as a example of how wood gains better tone and quality through the years NO violin made today by anyone with any manufacturing method they could use will ever sound or be as valuable as a Stradivarius, the wood he used is gone there is no more ... much but not quite as important is the wood used by the old Keller shells and early vintage drum shells I have a picture of 5 guys i think standing on a rogers shell could that be done today? maybe i do not know but the older growth wood is much many times denser than the wood grown today and dats da fact Jack!

Found it..

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/Magwa/Rogersshellpicture.jpg[/IMG]

I would agree that vintage drums seem to have a warmer tone overall. I like the fact that this thread, KookAdam's thread about a youthful perspective on vintage drums and Purdie's "which sound" thread seem to have tied together nicely. My goal is to wrap my intellect (assuming I, in fact, have any) around why vintage drums sound warmer. It seems to me that the difference is mostly from older growth wood available "back then" and the maturation process of the instrument. If that is indeed the case, then the argument "vintage drums were better built" is really moot. I think the art of drum manufacturing has improved with time, but if you cannot start with the same materials nor impose 30-60 years of artificial maturation, that is not the fault of the manufacturers. That is why I find it a bit disingenuous when we regularly disparage current current manufacturers as somehow creating an inferior product as I do not think that is the case at all. Purdie's comment in another thread about buying a kit and having to store it forever to create a warmer tone is well taken.

As to your comment about the Premier snare: you know I love anything Premier!