by Chtimulato » Sat Aug 13, 2016 11:47 am
Hello.
I'm sorry to correct you, Seneferu, but lauan, also called "meranti" or "Philippine mahogany" is a different wood from socalled "Siam oak".
And LP Valje were first made of cherry wood, if I'm not wrong, and now with beech.
As far I know, Gong Bops was the only brand to use lauan, because caribbean mahogany is now a protected species and can't be used any more to make drums. I think it was chosen because it was close to "real" mahogany, and all Gong Bops players who play or have played on lauan drums will tell you the same - and they're happy with this kind of wood. If you browse this forum, you'll see a lot lot of lauan Gon Bops, and notice it's not Siam oak. Siam oak can be used to make nice pieces of furniture, but for drums, that's another story...
Socalled "Siam oak" is hevea, rubberwood. It looks different. Most of the known brands (LP, Meinl, Toca, Pearl, Tycoon, and even Gon Bops now if I'm not wrong) have their drums made in Thailand because it's cheaper :
1. the salaries of the workers are lower
2. they use "Siam oak" (nothing common with "real" oak except the name) because it's a local wood (maybe sturdy, I don't know), so local wood means no shipping costs. And hevea, like vine, needs to be replaced and recycled regularly (every 18 or 20 years for hevea). So they can collect and recycle the trees and limit the costs.
3. The skins, even on top of the range products, are water buffalo skins, a local species, which has nothing common with the american buffalos slaughtered by the famous Buffalo Bill, and which, once again, avoids shipping costs...
If you buy one of these brands and want something else than rubberwood shells (then mostly ash or oak), you have to buy the top of the range : Giovannis or Palladium from LPs, Woodcraft for Meinl. But you'll still have those water buffalo skins, which I don't like, and which many of us don't like...
Sorry for being a bit long. But my statement can be confirmed by a lot of forum members, if they're not making holidays...
Have a nice weekend.