I think Jasper shells are revered with Gretsch, because, the shells were made a certain way only for Gretsch. I have a Fibes Jasper kit and Gretsch Jasper shell kit and the shells are different. I also have a Keller Gretsch kit and the shells are the same as the Jasper Gretsch kit. Jasper/Keller just made a shell to certain specs just for Gretsch, and the way Gretsch puts the drums together to give it "that Gretsch sound". The Jasper shelled Gretschs are deemed more valuable, but, the sound is the same..to me.

Gumwood is from the American Gumwood tree. It's a tight grained wood that's a bit softer than maple. I'm a science geek and not furniture boy, but I think it's used for moulding and stuff. I do know the grain is not uniform and varies from tree to tree. This would make it difficult to work with for large jobs and would also lend itself to be a great imposter of other woods. I know that the blend of hard maple with gumwood is more substantial than that of maple/mahogany. That would cause it to resonate a more pure tone. BUT, African Mahogany is a darker wood. This blends with the relative brightness of maple to produce a VERY complete and satisfyingly round tone. It's the classic "the sum of the parts does not equal the whole" bit. They are different for sure. Which sounds better? Whose ears are we using? If bearing edges and all things were the same, that would be a fun experiment. I'm an African Mahogany junkie. I'm not sure I could listen with scientific truth as a goal.

A little fyi from the plant-guy (me - haha):

Sweetgum, American Sweetgum (some common names) = Liquidambar styraciflua. Says here it's second only to Oak in some building applications. I don't know that for sure but I thought I'd pass this on out of interest in this Thread.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/sweetgum/

A little more info here from good ole England....Kew's on my to-do list in retirement........

http://apps.kew.org/trees/?page_id=96

It's just a real coincidence that the "only" tree I have in my yard - up here in Canada - is the American Sweetgun (Liquidambar styraciflua)

Here it is attached ........with our drum dog Daisy. This is a drum forum - right?

Wayne,

Jasper shells were unreinforced, straight-wall design.

Most of the other contemporaries used a reinforced shell design.

Gretsch, as you already know, also incorporated diecast rims as standard equipment.

So, usually, when people talk about Jasper, they are referring to the Gretsch sound. And the Gretsch sound has a lot more to do with the entire drum design than it does with the wood type. I'm not saying there isn't any influence from the gumwood. Maybe there is. But the other aspects of the design trump that one aspect.

The regional lumber business where Jasper was located, produced more gum trees and so, in turn, utilized gumwood as their secondary wood, along with the (then) common maple and mahogany primary woods. That's what was around and cost-effective, so that's what got used.

Yes - I totally agree the "Gretsch Sound" is the 'whole' picture; wood, hardware, design etc.

I also believe, and this is only my opinion, that it was great Jasper Wood Products had that easy access to Gumwood. Because it sure turned out to be a nice combination (Maple/Gumwood?Maple) - don't you think?

I'm a Gretsch fan - no doubt about it - but I'd have to be pretty naive to think that they're the only or best drums out there for everyone. That has a lot to do with personal taste and application of the instrument. But you can't denigh that Gretsch makes pretty awesome drums. There are many reasons why some drummers seek out those old Jasper/Gretsch drums........one being they sound so darn good.

Me & my 58 GRETSCH 3PLY (floor is 6ply) - Jasper shells Maple/Gum/Maple.

Hey, I'm a jazz player and most of the people I listened to on recordings, etc., were playing Gretsch. When I was a kid, I wanted a Gretsch set, but my local (30 miles away) music store didn't carry Gretsch drums. Gretsch guitars? Yes. Gretsch drums? No. So changed my sights to Rogers when i bought my first real drum set because that was the "best" (I thought at the time) brand of drums that I had access to.

I love the Gretsch drum sound. By the time my ears got good enough to really hear things, I realized it was the Ludwig sound and FEEL that I really craved the most. And that is another subjective thing, too. I realize that. But Ludwig 3-ply drums seemed to have more of a shock absorber effect. Maybe that was just a by-product of the grip I use or maybe it's something else. I don't know.

But as to the question of what the "magical" element of Jasper shells is, I think it is more the things that differentiated them from the other designs more than the things that are similar. What I mean is that a maple, gum, maple layup isn't all that different from a maple, poplar,maple or a maple, poplar, mahogany layup in terms of thickness or density of the shells. They are pretty similar. But that's where the similarity ends and the design differences take over.

In order to strengthen the shell, each company found a different solution. But they all essentially boiled down to how the cylindrical shape was going to be reinforced enough to take the tension placed on it by the lugs. Ludwig and other companies did it by reinforcing the shell. Gretsch did it by reinforcing the rims. And, I feel this is where the "magic" is that differentiates the Gretsch sound from other vintage contemporaries.

I think that if Jasper had used poplar as their secondary wood instead of gumwood, then Gretsch drums would sound similar to (if not exactly the same as) they do with the gumwood. I have no way to prove that other than to say that the density of the two woods is similar.

Listened to on recordings"is in my opinion where the "magic"began for a lot of us growing up.I also believe the Gretsch family owes thier success to the giants who played thier drums.The jazz guys played Gretsch,therefore they must be jazz drums...until Charlie came along and christened them rock and roll drums,oh,them Mickey Dolenz turned them into..um,forget that one...Success by association is the way i see it.

Jasper shells also helped Fibes drums in a huge way.You rarely ever hear someone refer to Fibes without mentioning that "thier the same as Gretsch shells"Someone told me recently that Gretsch made one kit to every 15 Ludwig made.Interesting!...I love the mystique surrounding Gretsch;;silver sealer,5 lug toms,etc.Whatever turned them into a cult following that still exists,that Jasper shell maple/gum/maple has to be THEE,success story of the drum building industry,of all time....THX JASPER!!!

But... Didn't Rogers also use Jasper shells in their early days? Thoughts on the Rogers / Jasper shell drums?

The old Gretsch kits and Fibes kits used Jasper shells, but the Jasper company had gone bankrupt some years ago and Fibes purchased all the remaining shells..A teacher from my drumming lessons told me this..