No one has mentioned the Remo range of Encores?(maybe i missed it). I did an experiment recently , for a blues drummer , who is a friend and client. He was looking to get more bottom and throw from his toms(they were Premiers)----so I loaded up 3 12" toms , which were identical except for the wrap. They had the same mufflers,reso heads; the only difference was the batter head, which I put on: Powerstroke 4, Coated Pinstripe and Clear Encore Pinstripe. The difference between these heads in price is basically 3-2-1. --the Encores go for about 10.00 bucks CDN. here. Although, he liked the Powerstroke because of its throat and damping, I preferred the Encore of the lot because it had about as much depth as the Powerstroke but more latitude for resonance and damping. The Coated Pinstripe was definitely the weak one. My point being---on a $ for $ basis I find it hard to beat the Encore heads---they have several formulations--Ambassador, Pinstripe,Diplomat. They are a great choice if only to feel out the drums and see what they can do. For around 100.00 you can rehead all 8 ends of a four piece kit, you have different formulations to choose from which are basically the same as the standard Remo formulations and you can customize your drums somewhat (each drum does better with different heads and on each end,lets face it---there is no magic bullet)----with high quality heads!!
Well, the reason I didn't mention them is because, as far as I know, they are no longer in production. If they are, those are definitely good heads for MIJ/MIT shells. I have some of them and I really do like them. It was my understanding they were NOS when I bought them and that I could no longer get them. If they are still available, I would love to know where.
I love the Aquarian Z-100 coated heads, and from Matt at www.drumfactorydirect.com, they rival the Remo Encore in price, and are actually much better quality.
Roy Burns, at Aquarian, called me in regards to an email I had sent a few months ago and we had a wonderful chat about what my interests are. He informed me that he knew my passion from watching the forum chatter in regards to the constant banter we have regarding heads, and my "love" for the underdog vintage MIJ drums. He asked me to "keep an ear/eye" on them as far as MIJ/MIT usage within the forum and keep him aware of any successes/failures and what the general consensus is as to their viability. (I am not, in any manner, being compensated for my information I may gather from any discussions in this, or any other forum or from PMs regarding the same). They are great heads and will ultimately last much longer, in theory, than Encores, or any other coated head for that matter due to the coatings' chemical make-up, according to this discussion between Roy and I, he explained a lot of to me in a way I could understand.
Anyway, yes, the Encore heads, from the ones I have, are great heads for thin shell drums anyway. I have not tried them on my thicker shells, but can only imagine they would be good. I did try the bass as the pack I got for almost nothing included a 20" bass and my kit is a 22". The sell pack I bought was a discontinued "Wal-Mart" pack. The package it came in was a blue Mal-Mart branded set for 48 bucks (see the white square in the upper right hand corner). I paid 20 for the entire pack to a local music store run by an older gent who was told by his rep that they had been returned and were being discontinued. I suspect this is only the Mal-Mart packs that are dicon'd.
