (reputable) suppliers no longer have Remo or Weather King marked ANYWHERE - not even on the plastic sleeve they were packaged in - Why? To me it appears that something has changed - and that appears to be that these are all made in Asia.

I await Bob's (Smakula) feedback as to what is going on with Remo banjo heads. Remember, not long ago, there was a time when Remo heads were not available from many reputable suppliers? Why was that? Could it be that they were busy moving production to Asia? From what I can find, Remo's primary source of income is from Drum head manufacture and sales - banjo heads appear to be a secondary, and less profitable, market for them.

Perhaps I am wrong about this - but something is going on here......

Take it Easy ... MarK

quote:

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Originally posted by mvolcjak

All of these new heads, from Stew-Mac and other (reputable) suppliers no longer have Remo or Weather King marked ANYWHERE - not even on the plastic sleeve they were packaged in - Why? To me it appears that something has changed - and that appears to be that these are all made in Asia.

 

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But those Asian-made banjo heads are also made by Remo (in Taiwan/Asia).

Emiel,
From what I understand, Asian Remo heads were crimped (like 5-Star heads) while USA made heads were epoxied.

These "unmarked" Remo heads that I have received are all epoxied - which would indicate USA made - yet there is NOTHING printed anywhere on these heads beyond some stretcher band printing of (meaningless to me) letters and numbers and a "M" or "H" to indicate crown height. The individual plastic package that these each of these heads were in also had nothing meaningful printed on them.

When something is made in the USA, it is acknowledged somewhere. As these do not indicate country of origin, I suspect that these are Asian heads.

Take it Easy ... MarK

We are still waiting on feedback from Bob Smakula regarding crown heights on the next batch of "Chinese" Remo heads he receives. Hopefully these will all be up to spec.

Take it Easy ... MarK