Remo Materedge 1990s - Venwood Rosewood veneer

Late 1990s Remo MasterEdge — 5x14 — Venwood Rosewood veneer

Remo MasterEdge, 5x14. Acousticon R shell with the patented molded bearing edge. Rosewood-figured Venwood veneer. Eight tube lugs with isolation gaskets, triple-flange hoops, Remo strainer and butt. Remo coated Ambassador batter.

Here’s the story. Remo Belli built an empire on drumheads, then spent the 1980s and 90s trying to build a drum shell nobody else could make. Acousticon was the answer — wood fiber impregnated with resin and oven-cured, a material that behaves like wood but with no plies, no seams and no glue lines. By the late 1990s Remo had the formula dialed in as Acousticon R, and MasterEdge was the top of the line: the only Remo series with the molded bearing edge, which you can see as the black ring inside the shell. It solved the edge-wear problem of the early Acousticon drums and gave the shell a focused, consistent edge that tunes fast and stays put.

The company took these drums seriously. Louie Bellson was a partner in Remo Inc., played Remo kits for the last twenty years of his life, and his final sets were MasterEdge. Jeff Hamilton played Remo for years on records, tours and clinics. Terry Bozzio, Carl Palmer and Ed Thigpen were on the roster too. These weren’t budget drums — they were a different idea about how a drum could be built, and the players who used them chose them.

The sound sits between wood and metal: the warmth and body of a wood shell with the sensitivity and cut you’d expect from brass. The 5" depth keeps it quick and articulate. It records very well.

Musician grade. Shell is round, edges are clean, strainer and butt work as they should, nothing to fix. Veneer and chrome are clean; one light surface scratch on the shell, shown in the photos. Set it up and play it.

$395 plus $40 shipping in the lower 48. Local pickup preferred in Maplewood, Minnesota.

Shipping: Wrapped and boxed with hardware bagged separately, shipped UPS or FedEx Ground with tracking and insurance for the sale price. Tracking number sent the day it ships, usually within three business days of payment.